New look Morwell Rose Festival to go ahead

Not even COVID-19 will stop the annual celebration of the stunning blooms of Morwell’s Centenary Rose Garden. Despite a change to the usual festival format this November, rose enthusiasts are still in for a treat.

The 2020 International Rose Garden Festival Morwell will be a hybrid event. Festival fans are guaranteed the event will still be bursting with the spring colour synonymous with roses. A creative program has been devised to make the festival accessible to people around Victoria, Australia and the world via the festival’s website, on the weekend of November 14 and 15. Latrobe City Council is festival host and Mayor Councillor Dan Clancey is looking forward to this iconic celebration continuing despite COVID restrictions.

“Latrobe residents and visitors are treated to the sight of more than 3500 roses in the Morwell Centenary Rose Garden blooming every spring and it’s important for our sense of community, now more than ever, that we celebrate our sense of identity,” Councillor Clancey said. “The hybrid 2020 International Rose Garden Festival Morwell will have all the usual features and activities festival fans appreciate, albeit in a new format, and this year, the festival will have global reach, as well as local appeal.”

Online, visitors will be able to navigate a map of the Morwell Centenary Rose Garden and click on events and activities of interest. Workshops, music, children’s entertainment, stalls and garden talks will be run online as free, interactive events. People will be able to comment, ask questions, and take part in polls, workshops and masterclasses all from the comfort of their homes – and even buy goods from stallholders as though they were there. The festival will showcase Gippsland food and wine producers and local musicians, and festival organisers will soon be announcing this year’s special guests.

The AGL Mid-summer Night Lights Installation in the Morwell Centenary Rose Garden returns by popular demand on the Saturday and Sunday evening. AGL Loy Yang General Manager, Nigel Browne said AGL was thrilled to support this fantastic regional event showcasing our beautiful region. “We know this event is more important than ever as local tourism works to recover from the impact of the summer bushfires and COVID-19,” Mr Browne said. “It’s wonderful to see the innovative approach taken to bring the Morwell International Rose Garden to the world, while still allowing our community to come together.