PEOPLE across the south-west are being encouraged to dust off their finest frock or pull on their suit for A Night in the Gardens, to celebrate 150 years of the Warrnambool Botanic Gardens.
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The organisers, Friends of the Warrnambool Botanic Gardens (FWBG), is touting the celebration as a once-in-a-lifetime gala event.
Committee member Pat Varley said the party on Saturday, March 19 was a chance to showcase the stunning gardens in a night-time setting.
“A Night in the Gardens is the opening event for a year-long celebration, which will include a photographic competition and restoration of the well,” Mrs Varley said.
“The Night in the Gardens provides a once-in-150-year opportunity to celebrate our heritage and enjoy our gardens. A large marquee within the gardens will provide the venue and the up-lighting of trees and soft music will show the setting at its best.
“A maximum of 300 supporters can enjoy fine food and dancing from 7pm until midnight.”
Mrs Varley said the event was not a fund-raising project, but a celebration of the gardens.
“Those who patronise the event, we hope, will become the advocates for the gardens,” she said.
“It will showcase the gardens and demonstrate their suitability for a whole range of events.
“It is important that the potential of the gardens for recreational, educational and pleasurable use is more widely understood.”
Melbourne band Popcorn will provide entertainment and food and drinks are included in the ticket price. Chef-manned grazing stations will feed party-goers.
Mrs Varley said when FWBG conducted tours of the gardens, guides were often surprised by people saying they had lived in Warrnambool their whole lives, but had never been to the gardens.
“On the other hand, events such as Wunta’s Jazz in the Gardens demonstrates just how wonderful they are,” Mrs Varley said.
The gardens are registered by the National Trust, the National Estate and Heritage Victoria. They are acknowledged as the most intact of gardens designed by William Guilfoyle.
Tickets for A Night in the Gardens are available for purchase from wbgardens.com.au. They are $100 per person, inclusive of all food, drink and entertainment.