NightFest to showcase a World in Bloom
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Floriade NightFest will once again transform Commonwealth Park into a glittering wonderland between Thursday 3 and Sunday 6 October 2019.
Flowerbeds will be brought to life with awe-inspiring illuminations, and lighting installations, created by internationally-renowned lighting specialists, Mandylights.
“The theme of World in Bloom really spoke to us,” said Mandylights Managing Director Richard Neville. “So we’ve gone all out this year and are creating two interactive works for NightFest, instead of the usual one.”
Spheric
The first of these works, Spheric, is set to be an absolute showstopper. A glittering 15-metre-wide by 7.5m-high sphere, covered in more than 2,000 individually controllable LED pixels, Spheric will be seemingly-suspended over Kangaroo Pond.
“We’ve actually built a bridge that goes all the way through the pond, so visitors will be able to walk over the water and basically stand inside the middle of this massive dome,” says Richard.
“The water below will reflect the dome above so you will feel like you’re standing in the middle of a sphere of light. It’s set to a really, really exciting soundtrack and is completely unlike anything we’ve ever done at NightFest before.”
But that’s not the only infinitely-Instagrammable installation you can expect.
Framed
Set in the Rhododendron Garden, Framed will feature a series of 16 towering five-metre-high picture frames, covered in thousands of pixels of LED lights which create a stunning tunnel.
“Visitors will walk through a tunnel of light—incredible rotating squares of light—all synchronised to a soundtrack entirely made up of floral songs,” says Richard.
“It will be a bit of a challenge for visitors to identify them—from cutting-edge recent songs, right back to old classics.”
NightFest is the culmination of months of planning for Mandylights, whose work begins long before they get onsite in September. Designing installations which amplify the theme of each year’s event is always a welcome challenge.
“This year, working with the idea of flowers from around the world, we’ve got flowerbeds from different Asian nations—Japan, Korea, China—and behind each one of those beds there’s going to be little clusters of lanterns that could be traditionally found in that country,” says Richard.
“We really try and sit down and find ways to accentuate what’s already there.”
As well as Mandylights’ installations, NightFest will feature live music, pop-up performances, markets, delicious cuisines from around the world and more.
the essentials
What: NightFest 2019
Where: Commonwealth Park
When: Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 October
Tickets: On sale now
Web: floriadeaustralia.com/nightfest
This article is brought to you in partnership with Visit Canberra. You can read our Sponsored Post Policy here.
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