Life Down Under (Part 18): Celebrating Festivals with Flowers and Dances!

- October 5-12, Wednesday to Wednesday.

- There is always something to celebrate in Melbourne, no matter which day of the year. Despite being swamped with work after my legendary trip to Uluru, I was able to attend two different festivals to add color to my week.

- The first festival I attended was called the Tesselaar Tulip Festival. Like Canberra's Floriade (see here), the Tesselaar Tulip Festival happens every spring, around September to October. I was actually not interested to go at first because I already attended the Floriade in Canberra, but a friend who had gone prior convinced me to go. Boy, was I glad I decided to go! It was the final weekend and had I stalled, I wouldn't have had the chance to see it anyone this year!

- I first had to buy tickets online (click here for the festival's official website), best to buy in advance as daily tickets easily get sold out. To get to the festival, one would need to ride a suburban train to Lilydale or Belgrave (Lilydale line or Belgrave line, both are terminal stops), then ride bus 633 to the festival.

- It was raining hard on the day I went, but I had no choice because tickets are date specific. I still had fun because I was really surprised by what I saw! The festival was definitely bigger than the Floriade, since this one had actual fields with tulips. The festival itself was generally Dutch-themed, as it is also based on the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens in the Netherlands like the Floriade. This event began in 1954, and was held annually except in 2020 due tot he pandemic.

Entrance.

- The tulip festival also had weekly cultural themes, mostly cultures connected to either tulips or anything floral and magical. That last weekend was dedicated to Irish culture (which leans more on the floral and magical side.) It was quite confusing because the motif of the festival is Dutch, but the music and activities were Irish that weekend. I still liked it though.

I found this orange chair with a nice Dutch-inspired backdrop. Somehow, the giant (fake) tulips at the back and the colors made me feel like I was in Alice in Wonderland's world.

With giant tulips.

There are proper places where people can take photos with the tulips. The event discourages people from going through the strips of land between each row of tulips as it would be easier to ruin the flowers.

- I enjoyed going through the tulip fields and seeing the booths painted like famous Dutch buildings - some of which I have visited before. I also enjoyed meeting costumed characters walking around the event to greet people. Since it was an Irish weekend, I met real leprechauns and a fairy.

Tulipd field.

Met some leprechauns today!

They gave me a gold (chocolate) coin!

Can't stop taking photos with these colorful tulips!

This is a mechanical organ and it makes the most interesting music!

Not sure if real mushrooms or fake mushrooms.

Saw this Winx fairy walking around. She better head back to Alfea soon! (Please tell me you got that reference.)

My family. (Yes, these are all me.)

another look at the fields.

See the blue mountain range at the back? That's the Dandenong Ranges.

Again, they're both me.

A semi-floating giant Rubik's Cube.

- Before going back home, I had ate a late lunch while listening to the live traditional Irish music on stage. I love Irish music because the music is usually jumpy and playful, while the lyrics say otherwise. It was still a good visit despite the rain!

- Skipping to Tuesday night, I attended the "Indian Festival" which was a night of Indian performances with artists sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). One of the dancers is Guru Pavitra Krishna Bhat, a young but lauded Bharatanatyam dancer that I have been in touch with during the pandemic through social media. I have always been mesmerized by his performances (albeit via video only), and because it's usually not that common to see male Indian classical dancers. Little did I know that I'd have a chance to meet him in Melbourne of all places!

With Guru Pavitra Bhat.

He is accompanied by his Bharatanatyam students.

Inside Thornbury Theatre.

The Indian flag; performance by another group.

Ghoomar.

- The event was held at The Thornbury Theatre. The festival was organized by the Indian consulate in Melbourne, and attended by members of various diplomatic representatives (including the Philippine consul-general!), and some members of the Indian community. All the performers excellently showed the beauty of India through dance. The Bharatanatyam performance though was dear to me mostly because they presented an excerpt of the Ramayana. I was part of a Ramayana production in theater many years back, during high school.

Bharatanatyam.

With Philippine Consul-General Maria Lourdes Salcedo.

Gujarati dandiya.

A tribute to India.

With Indian Consul-General Dr. Sushil Kumar. 

Thornbury Theatre.

- Endless applauses thundered through the halls after the remarkable performances. I was not surprised, since the performers were delegates sent by the ICCR. I left shortly after the performances and saying goodbye to my friend Pavitra.   

- The cherry on the icing of my week was meeting my Vietnamese friend Kha for the first time in Melbourne. He is an amazing scientist who has been in Melbourne for a long time now!

Hi Kha! Nice to see you finally!

- Despite a rainy week, and Melbourne getting warmer as days went by, I was glad that I had some pleasant encounters to keep my mind off the weather (and work!) These nice experiences were good fuels for my next major adventure in Australia!