FORECASTS of heavy weekend rain failed to deter the 12,000 Kalbar Sunflower Festival ticketholders on Friday through to Sunday.
Rain fell mid afternoon Friday and again after lunch on Sunday making the ground underfoot muddy.
Yet the festival goers remained determined to enjoy the ‘field of a million sunflowers’ and all the stalls and entertainment on the Jenner farm on Warumkarie Road.
The third annual Kalbar Sunflower Festival won rave reviews at the event and on social media.
And among the ‘reviewers’ was Queensland Minister for Tourism, Stirling Hinchliffe, who officially opened the Festival on Saturday.
Mr Hinchliffe congratulated the organisers and spoke of how impressed he was with the event, describing it as a “wonderful” addition to the tourism landscape.
Last year, the Festival and other events run by the Jenners raised $65,000 for the Cancer Council.
Funds raised this year for the charity will be announced in coming weeks when final figures are tallied but Jenny and Russell Jenner anticipate that it will be a significant amount.
“Our impression of the crowds during the three days was that everybody was happy and very positive,” said Jenny Jenner.
“We received so many great comments from people and so many of the social media reviews and emails congratulated us on another well organised event with so much to see and do.”
She added that each year, they have worked to add more attractions, more stalls and more entertainment.
“We listened to what people have asked for and this year we added a lot more photo props in and beside the sunflowers, more food stalls and more entertainment.
“And we are already talking about what improvements we can make ahead of next year’s festival.
“We have a lot of returning festival goers and we want to make sure their experience is different every time they attend.”
The daily champagne lunches in the sunflowers were a big hit.
“Everyone raved about the food and the Sunset Soiree on Saturday evening was also a welcome addition right through to the surprise performance by the Bollywood Dancers,” Mrs Jenner said.
Extra happenings which have become part of the Sunflower Festival tradition, included three marriage proposals, a baby reveal and a wedding photo shoot.