The organisers of the Festival
of Flowers fear the event will be overshadowed by the recently
imported Ellerslie International Flower Show.
Christ Church Cathedral is crammed with buds and blossoms
as part of the festival this week, but the event needs to
win new funding from the Christchurch City Council to celebrate
its 20th anniversary next year.
The Festival of Flowers was awarded funding for only one
year by the council last year, in contrast to other events
that won funding for three years.
The event will end on Saturday. The floral carpet in Christ
Church Cathedral is attracting locals and tourists alike.
Christchurch Garden City Trust chairwoman Carole Evans hoped
the festival would win funding.
There is a lot of concern over whether the Festival of Flowers
will still be funded by the council. We have been going
20 years now. It has taken 20 years for us to realise that
the Garden City is a good image for the city to have,"
she said.
Evans, the former deputy mayor, hoped council staff agreed
the Festival of Flowers would complement Ellerslie.
The Christchurch City Council bought the Ellerslie show
in November for a reported price of between $1 million and
$2m. The event will be held for the first time in Christchurch
in March next year.
"It is a bit of a worry. I hope council will see that
we would complement Ellerslie. Our only worry is there is
not enough funding," she said.
Evans also said the Festival of Flowers could not threaten
to move to another city if new funding did not transpire
as it was linked with Christchurch's Garden City image.
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