For the first time ever, the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney will plant rainbow seeds of joy and inclusivity to celebrate Sydney WorldPride with five diverse events spanning fresh floral parties to quirky walks for a bespoke PRIDE celebration in nature.
Presented as part of Sydney WorldPride Pride Amplified, the world-renowned floral show Fleurs de Villes PRIDE is coming back with an exclusive Preview Night, and a groovy Floral Disco, alongside the intriguing guided Queer Plants Walk and botanical Archie Rose Spirits Tasting and Garden Walk adventures all coming to life in the central events hub, The Calyx.
Director of Experiences, Partnerships and Engagement at the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Carla Armanet, says “We have proudly transformed The Calyx’s 50-metre-long green wall of around 18,000 colourful plants into a stunning rainbow display to celebrate plant diversity, Sydney WorldPride and our vibrant LGBTQIA+ community.”
Fleurs de Villes: PRIDE
The famous international floral show Fleurs de Villes is returning to The Calyx at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney between 17 – 26 February for another fresh celebration. Fleurs de Villes: PRIDE is a stunning 10-day exhibition celebrating joy and inclusivity by featuring 15 beautiful floral mannequins paying homage to inspirational members and allies to the LGBTQIA+ community. These stunning masterpieces will be designed and created by talented Sydney florists including Uncle & Ghost Botanics, Rose Moon Flowers and Hayfever flowers to name a few.
To get a sneak peek of the profound display guests can attend the exclusive Preview Night on 16 February to meet and greet the florists and have their say on the judging panel to award the top floral design with a complementary champaign in hand.
Fleurs de Villes: PRIDE Floral Disco
Dress to impress and toast to the first day of Sydney WorldPride on 17 February as The Calyx welcomes their Fleurs de Villes: PRIDE Floral Disco to bring together plants, fun DJ beats and flamboyant flavour to celebrate some of Australia’s most cherished culture icons and trailblazers surrounding the Fleurs de Villes: PRIDE exhibit with delicious food and drinks offerings from the Leaf Department Café. DJ Rodd Richards will be performing his upbeat techno disco hits on the spin tables to dance the night away alongside powerhouse vocals from singer Arrnott Olsen.
Queer Plants Walk
Take a deep dive into the weird, wonderful, and sometimes bizarre world of plants on a 90 minute Queer Plants Walk. During this sunset stroll you can explore the diverse ways plants have evolved across millions of years as you meander through the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney learning about queer orchids who trick unwitting pollinators with the promise of sex, all the way to majestic strangler figs.
Paul Nicholson who is the Manager of Volunteer Programs at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is the expert storyteller behind these quirky plant insights having over 25 years of experience of delivering engaging guided walks through the Garden.
“This walk plays an important role in showing people there is much more to plants that meets the eye. For example, the majestic strangler figs of Australian rainforests, planted in our parks and gardens host insect love dungeon parties and depend on it for their ongoing genetic diversity,” Paul says.
Archie Rose Spirits Tasting and Garden Walk
If you prefer to have fermented fun with your plants, then join our major partner Archie Rose Distilling Co. for a bespoke Spirits Tasting as you treat your tastebuds to two limited edition Archie Rose cocktails featuring their popular Signature Dry Gin. This Archie Rose experience will be accompanied by a 90-minute walk through the summer Garden displays where our expert guides will share the history of the oldest Botanic Garden in Australia, along with insights on plant evolution, reproduction and the kaleidoscope of plant-love happening around you all the time. Part of all the proceeds from the Sydney WorldPride Pride Amplified events will go towards protecting and enhancing the living collections at all three Botanic Gardens across Sydney, in addition to supporting vital scientific research and conservation projects at the Australian Institute of Botanical Science.
