BY BRIANNA MORRIS-GRANT
Gold Coasters will embrace their green side as Botanical Bazaar touches down in Nerang for a fourth year.
More than 100 stalls, art exhibits and family activities will be available at the garden festival, which showcases and celebrates everything “green living”.
Stacey Panozzo launched Botanical Bazaar after starting a business in “air plants” – which don’t need soil to grow – to share her peculiar passion with the community.
“I combined my love for unusual plants and wanting to grow my own food and marketing into running my own event and learning everything I need to know,” she said.
“From that, we’re a team that wants to do more education in the green industry, and we want to live a bit greener and more sustainable.”
Love Local’s Jayde Purcell, who will run the “Garden Bar” at the event, said she was excited to put together a collaborative space for visitors to share their creative interests.
“We’re getting a whole heap of local businesses involved so it won’t just be a bar, it will be a suitcase rummage, later in the day it will be an art space, throughout the day we’ll have artists creating super cool and funky pieces on the spot,” she said.
“Just bring a big bag of smiles and get involved, we’re going to have jumbo games and oval flowers, milk crates and wooden palettes and weird signs we’ve made.
“I guess just pull your pants up and get ready for some fun.”
Ms Panozzo said the bazaar was for gardeners at any stage – from beginners to veterans.
“There are current gardeners at the stalls who can answer all those silly questions to (help you) start growing your own plants,” she said.
The Botanical Bazaar kicks off 9am this Sunday at the Country Paradise Parklands in Nerang.