Perfect weather was forecast for the weekend and everything was in place for the best ever Botanical Bazaar. Months of preparation had culminated on Saturday 31 July with:
- Over 80 exhibitors and community groups on site finalising their displays
- 16 food vendors fully stocked and ready to serve
- The site decorated over 2 days by volunteer labour
- Over 2000 tickets pre – sold and cars queued at gate
- Australian Volunteer Coastguard volunteers on site with parking areas marked out
- Nerang Community gardeners ready to show off their hard work
- Local performers booked for a weekend of entertainment
- Celebrity gardening and sustainability speakers ready to deliver a wealth of education
- A wonderful kid’s program planned
Then at about 10:15, we received the news of a snap lockdown of 11 LGAs to manage a Covid outbreak in Brisbane. Given only 6 hours for our exhibitors to bump-out and get to their homes by 4pm, there was only one option – Shutdown the event and suffer the losses involved. Our volunteers and the exhibitors then spent several hours dismantling what they had just created – heartbreaking!
Gold Coast Rotary has refunded all ticket sales, site booking fees for exhibitors and food vendors and hope that a Division 5 Community Grant will cover our committed expenditures. Nothing will recover the over 1000 volunteer hours spent organising the event. Exhibitors have estimated that they lost between $200.000 and $350,000 sales and our club’s funds to support community causes has been reduced by over $60,000.
On a positive, we have received so many wonderful encouraging messages and commendations on our team, set up, vibe and event. What a great event we have and one that will continue to grow, engage our club members and be profitable. The committee that has evolved in such a short timeframe is more than commendable and whilst devastated, we have not lost hope and will be back with enthusiasm again next time.
Here are some messages we have received from ticket holders, stall holders, speakers and our supporters … THANK YOU!!! These messages gave us the boost we needed to get back up and get working on BB22!
- We absolutely LOVE Botanical Bazaar! It is right up there with the best plant/garden/lifestyle events in Queensland and this group of organisers are totally awesome! We love you guys…. keep up the good work. Seriously, lots of other events are run by people who are not as cool as you guys are. We loved Stacey too, back in the day when she started the event 🙂 but we are THRILLED that the event is in such great hands with the Gold Coast Rotary. Let’s do it again sometime!!
- This event unlike many others, is so well organised & there are so many creators & makers involved. It takes months of preparation to be organised and presented to the public & the whole festival has an amazing atmosphere which we are so proud to be part of. It’s a wonderful thing for the whole community with presenters & visitors coming from far & wide.
- Thank you so much for the dedication to this event and wonderful organisation of the Botanical Bazaar. Thank you for supporting our business and we look forward to supporting you next year.
- Thanks very much for allowing us to join in on what looked like it was going to be a wonderful expo. The short time we were there we couldn’t get over how your group turned the grounds into something magnificent. All your work didn’t go unnoticed. We definitely would like to be part of the next bazaar you arrange.
- The whole venue looked fantastic, it was very well organised and I look forward to next year.
- We were humbled by the support of organisers. Right from when the lockdown was announced.
- Congratulations on the great organization and set up for what was promising to be an outstanding day. As someone who was there when the gates opened at 5.30a.m., It was obvious how much work had been put in to get the event organized and to have to cancel was devastating to all.
- I just wanted to thank you for your transparency and promptness. It is a really unlucky situation, I’ll try to bring more people to your event next time it comes around.
- Thanks David – really appreciate how you and the team have handled a really challenging situation and you can rely on our support for next time also.
- What an amazing team you all make! The positivity you all ooze to push on is heart-warming. From what I saw today, it would have been the BEST BB yet! And that new entrance…. spectacular!! Stacey Panozzo
- Firstly, I wanted to commend you all on how fabulous the Bazaar looked on Saturday. It was spectacular!!! You should be so proud of all you did to pull the event together given the uncertain times we live in. Having visited the Barn and Gecko Hut, the stages and set ups were just perfect and it would have been an honour to present and be involved. Thank you to everyone who made that happen!!
- Obviously, it wasn’t what we all hoped. However, the way your team handled the situation was professional and considerate and again I commend you. This event is such a valuable one on the Gold Coast calendar and it is a shame we didn’t get to proceed.
- As someone who was there when the gates opened at 5.30a.m., It was obvious how much work had been put in to get the event organized and to have to cancel was devastating to all.
- Wishing you all the best in the future planning and rescheduling. I look forward to being involved again as it is such a wonderful event in a beautiful location.
- Thanks for this update. My friend & I actually arrived about 11:30 to discover everyone was packing up but we were still able to buy a few plants! Is it possible to not be given a refund? I understand the amount of work that goes into putting on an event like this and I was told it’s your major fund raiser – so I’m happy for the Rotary Club to receive our ticket money instead of receiving a refund. If it’s not possible, then that’s OK too and I hope you’re able to host BB#2!
- Also, I will take this opportunity to thank you and to pass on to all the organisers that you do a mighty job as I do understand how much this takes to put together.
- We love BB and really enjoy the whole experience. We have attended since you first started.
- Thanks David – really appreciate how you and the team have handled a really challenging situation and you can rely on our support for next time also.
- Wow!!! What can l say!! If this were the Olympics you’d all be awarded gold.
- From what I saw today, it would have been the BEST BB yet! And that new entrance…. spectacular!!
- … before I lay my head to rest, I just wanted to say how appreciative and honoured I am to be working with such a beautiful bunch of people. To Kate and David, you are an inspiration! The passion, drive and dedication I have felt and witnessed is awe inspiring! To my co-creative director Peta, and to Susie, I have loved loved loved, working with you!!! …and your words of encouragement along the way, really helped me push through! Nev, your ‘know how’ and barn building skills is phenomenal! Rana, I loved our planting and bunting days, you are a powerhouse…Lindy, for your 5 trips back and forth today and always with a smile…Vanessa, Viv, Mark, Lea, Kathy…I feel bad not mentioning everybody because EVERYONE, added to the event! We almost made it, we were on the brink of something extremely special, you could feel it! – Let’s re-group and re-grow! … NIkki Murphy
- Thank you so much for your email, I can understand it would have been a difficult decision to make, but I think it was the right one. The entire event looked absolutely spectacular and I am sure the next one will look even better!
- All I can say is THANK YOU so much for your perseverance, your flexibility, and for being so accommodating to our requests prior to set up. You have been truly amazing. Yes, the lockdown was absolutely devastating. The set up was going to be great, and the weekend was going to be one to remember, that’s for sure. I’m so sad it didn’t happen but I’m absolutely certain I’d love to be part of it when it does happen!
- Please thank your team for all the effort they had put into the day – it did look spectacular 😀 We love the event, the atmosphere you create, the exhibitors, and the day, in general, which is always wonderful. We will wait for the next date, we wouldn’t miss it for the world.
- It really was devastating for everyone involved however I would like to extend my gratitude to yourself, David and all the volunteers. It truly was a well organised and beautiful event. The atmosphere had a really lovely feel and a real sense of community and happiness. I had already made some friends with other stallholders. I am looking forward to being involved in this wonderful event in the future and happy to wait it out until things calm down. Congratulations on having everything in place for a wonderful event.
