Colourful sight: Like a sea of rainbows these blooms make it a perfect garden. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star
100,000 visitors are expected to attend the nine-day Kuala Lumpur Park Festival featuring an enchanting garden with birds, insects and sculptures at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa.
THE combination of the floral vista from the book The Secret Garden and forest scenes from the movie Avatar makes for a really enchanting environment.
It is what visitors will see at the Kuala Lumpur Park Festival (KLPF 2023) in Taman Tasik Titiwangsa. The festival starts today and will end on March 12.
The themes were the brainchild of Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) Landscape Development and Recreational director Zulkifli Endut.
They drew inspiration from the novel as well as the American science fiction film to create a beautiful backdrop for the nine-day festival.
A giant wasp sculpture is part of the decorative elements at the park. ― Photos: AZMAN GHANI & LOW LAY PHON/The Star
“The entrance lighting is Avatar-inspired purple vine-like lights dangling from the trees. It is best appreciated at night,” Zulkifli told StarMetro in an interview.
“The entire lake area will be decorated with myriad colourful blooms. You will discover as you venture further that it is like entering a mystical secret garden,” he added.
Visitors to the park can feast their eyes on a floral spectacle aptly themed “Malaysian Arts and Floral Gardens”. Apart from it being the perfect event for a family outing, the festival is the right platform to showcase the talents of local landscape artists and florists from DBKL and other local authorities.
Zulkifli says the planning for the project took over a year.
“We utilised in-house talents of gardeners, landscapers and a technical team to come up with the concept that features the flora and fauna from each Malaysian state,” said Zulkifli.
“Our in-house horticulturists and landscape experts took a year to plan this event. We wanted to come up with something that is both educational and memorable,” he said.
He added that apart from the educational aspect, DBKL wanted to inspire people to lead a healthy lifestyle by visiting Kuala Lumpur’s public parks.
A play on the senses
For those interested in checking out the festival, there are nine components to look out for.
The Gardens, Balcony KL showdown competition, Garden Haven, Mystical Titiwangsa Dome, Environmental Arts competition, Student Hub, outdoor adventures, emarket palace and Lepak Corner.
As you enter the gates of Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, visitors will see the words – KL Park Festival – with each letter designed with batik motif and decorated with colourful orchids and butterflies.
“We wanted to offer something for everyone. Big families, with the father, mother, grandmother, sister and brother ... it is not easy to bring them all to one place. So we have created something for everyone here,” said Zulkifli.
“For instance The Gardens, which showcases outdoor living space and flowers, will attract the parents who are into gardening and are looking at ideas for their garden.
“The Balcony KL competition will probably interest families living in a flat or condominium and are looking at balcony garden ideas,” he said.
This landscaping idea will delight cat lovers.
“We have our horticulturists and landscape experts on standby to offer tips and tricks on plant cultivation and management.
“The public can get some ideas on decorating small spaces or landscaping their gardens. Even those living in flats with a small balcony can find inspiration here,” he added.
Fourteen local authorities from all over Malaysia will exhibit their outdoor living space designs by using the official plants and cultural artworks from their respective cities.
Among them are Shah Alam City Council, Johor Baru City Council, Kuantan City Council and Melaka City Council.
“What’s interesting is they use recyclable materials for the project,” Zulkifli highlighted.
The artworks, he said, would be placed throughout the park with five of the designs floating in the lake.
“We anticipate the Mystical Titiwangsa Dome to be a crowd-puller because it will feature a variety of rare indoor plants from all over the country.
A worker watering the plants inside a nook of birds and cages.
“The Mystical Titiwangsa Dome will showcase more than 100 species of rare plants including the Philodendron and Anthurium flowers,” he said, noting that it is the largest houseplant showcase in the country.
“We also have a team from Ecuador in South America, who will showcase rare flowers from their country,” he added.
In addition, there will be a series of competitions such as environmental art for garden decor, colouring and painting contests, photography, short videos, floral fashion show, park gazebo designing, mobilegraphy (photography using mobile phones) and fun group activities like fun run, night run and glamping.
Kiosks selling gardening tools, seeds, soil, pots and potted plants will be part of the attraction as well.
“For the foodies, we have some 70 food trucks offering food and coffee throughout the event,” Zulkifli said.
Other activities include entertainment like concerts and from buskers to enliven the entire day.
There will be talks conducted by the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) and Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi).
Some 100,000 visitors are expected to attend the festival. Entrance is free.
However, cyclists are not allowed to enter the park and there are only 500 parking spots available in the immediate vicinity of Taman Tasik Titiwangsa grounds.
A shuttle van will be plying between the LRT Titiwangsa station and the festival ground during the entirety of the event for those using public transport.
Previously called Kuala Lumpur Orchid and Bonsai Show (KLOBS), the event has been rebranded to include more flora and fauna.
“The KLPF has more appealing activities and involves the community, while KLOBS was limited to showcasing orchids and bonsai plants,” he said, adding that KLOBS was held in 2012, 2014, 2015 and the last event was in 2017.
For details check out the website www.klparkfestival.com; Instagram: @klparkfestival; and facebook KL Park Festival.
