Fairies in floral fantasy

THE Penang Floral Festival 2008 which will be held from Nov 29 to Dec 7, is expected to draw some 200,000 local and foreign visitors, said Penang Tourism Development Committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang.

He said the Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas’s consort Toh Puan Majimor Shariff would be the guest of honour at the opening event on Nov 30.

Law said that among the highlights of the festival, which is themed Floral Fantasy, is the Floral Fairy competition which would be held at 9am on Nov 30.

He said the competition involved children dressed like fairies. There would be cash prizes to be won.

“There will also be a floral parade and competition on Nov 29 and Nov 30 where some 30 decorated trishaws will have an opportunity to win cash prizes of RM500, RM300 and RM200.

“The state government is subsidising RM200 for each trishaw and we hope players in the tourism industry will also come forward to support this event,’’ he said during a press conference at Komtar.

Other programmes lined up for the week-long festival include a children’s drawing competition on Nov 29 and the orchid, bonsai and adenium shows and competitions.

“Horticulturists and collectors will show off their prized collections and compete at national level,’’ he said.

Law added that government agencies and the private sector would also vie for the Governor’s Challenge Trophy in the Garden/ Landscape competition.

He said the state would provide shuttle bus service to visitors to the festival after a certain point at Jalan Kebun Bunga as heavy traffic congestion was anticipated.

“We also seek the co-operation from the public coming to the event to park their vehicles at designated areas and not on both sides of the road,’’ he said.

He also said several hotels would set up food stalls at the event this year.

The state had allocated RM200,000 for the event while the private sector contributed about RM10,000, he added.