By Juliano Oliveira
The Parish Hall at Grafton Street dressed up in red on Friday, 8 October to celebrate St. Mark’s Women’s Guild 58th Rose Festival.
Cancelled in 2020 on account of Covid-19 restrictions, the 2021 festival saw 83 registrations of experienced and amateur rose growers.
“It’s amazing the number of people, and especially amateur rose growers, who bring their roses in. Anybody can participate, and many competitors think their rose isn’t a good match. However, they often take away the champion trophy,“ Winsome Anderson, president of St. Mark’s Women’s Guild, says.
Roses and food took over the Parish Hall as Sounds of Country were in charge of the live entertainment.
Laura Babington, who took home the Southern Downs Regional Council Trophy for Bowl of Roses, celebrated the prize and the festival’s comeback.
“It’s a great community that supports a great charity, they’ve had it for 58 years. So it’s really good to see the 83 participants’ entries, I should say. It is a great climate at the moment, and in the next few weeks, we’ll see more blooms out in the region,“ Ms Babington said.
Southern Downs Regional Mayor, Cr Vic Pennisi, acknowledged that festivals like these are about bringing people together.
“I often talk about this tapestry, the rich tapestry that we have here in Southern Downs. These people form one of those patches, you know, a patch that’s been sewn together over many generations by many, many different people,“ Cr Pennisi said.
The winners
Section 1
1st and 2nd: Laura Babington; 3rd: Vivienne Bond.
Section 2
1st Lyndall McCormack; 2nd St. Mark’s Gardeners, represented by Don Meneely.
Section 3
1 Rose 1st Laura Babington, 2nd David Goodwin
Three Red, 1st Merle Bamberry; 2nd David Goodwin
Three Pink 1st & 2nd Laura Babington
Three Yellow, 1st G & N Hoey; 2nd Vivienne Bond
Three other colours, 1st & 2nd Noela Roche
Four Mixed, 1st Laura Babington; 2nd Caroline Hunter
Section 4
1st Caroline Hunter; 2nd Lorraine Locke
Section 5
1st Noela Roche; 2nd Vivienne Bond
Reserve Champion
St. Mark’s Gardeners represented by Don Meneely
Champion Rose
Merle Bamberry
