Alexandra Blossom Festival

Alexandra sits in the driest and one of the coldest parts of New Zealand, and the stone-fruit orchards around it blossom in September after a winter that regularly goes well below freezing - so the festival, run since 1957, is a genuine seasonal marker rather than an invented event. The centrepiece is the Grand Float Parade on the Saturday, with decorated floats built by local clubs, schools and businesses, and the crowd for it is several times the town's population. Around it are a week of events: a street party, markets, sports, and the crowning of a festival royalty that has run since the start. The other Alexandra landmark is the clock on the hillside above town, a large illuminated face built in 1968 and visible for kilometres. Central Otago in late September can still be cold, and the blossom timing varies by a week or two with the season.

History

The first blossom festival began on Friday 27 September 1957 with the Horticultural Society's spring flower show, and the next day the first parade of floats moved along the main street, with entertainment at Pioneer Park. It is the longest-running community event of its kind in New Zealand, and 2006 marked its 50th anniversary (Wikipedia, Alexandra Blossom Festival).

What you'll find

• The Grand Float Parade - the Saturday centrepiece since 1957.
• The orchard blossom - stone fruit flowering across the basin.
• The week of events - markets, street party and sports.
• The hillside clock - the 1968 illuminated face above the town.

When to go

Late September for the festival; exact dates are announced each year. Blossom timing shifts a week or two with the season, so the two do not always coincide perfectly.

Practical notes

Accommodation across Central Otago fills for the weekend and should be booked well ahead. Late September can still be cold and windy. It is a community festival, not a tourism product.

Nearby

Clyde is upstream; Cromwell and the Otago Central Rail Trail are close.

Key facts