Toowoomba Christmas Wonderland

I mentioned during the week when I wrote about Bella Magazine, that a lot of good things come out of Toowoomba. Another of those good things is Toowoomba Christmas Wonderland which is held during the weeks before Christmas and which our granddaughters enjoy when they are in town at that time. They aren't coming south this year but we thought we would go and see the lights anyway as the weather is fine at present and it was a pleasant night to be outdoors.



The Lions Club organises the extravaganza and they are joined by hundreds of volunteers who spend many hours decorating our beautiful Queens Park with light displays before the event. Each night from the 7th to 24th December, volunteers from many service groups are there to greet families and to help them enjoy their visit. Last year the 'gold coin donation', given when entering the park, raised $75,000 for three local  charities including Lifeline.

When visitors arrive at the main entrance to the park they are greeted by this beautiful angel...

...then a simple nativity scene.

We always take photos of the children in front of the Love, Joy and Peace lights and they will love looking at these photos.

  

Among the light displays there was a touch of France. Don't ask me why the photo turned out like this but I quite like the effect. Of course, I didn't have my glasses with me so had no idea of how they turned out till I got home and put them on the computer. :-)

Then there was some Australiana including a lawn mower, a clothes line and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.....

...a surfer who is a long way from the surf...

....some Aussie birds with flickering lights....

...and some colourful boats in the park's water feature which looked quite stunning.



On our way back to the car we passed by the windmills outside the Cobb and Co Museum which looked fascinating silhouetted against the darkening sky. The museum is part of the Queensland Museum and is home to the National Carriage Collection including Cobb & Co coaches.

The museum also holds workshops quite frequently and I noticed on their website that they have a 'Have a Go Festival' coming up one weekend in February. It is described as an annual celebration of heritage trades and crafts and some of the 'have a go' activities include lace making, crochet and quilting among other crafts.

 Hmmmmm,  that's got me thinking...after all I am retired now! Entrance to the festival is only $10 per person and you need to book ahead. Sounds like fun. Don't you agree?