100,000 visitors are expected to visit the Bord Bia Bloom festival, which is set to return to Phoenix Park, Dublin from June 1.
Bord Bia has said the key themes of the 2023 festival include: Improving air quality; tackling food waste; and how children can benefit from outdoor play.
Jim O’Toole, CEO, Bord Bia said:
“Now in its 17th year, the show provides an invaluable platform to highlight important societal issues such as climate change, sustainable production and health and well-being.
“We are proud to see how Bloom has evolved into a unique festival experience, with nature and sustainable living at its heart, while also continuing to offer our horticulture, food and drink clients the opportunity to showcase their latest products and innovations.”
Bord Bia Bloom gardens
A total of 22 show gardens and feature gardens will provide demonstrations of the latest trends and innovation in garden design as part of the five-day bloom festival.
One of the stand-out themes for 2023 is that many of the gardens focus on spaces for children and young people. These include:
- ‘The know, act, prevent garden’ by the National Poisons Information Centre (NPIC) at Beaumont Hospital, in collaboration with the Health and Safety Authority (HSA);
- ‘First five garden of wonder and discovery’ by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth;
- ‘Rise garden’ by Oberstown Children Detention Campus;
- ‘The raising amazing garden’ by Tusla Fostering.
Along with a display of show gardens, visitors will find the ever-popular ‘Postcard Gardens’, which includes nine small pop-up gardens that are designed and built by community groups, schools, and training groups from across Ireland.
Entertainment
Bord Bia Bloom has said it continues to adapt and evolve and has introduced a number of new features for 2023, including a redesign of their food village.
According to Laura Douglas, head of Bord Bia Bloom: “This year’s festival will be a truly immersive experience, designed to inspire, educate and entertain visitors in equal measure.”
There will be live cooking demonstrations from some of Ireland’s leading chefs including: Neven Maguire; Catherine Fulvio; Rory O’Connell; Fiona Uyema; JP McMahon; Edward Hayden; Brian McDermott; and Shane Smith.
“We have an increased focus on sustainability content with a larger-than-ever Conservation Area and a new ‘Sustainable Living’ stage with five days of talks planned to cover everything from food waste and beekeeping to biodiversity and GIY (grow it yourself),” Douglas added.