Floriade's NightFest draws crowds and big names to Canberra

Commonwealth Park in Canberra turns into an illuminated playground for the four nights of NightFest, one of the highlights of Floriade. 

Dubbed as "Floriade's dark side",  the festival will run from October 3-October 6 to let let visitors see Floriade's theme, World in Bloom, in a whole new light with giant interactive lighting installations, pop-up performances, markets and dishes from around the world. 

Open each night from 6:30pm to 10:30pm, Thursday to Saturday will feature live music on Stage 88, including The Veronicas, Busby Marou and Electric Fields, while Sunday night will see the return of Comedy NightFest with back-to-back laughs featuring Urzila Carlson and Dave Hughes, among others. 

After the sun sets, the park will come alive with awe inspiring lights illuminating the flowerbeds and two interactive lighting installations, created by lighting specialists 

Mandylights. 

Set in the Rhododendron Garden, one of the installations, Framed, features a series of 20 towering picture frames, covered in thousands of pixels of LED lights which create a 60-metre tunnel. 

The NightFest night markets will feature treats from local Canberran food producers, brewers, dsitillers and winemakers.

Tickets are on sale now. For more information visit www.floriadeaustralia.com/nightfest