The Bloom Bank Holiday Weekend is almost here!

Bloom, Ireland’s largest gardening, food and family festival brought to you by Bord Bia begins this Thursday May 31st and runs for five days until Monday 4th June. The event takes place on a 70 acre site on the grounds of the Visitor Centre in the Phoenix Park, Dublin which is celebrating its 350th anniversary this year.

According to Met Eireann the weather is set to be mostly dry with sunny spells and highest temperatures of 18 to 21 degrees. The event is open to visitors from 10am to 6pm each day and for organisers, visitor comfort is a priority.

This year’s event will offer expanded walking space in which to accommodate the large numbers expected to visit the 27 show-gardens, 100 Irish food and drink producers, 40 nurseries, 25 cookery demonstrations and 160 retailers.

Top tips to make the most of the Bloom experience

1. Travelling to Bloom

   Bloom is situated in the main road running from Parkgate Street to the Castleknock Gate. Please note that the Ashtown Gate will be closed for the duration of the Bloom event.
   Travel options include:

• On foot: Chesterfield Avenue is the Pedestrian Entrance to Bloom.  It is approximately 20 minutes walk from the Parkgate Street or Castleknock Gate to Bloom.
• By bike: It is possible to cycle right up to the Bloom event site and avail of free Dublin City Bike parking.
• By public transport: A courtesy shuttle bus will run from Heuston Station to Bloom throughout the day. The Red Luas Line runs from Connolly Station and Lower Abbey Street directly to Heuston Station. The No.46A Bus from O’Connell Street will leave you to the North Circular Road Gate. From here it is a 30 minute walk to Bloom.
• By private bus/coach: The drop off point for private bus or coach is at the Phoenix Monument for large coaches and at the main entrance for small coaches.
• By car: Visitors are encouraged to use public transport, cycle or walk to the event. However for those who drive there are two car-parks available.
A full and detailed traffic plan for the all the weekend activities in and around Dublin will be available on the Garda web site www.garda.ie


2. Getting around Bloom

   For Bloom 2012, event organisers are maximising the use of the expansive 70 acre site and have provided increased space around all of the key features, a doubling of the walkway and five times more  seating space.
   Pocket guides with maps will be distributed at each of the three entrances with the show divided into coloured zones.  Visitors will be further assisted through way-finding points at each of the three entrances and Bloom Ambassadors in branded t-shirts will be positioned throughout the show.
   The Irish Wheelchair Association are operating a wheelchair ‘borrowing’ station and for visually impaired visitors, the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI), who also have a show-garden at this year’s event, have advised on text size, fonts and heights of signage in the show-garden area. The NCBI and Rehab are also planning Braille overprints on their show-garden signs.

3. Preparing for the weather

   Bord Bia has made provisions for warm weather at this year’s event with several free water bottle filling points and more than 3 acres of shade. Catering points will offer cold refreshments and ice-cream treats. And in case the weather takes a turn, there is plenty of covered area to shelter including the floral and retail pavilion which is the largest square metre marquee ever built in Ireland at over one and a half acres in size.

4. Eating at Bloom

   There will be a wide variety of food available to suit all palettes and wallets at Bloom. Visitors can choose between dining in Bistro Bloom’s restaurants, sampling and purchasing the best of Irish artisan food and drink in the Bord Bia Food Village and a range of tasty on-the-go snacks and treats available at various points throughout the show. 

5. Additional Bloom Facilities

   A mobile ATM station and six WiFi points will be available for visitors to Bloom 2012. In addition, the event will host a new dedicated baby changing & feeding facility and a Plant Creche where floral purchases will be minded with care while visitors browse the other show elements.

6. Contributing to the sustainability of the event

   Bord Bia is working closely with the Carbon Trust to identify key Carbon impacts associated with the Bloom festival and to manage and reduce these. Visitors are encouraged to support this important initiative and contribute to reducing energy consumption by using public transport, segregating rubbish into the clearly colour coded and marked bins, making use of the on-site bottle bank and refilling plastic water bottles at the water filling stations. Bloom also encourages and promotes the purchase and use of plants which absorb Carbon Dioxide, release Oxygen, reduce noise levels, particulate pollution and reduce runoff/flooding.

Sponsors

New and returning sponsors for this year’s event include Fáilte Ireland, Love Irish Food, Bord Na Móna, Irish Times, OPW, Rehab, Woodies, Nissan LEAF, Viking, Robert Roberts, Atlantis, Popcorn Ireland, Newstalk, Irish Greyhound Board, Universal Studios, Bewleys Hotel, Lyric FM and Glenisk.

For further information visit www.bloominthepark.com. Regular event information is also posted on www.facebook.com/bloominthepark or you can join the conversation on Twitter @Bloom or using the hashtag #Bloom12.
Tickets for Bloom 2012 can be purchased on the gate and children go free.