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Jul 09, 2023

Glow in the dark garden at the Mint for Mopoke Festival

A glowy garden, native bush food and a giant owl made out of flowers In early February, one of Sydney’s oldest (and richest) buildings will come alive with a glow-in-the-dark garden, photo-luminescent

A glowy garden, native bush food and a giant owl made out of flowers

In early February, one of Sydney’s oldest (and richest) buildings will come alive with a glow-in-the-dark garden, photo-luminescent flowers lit up under black light, soaring classical music, bush tucker tastings and a three-metre tall owl made entirely out of flowers. Plus, it’s free.

Are you keen yet?

On February 4 at 6pm, the Mint will undergo a full-scale transcendent transformation for just 24 hours as part of Mopoke, Sydney’s very first 24-hour long arts, music and culture festival. For a city notorious for sleeping more than most, this night out is all about keeping us soporific Sydneysiders awake and vibing well into the witching hour.

Although, it should be noted that while the rest of this festival is meant to run all night, this particular pop-up will be open from 6pm to midnight on February 4, and then open again on February 5 from 8am to 6pm, meaning that we’re not quite at Big Apple level just yet.

This special pop-up event will see our city’s money factory turn into a blossoming native Australian garden filled with flora native to NSW. When the sun goes down, the garden will be lit up by a blacklight, a move that will illuminate the hidden glowy mysteries of the florals on display, with you getting the chance to see flowers in all their glorious photo-luminescence.

Everything will be surging with classical music and enchanting night vibes. Key attractions include a huge owl made entirely out of native flowers by floral artist Cecile Keogh that will glow-in-the-dark come night, and life-sized human silhouettes (also made out of flowers and plants) by artist Tatiana Bovlova, that will be about getting us to ponder the loneliness that all of us feel, especially at night.

On top of this glowing garden spectacular, we will also get the chance to jump into a number of ticketed creative floral workshops across both days, such as a fresh and dried native flower arranging workshop with renowned Paddington florist Bess Scott, and an interactive floral demonstration with owl designer extraordinaire Cecile Keogh.

On top of this, you’ll also get the opportunity to do a series of First Nations workshops, including a bush tucker introduction where you’ll learn all about native plant edibles and a bush tucker cooking demonstration that involves tasting. Big yes.

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