Canberra's premier tourist event - Floriade - will not have an ambassador for the first time in many years but several food and gardening celebrities will take part over the month of the flower festival.
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This year's Floriade will also have the theme "Beautiful Innovation" , helping to celebrate the achievements of its national institutions in the designs of the flower beds.
The blooms will be shaped into everything from a strand of DNA (for Questacon) to a coin (for the Royal Australian Mint) to the colours of a medal's ribbon (the Australian War Memorial) to shapes reflecting Walter Burley Griffin's design for Canberra.
The promotion of the annual celebration of spring has changed this year under the direction of Events ACT.
The ACT Government last year axed the traditional Floriade ambassador, usually a female celebrity who donned an intricately-crafted, real flower gown and attracted national media attention for the festival, with past names including model Kristy Hinze and television personalities Antonia Kidman and Rachael Finch.
Last year, the government instead opted to have fashion designer Leona Edmiston as the ambassador for Floriade for its Style and Design theme. Celebrity gardner Jamie Durie was also brought in to help officiate at the launch.
This year, there will be no single ambassador but several celebrities will be involved in the celebration of spring, this year running from September 14 to October 13.
Masterchef winner Julie Goodwin will be in the kitchen at Floriade for the opening weekend, with other celebrities featuring later in the festival including Gardening Australia host Costa Georgiadis, The Cook and The Chef co-host Simon Bryant, science broadcaster Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, celebrity chefs Janelle Bloom, Poh Ling and Shane Delia and stylists Meredith Kirton and Emma Elizabeth.
Information released on Wednesday about this year's Floriade said the garden bed designs had been inspired by "the passion and creativity behind some of the capital's greatest national achievements, which are celebrated at our world-class national attractions".
The designs were "a tribute to Canberra's centenary", even though Floriade as a whole does not have the centenary as its theme.
Centenary of Canberra executive director Jeremy Lasek said the centenary team started working with Floriade on options for the 2013 theme about three years ago.
"We made a conscious decision not to overtly theme the event as 'Centenary of Canberra' but rather to mirror one of our strong 2013 themes which is 'innovation'," Mr Lasek said.
"This in turn helps to strengthen our pitch to Australia in 2013 to see Canberra in a whole new light and to re-imagine what the city is and what it represents.
"The centenary is strongly branded in Floriade marketing but we see the 'Beautiful Innovation' theme/tagline as a positive reinforcement of everything else we are trying to do this year."
Kids' Corner at Floriade this year will include farmyard animals and reptiles, The Circus Playground offering children the change to try juggling and stilt-walking, as well as a range of sporting activities.
The ticketed event Nightfest also returns to Commonwealth Park for five nights, from September 25 to September 29.
Nightfest will feature The Cirquaholics' Circus Glow Show in The Electric Theatre and Canberra-based company Poncho Circus combining theatre, music and humour.
Comedians Cal Wilson, Tommy Dean, Justin Hamilton, Felicity Ward and Matt Okine will entertain in the Moonlight Lounge. Roving entertainers will include The Cloundmen, The Space Ballerinas and The Toy Box Jesters.
Each night, the Canberra Centre will also present a runway show of innovative fashion.
* Floriade NightFest tickets can be booked online at www.ticketek.com.au or by phoning 13 28 49. Tickets are limited.
