Named for the flowering citrus trees that have been an important agricultural product of the Hills since the 1800s, this family-friendly festival offers a huge evening of fun at Castle Hill Showground. They’re mixing old-fashioned community fair vibes – think tea cup rides, roller skating, face painting and acrobats – with light shows and after dark fun reminiscent of nights chasing the Vivid Sydney glow.
In addition to the obligatory fireworks, there’ll also be dancers lit up by LED bulbs, hula hoop performers, fire twirlers, luminescent fairy floss, and giant glowing flowers and inflatable mushrooms. You can also get you face adorned with glowing paint so you stand out in the crowd as you watch dance crews and musos perform on the mainstage. There’ll be acts the kids will love like ABC Kids’ Lah-Lah’s Big Live Band, and something for the bigger party people like a set by New Zealand rocker, Jon Stevens.
There’ll be a food truck alley to keep you grooving all night, with favourites like Pimp My Chimney, Chur Burger, Smokin’ Grill Barbeque and Tsuru sorting out dinner, and Gelato Messina on dessert.
Outside of the big evening celebration, there will also be events running around the region in the lead up to the festival and the following fortnight. You can learn and then laze in the sun at the homestead at Bella Vista Farm for the spring open day, take part in a cross country run or a lantern-lit walk raising funds for cancer research, then hear classical music played by the Hills Shire Symphony Orchestra.
