4 Fields, 34 Programs, and 5 Side Events in Variety
County Governor Gubokgyu: "We Will Rise as a World-Class Tourist Destination"
Hwasun-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Gu Bok-gyu) is stepping up preparations for the ‘Spring Picnic’.
Hwasun-gun announced on the 1st that from the 19th to the 28th, the ‘2024 Hwasun Dolmen Spring Flower Festival’ will be held under the theme ‘Let’s go on a spring picnic to Hwasun!’ around the Hwasun Dolmen World Heritage Site area (Daesin-ri, Chunyang-myeon and Hyosan-ri, Dogok-myeon).
A spring flower garden will be created with various herbaceous plants including rapeseed flowers, and the festival site will be divided into a total of nine zones. It will be operated as a viewing-type spring flower festival that is modest yet well-organized and not overwhelming.
The 9.1-hectare spring flower garden, consisting of 250,000 herbaceous plants, will feature 20 types and 97 pieces of flower sculptures including branched-pattern pottery and photo sculptures, 139,000 herbaceous plants, 70,000 rapeseed seedlings, and 50,000 other exhibition crops arranged throughout the festival site, promising to decorate the entire area splendidly.
At this spring flower festival, the photo sculptures include candles, rose pillars, flower towers, wish bells, dolmen gates, hexagonal benches, rose arches, characters, dinosaurs, bronze mirrors, flower balls, four types of hearts, doors, standing stones, and seoseokdae, reflecting the diverse tastes of visitors as much as possible.
The exhibition crops also include dozens of herbaceous species such as Osteospermum, snapdragons, marigolds, violas, stocks, pansies, carnations, poppies, linaria, chrysanthemums, lavender, dimorphotheca, and lobelia, deployed throughout the festival site to unfold a spring flower feast.
This festival consists of a total of 34 programs in 4 categories and 5 side events.
First, the performance category includes ▲2024 DM Busking (outdoor dolmen performances by skilled musicians) ▲Nostalgic DJ Box (tourist participation programs such as recreation and remix music playback) ▲Hwasun art group performances (performances by local art clubs based on acoustic guitar and harmonica) ▲Family performances (puppet shows, balloon and magic shows, recreation, soap bubble performances), among others.
The nine exhibition categories include ▲Spring Scent Theme Hall 1 (spring flowers), 2 (wildflowers), 3 (succulents) ▲Giant teddy bear sculptures ▲Dolmen-related sculptures ▲Jjangdoli sculptures ▲Dreamlike forest ▲Spring Sunshine Garden ▲Agricultural tool exhibitions, and more.
The experience booths, the highlight of the festival, feature a total of 15 programs including ▲Dolmen stamp tour ▲Four major point photo certification events ▲Treasure hunt ▲Wish zone (Pingmae Rock) event ▲Prehistoric experience site event ▲Daesin-ri cultural experience site ▲Mobile phone photo printing service ▲Donkey flower carriage experience ▲Photoism shooting experience ▲Yoga and meditation ▲Air bounce and train experience ▲Kids Lala experience booth ▲Stone play experience ▲Korean traditional sweets making experience ▲Dry foot bath experience.
The sales booths, composed of six festive tables, include ▲Local food corner (Hwasun’s active restaurants participate in the Dolmen market offering a variety of menus) ▲Single-item food corner (finger food easily enjoyed by tourists within the dolmen site) ▲Food trucks (finger food available in the family zone) ▲Agricultural specialty product sales area (selling excellent agricultural specialty products of Hwasun-gun at the Dolmen market) ▲Hwasun Mirim (offering nostalgic lunch boxes, salads, walnut cookies, and picnic spaces) ▲Spring Sunshine Garden (specialized rapeseed cold brew, carrot cake, and Korean traditional sweets experience at the Chunyang lawn square), reflecting visitors’ preferences to the fullest and pursuing diversity.
Additionally, five major special side events that cannot be missed will be held.
First, four events at the World Megalith Theme Park include ▲Dogok Residents’ Day (expected large participation of Dogok residents as it is held concurrently with ‘Senior Citizens’ Day,’ with programs including commemorative ceremonies, performances, and sports events, and anticipated prize giveaways) ▲Agricultural and Specialty Products Festival (local food direct sales, promotion, tasting experiences, and farm party) ▲Hwasun Daycare Center Federation Festival (commemorative ceremony, musical viewing, cheerful sports day, and experience booths) ▲KBS National Singing Contest (preliminary round recording on the 23rd with 15 finalist teams and performances by 5 invited singers).
A particularly notable side event is the ‘2024 Citizen Happiness Academy’ held at the outdoor performance stage of the spring flower festival site. Renowned history lecturer Choi Tae-sung is specially invited to awaken pride in the Hwasun Dolmen under the theme ‘The Land of Dolmens with Choi Tae-sung.’
Gu Bok-gyu, Governor of Hwasun-gun, said, “The ‘2024 Hwasun Dolmen Spring Flower Festival’ held at the proud UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Hwasun Dolmen site is evolving and developing day by day.” He added, “Together with Mosan Village (Dolmen Village), which was designated last year by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as the world’s best tourism village, we will develop it into a world-class festival and realize the dream of ‘Hwasun tourism where 5 million tourists stay’ and ‘Hwasun, the number one destination for Namdo exploration.’”
He continued, “We will further accelerate the strengthening of tourism infrastructure so that the Hwasun Dolmen site can become a permanent park, not just a dolmen festival, ultimately aiming to challenge becoming the second national garden and rise as a world-class tourist destination comparable to Suncheon Bay.” He added, “We ask all visitors to the festival to also shop for local agricultural specialty products at nearby local food markets and enjoy the ‘Hwasun Flower River Road Music Fountain’ show at 8 p.m., creating precious memories and loving Hwasun even more.”
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