“In the blink of an eye it has been 20 years since the entertainment pavilion in our beautiful North Coast Regional Botanic Garden was built,” is a sentiment echoing amongst the Friends of the Botanic Garden.

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Funded by the ‘Friends’, the trusty venue has hosted many and varied events over 20 years from dance troupes to cultural celebrations, from solo singers to orchestras, from school visits to Gumbaynggirr community meetings, and from Landcare awards to music workshops.

“It is a significant community space,” Friends of the Botanic Gardens President Graham Tupper told News Of The Area.

“This is a fabulous space for community events.”

City of Coffs Harbour Mayor Paul Amos described the pavilion as a “wonderful welcoming space that has so much versatility”.

“A favourite of school groups and just a pleasant place to be.”

The Coffs Harbour City Orchestra recently played a wonderful Seniors Week concert at the pavilion which was well attended, even on a damp day.

Coffs Harbour City Orchestra’s spokesperson Cathie McIntyre told News Of The Area, “The performance pavilion is an excellent outdoor venue for the people of Coffs Harbour.

“The pavilion is designed to project the sound to an audience and the concrete floor is suited to enhance this, especially string ensembles, where the sound can often be absorbed by soft ground, such as a lawn area.”

The Coffs Harbour City Orchestra has a regular performing size of around 50 musicians, including a conductor.

“We are able to fit quite snugly into the pavilion with three timpani, an electronic piano, glockenspiel, full drum kit and the complete orchestra – only just,” she said.

“In 2003 my daughter, Sophie McIntyre, a music scholarship student at Bishop Druitt College, did her work experience at the Coffs Harbour Council with the then Arts and Cultural Development Officer, Glenda.

“Glenda’s task for Sophie was to plan an event, which became a Mother’s Day Concert at the pavilion with the original Coffs Harbour Youth Orchestra under the baton of David Slater.

“The Mother’s Day Concert continued in the pavilion at the Botanic Gardens for a number of years,” said Cathie.

President of Coffs Harbour Regional Landcare, Barry Powells, told NOTA, “Last August Coffs Harbour Regional Landcare held its annual awards breakfast at the Botanic Garden.

“We were fortunate to have the use of their marvellous pavilion and surrounds which contributed largely to the huge success of this event.

“It has a wonderful feeling about it, not just its practical under cover use but also its location atop a well grassed lawn very suitable for the use of spectators.

“For a structure 20 years old it has stood the test of time, and we could not think of a better place to hold future events.

“Certainly, a great asset to Coffs Harbour,” he said.

As always, the Friends of the Botanic Gardens are keen to see people enjoying the space.

As well as the pavilion in the front lawn area of the garden, there are eight other outdoor venue sites and two indoor meeting areas in the garden that can be booked for meetings, events, weddings and other celebrations.

By Andrea FERRARI