Adelaide Celebrates Glass: City Trail

Last updated 01 Oct, 2024

The excitement of Chihuly in the Botanic Garden exhibition will stretch far and wide across the city following the launch of the Adelaide Celebrates Glass: City Trail.

The Adelaide Economic Development Agency (AEDA) has launched the trail, featuring more than 15 retail, education, hospitality and tourism operators offering Chihuly-inspired experiences.

From exclusive menu items, discounted dining experiences, workshops and displays—traders can take advantage of extra city foot traffic coming to visit the glass sculptures at the Adelaide Botanic Garden.

The Chihuly in the Adelaide Botanic Garden features 15 majestic glass sculptures created by the world’s most celebrated glass artist, Dale Chihuly.

AEDA General Manager Greg Ratsch says traders are all offering unique experiences that can be enjoyed throughout the six-month event.

“Chihuly in the Botanic Garden is expected to draw an additional 500,000 visitors to the city, providing a huge boost to our tourism, retail, and hospitality sectors,” Mr Ratsch says.

“The Adelaide Celebrates Glass: City Trail gives business owners a chance to leverage off increased visitation by offering glass and botanical-inspired products and experiences to encourage locals and travellers alike to extend their stay and enjoy our city.”

Highlights from the trail include the InterContinental Hotel that has restored a 1980s Chihuly piece that sits proudly in its lobby.

The InterContinental, along with other hotels and bars, will be offering an exclusive cocktail using Prohibition Liquor Co’s limited-edition Chihuly in the Botanic Garden Gin.

The limited-edition gin is a nod to the visionary work of Dale Chihuly, the world’s most celebrated contemporary glass artist, known for his breathtaking architectural installations presented worldwide.

Prohibition Liquor Co has sourced botanicals from the Botanic Gardens, creating a gin that delivers a vivid and dynamic experience.

The botanical list includes kumquat, fruit-salad sage, Buddha’s hand citrus, honey sourced directly from the Botanic Garden’s beehives, juniper, Californian sagebrush, lemon thyme, chamomile, galangal, cardamom leaf, tangelo, and more.

Prohibition Liquor Co. founder Adam Carpenter says it was an honour to celebrate Dale Chihuly’s extraordinary artwork through craft gin.

“We’ve drawn on the stunning botanicals from Adelaide Botanic Garden to create a gin that’s as bold and visually striking as Chihuly’s installations,” Mr Carpenter says.

“Our Head Distiller, Hugh Lumsden, has worked with the Adelaide Botanic Garden horticultural team to find the perfect and most unusual botanicals to create this unique recipe, ensuring this gin is as inspiring as the works that motivated its creation.”

The Chihuly in the Botanic Garden exhibition features two new large-scale hand-blown glass installations that have been specifically created for the unique South Australian setting.

Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium Director Michael Harvey expects the exhibition to be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike.

“We’re thrilled to have been chosen by Chihuly to host this Australia-first exhibition and have audiences from near and far experience our glorious grounds by day and night, alongside these exquisite artistic expressions of the natural world,” Mr Harvey says.

Tourism minister Zoe Bettison says South Australia is a “magnificent” setting for the event, which is the first major outdoor showcase of Dale Chihuly’s work in Australia and the wider southern hemisphere.

The Adelaide Celebrates Glass: City Trail is running the entire duration of the exhibition, from 27 September 2024 to 29 April 2025.

AEDA is encouraging businesses in postcodes 5000 and 5006 become part of the trail and take advantage of increase city visitation.

Business owners can provide glass and botanical-inspired offerings to promote this major state event.

Click here for more information on how to get in on the Adelaide Celebrates Glass: City Trail.

Click here to follow the trail.

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