The Floral Festival was a weeklong series of events organised by the Palmerston North Public Relations Organisation between the 17th and 22nd of February 1958. The events were well attended, and many businesses got into the spirit of the occasion with floral themed window displays, quizzes, fashion shows and film festival showings. The event was topped off by the parade, attended by hundreds of people along the route.
The Manawatu Evening Standard reported on 21 February 1958 that "Mesdames V. Watt, M. Eccleston, D. Saggers and D. Heggle..." were involved in the float flower arranging.
On February 22nd, the Standard printed an image of the final arrangement with the caption "The float of the reserves department of the Palmerston North City Council, which was part of the Floral festival this afternoon. It was built to represent a children's playground with a swing, a see-saw and a slide."
After the festival, The Standard reported (25 February 1958) "Many people have congratulated Mr Beckett [Public Relations Officer] and his assistant Miss B. Norman, on the success of the Floral Festival which brought to the city visitors from over a wide area. With the influx of these visitors trade in the local retail stores automatically quickened in tempo, and it would appear that the festival did much for Palmerston North."
