Valletta 2018’s annual Valletta Green Festival, now in its fifth edition was officially opened earlier today in Pjazza San Ġorġ, which is housing the festival’s iconic infiorata boasting the festa motif.
The infiorata, now a staple of the Valletta Green Festival, is the biggest one to date, constructed of 110,000 plants. A rooftop garden has also been opened in Pjazza San Ġorġ, on top of the roof of the Main Guard.
Valletta 2018 Chairman Jason Micallef said “We’ve create two gardens for this edition of the Valletta Green Festival. The garden in Pjazza San Ġorġ and the rooftop garden at the Main Guard. This is setting an example to other Government organisations to create green spaces and make these accessible to the public. This, in turn, will encourage citizens to create their own green spaces at home.”
Parliamentary Secretary for Consumer Protection and Valletta 2018 Deo Debattista said, “This year the China Cultural Centre will also participate, and in an 8 metre space will awaken themes of friendship between Malta and China, environmental awareness, and reflect on the country’s ancient philosophy. This project will reflect the Chinese cultural ideal of physical and emotional health in a modern-day context. This is not the first time the China Cultural Centre has left its mark in our cultural sector, and I would like to thank them for their investment and participation in these events and for always supporting the Maltese Cultural sector.”
Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government Owen Bonnici stated that “This year’s Infiorata has more than 110,000 plants and celebrates the Valletta 2018 theme. This year is a clear testimony of the great strides Malta has achieved in the culture sector. All the cultural events being organised for this year’s celebration of culture and events happening around Malta and Gozo are a clear example of how much the public has the culture sector at heart and is at the centre of our strategy.”
“I would like to congratulate the team running the Valletta 2018 Valletta Green Festival for their dedication and excellence. I was honoured that my Ministry was able to participate in a big way to make this festival a success and help raise environmental awareness” stated Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Jose Herrera
Apart from the infiorata and rooftop garden, numerous workshops and educational activities will be taking place in the square, among which include workshops by Solar Cinema, a film project by Valletta 2018 which sees popup screenings taking place around the island using the power of solar energy.
A programme of family-friendly activities will be running throughout the whole weekend, offering visitors rare glimpses into some of the capital city’s little-known historical treasures, including the four-hundred-year-old gardens of the Archbishop’s Palace and its Piano Nobile, the garden of St Catherine’s monastery, St Augustine’s church and gardens, and St Dominic’s Basilica gardens. These will be open between 9.30am and 12.30pm and between 4pm and 7pm, from Friday to Sunday.
The roof garden at the Main Guard will remain open till the 13th of May.
Valletta 2018 is also collaborating with Nextbike to promote green transport. People may rent Nextbike bikes for two hours free by downloading the Nextbike code, registering and inputting the free code: 863386.
The project is a Valletta 2018 collaboration with the Maltese Archdiocese, the Ministry for Sustainable Development, The Environment and Climate Change; the Environmental Landscaping Consortium (ELC); the PARKS Department , as part of the Tree 4 U (34U) campaign; WasteServ Malta Ltd; European Green Week and several local environmental NGOs.
PROGRAMME OF EVENTS DURING THE VALLETTA GREEN FESTIVAL
St George’s Square
Exhibition tents by various NGOs including the China Cultural Centre in Malta, ELC, Garby & Tidy, Birdlife Malta, SharkLab Malta, Solar Cinema, Żibel, The Gaia Foundation and WasteServ. Flower carpet made of flower pots covering an area of more than 1000sqm.
Date: Thursday 3rd May – Sunday 6th May
Time: 9.30am onwards
Location: St George’s Square, Valletta
Xarulu’
Xarulu’ Acoustic Duo will be entertaining the crowd with their music, while moving from Parliament Square to St George’s Square
Date: Saturday 5th May
Time: 10.00am – Noon
Location: Starting at Parliament Square and moving towards St George’s Square
Solar Cinema
Solar Cinema will be screening a short film (produced during workshops held during the past few months) on a screen set up in front of the Grandmaster’s Palace
Date: Saturday 5th May
Time: 8.30pm
Location: St George’s Square, Valletta
SITES OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC
Green Roof
In Malta, buildings cover one third of the Island, leaving greenery in the dirt track. Green roofs are one way to bring plants back to urban areas with loads of benefits. A green roof will be exhibited on the roof of the Office of the Attorney General to raise awareness and educate the public about the importance of greenery, and how they can implement green initiatives within their homes.
Date: Thursday 3rd May – Sunday 13th May
Time: 9.30am onwards
Location: Roof of the Main Guard, St George’s Square, Valletta
St Augustine’s Church & Gardens
St Augustine’s church, gardens, and the recently discovered foundations of the church will be open to the public
Date: Friday 4th May – Sunday 6th May
Time: 9.30am – 12.30pm and 4pm – 7pm
Location: Old Bakery Street, Valletta (Entrance from Old Bakery Street or Zekka Street)
St Catherine’s Monastery & Gardens
The gardens of St Catherine’s Monastery will be open to the public
Date: Friday 4th May – Sunday 6th May
Time: 9.30am – 12.30 pm and 4pm – 7pm
Location: Republic Street, Valletta
The Basilica of St Dominic & Gardens
The gardens and refectory of the Basilica of St Dominic will be open to the public
Date: Friday 4th May – Sunday 6th May
Time: 9.30am – 12.30 pm and 4pm – 7pm
Location: St Dominic Street, Valletta
The Archbishop’s Palace & Gardens
The Archbishop’s Palace gardens, ground floor and underground cisterns will be open to the public
Date: Friday 4th May – Sunday 6th May
Time: 9.30am – 12.30 pm and 4pm – 7pm
Location: Archbishop Street, Valletta
NGO TALKS AND WORKSHOPS IN ST GEORGE’S SQUARE
Birdlife Malta
Educational displays on wildlife habitats
Thursday 3rd May 12.00pm – 4.00pm
Friday 4th May 4.00pm – 8.00pm
Planting workshops and educational talks on helping create essential habitats for insects that rely on pollen to survive
Sunday 6th May 9.00am – 2.30pm (Planting workshop: 11.00am – Noon)
Birdlife Malta / SharkLab Malta
Educational talks discussing the ocean as a habitat, from the perspective of Birdlife Malta’s LIFE Arċipelagu Garnija project with SharkLab. The LIFE Arċipelagu Garnija project aims at securing the Maltese Islands for the Yelkouan Shearwater. SharkLab aims to increase knowledge about elasmobranchs, and better conservation and education in Malta and the Mediterranean.
Saturday 5th May 4.00pm – 8.00pm
SharkLab Malta
Educational displays on sharks, stingrays and skates
Thursday 3rd May 4.00pm – 8.00pm
Friday 4th May Noon – 4.00pm
Solar Cinema
Stop motion film workshops for children, focusing on utilizing recycled materials for art
Thursday 3rd May 9.00am – Noon
Friday 4th May 9.00am – Noon
Saturday 5th May 9.00am – Noon
Żibel / The Gaia Foundation
Interactive sign painting workshops, where signs will be painted on drift wood collected from clean-ups conducted by Żibel. These signs will then be placed in various locations around Malta, encouraging people to keep Malta clean.
Saturday 5th May Noon – 4.00pm
Educational displays by both NGOs. The Gaia Foundation will be focusing on indigenous and endemic plant ecology and invasive species and will be offering an introduction to their volunteer program. Żibel will be focusing on their recent experience and findings from both terrestrial and marine clean-ups, and the current issues with micro-plastics in the Mediterranean.
Sunday 6th May 2.30pm – 8.00pm