Love Dahlias Festival

For the first time in South Africa, we’re inviting you into a four-day dahlia love story . A flower-filled escape to Douglas, Northern Cape, created to celebrate the blooms that stole our hearts and never gave them back.

Tickets available from Monday 26 January 2026

  • Buy Festival Tickets

    This ticket gives you entry to the Love Dahlias farm, and it also gets you into the nightly Dahlia Disco.

    Click to Buy Tickets 

  • What to do

    The Love Dahlia Festival Program. See which activities are taking place when and plan your day.

    Click to see program 

  • Where to stay

    Find the perfect accommodation for your stay during the festival. Book early to secure your stay.

    Click to see accomodation 

  • Join BLOM

    Queen of Blooms – Flower Crown Workshop is a relaxed, creative session where you make your own fresh flower crown from start to finish.

    Click to Learn More 

  • Join Veldmeisie

    Creating The Dahlia Affair – Floral Installation Workshop by Veldmeisie is a one-day only event on the first day of the Love Dahlias Festival.

    Click to Learn More 

  • Join Femme Petale

    Field to Vase: Designing with Dahlias – Femme Petale Workshop brings together slow, seasonal flowers and natural, farm-to-vase design.

    Click to Learn More 

  • Join Akanaka Blooms

    Grow More Blooms – Seed Starting and Cuttings with Akanaka Blooms is for gardeners and growers who want to stretch their budget and their beds.

    Click to Learn More 

  • Dinners with Dirk

    The Dahlia Affair is a three-night dinner series in the Dahlia Workshop with Dirk Van Der Westhuizen the winner of Kokkedoor Sand & See.

    Click to Learn More 

  • River Cruise

    Board the Natura Barge at Broadwater River Estate and take an easy trip on the Vaal River with dahlia touches on deck.

    Click to Learn More 

Love Dahlias Festival | 18-20 March 2026

A floral getaway worth planning for

The Love Dahlias Festival is designed for gardeners, flower lovers, photographers, creatives, and anyone who thinks “just one more plant” is a reasonable life philosophy.

Expect:

  • Dahlia fields in full glory (yes, the real thing)

  • Hands-on workshops and talks with special guests and collaborators

  • Signature Love Dahlias experiences hosted by Mareli

  • Food, flowers, and beautiful moments across Douglas and nearby venues

Dates and location

Dates: 18–21 March 2026
Town: Douglas, Northern Cape, South Africa

Every event ticket will show its venue, start time, duration, and what’s included.

Tickets and how it works

To keep it simple (and to help you plan your trip), tickets are structured in five ways:

Love Dahlias Festival Ticket R50.00
Your Love Dahlias Festival Ticket is your pass to the Love Dahlias Flower Field.  This ticket will also grand you excess to the Dahlia Disco afterparty every night at the Dahlia workshop.  All proceeds from these festival ticket sales will go to Hoërskool Douglas as a fundraiser, to support the school and the local kids who give this town its spirit.

VIP Experience Ticket  (SOLD OUT)
A curated “best-of” festival experience with priority-style planning.

Workshop Tickets

Choose exactly what you want to attend — workshops, experiences, sessions, and farm moments.

Dinning Tickets 

The festival dinners are booked separately, and The Dahlia Affair dinner series has limited seating in the Dahlia Workshop.

 If those tickets sell out (or if you’d simply like a different vibe), there will be other lovely dinner options in Douglas too.

So whether you’re dining in the Dahlia Workshop or somewhere in town, you can still end your night with the same cherry on top: the Dahlia Disco opens at 22:00 for everyone with a Festival wristband.

River Cruise Tickets

Dahlias & Drinks on the DaRiva is also booked separately. Your cruise ticket secures your spot on the boat for the sunset experience.

Note: Ticket quantities may be limited for smaller experiences and workshops.

Venues

The Dahlia Workshop

If the Love Dahlias Festival had a “home base”, this would be it. The Dahlia Workshop is our festival headquarters — the place you’ll keep coming back to between adventures, and the place where the energy of the week really lives.

What happens here:

 

Love Dahlias Farm

What happens here:

  • Festival ticket check-in  and festival ticket sales on-site (cash only)

  • Farm visits (festival wristband holders)

  • Early Morning Flower Walks  Ticketed (booking required)

  • Cold drinks kiosk run by Hoërskool Douglas moms (cash only)

  • Golden Hour field access for the cellphone photography workshop group (after 17:00 only)

Please note: This is not a pick-your-own. Because Mareli is a bulb and tuber producer, plant health is everything — dahlias are prone to disease and snips are sterilised between plants, so no picking is allowed. There will be plenty of gladiolus bunches for sale to take home, and dahlias will be available for use during workshops (and possibly a few bunches for sale, depending on availability).

 

Villiera Guest House

Villiera Guest House is one of our main festival venues in town — elegant, welcoming, and beautifully set up for a slower, more relaxed kind of festival day. It’s also the home base for the VIP guests’ accommodation, so you’ll feel that extra bit of festival buzz here all week.

What happens here:

 

Broadwater River Estate

Broadwater River Estate is one of the festival’s “escape” venues — a private riverside resort set along the water, about 15 km outside Douglas. It’s calm, scenic, and perfectly placed for those slower, golden-hour festival moments.

What happens here (and nearby):


The Last Eve Guest House

The Last Eve Guest House is one of the festival’s calm, creative venues — a lovely spot to start your day a little slower, with something beautiful in your hands and a cup of something warm nearby.

What happens here:

 

The Frogg Church Hall

Just about 250 metres from the Dahlia Workshop, the Frogg Church Hall is one of the most practical festival venues — easy to find, easy to park, and close enough that you can still smell the coffee from the headquarters (almost).

What happens here:

 

Where to stay

Douglas is a small town with a big heart — and during festival week, it becomes a flower lover’s playground.

Accommodation:

We’ll share recommended guesthouses and booking tips here:

CLICK HERE

Map & venues: A festival map will be added closer to launch:

 

Where to eat

Douglas is a small town with a surprisingly good food scene and for festival week it is even better.

Dahlia Workshop Coffee Shop
This is your easy, drop-in option at the festival hub — coffee, something tasty, and a little sit-down moment between the fields and your next workshop.

Morning High Tea at Villiera Guesthouse (Ticketed)
A proper, elegant morning tea sitting in a beautiful setting. Think slow, lovely, and slightly English in the best way.

Afternoon High Tea at Villiera Guesthouse (Ticketed)
The same charm, just later — perfect if your morning is filled with workshops, farm visits, or “just one more photo in the dahlias.”

The Dahlia Affair – Dinner Series with Dirk van der Westhuizen (Ticketed)
A three-night dinner series hosted in the Dahlia Workshop: long tables, dahlia-filled décor and a different dress-up theme each night — with Dirk cooking a three-course set menu.


Book-Direct Dining Options

Villiera Guesthouse – Set Menu Dinner (Book Direct) CLICK HERE
A relaxed, hosted dinner option at Villiera. Ideal if you want something easy and organised after a full festival day.

Broadwater River Estate – Set Menu Lunch (Book Direct) CLICK HERE
A lovely lunch option near the river. If you want the set menu lunch, book it ahead with Broadwater.

Broadwater Restaurant for Dinner(Book Direct) CLICK HERE
Perfect for a relaxed meal in a beautiful setting — great for families, groups, and anyone who wants a calm sit-down moment.

Monte Louis Restaurant (Douglas) CLICK HERE
A local Douglas favourite for casual meals. Great as a flexible option when your day runs on “festival time.”