Lassana Flora adorns CHOGM with Sri Lankan floral charm

Friday, 22 November 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Lassana Flora, Sri Lanka’s premier florist and floral decorator was bestowed with the unique honour of being chosen to handle all the floral arrangements and décor at the grand opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre and several other CHOGM events, which included the Commonwealth Business Forum Dinner, the Commonwealth Youth Forum in Hambantota and the event at the Jana Kala Kendra in Battaramulla.

Lassana Flora Chairman Dr. Lasantha Malavige, obviously in a very jubilant mood said, “These were all independent events yet unified by the underlying spirit of the Commonwealth. We thus brought in an element of Asian charm and grandeur combined with an occidental flavour to add charm to this global event.” Conceptual design and theme “In keeping with the conceptual design and theme of the Nelum Pokuna Theatre, we used a profusion of pink and white lotuses, water lilies, orchids and different types of haliconia as floral décor for the Grand Opening Ceremony. The containers were made out of clay while the stands were made of cinnamon sticks. We thought it is quite fitting to use cinnamon sticks since Sri Lanka supplies almost 95% of the world’s total requirement of cinnamon. The pillars and the portals in Prince Charles’ waiting room were embellished with exotic orchids to infuse a sense of Royal grandeur. So were also the large number of lobbies at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre, the waiting rooms and the walkways which were decorated with creative floral

arrangements,” Dr. Malavige said. The flower arrangements at the Commonwealth Business Forum Dinner graced by President Mahinda Rajapakse were truly befitting an event of such a nature, with sophistication and elegance. In fact many of the delegates present appreciated the festive but yet serene atmosphere created by the striking floral décor which undoubtedly brought in an added dimension to the entire event. In contrast to the Colombo events was the floral décor at the Commonwealth Youth Forum held in Hambantota. The mood here was one of aspiration and youthful exuberance. Lassana Flora quite competently rose to the occasion by commissioning its fleet of state-of-the-art freezer trucks to transport a multitude of roses, chrysanthemums and gerberas down to the port city of Hambantota together with its best florists who turned out designs, the memory of which will linger in the minds of participants for years to come. Here too the thematic floral décor came in for praise from the young delegates from around the Commonwealth. The business forum dinner at the Jana Kala Kendra in Battaramulla was done with lotus flowers where the theme was simplicity and elegance. Worked round the clock “We are both humbled and deeply honoured to have been chosen to enhance the CHOGM experience with our creativity and excellence in the floral art. All the flowers used were entirely sourced locally. Given the magnitude of the project we commissioned more than 100 of our experienced florists who worked round the clock to beautify the venues. Every single one of them put their heart and soul into the pieces they created. As it was to me, this was also to them, a challenge not only to showcase their creativity to an international audience but also to do Sri Lanka proud. I am indebted to my staff for their continuous support. The flood of compliments that we keep receiving, even after the conclusion of the summit is ample testimony to their ingenuity and the commitment,” Dr. Malavige said