Festival of Butterflies at Powell Gardens
It is a family tradition to attend Powell Gardens' Festival of Butterflies each year. My daughters ADORE butterflies and never tire of seeing them in person (we have visited the Butterfly Palace in Branson, the Butterfly House at the Henry Doorly Zoo of Omaha, the Butterfly House at the St. Louis Zoo, and our favorite Sophia Sachs Butterfly House in St. Louis - all in the last six months!). So, attending this year's festival, I found myself wondering if girls who have visited and enjoyed so many butterfly attractions, including the festival every year, might have lost some of their enthusiasm? As it turns out, we enjoyed our BEST experience at the Festival ever! And, each experience only adds to my oldest daughter's desire to work at a Butterfly House someday.
Random Tip: Powell Gardens members receive free admission to other botanical gardens across America - including the Sophia M Sach Butterfly House in St. Louis!
So, what made this year so terrific? It turns out that we attended on Sunday when the weather was rainy on and off throughout the day and it seems that most visitors opted to stay home for fear of too much rain. For us, we were able to enjoy the indoor exhibits during the sprinkles and headed outside when the rain stopped - making a really beautiful and perfect weather day (much nicer than the 100+ degree years!). I felt bad for Powell Gardens to have such low attendance when so much effort is put into the festival. As visitors, the small crowds gave us a great opportunity to really enjoy each exhibit and activity thoroughly and we left having learned and experienced many new things with butterflies - and that was such a treat!
I first attended the festival 17 years ago when Powell Gardens' first offered it - at the time, I brought my two younger sisters and we enjoyed a day of butterflies and fun. Since that time, I have only missed a few years (one being the year my first daughter was born - during the Festival) - and I have been taking my children ever since. Each year, the Powell Gardens team works to recreate the magic of the previous year, while adding new features to keep it fun and interesting for returning guests. The festival is much larger with many more butterflies than the early years. This year, we brought a good friend along with us - another butterfly aficionado, and we had an absolutely marvelous time! It is fun to see the festival grow each year. This year the show includes a return of scene-stealing stars from Costa Rica, including the sparkling Blue Morpho, the White Morpho, Stoplight Catone, and the "see through" butterfly called the Thick-tipped Greta or "Costa Rica Clearwing." We were also fascinated by the gigantic Atlas Moth (it was larger than my hand - see photo below), the Monarch Watch station where our girls were taught how to safely hold monarch butterflies (the most wonderful experience of the entire day), and chances to witness the life cycle of butterflies and moths from egg to adult. As always, the gardens themselves were beautiful and wonderful and we absolutely love this year's LEGO exhibit. The LEGO creations are so fun and whimsical and fitting in their backdrops!
Visitors enjoy a domestic butterfly conservatory, an indoor conservatory, and a monarch watch conservatory - three areas to view a variety of butterflies and moths. The festival also features a children's craft room with both free and paid activities, a festival tent in the Heartland Harvest Garden with free crafts and educational activities for children, storytelling, and a parade.
TIP: You may see the butterflies all week at Powell Gardens, but festival events occur only on the weekend. Click for more Festival of Butterflies tips and info.
Festival Schedule: August 2-4, 9-11, 2013 from 9am - 6pm
- Storytelling featuring "Fancy Nancy," 10:30 a.m. daily (near Fountain Garden)
- Caterpillar Float & Costume Parade, 11 a.m. daily
- Trolley Service, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
- Children's Activities, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Free activities include a caterpillar hunt, catch-and-release, costume parade and antennae headbands. Fee-based activities include butterfly wings ($3), paint-a-pot ($3) and face painting ($2).
- Fresh Bites with Barb the Gardener, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday
- Garden Chef grilling demo by Craig Jones, Savory Addictions Gourmet Nuts, 2 p.m. Sunday
Festival of Butterflies Photos:
Two Black Swallowtails
Black Swallowtail
The Blue Morpho - they fly fast, it is difficult to catch a photo of one!
Atlas Moth - larger than my hand!
New for 2013! Children created a LEGO square and each square was put together (using velcro to apply to the wall) to create a butterfly. This activity is free.
Children made antennae - a free project.
There were many photo op displays throughout - this was one.
Holding a Monarch - the highlight of the day!
Testing knowledge of Butterflies - a free activity.
Playing on insect sculptures.
One of our favorite LEGO sculptures - the Tiger Swallowtail.
Another favorite LEGO sculpture - the rose!