Festival of Butterflies: One of our Favorite Annual Traditions 2011
My oldest daughter LOVES butterflies and she happens to celebrate an August birthday... so the Powell Gardens Festival of Butterflies has become an annual family/birthday tradition for us. We look forward to it every year, and we attended this weekend (the festival is held again next weekend) where we enjoyed the beauty of butterflies and flowers!
If your family has the opportunity to attend the festival next weekend, we highly recommend it! Girls enjoy the Fancy Nancy Storytelling at 10:30am and all children enjoy the Caterpillar Parade at 11am. The festival includes viewing native butterflies, monarchs, and exotic species. For an additional fee, they offer craft projects (painting flower pots, making butterfly projects) for children. And, of course the gardens, in particular the Heartland Harvest Garden and the Monet Garden are always exquisite. Plus, you may ride the trolley from one garden to another to ease the walking! This is a terrific family-friendly event for everyone who enjoys beautiful butterflies, exquisite gardens, nature, and learning new things.
Tips:
- Don't forget the camera and plenty of batteries. If possible, bring a camera for your children to take photos. These are a few of the Festival of Butterflies photos taken by my daughter.
- Bring a water bottle, snacks, and picnic or money for lunch. For lunch, you may bring your own picnic (we were glad we did!) and enjoy it at one of the designated picnic areas, or you may eat at Cafe Thyme or the concession stand in the Heartland Harvest Garden.
- Wear comfortable walking shoes and remember sunscreen.
- The earlier you arrive, the better for the various special events. Friday and Sunday are not as crowded as Saturday.
- Read about butterflies and their life cycle before you attend so your children appreciate the experience even more. You'll see every stage of the butterfly life cycle from the tiniest of caterpillars to the full-grown adult.
Festival of Butterflies, Aug. 12-14
Powell Gardens’ signature festival is a grand celebration of the fantastical beauty of butterflies and moths. The festival includes an indoor exhibit with hundreds of free-flying butterflies and moths from the tropical United States and Costa Rica, two outdoor butterfly breezeways aflutter with native species, children’s activities, a butterfly plant sale and much more. Fee: Festival pricing: $10/adults, $9/seniors, $5/children 5-12, members/free.