Coral Gables Orchid Festival Offers Colorful Blooms
CORAL GABLES (CBS4) – Colorful blooms on unique plants and how they are a part of us will be the focus this weekend during the 9th Annual International Orchid Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
The festival runs Friday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will feature more than 10 thousand orchids from around the world displayed by more than 50 growers and vendors.
Last year about 11 thousand people attended, and there are more expected at this year's event, said Nannette Zapata, chief operating officer at the garden.
"You get the full flavor with this, you get the beauty and the science the full flavor of an orchid," Zapata said.
"You are lured to the garden by their beauty, and then you get the lectures, the science behind it, the interactivity between orchids and their habitat. That is what we are trying to accomplish here," she said.
Admission is $25 for adults, $18 for seniors, $12 for children 6-17 and free to children 5 and under and Fairchild members. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is located at 10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables.
Internationally-known Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is dedicated to exploring, explaining and conserving the world of tropical plants.
The festival is for all ages. Children will get the chance to explore the world of pollination by interactive exercises and fun activities that include mask making of bats, bees and birds.
Adults also will learn how to create unique setups in their own yards, Zapata said.
"You may not know anything about an orchid, but you come to the garden and learn that once it stops blooming you can strap it to a tree," she said. "And you find that butterflies come to it, and you find that pollinators come to it, and all of a sudden you have a little ecosystem and that is what we are trying to do, to show we are all connected."
Fairchild Botanical Garden is one of the premier conservation and education-based gardens in the world and a recognized international leader in both Florida and international conservation.
As part of the weekend festivities there will be juried show of the common and rare plants overseen by the American Orchid Society.
There will be events within the festival to entertain and educate enthusiasts from lectures, walking tours, live music and an Orchid Tea Room with food offerings.
Also on display is an art exhibition Les Lalanne at Fairchild which features mover then 30 sculptures by Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne. Yoko Onos interactive Wishing Grove also will be available.
Additional information about the International Orchid Festival may be found here.
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