Lewiston GardenFest presented by the Lewiston Garden Club, is set for Saturday, June 17 and Sunday June 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days along Center Street. The festival includes more than 50 vendors selling flowers, plants, and garden essentials along with speakers, demonstrations, a free garden walk, container garden contest and more throughout the weekend. This year also marks the 90th anniversary of the Lewiston Garden Club with local businesses joining in the celebration with garden-themed window displays.
“Lewiston Garden Club is celebrating 90 years and growing and we are excited to commemorate its founding at this year’s Lewiston GardenFest,” said Doreen Albee, Lewiston GardenFest chair. “It’s an all-volunteer effort for Lewiston GardenFest, our largest fundraiser of the year which offers the community and visitors to our area an opportunity to get ideas, plants and more to beautify their own outdoor spaces. Money raised at the event goes back into the Lewiston community for plantings, beautification projects, scholarships and service projects throughout the year.”
Several Garden Talks are on the schedule for Lewiston GardenFest. On Saturday at 11 a.m., Sally Cunningham, a garden writer, educator and Certified Nursery and Landscape Professional (CNLP), will speak to “The Transformational Power of Gardening” addressing four critical roles that gardens are playing in both urban and suburban neighborhoods along with answering attendees’ questions on home landscapes and gardens. At 2 p.m. David Clark, CNLP, a nationally recognized horticulture instructor and florist, will create floral arrangements using plant material available to Western New York gardeners. He’ll also answer your floral design, gardening and landscape questions.
On Sunday at 2 p.m., David O’Donnell from Eastern Monarch Butterfly Farm joins the Garden Talks with “Restoring the Depleting Monarch Butterfly Population to the WNY Region,” to discuss gardening with native plants to attract butterflies and help you learn more about butterflies and planting sustainable native butterfly gardens. O’Donnell officially opens Lewiston GardenFest with a butterfly release on Saturday at 10 a.m. in Hennepin Park.
Throughout the weekend, festival goers can stroll through several private gardens of Lewiston residents, opened exclusively for Lewiston GardenFest, with a free garden walk. They vary in size and style and are located both within walking distance and also a short drive from Center Street. To celebrate the history of Lewiston Garden Club and explore what can be done to maximize a small garden space, several volunteers will create a pop-up garden at the Lewiston Museum on Plain Street. Pick up a map highlighting the featured gardens at one of the hospitality booths during the event.
Visit Hennepin Park at the corner of Fourth and Center Streets for even more garden-themed fun! Create your own piece of natural art with a “make and take” free fern print. Talk with representatives from the Hosta & Daylily Society and the Bonsai Society or have Cornell Cooperative Extension provide free soil sample analysis.
Try out your own gardening skills by entering the container garden contest. Prepare a special arrangement in a traditional container or think outside the planter! Bring your container entry and a stand for display to the hospitality booth located in Hennepin Park by 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 17.
“Our container garden contest is one of the highlights of Lewiston GardenFest with participants getting more creative every year,” commented Albee. “Join in the fun by either entering a container or voting for your favorites!”
All individuals who enter the contest will be entered in a drawing to win two tickets donated by Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours. Prizes will be awarded to those containers that garner the most votes. Container Garden Contest applications are available at lewistongardenfest.com.
Lewiston GardenFest is free to attend with all proceeds used by the Lewiston Garden Club for civic beautification, scholarships, and service. Lewiston GardenFest is sponsored by Town of Lewiston, Village of Lewiston, DiMino’s Lewiston Tops Markets, Modern Corporation, Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, and dozens of local businesses. For more information, visit lewistongardenfest.com.
Leave a Reply