FRIENDS OF THE GARDEN BUTTERFLY FESTIVAL SATURDAY, JULY 21, 2012, AT SPRINGFIELD BOTANICAL GARDENS

Friends of the Garden, Springfield, Missouri, News Release
July 11, 2012—for immediate release
By Jeanne Duffey

FRIENDS OF THE GARDEN BUTTERFLY FESTIVAL SATURDAY, JULY 21, 2012, AT SPRINGFIELD BOTANICAL GARDENS

“Would you like to see what a butterfly looks like before it’s a butterfly?”

That question, says Friends of the Garden volunteer Lisa Bakerink, catches the interest of both children and their parents as they tour the Dr. Bill Roston Native Butterfly House and get a close-up look at the miracle of metamorphosis.

The colorful winged insects, sometimes called “flying flowers,” are front and center at the fourth annual Butterfly Festival to be held from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 21. Last year’s event attracted about 4,000 adults and children to the Springfield Botanical Gardens at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park.

“We’ll have a full day of Butterfly House tours by our expert guides who will show how eggs, caterpillars and chrysalises transform into our native adult butterflies and moths,” said Cindy Willis, who is chairing the Festival for the fourth year. Hundreds of butterflies will swirl and soar during a live Butterfly Release at 10:30 a.m.

Other activities include caterpillar and butterfly costume contests for the kids, a Caterpillar Petting Zoo, games, crafts, a silent auction and several vendors selling garden-related merchandise.

Two free workshops address butterfly photography and gardening. At 11 a.m., 12:30, 2 and 3:15 p.m., award-winning photographer Daniel T. DuLany will demonstrate how to use natural light and macrophotography and talk about camera equipment and different methods to create better outdoor photographs. Bring your camera; the classes will include a guided photo tour of the Springfield Botanical Gardens.

In two sessions at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., butterfly gardening enthusiast and educator Linda Bower will explain how to create a garden of butterflies, how you should begin, what you should plant and why, how to establish a healthy ecosystem and why her favorite pastime is educating about natural backyard wonders.

Visit the Daylily and Iris Gardens early in the morning for a rare opportunity to buy plants from these displays. Proceeds will benefit the Ozark Daylily Society and the Iris Society of the Ozarks, volunteer organizations that create and maintain these collections.

The Butterfly Festival is free and open to the public, but donations are welcome. Proceeds from this year’s event will be used to help build a Butterfly Nursery Garden south of the Butterfly House.

Here is the complete schedule of events:

· 9:30 a.m., “Nature in the Park” Photo Competition Awards, sponsored by the Southwest Missouri Camera Club, Atrium, Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center
· 10 a.m.-noon, Silent auction to benefit the Butterfly Nursery Garden, Atrium, Botanical Center
· 10:30 a.m., Live Butterfly Release, south of Butterfly House
· 11 a.m., 12:30, 2 and 3:15 p.m., Butterfly Photography Workshop, Southwest Missouri Camera Club booth west of the Butterfly House
· 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., Gardening for Butterflies, Botanical Center Workshop
· Noon, Children’s Costume Contests for ages 15 and under, Pollinator Parade follows, Botanical Center

On that same day, July 21, the Friends of the Garden will also sponsor “Music on the Roof,” a new all-day event that will use as its venue the Roof Garden Plaza atop the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center.

The live music event is also free and open to the public and features a variety of area performers from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. “It’s only fitting,” said Friends of the Garden volunteer Cindy Willis, “that we begin our ‘Music on the Roof’ line-up of performances with a fiddler.” Tara Kizer, a Missouri State University Concert Master violinist, is one of 11 performances throughout the day. Visit the FriendsoftheGarden.org for the complete schedule of performances.

The Springfield Botanical Gardens composed of 20 themed gardens, 15 special collections and five naturalized areas within the 114-acre park located at 2400 S. Scenic Ave. are created and maintained by the volunteer members of the Friends of the Garden, Master Gardeners of Greene County and other volunteer organizations and the staff of the Springfield-Greene County Park Board.

Friends of the Garden tax-deductible $25 annual memberships, which include admission to the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden, 10% discount on merchandise at the Botanical Boutique and Marketplace and a one-year subscription to Greene Magazine, can be purchased at the Botanical Center. Contributions to the Friends of the Garden Growth and Maintenance Fund can be sent to P.O. Box 8566, Springfield, Missouri 65801.

For more information, visit www.FriendsoftheGarden.org or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/friendsofthegarden#!/events/222718997830777/. The Butterfly Festival chair is Cindy Willis.