2015 Arkansas Flower & Garden Show a chance to show how much you ‘dig Arkansas’
LITTLE ROCK -- As late autumn temperatures begin to cool across Arkansas, it’s the perfect time to begin looking forward to the state’s premier flower and garden show.LITTLE ROCK -- As late autumn temperatures begin to cool across Arkansas, it’s the perfect time to begin looking forward to the state’s premier flower and garden show.
The 24th annual Arkansas Flower and Garden Show will take place Friday, Feb. 20 through Sunday, Feb. 22 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. The theme of the 2015 show is “I Dig Arkansas!”
This year’s show will feature 140 booths, nearly 100 vendors and our large show gardens packed with design ideas. Past shows have drawn more than 12,000 visitors.
The three-day show will feature a series of expert lecturers Friday and Saturday, including horticulturist Janet Carson; artist Linda Palmer; forester Tamara Walkingstick, master gardener Jane Gulley; Victor Ford, director of the Southwest Research and Extension Center; Bob Byers, associate executive director of Garvan Woodland Gardens; Tina Marie Wilcox, head gardener and herbalist at Ozark Folk Center State Park; Mary Evans, owner of Garden Makeovers; Megan Thomas, business manager for Antique Brick Outdoors; Arkansas master naturalist Ellen Chagnon and Pulaski County master Gardener Jane Gulley.
“The show is important in a number of ways,” said Krista Quinn, executive director of the Arkansas Flower and Garden Show. “People sometimes don’t understand the importance of horticulture in our lives — it’s the food we eat, the green spaces around us. It impacts our lives on a daily basis.
“It improves not only the lives of individuals, but it’s also good for communities.
Landscaping improves property values, and often leads to decreases in littering and
vandalism as well,” Quinn said.
About the show
The Arkansas Flower and Garden Show, Inc., is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization, and the proceeds from each year’s show benefit community beautification programs throughout the state as well as educational scholarships. Since its inception the show has awarded more than 30 scholarships to horticultural and landscape architecture students throughout Arkansas.
The show works with partners including the U of A System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service, the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation, the Arkansas Federation of Garden Clubs, the Arkansas Florists Association, the Arkansas Green Industry Association and the Arkansas Master Gardeners.
The show is a prime opportunity for florists, landscapers and other entrepreneurs to reach thousands of potential clients. Exposure to potential customers through in-person visits and media coverage are calculated to exceed $200,000 in advertising value. There is still vendor space available for the 2015 show.
For additional information, contact executive director Krista Quinn at 501-821-4000 or at krista.quinn@yahoo.com.
By Mary Hightower
The Cooperative Extension Service
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Dir. of Communication Services
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2126
mhightower@uada.edu
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