Northwest Flower and Garden Show
The Northwest Flower & Garden Show is an annual exhibition of horticulture and everything gardening held in Seattle, USA, for five days each February. It is the largest garden show west of Philadelphia.[1] It is held at the Washington State Convention Center. The show features lush, fully built display gardens (which are judged for awards), over 100 educational and entertaining seminars, and a garden marketplace exclusively for plants, gardening supplies, botanical art, vintage garden art and locally sourced artisan gourmet foods - the largest Marketplace of any garden show in the U.S.
The Northwest Flower & Garden Show serves the west coast of North America from Alaska and Vancouver, B.C. to San Francisco, CA as well as the western U.S. Attendance ranges from 60,000 - 65,000. The show runs from Wednesday through Sunday, and is typically held in February. The show consists of three main components: approximately 22 display gardens ranging from 500 to 1,500 sq. ft. in size (which are built in only three days), over 350 exhibitors selling garden-related products, and over 100 free seminars on three stages, including a DIY demo stage. The show's 75 - 80 Seminar speakers include award-winning garden writers and garden design experts from around the U.S., Canada and Great Britain. Other show features include City Living, a balcony garden exhibition; the Vintage Garden Market, the Tasting Corner, Ikebana displays, a floral competition, and at the 2017 show, a Cake Bouquet exhibition of hand-crafted floral artisan cakes. There are two live reality shows held daily in front of show audiences which feature friendly "competitions." Garden Wars® challenges two teams to build a complete garden in a 10ft x 10ft space, in under one hour. Container Wars pits two designers to create 3 lush planted containers in under an hour.
The show was started in 1989 by Duane and Alice Kelly. Since its beginning the Show’s venue has been the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle. It was the first large public event ever held at the Convention Center. Duane Kelly has stated in interviews that he was inspired to start the show by visits he had made in the mid-1980s to the large flower shows in Philadelphia and Boston and by his own passion for gardening and the theater. In 2009 Duane Kelly sold the show to family-owned, Portland-based O'Loughlin Trade Shows, which has continued the tradition of producing this beloved garden show. The 2017 Northwest Flower & Garden Show will be held February 22 - 26, 2017 and the show theme is "Taste of Spring." Tickets are available online at gardenshow.com beginning November 1, 2016, and in retail outlets beginning December 1. [2][3]
References
- ↑ http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090131/NEWS01/701319909/1029/LIVING04#Flower.and.garden.show.may.be.kept.alive
- ↑ "Northwest Flower & Garden Show - gardenshow.com". Retrieved 16 November 2016.
- ↑ CUTTINGS; Far-Flung Inspirations For Itinerant Gardeners Anne Raver, New York Times. Jan 28, 2001.