(Mobile)

Kiku Matsuri Chrysanthemum Festival

WHERE: Bellingrath Gardens and Home

WHEN: Saturday, November 12, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

ADMISSION: Adults $12, children 5 -12 $6.50 and children 4 and under are free.

FEATURES:

· Bellingrath has one of the nation’s largest outdoor Chrysanthemum Displays – daily through Thanksgiving

· Mobile Ichihara Sister City Association (MISCA) Origami demonstration – all day

Bellingrath has one of the nation’s largest outdoor Chrysanthemum Displays – daily through Thanksgiving

· Mobile Ichihara Sister City Association (MISCA) Origami demonstration – all day

· Gulf Coast Bonsai demonstration and exhibit – all day

· Ikebana Society exhibit – all day

· Sumi-e demonstrations – all day

· Japan-American Society of Alabama exhibit – all day

· Japanese Tea Ceremony in the Delchamps Gallery – 2:00 PM

· Sho No Tyu school and Okinawan dances on Live Oak Plaza – 1:00 PM

Come help us celebrate Mums with an Asian Flair at Bellingrath's Kiku Matsuri - Chrysanthemum Festival! Kiku Matsuri is the fifth of the five annual festivals in the traditional Japanese calendar. The chrysanthemum is the official flower of Japan and is a symbol of longevity, power, dignity and nobility. This year our celebration with be the second week-end in November ... just as our Cascade Mums begin to peak. Unlike Spring where Mother Nature is responsible for the floral beauty that visitors admire, our horticultural staff works over ten months to create these fall displays.

During the summer months the greenhouse production staff produced 490 cascades, 168 columns and 52 hanging baskets in addition to over 6,800 garden mums.  This operation is without question the most labor intensive crop at Bellingrath.