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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.

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October 29 from 5:00 to 7:30 PM

Dress up your little goblins and come out to enjoy beautiful hot air balloons glowing on the Great Lawn. Multiple hot air balloons are scheduled to "glow" for us this year....weather permitting.  This year's event will also include a selection of scary and fun inflatables glowing throughout the Gardens. There will be plenty of treats and trinkets from area organizations and businesses for our trick-or-treaters to enjoy.

The Shed BBQ and Blues Joint will be in the Gardens selling their one-of-a-kind and national award winning barbeque and live music provided by MudBucket will be on the Great Lawn. The Balloon Glow is free for members and special reduced rates will begin at 5:00 p.m.  SPECIAL RATES: Adults $5; children 5 -12 $3 and as always children 4 and under are free.

Balloon Glow Trick-or-Treat Station Volunteers

Bellingrath is still looking for volunteer organizations, businesses or clubs that would like to participate in the "Glow" by distributing treats and trinkets to the hundreds of trick-or-treaters that attend this family event each year. Each participating organization will receive 4 free passes for the event and up to twenty 50% off discount coupons that can be used from October 29 - November 24, 2011. All of those distributing treats and trinkets are encouraged to dress up in costume for the evening to add to the festivities. Interested groups should complete return the registration form by Friday, October 7, 2011.

THEODORE, AL - The book signing for Distinguished Young Women's new book of essays, Full Bloom: Cultivating Success will be held at Bellingrath Gardens and Home in the Gift Shop on Thursday, June 23, 2011 from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. Amy Osmond Cook, Ph.D., America's Junior Miss in 1994 will be at Bellingrath to meet guests and to sign books. She is one of the Hosts for this year's National Finals of Distinguished Young Women and one of 27 contributing authors in the book. All authors are past participants of Distinguished Young Women, formerly known as America's Junior Miss.

Information about Amy Osmond Cook

Dr. Cook received her doctorate in Communication from the University of Utah. She teaches communication, interdisciplinary and technical writing courses. Amy has been featured in print publications such as People Magazine and USA Today; she has appeared on Good Morning America and other television programs. She has written and contributed to several books, including "Full Bloom: Cultivating Success" , "Organizational Identification" and "Hope After Divorce". A studio and solo violinist, Amy released her debut album, Nativity in 2004. She performed for several years with the Osmond Brothers. She is married to Jeff Cook and is the proud mother of five beautiful children.

Information about Distinguished Young Women

All proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit Distinguished Young Women, a national scholarship program that inspires high school girls to develop their full, individual potential through a fun, transformative experience that culminates in a celebratory showcase of their accomplishments. The program has provided life-changing experiences for more than 700,000 young women and more than $93 million in cash scholarships has been awarded at the local, state and national levels combined. Distinguished Young Women strives to give every young woman the opportunity to further her education and prepare for a successful future. This year's National Finals are being held June22 - 25 in Mobile, Alabama's Civic Center Theatre.

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Bellingrath Gardens has put together a fantastic line up for the 2011 Winter Wednesdays.  Admission for each day is $12 and Friends of The Gardens get in free of charge.  For more information, check out their website at:  www.bellingrath.org.

Housekeeping in an Historic Home

January 12th 10:30 AM – 11:30

Tom McGehee, Curator & Gail Bravos

Learn how to maintain your antique furniture, glassware, silver and textiles.   We’ll share our secrets for products to use and what products to avoid.

Art & Treasures in the Bellingrath Home

January 19th 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Tom McGehee, Curator

Join this special tour to learn more about the art and objects d’art in the Bellingrath Home’s collection.

A New Look at George Rogers

January 26th 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Cart Blackwell, Architectural Historian, Mobile Historic Development Commission

Cart will share information from his recent in-depth research on George Rogers, the designer of Bellingrath’s Gardens and Home.

Winter Garden Walk

February 2rd 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Barbara Smith, Horticultural Display Manager

Bundle up and join Barbara for a walk through the Gardens to learn what plants and combinations work best for winter gardens along the Gulf Coast.

Rose Pruning

February 9th 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Linda Guy, Rosarian

Pruning is a critical success factor for any rose garden; learn from our expert how to get your roses in top shape.

Urban Gardening in Mobile

February 16th 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Leslie Doyle, Landscape Architect, Downtown Mobile, Inc.

Learn how Leslie transforms Downtown Mobile with plantings and baskets.  Great ideas for your home garden, too!

Propagation 101

February 23th 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Chuck Owens,  Director of Horticulture & Maintenance

See how Chuck and his team grows thousands of plants for Bellingrath Gardens and Home.

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Magic Christmas in Lights at Bellingrath Gardens and Home is a holiday tradition in the region.  The spectacular light display began in 1995 and continues to astound visitors every year.  Guests stroll through over 3 million sparkling lights with 929 set pieces in 13 themed scenes throughout the 65 acre Garden estate. Each set piece and all the scenes were designed specifically for Bellingrath and were completely constructed and installed by Bellingrath’s staff.  In addition, the Bellingrath Museum Home is decorated in its holiday finery and poinsettias encompass the Gardens.  Magic Christmas in Lights opens the Friday after Thanksgiving and runs through New Year’s Eve; it is closed only on December 25th.  Normal operating hours of 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM are extended until 9:00 PM throughout holiday season.

Theodore, Alabama – Bellingrath Gardens and Home will host Kids Gulf Discovery Day on Wednesday, July 7th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Kids will be able to have fun and get their hands dirty learning about the area’s ecology and the impact of the Gulf oil spill.  Local environmental organizations will have activities, demonstrations and displays that will engage kids.  They will “soak up” various methods of cleaning up oil and explore how they can help protect our precious waterways.

Participating organizations include: Mobile Baykeeper; Dauphin Island Sea Lab; Keep Mobile Beautiful; The Nature Conservancy; The Fowl River Baykeeper/Fowl River Area Community Association; Alabama Coastal Foundation, Dog River Clear Water Revival, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and more.

Kids Gulf Discovery Day will replace the previously scheduled Summer Kid’s Kruise.  Bellingrath restructured the annual cruise event because the Southern Belle River Cruiser has been recruited to assist with cleanup activities on Dauphin Island and will not be offering sightseeing cruises through September 2010.