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Garden Fest at the Virginia Living Museum April 24

By Virginia Living Museum April 20, 2016

Virginia Living Museum’s Garden Fest April 24 

Celebrate gardens and gardening with activities for the whole family at the Virginia Living Museum, Sunday, April 24 – a 50th anniversary event. 

Special guest, award-winning garden photographer and author Saxon Holt will present a talk at 1:30 p.m. on “Designing Native Plant Gardens.” Holt’s e-book Good Garden Photography was awarded the 2015 Gold Award from the Garden Writers Association as best overall garden book published in 2014. Holt, a native of Newport News, currently lives and gardens in California.

“Gardening with natives connects the gardener to the land and helps them appreciate their local ecosystem,” says Holt. “Too often people take their local habitats for granted and don’t see the natural beauty. Using natives can help us connect to the land where we are and understand it.” Whether the goal is to create wildlife habitat or an ornamental garden with natives, “each gardener needs to be their own artist, needs to learn which plants they like growing together for the foliage, textures, or flower colors.”

There will also be talks on “Growing and Harvesting Herbs in Tidewater” by Daina Paupe at 12:30 p.m. and “Organic Gardening” by Dale Timmer at 3 p.m. Paupe is a Master Gardener, Master Naturalist and a certified Tree Steward and Trimmer is a Maser Gardener. 

See displays by the Butterfly Society of Virginia, James River Garden Club, John Clayton Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society, Nansemond Beekeepers Association and the Peninsula Orchid Society. The Southeastern Virginia Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association will have a Promise Garden display. 

Tour the Museum’s Holt Native Plant Teaching Garden and the Children’s Learning Garden and go behind-the-scenes at the Holt Native Plant Conservatory. There will also be children’s garden activities and crafts. 

This is also the final day of the museum’s annual Spring Native Plant Sale. Choose from an incredible array of beautiful and unusual native plants for a variety of garden sites, from wet ponds to dry rock gardens. All plants are nursery propagated and many are not yet available in the commercial nursery trade. 

Activities are from noon to 4 p.m. and are included in museum admission of $17 for adults and $13 for children ages 3-12. The event is sponsored by the James River Garden Club.


More Virginia
 Living Museum Spring Events

 

Through May 6 - Planetarium Shows

Choose among four shows in the Virginia Living Museum’s Abbitt Planetarium. “Legends of the Night Sky: Perseus and Andromeda” at 12:30 p.m. is a retelling of the classic Greek legend. “Stars to Starfish” is a full dome show that compares the exploration of the universe with the exploration of the oceans. It is shown at 1:30 p.m. A staff astronomer takes a tour of the current night sky in “Virginia Skies,” at 2:30 p.m. “Laser Magic” is a magical mix of movie tunes, songs you love, and songs you forgot about all paired with delightful laser images. It is shown at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The planetarium is open Wednesday through Sunday. Tickets are $4 plus museum admission.

 

  

May 6 Enchanted Otter Masque

Celebrate 50 years of the Virginia Living Museum. Enjoy an enchanted evening of aerial feats, inspiring animals, fabulous entertainment, live auction and fine dining. Black Tie with mask encouraged for this golden event. The evening includes an extravagant cocktail reception with live entertainment inside the museum and a seated dinner under the stars on the Conservation Garden (tented) followed by a live auction with paddle raise. Presented by TowneBank. 6-9 p.m. $150 per person, limited ticket availability.

 

May 7 – Sept. 5 Dinosaur Discoveries 

In honor of its 50th anniversary, the Virginia Living Museum is bringing back some of the most popular dinosaurs, including T. rex and Triceratops, for a summer of roaring, life-like prehistoric creatures. The exhibit will take visitors back millions of years to the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods when dinosaurs ruled the world. Tremble at a growling teen-aged T. rex, always a favorite with museum visitors. An Apatosaurus mother and her baby greet visitors with wide, sweeping neck motions.  Observe baby dinosaurs hatching from a nest. See three different types of baby dinosaurs up-close. Use a joystick to maneuver a robotic Stegosaurus. See the feathered Citipati, which highlights the link between non-avian dinosaurs and birds.  Outdoors dodge the water-spitting Dilophosaurus. These lifelike creations are from Billings Productions, North America's leading producer of animatronic dinosaurs. Presented by EVB and sponsored by the Daily Press.

 

May 7 – June 30 Planetarium Shows

Choose among four shows in the Virginia Living Museum’s Abbitt Planetarium. “Zula Patrol: Down to Earth” is a new show that travels back to earth’s prehistoric past.  “Dinosaur Prophecy” explores how dinosaurs lived and died. A staff astronomer takes a tour of the current night sky in “Virginia Skies.” “Laser Mania” combines movie hits with laser action. The planetarium is open Wednesday through Sunday through May 27 and daily beginning May 28. Tickets are $4 plus museum admission.

 

May 14 Star Party

Free stargazing begins at sunset at the Virginia Living Museum. Choose among four shows in the Abbitt Planetarium: Take a tour of the current night sky in “Virginia Skies” 7:30 p.m. The Fab Four fill the theater with music and laser light in “Laser Beatles” 8:30 p.m. The sixties are back, and they are as psychedelic as ever in “Laser Doors” 10 p.m. “The Vision Bell” at 11:30 p.m. combines some of Pink Floyd’s recent material with some of their oldest. All shows $3 for VLM members, $6 for non-members. The Wild Side Café is open 6 to 9 p.m.

 

May 21 Raptor/Endangered Species Day

The Virginia Living Museum celebrates Endangered Species Day with special programming about raptors as part of its 50th anniversary celebration. What makes birds of prey such successful hunters? Learn about the fantastic tools these magnificent predators have and discover what they can teach us about the world they inhabit. See a bald eagle, peregrine falcon and vulture in programs by the Wildlife Center of Virginia at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. Raptors in the Museum’s collection will be on display in the Conservation Garden throughout the day. Included in museum admission.

 

Virginia Living Museum, 
524 J. Clyde Morris, Blvd.
Newport News (I-64 Exit 258-A)
757-595-1900
www.thevlm.org

Museum admission: $17 adults, $13 children (3-12), ages 2 and under free. Planetarium programs $4 in addition to museum admission. 

Beginning May 7, admission will be $20 adults, $15 children (3-12), ages 2 and under free. Planetarium programs $4 in addition to museum admission.  Group rates available for groups of 10 or more.

Open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.