The newly completed building at the Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden opens in grand style Sunday with a double celebration, the Trees are Terrific festival in the morning and the official opening ceremony and art show in the afternoon of Oct. 24 at 5941 Mason Rd. in West Sechelt.
Trees are Terrific features a lecture by Douglas Justice entitled Exploring the Wealth of Trees. Justice is the associate director and curator of collections at UBC Botanical Garden. He is a lively presenter with a life-long passion for trees of the world and is an enthusiastic supporter of the Botanical Garden. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. The event includes a display of plants especially beautiful in fall as well as paintings featuring trees by Brian Romer, Jan Poynter and students from West Sechelt Elementary. Also for sale are notecards of trees in the garden and spring flower bulbs.
Tickets for Trees are Terrific are $15 for Garden Society members and $20 for non-members. A hearty homemade lunch of soup, bread and a sweet will be served; tickets are $6. (The kitchen elves are acclaimed for their delicious fare.) Please purchase lunch and lecture tickets at the nurseries or Sechelt Visitor Centre. Tickets may be available at the door on Sunday.
From 1 to 4 p.m., there will be a free art show, part of the Coast-wide Art Crawl. Visitors will have a chance to tour the new building and the Botanical Garden in its colourful autumn glory.
At 2 p.m. is the official opening celebration of the new building, including ribbon cutting, planting of a native B.C. tree and refreshments. At that time the building's name will be announced.
This building will soon be available to community groups, businesses and individuals to rent for events, with its hall and oversized French doors that overlook the terrace and garden, and a catering kitchen. In addition to the new multi-purpose building, the S.C. Botanical Garden Society has also built an accessible seniors garden and renovated two farm buildings to serve as garden workshop, volunteer room and potting shed. Drop in to see what great things the Society has accomplished in 2010.
More information is available at www.coastbotanicalgarden.org.
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