For immediate release
“GET YOUR GREEN ON” AT THE 2011 SAN FRANCISCO FLOWER &
GARDEN SHOW!
Annual Fair Expands
its Appeal with Celebrity Chefs, Sustainable Exhibits and Kid Friendly
Fun
November 29, 2010 (SAN FRANCISCO) ---
Nothing says Spring like the San Francisco Flower
& Garden Show, the largest, world-class
garden festival of its kind in the western United States
www.sfgardenshow.com. Now
entering its 26th year with a bigger, better and greener
approach that celebrates “Life in the California Garden”, this
annual festival will be held Wednesday through Sunday, March 23-27, 2011
at the San Mateo Event Center, conveniently located midway between San
Francisco and Silicon Valley. Tickets are available at the door for a
single day admission for $20. A multi-day pass is only $25, a half-day
pass is $15 and children under 16 are admitted free at all times.
Discounted advance purchase tickets cost $16 and special group rates
for 20 or more people are available online.
Twenty full-sized garden
installations from top Bay Area designers (including the world-renown
horticulture staff of Woodside’s Filoli Center and the Landscape
Architecture & Environmental Planning Department of the University of
California at Berkeley) and seminars led by well-known experts (such as
garden blogger/author Amy Stewart) will invite attendees of all ages to
“Get Your Green On”, with a strong emphasis on forward-looking,
environmentally friendly techniques that can be accomplished in urban,
suburban and country gardens. Alice Waters who has achieved iconic
status as a pioneer in promoting organic cuisine and gardening, will be
featured at several Saturday events, including a lecture that will
celebrate the 40th anniversary of her groundbreaking
restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley and focus on the Local Foods
movement.
“The Flower & Garden Show
has evolved into a full celebration of the California lifestyle and how
we connect to our landscape and environment,” explained Show Producer
Kay Estey. “Because food has become so much a part of our identity, new
this year will be both a 5000 square
foot Aesthetic Edible Garden by Star Apple Edible Gardens
of Oakland and a wine tasting area
created by the Livermore Valley Wine Growers Association. Sure to appeal
to local foodies will be daily cooking demonstrations by several
Bay Area celebrity chefs - including Esquire Magazine’s 2010 Chef of the
Year Sean Baker of Gather Restaurant - that will incorporate discussions
with designers on How to Grow a Chef Worthy Garden.”
While
experienced garden aficionados will be more than excited by the scores
of seminars and book signings by top experts on a range of topics -
flower arranging, design trends, water conservation, lawn alternatives
and cutting edge growing walls - the festival is designed to be equally
accessible to interested newcomers and area visitors seeking a unique
outing. A Marketplace with over 200 vendors selling plants, seeds, tools
and fabulous gift items, a special Children’s Garden called
Sproutopia with fun-filled, hands-on learning opportunities, and
spectacular art installations are among the several draws that delight
attendees from all over the Western U.S. and make this an annual
activity for savvy Bay Area denizens and their families.
“We’re also excited that
nationally acclaimed filmmaker Deborah Garcia will show excerpts
from her upcoming new documentary “Symphony of the Soil” project which
examines the state of community based and scientific growing practices
all over the world, with an emphasis on successful, environmentally
sound options,” said Estey. “It will be the first showing in the area
and the segments on dry farming in Napa, community gardens, and a
successful biodynamic community in the third world should appeal not
only to gardeners, but to anyone interested in green, sustainable
practices.”
The 26th Annual
San Francisco Flower & Garden Show is held at the San Mateo Event
Center, 1346 Saratoga Drive in San Mateo, only a 25 minute drive from
San Francisco and just one block from the
Hillsdale Caltrain Station (Note: BART riders can easily connect
to Caltrain at the Millbrae BART Station). Parking is available at a
cost of $10 for the entire day.
Show hours are Wednesday,
March 23rd to Saturday, March 26 from 10am to 7pm and Sunday,
March 27 from 10am to 6pm. Admission includes all regular seminars and
demonstrations. For Advance Online Ticket Sales, General Show
Information and a Calendar of seminars, chef demonstrations and film
showings, visit
www.sfgardenshow.com.
Tickets can also be purchased at major Bay Area nurseries and garden
centers or by calling 925-605-2923
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