Mario Bautista
Everyone has a favorite Westport place: Compo Beach. The Library. Farmer’s Market. Lillian Wadsworth Arboretum. Museum for History & Culture.
This Saturday (September 28, 5:30 p.m., Saugatuck Church), all those special spots will be honored.
The Westport Garden Club’s 100th anniversary flower show — called “Westport’s Town Treasures” — is their first official National Garden Clubs-sanctioned flower show in 19 years.
Westport Garden Club, at Jesup Green.
Members spent the last 2 years learning official rules, planning and practicing to create the event, and craft a program that pays tribute to the town they have worked a century to beautify.
Hoskins Hall at Saugatuck Church (another town treasure) will be transformed by exhibits in horticulture, floral design, photography and education.
In keeping with the theme, 4 Westport environmental groups — Aspetuck Land Trust, Earthplace, Friends of Sherwood Island and the town’s Conservation Department — will offer educational exhibits, highlighting how each has enhanced Westport’s Pollinator Pathway.
The photography exhibits, provided by amateur photographers from around the state, honor treasured local resources”:
- The Community Garden: A photograph of a landscape or a garden.
- The Saugatuck River: A photograph of a plant or tree reflected in a body of water.
- Burying Hill: A photograph with a beach setting that includes plant material.
- Staples Players: A photograph of a butterfly, moth or dragon fly in a garden setting.
The Photography division will be judged by Westport professionals Stacy Waldman Bass and John Videler (along with an official Flower Show judge).
Even the show’s program cover art fits the theme. It is an original work of art created for the show by former Westport teacher and artist Kerstin Rao. She offers limited edition tea towels and notecards, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the garden club.
Kerstin Rao’s program cover.
The suggested donation is $10, which go toward the club’s community projects. Donors will receive a copy of the commemorative 100th anniversary booklet. and a chance to win a gift card from 2 more recent Westport favorites: Nômade and Gabriele’s Steakhouse.
(The Westport Garden Club is 85 years older than “06880.” But we’re proud to report on treasures like it — and younger ones too. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
