Merry & Bright Holidays at Franklin Park Conservatory

Franklin Park Conservatory has a night of family fun this evening from 6pm - 9pm on December 7, 2011.

The Conservatory has been transformed into a winter wonderland with seasonal decor and twinkling lights both indoors and outside, including a display of over 1300 poinsettias of 50 different varieties, a 15-foot poinsettia tree, and over 60 evergreen trees.

Best of all is the Conservatory's exhibitions of lush plants in Himalayan Mountains, Tropical Rain Forest, Desert, and Pacific Islands; and best of the best is the breathtaking Chihuly Collection of Glass Artwork.

It is interesting to read the history of Chihuly exhibitions at the Conservatory. I Feel lucky and blessed by the Friends of Conservatory, who in 2004 purchased most of the Dale Chihuly pieces included in the 2003 exhibition as a permanent collection for Franklin Park Conservatory. It is the largest collection owned by a conservatory or botanical garden.

Gingerbread Houses we voted

At Mrs. Claus' Kitchen

  
15-foot Poinsettia Tree

Chihuly Collection of Glass Artwork

Celebrate Growth by Design at Franklin Park Conservatory

Today, August 8th, 2011 is the celebration of Growth. By Design - the transformational mater Plan for Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens coming to an end.

In front of the beautiful glass John F. Wolfe Palm House, we saw Monarch Butterfly release (all female), we had wonderful music performed by ProMusica Chamber Orchestra with a dramatic backdrop of colorful illumination.

The concert features Mozart's Divertimento No. 11 in D Major, K. 251, Pergolesi's Sinfonia to L'Olimpiade and Haydn's Symphony No. 48 in C Major (Maria Theresa). All three works were written for festive occasions, perfect for tonight's celebration of growth and harvest. They feature instruments with great projection, including resonating trumpets and drums in Pergolesi and Haydn. I wondered why there is oboe but no clarinet; there is a concertmaster for violin I but merely principals for other instruments. Einnob pointed out no saxophone, either, which made me shut my mouth then. Now it came to me the reason might be saxophone was a later invention, not known to neither Mozart nor Haydn.

The programming and selected order of tonight's works were chosen to offer a variety of moods to accompany the James Turrell lighting exhibit, though I have to say the mood was not always festive and happy. The blue light came first, followed by green, then pink or purple. Sometimes it looked distant, boring, and cold, sometimes it was bright and up-lifting. There were more times with simple one or two colors. I thought of my life in Columbus, Ohio and realized such kind of life is what I long for and have enjoyed.

The kids are kids. They enjoyed the hide-and-seek and tap game first with lots of running and sweating, then music in the background.

Thanks, Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanic Gardens.