Friends of the Arboretum March Newsletter
Dear Friends,
Like me, I suspect that many of you are excited to see signs all around that winter has begun to yield to spring! As the time change provides us with later sunsets, days that are becoming more consistently warm, and the earliest of spring blooms are beginning to show themselves, I have seen an uptick in people enjoying the gardens—many who are members of our Friends of the Arboretum. You are a passionate group made up of people who enjoy being outdoors, appreciate the beauty of the Arboretum, love visiting the gardens, and hiking our many trails.
A heartfelt thank you for your membership. Your financial support provides important funding for programs as well as capital improvements including our investment in LongHouse—the new visitors center due to open this summer—a new greenhouse coming in 2024 and plans are also underway for development of Nature’s Encounter for All—an exciting, multisensory destination in the gardens. This will be the first nature-experience in the United States built to accommodate multiple physical, sensory and mental disabilities.
Beginning May 1, we are updating our FOTA member program which will include fewer tiers, changes to some of the member-only benefits and increased rates for some of the membership tiers. See details in the chart below and linked here. To avoid the increased rates for your renewal, you will need to renew prior to May 1.
And the winners are…
In our February Newsletter, we offered the chance for two FOTA Members to win a free pass to the International Master Gardeners Conference. We are excited to announce that our winners are Kathryn Shackelford and Diane Callison. Thank you to all who participated in the drawing and we’re looking forward to an excellent conference this summer!
Events and Programing
For your calendar, here is a listing of our late spring/early summer time garden adventures…
· Our annual Spring Plant Sale is April 28-30. Come enjoy our members-only shopping on April 27!
· Our first Wine Tasting on the Terrace event of the year on May 11th is sold out! Make your reservations early for our summer dates in June, July and beyond for this popular event series. For the beer enthusiast among you, Biergarten Thursdays are on the calendar with our first event on May 25th. Promo codes for discounted tickets can be found in the FOTA e-Newsletter emails.
· A fast follow is our Enchanted Faire—new for 2023 we are offering this spectacular fairy and gnome event across 2 days, beginning June 2! Members will receive a promotion code for discounted discounts. Watch your email for details.
Check out the events page for many more fun activities!
News From the Gardens
Stay current on the latest Arboretum news by following us on our social spaces. And don’t forget to share our content so your friends, family and neighbors can hear about ways to enjoy the many aspects of the Arboretum.
Volunteer
There are so numerous ways to share your time and talents at the Arboretum. If volunteering is on your New Year’s list of resolutions, please contact us by email.
Let Me Know What’s On Your Mind
Finally, I always enjoy reading your messages about the work we are doing. Please continue to share with me your thoughts and ideas about our events and programing at fotachair@artsandrec-op.org.
See you in the gardens,
Carlos E. Corredor
Chair of the FOTA Advisory Board