Press

ALBANY, NY – More than 100 thematic floral displays will be positioned throughout the New York State Museum February 24-26th for “New York in Bloom,” the Museum’s 15th annual celebration of flowers and fund-raiser for its award-winning after-school programs.

This year, due to popular demand, there will be extended hours on Saturday when the event will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Friday and Sunday the hours will 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event marks the only time during the year that admission is charged at the Museum and proceeds benefit the Museum Club and Discovery Squad inner-city after-school programs.

“NewYork in Bloom” is one of the most heavily attended of the museum’s annual programs. Garden club members, professional designers and floral enthusiasts from across the state will create inventive floral arrangements that complement and interpret the museum’s permanent and temporary exhibitions. Members of the Museum’s after-school programs will also create a floral exhibit. There also will be demonstrations and children’s activities all three days.

The event will also feature an expanded section of nine table settings designed by Fancy Schmancy, Experience and Creative Design Ltd. and Tablecloths for Granted, Ltd., Clearly Yours/The Garden Path, Design Center at Classe´ Catering, Classic Interiors, Rozanne’s Boutique, Gracies Apparel & Accessories, Lollipop’s Children’s Apparel and Furniture and Provisions Design.

Faddegon’s Nursery and My Favorite Things Florist will decorate the Museum lobby again this year. Surroundings Floral Studio will also create a display with flowers, supplied by Seagroatt Riccardi, LTD, centered around a 1953 MGTD Contemporary Special, a rare automobile because the body was designed and built in New York. There also will be a fresh flower market, while supplies last, with

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flowers donated by Seagroatt Riccardi, LTD.

Demonstrations will be provided all three days by area professional designers, garden club members and gardening enthusiasts. Hosta expert Dr. Steven Chamberlain of Manlius will speak Saturday at 11:30 a.m. on “The Hosta Obsession” and at 11:30 a.m. Sunday on “Hostas: Foliage and Flowers.” Chamberlain, the scientific editor of The Hosta Journal, the official publication of the American Hosta Society, has 2,700 hostas in his home garden and has named and registered 48 new cultivars of hostas.

The schedule also includes: (Friday morning) “Native Orchids of North America: A Botanical Odyssey” by Dr. Charles Sheviak, the State Museum’s curator of botany; “The Arboretum” by Fred Breglia of the George Landis Arboretum; “Flowers from Natural Elements” by Laurie Costello; (Friday afternoon) “Flowers at Home for Under $15” by Verena Takekoshi of Takekoshi Garden Arts; (Saturday morning) “Drying and Pressing Flowers” by Audrey Hawkins of the Fort Orange Garden Club; “Making Silks Look Real” by Cathy Zanchelli of Michael’s Arts and Crafts; (Saturday afternoon) “Time-Tested Tips for an Ever-Blooming Perennial Garden” by Kerry Mendez; “Our Flowers Bloom All Year” by the Embroiderers’ Guild of America, Inc.; “Flowers for Home Entertaining” by Michael Harbison of Ambiance Florals & Events; “Making Fossil Garden Stones” by Terry Mullady of Stony Point Glass and Garden; “Design It At Home” by Joan Reilly of Henry Clas Florists; “Outside of the Vase: Extreme Florals” by Ty Austin of Pi Naturals, Inc.; (Saturday, 5:30 p.m.) “Wild Flowers and Protected Plants” by Troy Weldy of the Natural Heritage Program; (Sunday afternoon) “Wilton® Floral Cake Decorating Display” by Ann Farina of Michael’s Arts and Crafts; “Fun with Flowers” by Michele Peters of Ambiance Florals and Events, “Our Flowers Bloom All Year.”

Children’s activities will be held all three days. These will include face painting, seed planting, making tissue paper flowers and painting with petals.

Available this year through a raffle will be six reproductions of bird paintings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, considered one of the world’s greatest bird artists. The original paintings are part of a series of paintings in the Museum’s collections done for The Birds of New York by Elon Howard Eaton in 1910. Proceeds will benefit the Museum’s after-school programs.

“New York in Bloom” is a primary funding source for the Museum Club, a nationally recognized, educational after-school program for youths, ages eight through thirteen. Since 1987 the club has provided tutoring and educational enrichment opportunities for youths from Albany’s underserved neighborhoods. Children receive homework help and reading support and participate in interactive projects involving Museum exhibits. The Discovery Squad is the teen extension of the Museum Club. Teens work with younger Museum Club children while developing professional skills with the assistance of adult mentors. Students receive essential job training, academic and personal support,

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explore higher education opportunities and gain confidence as they serve the Museum in a variety of work-based capacities.

The admission fee for “New York in Bloom” is $3 for adults on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday the fee will be $5, which also includes admission to the “13th annual James Campbell Memorial Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show and Sale,” to be held at the Museum the same weekend. Admission is free for children 12 and under, accompanied by an adult. Tickets may be purchased at the door.

Food will be available for purchase during the three-day event in two different locations. Big Don’s Hot Dogs & More and Losee’s Deli will be located in the Museum’s first floor Student Center on Saturday and Sunday. Subway is located on the fourth floor Terrace Gallery.

CDTA will provide a complimentary shuttle service between the East Garage (corner of Madison and Eagle) and the Museum on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also on Saturday and Sunday, there will be free parking in the East Garage and in the Cathedral lot and Museum parking lot.

Additional support for “New York in Bloom” was provided by Faddegon’s Nursery, KeyBank,

Seagroatt-Riccardi, Ltd., the Times Union, Boscov’s, Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Quality Retail Systems and Seagroatt Floral Company.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. It is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. The museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

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