The Elizabeth Park Conservancy will celebrate Rose Weekend on June 15-16, showcasing the world-famous gardens in West Hartford.

By Ronni Newton

Everything will not only be coming up roses, but virtually everyone on the grounds of Elizabeth Park’s renowned rose garden in West Hartford on the weekend of June 15 and 16 will be celebrating the garden’s 115th anniversary at the time when the breathtaking gardens should be at the peak of their seasonal beauty.

A range of educational and family-friendly activities, all offered at no charge, will be held on both Saturday and Sunday, June 15-16, 2019, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the Elizabeth Park Conservancy announced in a news release.

Included in the planned activities are poetry readings, garden tours, en plein air painting, displays by local organizations, a family-friendly scavenger hunt, and horticultural exhibits.

The following schedule has been provided by the Elizabeth Park Conservancy:

Poetry in the Park

Poetry in the park will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 15 under a tent on the Rose Garden Lawn. Poets reading their work will include Hartford Poet Laureate Frederick Douglass Knowles II, 11:30 to 11:45 a.m.; John Stanizzi, 11:45 a.m. to noon; former West Hartford Poet Laureate Ginny Lowe Connors and poets from the Connecticut Coalition of Poets Laureate from noon to 1 p.m.; two poets (Bessy Reyna and Sean Patrick Forbes) sponsored by the Friends and Enemies of Wallace Stevens from 1 to 2:30 p.m.; and West Hartford Poet Laureate Julie Choffel from 2:30 to 3 p.m.

Community Day

June 16 is Rose Weekend’s Community Day, featuring displays by community, cultural and arts groups on the Rose Garden lawn from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., including a scavenger hunt for the whole family and the Connecticut Iris Society’s Rhizomes Sale.

Additional Community Day events include a Pond House Food Court from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Falun Dafa Qigong Exercises at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.; and a tour of the University of St. Joseph School of the Pharmacy Medicine Garden in Elizabeth Park at 12:30 p.m. On June 16, the Connecticut Rose Society will also present its 38th annual Rose Show at the Pond House Café (located within the Park) from 1:30 to 4 p.m.

Horticultural Exhibits and Tours

On both days, the Bonsai Society of Greater Hartford presents its 38th Annual Show, Demo, and Sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Rosarian Stephen Scanniello will lead tours of the Rose Garden at 1:30 p.m. on June 15, as well as 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on June 16.

All Rose Weekend events are free and open to the public. Additional information can be found on the Rose Weekend website here.

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