Denver Botanic Gardens Flourishes with the Fête des Fleurs
The black-tie soiree is an anticipated annual event
Courtesy of Denver Botanic Gardens. | Photo by © Scott Dressel-Martin
On a Friday evening in late August, Denver Botanic Gardens welcomes more than 600 guests for an evening of delectable food, dancing and inspiration. The Fête des Fleurs celebrates the Gardens’ achievements and helps raise funds to support ongoing endeavors. This highly anticipated summer soiree brings some of the area’s most distinguished business and community leaders to its York Street location.
The evening begins with a traveling cocktail hour, which highlights gardens in peak splendor. Guests select in advance from six different dining locations for dinner, each with its own unique atmosphere and special music, allowing the opportunity to truly revel in the lush beauty of the Gardens. Locations include the fragrant Romantic Gardens, grand UMB Bank Amphitheater Tent, the Renaissance-inspired Orangery, among others. After dinner, dancing and dessert take place in the Freyer – Newman Center.
Courtesy of Denver Botanic Gardens. | Photo by © Scott Dressel-Martin
The Fête des Fleurs is an important fundraiser for the Gardens, contributing nearly $500,000 annually to support core programs such as children’s education, public outreach, horticulture, research and conservation.
The Gardens’ outreach programs touch community members in food deserts, growing and distributing nearly 20,000 pounds of fresh produce, much of it free. Educational programs for elementary through high school students serve 18,000 children throughout the metropolitan area. Classes for adults teach the community to create sustainable landscapes, support pollinators, conserve water, and also explore photography, learn crafts, hone culinary skills and more.
At Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms, the Veterans Farm Program connects military veterans to a farming career, specifically small-scale vegetable production, in a way that engages the mind, body and soul in a holistic approach to sustainable living.
Courtesy of Denver Botanic Gardens. | Photo by © Scott Dressel-Martin
Attracting more than one million annual visitors since 2014, Denver Botanic Gardens presents a wide range of gardens and collections that illustrate the connection between plants and people. On the York Street location’s compact 24 acres, horticulturists maintain over 10,000 species of plants from more than 90 countries, as well as a world-renowned tropical conservatory. The Gardens has three unique locations: York Street; Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms, a 700 native plant refuge and working farm in Jefferson County; and Mount Goliath, a high-altitude trail and interpretive site on the Mount Evans Scenic Byway. The Gardens also collaborates with the City of Aurora to manage educational programming at the Plains Conservation Center, featuring a variety of hands-on activities and guided explorations.
Courtesy of Denver Botanic Gardens. | Photo by © Scott Dressel-Martin
In 2018, Denver Botanic Gardens received the American Public Gardens Association (APGA) Award for Garden Excellence. The annual award is given to a public garden that exemplifies the highest standards of horticultural practices. The Gardens is honored to have been selected from among approximately 500 APGA member institutions located in the U.S., Canada and 14 other countries.
Lindsay Morton Gaiser and Mareill Kiernan are the co-chairs of the 39th Fête des Fleurs and G.H. Phipps is the Presenting Sponsor. The event takes place on Friday, August 25. Purchase tickets at botanicgardens.org.
