Flower and Garden Festival

It's a balmy spring day here in Michigan, ok...not really balmy but the snow is melting and I can actually see grass, so here in Michigan, we consider that "balmy".

The sight of green made me remember with fondness the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot. This annual event is a gardeners paradise with character topiaries all around the world showcase as well as classes, demonstrations and special merchandise.

The 2013 Flower and Garden Festival will be held from March 6th to May 19th and will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Festival. A specially themed topiary (with an anniversary cake of course!) will be at the front of the park.

If you haven't been to Flower and Garden Festival here are a few things you can look forward to for this year:

• Themed character topiaries throughout the park
• Illuminated gardens (some of the topiaries and gardens will have an after dark enhancement)
• Food kiosks with special menus
• An interactive play area near Test Track featuring Lightning McQueen and Mater topiaries
• A second themed play area "Oz the Great and Powerful"-circus like tents will offer carnival games and photo ops. "The Land of Oz" play area will be filled with bubbles, play equipment and unique "Oz" plants. 
• Mike and Sully topiaries will be in Future World
• Phineas and Ferb topiaries will be located behind Spaceship Earth

In addition to the topiaries and specially themed areas there is also a "Flower Power Concert Series" that is held in the American Gardens Theatre. Different concerts run each weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) with performances at 5:15pm, 6:30pm and 7:45pm. Line up is subject to change without notice. 

Featured presentations have guest hosts, usually from popular HGTV programming and each covers a different topic. Some are informational and others instructional. The line up for the featured presentations has not been announced yet, but check back to see when your favorites will be appearing. 

Festival Place turns into a gardeners paradise with specialty merchandise and adorable Disney themed garden gadgets. My favorite thing is this ridiculous flamingo. I desperately wanted him when I was there last year but since I was carrying on luggage and was boarding the Disney Fantasy the next day, I had to postpone my flamingo purchase.