Garden Centers of America Set to Tour Orlando
Garden Centers of America officially announced in early March that Orlando, Fla., will play host to its 2010 Summer Tour. The annual event, which will take place June 2730, will visit garden centers, botanical gardens and some of Florida’s top nurseries. A behind-the-scenes tour of Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park is also on the schedule.
“We are so excited to host the 2010 Summer Tour in the Orlando area,” said tour co-chair Theresa Riley of Rockledge Gardens. “Because of the warm year-round climate in Florida, garden centers here face some unique challenges with marketing and merchandising.”
The event kicks off with a reception and dinner awards ceremony at Walt Disney World’s Contemporary Resort. Katy Moss Warner, president emeritus of the American Horticultural Society, will present the keynote address: “The Beauty Garden Centers Bring to Their Communities.”
Garden center stops during the event include Kerby’s Nursery, Earthscapes Garden Room, Rock City Gardens, Busy Bee Nursery, Ron Jon Surf Shop, Rockledge Gardens, Lukas Nursery and Butterfly Encounter, and Palmer’s Garden and Goods. Other stops of interest include Kennedy Space Center and Leu Gardens. The grand finale of the tour: dessert at Disney’s Epcot Center with a private viewing of the fireworks show, Illuminations.
Online registration for the 2010 Summer Tour is now open, but space is limited. Before June 5, the cost is $550 for GCA members and $600 for nonmembers; after that, it’s $750 for members and $800 for nonmembers. As an added incentive to register early, there will be a drawing every month until the tour for two free Disney park passes for preregistered attendees! For more information or to sign up, visit www.gardencentersofamerica.org. Contact Shanan Molnar at (888) 648-6463 or [email protected] with questions.
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