Bringing People Together
As this issue was going to press, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that just over 44 percent of people in the U.S. have received one dose of the COVID vaccine, and 32 percent are fully vaccinated.
That’s good news not only for those of us who are anxious to return to some idea of what “normal” was before the pandemic. For some, it might mean gathering with friends and family or once again enjoying a meal inside a restaurant. For others, it might mean spending money on entertainment and activities that weren’t accessible or allowed during lockdown.
In this issue, I talked to one garden center that saw a need for in-person events during the lockdown and was fortunate enough to have not only the space but also the talent to make it happen.
Jeff Dallesander and Catherine Schurdak at Rutgers Landscape & Nursery are no strangers to planning events in their 12-acre space. And when New Jersey locked down, they were able to remain open — and immediately recognized the value that simply being open gave their local community.
“We knew that, in the early days of COVID-19, there really wasn’t a venue for art,” Schurdak says. “We thought that the arts didn’t have a place to display, the local theater was closed, so I think this is probably what was attractive to all the participants — we were hosting and promoting local artists. I think that that was part of the appeal as well.”
In spring of 2020, she says parks in New Jersey were closed, “and so people were coming to us. I worked the front desk and I could see how happy people were to be at the nursery, whether they were shopping or not.”
Read more about the event here.
See You in C-Bus
Plans are currently under way for Cultivate’21, and after more than a year without traveling, I can hardly wait! AmericanHort has announced that Cultivate’21 will take place July 10-13 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, with appropriate health and safety precautions.
More than 650 exhibitors are expected, as well as the usual great programming, including 100+ education sessions, workshops, and tours. Find out more about the event here.
Will you be there? What are you looking forward to the most? Send me a note at [email protected]!
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