Penny McHenry Hydrangea Festival is an Event to See!

May 26, 2010 - PRLog -- See Historic Downtown Douglasville come to life with hydrangeas of every kind as we celebrate Penny McHenry and continue to spread her love for the hydrangea. This year the festival will experience a growth spurt, as the Main Street Market will be open on both Saturday and Sunday and there will be a new attraction on the Garden Tours, Display Gardens. The festival weekend is packed with events and something for everyone.

“It took two years of solid planning to get the first Hydrangea Festival off the ground.  The event was a success and now with two festivals under our belt we feel this year will be even better,” states Pat Smith, Hydrangea Committee Logistics Co-chair.

To kick-off the weekend Le Jardin Blanc will host a Garden Party, “Twist-N-Shout”, on June 4th from 8:00p.m. - 11:00p.m. The Garden Party transpires outside in the estates lovely garden with a fantastic spread of food provided by Sam & Rosco’s Italian Restaurant. The evening is filled with conversation and laughter, music in the background, and dancing under the stars. There is also a hat parade and participating attendees are encouraged to wear their creations during the party.

The festival begins Saturday, June 5th and continues through to Sunday, June 6th with something for everyone to enjoy with the Main Street Market, Daytime Garden Tours including the Garden Displays, A Standard Flower Show, and entertainment. The Main Street Market features a plant sale, fine arts, antiques, crafts, jewelry, and entertainment.” Each year we will learn more and more on how to make the event even better and we have received many requests to have the Main Street Market open Saturday and Sunday. So this year we will have the vendors out Saturday and Sunday on O’Neal Plaza so everyone can see the fantastic arts and antiques and beautiful plants for sale, while enjoying the live entertainment during the entire weekend,” says Stephanie Aylworth, City of Douglasville Main Street Manager and Hydrangea Committee Logistics Co-chair.

The Daytime Garden Tours will highlight nationally recognized gardens in the City of Douglasville as well as Douglas County. As stated by Susanne Hudson co-founder of the Hydrangea Festival and co-owner of Le Jardin Blanc, “Just to be a part of the garden tour, the garden must feature six varieties of hydrangea. The garden tour begins in Downtown Douglasville but the tour also features gardens throughout the County. It is a great community driven event.”

A new attraction to the Daytime Garden Tours is the Display Gardens located at Le Jardin Blanc. What are Display Gardens? They are gardens that designers, landscapers, gardeners, and artists create to encourage people’s inner gardener. Exquisite display gardens provide inspiration to create the outdoor oasis of your dreams. While viewing the gardens, people can pick and choose from the multitude of ideas to enhance a portion of their yard or to create a whole new sanctuary. The garden creators will be on hand to answer questions as well as to serve as resources for any future landscaping plans or garden designs.

At noon on Saturday, a Standard Flower show will open to the public and will continue on Sunday. If you have never seen a flower show, this is something you should not miss according to Pat Smith. “I had never been to a Standard Flower Show before attending the one during the first Hydrangea Festival. I was simply overwhelmed by everything I saw. Before I attended I didn’t know what a Standard Flower Show was, but it is a part of the festival I now look forward to. The flower show has actually won several state awards and a National Garden Club Award, which tells you how amazing it is. It is something no one should miss.”  The term, “Standard Flower Show” is the official title of a flower show conforming to standards established by National Garden Clubs, Inc. (NGC). The purposes of a Standard Flower Show as outlined by NGC are to educate club members and the viewing public, to stimulate interest in horticulture and floral design, to provide an outlet for creative expression, and to convey to the community the objectives of NGC.

The festival will also include book signings and lectures by award winning designers and authors Tara Dillard and Erica Glasener at the Old Douglas County Courthouse Museum. Both lectures will be held on Saturday, June 5th. Tickets may be purchased online or at the Museum.

The festivities continue Saturday evening from 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. with Moonlight and Magnolias, a progressive dinner beginning at the Old Douglas County Courthouse Museum. The dinner takes you on three additional garden tours not seen on the daytime garden tours. Benefits from this event go to the Douglas County Museum of History and Art.

Due to an overwhelming demand the festival expanded last year to include an additional day, Sunday, for Daytime Garden Tours and A Standard Flower Show. This year the festival is experiencing growing pains again and will feature the Main Street Market on both Saturday and Sunday. So, from 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 6th visitors can still enjoy the Main Street Market, Daytime Garden Tours, and A Standard Flower Show.

Admission to the Hydrangea Festival is free. Ticketed events include the Garden Party, Daytime Garden Tours, Celebrity Lectures, and Moonlight & Magnolias. There are a limited number of tickets for Moonlight and Magnolias so please reserve your space. For more information on the festival and to purchase tickets please visit www.pennymchydrangeafestival.com or call 678-838-4449.

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The Penny McHenry Hydrangea Festival is named in honor of Penny McHenry, American Hydrangea Society founder. Her love for hydrangeas grew as a result of a friend sending her a hydrangea when she lost her daughter. Both the “Penny Mac” and “Mini Penny” hydrangeas are named for Penny McHenry. This honor is well deserved as Penny shared her love and knowledge of hydrangeas with so many across the country including. Penny passed in 2006 and in tribute to her contributions to hydrangea preservation and development, Penny’s family has given permission to name this festival in her honor. The Hydrangea festival is three day event held annully on the first weekend of June in Historic Douglasville, GA. For more details or to purchase tickets, please visit www.pennymchydrangeafestival.com or call 678-838-4449. All Downtown Douglasville event information may be found on the Douglasville CVB website www.visitdouglasville.com.