URI to host 16th annual Spring Festival at
new location
The University of Rhode Island’s 16th annual Spring Festival, featuring plant sales, gardening workshops, children’s activities and educational exhibits, will be held Saturday, May 6 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This year’s event will
be held at a new location – the URI Botanical Gardens and the adjacent Fine
Arts Center parking area.
“Construction materials for the new College of Engineering building are being stored at our previous festival location at East Farm, so we shifted locations this year, and we think we’ve found the perfect spot,” said Kate Venturini of the URI Cooperative Extension and one of the event organizers.
“Parking and traffic
have been a challenge in the past, but now that we’re on the main campus,
parking will be plentiful and traffic minimal. Also, we’ll be able to provide
tours of the campus gardens.”
The
spring festival was started in 2002 by a group of URI Master Gardeners, and it
annually draws thousands of visitors looking for gardening advice and inspiration,
family activities and food and entertainment.
A
wide variety of plants will be on sale, including vegetables and ornamentals
from the URI Master Gardener Program, native plants from the Rhode Island Wild
Plant Society, medicinal plants from the URI Pharmacy program, and tropicals
and succulents from the URI Horticulture Club.
Workshops
and demonstrations will be offered throughout the day, including programs on
container gardening and “square foot gardening,” and free seeds will be
distributed.
Electronics recycling company Indie Cycle will be available to
recycle used computers, televisions, monitors and other electronics, and the
South Kingstown Farmers Market will be in operation during the event as well.
Tours
will be offered of the Botanical Gardens – a showcase of sustainable plants and
sustainable landscaping practices – as well as the nearby Horridge
Conservatory, Everett P. Christopher Arboretum, and Heber Youngken Medicinal
Garden.
The
Children’s Zone activities, including solar car racing and wind turbine
construction, will be provided by the URI Energy Fellows and educators from the
Learning Landscape program, and live entertainment and raffles will add to the
fun.
Gardening advice can be obtained at the Ask a Master Gardener booth, while
free pH soil testing will be available for those who bring soil samples from
home.
Live
music will be provided by the URI Jazz Combo and Los Duderinos, and local food
trucks will be on hand for snacking.
“The
event will happen rain or shine, so come prepared,” added Venturini.
The
URI Botanical Gardens are located at the corner of Upper College Road and East
Alumni Avenue on the Kingston Campus. Parking and admission are free. For
additional information,