Members of the Lewiston GardenFest have been carefully growing their GardenFest for two decades now and are looking to stage their biggest event ever.
Center Street’s row of vendors will number around 100 this year, all selling either plants or trees from their nurseries or accessories that can go into your garden. The event goes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
With the weather looking like it’s going to cooperate, organizers are expecting about 5,000 people a day.
“It’s an achievement for us,” said Doreen Albee, part of the Lewiston Garden Club committee that organizes this festival. “Our club has only 44 members, so it’s a major undertaking.”
During the festival, certain gardens will be open for visitors to visit. Seven will be open on Saturday, with one being a monarch butterfly waystation, and eight will be open on Sunday, with one having a garden railroad set up.
There will be a speaker series taking place throughout the festival. Saturday will feature David O’Donnell with the Eastern Monarch Butterfly Farm at 11 a.m. and Steve Styn of the Buffalo Rose Society at 1 p.m. Sunday at 1 p.m. will have Lyn Chimera speak about native plants.
Hennepin Park will host a container garden contest starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, where guests can vote on which one is their favorite and prizes will be given to the winners.
Master gardeners from the Cornell Cooperative Extension will also be at the park answering gardening questions and providing soil analysis.
Kids will also have a chance to make garden art of their own.
Proceeds from the GardenFest go toward Lewiston Garden Club Beautification efforts and local youth scholarships.
Some of the local projects they made recently include making improvements to Lewiston Landing, installing a fence at the Lewiston Museum, and providing flowers to the areas surrounding the Lewiston library and museum.
For more event details, visit lewistongardenfest.com.