Festival of Flowers

Festivalgoers at the 2010 Festival of Flowers. (Courtesy photo)

The Festival of Flowers in West Valley has turned into an event with a strong community feel over the years.

“You can eat, you can shop, you can get creatively inspired,” says Amy Peters, coordinator of the 2011 festival. “Ultimately this event is a fundraiser for Catholic Family (and Child Services). But it definitely has the feeling of a community celebration.”

The two-day event each June takes place on the big lawn at the Catholic facilities off Tieton Drive at 53rd Avenue. The main attraction within the 32,400-square-foot festival space is the work of the eight landscapers, who each year pull out every last stop to wow the attendees.

“Having the landscapers actually come together in the open air on a beautiful June afternoon is what makes this event unique,” Peters says.

Indeed, organizers say the landscape displays transcend gardening and yard work, standing on their own merits as aesthetic accomplishments. Todd Russell, owner of Russell’s Nursery, explains it as a “blending of textures and colors that gives people ideas of what they can do in their own yard.”

“It’s just kind of a grouping of new things, things that are outside of the norm, things that catch the eye,” he says.