Epcots Flower Festival Highlights

• Flower Power concerts -- Popular bands rock the open-air America Gardens Theatre every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The concert lineup is slated to include new acts like Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes plus pop favorites like Davy Jones, Chubby Checker & The Wildcats, Tony Orlando, Jose Feliciano, Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone and other top acts.



• Minnie’s Magnificent Butterfly Garden -- Hundreds of butterflies will flit inside a walk-through screened enclosure that includes a live exhibit showing how caterpillars form a chrysalis and emerge as butterflies.



• Disney Gardening at Home presentations -- Disney horticulturists will share gardening tips and lead guests in a hands-on, take-home activity every Friday-Sunday. Got kids? They can learn how to grow a pizza garden during “Kids Gardening-It’s More Than Mud Pies” April 24-26. Want to discover your gardening style? Experiment with styles and techniques May 1-3 at “Contain Yourself-Consider Your Style.”



• The Great American Gardeners series -- Gardening celebrities and authors from across the country will reveal their gardening secrets. Meet dynamic diggers like “Ground Breakers” host Joe Washington, Shirley Bovshow of “Garden Police” and Joe Lamp’l a.k.a. “Joe Gardener.”



• The Garden Town Discoveries -- Every weekend, guests can attend speaker presentations and demonstrations and ask the experts their gardening questions.



• Simba’s Birthday Celebration -- A lineup of topiary characters straight from Walt Disney Pictures’ “The Lion King” will greet guests at World Showcase Plaza.



• Poster Signings -- Artist Heather French will sign festival posters each Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. at Canada Garden Retreat.



• More Festival Celebrations -- An “Art in the Garden” celebration of plein air artists and a “Kids Paint Out” will occur March 27-29; a “Florida Farmer’s Market” celebration will take place May 8-10. More celebrations will bloom throughout the festival.



• Epcot Gardens of the World Tour -- For an in-depth exploration of Epcot’s many different gardens, this tour is scheduled Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for the festival’s duration. Guests get the inside scoop on World Showcase gardens that re-create landscapes from around the world, as well as tips for adding some landscape magic to their own gardens. For guests 16 and up, $59 plus Epcot admission.

More information about the 16th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is available by calling 407/W-DISNEY (934-7639) or by visiting disneyworld.com/flower. The festival, including all gardening programs and exhibits, is included in regular Epcot admission.