THE FLOWER SHOW
THE FLOWER SHOW
View the largest flower show on the West Coast
Hall of Flowers, Floral Fandango, A Global Celebration! Presented by Sonoma Clean Power
Flower Show Preview Party
Thursday, August 6 • 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Get an exclusive first look at the Hall of Flowers’ Floral Fandango, a global floral celebration! and support scholarships for local students. Tickets are $50; proceeds provide scholarships to local students studying agriculture. Tickets at SonomaCountyFair.com. Ages 21 & up only.
Floral Fandango, A Global Celebration! In the Hall of Flowers
Visit the Hall of Flowers, and take a whirlwind trip to visit celebrations around the world. This year, each garden will represent a different international festival, including Mardi Gras, Oktoberfest, Burning Man, Rio Carnaval, San Francisco Pride Festival, Dia de los Muertos, Gasparilla Pirate Festival, and the Weifang Kite Festival. The Floral Fandango Flower Show is free with Fair admission and opens daily at Fair opening: August 7-8-9 and 15-16 at 10 a.m.; August 10-14 at noon.
As you enter the Hall of Flowers, you will be met by color on all sides. The south end of the Hall is a spectacular fireworks mural. To the north, hot air balloons and a giant magical kite fly through the air. Follow the path around the Hall to find murals, waterfalls, fountains, and other features highlighting spectacular flower displays in each garden.
Flower Show designer Greg Duncan and his crew provide a themed “background” for the floral displays. A drawing is held in the Fall, with each exhibitor drawing their part of the theme out of a hat. They spend the next six months planning their gardens, deciding how to interpret their assigned theme. Decisions are made about plant material to include and how to incorporate props. They consult with Duncan to ensure that each garden reinforces the overall theme. After all the planning, exhibitors have about two weeks on-site to bring their spaces alive with colorful plants.
Flower Show Dedication – Pat Alexander
Since 1952, the flower show has been a centerpiece of the Sonoma County Fair and one of the largest of its kind on the West Coast, encompassing the efforts of landscaping professionals, amateur gardeners and floral enthusiasts of all ages.
This year, in line with the fair’s “Festivals, Fiestas and Fun” theme, the Hall of Flowers will be transformed into a “Floral Fandango” that is dedicated to Honorary Director Pat Alexander, a “fair-lifer” whose involvement at the Sonoma County Fair dates back to the late 1960s.
Growing up in Kenwood, Alexander showed her steers at the fair and then later, at the urging of Saralee McClelland Kunde, worked at the Harvest Fair. From that experience, she eventually found herself running the livestock show at the Grand National.
Upon returning to Sonoma County, she was appointed to the Fair Board in 1989, remaining in the position until 2000 and describing her involvement as “an absolute blast”.
She also became more connected to the Hall of Flowers as a 4-H garden leader, helping her project group raise money by selling grown-from-seed flowers at the annual fair plant sale, in addition to developing an appreciation for the hard work it takes to put on such a production.
Still over the years, Alexander’s link to the fair has not waned as her long-time friend and fellow Director Annette O’Kelley explained, “Pat is always ready to help us in any way she can. She supplied horses and wagons used to provide rides for fairgoers, brought her horses to ag days and has always supported the Junior Livestock Auction and ag kids in general in many different ways. The dedication of the Flower Show is our way of showing how appreciative we are of all she has done and continues to do.”
Recently, Alexander has played an integral role in bringing the Pillow Fights, a 40-year Fourth of July tradition in Kenwood, to the Sonoma County Fair.
Yet, despite her steadfast commitment to both the County and Harvest Fairs, she said she was shocked when O’Kelley presented her with the news the flower show was dedicated to her saying, “Having been on the Board and knowing the people who have received it in the past I was shocked, but at the same time I am deeply honored. I will always be there for the Fair doing whatever I can, because it’s all about the community.”
For Alexander, fair time has always been fun time and the fandango theme is a fitting tribute to not only her dedication but her lively personality as well.
Flower Show Plant Sale
Monday, August 17th • 7 am to 1 pm
Imagine how some of the spectacular plants and props used in the Hall of Flowers would look in your home garden! The Flower Show Plant Sale is where you can purchase shrubs, grasses, trees, and flowers. Arrive early for best selection! The annual Hall of Flowers Plant Sale starts at 7 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 17th, and continues until 1 p.m. There is no admission charge, and parking is free. If you are planning to purchase more than a few plants, you might want to bring a wagon or small cart.
Produce, Plants, Cut Flowers Featured in Garden Building
This year the adult and youth floriculture and horticulture entries – cut flowers, floral arrangements, potted plants, and wheelbarrow gardens – will be displayed in the Garden Building. You can enter from the Garden Courtyard or off of Magnolia Ave. Look for Adult and Youth cut flowers, flower arrangements, produce, potted plants and gimmicks.
In the Garden Courtyard
Plant Sale • Beekeepers • Advice • Wine
The Garden Courtyard is more than just a shortcut between Linwood Avenue (Mexican Village) and Maple Avenue (Shade Park). The Rodney Strong Vineyards Lounge holds pride of place in the center, surrounded by Youth Garden Exhibits, Wheelbarrow Garden, and informational booths and displays. The Men’s Garden Club Plant Sale offers a variety of locally grown potted plants. Sonoma County Beekeepers Association display is a focus on sustainable beekeeping, education, and gardening for bees and pollinators. Master Gardeners will staff their display and be available to answer questions about local plants, pests, and more.
As our sponsor of the Garden Courtyard, Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership will have a small low-water demonstration garden.
HALL OF FLOWERS HISTORY
The Hall of Flowers is traditionally one of the fair's biggest attractions. Since its inception in 1952, it has established a reputation as the largest flower show on the West Coast and the only fair in the U.S. to have a themed display of such magnitude.
And being FREE to all, it regularly draws into its cavernous setting just about everyone who enters the fairgrounds.
The handiwork of professional landscapers, landscape designers, amateur gardeners and young floral enthusiasts goes on display each year. Fully formed fantasy gardens pack the hall as they adhere to a central theme that presents creative challenges.
Over the years, themes have ranged from the days that dinosaurs roamed the earth to days that tourists roamed the Wine Country. And everything in between.
