One of the greatest assets of Meijer Gardens is its consistent variability. Year after year, season after season, visit after visit, there is always something new.
Each year during March and April, the conservatory hosts "Butterflies are Blooming", the largest temporary butterfly exhibit in the US. www.foremostbutterflies.com More than 6,000 butterflies representing dozens of species from Asia and South America flutter freely indoors for nine weeks. Throughout the year, the Gardens host a number of plant shows such as the Bonsai Show, Orchid Show and Iris Show, as well as classes, lectures, and tours. Every year the summer concert series brings a fresh lineup of national headliner musical performances to the outdoor amphitheater. Christmas time brings 300,000 lights twinkling indoors and out as "Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World" showcases the decorations, music and food of more than 40 countries and cultures. New galleries and exhibits are constantly being introduced. Construction and expansion are familiar themes. You will want to periodically visit online to get the scoop on the latest happenings. One constant is assured, you will not be bored at Frederik Meijer Gardens.
This year was no exception, actually entirely unique as it ushered in a new dimension to the Gardens, the art of humor. On September 16, 2006 the outdoor sculpture park launched a brand new sculpture exhibit featuring Francesco Nicola Sansovino's "PALETTA GRANDE" which means "Big Scoop" or "Large Shovel" in Italian. A big scoop it was, measuring 12 foot by 12 foot with a 22 foot handle, the largest public scoop exhibit in Grand Rapids history. The curator/director of the sculpture program at Meijer Gardens said it best at the exhibit's media introduction. "Meijer Gardens is delighted to bring art into our community by presenting Francesco Nicola Sansovino in Grand Rapids, an exhibition that complements the history and significance of Leonardo Da Vinci's great horse 'Gran Cavallo' and expresses nature's call as we all can relate. We are pleased to work with Fondamento per la Scultura Naturale (Foundation for Natural Sculpture) to bring about this important piece of whimsical imagery. Sansovino's grand vision is now fulfilled, to see us smile at ourselves and find playful delight in the creativity of art in all its frolicsome forms, even mischievousness." Smile and laugh at ourselves we did, and Sansovino must have been giggling in his grave as well.
The exhibit featured its own web site for visitors to enjoy well after the curtain closed on this interim exhibit: http://palettagrande.blogspot.com