Media contact: Barb DeGroot, 952-443-1459

Top 10 Reasons to Celebrate Spring!

Chanhassen, Minn. (March 18) - In honor of the first day of spring - Saturday, March 20 - here are the Top 10 reasons to celebrate the season at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum! For details, visit www.arboretum.umn.edu or call 952-443-1400.

1. Spring Equinox Stroll, Saturday, March 20, (free for members; $5 others) and Wildflower Walks, April 24, May 1, 15 & 22, ($10 member; $12 others). All walks at 10:30 a.m. No reservations needed for March 20; for others, call 952-443-1422.
2. The Ultimate Pancake Experience. On Saturday and Sunday, March 27 & 28, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., visit the Arb for the Sugarbush Pancake Brunch and Maple Syrup Tours. Enjoy pancakes with Arboretum-made maple syrup! ($9-$11.50 for adults, $6 for children 3 & older; purchase on day of event.) Top it off with a tour of the Arboretum's sugarbush.
3. Spring Trunk Show II. Check out the exquisite wood-turnings by Edina artisan Virgil Leih. Oswald Visitor Center. March 19-May 2.
4. Free Nordic Walking Lessons! Courtesy of Hoigaard's, visitors can learn the fitness benefits of Nordic walking on Thursday, April 1, at 1:30 & 6 p.m. Free with admission.
5. Easter Bunny Brunch. Enjoy this wonderful spring tradition. Sunday, April 4. Seatings at 10, 11:30 and 1:30 p.m. Call 612-624-7173 for reservations.
6. Plantcetera! Plant Info Fair. Learn new gardening tips at this event featuring 20 plant societies and garden clubs. Saturday, April 10, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free with admission.
7. Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies Concert Orchestra performance Sunday, April 11, at 2 p.m., Oswald Visitor Center. Free with gate admission.
8. Happy Hour Thursdays! Enjoy wine, beer and appetizers Thursdays after 4:30 p.m., beginning April 15. Continues into October.
9. Big Build by Patrick Dougherty. Come and watch as this acclaimed environmental sculptor creates one of his monumental stick works at the Arboretum during a three-week residency May 3-22. He will give a public talk May 13 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. $10-$20. Call 952-443-1422.
10. Mother's Day Brunch (May 9) and popular Spring Plant Sale (May 8 & 9).
11. BONUS: Bud Break 5K Run/Walk. Enjoy the new blossoms of spring while running through lovely Arboretum landscapes. Sunday, May 2. Register online or call 952-443-1515.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the largest public garden in the Upper Midwest and a premier northern arboretum, is part of the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences and a community and a national resource for horticultural and environmental information, research, and public education. It is located 9 miles west of I-494 on Highway 5 in Chanhassen. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity employer and educator. The Arboretum is disability accessible; the buildings and terraces are smoke free.