Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

An elaborate "Cinderellabration" topiary featuring Cinderella and Prince Charming, Snow White and the seven dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip, and Belle and Beast from "Beauty and the Beast" will debut in all the "blooming finery" as the grand front-entrance topiary during the 16th edition of the 75-day festival that run from March 18 through May 31, 2009.

An environmentally-friendly Green Garden will bring fresh springtime flair to the popular festival and more than 70 topiaries will grace the 305 acres of Future World and World Showcase for picture-perfect photo ops in the park.

Beyond these dazzling displays, guests are invited to participate in daily seminars focused on gardening, crafts and other topics. Young "green thumbs" have plenty of fun too with a special children's garden and Growing Future Gardeners (which features family gardening projects).

New festival fun includes:

• Pixie Hollow featuring colorful topiaries of Tinker Bell and her friends from Walt Disney Pictures' "Tinker Bell," who will sprinkle pixie dust over this playful garden designed just for kids.
• Pirates Adventure Zone will lure young swashbucklers to this interactive space designed for exploration and adventure with Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Croc topiaries.
• One weekend in April (24-26) a Special Environmentality Celebration will showcase how to keep the planet green through solutions like reducing waste and using friendly bugs.

As the festival branches out this year to more than ten weeks, more horticultural personalities and activities will highlight the event:

• The new Garden Town Festival Center in Future World East next to Universe of Energy, where guests can find festival merchandise, attend speaker presentations and demonstrations and ask gardening guestions of the experts. The Garden Town Kid Fun Fair features interactive activities for children.
• Disney Gardening at Home presentations during which Disney horticulturists share gardening tips and lead guests in a hands-on activity for taking home.
• Minnie's Magnificent Butterfly Garden will return with hundreds of butterflies in a screened, walk-through enclosure that will include a live exhibit showing how caterpillars form a chrysalis and emerge as butterflies.
• The popular Great American Gardeners series featuring gardening celebrities and authors from across the country.
• Artist Heather French will sign festival poster each Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Canada Garden Retreat.
• An Art in the Garden celebration of "plein air" artists and a Kids Paint Out will occur March 27-29 and a Florida Farmer's Market celebration will take place May 8-10. Look for more celebrations to bloom throughout the festival.

And, while themed festival weekends celebrate art, bugs and special events, including Mother's Day, Flower Power concerts will rock the landscape with live entertainment from top acts of the 1960s and 70s every Friday, Saturday and Sunday (instead of every night as in year's past). The lineup* for 2009:

• March 20-22 — Davy Jones
• March 27-29 — Paul Revere & The Raiders
• April 3-5 — The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie
• April 10-12 — Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone
• April 17-19 — The Ventures
• April 24-26 — Harold Melvin's Blue Notes
• May 1-3 — Chubby Checker & the Wildcats
• May 8-10 — Ricky Nelson Remembered featuring The Nelsons
• May 15-17 — Jose Feliciano
• May 22-24 — The 5^th Dimension
• May 29-31 — Tony Orlando

The Festival and Flower Power Concerts are included in regular Epcot admission. Concert times are 5:15, 6:30 and 7:45 p.m. nightly, except on March 20, 27 and April 3 when the curtain rises at 4:45, 6:00 and 7:15 p.m. Seating is limited, so plan on getting in line for the concerts early.

I've been fortunate enough to attend the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival several years. Photo opportunities are absolutely everywhere — the flowers are always so beautiful and it is a great time to pick up tips for your own garden. If you're a fan of 60s and 70s music, you'll also enjoy the Flower Power Concerts!

More information about the 16th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is available by calling 407-824-4321 or by visiting DisneyWorld.com/Flower.

*Entertainment and show times are subject to change without notice.