Lily Fest is this Weekend

A new pool will debut at the ninth edition of Lily Fest, expanding the number and variety of flowers on display at the annual celebration of San Angelo’s famed International Waterlily Collection at Civic League Park this weekend.The free event, which this year is being held in conjunction with the Stripes River Fest 2014, will also feature expanded hours, live music, shopping, flower-drying classes and, of course, scores of the most beautiful lilies on the planet.

Lily Fest will be from 9:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. in the water lily basins in Civic League Park, along North Park Street between West Beauregard Avenue and Pecos Street.

The festivities will include presentations of lilies by Kenneth Landon, the acclaimed “Indiana Jones of water lilies” who is the International Waterlily Collection’s curator. Lily Fest will also offer displays by vendors, door prizes and music by Lori Jo Thomas, Ellen Myer, Dan Gabbert, Ed Stabler and GROOVE 24. Attendees will be able to purchase lilies and new lily garden T-shirts, and watch artists painting en plein air (in the open air).

The flower-drying classes will be at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The cost is $10, which includes materials. To register, email a preferred class time to pamela@sanangelo.org.

The International Waterlily Collection showcases dozens of varieties of lilies of all shapes, sizes and colors, many of which are hybrids created by Landon. Among Landon’s creations is the Texas Dawn, which the Texas Legislature proclaimed the Official Water Lily of the State of Texas. The collection is open to the public at no charge and has flowering displays from April through October each year.

Lily Fest is co-sponsored by the City of San Angelo and the San Angelo Convention and Visitors Bureau. For more information, call the City’s Parks and Recreation Department at 325-657-4450 or the CVB at 325-655-4136.

For more information about River Fest’s lineup of activities, visit cosatx.us/riverfest