Bar Harbor, Maine -- The 11th annual Spring Garden Tour (formerly known as the Bulb Tour) will take place on Saturdays, June 2 & 9 at WatersEdge, 32 Sargeant Drive, The W.P. Stewart Estate in Northeast Harbor. The gates will be open from 9:30am-3:00pm and the gardens will be open for viewing until 3:30pm.
This event has become a Mount Desert Island Spring tradition, attracting hundreds of people from around the State. Each year the Stewart Family selects a local charity to host the event and to be the recipient of the funds raised through Garden Tour ticket sales. The Abbe Museum was selected to be this year’s host.
“Many people have been calling the Abbe to find out when the garden tour is happening this year,” said Nora Miller, events coordinator at the Abbe Museum.
In the past the Garden Tour has taken place in the month of May and has been known for featuring thousands of blooming tulips of all colors and varietals. Unfortunately, last year, the tulips contracted a fungus and many of the bulbs had to be removed.
Miller adds, “This year, the focus is not going to be so much on bulbs, as it is on new sections of the garden that will be open for viewing, as well as various rhododendrons, azaleas, and hundreds of other late-blooming spring perennials.”
On June 2, there will be an added bonus for garden tour guests - Sarah Sockbeson, Penobscot, will be giving a free basketmaking demonstration (weather permitting) during the garden tour. She will also have some of her baskets available for purchase. Sarah was recently featured at the Abbe in the Twisted Path II exhibits; more of her work will be on display at the Abbe in the upcoming exhibit entitled Transcending Traditions, which opens on May 24. Sarah painted the publicity image specifically for this year’s Spring Garden Tour and she donated the original painting to the Abbe as the solo silent auction item for the Garden Tour. Bidding for the painting will close at 3:30 pm on June 9 and the Abbe will contact the winner.
Tickets will be available on the days of the Garden Tour; the suggested donation is $15. All proceeds from ticket sales and silent auction will benefit the Abbe Museum. For more information visit www.springgardentour.org or call the Abbe at 207-288-3519.
The mission of the Abbe Museum is to inspire new learning about the Wabanaki Nations with every visit. The Abbe holds the largest and best-documented collection of Wabanaki basketry of any museum in the world and holds a collection of over 50,000 archeological, historic and contemporary objects. Current Abbe exhibits include 2012 Waponahki Student Art Show, Indians and Rusticators: Wabanakis and Summer visitors on Mount Desert Island 1840s – 1920s, Transcending Traditions: The Next Generation and Maine Indian Basketry, Layers of Time: Archaeology at the Abbe Museum.
The Abbe Museum in Downtown Bar Harbor and at Sieur De Monts Spring in Acadia National Park are open seven days a week throughout the summer. Museum hours are from 10:00am - 4:00pm; admission is $6 for adults $2 for children ages 6-16 and free for children ages 5 and under.
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