The Bruce Peninsula Orchid Festival is hosted by the Friends of the Bruce District Parks Association. The aim of the festival is to promote, share and celebrate the beauty and preservation of native Orchids and Wildflowers on the Bruce Peninsula. Come join guided hikes, car caravans, boat trips to Flowerpot Island, photography workshops and guest speakers. This is an action packed opportunity to celebrate spring on the Bruce!
For more information please visit Bruce Peninsula Orchid Festival
FULL SCHEDULE:
Friday June 5th
12:00pm Registration Opens @ Festival Headquarters
The National Park Visitor Centre
Drop by the Visitor Centre to pick up or purchase your festival passes, ask questions or talk to a Park Naturalist.
1:00pm Calling all Orchid Festival Early birds! Meet @ The Visitor Centre
Catch a tour boat to Flowerpot Island for a guided hike and perhaps catch a glimpse of the coveted Calypso Orchid! Note: this is a weather dependent activity, tour boats may not be able to run. Participants must pre-register and pre pay the boat fare via the Orchid Festival website, pick up your boat tickets at the Registration desk at the Visitor Centre before proceeding to the boat dock for the 1:30pm departure. This event is not included in the Weekend Pass Cost is $33.00 4:00-9:00pm Silent Auction Preview Parks Canada Visitor Centre
7:00-9:00pm Friday Evening Presentation Parks Canada Visitor Centre
“Orchid Quest 2 – The Sequel” “Our ongoing search for wild orchids and what we discovered along the way” Join the Friends at the Parks Canada Visitors Centre theatre to enjoy a presentation by John Alexander and Peter Kaellgren.
Come, as they take us along on their travels searching for wild orchids. You may be surprised by what they discover along the way! John is an avid photographer who studied photography at Ryerson. He has exhibited at Sunbury Shores Arts and Nature Centre in St. Andrews, New Brunswick and during the CONTACT festival in Toronto. Dr. Peter Kaellgren is retired Curator Emeritus in Decorative Arts at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Check out John’s web site at: www.alexanderarts.ca
Seating is limited, so book early! Cost is $10.00
All event times are approximate, depending on group numbers and weather conditions”.
Saturday June 6th
7:00-9:00am Coffee and Muffins Parks Canada Visitor Centre
Don’t worry if you don’t have time to make breakfast before you head out on your events, drop by the Visitor Centre and the Friends will have coffee and muffins ready! Donations gladly accepted!
All Day Festival Headquarters and Naturalist Station Parks Canada Visitor Centre
Pick up or purchase your Festival passes before setting out on your first event of the day.
Talk to a Park Naturalist, they will be happy to answer all your questions! Check out the features of the visitor centre, the Exhibit Gallery with everything from a lighthouse, flowerpot and cliff to a black bear, rattlesnake and shipwreck exhibit. Browse the art gallery and the silent auction items. The world renowned Bruce Trail runs past the centre and out to scenic Georgian Bay.
All event times are approximate, depending on group numbers and weather conditions”.
Saturday Morning
Flowerpot Island Tour Cruiseon over to Flowerpot Island for a spectacular hike! Friends of the Bruce District Parks Association volunteers will be on hand to lead this exciting event and provide tips on how to get the most out of your visit to the island. Keep your eyes open as you may see the delicate beauty of the Calypso orchid and other spring flowers. Note: this is a weather dependent activity, tour boats may not be able to run. Participants must pre-register and pre pay the boat fare via the online Orchid Festival website. Pick up your boat tickets at the Registration desk at the Visitor Centre before proceeding to the Blue Heron boat dock for the 9:30am departure. This event is not included in the Weekend Pass Cost is $33.00
Wildflower Photo Workshop We are pleased to introduce Kerry Jarvis. He is an educator, photographer, author, presenter, gardener and traveler. He volunteers as a board member of The Friends of MacGregor Park and is on the executive of the Saugeen Shores Camera Club. Come along as he shares tips and techniques for wildflower/nature/landscape photography!
Check out his website at www.kerryjarvis.com Limit is 15 people – $20.00
Car Caravan Orchid and Wildflower Tour – #1 Join a local naturalist to see a diverse array of wildflower and orchid species at several prime locations. Limit is 25 people – $20.00
Blooms and Birds Burnt Point Loop Hike: Join a local hiking expert for a tour of the Burnt Point Loop section of trail that leads from the Visitor Centre to beautiful Georgian Bay! Blooms and Birds will be plentiful! You will be amazed by what you will see! Limit 25 people – $20.00
Watercolour Painting Workshop: Take your watercolour painting skills one step further with an Orchid and Wildflower themed workshop lead by Bruce Peninsula artist Julie Heinrichs of Cedar
Grove Farm Art Studio: Limit 15 people – $20.00
All of the above events meet at the Park Visitor Centre @ 8:00am for an on time departure @ 8:30
All event times are approximate, depending on group numbers and weather conditions”.
Saturday Afternoon
Car Caravan Orchid and Wildflower Tour – #2:
Join a local naturalist on this tour to see a diverse array of orchids and wildflower species at several prime locations.
Limit is 25 people – $20.00
South Cameron Lake Road Hike:
A peaceful, relaxing hike through the hardwood forest, exploring ferns and perhaps spring mushrooms!
Limit 25 people – $20.00
A Walk on the Wildside!
Sometimes it is just good to get out on the trail and enjoy all that comes your way…
A local hiking expert will take you off the beaten path; you never know what you might find!
Limit is 25 people – $20.00
Photography Hike:
Join a local photo enthusiast to capture wildflowers in all their natural splendour!
Create!
Join the “Friends” resident artist Liz Lasky for a creative painting class to design and paint your own take home souvenir of Orchid Festival 2015!
All of the above events meet at the Park Visitor Centre @ 12:30 for an on time departure @ 1:00pm
Cost is $20.00
All event times are approximate, depending on group numbers and weather conditions”.
Wine and Cheese Reception Preceding Keynoter Speaker Sat. June 6th 6:00-7:00pm
Join us for the gala wrap up event of Orchid Festival 2015
This event is only open to Participants that are registered for tonight’s keynote presentation.
Come and enjoy refreshments as we raise a toast to a great weekend. Exchange stories and photos with new friends that you have met over the past two days, relax and enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the National Park Visitor Centre.
Get your last bids in for the Silent auction items!
Keynote Speaker Presentation – 7:00pm
Plant Sex in the Wild
Spencer C.H. Barrett
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto
Flowers, the reproductive structures of angiosperms, exhibit more morphological diversity than the sexual organs of any other groups of organisms on earth. Why should this be so? Part of the answer lies in the immobility of plants and the necessity of engaging the services of animal pollinators to secure reproductive success. As a result, plants possess a bewildering diversity of pollination and mating strategies that have intrigued natural historians and plant scientists for several centuries. In this presentation I will review the fascinating world of floral sex using diverse examples of species close to home on the Bruce Peninsula, but also from exotic locales including South Africa, China, and Brazil. I will show that an appreciation of plant reproductive diversity is not only important for gardening, horticulture and recreation, but is also crucial for progress in plant breeding and biotechnology and in conservation and invasion science. A unifying theme throughout my talk is that flowers provide outstanding examples of the evolution of adaptation by natural selection, as Charles Darwin first realized. I hope to convince you that plant sex in the wild is alive and well on the Bruce Peninsula and is worth a second look, especially when you can work out what is going on.
All event times are approximate, depending on group numbers and weather conditions”.
Suggested Things to do on Sunday
Visit the Bird Banding Station at Cabot Head
The Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory [BPBO] operates a migration station at Cabot Head. This is one of the bird migration hotspots on the Bruce so stop by to see the banding activities and chat with the station ornithologist. Donations to BPBO appreciated.
Take a Hike on the Bruce Trail
Start at the Visitor Centre, Head of Trails at Cypress, Little Cove, Halfway Log Dump or at any of the many access points along the famous Bruce Trail. Spectacular views await from many vantage points along the Bruce Peninsula Trail Club section.
Stroll Around Little Tub and Big Tub Harbours
Take a boat cruise, stroll through the shops, have lunch or dinner at one of the many great eateries, pick up an orchid or wildflower book to take home. Enjoy these picturesque harbours.
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