Butterfly Festival returns to UT Arboretum on Saturday
Learn to appreciate and help all butterflies, like this monarch butterfly, at the UT Arbore- tum Society Butterfly Festival.
It will take place at the Arboretum auditorium and surrounding grounds, 901 S. Illinois Ave. in Oak Ridge.
Activities will include the UT Insect Zoo, two butterfly tents, educational presentations, and children’s activities.
The UT Arboretum will be closed to regular visitors for parking until 3 p.m. on the day of the festival.
All parking areas will be dedicated to festival attendees for safety.
Parking will be available in designated areas adjacent to the event on a first-come, first-served basis.
The entrance fee is $5 per car, cash only. The gate will open at 9:30 a.m., and the event will take place rain or shine.
Accessible parking will also be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees requiring accessible parking are asked to display their placards clearly.
Shuttle service from the regular parking areas will be available for those needing assistance.
Children’s craft activities will be offered at $1 per activity, or $10 for all 10 activities. Payments will be accepted in cash or by credit card.
Children and adults alike can visit the UT Insect Zoo, a traveling exhibit that aims to share knowledge about the importance of insects.
The exhibit includes preserved and live insects and arachnids from Tennessee and beyond.
Two butterfly tents, staffed by graduate students from UT’s Entomology and Plant Pathology Department, will also be open for up-close butterfly viewing.
Educational presentations will take place in the air-conditioned auditorium. Lucas Coe-Starr will speak at 10 a.m. on “Fall Bird Migration in East Tennessee,” and Stephen Lyn Bales will follow at 10:50 a.m. with “The Mystery of Monarchs.”
Each family will receive a free pollinator plant, courtesy of Tennessee Naturescapes, while supplies last. Additional plants will be available for purchase.
Food trucks at the event will include Big Bad Taco, Pelican’s SnoBalls, and Rocky Top Hot Dogs. Visitors are encouraged to bring refillable water bottles. Live music will be provided by the Knoxville Area Dulcimer Club.
Local artisans will sell pollinator-themed merchandise, and volunteers from the Anderson County Master Gardeners will answer gardening questions.
The event is co-sponsored by the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014. The center is one of 10 outdoor laboratories in Tennessee as part of UT AgResearch.
For more information, contact Michelle Campanis at mcampani@utk.edu.
Learn more about the UT Arboretum Society at www.utarboretumsociety.org.
