Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival 2011 to feature weekend appearances by popular HGTV design stars

in Disney, Entertainment, Walt Disney World

The 18th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival runs this year from March 2 through May 15, 2011 featuring a first-time sponsorship by HGTV that will include weekend appearances by its famous designers and landscaping experts.

Each Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the festival, celebrities from the television network will appear on the HGTV Stage offering tips to Disney guests on topics including “Mobile Gardens,” “Secrets to Bringing Indoor Style Outside” and “Gardening with Kids.”

The design stars who will be at Epcot for the festival are:

  • Genevieve Gorder, HGTV Design Star and Dear Genevieve – Mar 4-6, The Art of Sculpting Space
  • Lisa LaPorta, Designed to Sell – Mar 11 – 13, Design It Yourself: Easy-to-follow Tips for Designing Your Favorite Rooms
  • Kim Myles, Myles of Style – Mar 18 – 20, The 5 DIY Secrets That Can Transform Any Space
  • Brian Patrick Flynn, Design Happens, HGTV.com – Mar 25 – 27, Mobile Gardens
  • Taniya Nayak, Designed to Sell and Destination Design – Apr 1 – 3, Adding Value to Your Home Without Breaking the Bank
  • Ahmed Hassan, Yard Crashers – Apr 8 – 10, Life, Love and Landscaping
  • Patti Moreno, Garden Girl, HGTV.com – Apr 15 – 17, Gardening with Kids: Fun Seed Starting Projects
  • Michele Beschen, B. Original – Apr 22 – 24, When Nature Calls: Creative, Back-to-Basics Style for All Things Natural and Decorative
  • John Gidding, Curb Appeal: The Block – Apr 29 – 30, May 1, The Design Process: Curb Appeal Projects from Concept to Construction
  • Frank Fontana, Design on a Dime – May 6 – 8, Beautiful on a Budget: High Style, Low-Cost Secrets to Bringing Indoor Styling Outside
  • Vern Yip, HGTV Design Star – May 13 -15, Top Design Trends Made Affordable and Accessible

  • As part of the sponsorship, HGTV also will present a new, twice-its-previous-size Bambi’s Butterfly House along the Future World Imagination Walkway. Inside this festival stop are hundreds of native butterflies and character topiaries from the timeless Disney classic film, “Bambi.” This year’s display celebrates the upcoming release of “Bambi” Diamond Edition, for the first time on Blu-ray Hi-Def.

    New topiaries will spring up all over Epcot as part of the festival, including Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Lotso of “Toy Story 3” in front of Spaceship Earth at the park’s front-entrance garden. Floral versions of Lightning McQueen and Mater, stars of “Cars 2,” will also make an appearance.

    Flower Power concerts will be performed on the open-air America Gardens Theatre stage three times each Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening with popular acts like Davy Jones and Chubby Checker & The Wildcats. New-to-the-festival performers will include Melissa Manchester, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr.

    More information about the 18th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is available by calling 407/W-DISNEY (934-7639) or by visiting disneyworld.com/flower. The festival, including all gardening programs, presentations and exhibits, is included in regular Epcot admission.

    Photos from last year’s Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival:

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