The Key West Tropical Forest Botanical Garden is preparing for a busy fall season, with its 18th annual Screaming Green Halloween celebration Saturday, October 24, followed by a pirate-themed fundraiser in November to support educational programs and plans for a new education center.
Misha McRae, executive director of the Key West Tropical Forest Botanical Garden, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM yesterday morning to talk about what’s going on in the garden.
The Halloween event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, offering families a chance to enjoy a safe, outdoor celebration featuring arts and crafts, games, trick-or-treat stations and a costume contest.
“I’ve always had the vision that this botanical garden would be a community center, and this is just one of our efforts to do this,” McRae said.
The event is designed to welcome both local families and visitors to the garden while celebrating Halloween in a family-friendly environment.
“This is promoting a safe Halloween for our community as well as our visitors in the Keys for family-friendly events, celebrating the season, opening the doors to everyone to come in and have some tricks and treats,” he said.
The costume contest will feature separate age groups, with children ages 5 and under competing at 11:45 a.m. and children ages 6 and older competing at 12:30 p.m.
Admission is $5 per child or $10 per family for early registration. Tickets and additional information are available through the garden’s website at KeyWestGarden.org.
The garden is also seeking community sponsors and volunteers for the Halloween celebration. Sponsors can contribute $100 to support a trick-or-treat booth, candy station, arts and crafts activity or game area.
“It’s a community event sponsored by the communities,” McRae said. “$100 to get your name on the table and gets represented at the garden, but more importantly, it supports this 90-year-old botanical garden.”
Organizers were still looking for about 10 additional volunteers to help with the celebration. McRae encouraged people to contact the garden through its website or by calling 305-296-1504.
“It’s a great opportunity to be outdoors, meet some friends as they come through, and help this botanical garden,” he said.
McRae noted that the garden began as a volunteer organization in 1936 and continues to rely on community involvement.
The garden’s seasonal Scarecrows and Skeletons in the Forest display is also underway. McRae said both the Halloween celebration and the scarecrow displays emphasize recycling, reuse and repurposing materials.
“Highest considerations during the contest will be those homemade costumes, as well as the scarecrows out at the garden, are all for recycled, showing that there’s another alternative to trash stuff,” he said.
The garden’s next major event will be the fourth annual Pirates and Mermaids Rum Chase, scheduled for Saturday, November 21, from 5 to 9 p.m.
The fundraiser will feature music, food, a bar, rum tastings and opportunities for guests to explore the botanical garden. Pirate and mermaid costumes are encouraged.
“It’s a great evening. We’ll have music, we’ll have food, we’ll have a bar, and you have an opportunity to not only explore the botanical garden but rum tasting along the way,” McRae said.
The fundraiser supports the garden’s expanding educational programs and efforts to build a new education center.
“Listen, our education department has expanded pre-K all the way up to college now,” McRae said. “This is a grant-funded program, and we need donors as well as sponsors to help us with the program.”
The goal is to make the garden accessible to students regardless of their economic circumstances or where they live in the Florida Keys.
“We want everyone to be able to experience the botanical garden, no matter of economic status or location,” McRae said.
Transportation can be a significant obstacle for schools in the Middle and Upper Keys, making fundraising essential to bringing more students to the garden.
“This fundraiser is all about transportation, getting the kids to the garden, explore the outdoors, giving the teachers an alternative to what’s done in the classroom, and help all of our students pre-K to college throughout their academic careers,” McRae said.
McRae also encouraged residents to support the garden through memberships, donations and visits. The organization has spent more than 90 years preserving and showcasing the area’s natural environment.
Despite heavy rainfall earlier in the month, McRae said the garden’s plants were doing well.
“The plants love it. They suck it up. They get greener. They get taller, and the flowers get more beautiful,” he said.
The Key West Tropical Forest Botanical Garden is located at 5210 College Road, near mile marker 4 on U.S. 1. The garden is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
More information about events, tickets, memberships, volunteer opportunities and donations is available at KeyWestGarden.org.