at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts

Ticket holders can’t decide which part of Art in Bloom they like the best.

Is it the incredible floral arrangements? Is it the Gala Party with delicious dinner and VIP vibe? Is it the cottage garden tour?

Or is it the opportunity to do everything associated with the event (and so much more) while spending three days immersed in flowers and art?

This will be the ninth year the Black Mountain Center for the Arts has produced Art in Bloom, an event that is replicated at art museums around the country. The fundraising event takes place on June 18, 19 and 20 and includes a Gala Preview Party (June 18 at 6 pm $40) with catered buffet dinner, a gallery display of Ikebana and Western floral designs, a two-day Cottage Garden Tour (June 19 and 20 from 10 am-4 pm $20), plein air painters in the gardens followed by a display of their works, and a reading by Honorary Chair NC Poet Laureate and fellow flower lover Fred Chappell (June 20 at 3pm, donation).

Unlike established art museums with permanent collections, the Black Mountain Center for the Arts selects artwork from regional galleries specifically for Art in Bloom. Arts Center Executive Director Gale Jackson and a selection committee handpick paintings and sculpture from galleries throughout Western North Carolina with the parameters of floral design in mind. These works are on display in the gallery of the Arts Center beginning May 12 and remain on display until June 20. The Upper Gallery is open and free to the public Monday through Friday from 10am to 5pm.

Floral designers, some of whom are professional florists, some who are talented non-professionals, some who are members of the Ikebana (the Japanese art of floral arranging) Society are matched with one of the works of art. A little over a month later on June 18 the floral designers come to create the arrangements that capture what they see as the essence of the artwork they are interpreting. These arrangements are spectacular, creative, sculptural works that challenge the viewer to see the correlation between the art work and the floral designs, some feel literal, some abstract, some almost spiritual or deeply personal; all are beautiful.

Once the floral designs are completed the Arts Center hosts the Gala Preview Party at 6pm to celebrate the designers and their works and to give ticket holders the first glimpse of the designs when they are their freshest. It doesn’t hurt that there is a long table burdened with food, salmon and chicken on the smoker out back, free wine and beer, and for dessert special flavors of Ultimate Ice Cream.

This year’s honorary chair Fred Chappell will be introduced at the Gala Preview Party. A poet and author, Chappell went from farmhand to Duke Scholar. His sophisticated writing demonstrates his rigorous studies, yet his words reveal the realities he faced growing up on a farm and time spent in nature. NC writer Lee Smith has called Fred Chappell “our resident genius, our shining light.” He served as the NC poet laureate from 1997 to 2002.

Chappell will offer a very special reading in the Art Center’s theater space on Saturday June 20 at 3pm. His book of poetry Spring Garden will be available. The reading will come just as the garden tour comes to a close.

Guests are invited to view the gallery filled with floral designs for only $5 on Friday and Saturday. Or they can buy a ticket to the Garden Tour and gain entrance to the gallery for free.

For some, the Garden Tour is the highlight of the event. This year’s two-day tour includes five Black Mountain gardens. The homeowners who welcome hundreds of people to their gardens have been working for many months to make their grounds as view-worthy as possible. Each garden will have plein air painters working to capture the beauty on canvas. Plein air is a French term meaning the art of painting outdoors. Some works are completed in less than an hour, some take all day depending on the painter’s style and medium. Beginning June 22 these works take the place of the floral designs in the gallery and are available for purchase through July 17.

More than a hundred volunteers help support the Arts Center for this event doing everything from planning to donating to pointing people in the right direction and cleaning up. All the proceeds from this delightful fundraising event go to support the exciting and affordable programming the Arts Center offers to the community. Be sure to contact the Arts Center because organizing committee members always have a little something extra up their sleeves. Be on the look out for more on the 9th annual Art in Bloom. The Arts Center is located at 225 W. State Street. For more information call (828) 669-0930 or visit BlackMountainArts.org

If You Go: Art in Bloom, June 18, 19 & 20, 2015. Gala Preview Party, Thursday, June 18 at 6 p.m. $40. Two-day Cottage Garden Tour, June 19 & 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $20. Reading by Fred Chappell, Saturday, June 20 at 3 p.m.; by donation. The Arts Center is located at 225 W. State Street. For more information call (828) 669-0930 or visit BlackMountainArts.org