The award-winning Panhandle Butterfly House, located in Navarre Park on Hwy 98 at the foot of the Navarre Beach Bridge, will celebrate its grand opening for the 2014 season with a ribbon cutting Saturday, May 3 at 10 a.m. Though open until 3 p.m., special festivities from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. will feature music in the outdoor gazebo, refreshments, and a live butterfly release in the vivarium by special invited guests.
Morning entertainment will feature the lovely classical guitar sounds of Jimmy Chandler. In the afternoon, the talented Jimmy Coffman will entertain visitors with bluegrass. Visit the Monarch Market where you will find many butterfly items for sale. Bring your gardening questions, as the Santa Rosa Master Gardeners will be on hand to provide answers to your horticultural problems, providing literature and selling gardening books. For lunch, the Navarre Krewe of Jesters will offer delicious grilled meals for purchase.
A variety of native butterflies inhabit the inside and outside gardens. All stages of the butterfly life cycle may be observed on nectar and host plants. Come learn about our native Florida butterflies! And take a look for improvements that our volunteers have accomplished during the winter!
The Panhandle Butterfly House is open to the public from 10a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday as of May 3. Prescheduled tours for groups of 10 or more are available Monday through Wednesday. You can reserve a tour by visiting our website at www.panhandlebutterflyhouse.org.
The Panhandle Butterfly House depends on the generosity of its visitors and grants to sustain this incredible educational exhibit. There is no admission, but your donation is appreciated.
All programs and related activities sponsored for, or assisted by, the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are open to all persons with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions, or affiliations.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Panhandle Butterfly House opens May 3