The American Bamboo Society’s Southeastern Chapter hosts the fourth annual Bamboo Festival at The North Carolina Arboretum on July 10 and July 11.

The fastest-growing plant in the world, bamboo, has gained popularity for its use in the sustainable design movement and as a renewable source material. Of the more than 1,000 recorded bamboo species, some specimens have been recorded to grow up to 121 centimeters a day.

Visitors will learn about the artistic value and functionality of this remarkable grass during the fourth annual Bamboo Festival, which features lectures, demonstrations, crafts, plant sales and a raffle. Speakers during this two-day festival include:

• Enjoy a live bamboo plant auction at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 10

• Susan Woodell, Garden historian from Biltmore Estate, on “The Bamboo of Biltmore”

• Adam Turtle, from The Bamboo Research Station in Tennessee, on “Earth Healing with Bamboo”

• Carol Stangler, from Asheville will hold a two-hour “Make and Take” Bamboo crafting workshop

Several additional speakers and Demonstrations will be ongoing both days. The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, and is free with the parking fee of $8 per personal motor vehicle. Parking is always free for North Carolina Arboretum Society members.

The American Bamboo Society’s Southeast Chapter promotes knowledge of and interest in Bamboo through educational programs, meetings, classes and publications. The chapter encourages the growth and propagation of bamboo by botanical gardens, assists in the importation and quarantine of bamboo according to USDA guidelines, provides access to pertinent information about bamboo, and engages in and encourages projects and research that meets its mission and advances interest in the knowledge of bamboo. For more information, visit www.sec-bamboo.org.

Engaging exhibits on display during the Bamboo Festival include:

• Balance & Beauty: A Visual Celebration of Rural Life, a new exhibit by artist Margaret Scanlan at the Baker Exhibit Center

• Living Color, a unique exhibit exploring color in nature at the Baker Exhibit Center Greenhouse

• Inflorescence, a unique outdoor sculpture exhibit by Jason S. Brown and Elizabeth Scofield throughout the Arboretum’s grounds

 

For more information, see our NC Arboretum Guide.