This year’s Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival will take place from March 6th to May 19th. The International Flower and Garden Festival is a yearly event that dates back to 1993. The park is decorated with floral displays and topiaries, gardening experts are on hand to share tips and tricks for guests to take back to their own gardens, and there are a number of flower and garden themed events and attractions during the time of the festival. If you’ve never visited Epcot during a flower and garden festival, this year is a great year for a first time. Here’s a rundown of what’s new and exciting at this year’s festival.
- Food. For the 2013 festival, Epcot is adding food kiosks to the World Showcase. Special dishes and drinks have been created by the Epcot chefs. A few of the kiosks include Smokehouse Barbecue and Brew at American Adventure, Primavera Kitchen at the Italy Pavilion, Hanami at the Japanese Pavilion, and Florida Fresh at the World Showcase Promenade. Some of the new menu items that you’ll encounter include shrimp and grits, angel food cake with various berries, watermelon salad with red onions, and sweet “frushi” made with fresh fruits and rice flavored with coconut. For alcoholic drinks, try the Dole Whip with Spiced Rum or the Hot Sun Tomato Wine from Florida Orange Groves Winery. Non alcoholic offerings include Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade and Wild Berry Slush.
- Gardens and Topiaries. The Flower and Garden Festival features 240 floating mini-gardens and too many blooming beds of flowers to count. This year, for the first time, there will be illuminated gardens in Future World and the World Showcase. Each night, you’ll be able to see gardens full of twinkly lights. The park has over 100 topiaries on display during the festival, and kids will love looking for their favorite characters in topiary form. This year, look for Phineas and Ferb, Mike and Sully, and Tinkerbell and Friends, among others.
- Concert Series. The Flower Power Concert series is a big part of the festival. Each week will feature a different band from the 70’s and 80’s. New to the festival this year are The Village People, who will be performing from April 19th to the 21st, and Tommy Roe, featured from May 3rd to May 5th. Other highlights from this year’s lineup include Chubby Checker and the Wildcats, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone.
Kids will also enjoy the new play area based on the upcoming movie: Oz: The Great and Powerful, which will be coming out in theaters right around the start of the festival. The play area will have a circus atmosphere, complete with tents, and promises to be a big hit, as does the 2013 festival itself.
