Butterflies to bloom at Meijer Gardens

GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - The Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park's most popular annual exhibit has arrived but not on display yet.

Butterflies are Blooming is open to the public March 1 to April 30 at the facility at 1000 E. Beltline Ave. NE in Grand Rapids Township.

The insects arrived from tropical regions of Central and South America, Asia and Africa, and are currently in the chrysalis phase, similar to a cocoon, at the Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory.

There are also programs that are connected to the butterfly exhibit.

"Butterfly Ballet: Who Am I?" is at 10 a.m. March 2 and 16. The fee is $3.50 for members, $5 for non-members, and free for children 2 and younger. The performance is done by members of the Grand Rapids Ballet Junior Company and narrated by Errol Shewman. This unique performance highlights characteristics of butterflies through dance. It is a charming story about a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis phase and wondering what kind of a creature it is. It encounters several other creatures, each one having something in common with a butterfly. Through process of elimination, the butterfly comes to understand what it is and its place in the natural world. With costumes, music, audience interaction, activities before the performance starts and a question and answer period with the dancers afterward, it promises to be a thoroughly fun and enlightening experience. Register online at MeijerGardens.org or call 616.975.3147. An American Sign Language interpreter will be provided for the March 16 performance.

Tuesday Night Lights -- bring your flashlights on Tuesday nights until 9 p.m. to see the nightlife in the Tropical Conservatory.

Children's, hands-on activities during daytime hours include --

• Discover the lifecycle of butterflies with egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and butterfly costumes
• Read butterfly stories in the book corner and create your own puppet show
• Pretend you are a butterfly and flutter through the butterfly maze
• Learn and sing spring songs in a variety of languages

There are numerous other events happening at the Frederick Meijer Gardens leading up to the butterfly exhibit, including these --

Winter Family Day, Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., is free after you pay admission to the Gardens. Activities include watching an ice sculptor in action, designing a simple seed mosaic, creating a snow sculpture, painting a winter scene on snow, making an old-fashioned toy, creating a bird feeder, taking an interpretive winter bird walk with a naturalist, and listening to winter-themed stories.

Experience Beer will take place Feb. 19 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The cost is $40 per person. The event is "an evening of beer tasting with Ben Darcie, beer editor for Revue Magazine. Learn how to taste and talk about our nation's favorite beverage, including its cultivation from field to glass, all while sampling Michigan-brewed beer and enjoying appetizers specifically paired for tasting. Stop drinking beer and start experiencing it! RSVP required by calling 616.975.3151."

"Connected and Disconnected: The Sculpture of Hanneke Beaumont" is currently on display through April 28. "The enigmatic figures of the Dutch sculptor Hanneke Beaumont have captured widespread critical acclaim for both their carefully rendered, highly visceral surfaces, as well as the mood of thoughtfulness and introspection frequently suggested. Beaumont's figures represent a universal type, neither tellingly male nor female, that are carefully and pensively posed. They can appear individually, as pairs, or, occasionally, in small groups, but always in arresting compositions marked by physical stillness in poignant contrast to the provocative psychological and emotional associations the figures may convey. Characteristically, Beaumont initially works in clay and then frequently translates the form into bronze or iron -- all of which will be represented in the exhibition. In addition, several of the artist's companion drawings will be on display."