Spring is just around the corner, which means that the National Watermelon Promotion Board team members will be racking up the frequent flier miles as they travel to various watermelon-related events throughout the nation. One of the first events on the 2014 calendar is actually in their backyard (Orlando), so they’ll probably just hop in the watermelon mobile and drive that one.
The event is the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, and it’s held at Disney’s Epcot theme park. It’s not the first Epcot event the watermelon team has attended. You may remember their adventures at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival last year.
The Flower and Garden Festival runs from March 5 through May 18 and is designed to bring the magic of Disney to life through flowers. The displays includes 30 million blooms, 240 floating flower planters, 700 gardens, 100 Disney character topiaries and 30 flower towers. (I’m not sure what a “flower tower” is, but it sounds pretty impressive.)
It takes 400 Walt Disney World horticulturalists (that’s “flower experts” to you and me … or at least me), almost a full year to prepare for the 75-day attraction.
There will also be plenty of food on hand, including 11 food kiosks. That’s where the National Watermelon Promotion Board team comes in. The team’s watermelon salad (that’s it above) was a popular culinary attraction at last year’s Food and Wine Festival, and it will return for the Flower and Garden Festival. They’ll also offer a tasty watermelon-passion fruit non-alcoholic drink.
If you’re in the area this spring, or if you’re planning a vacation and don’t know where to go, you should definitely consider a visit to Epcot! If you do attend, however, try to avoid picking any of the flowers. Something tells me that sort of behavior is frowned upon.