‘City of Peonies’ celebrates 2nd annual peony festival

The Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Heart is hosting the second annual Homer Peony Celebration from July 9-24, featuring peony farm excursions, art lessons, gallery exhibitions, workshops and self-guided excursions.

Coined “The Metropolis of Peonies” in 2017, Homer offers optimum increasing situations for peonies to blossom, Jan Knutson, visitor centre director, reported.

“We have above 24 peonies farms all-around the Homer place. Our prolonged Alaskan summertime days of 22 hrs of daylight, along with interesting soils and glacier breezes provide great expanding affliction to produced more substantial than normal flowers and saturated colours,” Knutson stated. “Maturing at a time when clean minimize peonies are not offered anyplace else in the globe, the space peonies are shipped to the Reduce 48 States and around the earth, especially Japan.”

Three peony farmers — Alaska Ideal Peonies, Joslyn Peonies and Scenic Location Peonies — and the Alaska Magnificence Peony Cooperative are web hosting guided peony farm excursions and workshops on-web-site. Self-guided peony tours are also out there in downtown Homer alongside Pioneer Avenue, with peony gardens marked with the formal “Homer Metropolis of Peonies” indications.

The Homer Council on the Arts is featuring 6 peony lessons, like Plein Air Painting with artist David Pettibones and pressed peony luminaries crafting with artist Sharlene Cline. The Pratt Museum and Park is web hosting a household exciting working day. The competition will wrap up with the Ritz Garden Occasion Peonies and Patsy Cline party.

In addition to the tours and art workshops, the peony celebration will also consist of the sale of peony bouquets. The Homer-Kachemak Bay Rotary Club has partnered with the Alaska Beauty Peony Co-op to offer bouquets of peonies for $20, commencing Friday, July 9 at the Homer Chamber of Commerce. The peonies will be marketed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 9-10, 15-17 and 22-24. Proceeds will go to the rotary club and the peony growers.

The formal peony celebration bags by NOMAR are offered at the Homer Chamber of Commerce, Art Shop Gallery, Bunnell Arts, Diamond Ridge Art Gallery, as nicely as the Alaska Elegance Peony Co-op.

“A unique thank you to the major sponsors of the celebration: Joslyn Peonies, Alaska Farm Bureau, Horizon Satellite and Berkshire Hathaway Dwelling Service Alaska Realty and 20-in addition other regional chamber member businesses and people who offered fiscal sponsorships and in-variety services,” Knutson mentioned.

Registration is offered as a result of taking part Homer peony farms, nonprofits and organizations sponsoring the functions or at the Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center.

For extra details or to see the total timetable events, go to www.homeralaska.org/homer-peony-celebration/ or phone the chamber of commerce at 907-235-7740.

Reach Sarah Knapp at sarah.knapp@homernews.com.