GROWING SEEDS OF CHANGE - FAMILY FUN DAY AT DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS

Denver—Denver Botanic Gardens announced today that the inaugural Growing Seeds of Change – Family Fun Day will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, August 3, 2008. This action-packed event is sponsored by The Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Educational Fund.

Families won’t want to miss this fun day that includes thematic areas featuring characters from popular books for young people including Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and Winnie the Pooh. Each area includes a celebrity book reading, hands-on activities and an opportunity for families to have their photograph taken with costumed characters. In addition, families can enjoy savory desserts, botanical treasure hunts, flower pot painting, planting stations, and a live musical concert at Mitchell Hall. All activities are included with general admission.

“The Family Fun Day will provide a meaningful and fun way to help change attitudes and educate people about diversity and differences, especially when it comes to Down syndrome,” said Brian Vogt, CEO of Denver Botanic Gardens.“ Growing those seeds of change in young minds is an important step and we are pleased that we can take that step on the grounds of the Gardens”

“Denver Botanic Gardens is a dream space for an event like this,” Michelle Sie Whitten, Chair of the Advisory Board of The Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Educational Fund and Executive Director of Anna and John J. Sie Foundation said. “Through our families we are able to bring a lot of new families to one of Denver’s greatest cultural facilities and it gives us an opportunity to raise awareness for some wonderfully worthy causes.”

For more information about Growing Seeds of Change – Family Fun Day, call Will Jones/Denver Botanic Gardens, jonesw@botanicgardens.org at 720-865-3552 or Michelle Root/Anna and John Sie Foundation, mroot@ajsfoundation.com at 303-468-6663.

ABOUT THE SPONSORS…
 
Denver Botanic Gardens
Rooted a mile high, Denver Botanic Gardens has been a favorite Denver destination for over 55 years, and is considered to be one of the top botanic gardens in the American West. Art and science unite in the Gardens’ spectacular urban oasis, offering an unforgettable artistic garden experience for the whole family, as well as a living laboratory for education and plant conservation programs. Additional sites at Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, a 750-acre wildlife and native plant refuge in Littleton; Mount Goliath, a high altitude trail and interpretive site on the Mount Evans Scenic Byway; and Centennial Gardens, a five-acre formal garden with a Colorado native plant palette in downtown Denver, extend this experience throughout the Front Range.

Denver Botanic Gardens is located at 1005 York Street in Denver, Colorado. Visit us at www.botanicgardens.org or call 720-865-3500 for more information. Denver Botanic Gardens thanks the citizens who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District.
 

The Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Educational Fund
The Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Educational Fund is a donor advised fund at The Denver Foundation. The Fund’s mission is to significantly improve the lives of people with Down syndrome through targeted education of caregivers, professionals, philanthropists, government and community leaders and the general public. The Fund’s vision is to change the paradigm of how people with Down syndrome are perceived by society so that they are valued and integral in their schools, jobs and communities.

Contacts:

Danielle Dascalos
(303) 427-0921
ddascalos@comcast.net

Will Jones
720-865-3552
jonesw@botanicgardens.org