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 Shakespeare Gardens Grand Opening - Governor and Mrs. Don Siegelman (right) look on as Wynton M. Blount addresses the crowd. Also shown are Carolyn Blount (left) and Shirley Milligan |
"An Easter Egg Roll is an event which involves children competing in pushing an egg with a spoon for a short distance," said Brian Barr, the park's managing director who grew up in the Washington, DC suburbs. "We're also having a number of other children's events, including stories, music, and a small petting farm with sheep, lambs, bunnies, and chickens, face painting, and hat making. Costumed characters, including Peter Cottontail, will lead a special Easter parade down the Bunny Trail," added Barr. "We think it will be a fun afternoon for the children, their parents and grandparents," said Barr.
Families are encouraged to come early, bring a picnic, blankets and lawn chairs. While there is no traditional Egg Hunt, every child will leave with a special egg and candy treat, and may enjoy face painting or a handmade Easter hat. Some eggs will include special prizes.
"This is the first event to be scheduled in the new section of the park," said Barr. "It is a great way for us to make families aware of this beautiful new park setting. This year's event, which was initially proposed by Red and Carolyn Blount, is sponsored by the Blount Cultural Park."
The free event in the park begins at 1:30 pm and ends at 2:30 pm. The egg rolls will run in heats for two age groups: preschoolers and children 6-12. The parade will begin about 2:15 pm. Families are encouraged to bring cameras for photo opportunities with their children, the pets, characters and decorations. The event will be canceled in case of rain.
For further information contact: Charles Barnette 277-3133 or Brian Barr 274-0062
MONTGOMERY, AL, April 5, 1999
A major expansion of the Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park in Montgomery was today unveiled by park, state, city and county officials and members of industrialist Winton M. Blount's family.
One of the largest cultural parks in America, the 300 acre park will soon include new entertainment venues, a new roadway system, and a new entrance and house the location of new, expanded and future attractions and other cultural activities which will join attractions already in the park.
A 250 seat amphitheatre and Shakespeare Garden will open in June. Phase One Expansion construction, which began this month, will include a new entrance, new roads, bridge, a new lake and fourth entertainment venue, and extensive landscaping. Once the two miles of new roads are in, construction will start on an English style village, which will include a Cotswold cottage, a large English barn, an English pub/restaurant, gift shop, garden center, park administrative offices, an information center, and rooms for social gatherings as well as other buildings. Long-range plans to include Wynfield, the private home of Red and Carolyn Blount, as a house museum which will be opened into the park for tours were also unveiled. Also announced at a news conference for the expansion were construction of a private chapel and gardens, a large conservatory, horticultural facility, other gardens and support buildings on the Wynfield property, which will eventually be opened to the public. Land on the Cultural Park's master plan is also being reserved for other arts groups which may want to locate within the park.
Already located in the Blount Cultural Park are the Carolyn Blount Theatre, home of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, which together attracted over a half million visitors last year. Primary Park benefactor Red Blount said he and his children, who are also contributing to the current expansion, can envision more than a million people annually visiting the cultural park in the new millennium after construction is complete.
The park master plan was developed by Tom Blount, now working in Beverly Hills, California, working with Montgomery architect Robert Frank McAlpine and Landscape architect Edwina VonGal, of New York. Taylor Dawson, of Andrew & Dawson, Montgomery, is serving as general contractor and construction manager. Engineering is being handled by Goodwyn Mills & Cawood.
About two dozen local citizens have served on a cultural park planning board, chaired by Taylor Dawson, to put the Blount's vision into place. Planning for the expansion began in mid 1997.
Blount family reveals plans for cultural park expansion
Fields of Dreams
MONTGOMERY, AL, April 5, 1999
A dream that began with the idea of relocating a nearly bankrupt theatre company to a permanent facility in a field in an industrialist's "back yard" has resulted in a cultural park in Alabama's Capital City, Montgomery, that rivals any in the world.
At first, local residents couldn't image the dream Winton M. "Red" and his wife, Carolyn, Blount had in 1983 for relocating the Alabama Shakespeare Festival to a state-of-the-art theatre facility which became the largest single private gift to the arts in the nation.
But build it and they will come, dreamed the Blounts, whose company tackled some of the most ambitious projects and products in the world. Now in its 14th year in Montgomery, over 500,000 people annually attend performances at the two theatre facility, one of the top five Shakespeare festivals in the world, and at events and exhibits at the neighboring Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, also built in the park that is on the Blount property.
The Blounts kept dreaming, and soon the theatre project grew to become a full cultural park. Mr. Blount's career as a major industrialist began after he and his brother, Houston, returned from World War II to form a construction company (Blount Brothers Construction) that grew to produce billions in annual sales. The first two lakes on the now 300 acre property quickly became venues for outdoor symphony and dance performances, and weekend entertainment events like Scottish, English Renaissance, African Heritage and other cultural arts festivals in the park, each attended by tens of thousands.
Then came the idea of a permanent outdoor amphitheatre and a Shakespeare garden to augment the beautifully landscaped grounds filled with flowers and trees. That latest outdoor theatre facility surrounded by traditional thatched roof structures will formally open in June 1999.
The Blounts decided they wanted to continue building their dreams. Gradually they gave more and more of their estate to the park authority and the institutions located there under private/public partnerships entered into by the Blount family, with the city, county, and state. The Blounts subsequently bought adjacent land. Now, another multi-million dollar contribution means construction has started on a new park entrance, nearly two miles of new park roads, a bridge, additional parking, and another terraced lake, which will contain a fourth venue for outdoor performances. After that phase is completed in the Spring of 2000, the Blounts plan to add an English style village, complete with a Cotswold cottage, which will house gift shops, an English pub/restaurant, and other structures, which will include offices and meeting rooms for local arts groups, and an array of facilities to accommodate the more than one million visitors expected in the expanded park annually.
The Blount's dreams still aren't finished. On Wynfield, the family home and grounds located on 29 acres in the center of the Cultural Park, landscapers and contractors are also busy at work. Rose and azalea gardens and crapemyrtles are in their growing stages. A vast conservatory, with a full service catering kitchen, is being built to host 300 for indoor receptions and 100 for seated dinner functions amidst new gardens adjacent the Blount's Georgian-style home, which was originally built in 1965. Surrounding the house are dozens of tall trees filled with thousands of tiny gold lights, which residents fondly refer to when they are lit on special occasions as the "enchanted forest."
Recently completed on the Wynfield grounds are a small private meditation chapel and garden. On the drawing boards are plans for a full horticultural facility and a new barn to house the array of Scottish sheep and horses which roam the pastures of Wynfield.
Eventually, the Blounts plan to make the Wynfield house and grounds available as a museum for tours of the home's exquisite collections of paintings, antiques and art treasures.
Elsewhere in the Blount Cultural Park, space has been reserved for a new performing arts center, should the community wish to build one, and for other theaters and facilities should various arts boards wish to pursue adding them to existing cultural institutions already there or who would like to be in the park. "There's plenty of land," says Blount. "Who knows what someone else will dream of next".
"Our dream now is to create a unique place that people can visit, see, and study the arts and culture that have shaped the millennium. We want to create a year-round place to cultivate a love of beauty, a paradise with sculpture, trees, lakes and flowers. We envision a place of information and inspiration available to the community for leisure, cultural and educational activities. We're thrilled that 'Shakespeare in Love' was voted Best Film by the Academy Awards. Shakespeare is, as he has been for nearly 500 years, an inspiration for the society and culture of all nations".
"Coupled with the Montgomery Museum's fine collections of American and European art, its series of noted lectures, it's chamber music performances, and the vast array of other American arts resources found there, including sculptures and fountains now or later to be located on the property, we believe we've started something really great that people worldwide will want to come and share in the next millennium. It's not what you'd expect to find in this historic southern city." The current phase of the Cultural Park expansion is being funded by the Blount family.
Other facilities, arts institutions which are housed in or use the park, and over 500 public events held in the park annually are funded by private and public partnerships by area businesses, the city, county, and state. The park triggered a cultural renaissance in Montgomery, now a metro area of 319,000.
In 1984 the greatest number of tickets for arts events ever sold locally was 1,500 seats for a national touring company which performed in a local high school auditorium. Today, Montgomery boasts several professional and amateur theatre companies, and still hosts touring companies. An outstanding community symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, and world-class performance series, professional dance companies, numerous galleries, art museums, international exhibits, lecture series, and public schools for the arts for students from kindergarten to the post-graduate level are now offered.
Changing from annual arts expenditures 20 years ago of only a few hundred thousand dollars, today the arts have a $50 million economic impact in Montgomery. The city's love for the arts attracts actors, musicians, dancers, artists (both professional and amateur), and instructors from around the nation and world, who participate in and see more than five hundred annual performances, many reaching sold out crowds and running for months. More than 31,000 tickets were sold for one festival theatrical production run last year. Attendees come from all 50 states and more than 60 foreign countries.
People, ranging from students to retirees, traveling from California to the Carolinas, and from Canada to Mexico, come by the bus and car loads to attend cultural events. The park has fueled the development of nearby hotels and restaurants for people who make a week or weekend of repertory theatre, arts events and historical attractions in the city. It is now common to see people of all economic situations sitting beside noted movie and theatre actors or executives enjoying a live theatrical performance or listening to musicians who rush to Beijing and back for a local performance in one of the venues in the Cultural Park on their way to a competition in Moscow or Salzburg. On some weeks in Montgomery now, one could see and hear several rising musicians who have played Carnegie Hall and actors who have been on stages on Broadway or in Hollywood in addition to many local performers.
"For this remarkable family, which has left its signature and name on monumental building projects and products around the globe in the twentieth century, their dreams for this grand cultural park in the twenty-first century have just begun," said cultural park chairman Joe McInnes.
Contact: Charles Barnette 334-277-3133
Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park Names Managing Director
MONTGOMERY, AL, October 19, 1999
Brian W. Barr has been named Managing Director of the Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park in Montgomery, Alabama. Formerly head of horticulture at Kingwood Center in Mansfield, Ohio, Barr has assumed overall administrative responsibilities for the expanding 300-acre Blount Cultural Park.
Barr will oversee all park activities including the display gardens, activity schedule, educational activities, and community service programs. The park is also home of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts and the Alabama Shakespeare festival, which are separate entities. The park's chairman Joe McInnes said, "We're pleased that Brian was available after a national search. His knowledge of park administration, landscape experience, and educational programs will help us achieve our goals for creating a beautiful park. There are many ideas that he will help us implement based on his experience in Ohio and elsewhere."
"The Blount's goal to preserve precious open space in the midst of urban sprawl is one of the most exciting projects in America. We look forward to finishing the park's first phase expansion and moving on to phase two next year. There's so much potential," said Barr. "In the meantime, we're establishing plans for advancing horticulture and other cultural experiences in the park. In time, we plan to offer landscaped gardens, lawns and natural areas that provide a constantly changing display to delight nature enthusiasts year-round. Among our goals are extensive educational programs to serve and delight generations to come."
Barr became head of horticulture at Kingwood in the fall of 1992. There, he was responsible for "anything that was green, along with administrative duties." His bachelor's degree in horticulture is from the University of Kentucky, and his master's degree in public horticulture administration was earned in the Longwood Graduate Program at the University of Delaware. Earlier he served as horticulturist at McCrillis Gardens in Bethesda, Maryland. Barr's most exciting project while at Kingwood was the development of the Terrace Garden - what he calls the center's "crown jewel". Kingwood Center was originally the private estate of industrialist Charles Kelley King. The 60-acre display garden, historic residence, and cultural center have been open to the public since 1953. King came to Mansfield in 1893 to work for the Ohio Brass Company, becoming President and Chairman of the Board.
Barr, who grew up near Washington, D.C., and his wife Kathleen, whom he met while she was visiting Kingwood Center, have one child. He is a member of several garden associations.
Contact For the Agency:
Charles Barnette
334-277-3133
'Green Thumbs' in new Posts at Blount Cultural Park
MONTGOMERY, AL
Two "green thumbs" have joined the team overseeing the development of the 300-acre Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park in Montgomery. Brian Barr has been named Park Director. Ken Johnson has been named Head Horticulturist at the Park, with additional responsibilities for gardens at Wynfield, the 38-acre private estate of Wynton M. and Carolyn Blount in the heart of the park. Johnson is working with other landscape designers and interested area gardeners on landscaping for the expanding park and for Wynfield.
"Barr's administrative ability, past horticulture experience, and work with the community through radio shows and lectures make him ideal to serve in this position," said Joe McInnes, Cultural Park Chairman. "We are excited that Ken Johnson was also available to help us implement our master landscape plan for what we believe will become one of the nation's finest parks."
Previously, Barr was head of horticulture and administration for the Kingwood Center in Mansfield, Ohio. Kingwood Center includes a historic mansion set amidst 47 acres of gardens and a cultural center. Kingwood was originally the private estate of Charles Kelley King, an industrialist (Ohio Brass Company) and philanthropist who provided the funding for millions of visitors to enjoy the private, not-for-profit estate and garden and educational institution for the advancement of horticulture and other cultural and nature activities. Barr earned his bachelor's degree in horticulture from the University of Kentucky and his master's degree in public horticulture administration in the Longwood Graduate Program at the University of Delaware.
Johnson formerly was General Manager of Greenscapes Inc., which managed landscape services for commercial and retail properties, business parks, malls, strip centers, and office buildings in the southeast. Earlier he served as Director of Horticulture for Wynlakes. For ten years he served as Manager of Greenhouses and Director of the award winning John A. Sibley Horticultural Center at Callaway Gardens. There, he was responsible for 20 major floral changes annually. Earlier in his career, the Troy State University graduate represented a horticultural supply and plant company across the southeast, and oversaw a nursery in Miami, FL. Johnson has appeared on numerous TV shows, including Victory Garden South and as a frequent national lecturer.
Among the Blount Cultural Park plans being made as Phase I construction continues on a new park entrance, lake and roads, are various gardens, fountains, perennials, ponds, trails and cutting beds. Barr said he anticipates various gardening events, a greenhouse, horticultural library, educational programs, workshops, and even a children's garden, "Other exciting projects which might be located in the Park are also in the early discussion stages," he added.
Park Board Member Shirley Milligan, said Phase One expansion is expected to be completed in mid year 2000. The park administrative staff recently moved into offices in a remodeled house at 6055 Vaughn Road.
The Blount Cultural Park's mission includes preserving green space for activities and serenity, providing locations for the display, study and presentation of the fine and performing arts, fostering education that enhances our cultural heritage in the arts and nature, providing spaces for social interaction, giving the community a great outdoor museum, and making Montgomery a remarkable cultural destination. "We expect future park additions, some of which may be developed by other private organizations, to be as outstanding in quality and broad appeal as the early phases which included the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. As park benefactor Red Blount has often said, 'The best is yet to be'. Our goal of attracting millions to the park is on the way toward full bloom," said Milligan.
Media Contact for the Park:
Charles Barnette
334-277-3133
Contact for the Park:
Brian Barr
334-274-0062
Blount Cultural Park Names Horticulturist
MONTGOMERY, AL, September 19, 1999
Noted horticulturist Truitt K. "Ken" Johnson has been named Director of Horticultural for the 300-acre Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park in Montgomery, Alabama.
Johnson will be responsible for implementing the Park's overall landscape design plans, crop planting, maintenance, development of a horticultural center, specialty gardens, equipment, pesticide and herbicide programs, budgets and employee supervision, said the park's Chairman, Joe McInnes. "We're pleased that after a national search, we found Ken right here in Montgomery. His knowledge of the Southeast's climate and landscape experience will help us achieve our goals for creating a beautiful park".
"It is thrilling to be part of this impressive development of creating a greenscape in the heart of a city. Over time, I believe the cultural park will become one of the most beautiful "backyard" settings in the nation and attract thousands of area residents and tourists," said Johnson.
Johnson was formerly General Manager of Greenscapes Inc., which managed landscape services for commercial and retail properties, business parks, malls, strip centers, and office buildings in the southeast. Earlier he served as Director of Horticulture for Wynlakes Golf and Country Club. For ten years he served as Manager of Greenhouses and Director of the award winning John A. Sibley Horticultural Center at Callaway Gardens. There, he was responsible for 20 major floral changes annually. Earlier in his career, he represented a horticultural supply and plant company across the southeast, and oversaw a nursery in Miami, FL.
Among the numerous awards Johnson has received are the Nancy Reagan National Landscape Award, and the Best Show of Color for design and implementation of the Butterfly Garden at the Atlanta Flower Show. He has appeared on numerous television shows, including Victory Garden South and is a frequent speaker for garden clubs.
A native of Montgomery, Johnson was graduated from Lee High School, attended Troy State University, attended Ken Blanchard's Five Star Manager Training program, and Walt Disney World's Landscape Magic Seminar. He is state certified in landscape design and restricted pesticide use, and a member of several state nurserymen's associations.
Contact For the Agency:
Charles Barnette
334-277-3133
HUNDREDS OF TREES TO LINE VAUGHN ROAD IN BLOUNT CULTURAL PARK
MONTGOMERY, AL, March 23, 2000
In a few years, a drive down a half mile-long stretch of Vaughn Road might suddenly feel like a drive through a mighty oak grove. The new trees, along with others to be added in the park, will further contribute to Montgomery's image as a "Tree City".
Beginning in March, landscapers will start planting close to 300 Bur Oak trees in the 3,100-foot-long stretch along Vaughn Road from the park's western property line at the Vaughn Lakes Apartments to the park's eastern property line at the Bellwood West neighborhood.
Plans call for the Blount Cultural Park to plant 300 Bur Oak trees on the north side of the road, and for other landowners from Catholic High School to the Saint James School to plant 200 matching trees along the south side of Vaughn Road. The Bur Oak trees, also known as the Mossy Cup Oak tree, will be set 30-feet apart in an orchard planting pattern, alternately spaced and planted three deep.
The 12 to 15 foot tall trees will be planted with a special tree spade and back hole equipment. The trees are now three to four-and-a half inches in diameter. Cultural Park Managing Director Brian W. Barr said the trees are very long lived and grow to become 60-80 feet tall.
Nine trailer truck loads of the trees are being transferred over a period of one month from a nursery in Lone Oak, GA off I-85 and about 100 miles east of Montgomery. The nursery is the only one in the nation that grows the deciduous Bur Oak trees, which research has shown grow well in prairie soil, typical of that found in Montgomery. Specimen trees have been tested on the property. Bur Oak trees are also located at Auburn University, which wants them to become the official campus tree. Hundreds of the Bur Oak trees have also been shipped to Dallas, Texas, where they have been found to grow well in similar soil and climate conditions.
The trees along the Blount Cultural Park property and those which front the Blount's private estate, Wynfield, will be irrigated and drained. A number of existing trees and plants which surrounded a former nursery and home along Vaughn Road, and since vacated and removed will be moved to other sites in the Blount Cultural Park.
Media Contact for the Agency:
Charles Barnette
334-277-3133
Contact for the Park:
Brian Barr
334-274-0062
'The Shakespeare Gardens' Opened to Public
MONTGOMERY, AL, June 5, 1999
The first of several new additions to the Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park has been officially opened. The Shakespeare Gardens will serve as a venue for a variety of events from non-amplified music concerts, lectures, and theatrical productions to private events including weddings and receptions.
The secluded 56,700 square foot garden complex, adjacent to the Carolyn Blount Theatre, home of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, includes various plants and Elizabethan herbs mentioned in William Shakespeare's poems and plays. The project is a multi-million dollar gift by Wynton M. and Carolyn Blount to the people of Montgomery.
The landscape design for The Shakespeare Gardens was created by Edwina vonGal and Company of New York and features plants and flowers, such as Roses, mentioned in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Narcissus from Anthony and Cleopatra, and Leek from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Medlar and Pomegranate trees will also grow in the gardens, Leafy Bowers, woven with Willow, Honeysuckle, and white and red Roses clinging to clamshell shaped Willow Arbors provide a shady place for park visitors to sit and relax. Flowers will be changed several times each year.
An astonishing number of lush plants and delicate blooms have been installed in the secluded Shakespeare Gardens venue. Among them are 8,000 Narcissus bulbs covering 6,700 square feet. Another 1,000 square feet of bulbs include Asiatic Lilies and Chives. Surrounding a six-tiered 325-seat amphitheatre with rock ledge seats are 4,000 Catlin Sedges, 4,790 Yellow Archangels, and 1,285 Moneyworts used as ground covers, along with 570 Rosemary and Lavender plants.
A canopy of 55 trees will shade the garden and amphitheatre and will be at their height of color at different seasons of the year. Among them are Trident, Species, and October Glory Red Maples, Eastern Redcedars, Sweetgums, Athena Elms, Chinese Flametrees, Medlars and Pomegranates.
More than 200 magnificent garden shrubs include Dwarf Yaupons, Foster Hollies, Serviceberry plants, LaMarque vines, and Honeysuckles. Among the fragrant perennials are Tangerine Wormwoods, Red Poppies, and Rues.
Karen Weber, head gardener at Wynfield and a Master Gardener from Montgomery, will supervise the on-going care of The Shakespeare Garden with the help of other area master gardeners.
The aromatic gardens are surrounded by uniquely woven willow wattle fences built by Marc Stinchcomb, a craftsman from Marc's Vine Yard of Millbrook, Alabama. He also built several trellises and arbors which are in the gardens over its numerous benches.
Public rest rooms for park visitors have been added as part of the new cultural park venue. The facility features a stone building and, like the amphitheatre stage building, is covered by a conical shaped thatched roof and features special Medieval chandeliers. About 12 inches of special thatch roofing consist of Turkish water reed and English combed wheat. The thatching was provided by WettStart International, Ltd. of England and was installed by a team of master thatchers from England. These are the same thatchers which installed the roof at the New Globe Theatre in London.
The English-style buildings in the Gardens were designed by Robert McAlpine of McAlpine Tankersley Architects of Montgomery. Overall construction was managed by Taylor Dawson of Andrew and Dawson Construction Company of Montgomery.
The extensively lighted amphitheatre and gardens in the Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for individuals and group tours. It will be available for admission-paid events, musicals, lectures, and private rentals for weddings and receptions by appointment. During scheduled events, the Gardens will be closed to the public. The amphitheatre features two crow's nest lighting poles typical of the period except for the construction material.
Additional, smaller garden sites scattered along walking trails to be located throughout the park will eventually be made available to Montgomery area garden clubs who wish to participate in the further development of the 300-acre park.
For additional information on The Shakespeare Gardens or to schedule an event on the 300-acre Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park grounds, contact Shirley Milligan, Managing Director, at 334-244-4354.
Media Contact for the Agency:
Charles Barnette
334-277-3133