March 2–5
Admission: Adults/seniors ($30), Institutional Members ($15), Youth 17 & under ($7), WAM Members (FREE). Not a Member? Join now!
Additional tickets required for select programs and events.
Get admission ticketsTickets to Flora in Winter will also be available at the door.
Members: To receive your discount, check your email for registration links or sign into your Member account at the top right of the ticket purchase page. Join today!
Enjoy a welcome taste of spring during the Worcester Art Museum’s annual floral design extravaganza, with arrangements inspired by works of art around the Museum. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Flora in Winter invites the region’s top floral designers to activate parts of the Museum to create a lush and immersive environment.
A robust schedule of programs will accompany the arrangements throughout the four-day event. Enjoy a night of sake-tasting while supporting the future of art, watch arrangements come to life, gain plant-growing powers from experts, and so much more. See the full schedule.
Please note:
- Discounts, library passes, and museum passes are not valid during Flora in Winter.
- The Museum will be closed to the public on Wednesday, March 1, to allow for Flora in Winter installation.
- Due to Flora in Winter, Free First Sunday will not take place on March 5.
- Members may reserve a maximum number of tickets per day based on membership level:
- Single membership – 1 ticket per day
- Dual membership – 2 tickets per day
- Dual Plus One membership – 3 tickets per day
- Benefactor and Salisbury membership – 4 tickets per day
2023 Flora in Winter Chairs:
Kim Cutler, Kathy Michie, and Sarah Ribeiro
Committee Members:
Sally Jablonski and Julie Lapham
Programs and Events
Tickets to select programs are limited.
Flora Euphoria
Friday, March 3, 6:30-8:30pm
Celebrate Flora in Winter with an evening of art, music, food and more at a party themed around the exhibition, The Floating World. Tickets and details.
Ongoing
Ask a Gardener!
Thurs, Fri & Sun, 12-2pm; Lancaster Lobby
Curious about plants? Want to grow your own flora specimens? Stop by the gardening question-and-answer table presented in collaboration with the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association. Volunteers will be here to listen and provide advice on all of your horticultural needs.
Tours
Thurs, Fri & Sun, 11am, 1pm & 2pm; Sat, 2:30pm, 3:30pm & 4:15pm*
Docents will be leading tours of the Flora in Winter artworks and arrangements throughout the event. Tours meet in Salisbury Hall and are free with Flora in Winter admission.
* The 4:15pm tour on Saturday begins at the Conference Room.
To arrange an hour-long private group tour, contact the Tour Programs Coordinator at 508.793.4338 or grouptours@worcesterart.org. Private tour reservations are $5 per person.
Food service
Thurs, Fri & Sun, 11am-2pm; Sat, 3-6pm; Café
An enticing array of lunch options will be available for purchase during Flora in Winter. Provided by Sir Loin Catering.
Thursday, March 2
Open 10am-4pm
arrow_drop_down 8-10am – Flora Live: A Grand Landscape (advance tickets required)
Museum Café and Gallery 205 (Enter through Lancaster Lobby)
Adults/seniors ($50), Institutional Members ($35), Youth ($27), Members ($15)
Includes Flora in Winter admission
Space is limited
Get tickets
Watch art bloom at this special preview with floral arrangers Susan Dewey and Ginna Thoma. Gain insight into the process and watch two interpretations of Thomas Gainsborough’s A Grand Landscape come to life just hours before the Museum opens to the public. Coffee and light pastries will be served in the Museum Café at 8am, and the demonstration begins at 8:30am. Optional docent-led tour to follow.
arrow_drop_down 11:30am – Eco-Friendly Designing, with Maureen Christmas
Gallery 215
Drop-in demo. Free with Flora in Winter admission
Before there was floral foam, a petroleum-based product that breaks down into microplastics, there was a variety of methods used to create floral arrangements. This demonstration will present an assortment of techniques both new and old that are friendlier to the environment. The talk will end with a completed design (or two)!
arrow_drop_down 1pm – Fascinator Workshop
Higgins Education Wing, Studio 100
Free with Flora in Winter admission
Space is limited
Try your hand at making your own fascinator, an ornamental, sometimes whimsical style of millinery, frequently worn as a cocktail hat. And keep what you create!
arrow_drop_down 2pm – In-Your-Hand Floral Designing, with Sally Jablonski
Gallery 215
Drop-in demo. Free with Flora in Winter admission
Learn the art of skillfully arranging flowers in the palm of your hand, with Flora in Winter Committee Member Sally Jablonski.
arrow_drop_down 2pm – Musical Performance: Musical Performance: Hans Betancourth
Renaissance Court
Free with Flora in Winter admission
Hans Betancourth Pulido is a Colombian saxophonist and bandleader. Frequently performing as a soloist with jazz, Latin, and classical ensembles, Betancourth lived in Barcelona Spain from 2003 to 2019, performing around Europe. He moved to the United States in 2019 and performs in Massachusetts, exploring live music as an interdisciplinary art.
Friday, March 3
Open 10am-4pm
arrow_drop_down 10am – Colorful Flora, with Kim Cutler (advance tickets recommended)
Higgins Education Wing Conference Room
Tickets ($5), Members and Institutional Members (FREE)
Space is limited
Sold Out
In this illustrated talk, Flora in Winter Co-Chair Kim Cutler discusses the importance of color in interpretive design. Coffee and light pastries provided by the Worcester Garden Club will be served to attendees at 10am. Talk begins at 10:30am.
arrow_drop_down 11:30am – Parallel Design in Flower Arranging, with Sarah Ribeiro
Gallery 215
Drop-in demo. Free with Flora in Winter admission
Flora in Winter Co-Chair Sarah Ribeiro gives a demonstration of parallel floral design using individual stems or groups of stems placed in the same direction, and explains how this can be used to enhance an arrangement.
arrow_drop_down 2pm – Designing with Textures, with Sally Jablonski
Gallery 215
Drop-in demo. Free with Flora in Winter admission
Learn to combine different textures to create unique floral arrangements, with Flora in Winter Committee Member Sally Jablonski.
arrow_drop_down 2pm – Musical Performance: JAZZED UP Trio
Renaissance Court
Free with Flora in Winter admission
A rousing musical performance by one of New England’s finest jazz recording artists, Worcester’s own JAZZED UP Trio, featuring pianist/singer Mauro DePasquale performing with drummer Ed Conley and bassist Phill Madison.
arrow_drop_down Salisbury Giving Society Events
Salisbury Giving Society Chairman’s Tour
3:30pm and 4pm, Renaissance Court
Free event for Salisbury Giving Society Patrons
Salisbury Giving Society Reception
5pm, Renaissance Court
Free event for Salisbury Giving Society Patrons
To join Salisbury Giving Society, contact Katy Sullivan, Manager of the Salisbury Giving Society, at 508.793.4325 or KatySullivan@worcesterart.org.
arrow_drop_down 6:30pm – Flora Euphoria
6:30-8:30pm
Tickets ($65), Members ($45), Complimentary for Salisbury Giving Society Patrons
RSVP by Monday, Feb. 27
Get tickets
Celebrate Flora in Winter's 20th anniversary at a party inspired by the current exhibition, The Floating World.
Enjoy an evening of:
- Live shamisen music performed by Sumie Kaneko
- Sake tasting
- Light bites
- Cash bar
- Docent-led tours
Saturday, March 4
Open 2-8pm
arrow_drop_down 3:30pm – The Garden Awakens, with Kaye Vosburgh (advance tickets recommended)
Higgins Education Wing Conference Room
Tickets ($20), Members and Institutional Members ($15)
Space is limited
Get tickets
Learn the art of ikebana flower arranging with Kaye Vosburgh, author of Creations from the Garden, inspired by the current exhibition, The Floating World.
arrow_drop_down 4pm – Ikebana Demonstration, with Tom Maney
Gallery 215
Drop-in demo. Free with Flora in Winter admission
Ikebana, the traditional art of Japanese flower arranging, highlights the use of asymmetrical form and “empty” space as an essential feature of the composition to express the sense of harmony among the material, the container, and the setting. This demonstration will show the arrangements of the Ohara School using various materials of flowers, branches, plants, and containers.
Sunday, March 5
Open 10am-4pm
arrow_drop_down 10:30am – The Curious Plantsman: Challenging Convention—Plant Trials, Projects and Current Experiments, with Matt Mattus (advance tickets recommended)
Higgins Education Wing, Conference Room
Tickets ($5), Members and Institutional Members (FREE)
Space is limited
Get tickets
Join horticulturist and author Matt Mattus as he shares the story of his life in the garden and greenhouse. Discover a personal journey that is equal parts inspirational, educational, and humorous!
arrow_drop_down 11:30am – Fascinator Workshop
Higgins Education Wing, Studio 101
Free with Flora in Winter admission
Space is limited
Try your hand at making your own fascinator: an ornamental, sometimes whimsical style of millinery frequently worn as a cocktail hat. And keep what you create!
arrow_drop_down 12:15pm – Musical Performance: Worcester Children’s Chorus
Renaissance Court
Free with Flora in Winter admission
Members from the Worcester Children’s Chorus in grades 3-12 will present music from the Baroque Era to the present day. Pamela Mindell and Philip Montgomery, conductors; Ilana Joyce Cady, collaborative pianist.
arrow_drop_down1pm – Discovering John Chandler Bancroft, with Jim Welu, Director Emeritus of the Worcester Art Museum (advance tickets recommended)
Higgins Education Wing, Conference Room
Tickets ($5), Members and Institutional Members (FREE)
Space is limited
Get tickets
John Chandler Bancroft (1835-1901) has long stood in the shadow of his father, George Bancroft, the famous historian and statesman. This lecture explores the fascinating life of the son, who championed avant-garde artists of his day and was among the first Americans to collect Japanese prints. In 1901, Bancroft donated to the Worcester Art Museum over 3,000 ukiyo-e prints, forming the basis of the Museum’s major holdings of Japanese art. Discover the man behind this seminal gift and his important role in the appreciation of both Eastern and Western art.
arrow_drop_down2pm – Fun with Foliage, with Thelma Shoneman
Gallery 215
Drop-in demo. Free with Flora in Winter admission
Learn to weave leaves and discover other surprising and unique leaf manipulation techniques in this hands-on experience.
arrow_drop_down 2pm – Musical Performance: The Forest in Full Color, with Robbie Wilson, Director of the Goddard Quartet
Renaissance Court
Free with Flora in Winter admission
The Goddard Quartet present “The Forest is Full of Color,” music written for and about New England. Written and directed by Robbie Wilson.
Sponsored by UniBank and Fallon Health.
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