2013 Calendar of Annual Events

Updated: March 22, 2013

  • March 29, 2013, Good Friday Service, Friday, 6:00 p.m., main lawn of the EJC Arboretum, JMU RISE hosts the annual inter-denominational Easter Good Friday Worship Service. Severe inclement weather may cancel event.
  • March 31, 2013, Easter Sunrise Service, Sunday, 6:00 a.m., main lawn of the EJC Arboretum, JMU RISE hosts the annual inter-denominational Easter Sunrise Worship Service. Severe inclement weather may cancel event.
  • April 2, 3, and 4, 2013, Spring Children’s Art Workshop, Tuesday-Thursday, either 10:00 a.m.-noon, or 1:00-3:00 p.m., FPEC, the workshop offers children's education on plant identification as well as basic botanical drawing, all materials included in a $35 cover charge. Advance online registration needed.
  •  April, 3 & 10, 2013, Annual Daffodil Walks, Wednesdays, 10:00 a.m., FPEC,  Exploration Series Tours with the EJC Arboretum Director, enjoying over 50 varieties on exhibit at the EJC Arboretum. No advance registration.
  • April 6, 2013, Guided Bird Walk, Saturday, 8:00 a.m., EJC Arboretum Pavilion, led by Greg Moyers, birding expert in partnership with the Rockingham Bird Club.
  • April 7, 2013, Campus Cookies Easter Egg Hunt for JMU students, Sunday, 1-4:00 p.m., Pavilion and large lawn, Sponsored by the JMU Office of Residence Life, JAC card required, JMU students with JAC cards search for hidden Easter eggs holding valuable coupons and discounts to area merchants and a free cookie from Campus Cookies!
  • April to October 15, 2013, Walk-Up Plant Sale, Beginning in mid-April and projected to continue until the first hard frost in the region which will be about mid-October, business hours, FPEC, Shop from a selection usually currently in bloom natives, exotics and cultivars perennials, shrubs, and trees.
  • April to October 15, 2013, Private Greenhouse Shopping by Appointment, Beginning in mid-April and projected to continue until the first hard frost in the region which will be about mid-October, 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., FPEC, Shop from the entire greenhouse inventory of natives, exotics and cultivars perennials, shrubs, and trees, by advance appointment only, with $50 minimum purchase required.  Call (540) 568-3194, or visit the arboretum website to schedule the appointment.
  • April 14, 2013, A Latte` Jive, Alzheimer’s Benefit 5K Run and Concert, Sunday, 1:00-3:00 p.m., EJC Arboretum Large Lawn, Sigma Kappa sponsors an annual 5k benefit for the Central and Western Virginia Chapter of the American Alzheimer’s Association, “A Walk You’ll Remember!” with live music at the 5k conclusion, and runners cool down and enjoy coffee, decaf, tea, and water served free compliments JMU Catering.
  • April 19 & 20, 2013, Arbor Day Trees and Native Plant Sale, Friday and Saturday, 9:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m., FPEC parking lot, with an online list of plants offered at the sale. In the prime time of spring, the Arboretum offers a wide selection of wildflowers, contrasting foliage plants like native ferns, with unusual shrubs and trees. To honor those who educate youth, city and county public school teachers receive 10% off tree purchases presenting a school ID!
  • April 20-27, 2013, Virginia Historic Garden Week, at the EJC Arboretum: starting at the FPEC, Arboretum grounds are open free to public, dawn to dusk. Tours will be led by Jan Sievers Mahon, Arboretum Director and will focus on the arboretum’s bulb collection, wildflowers and flowering shrubs and trees. Tours will start at the Frances Plecker Education Center. Preregistration is not needed
    • Historic Garden Week tour, April 25, 1:00 p.m.
    • April 22, 2013, Earth Day Wildflower Walk, 10:00 a.m.
  • April 24, 2013, Virginia Arbor Day Public School Gift Tree Planting Ceremony,> 9:00 a.m., Thomas Harrison Middle School hosts this annual event when public school students, faculty, staff and parents gather for an Arbor Day observation and ceremony, to plant a gift tree from the arboretum at their school and learn about the value of greening Harrisonburg's public school campuses, as the EJC Arboretum grows into its community. Contact Educator, Greg Corder, STEM Academy.
  • April 26, 2013, Arbor Day in Virginia event is the Virginia Native Trees Tour, with the Arboretum Director, at 1:00 p.m. meets at the FPEC
  • April 27, 2013, Wildflower Walk with The Virginia Native Plant Society, Saturday, 10:00 a.m., FPEC, VNPS docent tour guide and wildflower aficionado leads a guided tour through the arboretum exhibit gardens.
  • April 28, 2013, third annual RMH Hospice Butterfly Picnic, Sunday, noon to 3:00 p.m., meets on the large lawn, grieving families and individuals may bring a brown bag picnic and participate. Share in the beauty of a butterfly release, a walk to remember, and live music. For more info, contact RMH Hospice Bereavement Coordinator at (540) 433-4430, or email: Andree.jeannotte.7133@rhcc.com
  • May 10, 2013, National Public Gardens Day, Friday, EJC Arboretum, a Shenandoah Valley public botanical garden and native plants preserve is open free dawn to dusk. And plan to shop Spring Celebration Plant Sale in celebration of National Public Gardens Day to support the EJC Arboretum while making home and business landscaping ecofriendly and lovely!
  • May 11 & 12, 2013, Mother's Day Carriage Rides, 1-4 p.m. Sunday afternoon, in the EJC Arboretum, carriages leave from FPEC, give a special mom a memorable celebration by a carriage ride through the natural beauty of the Arboretum, costs vary per person for adults and children, and per private carriage, phone for cost and to reserve (540)568-3194 or email.
  • May 10 & 11, 2013, Spring Celebration Plant Sale, (formerly Herb and Garden Festival), Friday and Saturday, 9:00-3:00 p.m., wide selection of plants, shrubs and trees, with Saturday educational activities that may be a lecture, ask-an-expert table, and a butterfly release.
  • May 12, 2013, Highland Pipes Concert, (Postponed from St. Patrick’s Day) Sunday afternoon, free public performance 2:00-3:00 pm, from the Jurney Stage Garden lawn area of the arboretum, live performance by piper Fred Holbrook of Massanetta Springs Conference Center.
  • May 18, 2013, Annual Spring Notable Wildflowers Field Trip, each spring to a new wild regional location, drive and meet, and dress for an expedition to view wildflower species in their natural setting in the Reddish Knob area with JMU Botany faculty Dr. Conley K. McMullen as guide. Register in advance. Free. Participants drive and meet. For details at (540)568-3194.
  • May 24, 2013, Wine & Cheese in the Trees, Friday, 5:00-7:00 p.m., Ernst Terrace,Area business expert from White Oak Lavender Farm lectures on using lavender in cuisine topics pertinent to botanicals, while reserved guests enjoy fine wines, and other seasonal beverages.
  • June, 2013, Storytime in the Understory, 11 a.m. to approximately noon, monthly program begins in June second Tuesdays, and continues through September. Children will develop an understanding of the importance of nature from children’s literature selections. Bring a picnic blanket or lawn chairs, and a brown bag picnic lunch for after Storytime.
  • June 11, 12, 13, 2013Summer Children’s Art Workshop, 10:00 a.m. to noon or 1:00-3:00 p.m., Children will learn summer trees and flowers of the arboretum. The workshop offers education on plant I.D. and basic botanical drawing, materials included in a $35 fee.
  • Mid June through July, 2013 Summer Brown Bag Lunch Lecture Series, additional dates to be announced on jmu.edu/arboretum, Wednesdays except July 4th week, noon, EJC Arboretum Pavilion, free, no advance registration needed, enjoy lunch and a great topical lecture.  Series lecture topics will post to the arboretum website in the spring of 2012.
    • June 19, 2013, Easy and Economical Vertical Gardening, Lee Norford, with Lowes Garden Center, noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Pavilion, Learn how to use common old or new stuff like pallets and rain gutters to put the vertical spaces in your garden to work. Grow flowers or seasonal plants like spring greens and lettuce or strawberries from wall mounted, strung, or suspended rain gutters.  Whether just to lean pallet gardens against any fence or wall, or to create a privacy screen with rain gutters and ivy…if garden space is an issue, learn great tips about vertical gardening.  
    • June 26, noon to 1:00, Living Patios, Paths and Bird Baths, Jennifer Rucinski, Mast Landscape Group Landscape Designer, noon to 1:00 pm in the Pavilion, Learn how to use moss and lichens in shade gardens, learn to  use moss growing recipes,  and how-tos for growing mosses and lichens needed to fill spaces in brick and stone paths, cover mortar in slate or brick patios, or create a feel of antiquity for new chain-store garden benches and statuary.  Gardeners can enhance the natural feel of their forest and shade landscapes and create a sense of permanence and age using moss. 
    • July 10, Succulents... Gardening Outside the Box Julia Stutzman, EJC Arboretum Education Coordinator and JMU Adjunct Faculty, Biology, Gardeners wanting to move away from water-thirsty gardening can learn about gardening with succulents. Succulents bring color and interest to any landscape design, especially with new and exciting presentations like succulent topiaries, wreathes, plantable bridal bouquets and even hanging kissing balls. Combining succulent gardening with creative new uses is a great way to add interest while lowering water and labor demands. Noon to 1:00 p.m., in the Pavilion.
    • July 17, Down to Earth Dirt Deli Sandy Greene, Be sure to bring a brown bag lunch to eat while enjoying this lecture because the soil horizon parfait and subterranean sub sandwich that will be created from custom all natural soil ingredients aren't edible! Learn all about the Earth's soil layers and explore soil quality and management practices at this fun and interactive lecture. Noon to 1:00 p.m., in the Pavilion.
    • July 24 Subject to be announced, in the Pavilion at noon
    • July 31 Subject to be announced, in the Pavilion at noon
  • June 21, 2013, Summer Strawberry Full Moon Carriage Rides, Friday, 7:00-10:00 p.m., Enjoy being drawn through the woodlands of the Arboretum by beautiful Belgium and Percheron teams of horses and an experienced coachman on a warm summer night in a romantic convertible carriages leaving from the FPEC.
  • June 22, 2013, Solstice Under the Stars, Saturday, 7:00-10:00 p.m., Ernst Terrace, Reserve to enjoy displayed hors d'œuvres, live music performed by Heat of the Night, dancing, and fine wine.  Make it a wild and wonderful Solstice celebration with dancing on the arboretum lawn to live music and fine wines, outdoors on or closest to the year’s longest day, annually the Saturday closest to each year’s longest day.
  • September, mid-month date to be announced on jmu.edu/arboretum, 2013, On-Line Bulbs Sale, with pick up in the FPEC for orders placed online.
  • September 10, 17, and 24, Bonsai Workshop, Tuesdays, noon - 1:00 p.m. each session, with EJC Arboretum Grounds Manager and Bonsai Master, Mike Hott, in the Frances Plecker Ed Center, attend to create a 'wee-tree' to enjoy at home or office. $35 fee covers all three sessions and all materials needed to start a Bonsai. Or, for tune-ups with the Master, bring your own wee-tree and pay $12 to attend just the September 24 session. For more details or to register, the arboretum website 30 days in advance of this program.
  • September 14, 2013, Monarch Migration Tagging Workshop, Saturday, 10 a.m. - noon in the Frances Plecker Ed Center, with Linda Marchman, educator and butterfly farm owner. Enjoy a lecture along and learning how to tag a butterfly, and add it into the national migration registry, and release it to start its seasonal migration. $20 per person includes a Monarch butterfly and its tag's registry fee.
  • September 27 & 28, 2013, Fall Plant and Bulb Sale, Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Frances Plecker Education Center, shop Virginia native wildflowers and cultivar perennials, shrubs and trees, at just the right time for fall planting.
  • October 4 & 5, 2013, Fall Bulb Sale, Friday and Saturday at the Frances Plecker Education Center, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. and Saturday Oct 5 on Godwin Field, time to be announced after game time is published, Godwin Field sale closes with the football game kickoff. Purchase the 2013 JMU colors annual bulb collection of beautiful and rare bulbs, or buy from a selection of spring blooming bulbs to plant in home or business landscapes. Sale is closed Sunday but continues the remainder of the week, Monday-Friday, October 7 to 11 at the Frances Plecker Education Center, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or until bulb inventory is liquidated.
  • October 4, 2013, Private Greenhouse Close-out Shopping Appointments Coincides with date of Fall Bulb Sale, Friday only, with an Arboretum Green House Manager. Call (540) 568-3194 to reserve a half-hour appointment to shop the growing season closeout plant, shrub, tree inventory at the arboretum greenhouse.
  • October, 2013, date to be announced on jmu.edu/arboretum, Fall Children's Art Workshop, After School 4:00-6:00 pm in the FPEC, children will study and create botanical drawings of leaves, their forms and colors, and berries found within the arboretum, as well as plant I.D. $35 charge includes materials.
  • October, 2013, date to be announced on jmu.edu/arboretum, Fall Annual Remarkable Trees Tour, See the Remarkable Trees of the region traveling with the EJC Arboretum Director as guide. Visit the arboretum website after September 20th, for details for this annual educational and enjoyable field trip, and to register. For more details or to register, the arboretum website 30 days in advance of this program.
  • October 19, 2013, Children's Harvest Festival, Saturday, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m., at the Frances Plecker Ed Center, a free festival with dance exhibitions and lessons, crafts and sidewalk chalk art, singers, musical instrument performance and demonstrations, story time, trails tours, snacks, harvesting trees' seeds collection trail activity and much more offered at this free educational fall children's festival. Horse drawn wagon rides are available for the whole family with ticket purchase. For more details or to reserve, call (540) 568-3194 or visit the arboretum website 30 days in advance of this program.
  • October 26, 2013, Fall Color Carriage Rides eaf-peeping at its best! Enjoy a horse-drawn carriage in the beauty of the autumn leaf colors of the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum. For more details or to register, the arboretum website 30 days in advance of this program.
  • November 18 — December 4, 2013, Festive Holiday Plants and Evergreens Decor on-line Sale, Bring the beauty of fresh blooming holiday plants and the scent of evergreens into your home for the Holidays. The EJC Arboretum offers locally grown, high-quality plants. Order pick up December 5 & 6 in the FPEC, 8:30-5:00 pm.
  • December 11, 2013, Annual Festive Greens Workshop, Wednesday, noon to 1:30 p.m., create a versatile holiday décor piece that will beautify any home or business with style and fragrance, under the guidance of a floral expert, Abby Long from Blakemore's Florist. Fee varies depending on supplies ordered when registering. Register at jmu.edu/arboretum. Held in the FPEC. For more details or to register, the arboretum website 30 days in advance of this program.
  • December 14, 2013, Moonlight Holiday and Winter Commencement Carriage Rides, Saturday, 1:00 – 8:00 p.m., reserve to enjoy a horse drawn holiday carriage moonlight or daytime ride. Harrisonburg's favorite horses are harnessed in jingle bells for this festive celebration. For the cost of a movie ticket, create a holiday or graduation memory of a lifetime! Carriages leave on a 20-minute schedule for an approximate one-mile ride. For more details or to reserve, call (540) 568-3194 or visit the arboretum website 30 days in advance of this program.
  • December 23 (noon) -31, 2013, Winter Holiday, EJC Arboretum offices closed to reopen January 2, 2013

* "FPEC" Frances Plecker Education Center, found on the grounds of the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum,

780 University Blvd., Harrisonburg, VA 22807, 540-568-3194