The rose will be the center of attention during a weekend festival at Iowa State.

Reiman Gardens, located on the southern end of campus, will hold a Rose Festival Saturday and Sunday. The two-day event will feature a flower show, displays, book and rose plant sales, children’s activities, a concert and workshops. The weekend is part of the educational activities at Reiman Gardens and their continuing effort to provide educational programming.

Gov. Tom Vilsack has proclaimed 2002 the year of the rose, and Reiman Gardens’ staff is seizing the opportunity to show off over 2,000 rose plants.

Maria Ball, events and publicity coordinator of Reiman Gardens, is very optimistic about the weekend’s events. “We try to do something different every year,” Ball said. “2002 is the year of the rose and Vilsack was urging Iowans to celebrate.”

Reiman Gardens has won many awards for roses and this festival will showcase those accomplishments. Griffith Buck, a former horticulture professor at Iowa State, developed over 90 different varieties of roses and 70 of them are known. Reiman Gardens has all 70 of the known varieties and plans to celebrate his accomplishments during the weekend as well.

Workshops will also be held to help educate about flowers. “We will have workshops making tissue-paper roses and potpourri,” Ball said. “There will be a demonstration on planting roses and books about flowers for additional information. The Iowa Rose Society and the Ames Garden Club will also take part in the festivities.”

The weekend’s activities will be open to the general public. The festival fee is $2 per adult and $1 per child for Reiman Garden members and $5 per adult and $2 per child for nonmembers. Weekend family passes will be good for both days and are available for $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Food and drinks also will be sold during the festival.

“We really want the community to come out and take part in the weekend,” Ball said. “There is something for everybody and it should be a great weekend.”