News Release
For Immediate Release — June 30, 2008
Summer Celebration to Sizzle Once Again
The grounds and exhibit areas at the University of Tennessee Summer Celebration will open to the public at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 10. The UT West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center is located on Airways Boulevard in Jackson.
(JACKSON , Tenn. ) Organizers of the 19th annual University of Tennessee Summer Celebration expect this years event will please casual lawn and gardening enthusiasts and backyard experts alike. The educational expo, Jacksons premier lawn and gardening event, is scheduled for Thursday, July 10, at the UT West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center (WTREC) on Airways Boulevard.
Admission is free.
The grounds and exhibit areas of the center will open to the public at 10:00 a.m. Featured and formal seminars will begin at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. with all other presentations and tours beginning at 1:00 p.m. Activities will continue throughout the day, with the last of the indoor events scheduled for 6 p.m. The last outdoor tour will depart at 7:30. The event will conclude at 8 p.m.
Featured topics and speakers include container gardening with local expert Rita Randolph of Randolphs Greenhouses of Jackson, and hydrangeas from around the world with Linda Orton, president of the Mid South Hydrangea Society.
James Huggin, professor of biology at Union University in Jackson, will talk about fierce feathered predators and dares visitors to look into the eyes of one of natures winged warriors, which he will have safely tethered onsite.
UT experts on hand for the Summer Celebration will include Dr. Susan Hamilton, director of the UT Gardens, who will address ideas for planning a cool season garden, Dr. Frank Hale, professor of entomology, who will speak on the subject of natural biological control of insect pests. Other UT experts will address topics including drought recovery for your garden, colorful and tough new shrubs, no-spray roses, shade gardening, turfgrass, and weed control. Jason Reeves, WTREC ornamental horticulturist will lead a tour of the WTREC Gardens at 7 p.m.
Not to be forgotten are tours that feature vegetables, including tasty tomatoes as well as eggplant, green pepper, and squash. An indoor presentation by Western Region UT West Tennessee Extension Family and Consumer Science staff will show visitors how to use the easy water-bath method of canning for saucy salsas and relishes. Quick and easy recipes will be presented before live audiences.
A special wagon tour highlighting the UT's West Tennessee AgResearch programs is also scheduled. During this popular tour visitors ride tractor-drawn wagons across the 600-acre facility while tour leaders point out local projects and discuss how UT AgResearch continues to improve food, fiber and fuel for the future while conserving habitat and the environment.
The event will also feature Madison County Master Gardeners plant sale and demonstrations plus a number of area nurseries, landscape businesses and specialty artisans exhibiting and selling their wares and services.
Visitors are encouraged to bring insect- and disease-damaged plants and unknown plants and insects to a diagnostic clinic for identification and treatment recommendations.
Concessions will be available for purchase from the West Tennessee 4-H All Stars.
The complete program and directions to the location are available online at http://westtennessee.tennessee.edu
The West Tennessee Research and Education Center is one of 10 unique research units operated for the benefit of the state by the UT Agricultural Experiment Station system, which is the agricultural and natural resources research arm of the UT Institute of Agriculture. In addition to its reputation for hosting the annual Summer Celebration, the facility is known for its agronomic research advances that benefit the production of row crops like corn, soybeans, and cotton.
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Contacts:
Dr. Robert Hayes, Ddirector, West Tennessee Research and Education Center,
(731) 424-1643
Patricia McDaniels, UTIA Marketing and Communications Services, (865)
974-7141