Bridge of Flowers News
The Bridge of Flowers to Reopen June 1!
The Bridge of Flowers will once again be open to the public on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. The gates to the beloved garden over the Deerfield River were closed last year for the entire growing season due to the pandemic.
In announcing the re-opening, Bridge of Flowers Committee Chair Annette Szpila said the decision had been “entirely guided by the state guidelines regarding COVID-19 and in consultation with local officials,” including members of the Shelburne and Buckland boards of health.
“We had so many inquiries last year after other botanic gardens had opened and we did not,” Szpila said.
However, those venues, she pointed out, had opened with stringent requirements, including advance reservations, monitoring for wearing masks, physical distancing, and even logging names and locations of visitors for tracing purposes.
“We are an entirely volunteer operation and had neither the administrative structure nor the paid staff to adhere to such guidelines,” said Szpila.
Under current guidelines from the CDC and the state of Massachusetts, restrictions have been significantly reduced, allowing the Bridge to re-open with a degree of safety.
“We celebrate the fact that we can now once again walk the Bridge and feel uplifted by the beauty of its gardens, especially after so much loss and sadness over the past year,” Szpila said.
Local restaurants and shops are hailing the re-opening as a much-needed boost after a very lean year. Each year the Bridge of Flowers attracts more than 60,000 visitors from nearly every state and countries throughout the world.
CDC guidelines for open-air venues continue to recommend that those who have not been vaccinated should protect themselves and others while in public by masking, said Szpila.
“And they continue to urge everyone to maintain a six-foot distance from others as a precaution, even in open air settings.”
According to the Committee, while there will be no COVID-19-related restrictions for visitors on the Bridge, signage will remind everyone to exercise caution on the narrow path of the Bridge by avoiding congestion and maintaining a distance between oneself and others.
A construction project in the Village of Shelburne Falls, Mondays to Fridays, through the summer of 2021, may cause delays and rerouting of traffic. Follow these directions to access the Bridge of Flowers more directly.
Bridge of Flowers Gardener Becomes U.S. Citizen
Assistant Gardener, Elliston Bingham, originally from Jamaica, became a U.S. citizen in 2020 and we are very proud of him. Read about his accomplishment in the Greenfield Recorder.
Holiday Lights, 2020
The Bridge of Flowers will spring to life in the dark winter season, beginning on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27 when new lights and decorations and a “nature tree” will be officially “lit,” thanks to a grant to the Greater Shelburne Falls Area Business Association (GSFABA) from the MassDevelopment Commonwealth Places Program. For more information, click here.
90th Anniversary of the Bridge of Flowers
In 2019, the Bridge of Flowers marked its 90th anniversary on Saturday, October 5, with a community-wide celebration that opened with a festive parade of children across the Bridge, led by the Shelburne Falls Military Band. The old-fashioned birthday party featured a display of art work of the Bridge done by local artists as well as tributes from state legislators and community leaders. The Bridge is widely regarded as the oldest example of a re-purposed structure in the country and continues to rely almost entirely on volunteer support.
A Franklin Favorite
The Bridge of Flowers was recognized as Franklin Favorite tourist attraction three years in a row (2018, 2019, and 2020) in a contest sponsored by the Greenfield Recorder.
Virtual Visit
The Bridge was featured, once again, in a recent issue of Yankee Magazine.
Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls |
Connecting Point - WGBY | Sept. 10, 2018
"From Ragweed to Roses"
– New England Today visits
the Bridge of Flowers
Garden Shed
The garden shed, with its beautiful stained-glass window, was built several years ago with funds donated by generous visitors and Friends of the Bridge. It houses the garden tools used by the Head Gardener and Assistant Gardener as well as the volunteers who call themselves the Blossom Brigade.
