Attendees Learn About Rose Industry
It's an opportunity that doesn't come along often, but Texas Rose Festival attendees will have the chance this year to tour a rose field and learn more about the rose growing industry in Tyler.
The tours, put on by the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tyler rose growers, will take place Friday through Sunday of the festival.
The tours include a visit to a rose field owned by a local rose grower and a visit to Chamblee's Rose Nursery.
At the nursery, participants will tour the retail operation at the nursery as well as the propagation facility and shipping area and the greenhouses.
Justin Turner, vice president of tourism with the Tyler Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the tours are a good way to educate the public about rose growing and Tyler's connection to the industry.
"A lot of people don't understand the industry and why Tyler is the rose capital. They don't understand we grow roses here. They surely don't understand why the Rose Festival is in October," Turner said. "It's a harvest festival, not a flower festival."
The purpose of the tours is to show people the importance of the rose and help them understand the effort that goes into the process, he said.
"It's a lot of work (growing roses). It's many years in the process - it takes two to three years," he said.
And the opportunity to tour rose fields that are close to paved roads for the tour bus to travel on does not come along that often.
"This will be the last year we'll offer it for a while," Turner said of the field tour. "I think people ought to go on it because they might not ever get to do it again. I assure you for the next couple of years it won't be available to actually go to the fields. As a visitor to Tyler or even a Tylerite that hasn't ever seen one, they need to go."
The tours are popular - every seat was sold out last year, Turner said.
Tour times are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, with tours departing about every 45 minutes; noon to 4 p.m. Saturday with tours departing about every hour and a half; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with tours leaving about every hour and a half.
The cost of the tour is $5 per person. Children under 5 years old are admitted for free but must sit on an adult's lap.
Tickets will be available at the Rose Garden Center information booth on a first-come, first-serve basis. Tickets will only be sold the day of that day's tour.
The Rose Garden Center is located at 400 Rose Park Dr.
Transportation will be provided by Horizon Transportation and is included in the cost of the tour.
Parking is available across the street from the Rose Garden Center in the Harvey Convention Center parking lot.
For more information, contact the Tyler Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-235-5712.
The tours, put on by the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tyler rose growers, will take place Friday through Sunday of the festival.
The tours include a visit to a rose field owned by a local rose grower and a visit to Chamblee's Rose Nursery.
At the nursery, participants will tour the retail operation at the nursery as well as the propagation facility and shipping area and the greenhouses.
Justin Turner, vice president of tourism with the Tyler Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the tours are a good way to educate the public about rose growing and Tyler's connection to the industry.
"A lot of people don't understand the industry and why Tyler is the rose capital. They don't understand we grow roses here. They surely don't understand why the Rose Festival is in October," Turner said. "It's a harvest festival, not a flower festival."
The purpose of the tours is to show people the importance of the rose and help them understand the effort that goes into the process, he said.
"It's a lot of work (growing roses). It's many years in the process - it takes two to three years," he said.
And the opportunity to tour rose fields that are close to paved roads for the tour bus to travel on does not come along that often.
"This will be the last year we'll offer it for a while," Turner said of the field tour. "I think people ought to go on it because they might not ever get to do it again. I assure you for the next couple of years it won't be available to actually go to the fields. As a visitor to Tyler or even a Tylerite that hasn't ever seen one, they need to go."
The tours are popular - every seat was sold out last year, Turner said.
Tour times are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, with tours departing about every 45 minutes; noon to 4 p.m. Saturday with tours departing about every hour and a half; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with tours leaving about every hour and a half.
The cost of the tour is $5 per person. Children under 5 years old are admitted for free but must sit on an adult's lap.
Tickets will be available at the Rose Garden Center information booth on a first-come, first-serve basis. Tickets will only be sold the day of that day's tour.
The Rose Garden Center is located at 400 Rose Park Dr.
Transportation will be provided by Horizon Transportation and is included in the cost of the tour.
Parking is available across the street from the Rose Garden Center in the Harvey Convention Center parking lot.
For more information, contact the Tyler Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-235-5712.
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