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Barbara Mandrell, Lynn Anderson, Ralph Emery, Patti Page, Steve Holy, Jeffrey Steele,
Donna Fargo, Jeff Cook of Alabama, Marty Raybon, Jett Williams and Many More to
‘Stop & Smell the Roses' in Public Ceremony at the ‘Garden of the Stars'
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - September 9, 2009-On September 29, 2009, Nashville, Tenn. will become the official home of the world's first public garden to honor entertainment icons with a display of namesake flowers. The Nashville Music Garden, located at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Demonbreun in the Hall of Fame Park (across from the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum) is a one-of-a-kind "Garden of the Stars" that pays tribute to the artists, songwriters, authors, television personalities, industry leaders, venues, organizations, and icons who have made a positive impact on Nashville's entertainment community.
The Nashville Music Garden is home to the Nashville Music Garden Collection, an assortment of over six dozen flowering plants whose names include Barbara Mandrell, Grand Ole Opry, Minnie Pearl, Pretty Woman, Purple Haze, Elvis, Ring of Fire, Tennessee Waltz, Alabama, Chantilly Lace, Dolly Parton, Kiss an Angel Good Morning, Hank Williams, Reba McEntire and Amy Grant, just to name a few.“I feel truly blessed to be part of the Nashville Music Garden. The garden will both add to the beautification of Music City as well honor Nashville’s best!” explains Barbara Mandrell. An avid gardener herself, the Nashville Music Garden has been her passion project for over three years. “It is so wonderful to see all of this hard work come into bloom,” states Mandrell. “I am thrilled to be a part of the Nashville Music Garden. There are plenty of eye-sores in the world. Thank goodness for people who fight back with flowers. God bless ‘em!” says Pam Tillis, another celebrated artist of the garden.
The star-studded open-to-the-public dedication ceremony, which begins at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, September 29, will be emceed by long-standing country music television personality Ralph Emery. Recent Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Barbara Mandrell and Grammy award-winner Lynn Anderson will serve as celebrity hosts. Other celebrities confirmed to attend are Patti Page, Donna Fargo, Steve Holy, Little Jimmy Dickens, Jeff Cook of Alabama, Irlene Mandrell, Marty Raybon, Janice Wendell, Joe Moscheo of the Imperials (Elvis Presley), Gunnar Nelson, songwriters Jeffrey Steele, Shane Minor, Bart Allmand and Buzz Cason, and the families of songwriter Ben Peters, The Big Bopper, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, DeFord Bailey, Minnie Pearl and Jimi Hendrix with more to be announced in the coming weeks. Officials from the State of Tennessee and Mayor Karl Dean will also be in attendance.
The first 500 attendees will receive long-stemmed Rio Roses and biscuits from the Loveless Cafe. The event is FREE and open to the public. For more information, visit www.nashvillemusicgarden.com.
The Nashville Music Garden will serve as an impressive collection of roses and daylilies as well as a mixture of music and beauty. Nashvillians, and all Tennesseans, will find this garden a place of which to be proud. Furthermore, it is important to applaud the vision of the LifeWorks Foundation and its supporters in creating this outstanding place of environmental beauty,” explains Derrick Smith of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.
“Essentially, what we’ve created is a place where people can literally take time from their busy day to ‘stop and smell the roses,’ and enjoy the beauty of something which transcends today’s headlines, poor economy, crazy work schedules, family obligations and other man-made forms of stress. By embracing nature and ‘stopping to smell the roses,’ we are reminded of our own humanity and we can also learn to celebrate music and Nashville’s entertainment community in a whole new way,” states Pat Bullard of LifeWorks Foundation.
The event is presented by LifeWorks Foundation in partnership with Metro Parks & Recreation and is sponsored by Hilton Nashville Downtown, Nashville Predators Foundation, BSA, Inc. Event Services, AVI-SPL, Rio Roses, Ilex…for Flowers, WSIX, Food Security Partners of Middle Tennessee, Nashville Rose Society, Nashville Symphony, RFD-TV and Loveless Cafe, with additional support from MidSouth Roses, Christie’s Daylilies, Daylily World, Grayson Couture, American Rose Society, The Cocoa Tree, Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum and At Your Service Chauffeuring.
