It is not a secret to those who live in West Michigan that a Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park membership is not just a solid investment in one of the country's most exciting contemporary arts center, but it is also the cheapest ticket out of our present condition of being too damn cold, so over the snow, and looking for a place to chase our winter blues away.
Only a few steps from your car is the five-story Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory – just one of the many facilities in this ever-expanding venue devoted to arts and flowers. Okay, so maybe that is an over-simplified mission, but let's get to the good stuff that is so cool it will steam your lens of your glasses.
Each March the Gardens hosts its annual Butterflies Are Blooming exhibition. Celebrating their 19th year, this year they'll release more than 7,000 tropical butterflies from Africa, Asia, South and Central America to West Michigan inside this wonderfully humid environment representing more than 40 colorful species who will drift along on the gentle air currents of the conservatory.
And somehow in the middle of all this lovely, you will, I promise you, forget about the cold as you begin to strip off your down jacket, your sweater and maybe even down to a thin T-shirt as you suddenly recall what it was like to have a body warmed by the environment.
Your eyes will be delighted at what you see but your body will experience something truly orgasmic as you enjoy what it used to be like when the temps were higher and our sun bathed your skin. Pick a bright sunny day and you might not ever leave.
In addition to the Garden's normal hours, which tend to be filled with kids and tour busses of seniors with a host of activities to keep then interested, the gardens offer something for those looking for a different kind of experience that is not as crowded.
On Tuesday Night Lights during this exhibition, the museum is open later, inviting you and your friends to bring your flashlight and stay until 9 p.m. Chasing these tiny creatures who light up the nightlife in the Tropical Conservatory with such amazing and bright color is something we have not seen in a very long time this year.
Admission: Free for members; Adults, $12; Kids & Seniors, $9.
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