Prairie Palette Art Gallery Bus trip to
Missouri Botanical Gardens & the Basilica of St. Louis
The Prairie Palette Art Gallery is sponsoring a charter bus trip to the Missouri Botanical
Gardens and a tour of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, on Wednesday, June 16, 2010.
This trip is open to anyone, from the casual traveler who just wants enjoy the sights to the
artist who wants to sketch, draw, paint or photograph the beautiful garden displays (all
are permitted so bring your sketch pad, your palette and/or your camera). The bus will
leave Petersburg at 6:30 am and will return by 6:30 pm. The ticket cost of $60 per
person includes admission to the gardens and a 1-hour tour of the Cathedral. (Lunch on
your own at the Gardens)
The Missouri Botanical Garden began not as an adornment to an estate, but as a public
botanical garden, a place to study and display plants. Today the Garden serves as an oasis
in the middle of the city: houses and apartments—some palatial, some practical—vie for
space with businesses in the area between the Garden and a highway to its north and a
park to its south. The Garden and Tower Grove Park honor their founder Henry Shaw.
Local parlance still refers to “Shaw’s Garden” over a hundred years after Shaw died,
bequeathing his Garden to the public.
Within the walls of these 79 acres, magnificent gardens and rare collections of botanical,
horticultural, and historical materials reside with architecturally significant buildings and
inspirational fountains and statuary. Today, the Garden is a National Historic Landmark,
the oldest botanical garden in the United States, and a world leader in botanical research.
The grounds of the Missouri Botanical Garden feature gardens, modern and traditional,
and living collections of major groups of ornamental and practical plants. Greenhouses
and conservatories display plants native to lands far removed from St. Louis.
A tour of The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, home to a vast collection of world class
mosaics and artwork, offers breathtaking architectural beauty reminiscent of the great
cathedrals of Europe. Included on the tour is the exhibition of the life sized replica in
bronze of Michelangelo's Pietá that was inaugurated with a private viewing and reception
at the Casa Buonarroti in Florence, Italy in April 2007. Currently, this is one of two
pieces being exhibited in North America, and is on loan from the owners, Legacy
Sculptures and Renaissance Sculptures, LLC.
For more information or to reserve your ticket, contact Mrs. Mies at PORTA High School
(632-3216) or email mmies@porta202.org. Be sure to sign up before the bus is filled!
The Prairie Palette Art Gallery is the project of the PORTA Community Problem Solvers
team and is part of their on-going commitment to develop and promote the talents of
local artists and artisans in Menard County.
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