Experience a butterfly’s annual migration from the Midwest to Mexico at the annual Festival of Butterflies at Powell Gardens, Kansas City’s botanical garden, from July 24 to August 9.
The festival begins in the glass-walled Martha Jane Phillips Starr Butterfly Conservatory, which will have more than a 1,000 butterflies and moths flying among tropical plants that are native to the natural habitats of these pollinators. Visitors can witness metamorphosis from chrysalis to butterfly and cocoon to moth as each takes flight for the first time.
Visitors can also follow an outdoor trail that traces the migratory path of the monarch butterfly. The journey begins in the Seed to Plate Greenhouse, which will be transformed into a facsimile of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacán, Mexico, a World Heritage Site where monarch butterflies spend the winter months. From there, they continue on through stops that feature nectar and host plants from Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas before culminating at the outdoor habitat where Powell Gardens raises native Missouri butterflies each year.
The festival includes educational events, family activities and butterfly-themed treats created by chef Michael Foust, the gardens’ new culinary partner.
Find information on additional festival events, admission and COVID-19 health precautions at Powell Gardens, 1609 N.W. U.S. Highway 50, Kingsville, MO.