BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.5//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:669@newtonconservators.org DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T113000 DTSTAMP:20260918T175955Z URL:https://newtonconservators.org/events/6th-annual-newton-monarch-festiv al/ SUMMARY:6th Annual Newton Monarch Festival DESCRIPTION:Get ready for a day of family fun and monarch magic! The Sixth Annual Newton Monarch Festival is fluttering into Wellington Park\, Wes t Newton on Saturday\, September 19th\, 2026\, from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM. \n\nThis free community event is perfect for all ages\, especially kids wh o are naturally fascinated by the wonders of nature and butterflies. Join us for a unique opportunity to learn about these incredible creatures and discover how you can help protect them by providing habitat.\n\nEvent Deta ils\n\n Date: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\n Time: 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM\n Rain Date: Sunday\, September 20\, 2026\n Location: Wellington Par k\, Kilburn Road\, West Newton MA\n Registration:    If haven’t alre ady\, please register below to help us plan for a successful day.  Regist er for this event below!\n\nWhat to Expect at the Monarch Festival\n\n Li ve Monarch Encounters: Kids have a natural fascination with nature and bu tterflies and will enjoy\nseeing monarchs up close in every stage of their life cycle – from tiny eggs and munching caterpillars to fascinating ch rysalises and newly emerged adult butterflies. We expect to be releasing s ome!\nNOTE:  This year's festival is a little later than usual and the mo narchs have been fewer than usual.  Unfortunately\, currently we do not h ave any monarch eggs\, caterpillars\, chrysalis\, or butterflies available - the ones we did have\, have matured and are hopefully safely on their w ay to the Mexican mountains on their amazing migratory journey.  Instead we will be have informational presentations by local enthusiasts on the mo narch life cycle\, how to find eggs\, the importance and varieties of milk weed\, why native plants are important and more!\n Butterfly Garden Tours : Explore Wellington Park’s beautiful gardens\, featuring native milkwee d and other pollinator-friendly plants crucial for monarch survival.  Ge t to know and recognize the three typical milkweeds for our New England re gion – Common Milkweed\, Swamp Milkweed\, and Butterfly Milkweed.  Well ington Park has two large gardens containing these types of milkweed as we ll as other colorful native flowers and plants attractive to Monarchs and other pollinators.\n Bug Tour:  Get to know the pollinator insects in yo ur garden with a  bug tour of the Wellington gardens looking for bees\, b utterflies\, moths\, flies\, beetles\, crickets and grasshoppers\, and mor e!  Learn how to easily photograph them with your smartphone and ID with INaturalist.\n Kids’ Zone: Enjoy a variety of butterfly-themed games\, activities\, arts &\; crafts\, and coloring sheets\, courtesy of the Ne wton Parks\, Recreation\, and Culture Department.  Wellington Park also h as swings\, a toddler play area\, and a sensory dome play structure for ol der children.\n Milkweed Exchange:  Monarchs rely on milkweed for their survival for laying eggs and as food for their caterpillar stage.  To he lp these incredible insects\, consider planting New England native milkwee d varieties like Common Milkweed\, Swamp Milkweed\, or Butterfly Milkweed in your garden. Pick up some free milkweed plants and seeds at the festi val to help you get started!  We will provide a sheet with planting inst ructions and guidelines.  If you  have milkweed plants\, seeds\, or see d pods  to share\, please bring them along to our Exchange table. Please label seeds (in small bags or envelopes) and plants according to the type of milkweed.\n Expert Insights: Meet some local monarch experts who maint ain official Monarch Waystations and earn their tips for attracting these pollinators to your own garden.   If you have a garden containing milkwe ed and other pollinator plants to help sustain the Monarch population\, we ’d love to have you come and share your knowledge!.\n Prize Drawings:  Registered attendees will have a free chance to win exciting butterfly-rel ated prizes!\n Directions &\; Parking:\nWellington Park is located in West Newton\, a few blocks north of West Newton Square. Park entrances are on Kilburn Road and Princess Road (near Princess and Lindbergh Ave).   Please note: Parking is permitted only on the southbound side of Kilbu rn Road due to its narrowness. Additional on-street parking can be found o n nearby streets such as Henshaw Street\, Henshaw Place\, Henshaw Terrace\ , Lindbergh Avenue\, Southgate Park\, Northgate Park\, and Byrd Ave. When parking on these residential streets\, please be courteous to neighbors an d park on the same side as other cars.\n Attendance is FREE!\nWe encourag e you to register below to receive important weather-related updates and information about future pollinator events and be eligible for the free pr ize drawings.   When you arrive\, please check in at the green Newton C onservators tent and look for the posted schedule of events with tour and session times.\n Meet the Mayor!\nWe expect Newton Mayor Mark Laredo to a ttend and he may be making some remarks in the 11-11:30 time frame.\n\n P resented By:\nThe Newton Monarch Festival is presented and cosponsored by  Newton Conservators\, Newton Parks Recreation and Culture Department\,  Newton Community Pollinator Project\, Green Newton\, Friends of Cold S pring Park\, Friends of Wellington Park\,  Mothers Out Front Newton\, an d the Monarch Protection Project. There will be representatives on hand fr om many of these fine organizations in case you wanted to learn more about them.\n Newton Pollinator Garden Tour:\nOur free 4th Annual Newton Polli nator Garden Tour occurs in the afternoon across Newton including Wellingt on Park.  Pick up a free map  and tour schedule to visit both public and private gardens that contain a lot of native pollinator plants\n\nIf inte rested in volunteering to help make this day a success or report on your m onarch experience this year\,  contact Ted Kuklinski tkuklinski@aol.com.   Hope to see you on Saturday\, September 19th at the Newton Monarch Fest ival celebration!\n\n ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://newtonconservators.org/wp-content/upload s/2022/08/Monarch-Festival-Logo.jpg CATEGORIES:Recreation & Culture,Special Events LOCATION:Wellington Park\, Kilburn Road\, Newton\, MA\, United States GEO:42.354499;-71.227462 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Kilburn Road\, Newton\, MA\ , United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Wellington Park:geo:42.354499,- 71.227462 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR