Sierra Madre Wistaria Festival  March 25, 2012 sierramadrechamber.com  call 626-355-5111

Vine viewing: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Art & Garden Faire: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Cost: $10/person; Seniors and kids 6 - 16, $7, age 5 and under free

Art & Garden Faire, 150+ juried artisans, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Village restaurants featuring indoor and outdoor dining
Student art sale at the Creative Arts Group

Includes more than 150 crafters, Live Music Venues all day, Children's Activities and Food Court in Memorial Park The Gateway... entertainment, activities and attractions include: arts, crafts, and food vendors.

Sierra Madre has the world's largest blossoming plant, a Wistaria that's called One of the Seven Horticultural Wonders of the World. The plant is over 100 years old, and a festival each year tattracts thousands to see this monstrous, gorgeous specimen filled with fragrance and displaying shades of purple and lavender. 

It is believed William and Alice Brugman purchased the small plant at a local nursery and in 1894. It has outlived the couple and continues to spread joy with its beauty and size today.  The Wistaria Festival brings thousands to an annual event and celebration that showcases a living entity that:

Contains 1.5 million luxuriant lavender blossoms
Weights approx. 250 tons
Is more than one acre in size
Has 500 foot branches
Contains 40 blossoms per sq. foot
Experiences a growth rate around  24 - 26" in 24 to 48 hours
Is named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest blossoming plant in the world
Is named one of the seven horticultural wonders of the world, along with the redwood forest in Sequoia National Park, Brazil's tropical jungle in the Amazon Valley, Mexico's Xochimilco floating gardens, India's gardens of the Taj Mahal, Japan's Yokohama rock gardens, and the gardens of Buckingham Palace

Location:
Take Foothill freeway (210) to Baldwin Avenue off-ramp;
Go north one mile to Sierra Madre Boulevard for Festivities, shuttle buses, information and parking.

Limited handicapped parking on the southeast corner of Baldwin and Montecito. Baldwin Ave. north will be closed at Sierra Madre Blvd., so make a right, go to the first stop at Mountain Trail, go north (left) to Montecito, go left to Baldwin.

Tickets: Required to enter vine-viewing grounds. Shuttle ticket serves as entry ticket, if not riding shuttle, walk-in ticket is required.

Advance reservations required; tickets limited
Shuttle buses (optional; however, walk is one mile uphill, between downtown Sierra Madre and Wistaria Vine).
Order Shuttle Tickets Online -
$10/person; Seniors and kids 6 - 16, $7, age 5 and under free (price is the same, whether you go one way or round trip, no refunds or exchanges)
Make check payable to Sierra Madre Chamber of Commerce
Include check with your request for vine-viewing tickets
State your preferred hour between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., as well as an alternate time;

Send a self-addressed envelope (#10) with adequate postage, to

"Wistaria Tickets"
Sierra Madre Chamber of Commerce, 20 W. Montecito Ave., Ste. C, Sierra Madre, CA 91024. 

Note: Grounds are on private property; access incompatible for people with limited mobility; call 626-355-5111 for more information. Wheelchairs, strollers not allowed.