Denver Urban Gardens and Denver Parks & Recreation Present Flourish!

Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) and Denver Parks & Recreation present Flourish!, a community-wide event to celebrate DUG’s 25th anniversary and 100th community garden at Ruby Hill Park.

Since 1985, DUG has continued to fulfill its mission of helping communities grow, one urban garden at a time, by offering neighborhoods the essential resources for community gardens, including on-going technical expertise and support.

Residents are invited to this free celebration at Ruby Hill Park at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010. Local media and key community leaders will join DUG at Ruby Hill for a groundbreaking ceremony of DUG’s 100th community garden site.

“DUG’s 100th garden is an incredible milestone,” said Michael Buchenau, executive director at DUG. “We selected Ruby Hill Park for the garden location because of its incredible history, beautiful views and proximity to neighborhoods that can benefit from a community garden.”

Following the groundbreaking, attendees will be entertained by a cooking competition and community concert sponsored by Swallow Hill.

Local chefs from seven of Denver’s great restaurants will compete, using locally-grown, fresh ingredients and the winner will be determined by a panel of local celebrities. Participants include Bistro One, Limon, Jonsey’s EatBar, Root Down, Village Cork, Black Pearl and WaterCourse Foods.

Throughout the day, families will also have the opportunity to interact with hands-on garden and sustainability-themed activities.

Swallow Hill will host a concert of an all-star lineup of musical acts, including national singer/songwriters Patty Larkin and Lucy Kaplansky, national children’s musician Justin Roberts and local Latin reggae band, Mono Verde.

The community is encouraged to bike to Flourish! and bring a picnic lunch.

“Ruby Hill is fast becoming the cornerstone of our redevelopment of the Platte River corridor,” said Kevin Patterson, Manager of Denver Parks and Recreation. “Combining the future Gates Redevelopment Project, the Denver Moves pedestrian and bicycle trail improvements and the construction at Ruby Hill, including this community garden, will assure that Ruby Hill becomes the destination it is meant to be.”

To find out more about Flourish!, visit www.dug.org/flourish.

About Denver Urban Gardens:
Since 1985, Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) has operated and assisted with the creation and management of metro-area community gardens. DUG provides opportunities for low- to moderate-income populations in urban neighborhoods, to supplement their diet with produce grown in nearby community gardens. Through community gardening, participants assume responsibility to improve their community, initiate a sense of pride in their surroundings and improve their nutritional status through healthy, fresh food. For more information or to find your nearest garden, call (303) 292-9900 or visit www.dug.org.

About Denver Parks & Recreation:
Denver Parks + Recreation (DPR) offers nearly 3,000 acres of traditional parks and parkways, 2,000 urban natural acres and close to 8,000 acres of urban forest within the city alone. It is unique in that it also offers nearly 14,000 acres of mountain park land. The system has evolved from the early years of jungle gyms and swings to more than two dozen recreation centers and 17 outdoor pools offering high-quality programs.