Celebrate Butterflies and Gardens in Westerly

One of summer’s more beautiful creatures, butterflies, will be celebrated in butterfly release this month in Westerly. A joint promotional event by the Greater Westerly-Pawcatuck Area Chamber of Commerce and the Westerly Lions Club, the butterfly weekend involves two events: a private butterfly release on Thursday, July 11, and a public butterfly garden July 12-14 at Pleasant Acres Nursery. At the private butterfly release, patrons can sponsor a butterfly for $20 and watch it fly away into nature. From July 12-14, two greenhouses will be open for the Butterfly Garden and activities center, where all kinds of creatures will be on display. This event’s multi-colored visual display will have at least 1,000 butterflies from Monarchs to Painted Ladies. The weekend will include fun educational family programs by contributing organizations such as Mystic Aquarium, Born to Be Wild Nature Center, Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, Save the Bay and Stuart Woronecki, featuring a touch tank, five birds of prey, frogs, turtles, snakes and a beekeeper displaying his “hobby.” There will even be a butterfly parade on Saturday, offering face painting, butterfly tattoos and a photo station. Admission is $3 for children and $5 for adults, with group discounts for summer camps and daycare facilities.