Illinois State University’s Horticulture Center will celebrate its 20th anniversary during the annual Autumnal Festival on Saturday, September 13, and Sunday, September 14. This year’s theme, The Refrains of Nature: Revealing the World’s Hidden Patterns, will showcase the intersection of art, science, and community in the gardens.Director of the Horticulture Center Jessica Chambers ’93, who has led the center since its founding, said the anniversary offers a moment to reflect on how far the center has come. When she started 20 years ago, the land was a corn and soybean field with only a conceptual plan.“Pretty quickly, I realized that without any support or funds, that conceptual plan was going to take a long time,” said Chambers. “So then, I looked at it and I thought, ‘OK, what can I do?’ That was the prairie. That was really the first garden we started.”The prairie remains Chambers’ favorite feature of the Horticulture Center. She said it has taught her respect for Illinois’ natural history and offered a way to educate visitors.“Every time we have a visitor, I’m trying to share, educate, and just show them some really cool prairie plants,” she said. “Most Illinoisians don’t understand or grasp prairie at all.”The Horticulture Center’s growth has been fueled by students, volunteers, and community partnerships. Chambers said the Autumnal Festival is not just a fundraiser but also a celebration of the people who sustain the center.“Volunteers have become family,” she said.She said that the festival is designed to offer more than entertainment.“What makes it different than other fall festivals is that we really try—and I thoroughly believe in this noble pursuit of education—to make sure people learn something new,” she said. “In recent years, we’ve also added more art elements, from student showcases to volunteer artwork, because bringing nature and art together creates a really meaningful experience.”Learn more:Follow Illinois State University Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IllinoisStateUniversity Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/illinoisstateu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/Illinois-State-University TikTok: https://www.TikTok.com/@illinoisstateu

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