2023 Windsor Monarch Festival

The Monarch Festival (July 8) kicks off our Upcycled Pollinator Planter Challenge (July 8 - 15)! The festival is an eco-friendly fair; we focus on green initiatives like gardening, recycling, environmentalism, and protection of the endangered monarch butterfly. Join in the fun at this unique, artsy, green event! The festival includes over 30 vendors with amazing eco-friendly artisan goods for sale including home decor, jewelry, healthy skin care products, art made from reused materials, nature photography, and more. There are activities for the whole family including making a fluttering butterfly, rock painting, kids costume pollinator parade, make a butterfly brooch, face painting, make a bird scarer for your garden, and planting marigolds to take home. An acclaimed chalk artist will be there to create a beautiful chalk mural with lots of chalk for you to create with too! There will be an Electric Vehicle Display with cars and bikes for you to enjoy and learn about. The Windsor Monarch Project committee and First Town Downtown encourage you to visit Windsor Center from July 8-15, where forty upcycled planters will be on display at various sponsor business locations and on the Windsor Town Green. Designers, artisans, and local gardening enthusiasts have crafted butterfly friendly planters from a variety of unusual items. Vote for your favorite planter and the designer with the most ‘likes’ will receive a prize! You’ll also have the unique opportunity to take one of these artistic and one-of-a-kind planters to your own home, by bidding for it in the online auction. The Upcycled Planter Challenge coincides with the Windsor Garden Tour on July 15. The Windsor Monarch Project is part of First Town Downtown. It serves to preserve the health of the Monarch Butterfly through "raise and release" programs, planting butterfly habitats and educating the public of the vital importance the monarch plays in our environment. First Town Downtown Inc is 501(c)(3) organization. The mission of First Town Downtown is to position and promote Windsor Center as a premier New England town center that protects and utilizes its proud heritage as the basis for developing vibrant recreational, economic and cultural activity. To learn more about First Town Downtown Inc go to www.FirstTownDowntown.org or call 860-247-8982