
LOTS OF LEARNING — DeLand Garden Club educator Jim West teaches Monarch Magic attendees about butterflies. West designed the butterfly garden at Bill Dreggors Park, 230 N. Stone St., in DeLand. People all over Florida can enjoy his gardens, too: West designed the garden at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee.
Kids, families and butterfly-lovers celebrated one of our ecosystem’s most important pollinators Oct. 15 at Bill Dreggors Park in DeLand. The event featured games, drawings and opportunities to learn all about butterflies.
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GETTING READY — From left, Mackenzie Morgan, DeLand Garden Club member Mary Ripple and First Vice President Lisa Schnetzer help set up decorations for the Monarch Magic pollinator parade.

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OTHER POLLINATORS, TOO — Garden Club member Cheryl Floyd, left, dresses as a butterfly for Monarch Magic, while Carol Roddenberry is a bee, another important pollinator.

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SOUTH FOR WINTER — Crowds of kids take part in the pollinator parade at the DeLand Garden Club’s Monarch Magic event. While not quite as far as the thousands of miles monarch butterflies migrate every year, kids — many dressed as butterflies — migrated from one end of Bill Dreggors Park to the other.

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BEST BUD-TERFLIES — Mackenzie Morgan, left, and Kamille Huguenin enjoy Monarch Magic all decked out in their butterfly best.

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CATERPILLAR KID — Grace Marchetti tries her hand at acting like a caterpillar in a new direction featured in the butterfly garden at Bill Dreggors Park in DeLand. The Garden Club member who painted the caterpillar, Lynda Stein, is pictured at right.

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ALL AGES — From left are Lupita and Rick Wiggins with their grandkids, Matt and Ben Wiggins. The family came out to Bill Dreggors Park to enjoy Monarch Magic together. Lupita Wiggins is wearing overalls with decorative butterflies hand-stitched into the fabric.

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WHAT’S THE BUZZ? — Dominic Watson, at left, and his family check out some of Marlin’s Bees owner Donna Athearn’s bees at Monarch Magic. Watson is pictured with his kids, Zuri Watson, Zoë Watson and Eva Daniel, along with his girlfriend, Kiersten Stroud.

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THE EXPERTS — From left are DeLand Garden Club President Marshall Rawson and club members Erin Miceli and Kathy Johnson. Johnson, Rawson, Miceli and others staffed tables where they gave away plants, seeds and lots of information about butterflies and the plants that attract these important pollinators.