Don’t Miss This Years Fête des Fleurs Event Full of Florals Fit for a Painting

Wine and dine in the gardens. This year, the lilypond will set the stage for the Claude Monet themed evening. | Photo courtesy of Denver Botanic Gardens. Photo © Scott Dressel-Martin

For an event whose roots run deep in old Denver society, Fête des Fleurs distinguishes itself by elevating its benefit for Denver Botanic Gardens to new heights while maintaining the elegance and traditions established in 1984 when such social scene icons as Katie Stapleton, Bea Taplin, Susan Sheridan, Barbara Baldwin and Marion Woods were heavily involved.

In its 39th year, the Fête des Fleurs will be held on Aug. 25, with Lindsay Morton Gaiser, president of the Andrisen Morton men’s clothing boutique in Cherry Creek North, serving as chair. Her co-chair is Mariell Kiernan, founder of Rev Food & Bev Consulting.

Gaiser is a native Denverite whose family has reveled in the splendor of Denver Botanic Gardens for generations. “We have always enjoyed the gardens and what it adds to our great city,” she says. Gaiser recalls frequent visits with her family when she was a child, and how it was a logical move to become a supporter of it when she reached adulthood.

The theme for this year’s event centers on Impressionist painter Claude Monet, his lily pad artwork and his iconic gardens in Giverny, France. Gaiser is reluctant to reveal much in advance—the element of surprise, and all—but promises exciting new specialty cocktails, a themed menu and spectacular floral displays.

Cocktail hour will be held around the gardens’ lily pond; the dinner that follows will take place in locations both indoors and out. After dinner, the scene shifts to the Freyer-Newman Center for dancing to the Jerry Barnett Orchestra. (The Freyer-Newman Center is a gallery on the DBG grounds that houses the Helen Fowler Library, the Sturm Family Auditorium, an herbaria, classrooms and the School of Botanical Art & Illustration.)

Tickets start at $450 each. Sponsor tables for 20 guests range from $15,000 to $30,000; other sponsor levels begin at $4,000 for a table for eight. Proceeds go to the gardens’ education and outreach programs.

Fête des Fleurs is unique in that there are no speeches (other than brief welcoming remarks), awards, paddle-raisers or live auction bidding. Guests, however, are encouraged to participate in Text-to-Give, a campaign where gifts of any amount can be made up to one week after Fête des Fleurs 2023 concludes.

“Fête is a very quiet event, where people can give at their leisure,” Gaiser says. “We want the evening to be one where we can reunite with friends at the end of summer, kick off the start of school, and ease into fall.”

The plan obviously works, as proceeds from the previous year hit a record $500,000. “We’re always pleasantly surprised by the generosity of our guests. They, like us, know what an asset the gardens are to our great city, and they’re happy to support it.”