Salt Lake City— Red Butte Garden announced today that plans are underway for Bootanical, a Halloween-inspired October festival featuring seasonal decorations, dazzling evening light displays, immersive educational activities and local entertainment. Made possible by a generous grant from Create in Utah, the month-long festivities will include several free public days, giving more people in the community a chance to experience fall in Red Butte Garden. In acknowledging the grant award, Executive Director Jimmy Turner said, “This has been a difficult year for the community’s art and cultural institutions, including Red Butte Garden. We are grateful to Create in Utah for this funding that supports our ongoing operations and gives us the opportunity to continue a 20-year tradition of providing family-friendly Halloween entertainment.”

Bootanical will introduce guests to the seven kings and queens of Halloween who have taken over parts of the Garden. As they visit each ruler’s locale, guests will discover ties between the friendly monsters and the natural world. In addition, each ruler will have a task or challenge for guests to complete before moving onto the next station. Local storytellers, dancers, and artists will be on hand to keep guests of all ages entertained throughout their journey. There will also be classes and demonstrations for those wishing to hone new skills, as well as an online pumpkin decorating contest for guests to showcase their artistic talents.

Red Butte Garden closed to the public on March 13 and soon after cancelled all summer programming and events. The Garden reopened in June with limited hours and guest capacity, but there has been no way to recoup the loss of millions of dollars needed to sustain operations of the state’s largest botanical garden and arboretum. Seasonal staff were put on short work break status and all full-time staff were put on furlough for all or a portion of their work schedule. The Create in Utah grant, made possible by the CARES Act, provided funds that will be used to support operations and host the public for a seasonal event.

Guests will be required to observe a number of protocols to ensure the safety of others. These include reserving a visitation time slot online, wearing face coverings and following a one-way, predetermined path through the Garden. The complete list of restrictions and guidelines for visiting are listed on the garden’s website, redbuttegarden.org/bootanical.

About Red Butte Garden Red Butte Garden is the largest botanical garden in the Intermountain West and together with the University of Utah, is a state arboretum. The Garden has welcomed guests since 1985 and is the largest botanical garden in the Intermountain West, with over 21 acres of developed gardens and five miles of hiking trails winding through an extensive natural area. The Garden is renowned for its numerous plant collections, display gardens, world-class Outdoor Concert Series, and award-winning horticulture-based educational programs. For more information, visit www.redbuttegarden.org.