Star-TelegramFor nearly two decades, the event has featured the release of butterflies to celebrate the annual march of the monarchs in the fall as they migrate from the northern United States and Canada south to Mexico.
Last year’s 19th annual festival featured a parade of kids and pets in butterfly costumes and four releases of hundreds of butterflies.
The city wanted a way to honor the annual event as well as the 2015 passing of Mayor Pro Tem C. Shane Wilbanks.
Mayor William D. Tate said in his eulogy for the former City Councilman that, “He came up with the idea for the Botanical Gardens after visiting one in the Midwest.”
City Council earlier this year commissioned a butterfly sculpture for the gardens called “Transition to Beauty.”
The sculpture, which will honor Wilbanks and his wife, Paula, will be roughly 22 feet high and welcome visitors at the Grapevine Botanical Gardens. The butterflies will be made from metal and will be all sorts of styles, sizes and colors.
Linda Lewis-Roark, owner of the Grapevine Foundry, will use her more-than-15-years of sculpting experience to create the piece.
“Visitors will be able to stand in the middle of it and take in its beauty,” said Sasha Haverkamp of the city’s parks and recreation department.
The sculptor, Lewis-Roark, whose creations include bronze horse heads and life-size statues, said her craft “comes effortlessly to me.”
“It’s a gift from God, that’s for sure,” she said.
Wilbanks, who died at age 73 of natural causes in his Grapevine home, was an avid supporter of the botanical gardens and was the city’s liaison to the Parks and Recreation Board.
Wilbanks and the Grapevine Garden Club’s longtime dream of a greenhouse became a reality on Jan. 27 when a grand opening was held at the gardens, which features trails, streams, ponds, sitting areas and several hundred plant varieties.
The greenhouse will support conservation and environmental classes that teach native plant and water-wise sustainable gardening practices, composting, how to create a wildlife habitat and how to grow vegetables and still have a beautiful garden to enjoy.