Art: Macy's Flower Show

August 17, 2012 at 8:55PM
Last year's Macy's Flower Show
Last year's Macy's Flower Show (Margaret Andrews/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A tradition as Minnesotan as the State Fair, Macy's Flower Show has transformed the downtown department store every year for the past 47 years. But this year (said to be its biggest to date), organizers are thinking global. In partnership with Bachman's, this year's show, "Towers of Flowers," will offer nods to historical architecture such as the Eiffel Tower and Leaning Tower of Pisa via millions of live flowers, plants and trees from around the world. The show is hard to put into words, so let's take a look at it by the numbers:

  • 65,000: number of people who visit the show during its annual two-week run.
    • 3,000: hours required to complete the show.
      • 200: cubic yards of soil moved into Macy's eighth-floor auditorium.
        • 75: approximate number of plant varieties displayed during the event.
          • 24: truckloads of plants, flowers and soil hauled in for the show.
            • 10: number of iconic structures from around the world featured.
              • 9: number of days it takes to install the show.
                • 4: number of days it takes to take the show down.
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                  about the writer

                  Jahna Peloquin

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