WDW Daily News

Walt Disney World Resort guests visiting The American Adventure pavilion at Epcot will see exciting updates as part of an expansion of  ”Re-Discovering America: Family Treasures from the Kinsey Collection” this spring.  Additional images, artwork and artifacts related to watershed moments in American history will soon be on display.

Walt Disney Imagineers, along with philanthropists Bernard, Shirley and Khalil Kinsey, have begun to add several new artifacts and display cases to the popular cultural exhibit and will continue to do so in coming months.

“The Kinsey Collection shares the powerful and previously untold stories of those who dared to dream,” said Erin Youngs, vice president of Epcot. “Representing more than 400 years of African-American achievement and history, the Kinsey Collection showcases the best of the American spirit with a nod to ingenuity and innovation. We are delighted to expand the exhibit and bring even more of these treasures to Epcot guests.”

Themed to hope, belief, courage, imagination and heritage, the exhibit provides empowering stories of American history from voices that are not commonly seen or heard. Art and artifacts pay homage to African Americans who helped build and transform a nation. Their stories of determination and courage, from the nation’s early days to the present, are at the heart of the exhibit.

New objects joining the exhibit this spring include:

• Distribution of Population in New York, 1801 – At the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, states with smaller populations voiced their concern about representation at the federal level. This resulted in the Three-Fifths Compromise stating that only three-fifths of the slave population would be counted in the census. The Distribution of Population in New York, 1801 was one of the first few census calculations done by the state of New York following the compromise.
• Noon Wash by artist Jonathan Green — Passionate about promoting cross-cultural fine art, Green reflects an inherent sense of history and place as he shares the story of the southern experience. His work with acrylic and oil paints reflect the hope of African Americans throughout history. A number of his works are inspired by his upbringing in the Gullah community of coastal South Carolina.
• Slave Songs of the United States – Published in 1867, this original collection of African American music was the first of its kind. Northern abolitionists William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware and Lucy McKim Garrison collected 136 songs from the slaves of Southern plantations, phonetically recording them as they heard them, in an effort to preserve the unique and powerful art form.
• Tintype Photographs – Popularized in the mid-1850s, tintypes were easier to produce than previous methods and made photographs accessible to more people. Though their names have been lost to history, the subjects of the tintype portraits included in the exhibit continue to share their stories of courage .
• Carte de Visite – Following a similar printing process as tintypes, carte de visite photographs were easier and more economical to produce, with the image printed on a high quality paper. The carte de visite photographs being added to the Courage portion of the exhibit feature African American soldiers from both sides of the Civil War

The Kinsey family’s private collection features rare art, documents, books and artifacts and has been displayed throughout the U.S., including the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Since opening at Epcot on March 8, 2013, approximately 40 pieces have been on display at the interactive exhibit where guests are able to use touch screens to further explore the art, artifacts and history. Guest-activated lanterns also help bring the history to life with narration provided by celebrity narrators including Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg (“The View”) Diane Sawyer (“ABC World News with Diane Sawyer”), actress Kerry Washington (“Scandal”) and more.

Many notable visitors have experienced the exhibit including actor Blair Underwood, NBA Champion John Salley and R&B legends Boyz II Men.

“Re-Discovering America: Family Treasures from the Kinsey Collection” is included in Epcot admission. For more information about the collection, visit thekinseycollection.com.

This spring, guests can boogie to their favorite “far out” pop tunes and rock ‘n’ roll classics of the 1960s and ’70s at the Flower Power concert series during the 21st Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.

The lineup will feature two new-to-the-festival acts: Gary Lewis and The Playboys (“This Diamond Ring”) and Alan Parsons Live Project (“Eye in the Sky”).

Here is the 2014 lineup (subject to change without notice):

• March 7-9                    The Guess Who “American Woman”
• March 14-16                NEW! Gary Lewis and The Playboys “This Diamond Ring”
• March 21-23                The Orchestra starring former members of ELO “Evil Woman”
• March 28-30               The Lovin’ Spoonful “Summer in the City”
• April 4-6                        Paul Revere & The Raiders “Good Thing”
• April 11-13                    Village People “Y.M.C.A.”
• April 18-20                   The Grass Roots “Midnight Confessions”
• April 25-27                   Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone “I’m Henry VIII, I am”
• May 2-4                         Starship starring Mickey Thomas “We Built This City”
• May 9-11                       Chubby Checker & The Wildcats “The Twist”
• May 16-18                     NEW! Alan Parsons Live Project “Eye in the Sky”

Performances are at America Gardens Theatre at 5:30, 6:45 and 8 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival and are included with Epcot admission. For additional information, visit www.epcotinspring.com.

The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival will run from September 19 – November 10, 2014. Stay tuned for more details about the event.

Kermit the Frog will find it is easy being green when his artfully-crafted character topiary debuts during the 21st Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival presented by HGTV March 5 to May 18, 2014 at Walt Disney World Resort.  With flamboyance to spare, a floral Miss Piggy will join Kermit and his blooming banjo in the World Showcase topiary display.

Urban Farm Eats will be the new Outdoor Kitchen on the promenade with a sustainable garden featuring tilapia, eggplant and other farm-raised treats. Guests can try new menu items including the Land-Grown Eggplant “Scallop” with Romesco Sauce, Ghost Pepper Dusted Tilapia with Winter Melon Salad and Mango Chutney, plus red and white vegan wines and gluten-free beer.

The festival’s nearly 100 whimsical topiaries and its 11 tantalizing Outdoor Kitchens with sweet and savory indulgent bites are reason enough to visit the 75-day flower and garden extravaganza. Yet the park will be packed with so much more as it transforms to a rainbow-hued wonderland of sweeping gardens and exhibits. Stars of HGTV, including Alison Victoria of “Kitchen Crashers” and Matt Blashaw of “Yard Crashers,” will appear each weekend at the Festival Center, Audubon will debut its new Hummingbird Garden and Mike & Sulley’s Monstrous Garden opens as a fun-filled play land.

More Festival News . . .

• Goofy, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck topiaries will appear in a new Epcot front entrance garden vignette celebrating spring with a butterfly hunt adventure.  The topiaries will have a new computer-generated look while telling an entertaining story.  Goofy’s butterfly net will prove useless as topiary butterflies light on the back of his floral garb.  A topiary bee buzzes on an exasperated Donald’s head.  The garden will feature a real waterfall and pond with water lilies.
• Now in their second festival year, the festival’s 11 food and beverage garden marketplaces have been dubbed Outdoor Kitchens, where chefs will be cooking a variety of new and popular returning menu items, including vegetarian and gluten-free dishes, in 2014. At The Smokehouse BBQ Outdoor Kitchen, Piggylicious Bacon Cupcakes and Smoked Turkey Ribs are on tap with a lineup of great brews. Last year’s top menu picks like the Watermelon Salad with local baby arugula, feta cheese, pickled red onions and balsamic reduction will be back for an encore at the Florida Fresh Outdoor Kitchen.
• A new Mike & Sulley’s Monstrous Garden welcomes families with a whimsical play land of activities. Dozens of additional character topiaries, including Mickey Mouse and Peter Pan will surprise guests beyond the park’s iconic Spaceship Earth.
• The Flower Power Concert Series welcomes two new acts in 2014:  Gary Lewis and the Playboys (“This Diamond Ring”) March 14-16, and The Alan Parsons Live Project (“Eye in the Sky”) May 16-18.  During opening weekend, the series kicks off at America Gardens Theatre with fan-favorite band The Guess Who (“American Woman”) March 7-9.  Other pop acts set to perform include Chubby Checker & the Wildcats, The Village People and Paul Revere & The Raiders. (Entertainment is subject to change).
• Hummingbirds at Home, a new exhibit presented by the National Audubon Society, will feature walk-through hummingbird gardens and tips on how to attract the magical creatures that migrate to Florida from Central America each year.
• For the second year, illuminated gardens will cast a festive glow across the park when the sun sets each evening.
• Mater of the Disney-Pixar “Cars” film hit is back by demand with the new Mater’s Parts, Plants and Play Garden. Tinker Bell’s Butterfly House will be aflutter with hundreds of the winged beauties and a fairy topiary of Tinker Bell.
• At the Festival Center in the park’s Future World, twice-daily interactive gardening workshops will set the stage for outdoor do-it-yourself inspiration, and gardening guest speakers will appear daily.  Fridays through Sundays, HGTV design celebrities will host home, garden and design seminars.

As they sample from marketplace menus, guests can wander among multiple themed gardens and children’s play areas.  Dozens of Disney-crafted “flower towers,” herb gardens and beds of multi-colored blooms will add to the floral splendor of the park’s landscape.  Disney’s garden gurus estimate 70,000 bedding plants will surround the Future World east and west lakes alone; on the water, 220 mini-gardens will be set afloat.  Several special weekend happenings, including the popular Art in the Garden Weekend, will be scheduled.

While Disney guests celebrate spring, they also can explore the reimagined, design-centric Test Track Presented by Chevrolet, the hang-gliding sensation of Soarin’ and other high-tech Future World marvels.  In World Showcase, the spotlight will shine on topiaries of Disney princesses, storybook characters and even pandas and trolls, guests can discover the attractions, shops and restaurants that represent cultures and cuisine of 11 countries. Spice Road Table, which debuted in January at the Morocco showcase, will be open for lagoon-side noshing on tasty tapas.

For more information about the 21st Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, call 407/W-DISNEY (934-7639) or visit www.epcotinspring.com.  The festival, including all gardening programs and exhibits, is included in regular Epcot admission.