June 4, 2021 | 6pm - 11pm
Planning is underway for the 2021 Moonlight & Roses – our 40th anniversary of the event! Save the date for Friday, June 4, 2021. More details to come!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Moonlight & Roses gala! We had a beautiful evening in the garden honoring Mary and Richard Graham and The Haverford Trust Company, while raising funds to support all aspects of the Arboretum’s mission. Save the date for next year – June 5, 2020.
What could be better than a magical night of dining and dancing under the stars, surrounded by the lush beauty of roses in bloom?
Moonlight & Roses is the Morris Arboretum’s annual fundraising event to support all aspects of the Arboretum’s mission. The evening begins with cocktails in our stunning Rose Garden at the peak of its bloom. Dinner follows underneath of a clear-top tent with a live band, dancing and open bar.
Registration is now open at the Benefactor and Patron levels. Guests at these levels will be invited to attend a VIP reception in the Rose Garden from 5:30 – 6 p.m. on the evening of the gala and will receive premium valet parking for the event. Click here to register now. Register by March 6 to be listed on the invitation, which will be mailed in April.
Reservations for our Supporter and Young Friend levels will be available in April.
Invitations will be mailed to all Holly level members and above. If you wish to receive a copy, please contact Kristen Casalenuovo at 215-247-5777 x418 or kcasal@upenn.edu.
This year we are delighted to honor Susan and Robert (Bob) Peck, longtime residents of Chestnut Hill and supporters of the Arboretum for three decades. Susan is currently the Arboretum’s Vice Chair of the Advisory Board of Managers and serves on multiple Arboretum committees. She holds a Doctor of Science degree from the Harvard School of Public Health and is a member of the Garden Club of Philadelphia. Susan also serves as a board member on both the Chestnut Hill Garden District Fund and the Chestnut Hill Conservancy. Bob, a graduate of Princeton University and the Winterthur Program in Early American History, is the Senior Fellow of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. He has traveled widely in South America, Africa, and Asia on behalf of the Academy. The author of many articles and more than a dozen books, he has been honored by the Explorers Club and the Garden Club of America for his environmental writing. One of three new species of frogs he discovered in South America has been named in his honor.
TreePhilly is a program of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and Fairmount Park Conservancy that promotes Philadelphia’s urban forest and provides residents with the resources they need to plant and care for trees in their own yards and in public spaces. TreePhilly was created in response to the Greenworks sustainability plan and the City of Philadelphia’s goal to increase tree canopy in the city to 30% in all neighborhoods.
Through the Yard Tree Giveaway Program, TreePhilly has distributed over 24,000 free yard trees in neighborhoods of highest need. TreePhilly also engages residents in the planting and care of Philadelphia’s public forested lands and street trees, hosts an annual Arbor Day celebration, spreads the word about the importance of trees through the City of Arborly Love brand, and brings together urban forestry stakeholders across the city and region to connect and collaborate.
Moonlight & Roses is the Morris Arboretum’s annual fundraising gala. All proceeds from the 2021 event will be designated for the Arboretum’s Resilience Fund, a new fund that helps to ensure that the Arboretum can remain fully staffed and open to the public, even during trying times.
Morris Arboretum would be happy to provide you with more information on the Corporate sponsorship benefits of Moonlight & Roses and the many effective ways to tap into the loyalty and buying power of the over 3,000 households who receive the invitation each year, the 10,000 constituents who subscribe to the Morris Arboretum e-newsletter and the over 880,000 people that visit our website each year.
To become a corporate sponsor, please contact Kristen Casalenuovo at 215.247.5777 x418 or kcasal@upenn.edu.
Honorees
Susan and Robert Peck
Institutional Honoree
TreePhilly
Bronze Sponsors
Lee Laden
Gabrielle Baugh
Christine Bamberger
Ruth Chang
Amanda Cobb
Amy Coleman
Kelly Culley
Allison DeCaro
Jessie Deming
Gail Detweiler
Kim Frisbie
Melissa Greiner
Katharine Hager
Ellen Nalle Hass
Natalie Collins Hirshorn
Margaret O’Neill
Jennifer Ratner
Rebekah Rendell
Elizabeth M. Salata
Sarah Salmon
Erin Standring
Christine Wilmerding
Chairing the 2021 Moonlight & Roses Planning Committee is Gabrielle Baugh. Gabrielle is a Philadelphia native and a longtime member of the Moonlight and Roses committee and the Arboretum’s development committee. She is also an active member of the Penn Towne Chapter of The Links Inc. and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. An award-winning competitive floral arranger, Gabrielle is the 2020-2021 chair of the arrangement classes of the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show.
The 2021 Honorary chair is Lee Laden. Lee, along with her late husband, Steven, became involved with the Arboretum more than three decades ago. They often hosted the Arboretum guides and interns at their West Mt. Airy home. Steve was a member of the Marketing Committee and was instrumental in helping to connect University of Pennsylvania students with the Arboretum. In 2010, Lee established the Steven Laden Marketing Endowment which provides support for Marketing and Social Media efforts. Lee has served on the Marketing Committee since 2010 and is a member of both the Lydia Morris Legacy Society and the Directors’ Guild. She was also a volunteer education guide for many years. Lee’s philanthropy extends beyond the Arboretum to the Curtis Institute of Music and the Wayne Art Center as well. She now lives nearby the Arboretum at The Hill at Whitemarsh.
As a longstanding Arboretum tradition, the Moonlight & Roses gala, which always takes place in early June, is unsurpassed.
The lively garden party we now know as Moonlight & Roses has had a colorful evolution. In the early 1970s, it was dubbed the Spring Fling, and was held on the lawn behind Gates Hall. The late Jane O’Neill was instrumental in the success of the gala in those early days.
In the 1980s, patrons and contributors donned their garden party attire for the event that was rechristened Moonlight & Roses . The evening traditionally begins with cocktails served in the Rose Garden, while dinner, served by a professional catering staff, is held in a festive tent atop the hill near the Widener Visitor Center. Music and dancing round out the evening of friendly conversation and gourmet dining.
Moonlight & Roses has always provided an intimate setting unique to Philadelphia charity events, and is enjoyed by a capacity crowd each year. The Morris Arboretum's annual fundraising gala, Moonlight & Roses , has become a tradition among friends, families, and colleagues in the Delaware Valley.
The Arboretum’s paths are clear but due to icy conditions some features may be closed.
The Morris Arboretum is excited to be open! We have instituted new policies as required by the government of Pennsylvania in order to keep the public safe while visiting. Please review the policies below before your visit.
The Arboretum is open as usual. Click here for hours.
Please note: The Rose Garden is closed for maintenance every Thursday morning until noon.
Weather conditions may limit garden access to certain features even if the garden is open – please check the web site or call (215) 247-5777 for updates before visiting. Our visitors’ safety in the garden is our top priority. Therefore when inclement weather is predicted, we will make decisions about closing the garden accordingly.
