To say this year’s Mother’s Day will be different would be an understatement. Mother’s Day is typically a day that Seattle’s parks just shine bright with spring colors. Often on this day we see families come out in droves to enjoy some of our city’s best bloom spots—the Arboretum, Volunteer Park, and Kubota Garden to name a few. But with our city’s extended Stay Home order, swarming these parks would work against our communal efforts to slow the spread of the virus and flatten that curve.
Together with the University of Washington and the Arboretum Foundation, Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Seattle Channel are bringing the Arboretum to YOU this Mother’s Day! Please enjoy this beautiful, slow stroll through the Washington Park Arboretum while you celebrate that special mom or mom figure in your life. It’s a “slow tv” style video that will provide the most gorgeous backdrop for your socially-distanced mother’s day celebration.
The virtual tour will go Live on Sunday at 11am on Sunday–RSVP to the virtual Mother’s Day tour here.
Please do your part this Mother’s Day and avoid some of our city’s busiest parks—Lincoln, Seward, Volunteer, Green Lake, Golden Gardens, Alki Beach, Cal Anderson, Magnuson and Gas Works parks.
So how can you make this day special?
- Use the video here to take a virtual stroll through the Arboretum.
- Walk your neighborhood and see if you can spot any of the same species in bloom our parks. Rhododendrons of all hues are bursting in people’s yards across Seattle right now. See how many colors you can find!
- Start the day early! Parks are hardly busy before noon. This is a great time to go and ensure that you will have the social distance you need.
- Visit smaller parks closer to your home.
- Set out a picnic in your backyard or patio (if you have one).
Even on Mother’s Day, we all need to do our part to keep our parks from getting overcrowded, and undoing our efforts to flatten the curve. #WeGotThisSeattle