Photograph by Danielle Motif Photography
Details: Austin, TX-November 4, 2023: Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy presents High Desert Dîner en Blanc, a fundraiser benefitting the Conservancy’s mission to cultivate community and foster lifelong learning that deepens our love for the botanical world. Guests are invited to dress in all white and experience a beautifully crafted outdoor dinner, open bar, games, and tours of the brand-new succulent collection. The High Desert Dîner en Blanc will be the first time the collection is viewed by the public.
During the past year, Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy has raised over $120,000 in support of preserving the Butler Window, secured a rare and robust succulent collection, and created educational and engaging programming for the Austin community.
The High Desert theme of our first annual Dinner in White is in celebration of the grand unveiling of the Zilker Botanical Garden’s new Cactus & Succulent Collection. The collection was gifted to the Conservancy by the late Bob Barth and accompanied by a generous donation to hire a curator to care for the collection through 2025. Austin deserves to see this amazing collection and we can’t wait to unveil it.
Robert Hood Barth, Jr. PhD. passed away on September 26, 2022, and while he will be missed, he will not be forgotten. Bob was a founding member of the Austin Cactus & Succulent Society, a long-time member of the Travis Audobon Society, and an assistant professor in the Dept. of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas until he retired in 2003.
Bob’s twin interests in birds and succulent plants stimulated extensive travels in Mexico, Central and South America, Southern Africa, Madagascar, East Africa, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the Canary Islands. Throughout his life, Bob curated an impressive collection of cacti and succulents from around the world, and the Garden is honored to continue his legacy.
Tickets to High Desert Dîner en Blanc went on sale on September 15th and tickets are only $150 per adult, or $275 per couple and include dinner, open bar, games, and tours of the collection. This event is for ages 21 and up.
The collection is not yet open to the public.
Learn more about High Desert Dîner en Blanc here: https://zilkergarden.org/high-desert-diner-en-blanc/