Flower Show Canceled

Sheridan Sansegundo | March 20, 1997

The Hampton Garden Festival, a nine-day bonanza of horticultural exhibits, lectures, panel discussions, show gardens, and related events to be held at Dune Alpin Farm in East Hampton in June, will not take place this year after all.

The show has been postponed until next summer, when, it is hoped it will coincide with the celebrations of the 350th anniversary of the founding of East Hampton.

The event, which would have been a major fund-raiser for the Harbor for Girls and Boys, whose summer camp is on Three Mile Harbor, was fully underwritten and ready to go. All the major nurseries and many East End garden designers and retailers planned to participate.

Easement In The Way

That the festival fell through can be laid partly at the door of ABC Carpet, which tried to mount a huge outdoor sale at Dune Alpin last year.

That event was canceled at the last minute after much protest from local businesses, who called it unfair competition.

It was discovered at that time that the large field at Dune Alpin, which had been used for outdoor events for many years, was covered by a scenic easement for 17 out of its 21 acres that lie on town land.

The easement does not allow the ground to be dug up or buildings and structures to be erected there.

Needed: Six Acres

Boys Harbor had hoped some way around the restrictions might be found, but, as the flower show needed needs six acres with many tents, water, electricity, and telephone, the Dune Alpin management preferred to err on the side of caution and said the field could not be used.

"We really don't want to move it out of East Hampton," said Charlotte Moss, who is co-chairwoman of the festival with Luly Duke. "It would be a shame."

She said organizers were "still looking for six acres in the village, and I'm not above knocking on doors if that's what it takes."

The Hamptons Garden Festival has no relation to A Celebration of Gardening, a five-day indoor-outdoor horticultural exposition that will take place as planned from May 22 to May 26 at Southampton College.