Selby Gardens Announces 2026-27 Programming
Image: Courtesy
Summer has begun slowly but surely loosening its grip on Sarasota. The snowbirds are preparing for their migration and the institutions that anoint us the “cultural coast” are gearing up to open their doors to fresh crowds, bringing along the annual task of plotting the calendar with local rituals and debuting spectacles.
Among them is Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, which this week unveiled its upcoming slate of exhibitions, performances and events, including The Orchid Show, which allows the public to get up close and personal with the finest scientifically documented collection of its type in the world; and Lights in Bloom, which paints the bayfront neon with 2 million lights every holiday season. But every autumn brings something new, too, and this one arrives with a roster of events worth stamping into your schedule.
Here’s a look at what's to come for the 2026-27 season.
Downtown Sarasota Campus
The Orchid Show 2026: Christian Sampson
Oct. 10-Dec. 6, 2026
This year, the team at Selby joins forces with Ringling College of Art and Design alumni and artist Christian Sampson, celebrated for his exuberant installations of color, light, and form using glass, acrylic, and dichroic film. Inside the Richard and Ellen Sandor Museum of Botany & the Arts, Sampson’s site-specific works will be exhibited, and out in the gardens and within the Display Conservatory, additional installations will frame a vibrant showcase of living orchids and epiphytes.
Image: Courtesy
Historic Spanish Point Campus
New Feet Within My Garden Go: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson
Nov. 21, 2026–Aug. 29, 2027
Building on the success of its Robert Louis Stevenson: A Child’s Garden of Verses exhibition, Selby Gardens keeps the literary thread alive at the Historic Spanish Point campus with a tribute to Emily Dickinson. Dickinson's most iconic nature-inspired verses will weave through the landscape, paired with illustrations by Abby Wright and photographs of pages from Dickinson’s personal herbarium of pressed plants. To deepen the multi-sensory experience, Selby Gardens’ artist in residence Patti Smith lends her voice to narrate the poet's iconic words throughout the grounds.
Image: Courtesy
Historic Spanish Point Campus
An Evening with Patti Smith Dedicated to Emily Dickinson
Oct. 13, 2026
Writer, performer, visual artist and Selby Gardens’ artist in residence Smith returns to the Historic Spanish Point campus in tandem with the upcoming exhibition, New Feet Within My Garden Go: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson.
Image: Damon Powers
Other Programming
In addition to these exhibitions, Selby Gardens is also bringing back popular series like Lunch in the Gardens at the downtown campus, Cocktails at the Cottage at Historic Spanish Point, and seasonal light shows like Halloween’s “Lights at Spooky Point” and “Lights in Bloom” over the holiday season. Its New Year's Eve Gala and The Orchid Ball 2027 intend to bring high spirits to beautiful views. The spring 2027 exhibition will be announced at a later date.
For more information, go to selby.org
