Beauty of Butterfly Day

The beauty of a butterfly can hardly be matched. That is, unless you have thousands of them released after being cared for by an entire community.

“It was the most beautiful day,” Ann Rolling, Executive Director of EmilyAnn Theatre and Gardens, said. “It was the right people for the right event at the right time.”

The Butterfly Festival is one of the biggest events of the year in Wimberley. It started off, as it always does, remembering those in the community who have recently passed away with the “first flight” of the butterflies.

“There were many pillars in the community this year,” Rolling said. “Our first name on the list was Jimmy Ash. We honored Adelle Turpen. There were family members that came from far and wide. We honored Joyce Robinson. One of our special moments was welcoming back Pastor Richard Young, who sung the National Anthem last year. He came to remember his wife Ruth who recently passed away.”

“Once that is done, I feel like the day has taken flight,” Rolling continued.

From there, an estimated 6,000 people traversed the grounds of EmilyAnn as part of the Butterfly Festival. Thousands of children had the opportunity to get up close and personal with butterflies as each box was opened throughout the day.

The thousands of butterflies are raised by area school children with the help of Hays County Master Naturalists.

“Master Naturalist care for them right out of the egg and nurture butterflies from 238 classrooms,” Rolling said. “Without them, Butterfly Day could not happen. They shoulder the beauty of the butterfly.”

This year, a few new activities were added to the schedule. A “flight house” was added for the butterflies. The green house on the grounds was planted to keep some butterflies in an enclosed area so children could see them flutter around indoors.

“When kids came out of the flight house, parents were having to drag their children from the area,” Rolling said. “They were in love.”