2025 Art in Bloom
ST. LOUIS, Dec. 29, 2025—Celebrating the 20th festival of fine art and florals, the Saint Louis Art Museum’s popular Art in Bloom returns Friday, Feb. 27 through Sunday, March 1.
During this free celebration, floral designers from across the region will reimagine 30 different works of art in SLAM’s collection through floral arrangements. The weekend will include several related events for all ages.
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2026 festival details
Art in Bloom, presented by Bank of America, is open to the public starting at 10 am every day of the festival; museum members can enter as early 8 am. Touring the galleries remains free, but tickets are required for some Art in Bloom programs. For the full schedule, visit slam.org/bloom.
Art in Bloom begins with a preview party Thursday, Feb. 26, featuring cocktails, light dinner fare and live music in Sculpture Hall. Nicole Bailey and Monique Levy are the 2026 Art in Bloom preview party chairs. Tickets for the fundraiser are available at slam.org/bloomparty.
On Friday, Feb. 27, young children and their caregivers can experience hands-on art making and special floral-themed activities during Toddler and Me. Later that evening, the 2026 featured floral designer, Rachel Cho, will host a free drop-in demonstration in the museum’s auditorium. Based in New York City, Cho is known for creating one-of-a-kind floral experiences distinguished by their clean lines with an emphasis on the natural beauty of the flowers. No tickets are required for this event. Generous support for Friday programs is provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.
Flowers After Hours, a limited-capacity experience, will take place the evening of Saturday, Feb. 28, with live music, cocktails, a photo booth and more for visitors 21 and older. Regular and premium-package tickets, which feature complimentary cocktail and small-bite offerings, are available at the museum and on MetroTix.
Conclude the weekend with the family at Family Florals, beginning at noon on Sunday, March 1. Free festivities will feature hands-on art activities and a scavenger hunt through the galleries. Family Florals will continue until 4 pm.
The museum’s restaurant, Panorama, will offer a special set of dining events during the festival. On Friday evening, enjoy a limited menu, small plates, and a wine and spirits station during Sips and Snacks. From 10 am to 2 pm each day of the festival, a tea service will be offered featuring an assortment of sweet and savory pairings. Reservations for all Panorama offerings are required at resy.com. Panorama’s regular menus and seating options will not be available during the festival.
Due to high attendance, parking near the museum is limited. A free shuttle will be available every 20 minutes during the festival between the museum and the free lots near Forest Park’s Dennis & Judith Jones Visitor and Education Center and at the Upper Muny parking lot.
Festival history
While the 2026 Art in Bloom marks the 20th festival, the first Art in Bloom at SLAM was in 2000. (Due to construction of the East Building, it was not held from 2009-13, and the pandemic cancelled the on-site festival in 2021-22.) The festival’s roots, however, date back decades.
In 1976, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston held the first-known event pairing fresh flowers and art and titled it Art in Bloom. In the following decades, the concept spread to museums across the country. In St. Louis, guided tours of the collection in the 1980s were titled “Art in Bloom,” and by the early 1990s, planning was beginning to start the program to SLAM.
The first festival in 2000 saw more than 7,000 visitors over the course of what was then a two-day festival. The following year, it was expanded to three days, and attendance ballooned to more than 19,000. Since the on-site return in 2023, after two years held virtually because of the pandemic, attendance has continued to rise—with each year setting a new record. The 2025 iteration welcomed more than 30,000 people to the museum over the weekend.
CONTACT: Molly Morris, 314.655.5250, molly.morris@slam.org