Nashville’s Cheekwood Botanical Garden had a weekend for the record books. On the last day of its tree house exhibit, Cheekwood hit a one-day high for visitors buying memberships.
The tree house exhibit has become a regular summer feature that started a decade ago. Architects and landscape designers are invited to let their imaginations go wild, this year on the theme of great works of literature.
Vice president of marketing Claire Corby says the tree houses have grown in popularity over the years. But every exhibit seems to draw bigger audiences since 2010. That’s when artist Dale Chihuly transformed the Cheekwood grounds with his giant hand-blown glass sculptures. Corby says there’s before Chihuly, and after Chihuly.
“The doors just opened up for Cheekwood. People who hadn’t been in years came, and people who’d never been came. Ever since then, we’ve really just had momentum behind us.”
Over the weekend, 135 families purchased memberships in one day. Overall attendance this year is expected to improve on 2011 but still pale in comparison to the Chihuly year.
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