The Coral Gables Garden Club starts its holiday season on Thursday, Nov. 5, with A Floral Extravaganza with Mario Fernandez, a morning of live floral design at Coral Gables Congregational Church, 3010 Desoto Blvd. The program begins at 10 a.m., and tickets are $45 per person, the City of Coral Gables announced.

Fernandez, an internationally known floral designer and teacher, will build a series of holiday arrangements on stage while explaining his techniques. This year's designs add a patriotic element to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States. Event designer Ivan Garcia joins him.

Who Mario Fernandez is

Fernandez is an honorary member of the Garden Club and has supported it for more than 15 years. According to the city, his floral work has been made for Oprah Winfrey, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Celine Dion, Luis Miguel, Arturo Sandoval, Alonzo Mourning and Dwyane Wade, as well as for presidential families.

Some of the arrangements he makes that morning will go home with guests through the club's raffle.

What else is on the program

  • Live music by pianist Marina Berberian, founder and director of Hi Key Piano Studio in Coral Gables. Born in Armenia, she holds advanced degrees from the Yerevan State Conservatory and Florida International University and has been named a Top Steinway Teacher every year since 2014.
  • A luncheon buffet and a mimosa bar.
  • A homemade bake sale and the raffle.

The event is underwritten by the Marlene Kerdyk Beautification Fund, established by club member Marlene Kerdyk to support its work. Proceeds go to the Garden Club's educational and community programs.

A club as old as the city

The Coral Gables Garden Club was founded in 1925, the same year the City of Coral Gables was incorporated. Its original members included Althea Merrick, mother of city founder George Merrick, and Merrick's wife, Eunice Peacock Merrick, who later became the club's second president.

The club started with 35 members. Now in its second century, it runs community gardens, tree planting and conservation projects, scholarships, youth education, pollinator programs and classes that introduce the public to gardening and floral design, and its projects can be seen around the city.

How to get tickets

Tickets are $45 per person. The city says they can be bought online by searching for the event's name, A Floral Extravaganza with Mario Fernandez, or paid by Zelle to the club's treasurer. More information about the club and its programs is on the Coral Gables Garden Club website.

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