43
Davis Center’s ‘Holiday Scent-Sations’ offers family fun
By Elise Franco
Youngstown
Lovers of the holiday season should look no farther than Fellows Riverside Gardens for one of the most festive displays in town.
“Holiday Scent-Sations” features family-oriented holiday fun, such as 47 live fir trees decorated by local organizations, displays that incorporate many of the smells tied to winter and Christmas, and an interactive jungle created by students from local schools.
Because seasonal smells are the highlight of the display, Lynn Zocolo, Mill Creek MetroParks assistant horticulture educator, said they’ve been incorporated into every aspect.
The festive scents, along with the usual sights and sounds, can be found from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, now through Jan. 2 inside the Davis Center on the gardens’ grounds.
Zocolo said incorporating the different spices, such as cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and vanilla, into displays of their own — a faux bakery — as well as into the Christmas-tree and jungle displays helps trigger connections in people’s minds.
“It helps to remind people of that connection between humans and plants,” she said. “So many of the flavorings and spices we use come from plants, and our displays highlight those.”
Zocolo said the Christmas tree display includes 45 indoor trees and two outdoor trees decorated by local organizations such as Second Harvest Food Bank, Youngstown CityScape and the American Heart Association.
The Tyler Room, decorated in a jungle theme this year, was created by students at Youngstown State University, Watson Elementary School in Austintown, Canfield High School and Western Reserve Middle School, she said. Last year’s room theme was Candy Land.
Lori Mowad, Friends of Fellows Riverside Gardens board member and volunteer, said visitors are able to tie what they see and smell back into the Scent-Sations theme no matter where they are in the display.
“In the jungle room, you get to see a coconut that’s in the mural and then at one of the scent stations the kids can pick up a shaker that smells like coconut,” she said. “Everything is tied in.”
Mowad said the Tyler Room is always popular because no matter what the theme, it’s interactive and educational while allowing kids to have some fun.
“When my kids were younger, we always went to places where children couldn’t touch any of the decorations,” she said. “We have to bring the kids into the community where they can be active and feel like they’re a part of it.”
Zocolo said both attractions are always a huge draw.
“We’ve got a very eclectic collection of trees, and each organization is trying to get its message out,” she said. “If you’re outside and it’s cold, come inside, get warmed up. It’s a good destination for the young and the young at heart.”