GUIDED TOUR & LECTURE

5:30–7:30 pm | Pay what you can

The evening begins with a guided tour of the flower installations with the designers. Attendees will then convene in Long Reach Hall for a presentation from Dr. Ankit Singh about the history of flower farming in Maine.

Drawing on conversations with flower growers throughout Maine, this presentation from Dr. Ankit Singh offers a behind-the-scenes look at the state’s vibrant flower farming industry. Attendees will learn about the seasonal rhythms, market opportunities, labor demands, climate challenges, and community connections that influence local flower production. Featuring stories and photographs from farms across Maine, the session highlights the people, practices, and passion behind Maine-grown flowers.

Dr. Ankit Kumar Singh is an Assistant Professor with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, where his work focuses on specialty crop production, controlled environment agriculture, and sustainable horticultural systems. Through extensive engagement with flower growers across Maine, his research and Extension programs explore the opportunities and challenges of farming in northern climates, including seasonality, labor, markets, and climate resilience. In parallel, Dr. Singh collaborates on research in space agriculture, investigating how lessons from extreme growing environments, from greenhouses in Maine to plant production systems designed for space, can help advance the future of sustainable agriculture on Earth. His expertise has been featured by NPR, Maine Public Radio, NBC10 Boston, Martha Stewart Magazine, and the 2026 Old Farmer’s Almanac.