HENRICO, Va. – Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden hosts a wide array of beautiful things on their 50 acres of property, and they also host over 20 Pokéstops, two gyms, and lots of Pokémon.
That’s why this Thursday, July 21, will be Pokémon Go night at Flowers after 5, which is a seasonal event in the garden with live music, food and drink. [How to win free tickets to Pokémon GO night at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden]
The water and grassland ecosystem at the Garden attracts many Pokémon, including some rare ones. As with many local parks, attendance has been spiking at the Garden, with many interested hunters poking around.
From 5-8:30 p.m. Garden staff will use lures to help bring out the pocket monsters, and the event ends by 9 p.m. If you want to get there early, the Garden opens at 8 a.m. (but there won’t be specific lures put out).
“Encouraging visitors to play Pokémo GO here at the Garden is really a natural fit for us – we love to see people be active, getting outside and enjoying the beautiful garden setting and blooms,” said Jonah Holland, with Public Relations. “It’s been great for not just us, but for many of the Richmond Region cultural attractions – Maymont, the Science Museum of Virginia, VMFA and others are also welcoming players.
Some of the more common Pokémon found at Lewis Ginter includes; Caterpie, Krabby, Magikarp, Paras, Pidgey, Pidgeotto, Poliwag, Psyduck, Rattata, Spearow, Tentacool, Venonat, and Weedle – according to the Garden.
In addition, the Garden writes that they also have some more uncommon Pokémon:
- Clefairy (# 035)
- Vulpix (# 037)
- Oddish (# 043)
- Gloom (# 044)
- Venomoth (# 049)
- Golduck (# 055)
- Growlithe (# 058)
- Poliwhirl (# 061)
- Abra (# 063)
- Tentacruel (# 073)
- Slowpoke (# 079)
- Slowbro (# 080)
- Gastly (# 092)
- Voltorb (# 100)
- Exeggcute (# 102)
- Horsea (# 116)
- Seadra (# 117)
- Goldeen (# 118)
- Seaking (# 119)
- Scyther (# 123)
- Jynx (# 124)
- Pinsir (# 127)
- Tauros (# 128)
- Lapras (# 131)
- Eevee (# 133)
- Vaporeon (# 134)
- Dratini (# 147)
- Dragonair (# 148)
** Please note this list is not comprehensive, nor is meant as a guarantee that you will find any of the listed Pokémon during a visit to the Garden.
Lots of pocket monsters to be found at Lewis Ginter. PHOTO: Lewis Ginter
“We’re thrilled that Pokémo GO is bringing new faces to the Garden,” Holland said. “Particularly of note is that we’re selling new memberships specifically so that people can visit Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden,again and again to playPokémo GO here.” (Student memberships with college ID are $20).
Regular Admission: $13/Adults, $11/Seniors 55+, $8/Children 3-12. Children under 3 free. FREE for Members. Click here for online tickets, or purchase at the door. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except for the nights when there is a Flowers after 5 event, when the Garden opens early at 8 a.m. [How to win free tickets to Pokémon GO night at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden]
The Triple Crossing Jazz Project, featuring jazz vocalist Heather Mayes, will be performing at the Bloemendaal House. Food and drink will be for sale.
The “Nature Connects” exhibit is still up, which only adds more delight to everything else happening! The project consists of half-a-million LEGO bricks to make giant flowers, birds, insects and more. You can’t catch ’em all but you can snap some pretty pictures of the masterpieces!
If you want to plan your strategy, the Garden put together ahandy map!
Map credit: Lewis Ginter
