Saturday, Feb. 24 is an exciting day for arbor enthusiasts in Montevallo. The 15th annual Arbor Day celebration will be held from 9-11 a.m. in the Orr Park Recreation Building. The Governor, on the day before, will sign a proclamation designating Feb. 24 &8220;Arbor Day&8221; and naming Montevallo the &8220;Alabama Small City Arbor Day Host.&8221;

There will be 2500 seedling trees, of eight varieties, given away. Disbursements will be made, on the hour, at 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

About one-half of the seedlings will mature as small trees and one-half as large trees. Drawings will be held for larger trees and for plant supplies.

Featured among the activities will be guided tours of the Tinglewood cedar carvings in Orr Park and of Ebenezer Swamp.

The tour of Tinglewood will be guided by the artist, Tim Tingle.

Ebenezer Swamp is the University of Montevallo&8217;s environmental research area. The tours will begin at 10:30 a.m. Herschel Hale, Chairman of the Montevallo Arbor Board, remarked, &8220;An additional benefit of the celebration is the fact that many of the exhibitors are experts in their fields and will be on hand and happy to answer questions concerning tree planting and care.&8221; Demonstrations will be given on proper planting, pruning and maintenance.

Exhibitions and booths will be provided by the local Civitan Club, Green Valley Nursery, Shelby County Master Gardeners, the University of Montevallo Environmental Club, the University of Montevallo Ebenezer Swamp Committee, Tim Tingle&8217;s Carvings, Don Whitten&8217;s Bird Houses, the Cahaba River Society, the Alabama Forestry Commission and the Alabama Urban Forestry Association.

The Arbor Day festivities are sponsored by the Montevallo Arbor and Beautification Board with the active support and participation of the Montevallo Civitan Club. Requests for information may be directed to the Montevallo City Hall at 665-2555 or to Hershal Hale 665-2032.

Catherine Legg can be reached by e-mail at mailto:clegg2@bellsouth.net