Luncheon and Keynote Panel

June 12 2026 12:00pm - 2:00pm

Savor a garden-inspired al fresco luncheon by Happiness Is…Catering and cast your vote for the floral design that captures your imagination.

As part of the program, delight in a lively roundtable discussion, where floral luminaries Jill Brooke, writer, and Loren Eiferman, artist, guided by moderator Christopher Brescia, cultivate a rich conversation rooted in the beauty and artistry of the natural world.

Awards for Best Interpretation, Best Use of Color, and Best in Show, will be awarded by celebrated potter, gardener, and Art in Bloom judge Frances Palmer.

Happiness is…Catering
 

The Coop Picnic Lunch 

Buttermilk fried chicken breast with chipotle sauce, jicama-cabbage slaw, roasted corn and tomato salad, sesame-crusted brioche roll, and freshly baked lemon bar. 
 

The Garden Picnic Lunch 

Roast vegetable quinoa bowl with barley, quinoa, farro, garlic broccoli, sriracha soy chickpeas, curry roasted sweet potatoes with jicama-cabbage slaw, sesame-crusted baby brioche roll, and freshly baked lemon bar. 

Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate any substitutions. 

Presenter Bios 

Garin Baura is a New York–based floral and experiential designer whose work explores the intersection of flowers, hospitality, and immersive environments. Beginning his career in New York floral design, he worked alongside influential figures including Ronaldo Maia, Roberta Bendavid, and David Stark, experiences that shaped his multidisciplinary approach to atmosphere, spatial storytelling, and guest experience. In 2006, he founded Baura New York, where his practice evolved from floral design into broader experiential and hospitality-focused creative direction. His work has included projects for Audi, American Express, A+E Networks, New Museum, Estée Lauder, and MAKERS. Today, his work continues to bridge floral design, environment, and hospitality through immersive, emotionally resonant experiences.

Christopher Brescia has been an Art House Film Attorney for over 30 years. Always a fine-art lover, he pivoted to open CB Gallery in Katonah, an art gallery featuring emerging and under-recognized local artists. After three successful years, Covid put an end to the brick-and-mortar Gallery but he still enjoys lawyering for Focus Features and curating local spaces as well as consulting with Artshow Bedford on their annual Art Show, which is 50+ years in the running. 

Jill Brooke is a floral historian, a former CNN correspondent, editor-in-chief of Avenue and Travel Savvy, and the author of The Genius of Flowers, which explores the surprising ways flowers can improve mental health, teach resilience in an AI-driven world, strengthen family relationships, and inspire greater optimism about the future. She is also the founder of Flowerpowerdaily.com, a columnist for Florists’ Review, and recipient of the 2023 American Institute of Floral Designers Merit Award for championing the role of flowers in history, news, and culture. Her flower farm in Bedford, New York, donates fresh food to local food banks and teaches sustainable farming to local schoolchildren. 

Loren Eiferman was born in Brooklyn, New York, and currently lives and works in the Hudson Valley. After studying in France, she received her BFA from SUNY Purchase. Her artwork has been exhibited extensively at museums and galleries throughout the United States with a focus on the New York Tri-State region. Eiferman's wood sculptures and drawings are included in many prestigious private and corporate collections in the US and globally. In 2014, she received a public works commission from the NYC Metropolitan Transportation Authority in which she translated her wood sculptures into a series of metal railings at the Pelham, New York, Train Station. Next month Eiferman will be featured in two exhibitions—one at the Kelly Mckenna Gallery in New Jersey and the other at the Concord Art Center in Massachusetts.