Congratulations to Greg Martinez on his selection to the
Bonfante Gardens board of directors.
Martinez’s vision of the park as a horticultural version of the
Monterey Bay Aquarium is an exciting one
– and if implemented, it would help dispel the property tax bill
clouding the park’s future.
Congratulations to Greg Martinez on his selection to the Bonfante Gardens board of directors.
Martinez’s vision of the park as a horticultural version of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is an exciting one – and if implemented, it would help dispel the property tax bill clouding the park’s future.
We think enhancing the park’s educational opportunities – why doesn’t every patch of ground cover, every blossom, every towering tree have a label with its common and Latin names and a paragraph or two of interesting horticultural information? – is a great idea. The park could educate visitors about watersheds, the effects of pollution, global warming, deforestation and other dangers on plants, animals and humans, and on and on. The opportunities for teaching within the park’s horticultural focus are nearly endless.
But to teach, the park must continue to exist – and that means drawing visitors. Unlike the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Bonfante Gardens isn’t perched on the Pacific Ocean. It isn’t an immediate neighbor to a world-class tourist destination. So it will have to rely on the amusement park half of its identity to draw paying visitors.
That might mean – in order to ensure the park’s survival – expanding the future of the amusement park to accommodate a dual vision: Michael Bonfante’s dream of a horticultural educational facility married with an exciting amusement park filled with adrenaline-pumping rides.
Gilroy doesn’t have the deep blue sea or Cannery Row, but it does have scorching hot summers. Perhaps the addition of several water rides will maximize the amusement park possibilities that could help Bonfante Gardens survive to house circus trees and foster a love for all green and growing things in thousands of young people each year.
We urge the Bonfante Gardens board to remember: If you entertain them, they will come, and then maybe you can educate them, too.
