Celebrate 100 years of history and horticulture as the City of San Diego Park & Recreation Department presents The Garden Party of the Century, an all day event highlighting the plants and programs that make Balboa Park the gem of San Diego and one of the world’s most interesting civic gardens.

The Kid’s Floral Wagon Parade will begin at 9:30 am near the Natural History Museum and continue through the park to the Plaza de Panama along El Prado. Immediately following the parade, a battalion from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego will join civic leaders in a special “plant restoration ceremony” and then recreate an historic march across the Cabrillo Bridge -- first done by the Marines in 1915.

At 4 pm, the Youth Orchestra of the Californias, a collaboration between some of the finest string players of Tijuana and San Diego, will present an afternoon concert featuring great classical music. The party will feature a Kid’s Floral Wagon Parade, centennial inspired flower show, Master Gardener demonstrations, Balboa Park garden tours, special presentations by horticulture hosts, and a wide variety of music, art, and activities for the whole family.

Each of the museums and other institutions in the park will be open to help celebrate this unique event. As a special invitation, children, families, and community groups are welcome to decorate a wagon for the Kid’s Floral Wagon Parade to be pulled from Spanish Village to the Plaza De Panama along El Prado in Balboa Park.