Shop for florals that 'Glitter & Glow' at Fox Chapel Garden Club's premier event

A cornucopia of florals, wreaths and plants will be table- and mantle-ready at this year’s Glitter & Glow, the premier holiday shopping bazaar by the Fox Chapel Garden Club.

“We use greens from our own gardens, and we make arrangements that you can literally put on your table and enjoy for the month,” said Carol Papas, event co-chair.

“Anyone can come to the event and go home with something beautiful.”

Glitter & Glow will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 11 at Fox Chapel Golf Club.

Tickets cost $40 and are available online at foxchapelgardenclub.org.

Established more than 20 years ago, the holiday bonanza began as a live auction. In the years since, club members have reimagined the event as a social gathering to help people enjoy the season, choose one-of-a-kind gifts and eliminate home-prep hassles.

“It’s a girls night out,” co-chair Lynn Thompson said. “There’s a silent auction, and we just have a lot of fun.”

Thompson said shoppers can find niche items that add holiday pizzazz to their homes.

Bundled greens, Christmas cacti and poinsettias fly out the door. Cyclamen, an evergreen tuber perennial with bright pink or purple flowers, is popular, too.

At the root of the event is the group’s mission to support horticultural and environmental causes. Proceeds benefit beautification projects such as the Hartwood Acres Sculpture Garden, the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden and the Garden of Hope at UPMC St. Margaret, near Aspinwall.

The club also funds a scholarship for Fox Chapel Area High School seniors.

“We try to do anything we can to have an impact in the community,” Papas said.

Founded in 1931, the garden club has a robust membership of 60 people. They volunteer throughout the year to raise awareness about environmental issues and mentor residents with local projects. Members have taught elementary students about wildflowers at the Trillium Trail and have helped with community vegetable gardens such as the one at Sharpsburg Community Library.

Co-chair Wendy Mitchell said the annual shopping event is a festive kickoff to the season.

“For some reason, it’s the party of the year for all the women to come to,” she said.

Well-attended with more than 200 people, it is a much-anticipated soiree, Mitchell said.

In addition to the ready-to-go décor and handmade gifts, shoppers at Glitter & Glow can participate in a silent auction that will have a plethora of artsy creations.

Needlepoint and candlesticks fill the tables alongside vintage birdcages, dishware and paintings.

More than 100 arrangements, 70 plants and 40 bundles of greens will be up for grabs.

Boutique items are crafted by members in the weeks leading up to the event.

“We do all these workshops, putting together the arrangements and containers, filled with baubles and lamb’s ear, pine cones and moss,” Thompson said.

Classic and contemporary arrangements of fresh greens will fill the tiniest teacup to grand statement pieces.

“Whether you are looking for a centerpiece or a pair of vases to place on either side of a mantel or sideboard, we have you covered,” she said.