Maraleen Manos-Jones to speak at DFL
Maraleen Manos-Jones has been known as the “Butterfly Lady” for more than 30 years. She will be speaking at the Desmond-Fish Library at 2:30 pm on Sunday, April 15 in the Program Room. She is a storyteller and performer and has taught at the college level.
Manos-Jones has been involved with butterflies in many ways, including collecting stories, myths, legends, poems, superstitions and art about the butterfly, with the recurring cross-cultural themes of transformation, love, death and rebirth and spiritual awakening. In 1977, after raising and releasing monarch butterflies for several years, she went to Mexico to search for their over wintering roosts, knowing only the altitude and the type of tree in which they rested. She spent two months in the mountains before finally encountering 50 million monarch butterflies mating on the first day of spring.
There were many lessons for Manos-Jones along the way. She has had a gallery dedicated to the butterfly, choreographed dances, created art and wearable art, given lectures and planted gardens for them. Manos-Jones has worked at the butterfly conservatory at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City for 14 years and continues to be there alternate Thursday afternoons from October through May. She shares the many messages of the butterflies as she travels, giving lectures around the country. Manos-Jones was on the Board of Directors of Michoacan Reforestation Fund for seven years and is currently on the Board of Directors of the La Cruz Habitat Protection Project, Inc. and Forests for Monarchs.
The ‘Spirit of Butterflies program is presented by the Philipstown Garden Club and is open to the public; admission is free and refreshments will be served.
Photo courtesy of Philipstown Garden Club
