KPU students receive free bouquets at flower workshop
Students could customize their own bouquets at the Civic Plaza campus on July 9
Roses and lilies were just some of the flowers at the workshop. (Yohani Weheragama)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University International hosted a flower workshop last week at the Civic Plaza campus.
The event was first-come, first-serve, and was initially planned on July 9 from 3:00 to 6:00 pm, but ended in half the time as bouquets ran out.
This was the first time a tabling event was held at Civic Plaza, which was organized around a spring and summer theme, catered towards postgraduate students, and put together by Josie Tran, international student life coordinator.
“As most students who attend Civic Plaza are post-graduate students, we wanted to tailor an event to their schedules on campus as we understand that they are not always able to attend other campus or off-campus events,” wrote Sarah Garcia, manager of international student engagement and transitions at KPU International, in an email statement to The Runner.
At the workshop, KPU students could receive their own customized bouquet for free. Three attending florists were present, and two tables were set up.
At one table, students selected seven flowers for their bouquet — two mains and five fillers. Flowers were placed in various tall jugs for selection and were separated by colour and species. Students also chose an outer wrapping paper of their choice. At the second table, which was the wrapping station, florists from Aromatears Floral Co. arranged the bouquets with baby’s breath and greenery.
Flowers available at the event included roses and lilies for mains and chrysanthemums, alstroemeria, spray carnation, lisianthus, and gerbera for fillers. The bouquet groupings varied, with two and three colour schemes being the most popular.
Outer wrapping paper options included translucent and bordered black, purple, and gold plastic sheets in addition to newspaper front pages and more. Initially, materials for 50 bouquets were prepared, but after turnout exceeded capacity, 60 bouquets were handed out, Garcia wrote.
While most students in attendance were from Civic Plaza, students from other campuses came to participate, including a pair of students who came from KPU Surrey.
Garcia wrote tabling events like this workshop are important to have as they provide students with a “creative and fun outlet” to participate in campus student life without having to dedicate a lot of time.
Blue Magalhães, a post-baccalaureate student in the human resources management program, heard about the event through the KPU International Instagram page. She says she attended because she loves flowers, thought the event was a great initiative, and it took place right before her class started.
“Having people who know how to build a beautiful bouquet and … [being able to] to take that home … is really neat,” Magalhães says.
“University is about studying obviously, but also making connections …. [Events like this] give you a feeling of integration into the culture [and] into the place.”
