HOOVER –The 21st annual Hoover Arbor Day Celebration will be held on Saturday, March 2, presented by the Hoover Beautification Board.

The community-wide celebration will feature a formal ceremony honoring winners of this year’s Fourth Grade Arbor Day Essay Contest, free trees for Hoover residents, a ceremonial tree planting, full access to Aldridge Gardens and the “Roots” gift shop and assorted refreshments from local businesses.

Certified arborists and other plant professionals will be on-site to answer tree-related questions and to assist residents with selecting an appropriate tree for their yard.

Limited numbers of the following tree species will be available: “highbush” blueberry, American hazelnut, American fringetree, “Cherokee Princess” flowering dogwood, Eastern redbud, American hornbeam, Carolina silverbell, Kentucky yellowwood, “Wildfire” blackgum, common persimmon, red maple, sugar maple, baldcypress, white oak, Southern magnolia, tulip poplar and black walnut.

Hoover’s Arbor Day is the result of a continued partnership between the city, Hoover City Schools, Alabama Power, Aldridge Gardens, local businesses and numerous volunteers.

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato presented a proclamation declaring March 2 Arbor Day in the city during the Hoover City Council meeting on Monday, Feb. 18.

According to the proclamation, Hoover Beautification Board member Michael L. Zarichnak administered the city’s Arbor Day activities from 1999 to 2013, and all future Arbor Day celebrations “shall be conducted in a manner that will honor Mike’s memory and his undeniable passion for trees.”

“I urge everyone able to do so to observe this day through the planting of one or more trees and/or through participation in one or more programs that the sponsors of Arbor Day may provide,” Brocato said in the proclamation.