A favorite Florida venue will soon have a new facet.
Credit: GC Media
Living Sculpture Sanctuary, the Davie oasis known for hosting spectacular weddings and events beneath old Florida oaks, will soon have a dazzling indoor component, too.
Ibuku Avalon, a new “indoor agritourism center” and wellness complex, will debut during a private ribbon cutting this month at 2800 S. Flamingo Road.
The project encompasses an 11,800-square-foot indoor agritourism center, including a nearly 7,000-square-foot, fully air-conditioned sanctuary. The expansion gives Living Sculpture a weather-protected setting for celebrations, classes and wellness experiences without the blazing heat, mosquitoes or classic South Florida afternoon downpour.
“This represents the next step in providing a space where people can connect with Mother Nature and enjoy nature-related activities, from bonsai classes and flower arranging to meditation and stress management,” co-founder Mary Luz Rodriguez Alvarez told Browardist. “Now, we’ll have a much more comfortable and [non-weather-dependent] setting to do so.”
Ibuku Avalon adds a main gathering area plus three themed spaces: the Lotus Lounge, Chief Lounge and Zen Suite. Floor-to-ceiling natural design elements can be customized for different events, while materials such as live-edge mango wood, glass, granite, quartzite and slate appear throughout.
The Chief Lounge includes a large metal headdress and animals symbolizing the four directions in Native American traditions. “There’s so much thought and such a deeper meaning in each space,” Rodriguez Alvarez said.
The name carries symbolism, too. Avalon references the legendary island associated with healing and renewal, while Ibuku comes from an Indonesian term meaning “my mother,” a tribute to Mother Nature.
That connection goes back to the venue’s origin story. Rodriguez Alvarez and her husband, Robert McKee, spent roughly two years preparing the nursery grounds for their December 2015 wedding. McKee, a bonsai master for over 40 years and desert rose breeder for over 20, had invited her to a bonsai class when they first met.
“That was his pickup line, and it did work,” she said. “It was never meant to be a business. It wasn’t, ‘Hey, let’s open up a venue.’”
Since opening publicly in 2016, Living Sculpture Sanctuary has become one of Florida’s most celebrated wedding venues, known for its waterfalls, koi ponds, bonsai displays, desert roses, rock Zen garden and canopy of mature trees. The venue hosts only one private event at a time.
Although its September debut is invite-only, public programming begins shortly afterward. A sound bath is scheduled for Oct. 8., with bonsai workshops, flower-arranging sessions, meditation, forest bathing, body therapies and emotional resilience programming also in development.
A Día de los Muertos celebration follows Nov. 1 with an ofrenda, music, drinks, appetizers and a remembrance admission option featuring a bonsai or desert rose symbolizing the tree of life. Rodriguez Alvarez is also planning a fire ceremony and hoping to bring in mariachis.
For additional events at Ibuku Avalon and Living Sculpture Sanctuary, locals are encouraged to keep an eye on its Instagram page and website.
