Fleurs de Villes LUNAIRE is on view throughout Westfield Valley Fair from Feb. 11-17.
It is a jaw-dropping exhibition of 16 elaborate floral installations designed by Bay-Area floral artists to embody the spirit of the 2026 Lunar New Year of the Fire Horse.
“I feel like I was at a mini-version of the Rose Parade,” said Mark Thomas, General Manager of Bloomingdale’s Valley Fair, after viewing the exhibition.
A full-sized, female mannequin, placed on a table-high flat surface, is the focus of each installation. The design teams used fresh flowers, petals, leaves, branches, moss, succulents, and more to build their designs on the mannequin and its base. Each team received an honorarium for miscellaneous supplies and flowers, sourced from the San Francisco Flower Market.
Nona Tai of Floral Design Studio and her team created “Mandarin Oranges,” dedicating it to her late father.
Their mannequin—standing in front of a tangerine tree—has a tangerine-shaped skirt made from hundreds of gold and orange roses. The bodice is made of thinly-sliced cross-sections of red oranges. A fat turnip and a pineapple created from black-eyed Susans—omens of good fortune and abundance—are at its base.
Five installations are clustered on the main floor in the Center Court of the luxury mall. Others are spaced along corridors lined with designer stores. Themes such as “Chinese Opera,” “Fireworks,” “Chinese Weddings,” and “Lunar Moon Cycle” reflect the unique focus of each.
Bloomingdale’s (the luxury subsidiary of Macy’s, Inc.) was so impressed with last year’s Fleurs de Villes LUNAIRE that this year it sponsored its own installation. “Spirit of the Horse” by Thuy.Florastories, on its second floor, even incorporates Bloomingdale’s signature black-and- white-checkered tile floor in its design.
At Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park, you can have afternoon tea and view “Year of the Horse” through March 1. At Westfield Valley Fair, vote for your favorite installation and you might win an overnight stay at the upscale clubhouse.
Lunaire 2026 is the 153rd luxury floral show organized by Fleurs de Villes (Flowers of the Cities), an international floral installation stager based in Vancouver, Canada.
“At the heart of every floral business is a floral artist, and we’re literally giving them a platform to create their floral art,” said Karen Marshall, co-founder with Tina Barkley of Fleurs de Villes.
“We follow the luxury, and we’re always looking for world-class destinations that appreciate the arts and support local floral artists,” said Marshall, guiding a tour preceding an awards reception for artists on Feb. 10, sponsored by Bloomingdale’s at its AnQi Vietnamese-fusion restaurant.
Marshall emphasized that the floral art show is free and open to everyone—whether they shop or not—thanks to the sponsorship, for a second year, of Westfield Valley Fair.
“I was dazzled by creativity of the installations. You’ll never get them out of your mind,” said Rachel Weisser, Westfield Valley Fair marketing director.
“This event is a perfect syncing between culture, community, and celebration for the Lunar New Year. Fleurs de Villes LUNAIRE has to come back next year!”
Lunar New Year is the biggest celebration of the year at Westfield Valley Fair. The Chinese Historical & Cultural Project offers cultural activities for kids and families, including a Lion Dance, Feb. 15 from noon to 3 p.m.
Covering about 71 acres in Santa Clara and San Jose, Westfield Valley Fair is one of the largest enclosed shopping malls in Northern California. It is directly across Stevens Creek Boulevard from Santana Row, an open-air, upscale mall of about 42 acres.
