This Weekend: Warm Nights, Hot Food
Posted in Programs and Events on July 25 2014, by Matt Newman
We’re well into a relatively mild summer here at NYBG, which means evenings make for one of the best times to get outside and relax! To that end, we’re prepping the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden and all its plush vegetable beds for the first of this year’s series of Family Dinners with Mario Batali’s Chefs. We’re breaking out the tablecloths, the grill’s being readied, and you’ll find plenty of hands-on crafts and activities waiting for your kids when you get here.
This weekend’s opening dinner event will be helmed by Chef Josh Laurano of Lupa and Chef Dan Drohan of Otto, who are teaming up to create three decadent courses to remember. Among the items on this weekend’s menu, you’ll find green beans with prosciutto, mozzarella, and cherry tomatoes; eggplant parmagiano with bianca aglio olio; mint and lemon semolina cake; and more. Don’t worry about wine, either—we’ve got a pair of options selected to perfectly complement the dishes.
There are still some tickets available for Sunday night’s event, along with tickets to future dinners in the coming months, so don’t miss out! Head past the jump for the full weekend schedule, including Groundbreakers activities and tours.
Saturday, July 26
Aquatic House Tour – 12:30 & 2:30 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
Explore aquatic habitats found within the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, an acre of plants under glass. Take an eco-tour through these distinct biomes, with one of the Garden’s tour guides.
From Ragtime to Jazz: The Roots of Pop – 1 & 3:30 p.m.
In the Ross Hall
Music from the period of Groundbreakers—ragtime, jazz, Broadway, and beyond to Hollywood—had a great impact on American culture. Enjoy a variery of styles in live performances by a trio of artists, including musical producer, pianist, and historian Terry Waldo, featuring the works of Scott Joplin, Eubie Blake, Irving Berlin, and Tin Pan Alley composers such as George Gershwin, George M. Cohan, and Dorothy Fields.
Film Screening: Yours for a Song: The Women of Tin Pan Alley – 2 p.m.
In the Ross Hall
Many popular music standards of the Tin Pan Alley era (1920–49) were written by women, including Dorothy Fields, Kay Swift, Dana Suesse, and Ann Ronell, who were among the most influential songwriters of the time. This PBS documentary includes archival footage, motion picture clips, and rarely seen photographs, as well as performance clips of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Perry Como.
Sunday, July 27
Conservatory Tour – 12:30 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
Explore the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, an acre of plants under glass, with one of the Garden’s tour guides. Take an ecotour around the world through 11 distinct habitats, including two types of rain forest, deserts of the Americas and of Africa, and aquatic and carnivorous plant displays.
From Ragtime to Jazz: The Roots of Pop – 1 & 3:30 p.m.
In the Ross Hall
Music from the period of Groundbreakers—ragtime, jazz, Broadway, and beyond to Hollywood—had a great impact on American culture. Enjoy a variery of styles in live performances by a trio of artists, including musical producer, pianist, and historian Terry Waldo, featuring the works of Scott Joplin, Eubie Blake, Irving Berlin, and Tin Pan Alley composers such as George Gershwin, George M. Cohan, and Dorothy Fields.
Film Screening: Yours for a Song: The Women of Tin Pan Alley – 2 p.m.
In the Ross Hall
Many popular music standards of the Tin Pan Alley era (1920–49) were written by women, including Dorothy Fields, Kay Swift, Dana Suesse, and Ann Ronell, who were among the most influential songwriters of the time. This PBS documentary includes archival footage, motion picture clips, and rarely seen photographs, as well as performance clips of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Perry Como.
Native Plant Garden Tour – 2:30 p.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Join a tour guide for an insider’s view of the newly designed Native Plant Garden. Enjoy a mosaic of nearly 100,000 native trees, wildflowers, ferns and grasses designed to flourish in every season.
Ongoing Children’s Programs
Family Adventures: Focusing on Nature
In the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
Through September 7; Weekdays; 1:30–5:30 p.m.; Weekends plus Holiday Mondays; 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Children will explore the art of garden photography and will even have the opportunity to become garden photographers themselves. Through a series of stops within the Garden, they will see the world through a new lens as they learn how observations in science and nature have been recorded throughout time. They will also receive tips about perspective, scale, and framing when taking photographs.
Dig, Plant, Grow: Pickle Me!
July 19–August 15
In the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
Go on a Pickle Parade through the Family Garden to learn about plants—both familiar and unfamiliar—that take part in the pickling process. Learn what it takes to pickle and make your very own batch of pickles to savor back at home.
Mario Batali’s Kitchen Gardens – 1:30 – 6 p.m.
Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
Kids can explore with Mario’s Menu Mystery game, featuring favorite vegetables and herbs from nine of his restaurants’ kitchens, including Otto and Del Posto.
