This Holiday Weekend: Healthy Treats and Romantic Sweets
Posted in Programs and Events on February 12 2016, by Lansing Moore
The weekend is here at last—and it’s an eventful one! For those of you enjoying a three-day weekend for President’s Day, NYBG will be open on February 15 for three days of programs and activities. Culinary Kids Weekend welcomes families all weekend long with educational food activities in the Conservatory Tent. See what The New York Times and NBC New York have to say about this festive family celebration, and come join the fun!
Couples are invited to celebrate Valentine’s Day with that special someone in the warmth of our Victorian-style glasshouse, where special chocolate tastings and a pop-up bar complete the experience of New York’s most romantic date destination. Read on for the full schedule of tours and programs for February 13 through 15, and plan your midwinter escape to NYBG today.
Saturday, February 13
![Lowland Rainforest Room Enid A. Haupt Conservatory](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/0216-lowland-rainforest-570x200.jpg)
Culinary Kids Weekend – 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
In the Conservatory Tent
Join us for a weekend celebrating the relationships among plants, farms, and your favorite foods. Family Garden staff will offer cooking demonstrations, recipes, and hands-on activities, with plenty of music and tastings. Tinker with the science of kitchen chemistry and get to the root of foods at a variety of activity stations. Daily cooking demonstrations at 1 p.m. feature kid-friendly recipes. Learn from a chef as they share tips and samples!
Bird Walk – 11 a.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center.
Bring your binoculars and walk the Garden grounds with a bird expert. You’ll search for our feathered friends and learn more about bird-friendly habitats, passage birds, and those that make a permanent home at the Garden.
Winter Bark and Berry Tour – 12:30 p.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Explore trees and shrubs for colorful berries. Now that leaves are down, observe the exfoliating and the sculptural aspects of tree bark throughout the Garden.
Wild Medicine Tour – 2:30 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
Explore the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory‘s World of Plants to discover plants used for health and wellness.
Sunday, February 14
![Aquatic House Enid A. Haupt Conservatory](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/0216-aquatic-house-570x200.jpg)
Culinary Kids Weekend – 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
In the Conservatory Tent
Join us for a weekend celebrating the relationships among plants, farms, and your favorite foods. Family Garden staff will offer cooking demonstrations, recipes, and hands-on activities, with plenty of music and tastings. Tinker with the science of kitchen chemistry and get to the root of foods at a variety of activity stations. Daily cooking demonstrations at 1 p.m. feature kid-friendly recipes. Learn from a chef as they share tips and samples!
Conservatory Tour – 12:30 & 2:30 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 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.
Valentine’s Day – 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
In the Conservatory
Stroll through the expansive Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, talk to guides on hand about the many aphrodisiac plants that can be found at the Garden, and enjoy expert-led chocolate discussions and tastings—all included with an All-Garden Pass. A pop-up bar in the warmth of the Conservatory will be available with champagne, beer, and wine—all available for purchase.
Roaming Guides
11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Learn more about the aphrodisiac qualities of some of the plants in the collections from a roaming guide.
Chocolate Mini-Seminars & Tastings
1, 2:30, & 4 p.m.
Explore and learn about the special qualities that chocolate has long held and indulge in a special tasting with expert chocolatier Roni Sue. Learn about where chocolate comes from and the nuances that each region’s beans express. Titillate your senses with a few choice samples of Roni-Sue’s Chocolates.
The Poet is In
1–5 p.m.
Have your very own personal love poem written by a professional poet to remember this special day.
Pop-Up Bar
1–5 p.m.
Enjoy a glass of champagne, wine, or beer, available for purchase inside the Conservatory Palm Dome, as you stroll through the splendor of our Tropical Houses.
Hudson Garden Grill – 10 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Make a reservation for a delicious meal at the Hudson Garden Grill, featuring a special prix fixe menu alongside the seasonal winter menu. This STARR Events restaurant, helmed by award-winning Executive Chef Julian Alonzo, spotlights the innovative flavors of New American cuisine as inspired by locally sourced, ethically produced ingredients from Hudson Valley farms and other regional producers.
Monday, February 15
![Culinary Kids Weekend](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/0216-culinary-kids-570x200.jpg)
Culinary Kids Weekend – 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
In the Conservatory Tent
Join us for a weekend celebrating the relationships among plants, farms, and your favorite foods. Family Garden staff will offer cooking demonstrations, recipes, and hands-on activities, with plenty of music and tastings. Tinker with the science of kitchen chemistry and get to the root of foods at a variety of activity stations. Daily cooking demonstrations at 1 p.m. feature kid-friendly recipes. Learn from a chef as they share tips and samples!
Wild Medicine Tour – 12:30 p.m. & 2:30 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
Explore the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory‘s World of Plants to discover plants used for health and wellness.
Ongoing Children’s Programs
![Tropical House Enid A. Haupt Conservatory](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/0216-tropical-house-570x200.jpg)
Wintertime Wonders – 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
Inside the cozy Discovery Center kids of all ages can take a closer look at the wonders of plants and animals in winter. Make bark rubbings, count tree rings, craft a bud necklace and head back into the winter garden with a field notebook to discover the vital sparks of life that lie just below the surface of this quiet season in the Northeast.