NEWSLETTER
After 10 Years of Capital Projects, Entire 52 Acres of BBG Reopened Welcoming Visitors with More Gardens, More Hours, and More Programs
Brooklyn, NY–Brooklyn Botanic Garden is pleased to announce its 2020 calendar of special events, programs, and seasonal highlights. This year, there is more to explore and enjoy than ever before as BBG fully opens following the completion of ten years of site-improvement projects across all 52 acres of the Garden.
To welcome visitors to the new and restored gardens, the Garden is offering extended evening hours in spring and summer, a robust calendar of live performances, exciting festivals, seasonal culinary events, enriching tours and workshops, and year-round horticultural beauty in one of New York City’s cultural jewels.
Note to media: For high-res images, further information, or to request an interview or visit, please contact the Garden’s press office at communications@bbg.org or 718-623-7283.
What’s New in 2020
BBG Fully Reopened and Bigger than Ever
This year, following more than a decade of new garden and accessibility capital projects across BBG’s 52 acres, the Garden has fully reopened with more gardens, amenities, and programs to welcome an audience of over 800,000 annual visitors. Visitors can enjoy the newest gardens—the Robert W. Wilson Overlook and the Elizabeth Scholtz Woodland Garden—in their first spring, summer, and fall seasons, and revisit favorites such as the Native Flora Garden, the Cranford Rose Garden, the Lilac Collection, and the Osborne Garden, which had been temporarily closed in whole or part during construction.
In 2020, BBG’s newest garden spaces will be activated during festivals, special evening programs, free tours, and more. Learn about the full suite of projects completed in the Campaign for the Next Century at bbg.org/nextcentury.
Twilight in the Garden
Extended Evening Hours in Spring and Summer
To celebrate the reopening of its 52 acres, the Garden is offering even more hours during peak season. See the Garden in a new light this year with Twilight in the Garden, a series of extended evening hours from April through September.
From April 14 through May 21, the Garden stays open until 8 p.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for visitors to savor more of the peak bloom cycle, including cherries, bluebells, azaleas, and more. This summer, evening hours continue every Tuesday and Thursday from May 26 through September 22 featuring a series of site-specific music and dance performances, cocktail hours, and more. BBG members also continue to enjoy Members’ Summer Evenings every Wednesday, from May 27 through September 2. Learn more at bbg.org/twilight.
Art in the Garden
Artist-in-Residence Program at BBG
This winter, Brooklyn Botanic Garden is honored to welcome three new artists-in-residence: Eiko Otake, Craig Harris, and Nick & Jake. Over the next three years, each of the artists will create, curate, and present performance-based work that connects plants, people, and the planet. Additional performing arts events will take place Tuesday evenings in March, June, July, and August.
Seasonal Chef Dining Events
In partnership with the Garden, BBG’s visitor-dining partner, Patina Restaurant Group, will present a series of dining events throughout 2020 with menus by executive chef Sarah Flynn that are inspired by the season and local and regional foods.
Winter 2020 Highlights
Winter Wellness Sundays Series
Sundays, February 2, 9, 16, 23
Warm up with the Garden’s Winter Wellness Sundays series featuring an hour of guided yoga and meditation, followed by a 45-minute herbal class with BBG teacher and herbalist Dawn Petter. Each week’s class explores a different approach to plant medicine in support of winter well-being. Learn more.
Winter Tours
Celebrate the beauty of the Garden and our connection to nature in the quietest months of the year. Free tours led by seasoned Garden Guides take place throughout the year. Learn more at bbg.org/winter.
Spring 2020 Highlights
Making Brooklyn Bloom: Shine the Light on Plants
Saturday, March 14 | 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
This year’s conference draws inspiration from the Garden’s Fight for Sunlight campaign. The day’s workshops, tours, and keynote address will highlight the powerhouse of knowledge, healing, and connection that plants provide to individuals and their communities. Participants will join workshops and network with dozens of NYC greening organizations in the Palm House.
The Wilbur A. Levin keynote address will be presented by Christopher Bolden-Newsome, farmer and codirector of the Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia. Learn more at bbg.org/mbb.
Major Sponsor, Community Greening programs
March Art in the Garden
Every Tuesday Evening in the Conservatory and Palm House
All March Tuesday evening events are ticketed and include general BBG admission. Learn more.
Tuesday, March 3 | 6–8 p.m.
Plant Cure/Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Exhibition Opening and Roundtable
Conservatory Gallery
The opening night of Plant Cure, an exhibition by five contemporary artists inspired by the Garden’s collections, features the artists, botanists, and academics in discussion on the healing power of plants.
Tuesday, March 10 | 6–8 p.m.
Poetry in the Garden: A Workshop with Jessica Greenbaum
Conservatory
Jessica Greenbaum, a New Yorker–published poet and social worker, leads this interactive poetry reading inspired by plants and gardens. Readers, scribblers, thinkers, and feelers are empowered to tap into their own inspiration, quietly or aloud.
Tuesday, March 17 | 6–8 p.m.
BBG 2020–2022 Artists-in-Residence:
Nick Vaughan & Jake Margolin: “Cabin Boy Blue/Under the Sediment”
Conservatory
Interdisciplinary artists Nick & Jake present a performance lecture about a queer 18th-century maritime scandal, Indigofera tinctoria, and the beauty of oxidation. The artists’ research into the queer history of Louisiana and its intersection with the indigo trade is part of their “50 States,” a series of large-scale installations rooted in LGBTQ histories from each state in the country.
Tuesday, March 24 | 6–8 p.m.
BBG 2020–2022 Artist-in-Residence:
Eiko Otake: “A Body in a Garden”
Palm House and Garden
MacArthur-winning dancer-choreographer Eiko Otake performs site-specific work in and around the Palm House. Grounded in the Japanese dance theater form butoh, Otake’s work engages with issues around aging and the climate crisis. Dress warmly.
Tuesday, March 31 | 6–8 p.m.
BBG 2020–2022 Artist-in-Residence:
Craig Harris and Friends: “Breathe”
Conservatory
Harlem-based composer and trombonist Craig Harris, whose work spans nearly five decades and multiple disciplines, is joined by other musicians performing his latest work, “Breathe,” in this intimate performance in the Garden’s Conservatory. From Sun Ra to Sekou Sundiata, Harris has composed and performed with some of the most influential artists of our time.
Twilight in the Garden: Spring Season
From April 14 through May 21, the Garden stays open until 8 p.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for visitors to savor more of peak spring bloom season. Stroll the Garden as the sun sets while enjoying a cocktail or beverage of choice. Twilight in the Garden evenings are ticketed and include general BBG admission. Learn more at bbg.org/twilight.
Sakura Matsuri
Saturday, April 25 & Sunday, April 26
Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s cherry blossom festival, Sakura Matsuri, one of the most anticipated spring events in New York City, returns April 25–26, 2020. The weekendlong festival celebrates Japanese culture with a rich program of events and highlights the end of the Garden’s mesmerizing hanami (“cherry blossom viewing”) season. Further details and ticketing information will be announced in late February. Learn more at bbg.org/sakura.
Lead Sponsor, Sakura Matsuri
Plant Sale
Wednesday, May 6 (members only) & Thursday, May 7, 2020
This spectacular annual event, tented on Cherry Esplanade, offers the largest collection of plants in the metropolitan area and features free talks and workshops. Learn more at bbg.org/plantsale.
Spring Gala
Tuesday, June 2
Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s annual Spring Gala benefit will recognize president emeritus Scot Medbury with BBG’s Better Earth Award and celebrate the Garden’s era of transformation under his leadership from 2005 to 2020. Tickets for the Spring Gala and After Party will go on sale in April. Learn more at bbg.org/gala.
Magnolia Dinner
A Seasonal Chef’s Dinner by Patina Restaurant Group
Thursday, April 9
Celebrate Yellow Magnolia Café’s third anniversary with a community table dining event highlighting the restaurant’s southern roots with a Brooklyn plant-based twist. Further details and ticketing information will be announced later in 2020.
Mother’s Day Brunch
A Seasonal Chef’s Brunch by Patina Restaurant Group
Sunday, May 10
Celebrate Mother’s Day at the Palm House with your loved ones and enjoy breathtaking views of the Garden accompanied by an unlimited buffet, bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys, and the smooth jazz stylings of the duo Acute Inflections. Further details and ticketing information will be announced later in 2020.
Summer 2020 Highlights
Twilight in the Garden: Summer Season
This summer, from May 26 through September 22, BBG stays open until 8:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday. Every Tuesday from June through August, BBG will present special, site-specific music and dance performances featuring artists responding to nature and the Garden. On Thursdays throughout the summer, visitors can “follow the bloom” to find a pop-up beer garden serving local beers and small bites among summer’s most glorious bloom highlights.
Summer arts programming will include performances by BBG’s three artists-in-residence: Eiko Otake, Craig Harris, and Nick & Jake; as well as works by Min Tanaka; Tendayi Kuumba and Greg Purnell; H.T. Chen Dance Company; Mind Travel; and Poet Trees, among others.
Twilight in the Garden evenings are ticketed and include general BBG admission. Further details and ticketing information will be announced in spring 2020. Learn more at bbg.org/twilight.
Reimagine End of Life Festival Closing Night Event
Sunday, June 14 | 4–6 p.m.
Reimagine End of Life is a citywide, weeklong festival that explores death and celebrates life through creativity and conversation. This closing celebration at the Garden features visual artists, performing artists (including the Garden’s three artists-in-residence), writers, scientists, and horticulturists. Further details and ticketing information will be announced in spring 2020.
Gomela
Work-in-Progress: Tuesday, June 16 | 7 p.m.
Performances: Thursday, June 18; Friday, June 19; Saturday, June 20 | 7:30 p.m.
Osborne Garden
Created and produced by New Orleans–based Junebug Productions, Gomela is a theatrical musical and spoken-word journey based on stories, music, and dance from the African diaspora. Brooklyn Botanic Garden is delighted to copresent this work with Brooklyn-based 651 ARTS and New York’s HI-ARTS. The performance will be staged outdoors in the Osborne Garden in observance of Juneteenth. Gomela is a ticketed event; further details and ticketing information will be announced in spring 2020.
Summer Wellness Sundays Series
Sundays, July 12, July 19, July 26 & August 2
Connect with nature, yourself, and your community during these special wellness mornings. Each ticketed class will incorporate yoga, meditation, and plant medicine in a beautiful outdoor garden setting. Further details and ticketing information will be announced in spring 2020.
Summer Garden Crawfish Boil
A Seasonal Chef’s Dinner by Patina Restaurant Group
Thursday, August 20
Come get your seafood on with an old-fashioned crawfish boil and a finger-lickin’ good time. Further details and ticketing information will be announced later in 2020.
Fall/Winter 2020
Chile Pepper Festival
Sunday, September 13
Brooklyn’s end-of-summer blowout sets the Garden ablaze with scorching bands and fiery food artisans. A special performance will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Tickets on sale summer 2020. Learn more at bbg.org/chile.
Family Party
Thursday, September 24
This fall, BBG reintroduces the Family Party, an annual fundraiser that offers an evening of fun for kids ages 3–12 and their families. The Garden is the ultimate setting for a magical evening of entertainment along with a variety of educational and interactive crafts and activities. The Family Party raises important funds to support Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s youth education programs. Further details and ticketing information will be announced later in 2020.
Harvest Homecoming
Saturday, October 24 & Sunday, October 25
Join Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s take on an old-school fall foliage festival in the heart of Brooklyn—complete with hay rides, carnival games, music, cider tastings, and more! Kids can debut their Halloween costumes in a high-energy drum parade. Tickets on sale summer 2020. Learn more at bbg.org/harvesthomecoming.
Friendsgiving
A Seasonal Chef’s Dinner by Patina Restaurant Group
Thursday, November 12
Join us as we celebrate a year of gratitude, friendship, and community with traditional Thanksgiving fare with a creative twist. Further details and ticketing information will be announced later in 2020.
Holiday Family Brunch
A Seasonal Chef’s Brunch by Patina Restaurant Group
December
Enjoy a holiday season brunch along with creative activities for kids and families to celebrate this magical time of year. Further details and ticketing information will be announced later in 2020.
About Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Founded in 1910, Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is an urban botanic garden that connects people to the world of plants, fostering delight and curiosity while inspiring an appreciation and sense of stewardship of the environment. Situated on 52 acres in the heart of Brooklyn, the Garden is home to over 12,000 kinds of plants and hosts over 800,000 visitors annually.
Learn what’s happening at Brooklyn Botanic Garden at bbg.org/visit/calendar; read the Garden’s blog at bbg.org/news; and find out what’s in bloom at bbg.org/bloom. Visitor entrances are at 990 Washington Avenue, 150 Eastern Parkway, and 455 Flatbush Avenue. For hours, directions, and admission information, please visit bbg.org/visit. Follow BBG on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and join the conversation using #BrooklynBotanicGarden.