Spring/Summer/Fall Hours (begin Sunday, April 1):
Wednesday – Sunday, 10 am-5 pm
Admission prices include entrance to the gardens
Events
Mayfest
May 10-12, 10am-5 pm
Tickets: $20 General, $16 Students, Seniors & Military, $10 Youth 6-17 (5 and under free)
Celebrate the arrival of spring and Mother’s Day weekend with a variety of family-friendly activities in the beautiful gardens of Lakewold. Enjoy the colorful blooms with a refreshing mocktail, participate in a garden photo scavenger hunt, make Mother’s Day cards and play games on the lawn. Saxophonist Rob Sabado will perform 11am-1pm Saturday and Sunday, and a special Mother’s Day concert will take place at 2pm on Sunday featuring young musicians performing with their mothers along with a special performance by soprano Veronica Deraleau and pianist Lark Powers.
Fairy Fest
June 21-23, 10am-5 pm
Tickets: $20 General, $16 Students, Seniors & Military, $10 Youth 6-17 (5 and under free)
Fairy Fest is a magical weekend of fairy-themed events for the entire family! Explore the gardens while participating in a variety of enchanting activities including art projects, live music and dance performances, a fairy house contest, free play and games in the gardens, storytelling, and more.
Art Programs
Music From Home
Tickets: $35 General | $28 Students, Seniors & Military | $17.50 Youth 6-17 (5 and under free)
Music From Home is Lakewold’s monthly series of intimate chamber music concerts held in the historic Wagner House. For the 2024 season, Lakewold Gardens is pleased to present Sounds of the Homelands with each program featuring the music of a particular cultural terroir, transporting attendees to Mexico, Norway, Southeast Asia, and around the United States by artists representing these places. Ticket price includes complimentary desserts.
April 7: Sounds of Norway
For the opening concert of the season, three acclaimed Puget Sound area-based musicians join forces to offer a unique program of Scandinavian flair. Svend Rønning and Rachel Nesvig (violins/Hardanger fiddles) and Lisa Bergman (piano) will perform works by Grieg, Halvorsen, Bull, Sinding, traditional Norwegian tunes, and more!
May 4: American Focus Concert 1: Music by Black Composers Active in the United States
The first of the season’s American Focus subset, this concert features music by contemporary African American composers. Soprano Ellaina Lewis, Robert Murphy (violin) and Kim Davenport (piano) will perform pieces by Dorothy Rudd Moore, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Richard Thompson and more. University of Puget Sound faculty member and musicologist Gwynne Brown will offer an introductory talk about the music.
June 2: American Focus Concert 2: 1920-1960 – The Pan American Era
The second concert in the American Focus series will feature tenor José Rubio and pianist Abdiel Vázquez performing works by Ponce, Ginastera, Bernal Jiménez, Guastavino, Ives, Copland and more.
Figure Drawing
Second Wednesdays of the month, 6-9 pm
Tickets: $20 Adult, $18 Students (18+)
These casual sessions provide an opportunity for artists to come together to practice their figure drawing skills with a live model. Artists (18+ years) of all levels are invited to practice and share their skills with fellow artists. Each session features nude studies with focus on gestures and various lengths of poses or clothed models with longer poses. Easels are provided, but participants are to bring their own drawing materials (charcoal, pencils, pastels, etc.).
April 10 – nude model
May 8 – nude model
June 12 – model in fairy-themed attire
Art Exhibits
Included with admission
Unnatural Selection by Erik Fremstad
Through April 7
Unnatural Selection comprises a series of six paintings—a bison, wolf, grizzly bear, pollinators, sea turtle, and polar bear—created by artist Erik Fremstad between 2018 and 2023. Each large-scale portrait details the devastation to the North American wildlife species. In his process, Fremstad uses words to form the outline of the animals, first in pencil and then in ink, including biological information, literary references, drawings of historical photos and maps, to illustrate the full perspective of the issues threatening each species. Once the outline is complete, Fremstad finishes the works with watercolor paint. This exhibition is the first time all six pieces have been displayed together.
Kvitucha: Ukraine in Bloom
April 12-May 26
Opening Reception: Friday, April 12, 5-7pm
Works by local Ukranian artists and refugees of the war in Ukraine.
Beauty can still be created and bloom despite the horrors of war.
Becky Frehse: Spacious Rambles
May 31-July 14
Garden Programs
Remembering Our Roots Forest Immersion
First and Third Sundays, 10-11:30 am
Thursdays, 6-7:30 pm weekly (May-August)
Tickets: INTRODUCTORY OFFER $25 through April ($35 beginning May 1)
Suitable for ages 14+
Take a break from daily stress and rejuvenate your whole self with this intentionally slow-paced experience. Forest Immersion (or Forest Therapy) is based on the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku that offers benefits for both mental and physical health. Horticulture Engagement Specialist Brianna Ybarra guides participants through a series of thoughtful invitations to connect with nature by tapping into all senses—sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch. Groups are limited to ten participants to allow for a truly immersive and restorative experience.
Crafting from the Gardens
Second and Fourth Sundays, 1:30-3:30 pm
Suitable for ages 12+
Create art from nature! Crafting from the Gardens provides participants the opportunity to make decorative pieces from natural materials found in and around Lakewold. Horticulture Engagement Specialist Brianna Ybarra has scheduled a wide variety of projects using everything from rocks and cut wood rounds to living plants, flower petals and leaves. Space is limited to 15 people.
April 14: Pebble Art
Tickets: $25
Create a scene using small pebbles and other natural materials. Pebbles, frames and other materials provided.
April 28: Bee Hotels
Tickets: $25
Using bamboo from the gardens, build a safe place for our little winged friends to nest.
May 5: Pressed Flower Earrings
Tickets: $35
Perfect for Mother’s Day! Make a beautiful set of earrings from pressed flowers set in resin.
May 26: Story/Kindness Stones
Tickets: $25
Create a set of stones with images that can be used to tell stories with your little ones or friends, or paint stones to leave for others to find!
June 9: Fairy Houses
Tickets: $25
Just in time for our Fairy Fest fairy house contest! Using natural materials, create a home for our fairy friends.
June 23: Fairy Terrariums
Tickets: $35
Keeping with the fairy theme for the month, build a terrarium with small scenes of everyday life for our spritely friends.
Tours
Friday Drop-in Tours
Fridays, 11:15am
Tickets: $15
Lakewold docents tour guests through the gardens, pointing out current highlights and other favorite locations to explore. No minimum party size is required. Tours last approximately one hour, and total walking distance is about a mile. Ticket price includes admission so guests are free to explore on their own before and after their tour.
Behind the Scenes Tours
Tickets: $25
Monthly Behind the Scenes Tours are casual walks hosted by a member of Lakewold’s horticulture team and explore specific topics related to the plant collection, design elements and garden practices. Space is limited to 12 participants.
April 21, 1-2 pm
Intentional Habitat Creation
June 2, 11:15 am-12:30 pm
Weed Management Strategies
Veterans Art Center
Lakewold Gardens is committed to fostering art programs and providing a safe, comfortable, and healing space to our veteran community.
Veterans Painting Group
Second and Fourth Sundays of the month, 11am-1pm
Free for Veterans
Group painting sessions with veteran and artist Charles Burt designed to empower veterans by providing art instruction in a peaceful garden setting while creating connections with other veterans in the art community. Artists of all levels are welcome; all supplies are provided.
Sound Vet Jam
Third Wednesday of the Month, 6-7:30pm
This community-based, all-inclusive music jam event is hosted by MusicWorks4Veterans to bring together veterans and service members transitioning to civilian life, their families and community to share stories and experience the benefits of having a creative musical outlet. Bring your own instrument or borrow one at the jam.
For more information about Lakewold Gardens programs and events, visit lakewoldgardens.org.
