By Staff
A big weekend is being planned at Fernwood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve, 13988 Range Line Road, with great food, music and a special toy for all ages.
Fernwood invites you to a celebration under the stars, Friday, June 19, for the annual Summer Solstice Celebration dinner/fundraiser. The doors open at 6 p.m. for a special evening in the garden, featuring cocktails with hors doeuvres, an elegant dinner prepared by Fernwood's chef, Tim Carrigan, dessert buffet, live and silent auctions, and musical entertainment by Friends Jazz Trio.
Featured items in the auction will include original works of art depicting outdoor scenes created that very day at Fernwood and surrounding locations by artists of the Plein Air Painters of Chicago (PAPC), www.papchicago.com.
The Summer Solstice Celebration will also mark the grand opening of the new Fernwood Garden Railway, a railroad garden designed specifically for Fernwood by Paul Busse, whose railroad gardens can be found at leading public gardens throughout the country, including the Chicago Botanic Garden.
You will have the opportunity to meet Paul and Margaret Busse during the evening.
Reservations for the Summer Solstice Celebration are $75 per person and required by Friday, June 12.
The new Fernwood Railway Garden is scheduled to open to the public on Father's Day weekend. The garden will include three G-scale (garden-scale) trains running simultaneously over trestles and landscaped mountains, through tunnels, and past a lake, waterfall, and stream. Visit www.fernwoodbotanical.org to see the step-by-step progress of the installation of this exciting new garden. And learn more about the work of Paul Busse at www.appliedimagination.biz.
Consider volunteering at Fernwood this summer. They are seeking people who are interested in working as docents for the new railway garden, receptionist assistants, gardeners, and office support. If you are interested in helping Fernwood do its good work in the community, and are able to donate just a few hours of your time each week, call (269) 695-6491 ext. 212.