Duke Gardens: August roundup

Free concert: Sweet Honey in the Rock
Grammy-winning female a cappella ensemble, with sign language interpretation. 4 p.m. Aug. 30 on the South Lawn. Picnics welcome. Free parking and shuttle bus service. More details here. No rain date. If weather is iffy, see our Twitter page for updates.


Free Movies in the Gardens by Twilight

(due to rain 8/5 & 8/12, films were bumped a week; new schedule reflected below)
Aug. 19: "The Wizard of Oz" (1939).
Aug. 26: "Singin' in the Rain" (1962).
Sept. 2: "The Music Man" (1962).
Sept. 9: "Mary Poppins" (1964).

Films will be shown on the South Lawn and start when darkness falls (8-8:30 p.m.) Picnics are welcome. Refreshments will be sold. Rain dates are one week later. Check our Twitter if the weather is iffy. See what our cinema looks like here.


Free Sunday drop-in program for children

August 2: Rock Salt Mosaic -- Create colorful textural art.
August 9: Plant a Lawn Sponge -- Using sponges and annual grass seed, children will plant their own miniature lawns. They can later mow it or let it grow into a “meadow.”
August 16: Sand Paintings in a Jar -- Pour planned rainbows or let the colors fall where they will and see what surprises develop.
August 23: Build an Orange Rind Bird Feeder -- Kids will get a kick out of watching birds eat at their own little “Orange Julius” stand.
August 30: Sound Experiments -- Create rhythm shakers and other natural noisemakers.

Programs run from 3-5 p.m. at the Dawn Redwood near the foot of the Terrace Garden.


Classes, children’s activities, free tours & waterlily madness

Water Lily Walks with aquatic plants specialist Tamara Kilbane, 9-11 a.m. Aug. 6 & 20. Rain or shine. More info here.
Walk on the Wild Side tour with Stefan Bloodworth, curator of the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants, Aug. 6, 11 a.m.-noon. Rain or shine. More info here.
Please pre-register for the free walks at 668-1707.

August Classes & children’s activities: Guide to N.C. Butterflies (Aug. 8-9); Triangle Orchid Society (Aug. 10, free); Digital photography (Aug. 11, 18, 25); Successful Gardener Seminar on Weeds (Aug. 16, free); The Fascination of Waterlilies (Aug. 16, free); Native Plants (Aug. 20-22): see our brochure here for details. Also, ask about children’s activity backpack rentals and Tuesday-Thursday morning school programs.


International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society's annual New Waterlily Competition: See the competing lilies in the Fish Pond and vote for People’s Choice Awards on site or here.


Facebook photo exhibit+competition
The two August themes are Manipulations and Water, Snow and Ice. (Dinosaur manipulation above is by Gardens volunteer Wendell Hull) Join our fan page here and look under "events." Details of how the competition works are also in our earlier blog post here.

Music in the Gardens: Holsapple+Stamey

Last concert of the season, and the weather has been kind once again. Holsapple & Stamey's harmonies sound glorious, a fantastic closing night for a superb season.





Not a bad seat in the house: chillin' in the back rows.

Blomquist in Bloom

See curator Stefan Bloodworth talking about some interesting plants in the Blomquist Garden.

What's a little rain?

Duke Performances' Music in the Gardens series has been blessed with fantastic weather this summer. But its fans are resilient no matter the weather. Even tonight's pre-show drenching didn't deter most. Some resigned themselves to getting soaked on the lawn. Others huddled under the patio roof.

As with most summer rains, it passed quickly. It's 7:20 and the music is now beginning.




Below is a concert photo by Duke Gardens volunteer Wendell Hull. So you see the weather cleared up nicely.

Movies in the Gardens by Twilight

(*5/27/11 update, for those landing on this 2009 blog post: for those seeking information about our 2011 Movies in the Gardens at Twilight series, the theme is animation and the films will be on the four Thursdays in August. We'll also have a special showing of "Play Again," a documentary about the consequences of a childhood removed from nature, on Sept. 15, in partnership with Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment. All films are free and for all ages.). Please see the movies page on our website for the latest updates. We'll post there when we confirm the film titles.)

ORIGINAL BLOG POST:
Forget about multiplexes and drive-ins, Duke Gardens has the ultimate setting to kick back and watch a movie: the South Lawn. And it has the perfect price: free.

Mark your calendars for our new outdoor summer film series on Wednesdays through mid-September. This year's focus is beloved classic musicals. The films will start when darkness falls, somewhere between 8 and 8:30 p.m. The rain dates are a week later. You can bring picnics, and we'll also sell refreshments. If weather is iffy, check Paul Kartcheske's Twitter page for updates.

To see what our outdoor cinema looks like, click here.

Due to rain 8/5 and 8/12, all movies have been bumped a week; changes are reflected in the schedule below:

Aug. 19: "The Wizard of Oz" (1939).

Aug. 26: "Singin' in the Rain" (1962).

Sept. 2: "The Music Man" (1962).

Sept. 9: "Mary Poppins" (1964).

Aug. 30, 4 p.m.: Sweet Honey in the Rock, free concert at Duke Gardens

In celebration of Sarah P. Duke Gardens' 75th anniversary, and as a gift to the Duke and Durham communities and all supporters that have embraced Duke Gardens and helped it thrive, the Gardens and co-producers Duke Performances present the Grammy-winning a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock.

Beloved for its anthems of social justice, personal empowerment, love, hope, peace and ecological responsibility, Sweet Honey in the Rock's music is derived from blues, spirituals, gospel and African chants.

The concert will be on the South Lawn at 4 p.m. Aug. 30, and it will feature American Sign Language interpretation. The Bailey Elites (Indy Weekly article here) will open the show at 3:30 p.m. The public is invited. No tickets are necessary. If the weather is iffy, please see our Twitter page for updates.

You can read more about the group here and listen to several NPR features on them here. Click here to read an interview Duke Gardens did with Sweet Honey's sign language interpreter. And scroll down for another video to enjoy.

DIRECTIONS, PARKING & OTHER INFORMATION

Duke Gardens opens at 8 a.m. Parking shuttles and concert amenities will begin at 2 p.m. The concert will begin at 4 p.m.

Parking:
Parking is free on 8/30.

Please park in one of the following lots:
The H Lot (Main) (H) on the corner of Anderson Street and Yearby Avenue.
The Graduate Center lot (GC) on the corner of Flowers Drive and Erwin Rd.
The Campus Drive lot on the corner of Anderson Street and Campus Drive.
There will be parking shuttle buses transporting people from these lots to the Gardens entrance starting at 2 p.m. The shuttle buses will take people from the Gardens entrance back to the parking lots (excluding the Campus Drive lot adjacent to the Gardens lots) for as long as they're needed.

Bike Parking:
There will be bike parking by the first Flowers Drive entrance to Duke Gardens (closest to Yearby Avenue). There is also limited bicycle parking in the Duke Gardens lot. Please do not bring bicycles down to the South Lawn.

You may bring:
Food
Beer/Wine
Drinks (Please bring lots of water, as it will be hot)
Chairs
Blankets
Rain umbrellas

Please do not bring:
Beach umbrellas or tents
Dogs (only seeing eye dogs are permitted at this event)

Access Points to the South Lawn:
Main Duke Gardens entrance by the Doris Duke Center off of Anderson Rd.
Entrance off of Yearby Avenue (near Flowers Drive)
Entrance off of Flowers Drive (closer to Yearby Avenue)
Second entrance off of Flowers Drive (closer to Chapel Road)

Duke Campus Buses:
The C-2W bus will drop you off by the Yearby Avenue entrance to the Gardens and runs until 9 p.m. on Sunday, 8/30.

Durham City Buses:
DATA buses Route 6 (for Duke University/VA Hospital) will take you to the traffic circle on Flowers Drive. Get off at stop B for Flowers Drive and enter Duke Gardens to your right. The last bus leaves from this stop at 7:10 p.m. on Sunday, 8/30.

Amenities:
Water and food will be sold starting at 2 p.m. Please still bring your own water, as the afternoon will be hot.
There will be portable bathrooms available starting at noon. Bathrooms are also available in the Doris Duke Center starting at noon and bathrooms in the Terrace Gardens starting at 8 a.m.

Rain:
The concert will take place rain or shine. In the case of hazardous weather, we will let the audience know by 3 p.m. whether the concert will proceed.

Wheelchair Accessibility:
Please park in the lots on Yearby Avenue or Flowers Drive (described in the Parking section above) and use the shuttle buses to get to the first Flowers Drive entrance (the shuttle buses are wheelchair accessible). We will have a wheelchair accessible section of the South Lawn reserved that you may use if you’d like. Wheelchair storage will be available.

Deaf and Hearing Impaired:
The Sweet Honey in the Rock concert will be sign language interpreted. There will be a reserved section close to the stage for deaf and hearing-impaired people.

Click here for directions to the Gardens

ADF at Duke Gardens: "Life. Love. Pursuit."

Here are some rehearsal shots and video of the free performance American Dance Festival will present at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Duke Gardens. Audience members should meet at the entrance to the Rose Circle, gathering at the outer end near the Gardens' parking lots and main gate.

The dance is created by choreographer Rodger Belman and will feature 89-year-old dance artist Susan Gittler (pictured here with Belman) and more than 20 dancers from ADF and the Triangle community. It'll also have live music by Randy Love and ADF musicians. The audience and dancers will travel to various sites throughout the Gardens, watching a solo here, a trio there, and finishing up roughly an hour later at the South Lawn.

No reservations necessary. Just show up before 7:30 and come along. More info on ADF special programs is here (including the performance/discussion "Susan Gittler: A Lifetime of Dance" Wednesday at 4 p.m.). And please check this blog later for more rehearsal photos and video.















And here's Mika Banks rehearsing

Mallarme Chamber Players at Duke Gardens

Lots of calls today asking how to get tickets to tonight's sold-out concert by Mallarme Chamber Players and the Brussels Chamber Orchestra. There'll be a waiting list line starting at 6 p.m. at the Doris Duke Center.

We're already getting a taste of the program, as Mallarme cellist Bonnie Thron and violinist Jacqueline Wolbursky rehearse. The acoustics in that room are amazing.

Farmers' market at Duke Gardens

Here's a taste of the fresh treats available at the farmers' market on Tuesdays in Duke Gardens' upper parking lot. You can sign up for a seasonal CSA (community supported agriculture) membership and pay in advance to get a box of produce each week from any of several local farms. Or just swing by between 4 and 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and shop a la carte.

Rosie's Plate also participates, with foods free of gluten, peanuts and shellfish. You can check out Rosie's & order meals in advance here.