Boston Flora

Tag: Lilac Sunday

  • Sunday, May 13, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Lilac Sunday

    FREE! Join lilac enthusiasts from all over New England to celebrate a beloved Boston tradition on Sunday, May 13, from 10 – 4. This year Lilac Sunday is on Mother’s Day—what better way to celebrate Moms! Delight your senses with a hillside of heavenly fragrances and dazzling colors. There will be tours, live outdoor music, art, children’s activities, and food vendors (picnicking is allowed on this special day only). 2012 Lilac Sunday T-shirts and other and other merchandise will be for sale.

    On Lilac Sunday, the Arboretum is open as usual from dawn to dusk, with special activities from 10:00am until 4:00pm (full program schedule coming online soon) at http://arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/lilac_sunday.html

    Parking is limited, so use of public transportation is strongly encouraged.

    HIGHLIGHTS:

    Tours of the Lilac Collection: (every hour)

    Tours from the Visitor Center to the Lilacs: (every 30 minutes)

    Tours of Special Collections: (various times) Explorers Garden, Leventritt Shrub & Vine Garden, Bradley Rosaceous Collection, and more

    Family Activities: (various times): Build-a-flower, Mother’s Day cards, Coloring & drawing, Science station

    Performances (various times): Delta Swingers trio featuring Erin Harpe, The J-Way String Quartet, Lloyd Thayer, and more.

    Food vendors: Clover Fast Food, Slush King, Lefty’s Silver Cart, Cupcakory, and more.

    Displays: Library display, information about the Aboretum’s programs, science research, and more!

    Free lilac plant if you join the Friends of the Arnold Arboretum on Lilac Sunday!

    The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is the oldest public arboretum in North America, and one of the world’s leading centers for the study of plants. A unique blend of beloved public landscape and respected research institution, the Arnold Arboretum provides and supports world-class science research, horticulture, and education programs that foster the understanding, appreciation and preservation of trees.

  • Saturday, April 30 – Sunday, June 5 – The New Botanicals/Lilacs by Vinette Varvaro

    The New Botanicals / Lilacs is an exhibition of exquisite giclee lilac prints. Intense color saturated lilacs in varying hues of purple, magenta, pink and white emerge from velvety black back grounds creating lifelike portraits of each specimen. This exhibition is in co-ordination with The Arnold Arboretum’s Lilac Sunday annual celebration. Artist Vinette Varvaro created The New Botanicals Collection as a fresh new version of traditional antique botanical prints yet has retained their classic beauty and detail. Also shown are several prints from The New Botanicals / Woody Plants and Shrubs collection. Ms. Varvaro uses both digital technology and painterly skill to produce fine art prints for collectors and horticulturalists. The twenty-four lilac images shown are blossoms cut from lilacs at Syringa Plus Lilac Nursery in West Newbury, Massachusetts. The exhibition, in the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall at the Arnold Arboretum, will run from Saturday, April 30 through Sunday, June 5. A reception with the artist will take place Wednesday, May 4, from 6 – 8 pm. You may also meet the artist in the Lecture Hall during Lilac Sunday on May 8, and she will give an artist talk about her work on Wednesday, May 18, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. For more information about the artist, visit www.thenewbotanicals.com.

  • Arnold Arboretum Lilac T-Shirt Design Contest

    Create a piece of Arnold Arboretum history.  Enter the contest to design next year’s Lilac Sunday T-shirt.  The Arnold Arboretum invites artists of all ages to submit T-shirt designs for Lilac Sunday 2011.  Lilac-themed T-shirts have been a tradition at Lilac Sunday for many years, and continue to be a highly anticipated and popular memento of this event.

    Designs must be original artwork for the front of a T-shirt, suitable for men and women.  Color of T-shirt will be determined by the Arboretum staff.  Design must be a maximum of 2 color for T-shirt screen printing, and white is considered a color.  Open to all ages, and you may submit up to three designs.  The deadline is January 31, 2011, so get sketching!  Please submit a digital file of your design (may be a digital photograph).

    Winning artwork becomes the property of the Arnold Arboretum.  Colors and fonts may be altered at Arboretum discretion.  Artwork may be used in other promotional materials for Lilac Sunday, possibly including but not limited to day-of-event signage and temporary tattoo (!). Submissions will be evaluated based on how well they reflect the spirit, history, and beauty of Lilac Sunday at the Arnold Arboretum. The competition will be judged by Arnold Arboretum staff, and the winner will be announced in February 2011.  The winner will receive ten T-shirts and be credited on all promotional materials.  For complete submission rules, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.  Questions and submissions may be sent to arbweb@arnarb.harvard.edu – put “Lilac Sunday T-Shirt Competition” in the email subject line.  Last year’s winning design below was created by Lisa Rosowski.

    Lilac Sunday T-shirt 2010

  • Sunday, May 9, 10 am – 4 pm – Lilac Sunday

    Of the thousands of flowering plants in the Arnold Arboretum, only one, the lilac, is singled out each year for a daylong celebration. Gather at the Arboretum to picnic (allowed on this special day only!), watch dance performances, tour the lilac collection, and more. Event takes place rain or shine. The Arboretum is open from dawn to dusk, with refreshments available for purchase and activities take place from 10 AM to 4 PM.  For directions, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    Lilac lilacs by robynejay.

  • Sunday, May 10, 10 – 4 – Lilac Sunday

    Of the thousands of flowering plants in the Arboretum, only one, the lilac, is singled out each year for a daylong celebration. On Lilac Sunday, garden enthusiasts from all over New England gather at the Arboretum to picnic, watch Morris dancing, and tour the lilac collection. On the day of the event, which takes place rain or shine, the Arboretum is open as usual from dawn to dusk. Refreshments are available for purchase from 10 AM to 4 PM.

    Street parking along the Arboretum perimeter is limited and visitors are advised to take public transportation. Some parking spaces outside the gates will be designated for special-needs visitors. No unauthorized vehicles will be allowed within the gates during the event. A limited number of wheelchairs will be available on a first-come, first-served basis; wheelchairs may not be reserved in advance. Please inquire at the front desk of the Hunnewell Building or at the information tents inside the Forest Hills Gate and Center Street Gate if you or someone in your party requires a wheelchair. Log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/lilac_sunday.html for more information.