Director's Note 2/1/15

February 1, 2015

Snow at this time of year, especially in healthy quantities and with the prospect of below-freezing weather for the coming week, comes as good news at Lynden. With our fifth annual Winter Carnival scheduled for this Saturday, snow anxiety runs high. You may have noticed that nervous look on Braden Baer's face if you've visited the garden recently and seen him sitting at the front desk. Visitor associate by day and carnival curator by night, Braden has a lot hanging on Saturday's forecast. Each year we try to choose art projects and activities that are not snow- (or even cold-) dependent, but we'd like to think that visitors will be able to ice skate on the pond; that those who engage with Claire Ashley's inflatable sculptures will tumble on soft snow rather than hard ground; and that Roy Staab will be able to put his blue tempera powder to good use on a white ground.

And you can revisit last year's carnival in these three videos by Wes Tank (who will also be leading a participatory filmmaking event at this year's carnival):

You are welcome to come in prior to Saturday for a little cross-country skiing (especially if you like to blaze your own trails), to visit our current exhibition, Urban Wood Encounter,
in its final weeks, or just to see Braden smile. We also have a few "Lyndenboggans" for the very young--an adult willing to pull them required. These can be checked out at the front desk.

This month you can also get to know your GoPro camera with Wes Tank and join Yevgeniya Kaganovich for a grow workshop (both on Feb. 15), paint silk scarves with Leslie Perrino (Feb. 21), make porcelain vases with Linda Wervey Vitamvas (Feb. 23), and learn shibori dyeing techniques using natural dyes with Jamie Lea Bertsch (Feb. 28). We have a homemade stamps workshop for families (Feb. 22), plenty of opportunities to count birds for Project FeederWatch, and our monthly dog day (Feb. 21). For the youngest children we offer Tuesdays (Feb. 10) and Wednesdays in the Garden (Feb. 11); their older siblings can take advantage of our weekly Art Drop-In each Wednesday and a school's out workshop on Feb. 16.

And though this seems a long way off, our summer camp schedule will be rolling out shortly, and Lynden members will get first crack at registration. If you are a member, expect an email this week with registration details. Some old favorites, like Garden Animals, Tree House, and Imaginary Creatures, will be joined by exciting new offerings, including a camp for grandparents and their very small grandchildren; a week devoted to Movement and Migration that will include a visit from Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group; and Lost Civilization, which will take campers into the back acres to construct the artifacts and settlements of an imagined tribe.


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