Events Calendar

Fee: Free, but registration highly encouraged.
Register: Click here to register.

Join Annalesa Albright for a morning of multigenerational knitting and good company. Bring your latest project or yarn from your stash to cast on something fresh. We can inspire each other and share our stories while we knit in the beautiful gallery at Lynden. This is not an instructional workshop, but all skill levels are welcome, from washcloth-makers to cabled-sweater-proficients. Annalesa will share some of her favorite patterns, and snacks will be served.

Annalesa’s mother taught her to knit at a very young age, and she has been knitting ever since—though she describes her technical skills as at a “watch a how-to video every time” level. Consequently, she likes the idea of passing on the skill to the younger generation. Children with the concentration to learn to knit (or to keep themselves quietly occupied while others indulge) are welcome.

About Annalesa Albright

Annalesa Albright has been a member of Lynden’s land team for six years. Her passions are gardening, exploring nature, and crafting (knitting, nature crafts, sewing). Using natural materials in her projects is very important to her. She has a formal education in local food systems and has spent years building her knowledge of local flora and fauna. Annalesa has a three-year-old daughter and is always finding ways to incorporate her passions into her parenting.

Fee: Free.
Registration: Advance registration encouraged. Click here to register online. Work days are weather-dependent. If you have registered in advance, we will contact you if we are cancelling due to inclement weather.

Whether you are looking for a few hours of volunteer work or want a weekly activity that keeps you outside, you are welcome to join us on Wednesday mornings from 10 am to 12 noon. Projects vary from season to season; for the next few months, you will work alongside land staff to pull herbaceous invasive species in our natural areas, as well as help accomplish other projects around the grounds to enhance biodiversity and take care of the native flora and fauna. No experience is necessary, though you are encouraged to bring your favorite gardening gloves and digging tools if you have them. Water, snacks, and additional tools will be provided.

Land Stewardship at Lynden
The Lynden Sculpture Garden is transforming its natural habitats and formal landscapes into sustainable and diverse ecosystems that highlight their natural beauty. Our goal is to steward healthy habitats for an array of native plants and wildlife while adding a vibrant mosaic of color and texture to this sculptural landscape through every season. With over 40 acres and more than half a dozen specialized garden spaces, the Lynden provides many volunteer and learning opportunities, from removing invasive species to planting new trees and plugs, weeding, pruning, collecting, and spreading seeds. With a small land staff, volunteer help is essential to the evolution and restoration of the Lynden grounds.

You may also like:

Garden Work Days 2026

2026 Winter/Spring Session (Jan 14 - May 27): Wednesdays, 10:00 am-11:00 am
Fee: $20/$16 members for one adult and one child. Add an additional child for $8.
Registration: Group size is limited; advance registration is required. Register online now. Sessions move indoors in the event of inclement weather.
For children ages 2–4 and their caregivers

Wednesdays in the Garden offers a nurturing and joyful space for our youngest learners to explore, play, and grow. Together with their caregivers, children will discover the wonders of the natural world and Lynden’s unique sculpture collection through hands-on experiences that spark curiosity, wonder, and creativity.

Early childhood educators Claudia Orjuela and Denice Niebuhr will guide families through sensory-rich activities, outdoor adventures, and open-ended artmaking. Each week highlights a new theme, connecting children’s natural interests with the world around them.

Research from the National Association for the Education of Young Children shows that time outdoors supports healthier bodies, stronger minds, better sleep, and important social and emotional growth. At Lynden, we nurture these benefits by encouraging children to experiment with natural and artistic materials, tell stories, solve problems, and build relationships—all while having fun!

To view a list of the session themes, click here.

FREE
The HOME Refugee Steering Committee at the Lynden Sculpture Garden invites you to join us for a series of free, family-friendly events that celebrate Milwaukee's refugee communities through art, food, poetry, and performance. Our theme for World Refugee Day 2026, selected by Lynden’s HOME Refugee Steering Committee, is We Belong/You Belong: Joy and Unity Against the Odds.

Taking that theme, We Belong/You Belong: Joy and Unity Against the Odds, as our starting point, we come together to re-imagine what citizenship means in 2026, and what it could mean in the future, in the context of refugee settlement and impacts on new Americans. Join members of Lynden’s HOME Refugee Steering Committee and advisory group for two discussions about refugee resettlement and how to make a positive impact from within our refugee communities. The talks will be bridged by an intimate, communal, Burmese lunch where informal discussion continues.

These events, including the lunch, are free, but registration is required.

Throughout the day, participants in BE THE CHANGE, our female youth arts leadership group, and our HOME community arts interns, newly reconstituted as Youth Empire of Green-Land, will lead a passport-making activity based on what an ideal society or utopia would look like for young people and the people and communities they care about. Those who want a passport to the Youth Empire of Green-Land (open to all ages), will need to consider how to make the Empire a better place, and will be sent on a series of quests to learn more about the Empire and themselves. We will also be launching BE THE CHANGE’s latest art booklet, so stop by to pick up a copy.

The HOME Craft Market is scheduled to run from 11 am to 4 pm. In addition to nine vendors selling everything from skincare products to clothes, several organizations will be staffing resource tables: Hanan Relief Group, League of Women Voters, and the United Nations Association – Greater Milwaukee Chapter.

About the Sessions

An Overview of Refugee Assistance Overseas and the Future Ahead: This session presented by Tom Hushek, a retired US State Department ambassador will provide background and history about US refugee assistance overseas and locally, including the United Nations apparatus, its development and why it was created, up to the changes in our current times and what is left to reform policies. Join Hushek for a discussion about the future, including strategies to develop a value-based system that supports our refugee communities.

As a former U.S. diplomat with over three decades of experience serving regional conflicts around the world, Tom Hushek has dealt with multilateral diplomacy and global issues, including international trade, atomic energy, human rights, conflict resolution and stabilization. He started his career as a junior officer in Khartoum, Sudan, and finished, with some symmetry, as ambassador in Juba, South Sudan, retiring in 2020. He served in Moscow during the dissolution of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War, and in Islamabad and then Kabul on September 11, 2001, and afterwards. From 1999 to 2002, he worked both overseas and in Washington DC with the State Department’s refugee bureau as a “refugee coordinator” predominantly serving Afghan refugees and Afghan women facing Taliban repression. From 2010 to 2012 within the State Department headquarters, he administered similar programs in Central Asia, the Balkans, and the Americas. His US Foreign Service postings took him around the world from Africa, Central Asia, the Pacific and Europe, often serving in conflict zones, hardship and danger postings. Since his retirement, and as a proud Wisconsinite, Hushek continues to serve the community as a board member of the United Nations Association – Greater Milwaukee Chapter (UNA-USA) and the American Friends of the Episcopal Church of Sudan and South Sudan (AFRECS). He currently resides in Menomonee Falls.

Tangible Ways to Support Milwaukee Refugees and their Families: Would you like to learn more about how local refugee serving organizations and refugee resettlement agencies are run? Would you like to know more about Milwaukee’s refugee communities and the organizations and people who serve them? Are you looking for ways to support refugee communities and to contribute to refugee issues locally? Whatever your interests, experiences and skills, Sarah Mankowski-Lathrum, ESL Coordinator from Hanan Relief Group, will present and discuss tangible ways you can provide a helping hand to organizations in the area.

Sarah Mankowski-Lathrum is an ESL and Spanish instructor with over 20 years teaching experience, spanning university writing and literature courses to elementary and high school Spanish classes with Milwaukee Public Schools. She has traveled around the world, from volunteering at a teacher training college in Poland with the Peace Corps to teaching English at a women's junior college in Tokyo, Japan. Her passion for community-based educational programs brought her to Hanan Relief Group two years ago, and she enjoys helping their clients begin - or continue - their English language learning journeys. Hanan Relief Group is a local refugee resettlement agency and refugee serving organization that partners with communities in crisis to restore dignity, build resilience, and create sustainable pathways to self-sufficiency guided by local leadership, accountable to those they serve.

Craft Market Vendors

Cathkim Art – Handmade artwork featuring the African landscape and environment as well as Black awareness from the Kimbakimba sisters.
Elegant Henna – Natural handmade henna cones and homemade brownies from Kauser Jabeen.
Maly Aroma Boutique – Hmong embroidery designs, candles, and wax melts from Maly Vang.
Mai Glow – Skincare products, shea butter, body butter, body oils, face oil, soaps, and handicrafts—placemats, leather bags, dashikis, handwoven baskets—sourced from the Hausa Tribe of Nigeria and Northern Nigeria by Ameena Yusuf.
Mchete's African Treasures – Authentic handmade African men's and women's attire, beaded jewelry, Zulu hats, artifacts, Makonde carvings, handbags, fabrics, Maasai Shuka (blankets), ethnic wear, collectibles, African art, and other African treasures from Monica Ashery.
Olive Essence Soap – Handmade natural soaps, lotions, cosmetics, hair creams, deodorant, organic teas, cultural plates, and more from Gharam Amer.
Puffy and Fluffy – Crochet stuffed animals, keychains, and hijabs from Dana and Reem Barbarawi.
Te Amo – Handcrafted loose leaf organic Herbal teas from Michelle Miller.
Zohra Hashemi – A variety of handmade crochet items, from table coverings to keychains, made by Zohra.

SUPPORT HOME WORLD REFUGEE DAY

To sponsor 2026 HOME World Refugee Day events, please click here.

To make an individual donation to support our HOME refugee programs, click here.

To volunteer, click here.

About HOME

HOME is the theme of our work with refugee community leaders, community members, Call & Response artists, and allies. The HOME Refugee Steering Committee is building a space of leading, coming together, and celebrating refugees. For all HOME 2026 programming, click here.

World Refugee Day 2026 celebrations continue with a celebration at Milwaukee City Hall and two additional HOME “days” at Lynden featuring music, dance, food, poetry, and craft. For all HOME 2026 programming, click here.

HOME 2026 is sponsored in part by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, Refugee Programs.

Fee: Free.
Registration: Advance registration encouraged. Click here to register online. Work days are weather-dependent. If you have registered in advance, we will contact you if we are cancelling due to inclement weather.

Whether you are looking for a few hours of volunteer work or want a weekly activity that keeps you outside, you are welcome to join us on Wednesday mornings from 10 am to 12 noon. Projects vary from season to season; for the next few months, you will work alongside land staff to pull herbaceous invasive species in our natural areas, as well as help accomplish other projects around the grounds to enhance biodiversity and take care of the native flora and fauna. No experience is necessary, though you are encouraged to bring your favorite gardening gloves and digging tools if you have them. Water, snacks, and additional tools will be provided.

Land Stewardship at Lynden
The Lynden Sculpture Garden is transforming its natural habitats and formal landscapes into sustainable and diverse ecosystems that highlight their natural beauty. Our goal is to steward healthy habitats for an array of native plants and wildlife while adding a vibrant mosaic of color and texture to this sculptural landscape through every season. With over 40 acres and more than half a dozen specialized garden spaces, the Lynden provides many volunteer and learning opportunities, from removing invasive species to planting new trees and plugs, weeding, pruning, collecting, and spreading seeds. With a small land staff, volunteer help is essential to the evolution and restoration of the Lynden grounds.

You may also like:

Garden Work Days 2026

Fee:$30/$25 Members
Registration:To register online click here.
This summer we embark on our eighth season of Sound Bath & Labyrinth Walks at Lynden. An outgrowth of artist-in-residence Jenna Knapp’s project, Labyrinth Society of Lynden Sculpture Garden, the sound baths developed in collaboration with Sevan Arabajian. Now that Jenna has moved on to other projects, Sevan will host the 2026 sound baths on her own (with you).

Sound baths are an ancient form of healing and deep meditation; they include various ambient sounds and frequencies played in a space where you can hear and experience their vibrations moving through you. Everyone’s experience will be different; unique as you are, and according to what is needed most at the time.

The outdoor sound bath lasts approximately 45-60 minutes, including guiding you to relax into the experience before hand and out of it afterward. Sevan will offer some words about the current astrological influences and prompts for walking the labyrinth after the sound bath. You are invited to bring your own candle for the labyrinth walk (something in a glass votive to block the wind).

We recommend arriving 15 minutes ahead of time to give yourself time to set up and prepare. Please bring something to rest on and to cover yourself with (if you think you’ll want that) for the duration, and dress comfortably and appropriately for the weather. The labyrinth walk takes place on a hill so please consider comfortable footwear as well. A little insect repellent may be in order, too. If it is too cold or raining, we will move the sound bath indoors.

There is an additional Sound Bath & Labyrinth walk in September.

About Sevan

Sevan is a local social worker, musician, ritualist, spiritual guide, and relational counselor, serving the community for fifteen years. She studied Nada Yoga (yoga of sound) with Akhilanka (of the Temple of Singing Howls in Mysore, India) during his travels in the U.S. More about Sevan here:
sevanmercy.com
Instagram: @sevanmercy

Visitors must adhere to our visitor guidelines.

Bring your canine friends for an afternoon of romping in the garden.

Fee: Free.
Registration: Advance registration encouraged. Click here to register online. Work days are weather-dependent. If you have registered in advance, we will contact you if we are cancelling due to inclement weather.

Whether you are looking for a few hours of volunteer work or want a weekly activity that keeps you outside, you are welcome to join us on Wednesday mornings from 10 am to 12 noon. Projects vary from season to season; for the next few months, you will work alongside land staff to pull herbaceous invasive species in our natural areas, as well as help accomplish other projects around the grounds to enhance biodiversity and take care of the native flora and fauna. No experience is necessary, though you are encouraged to bring your favorite gardening gloves and digging tools if you have them. Water, snacks, and additional tools will be provided.

Land Stewardship at Lynden
The Lynden Sculpture Garden is transforming its natural habitats and formal landscapes into sustainable and diverse ecosystems that highlight their natural beauty. Our goal is to steward healthy habitats for an array of native plants and wildlife while adding a vibrant mosaic of color and texture to this sculptural landscape through every season. With over 40 acres and more than half a dozen specialized garden spaces, the Lynden provides many volunteer and learning opportunities, from removing invasive species to planting new trees and plugs, weeding, pruning, collecting, and spreading seeds. With a small land staff, volunteer help is essential to the evolution and restoration of the Lynden grounds.

You may also like:

Garden Work Days 2026