Wilderness Survival Camp, Tea Party and Theater Classes Offered in July at Garvan Woodland Gardens

Garvan Woodland Gardens

The art installation "Brushwood Dance" will be on display through next spring at Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs. This site-specific work is 450 feet long and is made of tree trunks and limbs.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – In July, Garvan Woodland Gardens is offering family-friendly events that include a tea party, theater classes and a wilderness survival camp.

The art exhibit "Brushstrokes" will be on display from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. throughout July in the Magnolia Room. The display will showcase the works of more than 30 artists with paintings in watercolor, pastel, oil and acrylic that emphasize the wonders of nature.

"Brushwood Dance," an art installation by W. Gary Smith, is on display daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the garden grounds. Smith is a nationally known landscape architect and artist who employs a collaborative design process to create site-specific art installations crafted from materials harvested from the site. Made of tree trunks and limbs, the 450-foot-long art installation winds along Warren's Woodland Walk, ripples along rock walls, arches over trails and undulates through the bulb meadow to its crescendo at the Three Sisters of Amity Daffodil Hill. The installation will remain on display through spring 2017 and will be incorporated into and highlighted in the garden's seasonal displays such as Holiday Lights and Tulip Extravaganza.

Rush Fentress will lead "Plant ID Hikes," an event for Garvan Gardens members only, from 8-9:30 a.m. every Thursday through mid-November. Participants will meet in the Welcome Center to prepare for the hike, which will wind through the Evans Children's Adventure Garden followed by the Hixson Nature Preserve. Fentress, the garden's director of education, will help participants identify the plants on the trail.

Lanie Carson will teach the "Youth Theater Series" at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. July 2 in the Magnolia Room. The 10 a.m. session, "Starstuff Story Time," will be offered to children ages 5-8. The class will read through the story, select a character to play and then act out the story using costumes and props. The l1 a.m. session, "Starstuff Reader's Theater," will be offered to children ages 9-12. The children will read through a chapter or scene from a novel or play, decide which characters they want to portray and act out the selections using costumes and props. The series will be offered again in August.

The "Wilderness Survival Camp" for youth and adults will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 7-9. Scott Sullivan, an agricultural and adventure expert, and Chelsea Preciado, a naturalist, will lead the three-day workshop. They will teach participants how to start a fire, construct a shelter, identify edible plants and purify water. Sullivan and Preciado will also help the students prepare a fire-starting kit made from natural materials found in the Ouachita Mountains.

"Fairy and Wizards Tea for Children" will be offered at 3 p.m. July 12 in the Magnolia Room. Children who attend are encouraged to dress up as fairies or wizards. They will have tea, assorted scones, finder sandwiches and desserts, while learning traditional tea etiquette. A "Tea Fairy" will also tell the children stories.

Two "Garvan Rocks!" classes with Sissy Hubbard will be taught from 9-11 a.m. and from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. July 12 in the Magnolia Room and other areas within the garden. Hubbard will first teach people how to draw on stones. The students will then hide their stones in the garden for others to find. These classes will be offered again in August.

The "Starstuff Story Theater" three-day workshop will be held from 10-11:30 a.m. July 14-16 in the Magnolia Room. The workshop is designed for children ages 6-12. Participants will write a play and then perform the play for friends and family on the last day of the workshop.

A "Do It Yourself Series" will be presented by The Water Buffalo July 23. There will be three different sessions offered at 10 a.m.,11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. The 10 a.m. session will teach students about vegetable fermenting. Kimberly Stoneman will begin the class by lecturing on the history of fermentation. She will then discuss the equipment needed to begin the fermentation process. Students will learn how to make ferments using salt brine, whey and starter cultures. Stoneman will demonstrate making sauerkraut and lacto-fermented daikon radishes and carrots. At the 11:30 a.m. session, Stoneman will teach the students how to make kombucha, a lightly fermented tea with probiotic qualities. Nolen Buffalo, from The Water Buffalo in Little Rock, will teach the 2 p.m. session, instructing participants on the beer making process.

The "Faulkner County Chamber Music Festival Concert" will take place at 1 p.m. July 23 in Anthony Chapel. The concert will begin the 2016 Summer Series and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Faulkner County Chamber Music Festival. This concert will bring together musicians from the last 10 years of the festival.

Garvan Woodland Gardens is the botanical garden of the University of Arkansas and part of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design.

Garvan Gardens is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Admission is $15 for adults, $5 for children ages 6-12 and free for children ages 5 and younger. Some events and activities are free. Some require a fee, advanced registration or prepayment.

For more information about these events or to check on upcoming events, call 501-262-9300 or 800-366-4664.