Farewell gala for Magic Garden teacher Peggy McSweeney next week
The Magic Garden Children’s Center will honor retiring teacher Peggy McSweeney with a “hoedown” featuring square dancing with barbecue and a live band and caller on Saturday, May 30 from 6-10 p.m. in the Codman barn. Proceeds will benefit the newly established Peggy McSweeney Enrichment Fund for programs at the preschool including fitness, Spanish, swimming and more. McSweeney has worked at Magic Garden for its entire 33-year history. All are invited (adults only, please). Tickets are $50 and may be purchased by visiting Magic Garden in the Hartwell building on the school campus or calling 781-259-8161.
Two events at the deCordova
Join Certified Advanced Rolfer Kevin Frank for a free walk through the Sculpture Park on Wednesday, May 27 at 6:30 p.m. that integrates rolfing, a movement system that improves bodily alignment by organizing the body in relation to gravity. Rethink what you know about balance, space, and gravity during this guided walk focused on waking up your movement intelligence and connecting to the natural world.
Somerville artist Emily Garfield will lead a workshop on Saturday, May 30 at 10 a.m. that will explore unconventional approaches to mapping in this watercolor workshop with Somerville artist Emily Garfield. Translate your walk in the Sculpture Park into imaginative landscapes. For ages 16 and up. $12 for members. $20 for not-yet-members. Register online.
LLCT sponsors wildlife photography for kids
The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust is sponsoring “WildlifePhotography for Kids” with Eric Smith, a two-session workshop geared towards kids in grades 5-8, on Sunday, May 31 and June 7 from 3-5 p.m. Both sessions will be held in the LLCT offices in the Lincoln Mall and will have classroom and field components. The first session will cover point-and-shoot camera settings, camera functions andphoto composition. The second session will cover in-the-field tricks andphoto editing. Equipment needed: a digital camera. Please dress for the weather with sturdy shoes and socks, and long pants. Preregistration is required by May 29 on the LLCT website. Eric is a nationally published wildlife photography along with being on the steering committee of the Menotomy Bird Club, a board member of Eastern Mass. Hawk Watch, runs a camera club, and teaches digital photography for Mass Audubon.
Gropius House event; free tours at Gropius, Codman Estate
The Gropius House is the focus of “Modest In Scale, Revolutionary In Impact,” a special house tour and discussion on the influence of Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus movement on today’s design presented by Design New England Magazine and Historic New England on Friday, June 12 at 5 p.m. Speakers will be Mark Hutker of Hutker Architects, Matthew Cunningham of Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design, and Bradley M. Cashin of New England Design & Construction, plus remarks by Wendy Hubbard of Gropius House. Parking is available at Carroll School (25 Baker Bridge Rd., Lincoln). Shuttles will run regularly between the Carroll School and Gropius House. Please RSVP to 617-994-5934 or events@historicnewengland.org.
Thirty-six of the region’s finest historic properties are open free to the public during Historic New England’s Open House on Saturday, June 6. In Lincoln, Gropius House and Codman Estate offer hourly guided tours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. From Maine to Rhode Island, from 1664 to 1938, learn about the people who lived in stone-enders, urban mansions, rural estates, and working farms and explore unique and personal family collections of decorative arts and household furnishings during free guided tours at Historic New England’s house museums. For more information, visit www.historicnewengland.org.