Art, Music and Gardening Galore | Lake Merritt

Submitted by the Event Organizer

This free weekend festival celebrates local arts (with paintings, poetry & music) and gardening (with talks, demos & exhibits) in a wide-spanning event with tons to do and see.

And it’s all going on June 4th and 5th at the scenic multi-acre Gardens along Lake Merritt’s shores.

Activities of Art and Music in the Gardens:

• Art Show & Sale – 50+ artists from the East Bay’s vibrant art community
• Musical Performances – Classical, Jazz, Mississippi Blues, Japanese Flute
• Poetry Festival – All day readings under the oak tree
• Giant Butterfly Painting lead by noted muralist and Honorary Event Chair, Dan Fontes
• Aesthetic pruning techniques: Pine, Maple and Bonsai trimming demonstrations
• Landscape design talks in the Mediterranean Garden, Sensory and Japanese Gardens
• Food offerings by Chef Robert Dorsey III, operator Blue Oak at the Oakland Museum of California
• Plant Sales
• Children’s Activities in Association with the Junior Center for Art and Science
• Garden, flower society and sustainable gardening exhibits
• Alameda County Master Gardener gardening advice in the Trial Gardens. Don’t miss the worm dig.
• Plant doctor consultations
• Eleven themed horticultural collections, many of them unique and world-class.

About the Venue: The Garden Center and Gardens at Lake Merritt
Known as the “green heart of Oakland,” the Garden Center and Gardens at Lake Merritt originated in 1957. Seven acres of themed gardens include: the Bonsai, Edible, Japanese, Mediterranean, Palmetum, Rhododendron, Sensory, Succulent, Torii Gate and Vireya Display Gardens. Plans are underway for a butterfly house, featuring many endangered California butterfly species. Address: 666 Bellevue, off Grand Avenue in Lakeside Park.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.