Elmhurst museum hopping
It isn’t that Elmhurst is a museum colossus, but “Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art” is really fun to say. On Sunday, a quartet of Elmhurst museums — Lizzadro, Elmhurst Historical Museum, Elmhurst Art Museum and Theatre Historical Society of America — will host their 11th annual museum day. It’s as free as a bird, including the trolley (runs every 20 minutes between sites). The Lizzadro (220 Cottage Hill Rd.; 630-833-1616) specializes in gemstone works, including a diorama whose little inhabitants are all carved from gemstones. The Elmhurst Art Museum (150 Cottage Hill Ave.; 630-834-0202) is all about watercolors with its current exhibition. The Theatre Historical Society (152 N. York St., No. 2; 630-782-1800) is all about theaters, their marquees and interiors. We figure we don’t need to explain what the Elmhurst Historical Society is about, right? Right.
*Elmhurst Museum Day, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Free; 630-782-1800.
The soothing pagoda
In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re way into the notion of “onlys” … the only this, the only that. And the Pagoda Red Scholars’ Garden is the only area Chinese garden that is open to the public. Tucked in back of the Pagoda Red store in Winnetka, the garden is a place where you can (simply put) take a psychic load off. The science behind why Chinese gardens make you sit still and emit an “Aaaaah” we’ll leave to bigger brains. But this weekend is the garden’s open house. In 2,000 square feet, the notion of the traditional 16th and 17th Century Chinese garden holds sway. Life stops, the mind takes over and off we go. At 11:30 a.m. Friday, the garden’s designer, Craig Bergmann, will present a talk on Asian-inspired gardens. A light lunch follows.
*Pagoda Red Garden open house, through Sunday, 902 Green Bay Road, Winnetka. Free (reservations strongly recommended); 847-784-8881.
