Twenty special events are booked so far at Friendship Botanic Gardens, and they start on May 1 when the Michigan City site opens to the public for the season.
“Spring is in the air and you’re going to see it,” said John Leinweber, president of the Friendship Botanic Gardens board.
“You’ll want to visit because it’s a celebration of spring.”
Opening day visitors can explore more than 25 gardens, including the ArcelorMittal Children’s Garden and play area for family fun, the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte Fitness Garden with machines for working out, and the Cancer Survivors Garden of Love and Hope.
Other spots include the Butterfly, Peace, Wetlands, Symphony, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Mothers’ Memorial, Lily, Juvenile Diabetes Peace, and Rotary gardens.
“It’s a great place to take a walk,” said Leinweber, who lives in Long Beach and has a La Porte horse farm.
Friendship Botanic Gardens features three miles of paved walking paths and wooded hiking trails that are dog-friendly, as well as shaded meadows.
Several cultures are represented via the American, Italian, Norway/Scandiana, German, Lithuanian, Scottish, Polish, Romanian, Native American, Irish, and African American gardens.
“If you become a member there’s a lot of options all year,” said Leinweber. Members are able to access Friendship Botanic Gardens from dawn to dusk year-round and do trout and salmon fishing on Trail Creek.
Annual memberships include $50 for an individual, $20 for students from ages 16-22, and $75 for a family of two adults plus any children younger than 18 in the household.
Members also have access to special admission privileges and discounts at 345-plus North American gardens through the American Horticultural Society’s Reciprocal Admissions Program, which includes Gabis Arboretum at Purdue Northwest in Valparaiso and Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois.
“Our memberships and our gate doubled with COVID because people wanted to get out,” Leinweber said.
“We’ve got a great Horizon Bank A-Maze-Ing Labyrinth Garden that is stunning. There’s fresh air and beauty all around. There’s a beautiful fountain. There’s beautiful artifacts that go back to 1934.
“With that sense of peace and tranquillity, everything being beautiful, hills and dunes and Trail Creek going right through it, they really should be calling us the Garden of Happiness.”
The Celebration Pavilion along the edge of the Persian Rose Garden and Lake Lucerne offers a place for business meetings, community gatherings, dinner, hors d’oeuvres, musical events and weddings.
“We’re bringing so much great music and some high-quality entertainment. You’re out on the lawn so it’s almost like Ravinia,” said Leinweber, referring to the outdoor summer music festival in Highland Park, Illinois, where guests bring picnics for concerts.
Shows include Freddy Jones Band for ages 18 and older from July 7-8, Drag & Disco for ages 18 and older on July 23, Live from Broadway: The Uptown Boys from July 28-29 and Dunes Broadway Concert: A Cabaret Night with Dunes Summer Theatre hosted by Steve Scott from Aug. 12-13.
The Country Sizzle concert from Aug. 18-19, La Porte County Symphony Orchestra’s concert on Aug. 25, Opera in the Gardens on Aug. 28 and Johnny V’s Harvest Moon concert on Sept. 23 also are booked.
“We have a lot of things we’re doing for families,” Leinweber said.
Special events includes Paws & Pints with Michiana Humane Society on May 7, Mother’s Day with free admission and roses for mothers on May 8, Father’s Day with free admission for fathers on June 19 and the free educational Family Eco-Day on July 31.
Haunted Trails & Family Fall Fest on Oct. 16, the free Gobble Gobble Turkey Walk on Nov. 24 and Sparkle & Joy Light Show on a December date to be determined round out the calendar.
“It is an extraordinary place. It’s one of the major destination points of northern Indiana,” Leinweber said.
“It’s a lovely environment and gorgeous location.”
The volunteer-based, nonprofit Friendship Botanic Gardens is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays and closed to the public on Mondays from May 1 to Oct. 31. Discount Thursdays offer admission at $5 for ages 13 and older and ages 65 and older.
In November, the site is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays when the temperature is 45 degrees or warmer and there is no precipitation.
Friendship Botanic Gardens’ opening day
When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. May 1
Where: Friendship Botanic Gardens, 2055 E. U.S. 12, Michigan City
Tickets: $10 ages 13 and older; $7 ages 65 and older; free for active duty military and kids ages 12 and younger
Information: 219-878-9885; friendshipbotanicgardens.org
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
