Stroller patrol was in full force Monday at the Dallas Arboretum, thanks to Time Warner’s August Dollar Days program.
Ran into Dallas Arboretum Matriarch Mary Brinegar as the turnstiles churned guests in for a mere dollar. She was brimming with news. Yes, the 2.2-acre, Lay Family Garden was undergoing a major refreshing. Shoot! The garden was originally planned as a perennial back in the 1990’s. Thanks to the Mimi Lay Hodges and Herman Lay family getting together with the Arboretum folks, it was decided that perhaps it needed a bit of a “reinterpretation.” Plans call for the garden to open this fall with its refurbished look.
Then the Martin Rutchik Concert Lawn stage is under construction to provide an area for dancing. Mosh pit? Heavens, no! It’s going to be big enough for munchkins and slow fox trotters to take advantage of the concert tunes. In the past the urge to dance sometimes had dancers trying to avoid the musician wires.
Finally, as Mary looked at the multitude of adults and kids strolling the grounds and headed to the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden, it was revealed that the “First Anniversary Adventures, A Celebrity Soiree for Adults in a Child’s World” would take place on Sunday, September 21.
Bettina and Dan Hennessy are co-chairing the event that will include cocktails, music by the Booker T. Washington jazz combo under the direction of Bart Marantz, dinner and interactive fun in the Adventure Garden.
Of course, the event will honor key donors like Rory and Howard Meyers, the Harold Simmons Foundation’s Lisa Simmons, Diane and Hal Brierley and the Moody Foundation’s Francie Moody-Dahlberg. Former U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison will serve as “guest of honor,” so she’ll get first dibs on the interactive fun, and rightly so. She served as the honorary chair of the capital campaign for the garden. Serving as honorary chair for the evening will be Cecile Bonte, whose “multi-year leadership as capital campaign chair helped raise millions to build the garden.”
If you can’t make the September 21st gala, take in the acres of beauty in August for a buck and the Children’s Adventure Garden for just a dollar more.
But beware: it’s not just ho-hum flower watching for little old ladies in white socks and tennis shoes. The Arboretum is a fabulous backdrop with water features, activities and plenty of shady areas. And there are misting areas and benches to settle back and take in all of Dallas’s most scenic areas.
BTW, if you have little hyper-active ones, this is the place to wear them out while you take a seat and watch.
Remember to send thank-you notes to Time Warner for providing the cheap thrills.