A Gilded Age Garden Party
Smithsonian Gardens and Smithsonian Libraries
request the pleasure of your company at
A Gilded Age Garden Party
Friday, June 9, 2017, 6:30-8:30pm
An evening celebrating American gardens + culture of the Gilded Age
Come celebrate the glittering American garden of the late 1800s with live music, Instagram-worthy crafts, and food and drink inspired by the era
in the Enid A. Haupt Garden, with exclusive access to the historic Arts and Industries Building.
c Enjoy the splendor of early summer at the Garden Party of the season with us. d
The Enid A. Haupt Garden, East Terrace Walk
and the Arts and Industries Building
900 Jefferson Drive, SW, Washington, DC
Gilded Age-inspired attire encouraged!
General Admission ($45) tickets are still available. VIP tickets* ($75) have sold out.
Please note: online ticket sales will cease at 3pm on Friday, June 9. Tickets may still be purchased at the venue.
Each ticket includes two drinks, hors d'oeuvres, and all activities and crafts:
Crafts with craft beers:
Drink to the roots of American brewing compliments of Ninkasi Brewing Company.
Garden journal:
Create and personalize your very own journal using images sourced from Gilded Age seed catalogs and gardens.
Framing floral messages:
Learn about the language of flowers and create a framed floral message of your own.
Photo ops with Gilded Age props:
Don a top hat, a boater hat, or pop open a parasol and party like it's 1899!
Carte de visite:
Create your own Victorian era calling card featuring you in a garden setting.
Please note: VIP tickets have sold out.
*VIP tickets also include a curator-led tour of our new exhibition, Cultivating America's Gardens, a behind-the-scenes tour of the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology, one of Smithsonian Libraries' rare book and manuscript collections, and a champagne toast. VIP guests should arrive at 5:00pm at the National Museum of American History's Constitution Ave. entrance, and be prepared to walk across the National Mall to the Enid A. Haupt Garden for the continued festivities.
For questions, contact us at silrsvp@si.edu, or 202.633.2241.
Guests should enter the Haupt Garden via either of the east entrances nearest the Arts and Industries Building:
Dubbed America’s ‘Gilded Age’ by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner, the period between 1870 and 1900 was a time of both great opportunity and extreme economic disparity. Fabulous fortunes were made. The rich displayed their wealth in ornate mansions and grand gardens, and the era saw a surge in philanthropic support for libraries, museums, and public gardens. Garden parties, both extravagant private affairs and public festivities, were a hallmark of the age. On June 9 we invite you to step back in time to celebrate this important time in American garden history with us.
