Stepping Out

Reflections of the summer solstice

Old Westbury Gardens welcomes everyone to a whimisical bash

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The summer solstice beckons shortly, and it’s embraced at Old Westbury Gardens with festivities involving music and dance that reflect the wonder of the season.
A rich and lively celebration that is filled with joy, known as “Midsummer Evening,” this event captures the spirit of Northern European summer solstice festivals. Those longstanding traditions have been reinvented for Long Islanders, in what has become an annual event at the grand estate, next Saturday, June 25.
Visitors will find it transformed into a wonderland of sorts as music and dance blend seamlessly into the appealing decorated gardens, already bursting with seasonal color.
The gardens take on entirely different perspective throughout the weekend, especially on Saturday, when — illuminated by lanterns and candles — they become inhabited by magical fairies as the day turns to the twilight of the evening. The grounds are decorated with wreaths, garlands, and other festive floral arrangements, as Old Westbury Gardens’ horticulture staff puts their unique twist on a summer solstice spectacle combined with some imaginative whimsy.
“After doing this for a number of years now,” says Vince Kish, Old Westbury Gardens spokesman, “we’ve created something very special. Midsummer Night events are not all that common in the U.S., but it fits in really well here. It’s become a much anticipated and well attended event, especially for families.”

“The music, the free-flowing lyrical dance, the decorations, and any number of other elements blend together into something really unique. It’s also fascinating to see the grounds in the early evening. Being on the grounds at twilight brings a totally different perspective. The sweeping vistas, views of the house, even the look of the flowers, changes as daylight fades.”
“With the darkness, the illumination from the dozens of lanterns begins, and the effect is almost overwhelming. The garlands of flowers on the statues, the lanterns, the music and the dance performances all combine in a delightful way.”
Inspired by the summer romps enjoyed by Old Westbury Gardens’ founder Peggie Phipps Boegner and her companions as interpreted from photographs in the Gardens’ archives, combined with elements of traditional European summer solstice celebrations, “Midsummer Evening” is now a much-anticipated event on Old Westbury Gardens calendar.
The gardens, with those glowing lanterns, take on a special appeal with their striking decorations, as the grounds fill with dancers from Lori Belilove and her acclaimed Isadora Duncan Dance Company.
Over a dozen dancers dressed in Greek, Roman, and Renaissance-themed tunics and drapery will greet visitors as the gates open at 6:30 p.m. They will gather up the younger guests who can participate in an impromptu dance workshop of sorts — if interested. The dancers, accompanied by a fiddler and another musician on madrigal, will introduce kids to their style of lyrical dance, instructing them in some of the dance steps. Using props and costumes, the dancers and guests can wander about throughout the grounds, similar to what Phipps Boegner did all those decades ago.
“The young girls love to come in costume,” says Kish. “They have fun dressing up and running around with fairy wings and sharing the joy of dance. The kids really seem to get into this event. They like to dress up as angels, princesses and fairies. It becomes a wonderful night out for the family.”
“It’s a very relaxed evening,” he adds. “Families can wander along with the dancers or simply relax and enjoy the gardens, which have a much different look at this time of day.”
As twilight descends, the scene reflects an ethereal mood befitting the spectacle that is unfolding. Even the Gardens’ famed statues seem to take on a life of their own, dressed up in their colorful wreaths. They are complemented by the dancers, who seem to act as living statues in slow motion.
“It’s fascinating to see our prominent statues festooned with flowers,” says Kish. “It brings a fun element to these rather stern looking statues.”
At 7 p.m., Belilove begins her program at the Colonnade, continuing with a dance class/maypole for the kids, and culminating with a performance at South Lawn at 8:15 p.m. Belilove has created a site-specific homage to Old Westbury Gardens using Greek mythology as thematic reference points in variety of vignettes, performed in the modern, lyrical style of Isadora Duncan.
“Already long associated with music, with the enthusiastic response to our Midsummer Night programs, Old Westbury Gardens is also establishing a reputation as an ideal venue for dance,” Kish notes. “The Isadora Duncan-style lyrical dancing is very appealing. It’s a nice way for families to get in the spirit of a midsummer celebration.”
And, in the longstanding Old Westbury Gardens tradition, visitors are encouraged to bring a blanket and picnic meal, to add to the relaxed, summery experience.
“We have a lot of areas in which to settle in to enjoy a picnic,” he says. “It’s a very casual, relaxed evening here. Afterwards, everyone is encouraged to stay and wander around as we go from twilight to darkness. With the darkness, the illumination from the dozens of lanterns begins, and the effect is almost overwhelming.”
It all concludes on Sunday, when visitors can come by to stroll the gardens, stilled enhanced by all those wreaths and garlands.
Although this is very much a family oriented event, Kish encourages everyone to participate. “Even if you don’t have kids there is so much going on that you will enjoy the evening,” he says. “It’s so pleasant to stroll around and relax and enjoy the performances and the sights and sounds.”
The estate, the former home of Phipps Boegner (whose father John S. Phipps, was heir to a U.S. Steel fortune) honors the Phipps family’s heritage, in what has now become a hallmark event each year.
“Although midsummer evening is not a traditional American holiday, it has become a tradition at Old Westbury Gardens and we are finding that people really look forward to it.”
“Peggie really enjoyed this sort of thing,” says Kish. “We have archival photos of her dancing around. Peggie and other kids in the Phipps family would dress up and perform their own version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” dressing as different characters. In a certain way, 100 years or so later we carrying on their traditions in the spirit of the Phipps family.”

Midsummer Evening
When: Saturday, June 25. $15, kids 17 and under free with an adult. Puchase tickets by June 22 and receive a 20 percent discount.
Where: Old Westbury Gardens, 71 Old Westbury Rd., Old Westbury. (516) 333-0048 or visit www.oldwestburygardens.org.