Museum of Old Newbury Celebrates 40th Anniversary Garden Tour
The Museum of Old Newbury’s treasured annual garden tour marks its 40th anniversary this year. With a theme of Old Favorites and New Treasures, the event on June 8 and 9 will be an especially fun and festive tour highlighting some of the most memorable gardens from years past, along with newly featured properties. Tickets are available at the Early Bird rate of $25 until May 31 and can be purchased online at www.newburyhistory.org or at the museum office, 98 High Street, Tuesday-Friday 10am-4pm and Saturday-Sunday 12pm-4pm. Tickets purchased on June 1 through the day of the event will be $30.
The museum’s historic Cushing Garden serves as the touchstone for the tour, and ten other featured properties range from manicured city pocket gardens to rambling country landscapes. This year, visitors can look forward to experiencing breathtaking views of the Merrimack River, stepping into an artist’s “plein air” studio, and perhaps even catching a glimpse of a rare feathered friend at a backyard bird sanctuary.
In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the museum is pleased to collaborate with several community partners to enhance the garden tour experience. Excentrique, an eclectic vintage and modern shop on Pleasant Street, will host a pop-up boutique featuring a curated selection of one-of-a-kind home and garden wares. For outdoor spaces, attendees can shop the museum’s annual plant sale for beautiful blooms to enjoy all summer long. The weekend’s offerings will also include a number of terrific raffle items donated by local businesses, and the chance to watch talented artists at work painting in select gardens.
New this year, box lunches prepared by Middle Street Foods will be available to tour-goers. Both the museum’s campus and one of the featured gardens will have areas available for picnickers to enjoy their lunches. Box lunches can be purchased with tickets and must be pre-ordered by June 4.
The garden tour is the museum’s largest annual fundraiser and supports its mission to share Old Newbury’s history and culture, and to inspire the future by considering the past. The museum carries out its mission through the preservation and administration of the Cushing House, the Perkins Engraving Plant, and other historic structures on its High Street campus, and furthers its purpose through lectures, exhibitions, educational programs, publications, and research.