New York

This Thursday, August 13, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's inaugural meeting of the Linnaean Libation League convenes--which is a fancy way of saying BBG and Brooklyn Based are inviting all to a fabulous summer garden party. In honor of Carl Linnaeus, father of modern botanical taxonomy, the League celebrates all the things Linnaeus was known for--beauty, botany, culture, brilliance--over twilight drinks in the Osborne Garden. A special cucumber-mint cocktail courtesy of the French aperitif Lillet will be free the entire night and there will be $3 drafts of Sixpoint Craft Ale, the evening’s other sponsor.Tickets for the night of cocktails and live music are $15, available at bbg.org/lll, to everyone 21 and up. (The opportunity to dress up in your favorite summer whites and seersuckers? Priceless.) Guests are encouraged to find special Linnaean Libation League calling cards scattered around Brooklyn at places like Champion Coffee, Ortine, home/made (formerly Tini Wine Bar) in Red Hook, Franklin Park, Roebling Tea Room, Foragers Market, and Dumbo General Store. Those who bring theirs, signed, will be entered into a drawing for a year’s free admission to Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Photo:  S. Josephson

When getting out to Fire Island or the Hamptons (or wherever it is that New Yorkers seem to run off to during summer weekends) does not present itself as a viable option for one reason or another, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a natural alternative. The Garden is teeming not only with flowers, trees, and footpaths, but with events— jazz concerts, roaming pirates, A Night in Havana (check their website for a full schedule if you’re into that kind of thing). But these events, which often infantilize adult behavior in the most embarrassing way, sometimes draw the very crowd one is trying so hard to lose. Our advice: ride the 2 train out to Brooklyn with a book and the crossword puzzle, find a shady spot among the lilacs and the roses, and spend the day sunbathing in a perfumed reverie.

Photo:  courtesy of www.bbg.org