By Julie O’Brien Deasy
Question: What is Grace Farms and am I able to go and visit?
Answer: Yes, Grace Farms is free to visit and has a wide variety of things to do on their campus.
Grace Farms describes itself as a “center for culture and collaboration” bringing together people “across sectors to explore nature, arts, justice, community, and faith” at an 80 acre site in northern New Canaan, off Smith Ridge Road.
While there, visitors can tour the River building, designed by SANAA, Tokyo-based architects. SANAA’s goal was to make the River become part of the landscape without drawing attention to itself. Multiple facilities are housed under this one single long roof, which floats along the surface of the ground as it flows down the landscape.
The River building houses a library, a 700-person sanctuary/indoor amphitheater, the Court (a partially below-grade gymnasium/multi-purpose space), a tea pavilion serving tea in the afternoons, and the Commons – a cafe serving breakfast and lunch Tuesday–Sunday until 3:00 pm, with drinks and snacks available until 5:00 pm.
In addition to the main River building, restored barn buildings host permanent and special art exhibits all year long.
Visitors can also explore the grounds on a mowed 1-mile walking and jogging trail, winding around a pond and through restored native meadows.
In addition, Grace Farms hosts many special events and classes for adults and families.
Upcoming summer programming includes gardening workshops and classes, monthly exercise classes in partnership with Lululemon, concerts, tea workshops and educational sessions, and birdwatching walks through the property.
Many of the events are geared towards kids and families such as animal encounters with the New Canaan Nature Center, book and reading groups, open Art Studio sessions, Imagination Playground block playtime, special family tours of the grounds, and games and activities in the Court.
Grace Farms is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm and Sunday from 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Public tours are available Tuesday through Friday with advance sign ups..
Please note, while there is no charge, Grace Farms does ask that non members schedule their visit in advance on the website. Members can come without a reservation at any time.
For more information, to make a reservation to visit, book a tour, or to see the detailed calendar of events, visit www.gracefarms.org.
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