STEPPING OUT

Creative advocacy

Planting Fields has commemorated national Arbor Day since 1987 with fun-filled educational activities and entertainment. This year brings back the festival in all of its natural glory, following a slimmed down pandemic version last spring. That means there’s plenty to interest all ages: tree climbing for the kids, plant clinics, tree plantings with Smokey Bear, a Bonsai exhibit, plant sale, and so much more — along with self-guided tours of that grand old estate, Coe Hall.

Yes, the focus is on having fun, but the festival is about more than simply a good time. With climate change and the continued pressures on the environment at the forefront of our daily lives, park staffers recognize the need to keep this vital park in the public eye.

Can art change the world?

“We celebrate conservation while drawing attention to the importance of our green spaces,” says Katie Walsh, Planting Fields’ community engagement manager. “I encounter so many people who are visiting us for the first time. Many people think we’re a private estate.” with that festival staple Peat Moss & the Fertilizers. A self-guided tree scavenger hunt, courtesy Wonderland Tree Care and Landscapes. A children’s nature craft, involving tree “slices.” The all-important tree planting ceremony. And, new this year, a visit from “NYC Tree” (aka actor Joe Whelski). He’ll wander about telling jokes and regaling everyone with tree facts.

Not so. Planting Fields — the name references the fertility of the land and its rich agricultural value originally recognized by the native American Matinecocks, and later Dutch and English colonists — is a former Gold Coast estate with more than 400 acres of rolling lawns, gardens, woodlands, and nature walks deeded to New York state in 1949 to become a state park.

“It’s so important to connect kids to nature at a young age,” Walsh says. “Kids are overwhelmed with their tech. We need to get them involved outdoors with nature and our green spaces.”

Smokey Bear joins in to do just that. The “park icon,” as Walsh refers to him, is the focus of attention when it’s time for the annual tree planting. Two trees will be planted each day.

“It’s a big deal, almost like a ceremony,” Walsh says. “Everyone gathers around and parades to the planting location.”

By Karen Bloom

Itzhak Perlman

Where When

Educational and environmental organizations also participate, including the aforementioned Wonderland Tree Care and Landscapes, Cornell Master Gardeners, the state’s agriculture department, Long Island Native Plant Initiative, and North Shore Land Alliance, among others.

Befriend a tree. Planting Fields is surely the place to do just that.

• Planting Fields

Arboretum State Historic Park, Oyster Bay

• Saturday and Sunday, noon-4 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

• 1395 Planting Fields Road

• April 29-30, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

• $20 admission per car

• Emily Lowe Hall Gallery, South Campus, Hempstead. For information and to RSVP, call (516) 463-5672, or visit Hofstra.edu/museum

• For information, visit PlantingFields.org, or call (516) 922-8600

“When We All Stand,” Hofstra University Museum of Art’s new exhibition, examines the collective power of the arts in society.

Since then, the park has thrived as dynamic and vibrant site that’s known for its numerous historic structures, Olmsted Brothers-designed landscapes, and world-class art and horticultural collections.

Curated by Alexandra Giordano — the museum’s assistant director of exhibition and collection — the exhibit underscores artists’ civic responsibility and influence.

Courtesy Planting Fields Arboretum

Top: Smokey Bear always attracts an enthusiastic following at the festival.

The reigning virtuoso of the violin makes his long-awaited return, appearing on the Tilles Center stage. Experience his impeccable musicianship as never before. The intimate performance gives Perlman fans a deeply personal glimpse into his boyhood in Tel Aviv and New York, and the earliest years of his long and celebrated career. Enjoy an afternoon of music and storytelling as Perlman presents rarely seen archival photos and videos and shares memories, stories, and musical selections that you won’t hear anywhere else. On stage performing with Perlman for this unforgettable afternoon is his longtime collaborator, pianist Rohan DeSilva. The duo has appeared many times together, but this performance transcends a traditional recital to deliver a warm, humorous, personal look back over a legendary life and career.

The annual Arbor Day festivities are a time when the park is at its best. There’s always something for everyone at this family festival — concerts

“It highlights the vital role that artists have in activating democratic values that promise equality and freedom, encouraging civic engagement, and cultivating unity,” Giordano says. “Artists often lead the charge and expose truths that may otherwise be ignored. The artists in this exhibition take a stand and call out injustices through their art and activism on issues such as immigration, gender, reproductive rights, mass incarceration, voting rights, racial bias, gun violence, and promises unfulfilled. They all combine the making

Bottom: Kids can get a bird’s eye view of their surroundings as they celebrate the importance of trees and the preservation of the environment.

Sunday, May 7, 4 p.m. $150, $100, $75. LIU Post campus, 720 Northern Blvd., Brookville. TillesCenter.org or (516) 299-3100.