This summer guests will enjoy live music in the gardens while discovering illuminated sculptures from the Arboretum’s Nature Connects®: Art with LEGO® Bricks exhibit. Featuring 16 nature-inspired, larger-than-life sculptures made with nearly 500,000 LEGO Bricks, this nationally-known traveling exhibit draws inspiration from the living world and combines play with science to create an innovative intersection of education, entertainment and the environment. 

The event will be held 8 to 11 p.m. every Thursday, Friday and Saturday through September, though some exclusion dates apply. A variety of local and regional artists will offer live music while guests stroll the gardens, with snacks and beverages available for purchase. 

Parking fees do not apply, but a special admission price of $5 per person will be collected at the door, with 10 percent of proceeds going to MANNA FoodBank, which serves more than 100,000 people facing hunger in 16 Western North Carolina counties. Arboretum members are invited to a special “Membership Connects” ArborEvenings event on the third Wednesday of each month, during which fees will be waived for members and their guests. 

More information, including listings for specific ArborEvenings dates, is available at www.ncarboretum.org.