Old Westbury Gardens — Summer Open Season
Old Westbury Gardens is one of Long Island's most underappreciated cultural treasures — a 200-acre English landscape estate with formal gardens, the Phipps mansion, and weekly summer concerts on the West Pond. Family-friendly, golden-hour-perfect, and the kind of LI experience that makes out-of-state visitors reconsider Long Island.
Old Westbury Gardens is the Long Island cultural asset that gets dramatically less attention than it deserves. 200 acres of English landscape estate — formal gardens, the restored 1906 Phipps mansion, walking trails, the West Pond lawn, the Children’s Garden. Weekly summer concerts on the West Pond lawn from June through August.
Why it’s special:
- One of the last fully-preserved Gilded Age estates in the country
- Open to public 5 days/week (Wed-Sun) May-October
- Family-friendly without being kiddie — adults enjoy the grounds equally
- Cars/strollers/dogs (leashed) all welcome on the grounds
Programmed weeks:
- Picnic concerts (every Wednesday + Sunday in summer) — bring your own + buy wine on-site
- Garden Days (mid-June) — peony + rose displays peak
- Halloween Wicked Wednesdays (October) — family-friendly evening tours
Practical:
- 5-minute drive off the LIE Exit 39
- Adult $15, kids $10. Members get unlimited summer access.
- Bring sunscreen + a blanket. Most of the experience is outdoors + lounge-y.
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Other Family events
Long Island Aquarium — Behind the Scenes Tour
A 90-minute small-group tour with an aquarium biologist. Walk above the shark tank, see the food prep kitchen, meet the rescue sea turtles in rehab. Limited to 12 guests per tour. The 11 AM slot is the quietest; the 2 PM is for kids who just finished general admission. Plan for the tour to bookend a half-day visit, not stand alone.
- When
- Where
- Long Island Aquarium, Riverhead
- Price
- TBD
LI Pride Lions' 5th Annual TEA DANCE: Hawaii Five-0h No She Better Don't!
The LI Pride Lions bring their annual tea dance back to Pine Grove Inn with a Hawaiian theme that's as extra as it sounds. Now in its fifth year, this afternoon party kicks off at 2pm in East Patchogue. Street parking fills up fast on weekends, so get there early or consider carpooling.
- When
- Where
- Pine Grove Inn, East Patchogue
- Price
- TBD
Local Author Talk With Steve Kuhn - My Life as a Clammer on the GSB
Steve Kuhn talks about his book on clamming the Great South Bay—the work, the water, and how the industry has changed over decades. Free event at Patchogue-Medford Library, which has its own lot off East Main Street. Kuhn brings firsthand knowledge of a trade that shaped the South Shore.
- When
- Where
- Patchogue-Medford Library, Patchogue