Grace Farms

Studio Beginnings
2026-04-30 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-04-23 10:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Grace Farms, CT
Our youngest artists, designers, and builders are invited step into the arts studio to have fun making art inspired by the River building and surrounding landscape! Think, play, create, and experiment with texture, form, line, color and space.
This session is recommended for ages 1-5 and their caretakers.

Journey into the World of Tea | Black Teas
2026-04-29 15:00 - 16:30
Explore the distinctions between major black teas and taste notable varietals, including examples of Darjeeling, Assam, Ceylon, Keemun, and Yunnan teas.
Led by Tea Expert Frank Kwei, this tranquil and in-depth exploration of tea offers guests a taste of notable varietals from cultures around the world, with demonstrations and more.

About Frank Kwei
Frank currently serves in the role of Tea Expert and Educator focusing on special projects and tea programs at Grace Farms. He has been with Grace Farms Foundation since its inception, starting as the Director of Hospitality where he served as a welcoming ambassador for Grace Farms. In that role, he often provided a first introduction to Grace Farms and its work by pausing over tea in the Pavilion, a reflective space in the River building with 360-degree views of natural landscapes.
In his current role, Frank is Grace Farms’ resident Tea Expert, where he welcomes the public with a simple cup of tea and invites them into a deeper appreciation of the intentionality of SANAA’s architecture and the impact of the Foundation’s work to advance good in the world.
Before joining Grace Farms, Frank co-founded and managed a boutique tea company based in Brooklyn, New York, and spent several years focused on the sourcing and supply chains for tea ingredients. Frank has brought that experience to the Foundation’s work on ethical and sustainable supply chains across sectors, including tea, coffee, food, and architecture. Frank hosts a wide variety of tea education programs on the vast world of tea, its history, and on the ethical and sustainable production of tea and coffee. This serves as a critical entry point to educating people about ethical and sustainable supply chains in other fields.

Imagination Playground
2026-04-29 10:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-28 10:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-26 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-25 10:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-24 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-23 10:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-22 10:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-21 10:00 - 17:00 and 3 more dates
Children can build skills, solve problems, and make friends in the Court using an innovative system of large-scale, lightweight blocks designed to encourage fun and learning through curiosity-driven play. For ages 8 and under with adult caregivers.

Materials Studio
2026-04-29 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-04-28 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-04-22 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-04-21 10:00 - 12:00
Families are invited to play, build, deconstruct, reimagine, and discover the life cycle of everyday materials in our built environment with our education team. Inspired by materials in the exhibit With Every Fiber: Pigment, Stone, Glass, families can explore the unique properties of these materials and use their imaginations to create new applications for them.
OnOctober 11, 2025, Grace Farms unveiled a new iteration of the With Every Fiber exhibit, which offers insights into forced labor in the building materials supply chain. A portion of With Every Fiber was adapted and included in the Intelligens CANON at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Carlo Ratti, open through November 2025.
Materials Studio is for ages 4 – 11 with adult caregivers. This is free and included with daily registration.

Earth Day
2026-04-25 10:00 - 17:00
Join us for our 10th annual Earth Day!
This fun-filled day offers hands-on activities, art engagements inspired by nature, and endless opportunities for interactive learning. Responding to the work of Potawatomi botanist and author, Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, who delivers a Grace Farms Lecture in March, as well as our season’s theme, We all build, Earth Day invites you to explore how architecture and connection to the natural world can inspire communities to build and thrive together.
Learn more about our full schedule of family-friendly experiences hosted throughout the River building and Barns, and surrounding landscape:
10 am – 12 pm
Birdwatching
Court Mezzanine
Over 144 different bird species have been sighted at Grace Farms! Join an expert birder to see and learn about the different species that call Grace Farms home.
10 am – 4 pm
Open Arts Studio | Landscape Collage
Arts Studio
Taking inspiration from the Plaza’s new seating, Dancing Trees by Kazuyo Sejima & Associates, and the freshly sprouting lawn, design an outdoor space incorporating structures, plants, color, texture, and wildlife.
11 am – 4 pm
Magnifying Small Wonders and Seed Bar
East Barn Hall
Explore the unique characteristics of seeds up close using digital scope and microscopes, then create a mix to take home, using seeds harvested onsite.
12 pm & 3 pm
Animal Embassy
West Barn Hall
Join Animal Embassy to learn about their role as animal rescuers as well as their program, Heroes of the Animal Kingdom — and discover some incredible facts about a variety of animals!
1 & 4 pm
Beneficial Bugs with Educator Patrice Anibal
Library
2 pm
Nature Walk with Horticulture Specialist Michael Poulin
Education Path
3 – 5 pm
Mocktails with Tea Expert Frank Kwei
Pavilion
Take a break from exploring to sip a delicious tea-based mocktail with Tea Expert Frank Kwei! Surrounded by 360-degree views of the landscape, enjoy a special mocktail inspired by this year’s Earth Day themes.
Available All Day
Nature Resources in the Library
Walking trails
Peace Forest and With Every Fiber exhibits in the West Barn
Family-Friendly Games in the Court
Birdwatch Bingo
Letter Sticks
Map

Bunny Book Group
2026-04-24 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-04-17 11:00 - 11:30
Listen to stories from our curated collection of books and take part in an arts and crafts activity. For up to age 5 with adult caregivers.
Capacity is limited. Early arrival is encouraged.

Court Opens at 12 pm
2026-04-24, 2026-04-17

Open Arts Studio
2026-04-23 15:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-16 15:00 - 17:00
Drop into the Arts Studio for a facilitated series designed by artists, curators, and educators that invites families to play, create, and experiment with sensory-rich materials and different modes of artmaking.
For ages 4–11 with adult caregivers.

Grace Farms Tour
2026-04-23 10:30 - 12:00
This comprehensive Grace Farms Tour invites a closer look at the architecture of the River building and Barns. Take in 360–degree views of the surrounding landscapes while exploring the building’s sustainable design, curated interiors, and materials choices. During the tour, sample a cup of tea from Grace Farms Tea & Coffee, a Certified B Corp that demonstrates and educates about ethical and sustainable supply chains.
The River building, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning firm, SANAA, holds LEED Gold certification for Building Design and Construction. A demonstration of our continuing efforts to be as sustainable as possible, in 2024, we were awarded Gold certification for Building Operations and Maintenance, building on our LEED Silver certification in 2019.
The River building was awarded the prestigious 2014/2015 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP), in addition to the AIA National 2017 Architecture Honor Award and AIA Connecticut 2016 Design Honor Award.
Approved for AIA CES 1.5 LU

Music at Grace Farms | Dianne Reeves with Romero Lubambo
2026-04-18 16:30 - 18:00
Dianne Reeves, one of the world’s preeminent jazz vocalists, will perform a program of beautiful duets alongside Brazilian jazz guitarist Romero Lubambo. Reeves, a five-time Grammy winner has recorded with award-winning orchestras and producers, while Lubambo , who has worked with artists including saxophonist James Carter — who performed at Grace Farms in 2024 — will create an unforgettable evening of artistry and improvisation, set against the picturesque backdrop of a flourishing spring landscape.
(75 minute performance, no intermission)
About Dianne Reeves
Jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves is a five-time GRAMMY winner. As a result of her virtuosity, improvisational prowess and unique jazz and R&B stylings, Reeves received the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for three consecutive recordings — a Grammy first in any vocal category.
Reeves has recorded and performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. She has also recorded with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim and was a featured soloist with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. Reeves was the first Creative Chair for Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the first vocalist to ever perform at the famed Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Featured in George Clooney’s six-time Academy Award nominated Good Night, and Good Luck, Reeves won the Best Jazz Vocal Grammy for the film’s soundtrack. In 2022, Reeves was the featured vocalist on the soundtrack of The Woman King starring Viola Davis. She has toured throughout the world in a variety of contexts including “Sing the Truth,” a musical celebration of Nina Simone also featuring Angelique Kidjo and Lizz Wright. And she has performed at the White House on multiple occasions.
Reeves’ most recent release Beautiful Life, features Gregory Porter, Robert Glasper, Lalah Hathaway and Esperanza Spalding. Produced by Terri Lyne Carrington, Beautiful Life won a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. Reeves was a mentor in the Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative. She is also the recipient of honorary doctorates from the Berklee College of Music and The Juilliard School and has been designated a Jazz Master by The National Endowment for the Arts — the highest honor the United States bestows on jazz artists.
In April 2025 Reeves will join, among others, Arturo Sandoval, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Herbie Hancock in Abu Dhabi for International Jazz Day Festivities. Later this summer she will record an album with Branford Marsalis in what will be a tribute to the legendary John Coltrane / Johnny Hartman recording.

Music at Grace Farms
Experience Grace Farms’ distinctive, daylit acoustic music performances in the glass-enclosed Sanctuary, against the backdrop of 80 acres of natural landscapes. Season highlights include a recital by internationally acclaimed cellist and 19-time GRAMMY® winner Yo-Yo Ma, GRAMMY® Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell, and a special recital by Grace Farms Artist-in-Residence and GRAMMY®-winning Canadian cellist Arlen Hlusko.

Please note: On-site parking is limited. Once capacity is reached, visitors will be directed to Oakridge Commons (600 Oakridge Commons, South Salem, NY 10590), a nearby lot, for complimentary parking and shuttle service to Grace Farms. Shuttle service will also be available from the New Canaan Train Station.

Move with Grace Farms x lululemon | Strength with Ottis Lewis
2026-04-18 10:30 - 12:00
Elevate your fitness during this dynamic workout focusing on upper body, lower body, and core strength! Taught by coach, trainer, and motivator Ottis Lewis, this class incorporates bodyweight and band resistance movements including squats, pushups, and mountain climbers.
Move with Grace Farms x lululemon is a series of monthly movement classes hosted in partnership with local lululemon ambassadors. These classes, for all levels of experience, focus on restoring and igniting the energy needed to live a more balanced life. To enhance the wellness experience, each class includes a cup of tea from Grace Farms Tea & Coffee, a Certified B Corp, picked specifically to complement the movement.

Open Arts Studio
2026-04-18 10:00 - 14:00
Open Arts Studio is a site-specific creative exploration for younger audiences to engage in open-ended inquiry and reflect on the building, its shapes and designs, and its ideas. The series asks participants to respond to both the built and the natural environment, encouraging new ways of thinking. Led by Grace Farms Arts Educator Nancy Jameson, Open Arts Studio provides a new prompt monthly, along with materials and guidance for participants to make their responses.
For ages 4 – 11 with adult caregivers.

2 pm Early Closing
2026-04-18
We are closing early on Saturday, April 18 to host Music at Grace Farms | Dianne Reeves with Romero Lubambo. To attend the concert, please purchase tickets.
