The crocuses have popped, the daffodils are blooming, it must be time for the Rites of Spring, LongHouse Reserve's annual spring celebration and official opening.
It is a time when the East Hampton garden and sculpture center's nearly one million bulbs are in bloom or almost so and the season's new sculptures on the 16-acre site are revealed. So much is happening that one day isn't enough to contain it. The festivities will span both Saturday and Sunday.
This year's large-scale art projects include two works by Maren Hassinger, who recently showed at Dia Bridgehampton, and three by Wyatt Kahn.
Ms. Hassinger's installations will have an interactive component in these early days as they are built on-site. She will invite visitors to help her weave branches from the garden into her "Monument" pieces, which they can prune themselves.
Mr. Kahn works in Corten steel, and the sculptures at LongHouse, brought in through a partnership with the Public Art Fund, may be recognized as recently on view in City Hall Park.
Their works join old friends such as the permanent installations of work by Buckminster Fuller, Sol LeWitt, Yoko Ono, and Toshiko Takaezu. Other longer-term loans are also returning, such as sculptures by Fitzhugh Karol, Moko Fukuyama, William and Steven Ladd, Alexander Polzin, and Ai Weiwei.
On Easter Sunday, visitors are invited to bring their best Easter bonnets to promenade through the gardens, where treats will be available for children and their families.
This year, members can have the gardens to themselves on Wednesdays and Saturdays before the site opens to the public. On Saturdays, Shine, an organization that offers learning experiences that inspire creativity and curiosity, will lead groups in foraging and art making.
The center has a number of special exhibitions, activities, and events planned for the season. Coming up are puppet-making workshops with Kim Profaci on April 15 and a weaving workshop with Suzanne Tick on April 22. Weekly tai chi classes will begin on April 29.
