Our annual Ravenswood Garden Crawl & Happy Hour returns on Saturday, July 25th, 2026. Join us for free educational tours and workshops throughout the day or take our self-guided tour to explore gardens around the neighborhood. All programs are free! This is a rain-or-shine event.
Tours and workshops begin at the RNA info tent at Sunnyside and Ravenswood (west side of Metra tracks) from 9am to 3pm and include topics such as native gardening, birding, tree care and identification, beekeeping, and more! Stop by for free wildflower seeds (while supplies last), kids’ crafts, and peruse our garden-themed fundraising raffle. After a day of inspiration and learning, join neighbors for a Happy Hour at Cultivate by Forbidden Root from 3pm to 5pm featuring live bluegrass music by The String Lickers. See schedule below.
View the interactive map below to find places to visit during Garden Crawl, including RNA’s native parkway gardens, community spaces, and private home gardens. Click on an icon for more detailed information.
To load the Google Map on your phone, click here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=13tvCJrEl5zLKP4rPIAnG1NM7Vo4Z2lA&usp=sharing
GARDEN CRAWL TOUR SCHEDULE
9am to 3pm – Self-guided tour of neighborhood gardens. Tour map here.
9am to 3pm – Stop by our event hub at Sunnyside & Ravenswood (west side of Metra tracks) to get event info, free wildflower seeds from MWRD (while supplies last), do a kids’ craft, join a tour, and check out our garden-themed fundraising raffle!
9am – Learn to Bird Tour with the Chicago Bird Alliance
10am – Native Gardens Tour with RNA’s Greening Team
11am – Tree Canopy Tour with Openlands TreeKeepers
12pm – Intro to Beekeeping Workshop with The Hive Supply Company
1pm–1:30pm – Container Gardening in Chicago by The Helpful Hummingbird
1:30pm-2pm – Intro to Sheet Mulching with Vivant Gardening Services
2pm – Sunnyside Savanna Garden Tour with Montrose Metra Community Gardens (tour ends at Cultivate by Forbidden Root)
3pm to 5pm – Happy Hour at Cultivate by Forbidden Root, with live bluegrass music from The String Lickers
Thank you to the many local businesses that donated prizes to our garden-themed fundraising raffle! They include items from Crafty Beaver, District, Gethsemane Garden Center, The Hive Supply Co., Ponnopozz, Spoken Cafe, Starshaped Press, Terrace, and WasteNot Compost, native plant trays, and an RNA Native Garden!
