First held in 2012, ICG's annual (in non-pandemic years) International Mud Day celebration has since become a beloved community event, and we look forward to its highly anticipated return on Saturday, June 25th!

In Nepal, Mud Day marks the beginning of the rice-growing season. It is a celebration of the nature that provides the ideal place to plant rice, which will later sustain the community. Our International Mud Day festival celebrates the human connection to nature, and encourages us all to reimagine what it means to “get dirty”. International Mud Day has something for everyone's different experiences with mud.

This year we will be implementing a hybrid event model, similar to the Festival of Fire & Ice and Haudenosaunee Songs & Stories we held in February. We will hold an in-person event and offer complementary Mud Day @ Home activities on our website, so those who are not able to join us at the Garden can still celebrate Mud Day with us.

More details are on the way!

Ithaca's own circus school, Circus Culture has set up on our Village Green to bring you three FREE full-length circus performances!

Headspace by Unflower Troupe (circusers aged 13-14 years) takes you on a journey through different emotions and feelings through aerial, juggling, acrobatics, stilt walking, and more!

Wonderland by Ivy Troupe (circusers aged 12-16 years) takes you on a journey from a boring monotonous world into the wild and fanciful in Wonderland: Through the Bubble. Get ready for aerial acts, acrobatics, clowning, and more.

Unseasonable by Clover Troupe (adult circusers aged 21+) takes you on a journey through the seasons in Unseasonable: a circus year. Get ready for aerial acts, acrobatics, juggling, hooping, stilts, object manipulation, tightwire, and more.

To catch one (or all!) of these high-flying shows you can stop by the Garden during a scheduled performance time, or reserve a seat through the Circus Culture website.

There have been a few sightings of wild parsnip amongst the bright blossoms in the Garden. Wild parsnip is a common and invasive species in our geographical area, contact with sap from its leaves, flowers, and stems, may cause a burning rash, blistering of the skin, and a sunlight-sensitive skin condition called phytophotodermatitis. Read more about wild parsnip on the New York Invasive Species Information website.

Please let us know if you spot wild parsnip at the Garden, and do not try to remove it yourself. If no staff is present at the time, you can email photos and where in the Garden the wild parsnip is located to Jason (he/him), our Facilities Manager jason@ithacachildrensgarden.org.