So, you have to work this Friday (May 6), National Public Gardens Day? Not to worry. Come celebrate after work at two free events: an open house at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, followed by “Stargazing in the White Flower Garden,” in the arboretum.

Honey Bee Haven Open House

Learn how to catch and observe bees up close, and see honeybees at work in an observation beehive. Hear from experts on such subjects as bee diversity and identification, and how to create a garden to help bees. The program also includes children’s book readings about bees and gardens. The open house runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m., with a garden tour at 6. Free sunflower plants while they last. Parking is free at the garden on Bee Biology Road, off Hopkins Road south of Hutchison Drive, west of Highway 113.

‘Stargazing in the White Flower Garden’

Hosted by the Arboretum Ambassadors (environmental leadership interns) and the UC Davis Astronomy Club. This special night offers the opportunity to see the new moon and the peak of the Eta Aquarids meteor shower, which can produce up to 30 meteors an hour. Bring flashlights, blankets, warm clothes and snacks, if you like. Warm beverages will be provided.

Location: Carolee Shields White Flower Garden and Gazebo. Park along Garrod Drive (limited number of free, one-hour spaces) or in Visitor Parking Lot 55 (use short-term, metered spots; or buy a $9 daily pass). Note: Campus parking enforcement ends at 10 p.m. on weekdays.

More in the arboretum

This weekend (May 7-8), the arboretum serves as the “stage” for An Untitled Project Involving Bodies, Dirt and Space, in which performance artist, author and actress Margaret Laurena Kemp (visiting faculty in the Department of Theatre and Dance) crafts a multidisciplinary experience among the arboretum’s gardens and collections. In three performances, all free, she explores the racialized body as text in the American landscape. Directed by Lisa Quoresimo, Ph.D. candidate in performance studies.

• Where Does the Blue Sky Start? — Kemp literally digs deep, calling forth Margaret Garner and numerous other ancestors, interrogating layers of place, identity and authorship. 1-3 p.m. Saturday, May 7, Shields Oak Grove.

• Ghosting — A ritual dance in which a ghost returns, its rest having been disturbed by layers of individual and institutional inhumanities. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 7, beginning at the Arboretum GATEway Garden, then moving west through the arboretum.

• Do Not Obey — Women from the community of Davis share their personal journeys through life’s rules (made, taken and/or broken) through dance and spoken word. 2:45-5 p.m. Sunday, May 8, east of the gazebo.

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