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Holiday Hours: Please note RBG's hours vary during the holiday season, and on Winter Wonders dates. See rbg.ca/hours for full details.

Music in the Garden: Sarah Harmer – SOLD OUT

Special Event

Date & Time:

August 25, 2024

Location:

Hendrie Park (680 Plains Rd W)

Types:

Entertainment, Evenings, Get Social, Special Event

Admission:

Ticketed Event

Event Description

Bring a lawn chair or pack a blanket, grab a cold drink and enjoy performances featuring award-winning musicians in our lovely garden setting.

With opening act Bry Webb.

  • Doors open: 7 p.m.
  • Showtime: 8 p.m.

This is a ticketed event; pre-purchased tickets are required for entry.

*Please note – Chairs are not provided. Guests are asked to bring their own foldable lawn chairs, blankets, and cushions for turf seating. For added convenience, rental chairs are available for a $5 add on upon booking your concert tickets. 

Presented by:

incite foundation for the arts

  • Outdoor concert in the gardens on an open stage decorated with plants
  • Child dancing in front of an outdoor stage with a band performing live music
  • Two people enjoying live outdoor music concert in lawn chairs
  • person holding up their phone to capture an outdoor concert performance
  • Outdoor concert performed in RBG's Mitchell's Field

Tickets

Ticket Type Ticket Price
General Admission $50 (+ HST & $1 Service Fee)
RBG Members*
A number of tickets appropriate to your membership type
$40 (+ HST & $1 Service Fee)
Add-On: Rent a Chair $5 (+HST)
  • Tickets are non-refundable and final sale. General admission discounts and coupons are not applicable to this ticketed event. 
  • After a purchase is complete, the tickets are the property of the ticket-holder.  
  • Pre-registration is required for this ticketed event.  
  • Everyone attending the event must have a ticket. You will not be admitted into the event without a ticket. Tickets will be scanned upon arrival.

*Accessing Your Member Tickets

To access your member tickets, simply log in to your RBG online account using the email address associated with your membership. Once logged in, visit the registration page and your member tickets will be available.

Do NOT make a new account; any new account created will not have access to your member benefits, including your member tickets.

Unsure which email is associated with your membership? Get in touch with the membership team.

Not yet a member? To access member tickets on a brand new membership, simply purchase the membership in its own order, log out, log back in, and your member tickets will be available!

Selecting an Appropriate Number of Membership Tickets

Members are eligible for a number of reduced priced tickets according to your membership type (see below). To find your membership type, check your membership card or log in to your account.

  • Single: 1
  • Single Plus: up to 2
  • Family: up to 2 adults and 6 children
  • Family Plus: up to 4 adults and 6 children

Should your order go through with an inappropriate number of tickets, RBG guest services will be in touch to make the appropriate adjustments.

How To Activate Your Account

  1. Visit secure.rbg.ca/account/login
  2. Enter your email address and “submit” (NOTE: RBG members must use the email associated with their current membership)
  3. Check your email for a link to reset your password
  4. Log in with your new credentials and check your account information. Ensure your updated membership is showing.

Members, if you are no longer available to attend your selected date and time, we ask that you cancel your order with at least 24 hours notice, to allow others the opportunity to visit the exhibit. Please do not book further timeslots without canceling your original order. Thank you.

Renting a Chair

Foldable rental chairs can be purchased as an add on ($5 +HST) when purchasing your concert tickets.

Lawn chair rentals can be picked up from the designated tent located conveniently close to the audience area. Once you’ve picked up your rented lawn chair, feel free to place it anywhere within the designated seating area. Kindly return your rented lawn chair to the same rental tent after the event concludes.

Ticketing Terms & Conditions

  • Tickets purchased to RBG special events are final sale and non-refundable. Tickets for this experience can be transferred to someone else if you can no longer attend the experience. Please keep your tickets and confirmation: it is proof of your purchase and allows entry into the experience.
  • Liability: RBG assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to property, or for personal injury or mishap; all activities are at the risk of the participant.
  • Filming/Photography Release: Please be advised that all photos, audio-video, and static images taken at this experience may be used for exhibit, reproduction, and/or distribution for RBG related promotional use, including all forms of print, television advertisement, social media and /or website display. In consideration of your participation as a guest or attendee of this experience, you authorize Royal Botanical Gardens, its legal representatives, suppliers, invited media and assigns unrestricted right and permission to copyright and use such photos and images under their sole discretion. Royal Botanical Gardens, its legal representatives, suppliers, invited media and assigns are released without limitation of any claims for libel or invasion of privacy.
  • By purchasing tickets and participating in this experience on RBG properties, you are agreeing to the above release for yourself, and on behalf of your guests.
Sarah Harmer leaning against a mossy rock

About Sarah Harmer

Sarah Harmer is a multiple award-winning, platinum-selling singer-songwriter and environmental activist. Her solo music career launched with the now classic debut You Were Here (2000) and includes six critically acclaimed albums, including her latest, Are You Gone, released via Arts & Crafts.

A deeply personal and political collection of songs motivated by the beauty of life, the urgency of the climate crisis, and the question of loss, Sarah called the album a spiritual successor of sorts to her acclaimed 2000 debut. Its simple title, Are You Gone, is a meditation on presence and a bookend to the questions posed on You Were Here – a sharpened, more electric confrontation with the realities of nature and human nature.

Between co-founding the citizen’s organization PERL (Protecting Escarpment Rural Land) and leading the successful effort to prevent an open-pit gravel mine in a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve on the Niagara Escarpment, Sarah has become a fixture in local politics and advocacy. In 2022, Sarah helped launch the Reform Gravel Mining Coalition in her home province of Ontario to protect water, farmland, and biodiversity. She is currently writing songs for a new album.

Bry Webb posing for a photo in a forested area

About Bry Webb

About five years ago Bry Webb (Constantines) stopped playing and releasing music entirely, sold instruments and recording equipment, and convinced himself that he was done.

In early 2023 his personal life exploded. In the process of dealing with that, he started writing music again and recording at home. He sent early recordings of songs to friends made through twenty-five years of music making – many folks he hadn’t connected with in years – and asked if they’d contribute anything to the songs. People came through in ways that overwhelmed him. He felt incredibly cared for.

With the release of Run With Me (Idée Fixe Records) Webb returns to performing live throughout 2024, interpreting songs from throughout his storied career with accompaniment from the inimitable Steph Yates (Cots) and other long-time collaborators.

The album, and these performances, are all about death, transition, asking for help and looking for hope.

Food & Drink

Variety of food and beverage options available for purchase. Availability may vary.

The Container

  • Light fare, snacks, bar
  • Located: west of the performance area (~80m)

Menu

Snacks

  • Charcuterie Box
  • Crudite Box
  • Cheese Box
  • Garden Picnic Package (choice of 2 boxes and 2 beverages)
  • Popcorn: small or large
  • Soft Serve: small or large | chocolate, vanilla or swirl
  • Cookies assorted variety
  • Muffins assorted variety

Drinks

  • Pop $3.5
  • Juice $3Water $3.5
  • House Wine 6oz/9oz/BTL $8/$10/$32
  • Craft Beer & Cider $10
  • Lemonade $5 cup | $10 jar

Food Truck

  • Hand-helds, treats and drinks
  • Located: at the back of the performance area

Menu

Dogs & Handhelds

  • All Beef Dog
  • Chili Cheese Dog
  • Pulled Pork Dog
  • Veggie Dog – Veg
  • Burger – GFO, DFO lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mayo
  • Quinoa black bean burger – Veg, GFO, DFO lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mayo
  • Buffalo chicken sandwich lettuce, pickle, buffalo sauce, blue cheese, mayo
  • Pulled Pork on a Bun – GFO, DFO slaw, bbq sauce, garlic lime crema
  • Falafel Pita – Veg, DFO Lettuce, tomato, pickled onion, radish, garlic lime crema
  • Falafel Bowl – Vegan Option lettuce, tomato, pickled onion, radish, garlic lime crema

Fryer

  • Fries – GF, DF
  • Chili Cheese Fries – GF, DFO
  • Poutine – Veg, GF curds, gravy
  • Pulled Pork Poutine – GF curds, bbq sauce
  • Falafel Poutine – Veg, GF curds, tomato, garlic lime crema
  • Onion Rings – Veg
  • Chili – GF, DF

Frozen Treats

  • Freezies
  • Ice Cream Bar

Beverages

  • Coffee/Tea $3.75
  • Canned Soft Drinks $3.50
  • Flow Boxed Water $3.50
  • Juice $3
  • Assorted Craft Beer & Cider (440mL) $10

BBQ

  • A rotating menu of barbecue fare
  • Located: west of the performance area (~50m)

Menu

NOTE: not all items listed below will be available for each date; the list below is to give visitors an understanding of what types of items will be available. Available menu items will rotate throughout the summer.

  • Street corn
  • Ribs
  • Chicken kabobs
  • Potato salad
  • Coleslaw
  • Chicken drumsticks
  • Pulled pork
  • Porchetta sandwiches
  • Tofu kabobs
  • Blackened tofu sandwiches
  • Chicken tacos
  • Ahi Watermelon tacos
  • Pulled pork tacos

Venue: Hendrie Park

This event takes place in RBG’s Hendrie Park, at 680 Plains Road W. Burlington ON.

Our largest cultivated garden area, Hendrie Park truly illustrates the diversity of both plants and garden design, and is home to the Rose Garden. Stroll through the garden to Mitchell’s Field (#8 on the map pictured here), a grassy event space with a natural hill perfect for concert viewing. Park at, and enter the property via RBG Centre (#18 on the map).

Map of Hendrie Park and RBG Centre

Frequently Asked Questions

Have a question about this event? Click the topics below for more information. If you have a question that is not answered, give us a call at 905-527-1158 or send us a message.

Directions & Parking

Music in the Garden is held in Hendrie Park. Parking is included, available in the large lot at RBG Centre, 680 Plains Road W. Burlington Ontario. Enter through RBG Centre and access the garden via the Hendrie Park tunnel (staff will provide direction upon arrival). NOTE: Hendrie Park is NOT accessible via the “Cherry Hill” trailhead parking lot. 

This garden is located along bus routes for Burlington Transit, with stops a short distance from the entrance. See rbg.ca/directions for more details. 

Seating

Seating is general admission, and first-come first-served. Chairs are not provided. Guests are asked to bring their own foldable lawn chairs, blankets, and cushions for turf seating.

Food & Drink

Concessions will be open with grab and go fare available for purchase.  

Outside food and drink is not permitted. 

Washrooms

Washrooms are located close to the performance area, just outside the Turner Pavilion Teahouse, and inside RBG Centre on the lowest floor of the Atrium. 

Weather & Attire

This event is held outdoors in a non-covered area. Dress for the weather! Consider a rain poncho and umbrella should there be rain in the forecast, as well as bug spray, a hat, and sunglasses (for sunset). 

RBG reserves the right to cancel the performance due to extreme inclement weather.  

We will try our best to notify ticketholders as soon as possible regarding cancellations via email, however, due to the unpredictability of summer storms, ticketholders may receive little to no notice. 

Accessibility

RBG welcomes the use of personal assistive devices that allow visitors to enjoy our facilities and services. The stage is located in Mitchell’s Field in Hendrie Park, and is accessible by paved pathways.  

 Mitchell’s Field is a large, open lawn area with a natural slope. 

For convenience RBG has a limited number of wheelchairs available for loan. Wheelchairs are available on a first come basis and may not be reserved in advance. It is recommended guests bring their own wheelchairs. 

If you have any questions about accessibility, please contact us at 905-527-1158. 

Recommended Age

Though Music in the Gardens performances are intended for an adult audience, children are welcome to attend with an accompanying adult. All attendees require an event ticket (children may enter with an “adult” ticket).

Pets & Service Animals

With the exception of service animals, personal dogs/cats/animals are not permitted at this event. 

More Music in the Gardens