Event Calendar

For more information about any program, please call 847.234.1063 or email:  info@ragdale.org

May 5, 2012      
A Toast to Ragdale

Kick up your heels at this annual fundraising event with ragtime music, roaring 20’s décor, a silent auction and the grand re-opening of the Ragdale House, following a year-long $3 million restoration.  Ragdale House, the summer residence of architect Howard Van Doren Shaw’s artistic family, has been painstakingly restored to its 1926 condition. The evening benefits the Ragdale Foundation, the non-profit artist residency that has provided artists with time and space to pursue their creative work in an uninterrupted environment for over 30 years.  Funds raised at the benefit will support the residencies of writers, visual artists, composers and interdisciplinary artists.  For further information, contact 847.234.1063 or info@ragdale.org.

June 2 & 3, 2012
Ragdale Days

There’s fun for the family at this weekend-long celebration of the creativity, architecture and family history that uniquely defines Ragdale, featuring open studio demonstrations, exhibitions, performances, family activities and tours of the Ragdale House.  This is an opportunity to get “behind the scenes” to see the  inner workings of Ragdale’s artist–in-residency program – its studios, prairie landscape and rooms in The Ragdale House, the historic summer home of the Howard van Doren Shaw family, which recently reopened after a year-long, $3 million restoration.  Free  admission. For further information, contact Cynthia Quick, 847.234.1063 ext. 205 or info@ragdale.org

September 28 & 29, 2012
A Novel Affair

Don’t miss this one-of-a kind annual event, which brings eight best-selling authors to Lake Forest in support of Ragdale, the non-profit artists’ residency, where writers and other artists have time & space to create new work. Plans include a Friday evening cocktail reception with all the authors and small, intimate dinners featuring author readings & conversation on Saturday in elegant North Shore homes.  Previous authors have included: Jane Hamilton, Audrey Niffenegger, Scott Turow, Luis Alberto Urrea, among others.  Mark your calendars now, as tickets go fast!  For further information, contact contact 847.234.1063 or info@ragdale.org.