Weekend Arts Planner: The Orchid Show opens its 20th year at the New York Botanical Garden

The official start of spring is still a month off, but orchid season is in full bloom in the Bronx. On Saturday, Feb. 18th, the New York Botanical Garden kicks off the Orchid Show's 20th year. WNYC's Culture and Arts Editor, Steve Smith joins Weekend Edition host David Furst with all the details -- and has a music show for us to check out as well.

STEVE'S PICKS:

1. The Orchid Show: Natural Heritage

Given the weather we've been having lately, no one could blame you if you want to be outdoors. And if you happen to want to be outdoors in a positively gorgeous setting, there aren't many places in New York City that can compare to the New York Botanical Garden, up in the Bronx, where it's opening day on Saturday, Feb. 18 for one of the most popular events of the year: the annual Orchid Show.

It always guarantees a dazzling display of eye-popping blooms… but this is the 20th Orchid Show, so you know they put a little something extra into this year's event. The theme of this year's show is "Natural Heritage," and that's an acknowledgement that designer Lily Kwong tapped into her own background in planning the show. Kwong is the first woman of color ever invited to design the Orchid Show, and her presentation draws on Chinese garden design and landscape painting.

The Orchid Show is an indoor event, set within the impressive confines of the Botanical Garden's Enid A Haupt Conservatory. And that'll make this show a welcome respite when the weather takes a turn for the worse. But assuming it's sunny and mild outside, what better place to find yourself for a healthy stroll than in the garden?

The show runs through April 23. And if you're 21 and older, keep an eye on the Botanical Garden website for details on "Orchid Nights," when they'll offer music, cash bars, and food options into the evening hours.

2. Eunbi Kim: "it feels like a dream"

Those of us who go to concerts of classical music grow accustomed to a steady diet of well-polished masterpieces served up in a state of high refinement – but it can be even more satisfying watching an artist working with material over a span of a few seasons or years, watching and listening a journey toward an aspiration that the artist might not even have known at the onset of the journey.

Pianist Eunbi Kim has been working with the compositions heard on her latest album, "It Feels Like," for a while now–she even showcased some of the material as an artist-in-residence last year at The Greene Space, the arts and culture venue operated by New York Public Radio.

So the pieces Eunbi Kim will perform Thursday Feb. 23 at the Baryshnikov Arts Center are works she's played and recorded before, based on themes of childhood, family, and memory. In addition to Pauchi Sasaki, the other composers involved are Angelica Negron, Sophia Jani, and Daniel Bernard Roumain. But what makes this concert a world-premiere event is that Kim is collaborating with a musically astute filmmaker and video artist named Xuan. It isn't just a concert with video, but a more fully immersive multimedia experience designed specifically for the space. And from the glimpses I've seen, it should prove memorable.

That's happening Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 pm at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, at 450 West 37th Street.