These apples at Gateway Gardens are a big hit with children and adults alike. Children love to run around them and hide inside them. Openings on the sides allow for children to play inside, while those slits keep water from accumulating and make it possible for parents to see inside. Children feel like they are hidden to the world, yet they are in plain sight.

Greensboro’s free city parks and gardens contribute so much to the opportunities for children to explore outdoors and interact with nature. As Greensboro Beautiful points out on their website, this LEED-certified silver project is an eleven acres interactive garden and horticultural oasis. It is their biggest project in their 50-year history. And, as Greensboro saw on Sunday afternoon, it is the perfect venue for a concert. While planning for the garden began in 1999, Gateway Gardens opened to the public in 2011. For the past seven years, the plantings have become established, the visitor center has opened, and the grounds just keep getting better and better. Here is their website, if you want to keep up with events and to learn more about the venue.