A violinist who has played Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Berliner Philharmonie is giving a free solo recital in Palm Beach next month, outdoors. The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach presents Ilana Zaks, a first violinist with the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera, in Pan's Garden at 386 Hibiscus Ave. on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 5 p.m. Admission is open to the public at no charge.

The foundation describes the program as a route through Baroque elegance, Romantic intensity and 21st-century works inspired by nature, chosen to line up with its own work preserving both the island's culture and its environment. Zaks is also an educator and an interdisciplinary artist. Her multimedia project, Sound Worlds, pairs violin with electronics and mixes in visual art and conversation to explore identity, memory and resilience, and the foundation is billing the Palm Beach program as a recital with storytelling woven through it.

Why a garden recital in Palm Beach is worth noting

Most of the foundation's calendar this season is built around lectures, dinners and members-only evenings. The Zaks recital is one of a handful of programs marked open and complimentary to the public, which means a resident does not need a membership or an invitation to get in. The 5 p.m. start makes it an easy stop on the way home from work.

Pan's Garden is one of the places the foundation itself cares for, alongside Phipps Ocean Park, the Little Red Schoolhouse and Earl E.T. Smith Park, and it serves as one of its event spaces through the season. The foundation's headquarters sits nearby at 311 Peruvian Ave.

Other free programs on the foundation's calendar

The recital is the first of several no-cost public events the foundation has posted for the coming months, and two of them put residents to work, in a good way.

On Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 8 to 10 a.m., the foundation hosts the Kelly Williams/Andrew Forsyth BioBlitz at Phipps Ocean Park, 2201 S. Ocean Blvd. Participants meet at the park's entry plaza and head out with foundation staff and local experts to record what lives in the park's dune, coastal strand, maritime hammock, coastal berm and mangrove swamp. Observations go into the citizen science apps iNaturalist and eBird, which feed global conservation databases, and the foundation says the snapshot will guide continuing restoration work at the park. All ages and experience levels are welcome, and drop-ins can arrive anytime and stay as long as they like. The only gear the foundation asks for is a smartphone.

The BioBlitz comes less than two weeks after the foundation's ribbon cutting and grand opening for the newly restored Phipps Ocean Park, set for Thursday, Nov. 19, at 11 a.m. and also open to the public.

On Monday, Dec. 7, at 5:30 p.m., Pan's Garden hosts a Sip and Stitch needlepoint evening with Lycette Designs. The event is free to attend, and an original Pan's Garden ornament canvas will be available to buy for anyone who wants to stitch a keepsake of the garden.

Looking further out, the foundation opens Coral and Coconuts: Palm Beach Streets and Landmarks on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 5:30 p.m., an exhibition and book signing built around artist Aldous Bertram's original watercolors. The paintings come from the foundation's new book of the same name, published with Vendome Press, which captures the island's landmarks and streets.

How to go

Violinist in the Garden with Ilana Zaks is Thursday, Nov. 12, at 5 p.m. in Pan's Garden, 386 Hibiscus Ave., Palm Beach. Admission is free and open to the public. Questions and RSVPs go to the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach at 561-832-0731 or [email protected], and registration for the BioBlitz and the other free programs is on the foundation's events page.

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