Twilight at the Peacock Café Returns Thursday for Cocktails, Music and a Quiet Evening in the Garden

The 127-acre Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia tends to empty out as the afternoon sun fades, but on select Thursday evenings each summer the gates stay open and the Peacock Café transforms into something closer to a garden party than a lunch spot. Twilight at the Peacock Café returns this Thursday with the first of two early-June dates, offering cocktails, light food and live music against the late-spring botanical backdrop the Arboretum is known for.

The series runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Café terrace, with the program designed for casual drop-in attendance. The Peacock Bar offers specialty drinks including the Sapphire Peacock, Plumeria Passion and Micheladas. The Café offers a cheese and charcuterie box along with other specialty items reserved for these evenings. Tables and chairs are limited, so guests are encouraged to bring blankets for ground seating; outside food and beverages are not permitted. Arboretum members receive a $2 discount on specialty drinks and complimentary admission to the garden during the event.

The Arboretum’s resident peafowl — the unofficial mascots of the grounds and frequent stars of social media — typically wander through the seating area during Twilight evenings, lending the gathering the slightly improbable atmosphere of cocktails interrupted by 30-pound birds with extravagant tail feathers.

After Thursday, the series continues June 11 at the same time. Live musical lineups for each evening are available through the Arboretum’s website.

Twilight at the Peacock Café will take place Thursday, June 4 and Thursday, June 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Peacock Café at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., in Arcadia. For more information and admission details, visit arboretum.org.