Before 2002, the Fabyan Japanese Garden was mostly open for special events or for private tours. Visitors to the Fabyan Villa Museum were frequently asking to go in the garden so Preservation Partners, who had been operating the museum since 1995, asked the Forest Preserve District of Kane County if they could be hired to also open the Garden. The Forest Preserve agreed and hired Preservation Partners to open the Garden for regular public hours during the summer. Reservations for weddings and photography shoots remained the role of the Forest Preserve.
Today the Fabyan Japanese Garden is open to the public from May through September on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 12-3pm. There is no entrance fee required, though a donation of $1 per person is appreciated.
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PHOTO: kids on the moon bridge in the Fabyan Japanese Garden, 2009.
SOURCES: "Japanese Garden Enlightens and Delights Visitors," Advocate (Fall 2002): 5; Elizabeth Safanda, "Preserving the Tri-Cities: A Fifty Year History of Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley," by Al Watts (September 13, 2023): 41:46-44:52, https://youtu.be/T4QkoOaqzMI.