Playdate: Norton Museum invites you to an afternoon of games at free community event

Somehow, the summer ends up being just as busy as the other seasons, what with its vacation planning, youth camps and big home improvement projects.

The Norton Museum of Art wants you to forget all that and remember that summer is supposed to be about relaxation, an escape from the grind, a chance to face the day with nothing whatever planned.

In short, play.

On July 20, the West Palm Beach-based museum invites you to its annual Games Around the World Community Day, in which your task is simply to show up and indulge your playful side.

You’ll have options from chess to pétanque (a French game similar to bocce ball) — the Palm Beach Chess Club and the South Florida Pétanque Club will be hand to give you pointers — giant versions of Connect Four and Jenga, and the traditional Hispanic game of Loteria..

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You can play an outdoor xylophone, watch a martial arts performance by the Capoeira Karkara Cultural Arts Center, a Brazilian martial arts academy based in Boynton Beach.

“Games Around the World is a chance for our community to connect and experience traditions and cultures from all over the world,” said Ghislain d’Humières, the Norton’s CEO, in a prepared statement.

This playdate won’t ignore what the museum is all about, of course.

Your play vibe may steer you toward art-making, which you can do in the Open Studio, and there will be two 30-minute Spotlight Tours of art, gallery explorations and a series of short films.

Joining the museum for a day of play, which lasts from noon to 5 p.m., will cost you nothing, and you can count on free parking, too.

“The activities the museum has planned for the day offer opportunities to engage people of all ages and interests,” said Derek Sober, the Norton’s director of family and community programs, in a prepared statement.

For more information, visit norton.org or call 561-832-5196.