First Friday Series
Friday, May 7, June 4, 10-12pm
Easy Tai chi
Wagon House Education Center/Farm Complex
Adults
Free
Tap into the spirituality of nature (like a Hudson River School artist but without the paint)! Tai chi is a mind-body practice that originated in China as a
martial art. The body moves slowly and gently, while breathing deeply and meditating. Many practitioners believe that Tai chi helps the flow throughout
the body of a proposed vital energy called qi, increasing our wellness. Join John Middlebrooks as he guides you in this intro class.
Classes will meet at the education center; if weather permits we will practice out in the landscape. Please attend all three classes as they go
in sequence and allow time for practice. Space is limited; register by the preceding Monday. Register by calling:(518) 828-1872 x 109.
Friday, May 7, June 4, 1-3pm
Visual Arts Workshop
Wagon House Education Center/Farm Complex
Adults (50+)
Free
Retired? Ready to finally explore your love of art? It is never too late! Adults with little or no formal art
training will realize that creating art can be accomplished through a variety of materials and techniques.
Create a work of art with local artist Gretchen Kelly in one or all three of these classes: "The Personality of Lines" in April;
"Capturing the Landscape"in May; and "My Olana" in June. Space is limited; register by the preceding Monday. Register by calling:(518) 828-1872 x 109.
Friday, May 7, June 4, 4-5pm
My Story in History: Contemporary Art in a Historical World
Wagon House Education Center/Farm Complex
Ages 10-14
Free
Use the landscape and architecture of Olana as well as the life and paintings of Frederic Church as inspiration to create your own mixed-media artwork.
In this after school, drop-off course, lead by local artist Claudia Brehse, you'll experiment with materials and discover new ways to express your
own interests. Great for home-schoolers and teen art club members. Space is limited; register by the preceding Monday by calling:(518) 828-1872 x 109.
Friday, May 7, June 4, 5:30-6:30pm
Landscape Yoga
Wagon House Education Center/Farm Complex
Adults
Free
This gentle yoga class will bring the inspiring picturesque landscape views inside, celebrating the spirituality of nature.
Yoga instructor Ed Sisk from the Yoga With Ed studio in Hudson, NY will provide mats and modification tools, or you are welcome to bring your own.
Space is limited; register by the preceding Monday by calling:(518) 828-1872 x 109.
May Programs
Wednesday, May 5, 10am-4pm
Cinco de Mayo at Olana
Vistor Center
Families
Admission is $9/adult; $8/students and seniors, free for children under 12 or members of The Olana
Partnership
Celebrate the Fifth of May at Olana! Tours at Olana will discuss the 19th century
beginnings of the holiday and focus on Mexican items in Olana's collection. Call (518) 828-0135 for information.
Saturday, May 8, 11:30am
Family Tour at Olana
Vistor Center
Families
Admission is $9/adult; $8/students and seniors, free for children under 12 or members of The
Olana Partnership *Vehicle use fee applies
Explore the house, its paintings and treasures from a child's perspective. Take the family tour and then stop by the Wagon House
Education Center for Art in the Barn, or borrow a backpack full of activities to do on the grounds - a family day at Olana couldn't be more perfect!
Tours are geared for families with 6-12 year-olds, but all ages are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Reservations are required by 4pm the preceding Friday. Call (518) 828-0135 for information.
Sunday, May 9, 12-4pm
Mothers Day Plant Sale
Wagon House Education Center/Farm Complex
All ages
Free*Vehicle use fee applies
This Mother's Day come to a presentation by Bob Hyland, co-owner and principal of Loomis Creek
Nursery, Hudson, NY. A great selection of unique "Olanainspired" plants to jumpstart your spring
gardens and containers will then be offered for sale from this fantastic nursery and gardening
resource. Come by to support your local nursery and get a special gift for Mom. Those present for Bob's
12pm talk in the Education Center will enjoy "early buying" privileges at the Plant Sale; sale opens
to all at 1pm. Make a day of it and stay for a picnic lunch and/or to participate in our free Artlandish!
and Olana On the Move Backpack programs.
Tuesday, May 18, 7-9pm
Private Preview Dinner and Auction to benefit The Olana Partnership
Alexander Gallery, NYC
As part of the American Art Fair celebrations, Alexander Gallery and Thomas Colville Fine Art are hosting
a benefit for The Olana Partnership at the Alexander Gallery, 942 Madison
Avenue. The benefit reception will feature a silent auction of about 10 items (drawings, paintings, experiences)
and light refreshments. We encourage our NYC supporters to invite their friends and colleagues to the reception.
For more information, please email top@olana.org. Generous support provided by The Bubble Lounge.
Friday, May 21, 1-4pm
Hand Bouquets in the 19th Century Workshop
Wagon House Education Center/Farm Complex
Adults
$20/adult; $10 members
Today, weddings are about the only occasion when a woman carries a bouquet of flowers. In the 19th
century, nosegays added quiet pleasure to the daily routine and gaiety to festive occasions. According to
a 19th century author, nothing required "more taste or skill than a well-made bouquet." This lecture and
hands-on workshop with Ellen McClelland Lesser will show you how to make your own hand bouquet or
posy using correct materials in the proper style of the period. Ellen holds a Certificate in Commercial
Floral Design from the New York Botanical Garden and a First Level Certificate from the Sogetsu School
of Ikebana (Japanese floral design). Participants must bring their favorite flower scissors/ knife;
all other supplies provided. Class limit: 12. Register by the preceding Sunday by calling:
(518) 828-1872 x 109.
Wednesday, May 26, 6:30pm
Lecture: Great Romantic Landscapes-Central Park and Frederic Church's Olana
The Morgan Library and Museum, New York City
Adults
$15 for Non-Members; $10 for Morgan,
Olana Partnership, and Central Park Conservancy Members
This panel of expert historians and historic landscape stewards will explore the relationship between two of
America's greatest nineteenth-century Romantic landscapes: Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux's Central Park,
and Olana, Frederic Church's villa and landscape garden. Speakers include Sara Cedar Miller, Central Park
Conservancy historian and photographer and author of Central Park: An American Masterpiece; Katherine H. Kerin,
Olana Landscape Curator; Evelyn D. Trebilcock, Olana Curator. Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, President, Foundation
for Landscape Studies, will moderate. This program is cosponsored by The Olana Partnership, Central Park
Conservancy, and Foundation for Landscape Studies.
To order tickets visit Great Romantic Landscapes at The Morgan
Friday, May 28, 9am-5pm
Landscape Photography Workshop
Wagon House Education Center/Farm Complex
Adults
$75/adult; $65 for members of The Olana Partnership
Fine-art photographer Donna Wan will immerse you in the history of landscape and environmental
photography as well as inspire you to create your own photographs influenced by your personal vision of, and concerns regarding, the landscape.
Donna's current project, a series of landscape photographs inspired by the Hudson River School
paintings but interpreted in a new light nearly 200 years later- will be
presented and discussed. Other topics include exposure, composition, equipment
and lighting. Please bring your digital SLR camera and memory card. Class
limit: 15. Donna J. Wan, MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, has had work
shown in LA, Chicago, New Orleans, Toronto and in the SFMOMA
Artists Gallery. She was selected as a Flash Forward Emerging Photographer in
2007 and as an Emerging Artist in 2008.
Register by May 15 by calling:(518) 828-1872 x 109.
Vist Donna Wan's Website
*Vehicle use fee:
On weekends and holiday Mondays, April through October 31, there is a $5 entry fee per vehicle from 10AM-5PM; (Vehicle entry fee is waived for
current members of The Olana Partnership) This fee can be credited toward a
house tour as long as house tour tickets are available.