Programs + Events

Sales and SPECTACLE: A Conversation About Art and Commerce with Carrie Haddad

  • Thursday, March 28 | 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Join The Olana Partnership and Carrie Haddad Gallery for this closing conversation on the occasion of SPECTACLE: Frederic Church and the Business of Art. During this offsite special panel conversation, learn more about Carrie Haddad’s pioneering work as a gallerist in Hudson for over 30 years and hear insights about the contemporary state of the market with gallerists Lena Petersen and Linden Scheff and artists Carl Grauer (Poughkeepsie) and Jane Bloodgood-Abrams (Kingston).Inspired by Frederic Church’s own relationship with the art market, this informal conversation will examine how art and commerce shape the way artists relate to their work and their environments.

This program takes place offsite at 127 Union Street, Hudson and further details will be sent upon registration. Participants will be invited to share their own questions for panelists during a moderated Q&A. The program will be followed by a light reception. Registration required. $30/ $10 for The Olana Partnership Members.

All About Eclipses

  • April 8 | 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Did you know Frederic Church often included meteors, sunsets, and vibrant skies in his paintings? Channel Church and view the solar eclipse while learning more about this exciting phenomenon at Olana! Starting at 3pm, Nature Sarah will lead a short outdoor presentation on the science of eclipses and will be on hand to answer any questions about earth science, the solar system, and the beautiful sky at Olana.  A limited number of eclipse viewing glasses and refreshments will be available. FREE; meet at the Visitor Center.

Sarah Katan, aka Nature Sarah, is a local outdoor educator who brings the wonders of our world to life through enthusiastic programming. She has decades of experience teaching biology, ecology, earth science, chemistry, mindfulness and teamwork in classroom and outdoor settings and is also a Leave No Trace certified educator.

THIRD THURSDAYS / TERCER JUEVES

  • April 18 / 18 Abril | 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Olana’s Free Community Day at Olana State Historic Site, the Third Thursday of every month, organized by The Olana Partnership.

Dia Comunitario Gratuito al Sitio Estatal Histórico Olana cada tercer jueves del mes, organizado por La Asociación Olana.

Plant Paints Watercolor Workshop

  • Thursday, April 18 | 2:00-5:00 PM

Join artist Ellie Irons for a hands-on workshop painting with watercolor paints made from locally-sourced wild and weedy plants. This drop-in program focuses on making pigment from the plants who live on the shores of the Mahicannituck/Hudson River. Participants of all ages can watch paint-making demos on the hour and experiment with painting from plant-made pigments. Postcards will be available to paint and takeaway, and Ellie’s book, Feral Hues, will be available for purchase. 

FREE PROGRAM; meets at the Wagon House Education Center in the historic farm complex.

Forest Ecology Walk at Olana

  • Thursday, April 18 | 4:00-5:00 PM

Learn how land use has transformed Hudson Valley landscapes as you explore Olana’s forests with Dr. Charles Canham from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Learn more about forest history and discover over 250 years of land use patterns that have transformed the Hudson Valley landscapes artists like Frederic Church admired.

FREE; meets at the Wagon House Education Center in the historic farm complex.

Create and Cook: Family Cooking & Art Workshop

  • Saturday, April 20 | 11:00 AM-1:00 PM

Explore your creativity in the kitchen and art studio during this program led by The Sylvia Center Chefs and The Olana Partnership educators! In this program, families will cook a delicious, farm-fresh lunch inspired by Olana State Historic Site’s landscape and history. An art workshop will follow where families can create their own work of art and learn more about Frederic Church, the artist that designed Olana.  Try new foods, and test new art materials, together in this FREE family program!

In this class, we will make a Spring Grain Salad inspired by delicious spring vegetables, explore Olana’s historic orchard, and dive into the world of pastels.

For families with children 18 and under (children must be accompanied by an adult). This is the first in a series of three classes – register for one or all three!. This program is FREE (suggested donation $12). Registration includes all art-making supplies and a free lunch for each participant.

Advance registration required. For more information, please contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938.

Artmaking in the Afternoon

  • Saturday, April 20 | 1:00 PM-4:00 PM

Make a day of it! Immediately following the Create + Cook program, join The Olana Partnership educators for hands-on artmaking using professional materials and a series of prompts to get your creativity flowing.

Drop in program; FREE. All materials provided. Located in the Wagon House Education Center.

Resurrected Landscapes: Frederic Church and the Public Park Movement

  • April 24 | 6:00-7:00 PM

What do Frederic Church’s landscapes, New York’s Central Park, and Niagara Falls Reservation have in common? In this virtual webinar, Rebecca Bedell will argue that, beyond their shared aesthetics and Church’s involvement with all three, they all are, in a sense, memorial landscapes. They were born of a desire to remember and restore something vital that had been lost. Join to hear more about how they are also therapeutic landscapes, offering solace and healing to those abraded by modern life. This webinar is offered in anticipation of Afterglow: Frederic Church and the Landscape of Memory which opens May 16.

Rebecca Bedell is the Professor of American Art at Wellesley College. She is the author of the award-wining books The Anatomy of Nature: Geology and American Landscape Painting and Moved to Tears: Rethinking the Art of the Sentimental in the United States, as well as numerous essays about nineteenth-century landscape art.

I Love My Parks Day

  • Saturday, May 4 | 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM

Join us for a day of stewardship and service at Olana State Historic Site and help ensure OLANA, Frederic Church’s artist-designed landscape, is prepped, clean, and ready for another great season! This state-wide event brings together OLANA Volunteers, The Olana Partnership’s Staff, and our New York State Parks Team to help get our public lands and Frederic Church’s vision ready for the Spring. Read more about this year’s volunteer opportunities below.

1:30-2:30 PM – FREE Special Tours

Kick off your day of service with an optional free walking tour to learn more about Frederic Church’s work as an artist and landscape designer or choose to learn more about how New York State’s stewardship team is managing invasive plants at Olana and statewide. Each mile-long walking tour will give prospective volunteers a chance to learn more about Olana before diving into the day’s projects.

Registration is required through I Love My Parks Day portal. Volunteers will meet at the Visitor Center. If you have any questions about the tour, feel free to contact education@olana.org.

2:30-4:00 PM – Volunteer Activities Led by Olana Staff

Join fellow volunteers to get Olana State Historic Site ready for the spring season. Volunteers will meet staff outside the Visitor Center and sign up for one of the activities listed below. Slots for activities will be given on a first come, first serve basis.

· Park Cleanup & trash removal
· Removing Invasives
· Indoor Classroom Cleanup at the Wagon House Clean-up
· Planting Flowers at Cosy Cottage

Registration Required through I Love My Parks Day portal. If you have any questions, please reach out to lmiller@olana.org.

 

Alan Devoe Bird Club Spring Migration Bird Walk 

  • May 4 | 8:00 AM -10:00 AM

Get your binoculars ready for this special spring migration bird walk at Olana State Historic Site! Join the Alan Devoe Bird Club and The Olana Partnership on an exploration of Olana’s artist-designed landscape and learn more about visiting birds and the species that call this region home. FREE, advanced registration required. This program will meet outside the Olana Wagon House Education Center. For more information, contact education@olana.org. 

Guided Forest Bathing with Mother Earth 

  • May 11 | 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM 

Get outside and show yourself and Mother Earth some love through a special guided walk inspired by After Glow: Frederic Church and the Landscape and Memory. Fru Molnar, trained and certified forest bathing guide, will lead the way through Olana’s landscape, helping you connect with nature through a slow-paced, easeful sensory exploration. Based on the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku (“forest bathing”), this program will offer optional invitations to connect with nature and yourself. This program is part of Living through Landscape, a series of workshops that examine how new conceptions of life and death can be gained by spending time in our regional environment. 

Fru Molnar (she/her) is the founder of Forest Baths (est. 2021), a lifelong student of the trees, and a Certified Forest Therapy Guide with the ANFT (Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides). Based in Peekskill, NY (Lenapehoking), she guides immersive nature therapy experiences throughout forests and parks of the lower Hudson Valley in partnership with all the “more-than-human” beings on this land, in service to nature and for the wellbeing of all. She is also an avid hiker and guardian of two rescue pets, who are her own personal nature therapy guides. 

Create and Cook: Family Cooking & Art Workshop

  • Saturday, May 18 | 11:00am-1:00pm

Explore your creativity in the kitchen and art studio during this program led by The Sylvia Center Chefs and The Olana Partnership educators! In this program, families will cook a delicious, farm-fresh lunch inspired by Olana State Historic Site’s landscape and history. An art workshop will follow where families can create their own work of art and learn more about Frederic Church, the artist that designed Olana.  Try new foods, and test new art materials, together in this FREE family program!

In this class, we will make a delicious pasta salad inspired by scrumptious seasonal vegetables, explore Olana’s historic kitchen garden, and draw new life and shapes in the meadow.

For families with children 18 and under (children must be accompanied by an adult). This is the first in a series of three classes – register for one or all three! This program is FREE (suggested donation $12). Registration includes all art-making supplies and a free lunch for each participant.

Advance registration required. For more information, please contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938.

Create and Cook: Family Cooking & Art Workshop

  • Saturday, June 22 | 11:00am-1:00pm

Explore your creativity in the kitchen and art studio during this program led by The Sylvia Center Chefs and The Olana Partnership educators! In this program, families will cook a delicious, farm-fresh lunch inspired by Olana State Historic Site’s landscape and history. An art workshop will follow where families can create their own work of art and learn more about Frederic Church, the artist that designed Olana.  Try new foods, and test new art materials, together in this FREE family program!

In this class, we will make a Vietnamese rice noodle salad and explore new plants and textures in OLANA’s lake ecosystem with tempera paint.

For families with children 18 and under (children must be accompanied by an adult). This is the first in a series of three classes – register for one or all three! This program is FREE (suggested donation $12). Registration includes all art-making supplies and a free lunch for each participant.

Advance registration required. For more information, please contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938.

The Olana Partnership programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.