Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

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19 events matched your search
Thu 21 Aug
Third Thursday: Tunes with a View – Heard World
Thursday, August 21, 2025 06:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
World Music & Jazz. Get ready to groove! Heard World brings the vibrant sounds of West Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean, and beyond to Olana. Enjoy irresistible rhythms from this collective of world music and jazz musicians, all against the backdrop of Olana's breathtaking views. FREE; the performance takes place outside the Historic House. Check in at the Visitor Center for details.
Registration: Not required
Thu 21 Aug
Third Thursday: Tunes with a View – Bollywood Dancing Workshop and Performance
Thursday, August 21, 2025 06:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
Experience the energy of Bollywood dancing at Olana State Historic Site with instructor, Arobi Hanif! Learn moves to trendy and iconic Bollywood songs during this fun, beginner-friendly outdoor class at Olana and stick around for a special performance on the East Lawn outside the Historic House. For ages 12 and up; space is limited. Email education@olana.org to learn more.
Registration: Not required
Fri 22 Aug
Movie Night at Olana: CLUE presented by Upstate Films
Friday, August 22, 2025 07:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
Join The Olana Partnership and Upstate Films at Olana State Historic Site for a movie night under the stars. Clue (1985) is a comedic mystery and cult classic based on the board game of the same name. When six guests are invited to a mansion for dinner, an unexpected murder leads to a series of twists and turns as they try to solve a madcap mystery! This film is presented as part of Upstate Films' 2025 Hudson Valley Picture Show and in conjunction with What's Missing? Artworks in the Olana Landscape by Ellen Harvey and Gabriela Salazar on view at Olana State Historic Site until November 2. To celebrate Olana's What's Missing?, arrive early for an "art mystery" scavenger hunt prior to the film. Candy, popcorn and drinks along with food from local vendors will be available for purchase. Doors open 7 PM; Film begins at 8 PM. $7 general admission/FREE for kids 12 and under. Visit https://olana.org/programs-events/ for details.
Registration: Required
Sat 23 Aug
Gallery Explorers: A FREE Family Program
Saturday, August 23, 2025 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
Experience learning, looking closely, and conversation as a family during this series of special museum gallery tours at Olana State Historic Site. Each month, The Olana Partnership educators will lead an exploration of two to three works of art on the second-floor galleries through family-friendly dialogue and other hands-on activities. After your tour, extend your day at OLANA and head down to the Wagon House Education Center for a free drop-in program, Art Making in the Afternoon from 1-4pm. Designed for families with children ages 3 and up. FREE; advanced registration required. Please contact education@olana.org to learn more. Visit https://olana.org/programs-events/ for details.
Registration: Required
Sat 23 Aug
Artmaking in the Afternoon
Saturday, August 23, 2025 01:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
Inspired by your time at Olana or looking for family-friendly fun? Participate in free, drop-in artmaking in the Wagon House Education Center and learn more about Frederic Church's artist-designed home and studio on the Hudson. This drop-in artmaking program is open to all ages and skill levels; all materials provided. FREE. No advanced registration is required. Contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938 for more info. Visit https://olana.org/programs-events/ for details.
Registration: Required
Mon 01 Sep
Labor Day Bird Walk with the Alan Devoe Bird Club
Monday, September 1, 2025 08:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Olana State Historic Site
(518) 567-2170

Join us on Labor Day for an exploration through Olana's artist-designed landscape while keeping eyes and ears open for local birds. Learn more about local bird species, habitats, and behaviors with Dr. William Cook, Professor Emeritus at Columbia-Greene Community College and the Curator of C-GCC's Natural History Museum and local birder/student, Autumn Hopkins. FREE. Advanced registration required. For more information, please contact education@olana.org or call (518) 567-2170.
Registration: Required
Wed 10 Sep
The Art of Outdoor Painting: Plein Air Workshops at Olana
Wednesday, September 10, 2025 08:00 AM - 03:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
(518) 567-2170

Experience Olana's stunning views while learning the art of plein air painting in a three-part workshop led by Shawn Dell Joyce. Inspired by Frederic Church's approach to outdoor painting, this series explores sketching, color matching, and completing finished works from observation. Each day features a different location at Olana, with Church's paintings and sketches as reference points. Shawn Dell Joyce is a Florida-based plein air painter and founder of the Wallkill River School of Art. Her nationally recognized work has been featured in The New York Times, Tampa Bay Magazine, and is held in major collections, including MoMA. Participants may register for one or all three sessions. Bring your own paints and brushes (any medium); some special tools are provided. Advanced registration required. $100 per day / $75 for members ($300 for all three / $225 for members). Contact education@olana.org or (518) 567-2170 for more info.
Registration: Required
Thu 11 Sep
The Art of Outdoor Painting: Plein Air Workshops at Olana
Thursday, September 11, 2025 08:00 AM - 03:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
(518) 567-2170

Experience Olana's stunning views while learning the art of plein air painting in a three-part workshop led by Shawn Dell Joyce. Inspired by Frederic Church's approach to outdoor painting, this series explores sketching, color matching, and completing finished works from observation. Each day features a different location at Olana, with Church's paintings and sketches as reference points. Shawn Dell Joyce is a Florida-based plein air painter and founder of the Wallkill River School of Art. Her nationally recognized work has been featured in The New York Times, Tampa Bay Magazine, and is held in major collections, including MoMA. Participants may register for one or all three sessions. Bring your own paints and brushes (any medium); some special tools are provided. Advanced registration required. $100 per day / $75 for members ($300 for all three / $225 for members). Contact education@olana.org or (518) 567-2170 for more info.
Registration: Required
Fri 12 Sep
The Art of Outdoor Painting: Plein Air Workshops at Olana
Friday, September 12, 2025 08:00 AM - 03:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
(518) 567-2170

Experience Olana's stunning views while learning the art of plein air painting in a three-part workshop led by Shawn Dell Joyce. Inspired by Frederic Church's approach to outdoor painting, this series explores sketching, color matching, and completing finished works from observation. Each day features a different location at Olana, with Church's paintings and sketches as reference points. Shawn Dell Joyce is a Florida-based plein air painter and founder of the Wallkill River School of Art. Her nationally recognized work has been featured in The New York Times, Tampa Bay Magazine, and is held in major collections, including MoMA. Participants may register for one or all three sessions. Bring your own paints and brushes (any medium); some special tools are provided. Advanced registration required. $100 per day / $75 for members ($300 for all three / $225 for members). Contact education@olana.org or (518) 567-2170 for more info.
Registration: Required
Sat 13 Sep
THE OLANA PARTNERSHIP presents The OLANA (End of) Summer Party
Saturday, September 13, 2025 05:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
Meet at the East Lawn at Olana State Historic Site. Top chefs, cool summer drinks, and the best view in the Hudson River Valley. Learn more at olana.org/Summerparty2025.
Registration: Required
Thu 18 Sep
Third Thursday: Fall Fishing with the Hudson Sloop Club
Thursday, September 18, 2025 03:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
Join The Olana Partnership and Hudson Sloop Club to learn more about fishing, water ecology, and the plants and animals that call Olana's lake home! There will be drop-in hands-on activities including: fishing from shore, wading in the lake, netting, digging, and all while learning more about river ecosystems at the mobile Everett Nack Estuary Education Center. Meet at the Farm Complex. This program is FREE.
Registration: Not required
Thu 18 Sep
Andes Manta
Thursday, September 18, 2025 05:00 PM - 06:15 PM
Olana State Historic Site
Enjoy vibrant music against the backdrop of Olana's breathtaking views. FREE; the performance takes place outside the Historic House. Check in at the Visitor Center for details; https://olana.org/ThirdThursdays/.
Registration: Not required
Thu 18 Sep
Third Thursday: Tunes with a View – Andes Manta
Thursday, September 18, 2025 05:00 PM - 06:15 PM
Olana State Historic Site
Experience the vibrant sounds of South America with Andes Manta! Enjoy live music on traditional instruments like panpipes and Andean flutes, along with captivating dance performances, all against the backdrop of Olana's breathtaking views. FREE; takes place outside the Historic House. Check in at the Visitor Center for more details.
Registration: Not required
Thu 18 Sep
Third Thursday: Camphill Hudson Players Performance
Thursday, September 18, 2025 06:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
Join this special free evening performance with The Camphill Hudson Players, Hudson's own inclusive theater company that creates original productions. During this special performance designed by Jody Brookes, the players will showcase Olana's landscape, highlighting Olana's spectacular views and the beauty of the Hudson River. This performance will take place at the recently opened Frederic Church Center for Art and Landscape.
Registration: Not required
Sat 20 Sep
Family Saturday: Gallery Tour
Saturday, September 20, 2025 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
Experience learning, looking closely, and conversation as a family during this series of special museum gallery tours at Olana State Historic Site. Each month, The Olana Partnership educators will lead an exploration of two to three works of art on the second-floor galleries through family-friendly dialogue and other hands-on activities. After your tour, extend your day at OLANA and head down to the Wagon House Education Center for a free drop-in program, Art Making in the Afternoon from 1-4pm. Designed for families with children ages 3 and up. FREE; advanced registration required. Please contact education@olana.org to learn more, visit https://olana.org/programs-events/ for details.
Registration: Required
Sat 20 Sep
Family Saturday: Artmaking in the Afternoon
Saturday, September 20, 2025 01:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
Inspired by your time at Olana or looking for family-friendly fun? Participate in free, drop-in artmaking in the Wagon House Education Center and learn more about Frederic Church's artist-designed home and studio on the Hudson.This drop-in artmaking program is open to all ages and skill levels; all materials provided. FREE. No advanced registration is required. Contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938 for more info. Visit https://olana.org/programs-events/ for details.
Registration: Required
Sat 20 Sep
What’s Missing? Ice and Industry History Walk with Jonathan Palmer
Saturday, September 20, 2025 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
Join Greene County Historian Jonathan Palmer for a guided walk through Olana's landscape and uncover the hidden industrial history of the Hudson River Valley. Learn how local families once harvested ice from the Hudson River and view Olana through the lens of a regional historian. This 1¼-mile walk covers carriage roads and explores how land use and industry have shaped our experience of the site. $10 per person / $5 for members. Meet at the main entrance to the Historic House. This tour is part of a series featuring outside experts who reveal lesser-known aspects of Olana's landscape, including its geologic history, 19th-century land use, and indigenous knowledge. Each walk lasts 45–60 minutes and ties into What's Missing? a site-specific outdoor exhibition by Ellen Harvey and Gabriela Salazar that explores forgotten elements of Olana's history. Learn more about the exhibition at https://olana.org/whatsmissing.
Registration: Required
Sat 20 Sep
Evenings at Olana: Ecology Walk + Piazza Toast
Saturday, September 20, 2025 04:30 PM - 06:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
Join us for a rare opportunity to enjoy a guided evening landscape walk at Olana! Spend one hour walking through Frederic Church's designed landscape with a guide certified as both a volunteer master gardener and master forester. Dive into the flora and ecology and learn about how they informed Olana's carefully composed views and its story as a living artwork. Next, enjoy the one-of-a-kind experience of a Hudson Valley evening with a glass of prosecco on the piazza of the historic house. Watch the sun begin to set behind the Catskill Mountains and see the views that inspired a great American artist. (non-alcoholic beverages are also available). Walk covers approximately one mile over unpaved roads and is not ADA accessible.
Registration: Not required
Sat 27 Sep
Gardens, Galleries & Goldenrod: Botanical Drawing with Wendy Hollender
Saturday, September 27, 2025 01:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Olana State Historic Site
Join renowned botanical artist Wendy Hollender for an afternoon drawing workshop at Olana State Historic Site. Explore Frederic Church's designed landscape in late September and use pencil and watercolor pencils to create realistic drawings of the seasonal flora. Learn the techniques of botanical illustration capturing the form, color, and detail of plant species while drawing inspiration from the work of Church's daughter, Isabel "Downie" Church. $30 per person / $15 for members. Wendy Hollender is an acclaimed botanical artist, illustrator, instructor, and author, known for her expertise in colored and watercolor pencils. This workshop is part of a collaborative day of programming between The Olana Partnership and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, in connection with EMILY COLE: Ceramics, Flora & Contemporary Responses, on view through November 2. Begin your day by touring the exhibition at the Thomas Cole Site, tickets available at https://thomascole.org/emilycole.
Registration: Required