Hudson, NY – The Olana Partnership invites the community to join in celebrating the changing season during its annual free Winter Solstice Celebration at Olana State Historic Site. Visit the site on Saturday, December 16, from 1-5pm for a series of free opportunities to experience the Hudson Valley‘s beautiful winter landscape and explore some of the countries that inspired the artist Frederic Church and his family!
The Winter Solstice Celebration will include free access to the historic interiors, a bonfire, drop-in activities and games, seasonal refreshments by Frankie’s nomadic bar and coffee shop, a special visit from everyone’s favorite miniature donkey, Hank, back by popular demand, and much more! Special events will take place throughout the afternoon.
Beginning at 1pm, Heard World Jazz will provide special live short performances inside the Main House at Olana giving visitors a special opportunity to listen to music inside the house’s Court Hall. Heard World’s vibrant sound incorporates influences from West Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean and beyond. Due to space constraints, each performance will be limited to 12 people and will include 2-3 songs. This FREE performance is offered every 15 minutes between 1-2pm and registration is required as space is extremely limited. Heard World Jazz will move outside at 3:00pm to perform for all attendees on Olana’s East Lawn.
Sonia Cintron, who leads the Hudson Area Library’s weekly Bilingual Storytime for kids and their families, will begin a bilingual story hour around the bonfire at 1:30pm. Join Sonia for lively tales of the season in English and Spanish and learn more about winter traditions throughout the world.
The Olana Partnership is looking for volunteers to help with the Winter Solstice event. If you are interested please contact, Lauren Miller, Membership and Volunteer Coordinator at 518-751-6857 or by emailing [email protected].
House entry will be available on a first come first served basis beginning at 2:00pm. Last house entry will be at 4:00pm. Outdoor bonfire until 5pm provided by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. This free community event is generously sponsored by the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and Price Chopper/Market 32. To learn more visit, OLANA.org/solstice.
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About Olana and The Olana Partnership: Olana is the greatest masterwork of Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), the most famous American landscape artist of the mid-19th century and the most important artist’s home, studio, and designed landscape in the United States. Church designed Olana as a holistic environment integrating his advanced ideas about art, architecture, landscape design, and environmental conservation. Olana’s 250-acre artist-designed landscape with five miles of carriage roads and a Persian-inspired house at its summit embraces unrivaled panoramic views of the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains and welcomes more than 170,000 visitors annually. The landscape is open for guided touring, and reservations are highly recommended. The landscape is open daily 8 AM-sunset.
Olana State Historic Site, administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, is a designated National Historic Landmark and one of the most visited sites in the state. The Olana Partnership is the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit cooperative partner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation at Olana State Historic Site.