Get outside and show yourself and Mother Earth some love through a special guided walk inspired by AfterGlow: Frederic Church and the Landscape of 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.
Book Signing for Afterglow: Frederic Church and the Landscape of Memory
Join Rebecca Bedell, Professor of American Art at Wellesley College and Allegra K. Davis, The Olana Partnership’s Associate Curator, for a special book signing of Afterglow: Frederic Church and the Landscape of Memory this season’s exhibition at Olana State Historic Site. Drop-in and purchase your copy in the Olana Museum Store.
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.
Join artist Wennie Huang to make your own paper books using images from Olana. These 19th century 3D books were popular crafts that use layers of images to create the illusion of depth on a small scale. Make your own during this free, drop-in program at the Wagon House Education Center
Explore Bollywood dancing during a free class and performance with instructor, Arobi! 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. For ages 12 and up; space is limited. Email education@olana.org to learn more.
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.
Create and Cook: Family Cooking & Art Workshop
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.
Artmaking in the Afternoon
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.
Take in the panoramic views from Ridge Road during this hour of yoga with registered yoga teacher Lea Bender.
Tickets are $5 for members of The Olana Partnership. All members must bring their own yoga mat. If you have questions, please email Lauren Miller, Membership Coordinator at lmiller@olana.org or call 518-751-6857.
Lea Bender is an E-RYT 500-Hr certified yoga teacher located in Rhinebeck, NY. She brings over twenty years of personal practice, a love of yoga philosophy and a background in movement arts and Pilates to her teaching. At the root of every class is the intention to help students tap into the sacred nature of shared human experience through connection to body and breath.
Over the course of forty years, the artist Frederic Church worked to create, build, and design Olana’s 250-acre landscape. With over 5 miles of carriage roads, scenic views, a man-made lake, and native plantings, the site is both a living landscape painting and a vibrant and diverse ecosystem for native pollinators. Join The Olana Partnership, master gardener and environmental educator Nordica Holochuck, and beekeeper Chris Layman from Fox Farm Apiary for a special walk and workshop to learn more about how to create pathways for pollinators in your own garden inspired by the legacy of Church’s garden design at Olana.
Nordica Holochuck is an interpretive guide who has led landscape and historic house tours at Olana since 2022. She is a master gardener volunteer with the Cornell Cooperative Extension, Ulster County community horticulture education program.
Chris Layman is a Cornell Master Beekeeper/ Local ecology educator from Hannacroix NY. Chris and his wife Lisa own Fox Farm Apiary and manage 35 apiaries in NYS.
Advanced registration required. $30 for members, $40 for non-members. For more information, please contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938.
Memories of people and places can be sharp and edgy, filled with colorful crisp edges or dreamlike, floating soft and hazy in our minds. Explore this connection just as Frederic Church did by painting from memory. Participants will sketch from a photo or their recollections using watercolor to capture the feeling and color of memories. This three-hour workshop will include demonstration and discussion.
This program is offered in collaboration with Woodstock School of Art on occasion of the exhibition Afterglow: Frederic Church and the Landscape of Memory. To learn more, visit Olana.org/afterglow.
$74 per student. Materials not included. Questions, reach out to education@olana.org
Tunes with a View - Trio Candela
Celebrate the beginning of summer with live music outdoors at Olana. Listen to Trio Candela perform lively traditional, folkloric Latin music from the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. Performance will take place outdoors near the Main House; check in at Olana’s Visitor Center for more information day-of.
Create and Cook: Family Cooking & Art Workshop
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.
