What’s Out There Weekend (WOTW) Rhinebeck & the Mid-Hudson Valley will illuminate the unique landscape legacy and local character of the region evidenced by its publicly accessible parks, estates, gardens, cemeteries, campuses, and neighborhoods. Linked by the tidal Hudson River, the region long supported the cultural lifeways of the native Lenni Lenape peoples up until the Revolutionary War. The Mid-Hudson Valley boasts a range of natural resources, and has provided inspiration to myriad designers, artists, and writers over two centuries. Its many extant estates, historic sites, public parks and gardens, and cultural institutions reflect the distinct regional design tradition pioneered by innovators such as Andrew Jackson Downing, Alexander Jackson Davis, and André Parmentier.
Working in collaboration with local partners, TCLF will make visible and instill value in the places that make the region unique, and engage the public to promote their sustained stewardship. WOTW Rhinebeck and the Mid-Hudson Valley will engage a large and diverse audience (typically 1,000+), offering two days of free, expert-led tours of some two dozen sites, encouraging participants to discover the little-known design history of places they may pass every day.
TOUR SCHEDULE – All tours are free, but attendance is limited and registration is required.
Blithewood Garden | 10:00 – 11:00 AM | led by Bridget Maple (Bard College Formal Gardener)
Wilderstein Historic Site | 10:00 – 11:00 AM | led by Mary Casey (Landscape Committee Chair, Wilderstein Historic Site) and Lorraine Murphy (Gardener, Wilderstein Historic Site)
Staatsburgh State Historic Site | 10:00 – 11:00 AM | led by David Murray (Volunteer Guide, Staatsburgh Historic Site)
Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | led by TBD
Edgewater | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | led by Art Carson (Tour Guide, Edgewater)
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site Formal Garden | 12:00 – 12:45 PM | led by Don Bernard of F.W. Vanderbilt Garden Association
Hackett Hill Park (New Guinea Community) | 12:00 – 12:45 PM | led Susan McIntosh (Research Committee Chair, Celebrating the African Spirit) and Jackie Harper (Research Committee, Celebrating the African Spirit)
Locust Grove Estate | 12:30 – 1:30 PM | led by Kenneth Snodgrass (Director and Curator, The Locust Grove Estate & Locust Lawn Farm)
Springside | 1:00 – 2:30 PM | led by Harvey Flad (Professor Emeritus of Geography, Vassar College)
Bellefield | 1:15 – 2:00 PM | led by Karen Waltuch (Horticulturist, Beatrix Farrand Garden Association)
College Hill Park | 2:00 – 3:00 PM | led by Nancy Foster (President of the Revive College Hill Park Coalition) and Barbara Restaino (Restaino Design and Treasurer of the Revive College Hill Park Coalition)
Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site | 2:15 – 3:00 PM | led by Anna de Cordova (National Park Service Horticulturalist)
Vassar College | 3:00 - 4:30 PM | led by Yvonne Elet (Professor of Art, Vassar College)
Denning’s Point | 2:00 – 4:00 PM | led by Margie Ruddick (Margie Ruddick Landscape)
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site | 3:30 – 4:00 PM | led by Anna de Cordova (National Park Service Horticulturalist)
SUNDAY – October 1
Innisfree Garden | 9:30 – 11:00 AM | led by Kate Kerin (Landscape Curator, Innisfree Garden)
Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park | 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM | led by Walkway Ambassadors (TBD)
Hoyt House | 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM | led by David Lund (Volunteer Guide, Staatsburgh State Historic Park) and Kitty McCullough (Calvert Vaux Preservation Alliance)
Wethersfield Estate & Garden | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | led by Toshi Yano (Landscape & Horticulture Advisor and Former Director of Horticulture, Wethersfield Estate & Garden)
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site | 12:00-12:45 PM | led by Michael Autenrieth (National Park Service Interpretative Ranger)
“T” Space Reserve | 12:00 – 1:00 PM| led by Marisa Espe (Communications Director, Steven Holl Architects)
Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park | 1:00 – 2:00 PM | led by Michelle Crowley (Crowley Cottrell) and Scott Geiger (Reed Hilderbrand)
Montgomery Place | 2:00 – 3:00 PM | led by Henry Woods (Garden and Grounds Docent, Montgomery Place)
Mount Gulian Historic Site | 3:00 – 4:00 PM | led by Gabriel Byrne (Administrative and Events Coordinator)
