Olana State Historic Site (Peter Aaron)Hudson, NY - The Olana Partnership will hold its first Olana Third Thursdays on January 18 from 11:00am to 5:00pm at Olana State Historic Site. Olana Third Thursdays are monthly days of free tours of the historic landscape and house and programs for all ages.

On January 18, a special drop-in Artmaking in the Afternoon will take place in the Wagon House Education Center for all ages and skill levels, professional art supplies and refreshments are included.

“Olana State Historic Site’s landscape is free and open to all year round but monthly Olana Third Thursdays makes every aspect of Olana free, including guided tours and inspiring events like drop in artmaking, even more accessible to all,” said Carolyn Keogh, Director of Education and Public Programs at The Olana Partnership.

Visitors are also invited to attend free tours of the historic landscape, Main House, and special exhibition “SPECTACLE: Frederic Church and the Business of Art.” Space is limited. Participants are required to have a ticket to attend a tour. Tickets can be reserved online in advance, and a limited number of tickets will be made available for purchase that day, on-site at the Visitor Center. Tours and programs will be offered in both Spanish and English.

Looking ahead, February’s special Third Thursdays program will partner with the Kingston Cacao Lab. This program encourages participants to drop in, peel and taste cacao, ask questions, and sample chocolate. A Lunch & Learn titled The Underground Railroad Revisited with Paul and Mary Liz Stewart from Albany's Underground Railroad Education Center will also be offered on February 15 at 11:00am. Learn more about the history of the Underground Railroad and the work of the Underground Railroad Education Center during this special FREE lecture celebrating Black History Month. In March, we will celebrate Women’s History month by hosting a Lunch & Learn titled “The Women of Olana” with Associate Curator, Allegra Davis as well as a drop-in printmaking workshop.

Generous support for Olana Third Thursdays is provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program. To learn more about each month and upcoming events and programs or to secure your free tickets visit, OLANA.org/ThirdThursdays or call 518­751-0344.###

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.

About Art Bridges Foundation
Art Bridges Foundation is the vision of philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton. The mission of Art Bridges is to expand access to American art in all regions across the United States. Since 2017, Art Bridges has been creating and supporting programs that bring outstanding works of American art out of storage and into communities. Art Bridges partners with a growing network of over 220 museums of all sizes and locations on nearly 700 projects across the nation, impacting over 4.1 million people, to provide financial and strategic support for exhibition development, loans from the Art Bridges Collection, and programs designed to educate, inspire, and deepen engagement with local audiences. The Art Bridges Collection represents an expanding vision of American art from the 19th century to present day and encompasses multiple media and voices. For more information, visit artbridgesfoundation.org

Image: Olana State (by Peter Aaron)