Celebrating New York's 400th Birthday
The Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial

[ExploreNY400.com]

Celebratory Events at the Reformed Church
Saturday, August 22, 2009
and
Sunday, August 23, 2009

For help in getting directions to the Reformed Church for these events, click here.

Dutchess County's First Church is joining with communities and organizations throughout the Hudson Valley and Champlain Region in the year-long observance of New York's Quadricentennial anniversary.

[Depiction of the First Church]

The first church of Dutchess County, painted here by Gerald Sargent Foster in his 1937 mural which decorates the Poughkeepsie Post Office, was organized by Reformed Dutch worshipers in 1716. That same year, property was given for a house of worship at what is now the corner of Main and Market Streets in downtown Poughkeepsie. The church edifice, depicted at the left of the painting, was erected in 1723. The Courthouse, depicted at the right, was built in 1717 on the same plot of donated land.

Featuring:

Meet the Navigator, Henry Hudson†
Book Signing by Hudson Talbott, Author and Illustrator of River of Dreams
Cooking and Spinning Demonstrations†
Learn the Art of Felting†
Make Wampum†
Displays of Colonial Era Toys, Musical Instruments, Coins, Trade Goods, and Firearms†
Try on Colonial Period Costumes†
Dutch Artifacts on Display [inside the Church Building]
"Group of Nine" - Regional Artists creating Works of Art In Person in Oils and Watercolors
Children's Crafts and Activities
Frederick W. Vanderbilt Garden Association members on-hand with information on the Vanderbilt Mansion and Gardens

† Saturday only

In 1609, a decade prior to the Pilgrims' landing at Plymouth Rock, two European explorers were exploring the northern and southern regions of what we now know as New York State: Frenchman Samuel de Champlain in July, and Dutch explorer Henry Hudson in September. Two centuries later, inventor Robert Fulton and his partner, Robert R. Livingston, Jr., of Clermont, would demonstrate the practicality of steamboat travel by piloting a steamship from New York City to Albany.

The Reformed Church is commemorating this anniversary on Saturday, August 22 and Sunday, August 23 by holding special events on the church grounds and in Bartlett Park next door. Events include Dutch colonial period re-enactments and demonstrations, activities, and crafts.

In addition, we have special observances and re-creations planned for each day of the celebration:

Saturday, August 22

Sunday, August 23

11:00 a.m. Dedication of the Reformed Church's National Historical Register Plaque

10:00 a.m. Re-creation of a colonial Dutch worship service in the Reformed Church sanctuary

11:30 a.m. Colonial period re-enactment of the 1733 wedding of Francis Filkins and Cathrena Lewis

11:30 a.m. Tea with Mrs. Roosevelt

12:00 noon Wedding "Collation" - a very light reception following the re-enacted wedding ceremony in the Reformed Church's Fellowship Hall

1:00 p.m. Lecture by Dr. Roderick H. Blackburn, "Colonial to Contemporary Architecture"

1:00 p.m. Opening of the Colonial Dutch Village on the Church grounds

.

Please join us as we commemorate New York's 400th birthday and our congregation's long historical contribution to the community.


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