The Hudson River Valley Ramble and Jay Day are coming up soon! Follow NY's Path Through History to our front door in Rye, NY.

The Jay Heritage Center (JHC) will host Jay Day! on Sunday, September 25th from 11am - 3pm celebrating American culture and traditions. Highlights will include falconry, live music by songwriter Julie Corbalis, book readings about architecture with children's author Isabel Hill, a hands-on family workshop with celebrated artist and illustrator Hervé Tullet, historic tours of the 1838 Jay Mansion and an archaeology table. Snap photos of your child's first pony ride or visit our petting zoo. Purchase fresh offerings from our farmers market. Treat the kids to facepainting, pumpkin decorating and more!

The event is organized by JHC's Auxiliary, the Preservationists, a group of parents committed to the adaptive reuse of John Jay's landmark home as a community resource and learning center.   

Meet some of our special guests!

Hervé Tullet is an acclaimed artist and author of kids' favorites Press Here, Mix it Up, Let's Play and more. Often called “The Prince of Pre-School Books,” his books are interactive and inspire young people to think freely and generate their own pure responses to words and emotions. His sold out art workshops have been held at the Moma, the Brooklyn Library and the New York Public Library. These fun, high energy happenings with hundreds of participants immerse families in the creative process and teach them a vocabulary of color and pure joy! Using music and lively prompts to guide his young audience, Tullet encourages children to express themselves with confidence.  

Isabel Hill is an architectural historian, documentary maker and children's author. Buildings are like books with stories that last if you know how to look for the clues. Hill trains young eyes to uncover the narratives in their neighborhoods. Her books Building Stories and Urban Animals contain rich collections of photographs and facts, all told in rhyming verse to delight early readers. Using a wide range of familiar images - marble cows decorating a dairy plant or carved stone books adorning a library - she encourages children to look more closely at the design of the amazing buildings all around them.