The award-winning Jay Estate Gardens are now closed for the season...except to our winged friends including wild turkeys!

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3 at 2pm

Dartmouth Sings

Join Us for Our Year-End A Cappella Jamboree! PERFORMANCES BY DARTMOUTH SINGS PRINCETON TIGERTONES SHADES OF YALE

We couldn't be more thankful for an outstanding year of progress and programs because of YOU! Our FREE annual a cappella concert is one small way to express our gratitude. Join us for an afternoon of lifting every voice and lifting the spirits of others too. As part of an ongoing tradition with the Carver Center, we ask that you bring something for their pantry to cheer other families and individuals during the holidays. Registration is required so that we can plan accordingly and have enough hot cocoa to go around!

Princeton Tigertones

Shades of Yale

Register here

A Vision to Restore Indigenous Foodways

On November 5, Sean Sherman, the award-winning author and founder of North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NĀTIFS) spoke at JHC to an audience of more than 90 people. Sherman reviewed the impact of colonialism on Native peoples in America over the centuries. Using maps and timelines, he referenced the myriad and chronic challenges to tribal autonomy and described the economic and health crises affecting Indigenous groups. Read more and see photos here. Sherman’s message was sobering yet hopeful. He shared his vision for creating a new food system that generates wealth and improves diets in Native populations through food-related enterprises. Watch the video here.

Transformation of a Carriage House Begins

First things first in historic preservation is our mantra! And for any restoration project that means examining and recording existing conditions. Who better to do that than a company called....Existing Conditions! We are delighted to be working again with Beyer Blinder Belle who made this introduction for us. The process of reality capture - 3D laser scanning - from the basement to the clocktower, has already been completed. The resulting data will help us start our journey in reimagining the 1907 carriage house as the Wachenheim Center, a venue for concerts and art installations. More to come!

THANK YOU TO OUR VETERANS!!

NY Senator Shelley Mayer with Tak Furumoto and his wife, and members of the Japan Society of Greater Fairfield County. Also pictured veteran Richard Goldzer.

This Veterans Day we had not one but two commemoration programs at our site. The first was a talk by Japanese-American patriot and veteran Tak Furumoto co-sponsored by the Japan Society of Greater Fairfield County. Tak recounted his time as an American intelligence officer and shared his story of resilience too. Read more here. The second was the placing of flags at the gravesides of veterans buried in the private Jay Cemetery. One of those veterans was Frances Jay. Read more here about Frances and just a few of the other Jay descendants and their spouses who served their country in various wartime capacities. We are grateful to Peter Doane, President of the Jay Cemetery and his fellow trustees for welcoming the public to this special observation.

For Armchair Gardeners and Historians

Mac Griswold with the Jay Meadow behind her

Now is an ideal time to curl up with a really great book! We were honored to have author and landscape historian Mac Griswold join us this past May as our gardening season began. Her profile of Rachel "Bunny" Mellon in "I'll Build a Staircase to Paradise" is a must-read for the holidays. And you can also enjoy the video of her talk here. Griswold—who knew Rachel “Bunny” Mellon personally—shared her journey combing through Mellon’s archives at the Oak Spring Foundation. With candor, humor and admiration, Mac described Mellon as a collector of homes, landscapes, art, jewelry, clothes and even men. Bunny’s unassuming and whispering voice belied “a current of electrical power” that can be heard in this mesmerizing volume. Read more here.

Wishing you and yours safe travels and crossings this holiday weekend!

Jay Heritage Center 210 Boston Post Road Rye, NY 10580  For more info about how to get involved, contact us Suzanne Clary, President and Interim Executive Director, jayheritagecenter@gmail.com Meredith Slater, Office Manager & Assistant Program Director mslater.jhc@gmail.com Lucia Maestro, Horticulture Director hortdirector.jhc@gmail.com www.jayheritagecenter.org  Charity EIN 13-3585332 Office phone: (914) 698-9275

Make a gift or become a member today!

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