GetAway Blog and Events

Relive a Night of 19th-Century Food and Entertainment with “Evening at the Tavern” at The Farmers’ Museum

Posted on September 28, 2012 by NYSHA

Saturday, October 13, and Saturday, November 3, from 5 pm-8 pm. 

Enjoy an Evening at the Tavern, a unique dining experience featuring a four-course candlelit meal, period music and games, and old-fashioned hospitality in The Farmers’ Museum’s historic Bump Tavern. The menu is designed and based on foods that were served in rural 19th-century New York taverns.

The fee is $55 for members of the New York State Historical Association members and $60 for non-members.  For registration and additional information please call 607-547-1452.

Bump Tavern is located within the quaint, Historic Village of The Farmers’ Museum.  It was built by Jehiel Tuttle in the late 1790s in the village of Ashland, Greene County, New York. Strategically located on the Catskill and Windham Turnpike, the resting spot served cattle drovers and other travelers passing through the area. The tavern was purchased in 1842 by Ephraim Bump.  The Tavern was moved to Cooperstown in 1952, where it became part of the Museum’s collection.

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Things That Go Bump in the Night

Posted on September 28, 2012 by NYSHA

Saturday, October 20 | Friday, October 26 | Saturday, October 27 

Hour-long tours begin at 5:30, 6:00, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 8:00 pm

Experience The Farmers’ Museum during the most haunting time of the year. Join museum guides as they lead you about the shadowy grounds and recount the many mysteries and ghostly happenings that have occurred in the Museum’s historic village.

Walk through the darkened 19th-century village by lantern, stopping at the Blacksmith’s Shop, Bump Tavern, and other buildings. Guides tell ghostly tales adapted from the Louis C. Jones classic, Things That Go Bump in the Night, a timeless record of haunted history and restless spirits in New York State. You will hear stories associated with the museum’s buildings, such as the tale of a young ghost sighted by staff and guests in Bump Tavern and the mysterious early morning strikes on the blacksmith’s anvil.

Reservations are required. Admission is $10 per person (ages 3 and up). Please call (607) 547-1452.

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Tractor Fest at the Farmers’ Museum on Saturday-Sunday, October 6-7

Posted on September 28, 2012 by NYSHA

At our third annual Tractor Fest, learn about the world of tractors and all the activities they powered on New York farms.  See classic and new tractors, small engines, and other machinery, representing the growth of farming technology from the 1920s until today. Tractor Fest runs from 10:00 am-5:00 pm

Discover classic tractors from Ford, Case, Oliver, Moline, and John Deere, as well as modern tractors.  On Sunday, tractors parade down Main Street in Cooperstown, beginning at 9:30 am.  See tractors at work thrashing oats and baling oat straw with a 1918 Case hay press.  New equipment demonstrations will take place throughout both days, furnished by Springer’s Inc.

Families find Tractor Fest to be a great weekend destination.  Kids, ages 7 and under, can compete for prizes in a Kiddie Pedal-Tractor Pull contest on both Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Also on the small scale, Bill and Robin Steele bring their “Tired Iron” Farm Toy Museum to Tractor Fest. Wagon rides around the Historic Village, pulled by a Ford Golden Jubilee Tractor, are offered on Saturday and Sunday morning.

Small engines will be on display too, such as a Maytag engine from the Museum’s collection, a quarter scale drag saw, and a 1/12 scale Case traction engine. On Saturday, visitors can see a hit-and-miss engine power an ice cream churn. Byler’s fresh ice cream will be for sale.

For people with a dairy farming background, fond memories will rush back in the exhibit of antique milking machines. Promoting dairy, the Otsego County Dairy Princess, Jessica Hadlock, will be at Tractor Fest on Sunday.

People interested in poultry will have a chance to meet Bill Post and his array of heritage poultry breeds.  It’s a great place to talk turkey!

All the delightful activities that happen every day at The Farmers’ Museum continue during Tractor Fest.Ride the Empire State Carousel. Watch expert craftspeople in the Blacksmith shop, pharmacy, and the other historic buildings!

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Carousel Organ Rally at The Farmers’ Museum, September 29-30

Posted on September 20, 2012 by NYSHA

On September 29-30, mechanical music fills the air at The Farmers’ Museum during its first-ever Carousel Organ Rally. Playing the happiest music on earth, these organs reproduce the sound of an entire band. Members of the Carousel Organ Association of America are bringing them and many hand-cranked grinder organs to Cooperstown, so come and hear them play!

The rally features a dozen large band organs, including the largest trumpet organ in Canada. Organs made by Ruth & Sohn, Gavioli, and Wurlitzer will be brought by members of the COAA from all over the eastern United States. In addition, many strolling hand-cranked grinder organs will be heard throughout the museum’s historic village. Holding its own, the Mighty, Majestic, Military Band Organ of the Empire State, which makes its home at the museum, will give regular concerts in the Carousel Pavilion.

Playing music that makes you smile, these organs are also fascinating mechanically and artistically. Bob Yorburg, a contributing carver of the Empire State Carousel, will demonstrate designing and carving a carousel organ facade.  In a style he calls “amusement baroque,” Yorburg’s over-the-top baroque architectural carvings are whimsical and enchanting. For anyone inspired to try decorative carving, Yorburg’s book Acanthus Carving and Design takes readers step by step through drawing and transferring patterns, wood preparation, tool sharpening, carving and detailing, and finishing.

All the museum’s delightful activities throughout the historic village and farmstead continue this weekend. Another activity to captivate all family members is a hit-and-miss engine powering an ice cream churn, producing delicious Byler’s Ice Cream.  This promises to be a memorable, fun-filled day for all!

Come to The Farmers’ Museum to hear and see the great gathering of the band organs. The rally is held at the museum from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Entry is included in the museum admission: Adults and juniors (13-64): $12.00; seniors (65+): $10.50; youth (7-12): $6.00; children (6 and under): Free. NYSHA members are always admitted free, as are active-duty and retired career military.  Visit FarmersMuseum.org for more information.

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Tasha Tudor Exhibition on Display October 1-December 30, 2012

Posted on September 20, 2012 by NYSHA

Around the Year, a new exhibition at the Fenimore Art Museum, illuminates the changing seasons and special annual celebrations with outstanding, rarely-seen examples of Tasha Tudor’s original art for greeting cards, children’s books, and holidays—from Christmas and Easter to Valentine’s Day and the Fourth of July.

As one of the most beloved artists of our time, Tasha Tudor (1915-2008) delighted an international audience with her joyful writings and enchanting images. See outstanding examples including evocative watercolors, delicate childhood drawings, original handwritten manuscripts, miniature doll cards, hand-decorated boxes and Easter eggs. Personal photographs and first-issue holiday cards are among the treasures to be enjoyed.

Tudor’s heartwarming images remind us of the simple pleasures to be savored in each passing season and the small, special moments that make up the fabric of our lives. Deeply rooted in her personal aesthetic and philosophy, Tudor’s timeless images engage the eye and the imagination, providing continued inspiration for generations of readers.

Please visit FenimoreArtMuseum.org for museum days, hours, and admission.  Tasha Tudor: Around the Year has been organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

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