Fête the future of the Hudson River at a party for its past and a tribute to its tributaries. The fourth annual Hudson River Day will be held Saturday, July 21 at the Hudson River Maritime Museum (HVMM) in Kingston. In conjunction with the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the HRMM will celebrate the splendor of our local waterway with lighthouse and Museum tours, the annual Clothesline Art Show, live music and food on the Kingston Rondout.
“It’s going to be just a festive day,” said HRMM executive director Patrick McDonough. “People can look at the construction site and see the work in progress, leading up to September 15, when we’re going to have an actual barn-raising that people can come down and see. There will be special River Day tours, art, music, food – and just a bunch of great people sharing their knowledge and their love of the Hudson River and its heritage.”
The highlight of the day will be a 12:30 p.m. ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Clearwater Kingston Home Port and Education Center at HVMM. The boat barn will house the Clearwater in winter months. In summer, both organizations will use the building to teach community members about the Hudson and its history.
Clearwater will offer deck tours throughout the day, and host an education station in the Museum yard. The M/V Lark will ferry passengers on two morning trips to the Rondout Lighthouse and one afternoon adventure to the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse. There will be live music all day, and several food vendors. Discount Museum admission allows access to “The Face of Work in the Hudson Valley” exhibit, which explores the bankside brick industry, bluestone and coal transport on the D & H Canal, shipbuilding and more; a steamships and steam engines exhibit, including artifacts from the Mary Powell, known as the “Queen of the Hudson”; and a display of iceboats that used to race on the frozen Hudson.
The 1898 tugboat Mathilda will be on hand as the site of the Clothesline Art Show: a display of two-dimensional artworks by local students. This year’s theme, “Animals Aboard!” solicited drawings and paintings of animals on ships, from cats to fishing birds to water rescue dogs. “Even Henry Hudson had a cat on board the Half Moon when he first discovered the Hudson River,” said McDonough. There will be temporary tattoos, an old-fashioned photo booth and many other family-friendly forms of entertainment.
Bring your musical instruments and cap the day off aboard the Clearwater for the Music Jam Sail, a public sailing adventure. Musicians and singers are encouraged to bring their instruments and enthusiasm for an evening of song on the water.
Saturday, July 21 is River Day. Celebrate the Hudson River with HRMM & Clearwater, beginning at 11 a.m. Admittance to the Museum yard is free. There will be discounted admission fees to tour the Museum: adults, $5; seniors age 62+ and children age 5 to 18, $3; family (two adults and up to five children), $15. HRMM members get in free. The Hudson River Maritime Museum is located at 50 Rondout Landing in Kingston. For more information, call (845) 338-0071 or visit www.hrmm.org. Rondout Lighthouse tours start at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.; tickets cost $12. A special Esopus Meadows Lighthouse Tour at 1 p.m. costs $25per person. Tickets for both are available at www.hrwatertaxi.com. Tickets for the Clearwater Music Jam Sail from 6 to 8 p.m. cost $50 for adults, $35 for members and $15 for children age 12 and younger; and can be purchased through www.clearwater.org.
Join the family! 
