HOMESTEAD HAPPENINGS
There's lots happening at the Homestead!
We are bringing history to life through lectures, reenactments, literary workshops, kids learning & fun, art-at-mather, music-at-mather, field trips and more!
Our Spring Scholars Series celebrates the impact of women in architecture with several events honoring female architects, including pioneers Bertha Mather McPherson (1906–1993) and her contemporary Theodate Pope Riddle (1867–1946). Both earned their architecture licenses in 1933, shaping the built environment and paving the way for future generations. Join us for one, two or all!
Thank you to our generous sponsors of this important educational series:
Carlson & Carlson
Baywater Properties, Burr & Salvatore, Diana Mikkidou Galik, Neil Hauk, Amanda Martocchio Architecture, Rings End.
Joellyn and Kevin Gray, Annie Roberts & Charles Ziga.
Upcoming events below plus YOGA
Jun 11, 2025, 9:30 AM – 10:30 AMRefresh your mind and energy with this revitalizing practice to uplift and restore your entire system. Enjoy a well-paced flow that will offer you just the right amount of challenge while encouraging strength, resistance, and flexibility while reducing tension in the hips, back and shoulders.
Jun 11, 2025, 7:00 PMWith a focus on Impressionism, ArtScapades will look at how gardens and flowers played an important role in the works of artists throughout history, including Hieronymus Bosch, Gustav Klimt, Wassily Kandinsky, and Henri Rousseau, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Mary Cassatt, and Vincent Van Gogh.
Jun 12, 2025, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PMJoin us for a trip to Sleepy Cat Farm, home of Fred Landman. In 1994, Landman purchased a Georgian Revival home on 13 acres. Landman worked with Greenwich architect Charles Hilton and noted landscape architect Charles J. Stick to create a “a garden of which the house could be proud of.”
Jun 12, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PMArtists and aspiring artists are invited to enjoy the Mather Homestead property from June 8 through June 15. Come to paint, draw, photograph and be inspired!! Lunch event on Tuesday, June 10th. Raindate June 12th. Please RSVP!
Jun 12, 2025, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PMJoin us expert painters and novices alike for painting at the Mather Homestead! Lisa Thoren will help us to improve our painting from wherever we are starting. Be inspired by the beautiful Mather outdoors! Beverages and snacks to fortify you!- Jun 18, 2025, 9:30 AM – 1:00 PMJoin us for a trip to Sleepy Cat Farm, home of Fred Landman. In 1994, Landman purchased a Georgian Revival home on 13 acres. Landman worked with Greenwich architect Charles Hilton and noted landscape architect Charles J. Stick to create a “a garden of which the house could be proud of.”
Jun 19, 2025, 12:00 PMBring your lunch and an appetite for learning as we explore the beautiful Mather Gardens past and present. Executive Director Heather Raker and Volunteer Gardner Andy Huntington will share the property’s rich history from Native Americans to colonial farmers to modern summer escape and now museum. J
Jun 26, 2025, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PMJoin us in celebration of Juneteenth and the Fourth of July for a discussion of Frederick Douglass' speech: "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" This speech was delivered on July 5, 1852 as an address to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society.
Jun 29, 2025, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PMJoin us for ICE CREAM and National Parks family fun! Upon arriving at the Homestead, you'll get your Mather passport book. Then, head to the various National Park stations where you'll learn about the national parks while playing games and having fun! For people of all ages. FREE for members!
Jul 31, 2025, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PMWe’re spicing up our literary evening with music! We’ll discuss the lyrics of Bob Dylan, considered one of the greatest lyricists of all time, and hear his music played by Parkway Ramblers!! We'll also discuss his beat poet influences - Kerouac, Ginsberg - plus Guthrie!
Date and time is TBDThis exhibit will look at Bertha Mather's legacy as preservationist of home, family and community. To open Spring 2025