FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 11, 2008

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y., MARCH 11, 2008—The Farmers’ Museum is pleased to offer a series of exciting hands-on craft workshops highlighting 19th-century traditional crafts from March 29 through June 21. The workshop series will continue through summer and fall.

A Day on the Farm
March 29, 10 am – 4 pm
Fee: $75

In this one-day workshop, Gwen Miner, supervisor of domestic arts, will demonstrate some of the basic activities and tasks that were necessary to keep a nineteenth-century house and kitchen running. Participants will learn the basics of building and maintaining a fire, cooking over an open fire and fire management, and will prepare a meal for themselves using period recipes and natural ingredients. Participants will also take part in making a batch of soap, dipping candles, and making soft cheese.

Oval Rug Braiding
April 19 & 20, 9 am – 4 pm
Fee: $140, plus $30 materials fee

Join Helen Condon of Adirondack Rug Braiding and learn how to make an oval rug. Students will learn how to make an heirloom from discarded clothing—recycling at its best!

Happy Healthy Hen House
April 26, 9 am – 1 pm
Fee: $40

This half-day workshop will introduce participants to techniques and information about the care and housing of chickens. Learn about historic and contemporary methods of breed selection, nutrition, housing, management and general care for raising your own backyard flock. Come prepared to work in The Farmers’ Museum’s barnyard.

In the Medicine Cabinet
May 10, 10 am – 1 pm
Fee: $40

This workshop will cover growing, harvesting, and wild crafting of about fifteen herbs. In addition, instruction will be given for producing medical preparations from the various herbs. Preparations will include oils (hot and cold infused), ointments, compresses, tinctures, infusions, and decoctions.

Beekeeping
May 17, 9 am – 1 pm
Fee: $40

Are you interested in learning about the ancient art and science of beekeeping? This hands-on workshop will introduce you to the fundamentals of keeping bees. We will discuss the different ways to get started as a beekeeper and prepare you for the tasks involved. You will also learn some of the history and folklore of beekeeping.

Udder to Butter
June 7, 8 am – 12 pm
Fee: $40

Join the farm staff in a unique opportunity to watch the process of transformation from milk to butter. We will start in the barn where you will try your hand at milking the cow and end in the kitchen enjoying our freshly made butter on toast. Participants will separate cream and churn butter using historic and contemporary methods.

Letterpress Printing
June 21, 9 am – 4 pm
Fee: $75

This full-day workshop will give participants the opportunity to create their own letterpress “masterpiece” by using nineteenth-century type, cuts, and presses. Participants will be walked through the process of setting and locking in type, inking and printing their own copies.

All workshops are held at The Farmers’ Museum. Registration is required for all workshops, please call (607) 547-1461 or toll-free (888) 547-1450 for information and reservations.

Coming up in the fall, The Farmers’ Museum will offer programming highlighting decorative arts and design including country tin painting, wood carving, and creating beautifully decorated family records. Also, be sure to join us on Saturday and Sunday, May 24 and 25, for The Farmers’ Museum’s Memorial Day Weekend Celebration, where we will be previewing these fascinating traditional crafts.

About The Farmers’ Museum:
As one of the oldest rural life museums in the country, The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, New York, provides visitors with a unique opportunity to experience 19th-century rural and village life first-hand through authentic demonstrations and interpretative exhibits. The museum, founded in 1944, comprises a Colonial Revival stone barn listed on the National Register for Historic Places, a recreated historic village circa 1845, a late-nineteenth-century Country Fair featuring The Empire State Carousel, and a working farmstead. Through its 19th-century village and farm, the museum preserves important examples of upstate New York architecture, early agricultural tools and equipment, and heritage livestock. The Farmers’ Museum’s outstanding collection of more than 23,000 items encompasses significant historic objects ranging from butter molds to carriages, hand planes to plows. The museum also presents a broad range of interactive educational programs for school groups, families, and adults that explore and preserve the rich agricultural history of the region.

The Farmers’ Museum is located on 5775 State Hwy. 80, Lake Road, in Cooperstown, NY. Museum admission is $11 for adults, $9.50 for visitors age 65 and over, and $5 for children age 7 to 12; children 6 and under and members are admitted free. Reduced price combination admission tickets that include the Fenimore Art Museum and The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum are also available. The museum is open to the public daily from April 1 through October 31, with special events throughout the year. For museum hours or general information, please call 1-888-547-1450 or visit www.farmersmuseum.org.

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For more information or images, please contact:
Christine Liggio/Public Relations Office
New York State Historical Association
Fenimore Art Museum/The Farmers’ Museum
Phone: (607) 547-1472/E-mail: c.liggio@nysha.org