Paul Szmal: FLX Morning continues at 8.15, it's 62 degrees. We're joined by Keri Lippincott from Historic Geneva here on FLX Morning. Keri, good morning. How are this morning?
Kerry Lippincott: I'm very good. How are you?
Paul Szmal: Good. Good. Am I correct, or is my memory a little bit fuzzy, are you now also the Geneva Rotary Club President?
Kerry Lippincott: Yes, you are. I became president in July.
Paul Szmal: Yes, you are correct. Okay. Well, I haven't had a chance, I think, to talk to you since, so congratulations on that. I know that's a significant responsibility, but one I'm sure that you are going to handle extremely well.
Kerry Lippincott: Oh, thank you very much. Thank you. So far, so good.
Paul Szmal: Good. Good. Excellent. Excellent.
All right. Well, let's talk about some of the stuff that is happening in and around Geneva, starting with an upcoming family day at Rose Hill Mansion.
Kerry Lippincott: Yeah, we've been doing this, oh my goodness, since 2013. So this is basically a free family-orientated event, and visitors can see the mansion and the grounds at their own pace. So inside the mansion, we'll have a family scavenger hunt, and then periodic trips up to the Belvedere. The Belvedere is the highest point of the mansion, so you get a wonderful view of Seneca Lake. And then to accompany the exhibit, without permission, the artwork of Agnes Swan Hutchins and Margaret Hutchins at Rose Hill. Many of the activities are going to be art themed. So we'll have bands from 12 to four, two different bands. And then we actually have a community art show that we'll have on display. We have over 30 paintings from artists from a variety of ages that are going to be displaying their work. And then we'll have other artwork demonstrations, bobbin lace, needle felting. And then along with the craft activities, the town of Fayette Historical Society and other community organizations are going to have boots, and then Sprinkle Starship ice cream truck will be there, and the Geneva Rotary will be selling hamburgers and hot dogs. And again, this is all free and open to the public, and we're very grateful to our sponsors, which are the Nelson B. Delavan Foundation, Part A, and the Wyckoff Family Foundation. We couldn't do this without the support of our sponsors.
Paul Szmal: Now, I'm curious, and I don't know if you know the answer to this, Carrie, but the highest point of the Rose Hill Mansion is called the Belvedere. Is there a reason for that?
Kerry Lippincott: I think in, and I'm not very good in my Italian, but I think in Italian, it means beautiful view. And as far as Greek revival architecture in upstate New York, to have a Belvedere is a signature piece. So if you're around upstate New York and you see a house built between the 1830s, 1840s, they typically would have a Belvedere. It's not like a cupola. A Belvedere is an actual room that you can fit, gosh, maybe about four or five adults at a time. And not only does it give you a very good view, but it also acts as an air conditioner. It has windows on all four sides. So in the summertime, we have those windows up, so hot air can come up and cool air can come down.
Paul Szmal: Ah, there you go. Yeah, so it has multiple purposes.
Kerry Lippincott: Yep.
Paul Szmal: Okay. Now I've learned something new today. Very good. Very good. Fantastic.
All right, let's continue on and talk about the next event coming up for the Rose Hill Concert Series. This will be on August the 17th.
Kerry Lippincott: Yes, this is going to be our fourth and final concert of the season, and it's Autumn Sun. They'll be performing, as you said, August 17th from five to seven. This is a new band for us. So they're going to play a blend of Americana and new folk. Again, these concerts are free and open to the public. We encourage folks to bring a picnic dinner, blankets and a chair, and just enjoy an evening of music on the lawn to end a summer weekend in the Finger Lakes.
Paul Szmal: I can't think of a better way to enjoy the grounds at Rose Hill than to attend one of those concerts and just be able to chill out like that.
Kerry Lippincott: Oh my gosh, we've been very lucky. It's been very warm. One concert threatened rain, the other two have been very warm, but we've been very pleased with the turnout, and it does make a lot. It's just a lovely venue, and you can hear music no matter where you are on the ground. So again, that's Autumn Sun on August 17th.
Paul Szmal: And then we get into the month of September, and the activities continue with what's called Tunes and Tastings.
Kerry Lippincott: Yeah, this is a brand new event for us, and it's basically a benefit concert for us. So it's a fundraising event. So it's going to be September 6th from 5 to 8 at Rose Hill. So the tunes are going to be provided by Lakeside Sound, and then tastings are being provided by Billsboro Winery, Brewery Ardenne, Ravines Wine Cellars, and Watershed Brewing. Pre-sale tickets are $30 a person, but at the door they do go up to $40. So your ticket price does include admission to the event, entertainment, you'll get five beer and wine tastings, and then discounts on admission to Rose Hill and purchases in our gift shop during a future visit. You can purchase tickets right on our website, or you can call Historic Geneva at 315-789-5151. And we'll also have food available for purchase. So we'll have fully loaded 315, and then unique boards are going to be selling food. And so we also encourage people, again, to bring their lawn chairs and blankets and just spend another evening at Rose Hill.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, fantastic. Oh, and you mentioned gift shop. I don't know if that's something that we talk about very often.
Kerry Lippincott: Oh, yeah. So we have our old carriage house has been converted into our visitor center and gift shop. So the gift shop is open whenever Rose Hill Mansion is. So that's Tuesday through Saturday, 10 to 4, and then on Sunday, noon to 4. And we've got a variety of items. We try to stay local with Finger Lakes themed gift items, but also some period appropriate items. 19th century is the period that we talk about at Rose Hill. So there's books and t-shirts. We've got wine glasses, ornaments. So it's not just for tourists, but also for locals, too, so you can find some treasures in the gift shop.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, go over and do some shopping. Why not?
Kerry Lippincott: Yeah, very good. And all the proceeds from the gift shop go right back to supporting Rose Hill. So you're supporting Rose Hill by making a purchase.
Paul Szmal: There you go.
And the Rose Hill Mansion tours are still going on.
Kerry Lippincott: Yes. So we're still doing our regular guided tours. And we also have some of our specialty tours, behind the scenes tour. We offer every first and third Saturday from 11 to 1230. So upcoming dates for those are August 16th and September 6th. And then we have from needle to brush, women in art, where we take a look at artwork by women, but also of women that's within the mansion. And those we're offering once a month on a Saturday and a Thursday. So upcoming dates for that is we have Thursday, August 7th at 2, and then Saturday, August 23rd at 11. But for both the behind the scenes tour and the art tour, we do encourage folks to go online or to call to make reservations just to secure your spot.
Paul Szmal: So there we go. And I wanted to spotlight a couple of the exhibits that are over in the East Tenant Cottage, something we haven't had a chance to touch on.
Kerry Lippincott: Yeah, sure. So a few years ago, we converted our East Tenant Cottage to an exhibit space. So we have a long-term exhibit, which is called One House, Many People, the Workers of Rose Hill. And the nature of the work and the people who have done the work at Rose Hill has changed over 200 years. So the exhibit chronicles enslaved, paid, and volunteer workers at Rose Hill from the early 1800s to present day. And then our season exhibit is artwork. So we've got the artwork of Agnes Swan Hutchins and Margaret Hutchins on display. They were mother and daughter, and they were inspired by the Finger Lakes region and their travels. And they expressed themselves through painting. Agnes did watercolors and Margaret did oil. So we have a variety of their works that are on display in the East Tenant Cottage through October. And I will say this. You do not have to purchase admission at Rose Hill to go see the exhibits or to go to the Carriage House. Those are free and open to the public whenever Rose Hill is open.
Paul Szmal: Excellent. Excellent.
As always, we appreciate it, Carrie. Thank you very much.
Kerry Lippincott: Oh, thank you. Thank you.
Paul Szmal: All right. It is 824 on FLX Morning.
