Despite a rather steamy summer day, ArtsWestchester's Summer Youth Photography program made a field trip to Philipsburg Manor on Thursday, August 5.  Why risk a little perspiration to come to this historic site in the middle of August? If you haven't heard, August is the time to catch Rocking the Boat students building a traditional wooden boat as if it were the year 1750 at Philipsburg Manor.

For the students of this Bronx-based youth development program, this means dressing in traditional colonial clothing, using all traditional hand tools, and getting used to the occasional sheep or pair of oxen who come to check out the progress. Of course it's not just curious animals, but people who come to check out the work. 

As part of the program, the students help interpret Philipsburg Manor for visitors, explaining their roles as craftspeople and artisans.

The photo program is a youth development collaboration between ArtsWestchester and the White Plains Youth Bureau that uses art and culture to provide teenagers with on-the-job training and life skills that prepare them for college and future employment. Click here for more info.

Not only did history buffs and ecologists come together for River Day at Van Cortlandt Manor on Sunday, but the event drew a number of photographers angling to win a new camera.

River Day, a celebration and exploration of the Croton and Hudson Rivers from the late 18th and early 19th centuries to present day, is an August highlight at this Croton gem.

This year, thanks to sponsor Fujifilm, Historic Hudson Valley held a photo contest, asking visitors to capture the event and post their best shots on Flickr for a chance to win a digital camera.

The day was filled with photo opportunities, and our three winners were the tops in capturing them.

Winners were selected based on their ability to illustrate the theme and spirit of River Day 2010.

Congratulations to all of our River Day Photo Contest submissions for taking on the task. Shown here is the work of grand prize winner Lisa M. Amberger, who won a Fujifilm FinePix HS-10 for her efforts.

Two runner-up prizes of Fujifilm FinePix Z700EXR cameras went to David Mednick and Jeffrey Breitman

Here are all the winning entries posted on our Flickr page.

Connect with us there and post YOUR best shots from any of our sites...or anywhere in the Hudson Valley!

This has already been a banner year for Montgomery Place, but now the Dutchess County gem is benefiting from the hard work of Aaron Ahlstrom, shown here, thanks to an award from the Open Space Institute. Aaron and Montgomery Place are one of four recipients of the 2010 Barnabas McHenry Hudson Valley Awards. These annual awards provide financial support to promising young leaders and match them with deserving nonprofit organizations and projects in the Hudson River Valley that will make significant contributions in the areas of environmental conservation, historic preservation, tourism and the arts.

Aaron, a recent graduate of Bard College, is no stranger to Montgomery Place, which is just south of Bard in Annandale-on-Hudson

Aaron is working with Historic Hudson Valley's educational team to create and implement programs designed to cultivate new audiences of all ages.

We caught up with Aaron recently about his summer's work.

HVB: You're a recent Bard graduate. Tell us a little about your studies and how you came to Montgomery Place. Did you hang out at MP when you were a student? How did you get exposed to the site?

AA: My freshman year at Bard, the captains of my cross-country team took me and my teammates out for a run. I didn't know the area yet, and so when we strode into Montgomery Place, I had no idea where I was. The expansive lawns, venerable trees, and gorgeous views bewildered and intrigued me. Over the next few years, I kept running through Montgomery Place's forests and grounds. I came to really cherish the site at a place to experience and meditate on nature. I would wander through the wooded trails and lay out on the west lawn for hours, staring out across South Tivoli Bay and the Hudson to the distant Catskills. Still, I didn't know much about the site until my Junior year when I took an art history class focusing on villas in the Hudson Valley. In this class, I completed a research project about the history of landscape gardening at Montgomery Place, and in doing so, came to know a great deal about this incredible location.

As an American Studies major, my coursework had an interdisciplinary focus. At Bard, students are expected to create a senior project, and since my curiosity was far from satiated, I decided to delve even deeper into the history and meaning of Montgomery Place. This extensive project took me through many disciplines, and I was able to examine different aspects such as landscaping, heritage tourism, the role of collections, and the current realities facing historic sites.

HVB: Tell us a little bit about the project you're working on this summer.

AA: Last spring, the Open Space Institute graciously bestowed upon me the Barnabas McHenry Hudson River Valley Award in the Arts Category. This grant will enable me to expand the educational and interpretive programs at Montgomery Place, thus creating a more dynamic and engaging experience for all visitors. Furthermore, I will try to communicate my own fascination with Montgomery Place to visitors of all backgrounds.

My work there emphasizes the site's artistic landscape: how art influenced the landscape, and the landscape inspired art. This will include hands-on activities for all ages that will cover a range of topics.

HVB: And what are your plans post-internship?

AA: I am thrilled to be working at Montgomery Place this summer since I plan on pursuing graduate work in education or historic preservation.

Congratulate Aaron on the Montgomery Place Facebook page!

This spring, thirty 7th graders from Yonkers Mark Twain Middle School Montessori Academy spent eight weeks at Washington Irving's Sunnyside for an after-school program with the theme of 'identity.' While learning about Irving, the students also looked at their own identity and created video vignettes about their work.

Along the way, the students looked at Irving as a celebrity, employer, family man, lover of nature, home designer, and more. To do this they explored the house and grounds and objects in depth. The children also analyzed a range of primary documents that included Irving's reviews of plays, contemporary reviews of movies written by teenagers, a letter to the editor sharing the news of Irving's death, and an obituary in the New York Times of a Tuskeegee airman. The students also participated in activities that the Irving family and friends might have enjoyed.

Dina Friedman, site director of Sunnyside, said, "The students' affection for sunnyside and Irving is palpable and their creativity is amazing. These videos, the results of their hard work, are a brilliant, welcome reminder of why we do what we do here at Historic Hudson Valley."

The vignettes are in two parts. You can view each of them below.

Ashley Milne-Tyte from public radio's Marketplace visited Philipsburg Manor (and several other historic sites) for a story about historic tours that focus on the lives of servants and slaves.

If you missed it, you can listen to it online or download it here.