"Our favorite, often forgotten, founding father." That's how the Friends of Clermont introduce the man they're celebrating this Saturday, November 14, with an all-day party at the Visitor's Center at 1 Clermont Avenue in Germantown. Robert R. Livingston turns 280. Getting in costs nothing, and the only fee anywhere on the schedule is $10 to register a trivia team.
That same Saturday night, the same Friends group is hosting a multi-course dinner in a private Federal-period house in Schodack Landing. Tickets cost $125 for members and $150 for everyone else, and they're sold out. The two events belong together. The Friends say proceeds from their dinner and house-tour series go to their low- and no-cost community programs, which is the category Saturday's birthday party falls into. The paid evenings in private houses help cover the free days at the estate.
Saturday, Hour by Hour
The birthday celebration runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and you can come for one slot or stay all day.
- 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Ballooning Story Hour. Story time, historic games, and the launch of a miniature balloon, all built around early flight and the Chancellor's interest in new technology. The Friends describe it as fun for kids and adults of all ages and abilities.
- 2 p.m., launch party for The Clermont Dispatch. This is Clermont's new in-house publication, celebrated with Clermont-blend coffee and light refreshments.
- 4 p.m., Livingston Trivia Night. American history questions, refreshments, and Clermont-themed prizes. Teams register for $10.
- 5:30 p.m., a toast to the Chancellor, with cake.
RSVPs go through the site's Bookeo booking page. New York State Parks lists the same hours and the same pricing on its event page.
Back in the village, the Tivoli Library's Mending and Making meetup runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the same morning. It mixes textile repair with collaging, beading and wool felting. Because the Clermont program runs until early evening, you can do both without rushing either one.
Why "Often Forgotten" Is the Right Billing
The Chancellor's résumé is long for someone so few people can place. The Friends of Clermont's biography of the Livingstons credits Robert R. Livingston with four things. He helped draft the Declaration of Independence. He administered George Washington's oath of office in 1789. He negotiated the Louisiana Purchase. And he co-invented the first practical steamboat with Robert Fulton.
The last item explains Saturday's schedule. A ballooning story hour for a man best known for a steamboat fits a Chancellor who followed the engineering of his day closely, and the Friends frame the miniature balloon launch that way. It also fits how the Friends present him. The headline figures stay the same, and the events around them keep changing.
The Dinners Behind the Free Days
The Friends call it the Chancellor's Open House Series: limited-capacity visits to historic Hudson Valley homes, with formats ranging from tours with light refreshments to full dinners. Here is the 2026 lineup:
- Holcroft, September 13
- Montgomery Place, October 17, a guided landscape tour, a tour of the mansion's main floor, and refreshments
- Boltwood House, October 24, a multi-course dinner with Clermont trivia
- Midwood, November 4, tours of the grounds and house followed by refreshments, at $50 for members and $75 for nonmembers
- The Dow Van Buren House, this Saturday, November 14, a 7 to 10 p.m. dinner in Schodack Landing
The Dow Van Buren House dates to around 1795. It belongs to Friends board member John Delikanakis and his partner, German Delgado. The series puts board members and neighbors in the role of hosts, and that shapes the free side of the calendar. The more people pay for these small, intimate evenings, the more room the Friends have to keep public days like Saturday's party free at the door.
The Calendar That Follows
The free and low-cost programming doesn't stop after the cake. Here's what's on the Friends of Clermont events calendar through the end of the year, with a few village stops alongside.
Tuesday, November 17
"Extreme family-treeing with the Livingstons" takes place on Zoom, so it's the one event on the list you can join from your kitchen.
Saturday, November 21
The Visitor's Center hosts "I'm So Thankful! Crafty Kids Thanksgiving Story Hour." That evening in the village, the Tivoli Artists Gallery opens its holiday show, "Gifts, Fine Art & Crafted Items," with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Peggy Farrington curates the show, which includes jewelry, prints, paintings, ceramics, cards, ornaments and other handmade work, and it stays up from November 20 through December 20.
Saturday, December 5
The Friends hold a members-only Holiday Candlelight Evening in the mansion from 6 to 8 p.m. Expect rooms decorated for the holidays, candlelight, live music and light refreshments. Tickets are $40 for members and $50 for a non-member guest of a member, plus fees. Registration opened November 5 and space is limited. The members' night and the public open house two weeks later have the same structure as the dinner series and the birthday party, with a smaller paid evening ahead of a public day.
Saturday, December 12
"The American Girls of Clermont" comes to the Visitor's Center. The Tivoli Library also holds another Mending and Making session that morning from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday, December 19
Clermont's annual Holiday Open House runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors walk the decorated mansion at their own pace while Tamarack plays traditional music. Guides in period costume are on hand to answer questions about the house, the Livingston family, and the people who lived and worked on the estate. The Livingston family's holiday decorations and toys, rarely on view, come out for the day, and "Festive Folklore" characters are hidden around the house. Warm cider is served in the Visitor Center alongside two exhibits, "Spero Meliora: Life in The Land of Livingston" and "We Hold These Truths to be Self Evident." There's also a bonfire on the grounds. RSVPs go through Bookeo. The gallery's holiday show is still up that day, which makes the open house and a stop at the gallery an easy afternoon pairing.
Between Events
New York State Parks says the mansion is open for guided tours year-round, Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with tours on the hour. The Visitor Center keeps the same days from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gardens and grounds are open every day from 8:30 a.m. to sunset, and Parks lists hiking, equestrian trails, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing among the amenities. When there's snow, the grounds get as much use as the event schedule.
Where to Eat Before or After
Any of these Clermont Saturdays fits easily around a meal on Broadway. Hours below are as posted on each business's own site.
| Stop | Address | Posted hours that cover a Saturday |
|---|---|---|
| Tivoli General | 54A Broadway | Wed–Sat 8 a.m.–2 p.m.; Sun 8 a.m.–noon |
| Club Sandwich | 76 Broadway | Thu–Tue, kitchen 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m., coffee and market until 4 p.m. |
| Santa Fe | 52 Broadway | Fri–Sat 4–9:30 p.m. |
| Traghaven Whiskey Pub | 66 Broadway | Wed–Sat 6 p.m.–midnight |
Club Sandwich is the newest of the four. Chronogram reported that it opened on April 3, 2025, as a daytime café and market from hospitality veteran Anna Morris and Fortunes Ice Cream owner Lisa Farjam. Its posted hours close it on Wednesdays, so it's open on all five of the Saturdays above. On the birthday Saturday, lunch at Club Sandwich before the 2 p.m. Dispatch launch and dinner at Santa Fe after the 5:30 toast cover the day from end to end.
The free days at Clermont depend on paid evenings in houses like the Dow Van Buren, and both run on neighbors who host, volunteer and show up. At Fresh Air Realty, Joseph Satto works with buyers and sellers along the river villages and the Catskills, and those local calendars are a big part of what draws people up from the city. If you're thinking about your next move in or around Tivoli, Buy With Us or Sell With Us. We'd be happy to talk it through over coffee on Broadway.
