Antique Boat Museum Announces Fall/Winter Dates of Operation & Event Schedule

CLAYTON, New York (September 25, 2013) – The Antique Boat Museum (ABM), North America’s premier freshwater nautical museum based in Clayton, New York, has announced its Fall/Winter dates of operation and event schedule.

The ABM will extend its operating season into December for the first time ever in 2013. The Fall/Winter calendar will begin on Monday, October 14 (Columbus Day) and extend through Friday, December 20. The Museum’s calendar will be full of activity despite the change in temperature with numerous courses, children’s activities, and special events.

New this fall, the ABM will launch “B is for Boat,” an education-based program featuring nautical-related books and crafts for kids preschool age through grade 5. Plus, the popular Teen Night program returns on October 25 and will run once a month through April, excluding December.

Sailor Howard Rice returns to the ABM in October to host a boat building course. Rice was a featured guest during the Museum’s opening weekend in May and is best known around the world for sailing around Cape Horn, Chile.

The extended calendar will take the Museum through more than 200 days of operation in 2013.

Fall/Winter Dates of Operation

Monday, October 14                                      Fall/Winter Season Begins

Friday, December 20                                      Museum and Museum Store Close for the Season

Hours of Operations

Tuesday-Saturday                                           10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Sunday, Monday                                              Closed

Fall/Winter Admission Rates

Adult                                     $8.00                                     Youth                                    $6.50                    

Youth (under 6 yrs)         FREE                                      Groups                                 Call for pricing

Active Military & Immediate Family       FREE                                     

Retired Military                                               FREE

Military Spouse                                                                $7.00    

Note: Select summer season discount offers do not apply

October-December Event Schedule

October 5            Story Songs in the Stone Building with Jen Chapin, presented by WPBS     6:30 p.m.        Cost $10, includes free drink

October 12          Working Wonders of the River: Workboat Show

October 12          Winterizing your Engine Course

October 19          Refinishing Course

October 21-30   SCAMP Build Course with Howard Rice

October 25          Teen Night: Fear Factor – Can You Handle It?!

Week of November 4    B is for Boat Education Programs

November 9       Basic Joinery Course

November 15    Teen Night: a combined evening with TI Arts Center

November 16    Clayton’s Holiday Shoppers Poker Run (ABM Store Participating)

Week of December 2     B is for Boat Education Programs

Note: dates and events subject to change.

The Museum Store will also remain open through December 20, allowing for visitors to shop during the holiday season.

Thus far in 2013, the ABM has seen a nearly 10% increase in attendance, including a 24% boost in the month of August. In addition, the annual antique boat show saw more than 6,000 visitors.

Located on the St. Lawrence River in the 1000 Islands, the Antique Boat Museum features a collection of over 300 antique and classic boats, among thousands of recreational boating artifacts. In 2014, the Museum will host the 50th annual Antique Boat Show and Auction, the longest running show in North America, on August 1-3, as well as the Raceboat Regatta on August 8-10. For more information, please visit the Museum’s website at ABM.org.

ANTIQUE BOAT MUSEUM, WPBS PRESENT STORY SONGS IN THE STONE BUILDING

Jen Chapin

Daughter of famed musician Harry Chapin to perform benefit concert

CLAYTON, New York (September 20, 2013) — The Antique Boat Museum (ABM), North America’s premier freshwater nautical museum based in Clayton, New York, along with WPBS of Northern New York and Eastern Ontario, announced today details of a concert to benefit the ABM, which will be held on October 5.

Story Songs in the Stone Building presented by WPBS will take place on Saturday, October 5 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the historic E.J. Noble Stone Building on the campus of the ABM.

Headlining the performance will be Jen Chapin, daughter of the late Harry Chapin. She will be joined by opening act Chris Brown (www.chrisbrownmusic.com), a fellow organist, songwriter, and producer, who has worked with the likes of B.B. King and The Tragically Hip.

Chapin’s music is considered to be urban folk soul, or story songs, that search for community and shared meaning, powered by the funk and improvisation of the city. Critics have hailed her work as “smart, observant, lyrically deft, politically aware and emotionally intuitive” (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). JazzTimes has called her “a first-rate storyteller.” She has been featured on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” NPR’s “Mountain Stage,” WoodSongs “Old-Time Radio Hour,” and Sirius Satellite’s “The Loft with Mike Marrone.” In addition, she has been honored by the USA Songwriting Competition, has performed on stage with Bruce Springsteen, and has opened shows for Bruce Hornsby, Smokey Robinson, and the Neville Brothers. Her cover of Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic" was also prominently featured in a recent episode of the new SyFy series "Defiance".

Her music reflects a diversity of experience. She is an activist, with a lifelong involvement in WhyHunger (founded in 1975 by her late father), an organization that champions innovative, community-based solutions to hunger and poverty; and is also active in the local and sustainable food movement. She is an educator, leading workshops and presentations to college, community and church groups, with a background teaching full-time in Brooklyn classrooms.

Chapin (www.jenchapin.com) recently released a new album, Reckoning, produced by five-time Grammy Award winner Kevin Killen. The music on the album has drawn comparisons to the songwriting power of Paul Simon and Ani DiFranco.

Story Songs in the Stone Building presented by WPBS will benefit the ABM and tickets can be purchased the night of the show for only $10 each, which includes one free drink.

About WPBS

WPBS/WNPI-TV is licensed as St. Lawrence Valley Educational Television Council, Inc. and was founded in 1958 as a non-profit educational corporation established under an absolute Charter from the NYS Board of Regents.

For the first 13 years, the Council produced educational programs that were broadcast by WWNY-TV, a local commercial station. In August 1971, WNPE/WNPI-TV began operation as a public television station. Two transmitters were installed which serve a broadcast area throughout Northern New York and Eastern Ontario. In 1978, the staff and equipment outgrew their facilities on Champion Hill and moved to the existing location on Arsenal Street in Watertown, New York. In September 1998, the FCC granted permission for WNPE to change its call letters to WPBS-DT.

Today, WPBS-DT employs the equivalent of 26 full-time employees. WPBS-DT is the producer of nationally syndicated programs and is widely recognized for it's children's programming, which is commercial-free, educational and entertaining.

About the ABM

Located on the St. Lawrence River in the 1000 Islands, the Antique Boat Museum features a collection of over 300 antique and classic boats, among thousands of recreational boating artifacts. In 2014, the Museum will host the 50th annual Antique Boat Show and Auction, the longest running show in North America, on August 1-3, as well as the Raceboat Regatta on August 8-10. For more information, please visit the Museum’s website at ABM.org.

Video: Jen Chapin, Into the Mystic (Van Morrison)

ANTIQUE BOAT MUSEUM JOINS SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE’S NINTH ANNUAL MUSEUM DAY LIVE!

Free admission for visitors presenting a Museum Day Live! ticket on September 28, 2013

CLAYTON, New York (September 18, 2013) — The Antique Boat Museum (ABM), North America’s premier freshwater nautical museum based in Clayton, New York, proudly announced today that it will again open its doors free of charge as part of Smithsonian magazine’s ninth annual Museum Day Live!, which will be held on Saturday, September 28. A nationwide event, Museum Day Live! offers free admission to visitors presenting a Museum Day Live! ticket at a participating museum or cultural institution.

Inclusive by design, the event represents Smithsonian’s commitment to make learning and the spread of knowledge accessible to everyone, giving museums across all 50 states the opportunity to emulate the admission policy of the Smithsonianmuseums in Washington, D.C. Last year’s event drew over 400,000 participants, and this year’s event expects record-high participation.

“We are honored to be a part of this nationwide program and believe the Smithsonian magazine has cultivated a fantastic idea to engage new or repeat museum visitors,” said Michael Folsom, ABM Director of Marketing and Communications.

Located along the St. Lawrence River in the 1000 Islands region of upstate New York, the ABM features a collection of over 300 antique and classic boats, among thousands of recreational boating artifacts, making it the premier boat museum in the country. In 2014, the Museum will host its 50^th annual Antique Boat Show and Auction, the longest running show in North America, on August 1-3, as well as the Raceboat Regatta on August 8-10, creating a 10-day celebration of boating.

The Museum Day Live! ticket is now available to download at Smithsonian.com/museumday. Visitors who present the Museum Day Live! ticket at the ABM will receive free admission for two (2) on September 28, 2013 only. One (1) ticket is permitted per household, per email address. Museum Day Live! tickets presented on a smartphone at the ABM will be accepted. A Museum Day Live! ticket is required in order to take advantage of this offer.

For more information about Museum Day Live! 2013 and a list of participating museums and cultural institutions, please visit Smithsonian.com/museumday. 

About Smithsonian Media

Smithsonian Media comprises of its flagship publication, Smithsonian magazine, as well as Air & Space, goSmithsonian, Smithsonian Media Digital Network, and the Smithsonian Channel. Smithsonian Media is a division of Smithsonian Enterprises, the revenue-generating business unit of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum and research complex consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities. Approximately 30 million people from around the world visit the museums annually.

Class Afloat Students on the SS SØRLANDET Visit Singer Castle

Tall Ship SØRLANDET at Singer Castle, photo by Scott Garris
(Click on photos to see them larger).

On Wednesday, September 11th during their journey from Erie, PA to Quebec City, Canada, the forty Class Afloat students and twenty crew members on the Tall Ship SØRLANDET made a stopover at Singer Castle. The 210 foot long SØRLANDET, the oldest full rigged ship still in existence, had just participated in the Tall Ships Challenge-Great Lakes 2013 taking part in tall ship races, a re-enactment of a War of 1812 battle and festivities in Windsor, Ontario and Erie, PA. The ship was on its way to Quebec to begin an eight-month long journey that will take the students across the Atlantic Ocean three times and to eighteen different countries.

SØRLANDET crew tossed into the dungeon on Dark Island, 
photo by Scott Garris

Members of the SØRLANDET’s crew who had previously visited Singer Castle suggested that a tour of the castle and grounds would be a nice surprise for the hard working students. Divided into four groups the students toured with castle staff members and enjoyed hearing the history of the castle and the Bourne family. They saw the castle’s secret passageways, explored the castle’s 2700 volume library and walked on the castle grounds and through the gardens. One student even played an impromptu concert on the baby grand piano in the Wicker Room.

On-board look at the SØRLANDET, photo by Scott Garris

When their tour of the castle concluded, the students graciously offered castle staff members a tour of the SØRLANDET before returning to their studies and evening chores. Early the next morning after a long night of thunder and lightning storms, the SØRLANDET sailed off through the fog once again on its way to Quebec.

Find out more about Class Afloat at http://www.classafloat.com/ and more about the Tall Ship Sorlandet at http://fullriggeren-sorlandet.no.erkunde.no/en.

New on ABM team: Christopher T. Lytle as Senior Advancement Officer & Rebecca L. Hopfinger as Director of Advancement.

CLAYTON, New York (September 12, 2013) – The Antique Boat Museum (ABM), North America’s premier freshwater nautical museum based in Clayton, New York, announced today the addition of Christopher T. Lytle as Senior Advancement Officer and Rebecca L. Hopfinger as Director of Advancement.

Lytle brings more than 35 years of experience as a senior staff member or consultant to premier not-for-profit organizations, including Rotary International and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. His expertise in campaign planning and design, program management, major gifts, institutional grants, as well as sponsorship and cause marketing, will be instrumental to the Museum. In addition to leading overall fundraising efforts, Lytle will focus on developing key partnerships and relationships with philanthropists, foundations, and corporations that support the ABM’s growth strategies.

A graduate of Mercyhurst College, with post-graduation certifications from Adelphia University and New York University, Lytle resides with his wife, Laurie, in Seneca Falls, NY, where he serves as a Board member of the Finger Lakes Boating Museum.

Hopfinger was recently asked to return to the Museum following a five-year hiatus during which she was Executive Director of the Thousand Islands Arts Center (TIAC), also based in Clayton. Her professional career began with the ABM as curator in 1996, following graduation from Syracuse University with a Master’s in Museum Studies. In 2004, she was promoted to Director of Development & Curator of Special Exhibits before departing in 2008 to later join TIAC.

In her new role at the ABM, Hopfinger will oversee the Museum’s successful Friends of the Museum program, its general membership, and further fundraising activities.

Hopfinger, who is currently pursuing a certificate in fundraising management from the Indiana University/Purdue University Institute for Fundraising, resides in Clayton and serves as a Board member of the Clayton Local Development Corporation and the Clayton Chamber of Commerce.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Rebecca back to the ABM and to have Chris join our organization. As our new advancement and fundraising team, they will lead our efforts to build awareness and support for the ABM as we develop new audiences and markets,” said Frederick H. “Fritz” Hager, Executive Director.

Lytle and Hopfinger join Christine S. Brown, Advancement Associate, to form the ABM’s new Office of Advancement.

Located on the St. Lawrence River in the 1000 Islands, the Antique Boat Museum features a collection of over 300 antique and classic boats, among thousands of recreational boating artifacts. In August 2014, the Museum will host the 50^th annual Antique Boat Show and Auction, the longest running show in North America. For more information please visit the Museum’s website at ABM.org.

ANTIQUE BOAT MUSEUM ATTENDANCE CRUISING IN POSITIVE DIRECTION

CLAYTON, New York (September 3, 2013) – The Antique Boat Museum (ABM), North America’s premier freshwater nautical museum based in Clayton, New York, proudly announced today that it has shown continued growth in attendance throughout the 2013 summer season.

In August, the ABM witnessed a 24% increase at the gate compared to 2012 totals.

In addition, through August 31, ABM attendance has grown by 10% overall, since the Museum opened for the season in May.

The annual Antique Boat Show and Auction also saw a spike in attendance in 2013 as 6,335 visitors (+14%) passed through the gates August 2-4.

The ABM will conclude its summer season on Columbus Day weekend and then begin its fall/winter season through December 20. A complete fall/winter schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.

Located on the St. Lawrence River in the 1000 Islands, the Antique Boat Museum features a collection of over 300 antique and classic boats, among thousands of recreational boating artifacts. In 2014, the Museum will host the 50^th annual Antique Boat Show and Auction, the longest running show in North America, on August 1-3, as well as the Raceboat Regatta on August 8-10. For more information please visit the Museum’s website at ABM.org.

[End, ABM News Release]

Congratulations Mike Folsom (Director of Marketing and Communications) and Fritz Hager (Executive Director) of the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY. What a tremendous season you and everyone else at the ABM have made! What a testimony to your amazing talents. Speaking of "cruising in a positive direction", the skills you brought to the ABM remind me of the Tom Cruise "with me, without me" scene in the following short movie clip from Knight and Day (although I know you very humbly would not make the comparison yourself).