"Our favorite, often forgotten, founding father." That's how the Friends of Clermont describe Robert R. Livingston on the page for his 280th birthday celebration. The party runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 14, at the Visitor Center at 1 Clermont Ave. It is free.
The event is a birthday party, and it is also the clearest marker of where the season has moved. This year the programs that usually fill an autumn along this stretch of the river have mostly closed. What's left is concentrated at Clermont and along a few blocks of Broadway in Tivoli, and most of the late-fall calendar runs through that small group of rooms.
The River Side of the Calendar Closed Early
The Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve says there will be no more public canoe-program openings in 2026. Programming is set to resume in summer 2027.
The larger change came farther south. Norrie Point Environmental Center closed to the public for renovations effective July 8, 2026. The Reserve expects it to reopen in 2028, and says some programs may move to Staatsburgh or the Power House in the meantime.
None of this closes the water itself. The Reserve's Tivoli Bays page says the site stays open for recreation year-round and free of charge. What's gone for now is the scheduled, staffed side of river life: the guided paddles and the nature center with a program on its calendar.
That puts more of the season on Clermont, and its calendar from mid-October through early December is unusually full.
What November 14 Holds
The birthday runs on a set schedule, per the Friends of Clermont event page:
- 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ballooning Story Hour, with story time, historic games and the launch of a miniature balloon, all tied to the Chancellor's interest in early flight.
- 2 p.m. Official launch party for The Clermont Dispatch, which the site calls its "brand-new in-house publication," with Clermont-blend coffee and light refreshments.
- 4 p.m. Livingston Trivia Night, an American history game with Clermont-related prizes. Team registration is $10.
- 5:30 p.m. A toast to the Chancellor, then cake.
The Dispatch launch is the detail with the longest reach. A historic site starting its own publication is building a way to reach its neighbors that will outlast this one weekend. The rest of the day is aimed at families: the story hour is pitched at kids "and adults of all ages and abilities," and only the trivia costs anything.
The library in Tivoli has a program the same Saturday. The Tivoli Free Library's Mending and Making group meets November 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 86 Broadway. It's a monthly second-Saturday gathering with craft supplies on hand. A morning of mending on Broadway and an afternoon of cake and trivia at Clermont makes a full day that stays close to home.
The Weeks Building Toward It
Clermont's run-up to the birthday starts this week and goes in nearly every direction.
Legends by Candlelight comes first. Tours run Friday and Saturday, October 16 and 17, and again October 23 and 24, from 6 to 8 p.m., leaving the Visitor Center every half hour. The Friends describe Halloween treats in the Visitor Center, a walk past jack-o'-lanterns, a ghost-story tour of the decorated mansion, and marshmallows by the bonfire, about an hour in all.
The logistics are old-fashioned on purpose. Tickets are sold only by phone at (518) 537-4240 and are not sold online. Sales opened October 1, reservations are required, and there are no walk-ins. Admission is $15 for adults, $5 for ages 5 to 12, and free under 5.
Halloween itself is free. On October 31 the Visitor Center hosts trick-or-treating from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hourly mansion tours run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, and free under 12.
The Chancellor's open houses take the Friends beyond Clermont's own grounds. The October 17 visit to Montgomery Place at 55 Montgomery Place in Red Hook is already listed as sold out. The next one is at Midwood in Germantown on Wednesday, November 4, from 2 to 4 p.m., with access to the grounds and the home. It requires reservations, at $50 for members and $75 for nonmembers.
The geology walk is the outdoor option. Robert Titus leads a walk at Clermont on Saturday, November 7, from 10 a.m. to noon, starting at the Visitor Center. General admission is listed as free. With the Reserve's guided paddles done for the year, this is one of the few scheduled, guided outings on the river's edge left on the fall calendar.
There's also a remote option. The Friends list a Livingston family-tree program on Zoom for November 17.
Broadway Holds the Weeknights
Clermont's events fall mostly on weekends. Broadway in Tivoli covers the rest of the week, mainly through the library and the gallery.
The first date is tomorrow morning. On Monday, October 12, a short Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Day ceremony takes place from 10 to 10:30 a.m. at the Small Places Park at St. Paul's and Trinity Parish, 39 Woods Road. The program includes a history of the site, a reading and a prayer.
From there the Tivoli Free Library carries most of the weeknights:
- Monday, October 19, 6 to 8 p.m. The library and the Tivoli Fire Department screen Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat, followed by a Q&A with firefighters and a tour of the firehouse at 2 Tivoli Commons, per The Daily Catch.
- Tuesday, October 27, 5 to 6 p.m. "Howl-oween: Wolves of North America" at 86 Broadway, an educational program with no live animals.
- Fridays, November 6 and December 4, 3 to 4 p.m. The bilingual storytime Sing, Dance, Story / Canta, Baila, Cuenta con Elba.
Some of these listings were posted months ago, and the library notes that events can change, so a quick check before heading over is a good idea.
Tivoli Artists Gallery at 60 Broadway has the visual-arts schedule. Marie Cole's solo show, Escape Route, runs October 16 through November 15. The opening reception is Saturday, October 17, from 5 to 7 p.m. The reception overlaps with the first Saturday of Legends by Candlelight, so a 5 p.m. stop at the gallery and a later tour time at Clermont fit the same evening.
Where to Eat Between the Two
The food stops on Broadway follow fairly set schedules, which matters most on event days.
Club Sandwich at 76 Broadway lists kitchen hours of 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and coffee and market service until 4 p.m., Thursday through Tuesday. It's closed Wednesdays. That makes it the natural breakfast before the November 7 geology walk, and a problem on the afternoon of the November 4 Midwood open house. Chronogram reported its opening in April 2025. Hospitality veteran Anna Morris and Lisa Farjam, owner of Fortunes Ice Cream, founded it as a café and market with sandwiches, coffee, beer and wine.
Fortunes Ice Cream, across the street at 55 Broadway, was still posting seasonal flavors in early October. It listed 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. hours on October 3, though its regular fall schedule isn't posted.
Santa Fe at 52 Broadway covers dinner. Its listed hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4 to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and it's closed Sundays. Online ordering is available. Because the restaurant is closed Sundays and Club Sandwich closes in the afternoon, a Sunday evening on Broadway takes some planning.
Tivoli General at 54a Broadway runs its own occasional events. Its site lists a pair of reservation-only supper evenings, on a Friday, October 9, and a Saturday, October 10, at $125 per seat.
These hours come from the businesses' own pages, which don't carry dates. Checking ahead is worth it, especially as the season turns.
December, Then a Quieter Stretch
Both ends of the calendar close the year the same way, with a holiday room and a short window.
Tivoli Artists Gallery's Holiday Show: Gifts, Fine Art & Crafted Items runs November 20 through December 20. The opening reception is Saturday, November 21, from 2 to 5 p.m. That morning, Clermont hosts its "I'm So Thankful!" story hour and craft from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It's free, aimed at ages 3 to 8, and reservations are encouraged.
Clermont's last big evening is the Holiday Candlelight Evening on Saturday, December 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. It's for members only and requires registration. Tickets are listed at $40 for members and $50 for nonmember guests but weren't on sale yet when we checked. The library's Mending and Making group meets again on December 12, and the gallery's holiday show closes December 20.
The Reserve's canoe programs return in summer 2027. Norrie Point is expected to reopen in 2028.
If you're weighing a home near Clermont or just off Broadway, it helps to know what's within reach in November, too. Kyle Elizabeth Irwin grew up in Rhinebeck and works across Tivoli and Clermont all year. She can help you understand how a particular house fits into this part of the year, as well as the busier summer months. Let's Connect.
