2025
Saturday, 6:00 PM
Join us for the Lincoln Forum Dinner and Keynote Presentation featuring Lincoln Forum Chair Harold Holzer and connect with other Lincoln and Hildene enthusiasts to commemorate Hildene's 120th anniversary of the Lincoln family in Vermont. Please visit The Lincoln Forum Symposium at Hildene for more information.
Saturday, 2:00 to 3:30 PM
In honor of Black History Month, Hildene is offering an immersive program on the Pullman porters, followed by a guided tour of its 1903 Pullman railcar, Sunbeam. Join Hildene educator Lisa Maggio on Saturday, February 22, 2:00 to 3:30 PM, to learn about the critical role Pullman porters played in the Pullman Company, the emergence of America’s Black middle class, and the formation of the Black labor movement. The porters also made significant contributions to advancing the civil rights movement. This fascinating slice of American history spans 100 years, beginning with the Emancipation Proclamation and ending with the March on Washington. Discover what it was like to travel and work on a Pullman car and engage in discussion about the porters’ enduring fight for social change and justice in America.
$15 for members/$20 for nonmembers. Registration is required by Friday, February 21, by calling Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email
Saturdays at 2:00 PM, Free with Admission
Join us for a deep dive into the life of the last Lincoln to live at Hildene as we take a closer look at the exhibit, “A Lincoln Legacy: Remembering Peggy Lincoln Beckwith.” In celebration of Women's History Month, Exhibits Manager Gary Parzych will point out some highlights from the exhibit and share more details of Peggy's extraordinary life at Hildene.
For more information, contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email
Saturday, 8:00 to 10:00 AM, At Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home. Free
(please note earlier start time)
Pine Grosbeaks look like large Purple Finches. About the size of a robin, they have strong, thick, aptly-named beaks and two white wing bars. The male's raspberry head, breast, and belly (top) are a contrast to the olive-green and gray female. They are most likely to be seen in roads picking up sand and salt, or in fruit or cone bearing trees and bushes.
An unusual characteristic of Pine Grosbeaks is the pair of buccal/cheek pouches in the lower jaw on either side of the tongue. This built-in storage area holds a paste of insects and vegetable matter that is regurgitated to the young. Pine Grosbeaks feed mostly insects, but this adaptation allows them to also provide vegetable matter.
Meet at the Welcome Center parking lot. Join local birders to gather long-term data on the presence of birds, their abundance, and changes in populations. Appropriate for birders of all skill levels, the walks run along uneven terrain on forest and meadow trails and around the main house. No registration required. Questions? Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email.
Sunday, 1:00 to 3:00 PM. Free
Focusing on Hildene's historic apple trees, gardener Craig Borden will lead a free workshop on two forms of pruning: corrective pruning for ornamentals and pruning to increase fruit production of apple-bearing trees. Drawing upon his 40 years of experience as a tree care professional, Craig will demonstrate the proper use of the various tools he uses and will be happy to answer any questions. Participants will leave with the knowledge and confidence to prune their own apple trees.
While registration is not required for this free workshop, all guests must check in at the Welcome Center. Please dress warmly. For more information, contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email.
Wednesday, 7:00 - 8:30 PM, via Zoom. Free
Join Hildene staff for a discussion of Pulitzer Prize Winner: Master Slave Husband Wife, by Ilyon Woo, a remarkable true story of Ellen and William Craft, “an enslaved couple who escaped from Georgia in 1848, with light-skinned Ellen disguised as a disabled white gentleman and William as her manservant, exploiting assumptions about race, class and disability to hide in public on their journey to the North, where they became famous abolitionists while evading bounty hunters ... With three epic journeys compressed into one monumental bid for freedom, Master Slave Husband Wife is an American love story—one that would challenge the nation’s core precepts of life, liberty, and justice for all—one that challenges us even now.” -- Pulitzer.org The discussion is free and will be held from 7:00 to 8:30 pm via Zoom.
For more information and to register, contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email.
Saturday, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM, at Hildene Farm.
Join gardener/educator Ann Ogden Hausslein in the beautiful educational greenhouse in the dene to learn how to grow your own highly nutritious microgreens and enjoy a salad of them while you’re at it! Participants will take home a starter kit.
Class and materials: $30 for members/$35 for nonmembers. Registration is required by March 19. Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email.
Thursday, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM - Free with admission
Fred DePaul, with his 50 plus years of shearing experience, will be back to shear Hildene’s flock of Corriedale sheep. Join us in watching as the sheep become many pounds lighter after their beautiful, colored fleeces have been removed. You can even lend a hand with the skirting process which is the removal of dirty wool, stains and vegetable matter from the fleece.
Questions? Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email.
Saturday, 8:00 to 10:00 AM, At Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home. Free
Cedar Waxwings are stylishly masked, gray-brown birds with a crest on the top of the head and a diagnostic yellow-tipped tail (sometimes orange), easily seen in flight or on a perched branch. These birds are nomadic in groups often seen gorging themselves on fruits of cherry, honeysuckle, and Autumn Olive—sometimes to the point of intoxication. Their name derives from their fondness for Red Cedar or Juniper berries and the waxy tips on the secondary wing feathers. A larger cousin to the Cedar Waxwing is the Bohemian Waxwing (far right), a bird of the north which is often “irruptive” in our area in the winter months. While similar in profile, it sports a rufus undertail patch and white and yellow feather edgings on the wings. Both species emit a high pitched 'seee' call.
Meet at the Welcome Center parking lot. Join local birders to gather long-term data on the presence of birds, their abundance, and changes in populations. Appropriate for birders of all skill levels, the walks run along uneven terrain on forest and meadow trails and around the main house. No registration required. Questions? Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email.
Saturday, 7:00 to 10:00 AM, At Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home. Free
At 18 - 22" perched height, the Red-tailed Hawk is the largest of the hawks we see in VT. As with all hawks, the female is larger than the male. The dark brown back and wings contrast with a white/light front. A dark belly band and rufous tail of the adult bird distinguishes it, although plumage variations are great. The Red-tailed is the most widespread hawk in the U.S., ranging from Canada and AK into Central America. There is some seasonal movement of these hawks, but they generally are resident throughout their range. A soaring bird with broad wings and fanned tail is most likely a Red-tailed Hawk.
Meet at the Welcome Center parking lot. Join local birders to gather long-term data on the presence of birds, their abundance, and changes in populations. Appropriate for birders of all skill levels, the walks run along uneven terrain on forest and meadow trails and around the main house. No registration required. Questions? Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email.
Choose a Day! Friday & Saturday, 9:00 - 11:30 AM
It’s time to spread your wings and learn a delightful new hobby. Join avid birders Claudia Burns and Warren Cairo for a beginner’s primer on the endlessly engaging world of birdwatching. Participants can choose to take the workshop either Friday, May 9 or Sunday, May 11, from 9:00 to 10:30 AM. Claudia and Warren will go over the fundamentals of equipment, etiquette, and identification, and then help you put those skills into practice outdoors.
The workshop will entail moderate walking. For ages 12 and up. Registration required: $20 for members, $25 for non-members. Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email.
Saturday, 7:00 - 10:00 AM, At Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home. Free
May means WARBLERS for birders! Considering colors and field marks alone, these small insect-eating birds go from the unpretentious Yellow Warbler (top right) to the almost ostentatious male Blackburnian Warbler (bottom right)—a mostly black bird with white wing patches and a fiery orange throat. If there ever was a WOW bird, the Blackburnian qualifies. Of the 49 species of warblers commonly seen in the U.S., 29 of them can been seen in VT. Field experience is the best way to learn warbler ID. Go birding with an experienced birder. Note behavioral clues: Black and White Warblers glean insects from tree bark as they creep up and down the trunk and limbs. Palm Warblers flick their tails. Blackpolls are high altitude birds. Learn the songs, study your field guide, and prepare yourself for "warbler neck" as you search for these challenging songsters during the month of May.
Meet at the Welcome Center parking lot. Join local birders to gather long-term data on the presence of birds, their abundance, and changes in populations. Appropriate for birders of all skill levels, the walks run along uneven terrain on forest and meadow trails and around the main house. No registration required. Questions? Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email.
Tuesday, 1:00 - 2:30 PM (Rain date, Wednesday, May 21)
Are you tired of seeing your beautiful peonies collapsing to the ground? Are your lovely blossoms getting pummeled into the dirt by the rain? Learn how to support them using Hildene’s unique method of peony staking. Hildene’s horticulturists will talk about the estate’s historic peony collection and current garden management practices. Participants will then go into the peony borders flanking the formal garden and learn how to effectively stake a peony plant.
Program & materials fee: $25 for members/ $30 for non-members, (includes one Hildene staking kit to take home). Space is limited. Registration required by Monday, May 19. Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7967 or click to email.
Saturday, 7:00 - 10:00 AM, At Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home. Free
Once the trees are leafed out, the quest for warblers turns from the visual to the auditory. The Black-throated Blue and Black-throated Green Warblers are two common, woodland warblers breeding in VT. The Black-throated Blue has a slate blue black and head with a black throat above a white belly. Although the female is mostly olive/yellow in color, both sexes have a white wing patch which is distinctive for this species. Contrast that with the Black-throated Green which is a yellow faced bird with an olive green “hood” and back and a black throat. Both these warblers have easily recognized songs which can be heard by searching Cornell's All About Birds web page. These birds are now singing to establish territories. Listen for them among the other songsters during a walk in the forest in late May and June.
Meet at the Welcome Center parking lot. Join local birders to gather long-term data on the presence of birds, their abundance, and changes in populations. Appropriate for birders of all skill levels, the walks run along uneven terrain on forest and meadow trails and around the main house. No registration required. Questions? Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email.
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