Maritime Museum to host Women’s History Month events

The Hudson River Maritime Museum will host a number of events for Women’s History Month, ranging from boat-building workshops and presentations to a women-led sailing conference.

“The programming strives to commemorate and celebrate the historic role of women in the Hudson Valley while inspiring and fostering a new generation of women and girls to embrace the river as their playground and classroom,” a news release said.

First-up author Mary Mistler will discuss her book “Ladies of the Valley: Women of the Great Estates of the Hudson Valley” on March 13, at 7 p.m. at the Wooden Boat School.

“These women were mothers, wives, sisters and daughters of wealthy landowners, and were often left in charge of these estates while the men were off pursuing political, military and business glories,” a news release said. “Despite little education in these fields, these women often took on the roles of farmer, landlord, accountant, merchant, horticulturist and nurse to do what was required to maintain their families, their employees, and their properties.”

Admission is $7, advanced reservations are encouraged at and available at https://bit.ly/3I63BYT.

From March 25-29 the Hudson River Maritime Museum’s Wooden Boat School will host a special all-girl Boat Building Class open to youth girls and ages 11 and up.

Students will work as a team to build a Kingston Pram rowboat from start to finish over eh duration of the five-day course with the museum’s master woodworker and shipwright Wayne Ford.

The course is $175 per day with a discount for museum members. For more information and and to register, visit https://bit.ly/3wjnyZr.

The seventh annual Riverport Women’s Confer

ence will be held Saturday, March 23, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in partnership with the Kingston Sailing Club.

“This annual gathering of sailors and aspiring sailors welcomes all genders of people with a focus on those individuals who have not traditionally been able to learn to sail into the maritime community,” a news release said. “Experienced female sailors from across the region will lead hands-on workshops and presentations

on a range of topics offering attendees the opportunity to gain and improve their sailing skills.”

The conference kicks off with a pre-conference dinner on Friday, March 22, featuring guest speaker Captain Nitzan Levy, a sailor, social entrepreneur and the founder of international boat charter brokerage Neptune’s Daughter.

For a full conference schedule, more info on presenters and to register, visit https://bit.ly/3SIrj29.

For more information about the museum’s current exhibitions visit www. hrmm.org or call (845) 338-0071.