Events

Come kick off the Christmas season with a reception for Raynham Hall Museum’s New Exhibition,
For Friends and Family, the Folk Art Creations of Three Generations of the Family Of Cora Michalis
Opening reception with music, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres Thursday, December 4, 2014, from 6 to 8 p.m.
$25 per person
Reservations required. Please call 516-922-6808.

Estella Shepherd Bush was a self-taught artist who grew up in Argentina and then moved to Santiago, Chile, where she raised her family, channeling her artistic talents into the domestic arts, including the creation of elaborate and fantastical Christmas artworks for her friends and family. Her daughter Cora graduated from Parsons School of Design before starting her own family, catching the Christmas baton from her mother, putting her own perfectionist twirl on it and passing it to her daughters, Helen Bonebrake and Cora Thomas. They, having mastered and reveled in the family craft, are proud in turn to witness its further flourishing in the works of Estella’s great-granddaughters, Cora C. Thomas and Mia Harlock.

This event is free to the public.
Raynham Hall Museum on West Main Street in Oyster Bay will be holding an open house on December 6 beginning at 1 p.m., featuring two visits from Ebenezer Scrooge, an exhibition of folk-art miniature Christmas trees, an exhibition of toy soldiers, and Victorian caroling.

Visitors will be free to tour the museum and enjoy the holiday spirit of the past, in the present!

“The Uses of Intelligence in a Dangerous World”

Raynham Hall will continue its espionage series at the Union Club in New York City with a reception and lecture by best-selling novelist Joseph Kanon.  He will discuss his new novel, Leaving Berlin, (2015) a thriller concerning an American expatriate who becomes an unwitting double agent of the American and East German intelligence services in the period immediately following World War II. Mr. Kanon is the author of several other best-sellers, including The Good German, made into a film in 2006 starring George Clooney and Cate Blanchett.

Reservations are required. Please call the museum at 516-922-6808 for information to reserve your spot.

Colonial Day

FREE and open to the public. Step into the past at our second annual Colonial Day! Join us for a family-friendly afternoon for history lovers as Raynham Hall is filled with costumed colonial adult and child re-enactors who bring the 18th century to life with period music, colonial cooking demonstrations and musket firings! The Order of the Ancient and Honorable Huntington Militia , founded in 1653, will encamp on the grounds of the museum, immersing visitors in the life and military world of our Revolutionary forebears. The historic house will be brought to life with a theatrical confrontation between Patriots and Loyalists, including our own Culper spy, Robert Townsend.

Refreshments will be served! RAIN DATE October 4th.

Halloween Party

The Board of Trustees of Raynham Hall Museum and The Oyster Bay Main Street Association cordially invite you to join them for a Halloween Party. Enjoy music by Mad Pursuit, cocktails, beer by Oyster Bay Brewing Company, and hors d’oeuvres.

Tickets: $125 per person including a seated buffet banquet at 7 p.m. or $75 per person for the after-party only, from 9 p.m. to midnight

Time: Saturday, October 24, 2015 at Raynham Hall Museum, 20 West Main Street, Oyster Bay

Dress code: Costumes welcomed! (prizes for best costumes)

Please call 516-922-6982 for reservations or more information

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Opening Reception

The Board of Trustees of Raynham Hall Museum cordially invites you to a preview of our winter exhibition, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, with toy soldiers, dolls and doll houses, stuffed animal friends, and myriad other magical playthings, to benefit our scholarship program.

About our scholarship program: We offer free admission each year to hundreds of students from schools that could not otherwise afford to visit. Raynham Hall’s Revolutionary War story of principled resourcefulness and action in the face of extreme adversity is particularly relevant to kids such as these, and indeed to all kids. We appreciate your help in making these programs available!

Tickets: $60 per person, $40 for members

Time: Thursday, December 3, 2015, from 6-8 p.m.

Children’s Holiday Workshop

To accompany our winter exhibit, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, on Sunday, December 6, from 2-3:30 p.m., the Museum will present a children’s workshop, including a reading of the class Dickens poem, A Christmas Carol, by Michael Goudket, who will re-enact the character of Father in the famous poem. The event will also include an ornament workshop and refreshments of cookies and cider. Participants will be welcome to tour the museum and enjoy the holiday spirit of the past, in the present!

The children’s holiday workshop is $15 per child. Please call the museum for reservations as space is limited. 516-922-6808

Spymasters Lecture Series: Kenneth A. Daigler

On January 20, 2016, again in collaboration with the Union Club, we are pleased to present Kenneth A. Daigler, who will discuss his fascinating new book, Spies, Patriots and Traitors: American Intelligence in the Revolutionary War, published by Georgetown University Press. This event includes a cocktail reception. Tickets are $25. Please call the museum for reservations as seats are limited. 516-922-6808

This image, entitled La Promenade du Matin, was made by Swiss engraver Alexandre Chaponnier (1753—1835) after original artwork by French artist Nicolas-Gabriel Dupuis (1698-1790). A graceful depiction of a couple on a breezy morning walk, it is also a caricature that mocks the fashion at the time for women’s dresses made of diaphanous fabric that left little to the imagination.

Annual Valentine’s Benefit

On February 5, 2016, Raynham Hall Museum will host its annual Valentine’s party to benefit the Museum. The evening will include silent and live auctions, followed by a sensational dinner, love songs, and an after-dinner “speakeasy” with games of chance and skill. Tickets are $250 per person or $100 for those under 35.

Raynham Hall Museum is extremely grateful to our friends at Aboff’s Paint and JT Roselle Lighting for their generous gifts of materials used in our on-going restoration and renovation project for the museum and new Education Center, due to be completed in 2018.

Raynham Hall provides an excellent educational experience to about 5,000 students annually who come on field trips to study the Revolutionary War. We offer free or reduced admission, and sometimes the cost of transportation, to schools that would otherwise be unable to visit, amounting to about a quarter of our student visitors.

We thank you for your continued support of our mission.

Time: Friday, February 5, 2016, from 6:30 to 11:30 p.m.

Location: Piping Rock Club, Locust Valley, New York

Dress: Festive attire in shades of red

For tickets and information about our Benefit, please contact Theresa Skvarla, Public Relations Director, at tskvarla@raynhamhallmuseum.org or call the Museum at 516-922-6808.

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

HE’S BACK! Raynham Hall Welcomes Back the Bunny!
Bring your camera for the memories. Best for children ages 3-8.
Free Event!

Family Spy Workshop

Good spies have excellent puzzle-solving, observational and memorization skills. This workshop focuses on some of the fun ways you and your family can develop those skills.

Tickets: $15 per spy

Please call 516-922-6982 for reservations or more information.

Family Spy Workshop

Good spies have excellent puzzle-solving, observational and memorization skills. This workshop focuses on some of the fun ways you and your family can develop those skills.

Tickets: $15 per spy

Please call 516-922-6808 for reservations or more information.

Raynham Hall Presents: Free Outdoor Movie Nights featuring Sense and Sensibility

We are pleased to announce the premiere of our summer Jane Austen Film Series, beginning with Ang Lee’s, Sense and Sensibility, on Thursday, June 2 at 8:30 p.m. Set in late 18th century England, the film stars Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet as two sisters whose charmingly entangled romances come to life in Austen’s brilliant novel. The film will be shown in the Museum’s historic garden.

— Admission is free and guests are invited to bring a blanket and picnic on the lawn.
— Concessions will be available for purchase. Proceeds benefit Raynham Hall Museum.
— Blankets are encouraged. Guests with chairs will be asked to sit towards the back of the lawn.
— Smoking, glass, and pets are not permitted.
— The museum will be open from 7:00-8:30 p.m. for tours. Please no food or drink inside the Museum.
— In the event of rain, the movie will be shown indoors with limited seating.

Silhouette Workshop

Before there were photos, portraits were often profiles cut out of black paper. Half-hour lecture and demonstration at 2 p.m. 15-minute sittings after the lecture should be scheduled in advance- please call for more information.

Tickets: $15

Please call 516-922-6808 for reservations or more information.

Oyster Bay Music Festival: Love Notes- Music and Romance

Featuring the love stories that influenced the music.
This is a free event!

Oyster Bay Music Festival: Vegetable Orchestra and Classical Goodies

Indoor and outdoor concert for the curious of all ages
. Traditional classical music, free ice cream from Gooseberry Grove, and instruments you have probably never heard before! Children can make and play their own vegetable instruments!
This is a free event!

July 4 Parade

Watch the parade and come with us after the parade to the Oyster Bay Historical Society’s open house, at 20 Summit Street, and then visit Raynham Hall (house is open with special hours from 1 to 3 pm on a pay-what-you-will basis)!

Raynham Hall Presents: Free Outdoor Movie Nights featuring Mansfield Park

For our second installment of our Jane Austen Film Series, we are screening Patricia Rozema’s, Mansfield Park, on Thursday, July 7 at 8:30 p.m. Fanny, born into a poor family, is sent away to live with wealthy uncle Sir Thomas, his wife and their four children, where she’ll be brought up for a proper introduction to society. She is treated unfavorably by her relatives, except for her cousin Edmund, whom she grows fond of. However, Fanny’s life is thrown into disarray with the arrival of worldly Mary Crawford and her brother Henry.

— Admission is free and guests are invited to bring a blanket and picnic on the lawn.
— Concessions will be available for purchase. Proceeds benefit Raynham Hall Museum.
— Blankets are encouraged. Guests with chairs will be asked to sit towards the back of the lawn.
— Smoking, glass, and pets are not permitted.
— The museum will be open from 7:00-8:30 p.m. for tours. Please no food or drink inside the Museum.
— In the event of rain, the movie will be shown indoors with limited seating.

Silhouette Workshop

Before there were photos, portraits were often profiles cut out of black paper. Come help us celebrate the birthday of Etienne de Silhouette! Half-hour lecture and demonstration at 2 p.m. 15-minute sittings after the lecture should be scheduled in advance- please call for more information.

Tickets: $15

Please call 516-922-6808 for reservations or more information.

Austen on the Lawn: A Jane Austen Film Series 

featuring Pride & Prejudice

For our third installment of our Jane Austen Film Series, we are screening Joe Wright‘s, Pride & Prejudice, on Thursday, August 4 at 8:30 p.m. In this adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved novel, Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) lives with her mother, father and sisters in the English countryside. As the eldest, she faces mounting pressure from her parents to marry. When the outspoken Elizabeth is introduced to the handsome and upper-class Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen), sparks fly. Although there is obvious chemistry between the two, Darcy’s overly reserved nature threatens the fledgling relationship.

— Admission is free and guests are invited to bring a blanket and picnic on the lawn.
— Concessions will be available for purchase. Proceeds benefit Raynham Hall Museum.
— Blankets are encouraged. Guests with chairs will be asked to sit towards the back of the lawn.
— Smoking, glass, and pets are not permitted.
— The museum will be open from 7:00-8:30 p.m. for tours. Please no food or drink inside the Museum.
— In the event of rain, the movie will be shown indoors with limited seating.

Austen on the Lawn: A Jane Austen Film Series

featuring Emma

For our final installment of our Jane Austen Film Series, we are screening Douglas McGrath’s, Emma, on Thursday, September 1 at 8:30 p.m. In this adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel, socialite Emma Woodhouse (Gwyneth Paltrow) entertains herself by playing matchmaker for those around her. Her latest “project” is Harriet Smith, an unpretentious debutant, while Emma herself receives the attentions of the dashing Frank Churchill (Ewan McGregor). However, Emma’s attempts at matchmaking cause more problems than solutions and may ultimately jeopardize her own chance at love and happiness.

— Admission is free and guests are invited to bring a blanket and picnic on the lawn.
— Concessions will be available for purchase. Proceeds benefit Raynham Hall Museum.
— Blankets are encouraged. Guests with chairs will be asked to sit towards the back of the lawn.
— Smoking, glass, and pets are not permitted.
— The museum will be open from 7:00-8:30 p.m. for tours. Please no food or drink inside the Museum.
— In the event of rain, the movie will be shown indoors with limited seating.

3rd Annual Colonial Day

FREE and open to the public. Step into the past at our third annual Colonial Day! Join us for a family-friendly afternoon for history lovers as Raynham Hall is filled with costumed colonial adult and child re-enactors who bring the 18th century to life with period music, colonial cooking demonstrations and musket firings! The Order of the Ancient and Honorable Huntington Militia , founded in 1653, will encamp on the grounds of the museum, immersing visitors in the life and military world of our Revolutionary forebears.

Refreshments will be available for purchase.

Puppet Workshop

Join us for a fun-filled Halloween workshop for children and families! Children will work alongside an artist to make their own puppets and learn how to use their puppets to craft imaginative stories. Wear your creations to our Halloween parade on October 29. 

Materials and treats provided. 

$15 per child. Ages 5-12. Pre-registration required.

Photo: Henry Christopher 2008 NYC Halloween Parade

Halloween Parade

On Saturday, October 29, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. we will host a costumed parade through town! The parade will be led by ghost puppets designed by Superior Concept Monsters, Inc. Everyone (including your costumed furry friends) is welcome to join the parade!

Stay after the parade for costume contests, dining and dancing. Food will be available for purchase from the Sausage Kings food truck.

Route: From Christ Church Rectory on East Main Street down Audrey Avenue to Townsend Park (by the gazebo), and then to Oakcliff Sailing Center (4 South Street) for the party.

Please call Raynham Hall at 516-922-6808 or Main Street Association at 516-922-6982 for information on joining or becoming a sponsor.

Illustration Workshop

Publish your own story illustrations, starring Maurice, the elusive house mouse of Raynham Hall! Learn from well-known illustrator and artist Mike Goudket, who will instruct and demonstrate the art of illustration.

Materials and snacks provided.

$10 per child. Ages 5-12. Pre-registration required. 

Spies’ Nest: Revelations of Maj. John André’s Activities in Oyster Bay

In this lecture, Claire Bellerjeau, Raynham Hall’s researcher, will discuss two recently-discovered letters written in 1779 during Raynham Hall’s occupation by the British. These letters, from Maj. John André, Benedict Arnold’s chief intelligence contact among the British, to Gen. Henry Clinton, provide proof for the first time of André’s stay in Oyster Bay. 

The lecture will be held on November 12 at 4 p.m. next door at Matinecock Lodge. Exhibition viewing and light refreshments will be served after the lecture at Raynham Hall Museum. Please call 516-922-6808 for more information. 

— $25 members/$35 non-members for the opening lecture on November 12 at 4 p.m.

Greeting Card Workshop

Homemade greeting cards, like homemade cookies, are the best there is. Here is a chance for your young artist, to make three professional looking greeting cards using card blanks with matching envelopes. Media includes pencil, colored pencil, crayons, markers and collage. Our resident art teacher, Michael Goudket, will help the children create their own original card for whatever holiday or occasion they choose. Together, the group will work together to come up with a personal treasure that will be kept for a very long time. Parents may stay to help, or even make a card of their own.

$10 per child. Ages 5-12. Pre-registration required.

Etiquette for the Holidays

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have canceled our Etiquette for the Holidays class that was scheduled for tomorrow night, December 8. We will move the class to the Spring of 2017. We apologize for the short notice and we hope to see you in the Spring for our class!

Exclusive Members Event: Twelfth Night Celebration

For our members,

Come ring in the New Year at our Twelfth Night Celebration!
Colonial Yuletide tunes, holiday punch and light fare will be served.

Space is limited, so please R.S.V.P. through the Eventbrite link or call the Museum at 516-922-6808.

Slavery in the Townsend Homestead

This February, for the first time, an upstairs bedroom at Raynham Hall will be interpreted as Slave Quarters, acknowledging the lives and legacy of these occupants of the house, whose existence, until now, has been invisible to the visiting public.

The opening of the exhibit on February 4 will include a presentation by Raynham Hall Historian Claire Bellerjeau, who will discuss details of the newly interpreted space. The talk will also share new discoveries, including the museum’s connection to Long Island’s earliest recorded manumission; a Townsend descendant’s fascinating recollection of an Oyster Bay man with both African American and Native American heritage, and a disturbing family connection to the brutal business of slave trading in Africa.

The lecture will be held on February 4 at 4 p.m. next door to the Museum at the Matinecock Lodge. Exhibition viewing and light refreshments will be served after the lecture at Raynham Hall Museum. Please call 516-922-6808 for more information.

— $25 members/$35 non-members for the opening lecture on February 4, 2017 at 4 p.m.

1778 portrait of Margaret Shippen (Mrs. Benedict Arnold) dressed for a fancy ball, drawn by her friend Maj. John André, British case officer for Benedict Arnold, visitor to Raynham Hall, and hanged at 30 as a spy by Gen. George Washington in October of 1780. Collection of the Yale University Art Gallery.

Annual Valentine’s Benefit

On February 11, 2016, Raynham Hall Museum will host its annual Valentine’s party to benefit the Museum. Tickets are $250 per person or $100 for those under 35.

The Friends of Raynham Hall, Inc., is extremely grateful to its honorees this year — John Collins, Rebecca Finelli and Elizabeth Watson — for their much-appreciated generosity towards the museum and on behalf of historic preservation in our community.

Raynham Hall provides an excellent educational experience to about 5,000 students annually who come on field trips to study the Revolutionary War. We offer free or reduced admission, and sometimes the cost of transportation, to schools that would otherwise be unable to visit, amounting to about a quarter of our student visitors.

We thank you for your continued support of our mission.

Time: Saturday, February 11, 2016, from 6:30 to 11:30 p.m.

Location: The Creek, Locust Valley, NY

Dress: Festive attire!

For tickets and information about our Benefit, please contact Theresa Skvarla, Public Relations Director, at tskvarla@raynhamhallmuseum.org or call the Museum at 516-922-6808.

Etiquette Workshop

Preparing to visit with relatives over the spring holidays? Brush up on your manners with a refresher course at Raynham Hall Museum! Young people will learn proper table manners, meeting and greeting, and how to write a thank you note. The workshop is best for ages 7 to 12. Reservations are required, and coats and ties and dresses are encouraged.

Date: Thursday, April 6, 2017 

Time: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Fee: $30 per child

Space is limited! Please call the Museum at 516-922-6808 or

Memorial Day Parade and Open House

All are welcome after the Memorial Day parade for FREE ice cream, lemonade, popcorn, old-fashioned games and music.

In Praise of Secret Agents: A James Bond Movie Festival

Join us at Raynham Hall Museum for our second film festival hosted in our garden! This year we will be hosting, “In Praise of Secret Agents: A James Bond Movie Festival” with all proceeds going to the improvement of our garden. The evening will start with cocktails, mocktails, and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a screening of the 1963 classic with Sean Connery, From Russia with Love.

About our event:

-Please bring your own chairs, blankets, and a picnic (if you like). Folding chairs are available, if needed.

-The movie will begin at sundown, approximately 8:30 p.m. Please come at 8:00 for martinis (shaken, not stirred) or a museum tour. Please no food or drink inside the Museum.

-Smoking, glass, and pets are not permitted.

-In the event of rain, the movie will be shown indoors with limited seating.

In Praise of Secret Agents: A James Bond Movie Festival

Join us at Raynham Hall Museum for our second film festival hosted in our garden! This year we will be hosting, “In Praise of Secret Agents: A James Bond Movie Festival” with all proceeds going to the improvement of our garden. The evening will start with cocktails, mocktails, and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a screening of the 1964 classic with Sean Connery, Goldfinger.

About our event:

-Please bring your own chairs, blankets, and a picnic (if you like). Folding chairs are available, if needed.

-The movie will begin at sundown, approximately 8:30 p.m. Please come at 8:00 for martinis (shaken, not stirred) or a museum tour. Please no food or drink inside the Museum.

-Smoking, glass, and pets are not permitted.

-In the event of rain, the movie will be shown indoors with limited seating.

In Praise of Secret Agents: A James Bond Movie Festival

Join us at Raynham Hall Museum for our second film festival hosted in our garden! This year we will be hosting, “In Praise of Secret Agents: A James Bond Movie Festival” with all proceeds going to the improvement of our garden. The evening will start with cocktails, mocktails, and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a screening of Casino Royale.

About our event:

-Please bring your own chairs, blankets, and a picnic (if you like). Folding chairs are available, if needed.

-The movie will begin at sundown, approximately 8:30 p.m. Please come at 8:00 for martinis (shaken, not stirred) or a museum tour. Please no food or drink inside the Museum.

-Smoking, glass, and pets are not permitted.

-In the event of rain, the movie will be shown indoors with limited seating.

4th Annual Colonial Day

FREE and open to the public. Step into the past at our fourth annual Colonial Day! Join us for a family-friendly afternoon for history lovers as Raynham Hall is filled with costumed colonial adult and child re-enactors who bring the 18th century to life with period music, colonial cooking demonstrations and musket firings! The Order of the Ancient and Honorable Huntington Militia , founded in 1653, will encamp on the grounds of the museum, immersing visitors in the life and military world of our Revolutionary forebears.

3rd Annual Culper Spy Day

Join us at Three Village Historical Society for their third annual Culper Spy Day- see you in Setauket!

Ships, Sales, Steel and State: The Life of Solomon Townsend

Raynham Hall Museum is kicking off an exhibition on the life of Solomon Townsend, featuring an 1808 portrait of him by eminent portraitist Ezra Ames recently donated to the museum by a direct descendant. Explore the exciting life of a man who was first drawn to the sea, as captain of transatlantic merchant vessels, until the Revolutionary War forced him to choose sides.

The opening of the exhibition on October 1 will include a presentation by Raynham Hall Historian Claire Bellerjeau, exhibition viewing and light refreshments. Please call 516-922-6808 for more information. 

— $25 members/$35 non-members for the opening lecture on October 1, 2017 at 4 p.m.

Halloween Lantern Workshop

Join us for a fun-filled Halloween workshop for children and families! Children will work alongside an artist to make their own lanterns. Bring your creations to our Halloween parade through Oyster Bay on October 28 at 6:30 pm! Materials will be provided.

Ages 5-12. Space is limited, pre-registration is required. Please use Eventbrite to register or call the Museum at 516-922-6808.

Halloween Parade

On Saturday, October 28, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. we will host a costumed parade through town! The parade will be led by ghost puppets designed by Superior Concept Monsters, Inc. Everyone (including your costumed furry friends) is welcome to join the parade!

Stay after the parade for music and ghostly entertainment. Food will be available for purchase at the end of the parade.

Route: From Christ Church Rectory on East Main Street down White Street, south on South Street to Townsend Park (by the bandstand), then to the Railroad Station.

Please call Raynham Hall at 516-922-6808 for more information on joining or becoming a sponsor.