Wethersfield Estate & Garden hosted their second Garden Luncheon on Sunday September 4, 2022, in the Garden in Stanfordville, New York.
Co-Chairs Karen Klopp and Jennifer Oken welcomed over 350 of guests to the formal gardens for music and champaign before adjourning to a tent for lunch. Many guests came sporting hats, including milliner Patricia Underwood.
Tara Shafer, Wethersfield’s Executive Director and a granddaughter of its founder, alongside Bernadette Murry, a Trustee and leader of the Friends of Wethersfield, offered a warm welcome and thanks to all who helped make the day a success.
Marion de Vogel was honored with the Spirit of Wethersfield award, for her tireless devotion and upholding the founder, Chauncey Stillman’s, legacy of protecting land, conserving beauty, and supporting culture and arts – the spirit we love at Harlem World Magazine.
Alex Farman-Farmaian spoke warmly of de Vogel’s accomplishments; standing near a young Linden he shared, “Chauncy Stillman embraced a tradition of planting a tree to mark special occasions such as the birth of each grandchild…. rather than a silver tray, this tree represents today’s award.”
Marion de Vogel followed by saying, “I stand before you as a humble honoree…I fell in love with Wethersfield fourteen years ago…on the back of a horse. My very dear friends Fernanda Kellogg and Kirk Henkels brought me here”. She spoke with passion and erudition of best practices for protection of the natural world through conservation
This year’s luncheon was the largest in the charity’s history. Guests included Barbara Tober, John and Karen Klopp with Meghan Klopp, Erik and Jennifer Oken, Karen Bechtel, and Will Osborne, Christopher Spitzmiller and Anthony Bellamo, William Benedict, Daniele Bodini, Farnham and Anne Collins, Tara Shafer and Gavin Curran, Clare de Boer and Luke Sherwin, Alexander, Ligon, and Willem De Vogel, Edith Dicconson, Patricia and Alex Farmaian, Deban and James Flexner, Monica Gerard-Sharpe and Ali E. Wambold, Claire Glover, Richard Hass, Nancy Hathaway, Fernanda Kellogg and Kirk Henckels, Edwina and James Hunt, strike here – Fernanda Kellog, Carolina Kim, Peter and Jill Kraus, Pam Howard and Wynn Laferty, Morgan and Westy LeConey, Chris Mann and his beautiful daughters, Timothy and Elizabeth Mayhew, Susan Mercandetti, Kelly A. Morgan, Steven and Deanna Mulligan, Bernadette and Bran Raskovic, Connie and Tom Newberry, Peter Pennoyer and Katie Ridder, Candace Platt, Terry Regan, Alexander and Sarah Saint-Amand, Bryant and Rebecca Seamann, Joseph Singer, Dorothy Sprague and Bill Benedict, David and Sarah Stack, Stanley and Whit Stillman, Jim and Zibby Tozer, and many more.
Next year’s Garden Luncheon honoree is Barbara Tober.
Nestled in 1000 acres of rolling hills of rural New York State, Wethersfield Estate and Garden provides visitors, visionaries, artists, and residents an opportunity to reflect on the importance of natural and classical artistic beauty as a crucial means of human expression for our times.
Wethersfield Founder Chauncey Devereux Stillman (1907–1989) first experienced the beauty of Dutchess County as an equestrian. (The role of equestrian sport remains central to Wethersfield, which incorporates more than 20 miles of trails in and around the property for public enjoyment.)
In 1937, realizing the potential of the land, Stillman purchased two abandoned farms, and Wethersfield was born – based upon premises as timely then as they are today.
Photo credit: 1-11) Patrick McMullan.
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