The Workshop Experience

The Hillsdale Workshop Alliance, a group of local businesses who produce and support experiential workshops, has announced the fifth annual Workshop Experience Weekend will take place May 10 and 11, 2025. The event will feature a weekend packed with a variety of workshops, classes, and open gardens.

This year’s event boasts an exciting lineup of new instructors and fresh class topics. A few highlights include:

• Kenter Davies, the renowned NYC-based music facilitator and Instagram sensation, will lead the event’s very first group choral experience.
• Dan Pelosi, recipe writer for The New York Times and celebrated cookbook author, will be hosting a workshop at HGS Home Chef.
• A book event with Amy Chaplin, a chef and author of two James Beard Award-winning cookbook, will be co-hosting an event with Tamar Adler.

The Hillsdale Workshop Alliance curates and promotes experiential learning in creative fields in and around Hillsdale, NY through their website TheWorkshopExperience.org. Whether the instructors are local experts, or visiting makers/instructors, the goal is high quality workshops presented in beautiful settings that can be enjoyed by local audiences and visitors alike. 

“Many of this year’s workshops are designed with a mother-focused theme, perfect for celebrating Mother’s Day weekend,” says Taconic Ridge Farm owner, Jim Carden. “It’s an ideal way to treat your mom to something special and memorable.” Sarah Katan’s storytelling workshop will explore themes that celebrate motherhood, while Marsha Trattner’s blacksmithing workshops offer participants the chance to craft a steel-forged heart or rose—meaningful keepsakes that would make a great gift for any mom.

Both open gardens generously donate 100% of their proceeds to local charities and the Ancram Center for the Arts is a non-profit, adding a meaningful charitable dimension to our weekend.

While the Workshop Experience Weekend takes place over a single weekend, most of the Alliance’s members offer classes year round. More information on the classes as well as member organization profiles can be found on their website, www.TheWorkshopExperience.org.