New York, NY,
- C A spring tradition of the New-York
Historical Society, first celebrated in 1856
with a picnic in Washington Square Park, the
annual Strawberry Festival will take place
this year on Monday, May 18, at the
Society’s landmark building at 170 Central
Park West. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
will be the honoree and keynote speaker at
the benefit luncheon, which will begin at
12:00 p.m.
Senator Gillibrand will take her place as
the latest in a line of outstanding women
honored at the Strawberry Festival,
including her predecessor in the Senate,
Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was the keynote
speaker in 2005. Other recent honorees
include Michelle Obama (2007), Betsy Gotbaum,
Nancy Newcomb, Anna Quindlen, Leslie Stahl,
Christine Quinn and Wendy Wasserstein.
Sworn in as New York's Junior Senator on
January 27, 2009, Kirsten Gillibrand
previously served in the United States House
of Representatives representing New York's
20th Congressional District, which spans ten
counties in Upstate New York. Senator
Gillibrand serves on the Environment &
Public Works Committee; Foreign Relations
Committee; Agriculture Committee; and
Special Committee on Aging.
Prior to serving in Congress, Senator
Gillibrand was Special Counsel to the U.S.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development,
Andrew Cuomo, during the administration of
President Clinton. At HUD, Gillibrand played
a key role in furthering the Labor and New
Markets initiatives, working to strengthen
enforcement of the Davis-Bacon Act, and
drafting legislation to build infrastructure
aimed at revitalizing lower income areas
across the nation.
Senator Gillibrand lives in Greenport, New
York, with her husband Jonathan Gillibrand
and their sons Theodore, who is 5 years old,
and Henry, who was born in May 2008. Senator
Gillibrand is the sixth woman to have given
birth while serving as a Member of Congress.
Proceeds from the Strawberry Festival
support the major exhibitions and
educational programs of the New-York
Historical Society. Current and upcoming N-YHS
exhibitions include Abraham Lincoln In
His Own Words: An Intimate View of Our
Greatest President;
Harlem 1970-2009: Photographs by Camilo José
Vergara;
Landmarks of New York; New York Painting
Begins: Eighteenth-Century Portraits;
and this fall’s Lincoln and New York.
Tiffany & Co. will present an array of
jewelry at the 2009 Strawberry Festival
luncheon. Included are jewels inspired by
the legendary creations of Louis Comfort
Tiffany and other historic designs from the
Tiffany & Co. Archives, as well as iconic
jewelry by world-renowned Tiffany designers
Jean Schlumberger, Elsa Peretti, Paloma
Picassso and Frank Gehry.
Claudia Cogan, Tiffany gemologist and custom
design expert, will be on hand to answer any
questions.
Strawberry Festival tickets are $300, $600,
and $1,000. Media RSVP is required.
ABOUT THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The
New-York Historical Society, one of
America’s pre-eminent cultural institutions,
is dedicated to fostering research and
presenting exhibitions and public programs
that reveal the dynamism of history and its
influence on the world of today. Founded in
1804, the Society has a mission to explore
the richly layered history of New York City
and State and the country, and to serve as a
national forum for the discussion of issues
surrounding the making and meaning of
history. The Society is recognized
for engaging the public with deeply
researched and far-ranging exhibitions, such
as Alexander Hamilton: The Man Who Made
Modern America; Slavery in New York; Drawn
by New York: Six Centuries of Watercolors
and Drawings at the New-York Historical
Society; Grant and Lee in War and Peace;
and the 2009 exhibition Lincoln and New
York. Supporting these exhibitions and
related education programs is one of the
world’s greatest collections of historical
artifacts, works of American art, and other
materials documenting the history of the
United States and New York.
www.nyhistory.org