For Immediate Release

Contact: David Mayhew for Cohn Dutcher Associates

203.453.4275 david@davidmayhew.net

Caramoor's House Museum Announces 2006 Spring Season of
Romantic Evenings, Formal Teas, and Morning Recitals Beginning in March

Mediterranean-style mansion on Caramoor's estate opens for the season on Saturday, May 6

Katonah, NY - Arts & Hearts, a new series of romantic Friday evening rendezvous events, join Caramoor's legendary formal teas as well as Wednesday morning recitals and special programs for youngsters and others on the House Museum's spring 2006 schedule.

Lucie Rosen, who founded Caramoor with her husband, Walter, once wrote I would like our...lives to be the seed of a beautiful thing that many people would be happier for, Merceds Santos-Miller, Manager of the House Museum, notes.  We plan our programs in that spirit and are offering a great variety of events designed to appeal to varied tastes and all ages.

Arts & Hearts - Friday Night Rendezvous

Find romance at Caramoor at Arts & Hearts,  a special series of Friday night rendezvous events for mixing and mingling.  Guests will enjoy a brief, informal discussion on the arts in the extraordinary Renaissance setting of the House Museum's magnificent Music Room.  After the talk, meet like-minded individuals over wine and cheese in the Summer Dining Room, overlooking the romantic Spanish Courtyard.

Spring Arts & Hearts events are scheduled for the 4th Friday of the month - March 24, April 28, and May 26 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.  The event will not be held in June or August.  Tickets are $15.

Elegant Formal Teas

Afternoon Tea at the House Museum has become legendary in Westchester County.  These elegant afternoons begin with a guided tour of the mansion.  Tea is served on the same china used at the luxurious tea parties once given by Walter and Lucie Rosen, Caramoor's founders.  The tea, prepared by Diane's Delectables, consists of an assortment of tea sandwiches, English scones served with clotted cream and preserves, delicious desserts and fine teas.  Tea is served in grand style in the Summer Dining Room, overlooking the romantic Spanish Courtyard, through October.
 
Spring Afternoon Tea is $29 plus tax and will be served on May 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 25, 26 and June 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, and 23 from 1:30 to 4:00 pm. 

Performer's Showcase - Wednesday Morning Recitals

This series of 45-minute mini-concerts take place on Wednesday mornings, May 3 through October 18, at 11:00 am in the Music Room and are followed by a guided tour of the House Museum.  Audiences are welcome to bring a picnic lunch or reserve at catered lunch; after lunch, take a self-guided tour of Caramoor's beautiful gardens.

The spring 2006 Performer?s Showcase artists are:

- May 3 - Andrew Armstrong, piano
- May 10 - Edward Arron, cello; Jeewon Park, piano
- May 31 - Michael Cedric Smith, guitar
- June 7 - Michelle Kim, piano
- June 21 - Marisa Sieiro and Alberto Lotto, piano

Tickets are $16.  For an additional fee, catered lunches are available and must be ordered two weeks in advance.

Special Wednesday Morning Events

Broadway Matinee on Wednesday, May 17 at 11:00 am features Elly Erickson, a lyric coloratura soprano, singing a program of favorite show tunes from Broadway's biggest hits.  This recital will take place in the Music Room of the House Museum.

Flamenco in the Courtyard will bring the passion and rhythm of the legendary song and dance of Spain to the Spanish Courtyard of the House Museum on Wednesday, May 24 at 11:00 am.  Flamenco in the Courtyard features Sara Erde, dancer; Alfonso Cid, vocals and flute; and Raphael Brunn, guitar.

Spring Ritual on Wednesday, June 14 at 10:30 am features a recital in the Music Room with Mary McCarthy, soprano, and Don Wiggins, piano, followed by a guided tour of the House Museum.  Following the tour, lunch will be served in the Summer Dining Room while Mary Lou Pappas, Caramoor's floral designer, demonstrates how to bring nature into your home.  Following lunch, Caramoor's head gardener will offer an exclusive guided tour of the estate's magnificent gardens at their late-spring finest.

All three events include a guided tour of the House Museum and buffet luncheon.  Tickets are $43 plus tax for each event.

Tickets for Spring Ritual are $41.  
 
Events for Youngsters and Others

Mothers & Others Tea Musical - this special tea, an early celebration of Mother's Day, includes a recital in the Music Room of favorite songs for Mother with Richard Slade, tenor, and Diane Guernsey, piano.  The concert and tea, on Saturday, May 13 from 1:00 to 4:30 pm, are preceded by a guided tour of the House Museum. 

Tickets are $40.

Kids, Dads, and the Fabulous Falconer - this early Father's Day celebration includes a box lunch on Caramoor's beautiful picnic grounds followed by the awesome spectacle these amazing predatory birds.  Falconer Brian Bradley gives free-flying demonstrations. 

Tickets, including lunch are $22 for kids and $27 for Dads; without lunch tickets are $14 for kids and $17 for Dads.

Caramoor's House Museum

The House Museum, the former home of Caramoor's founders, Lucie and Walter Rosen, opens for the season on Saturday, May 6.

This astonishing Mediterranean-style villa is filled with the Rosen's vast collection of European and Asian art and artifacts that span the centuries, including paintings, sculpture, furniture, textiles, stained glass, tapestries and a major jade collection.  This remarkable museum is one of only five famous mansions in the United States that incorporates entire rooms from European villas and palaces.

Twenty rooms of the mansion are open to the public.  Well-trained docents offer guided tours through these stunning rooms describing the background of the treasures they contain and the unique history of the Rosen family.  Tours are Wednesday through Sunday, 1:00 to 4:00 pm with the last tour at 3:00 pm.  On summer Saturdays from June 24 through August 12, during the Caramoor International Music Festival, the House Museum will be open from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm with the last tour at 4:00 pm.

Admission to Caramoor's House Museum is $9.  Children 16 and under are admitted free.

For tickets and additional information about events at Caramoor, contact the Caramoor Box Office at 914.232.1252 or visit www.caramoor.org.

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is located at 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, New York.