Sylvester Manor / Oct News: Fall Concert | Sculpture Tours | Trails Open | Updates: Farm, Preservation ….

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Join us for an afternoon of live music featuring two local favorites, Gene Casey & the Lone Sharks and The Hoodoo Loungers.

Even better, the concert is a joint fundraiser for the Shelter Island Fire Department. A portion of every ticket sold will support the department and the important work our local firefighters do for Shelter Island. We will also have a 50/50 raffle, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the Fire Department.

Bring a blanket or lawn chair, gather your friends and family, and spend a fall afternoon at Sylvester Manor with great music, good company, and a great cause. Wine and beer will be available for purchase to those 21 and over. And be sure to stop by the Sylvester Manor Farmstand for concert goodies, farm fresh treats, and more!

Gene Casey & The Lone Sharks
and The Hoodoo Loungers
Saturday, October 10
2-5pm
Sylvester Manor Lawn

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For Giving Tuesday, we’re raising funds to keep our Food Access Program growing through the colder months and to provide fresh produce to Shelter Islanders in need.

Want to get involved? Join us at the Farm to harvest sweet potatoes. Stop by for as long as you can and dig in.  Be a part of our community, from seed to harvest to table!

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Sculpture @ Sylvester Manor: [R]evolution, an outdoor exhibition of sculptures and installations, features a diverse spectrum of artists local to the East End of Long Island and takes place on the historic grounds of Sylvester Manor. The exhibition is free and open daily to the public, from dawn to dusk, June 13 through October 12, 2026. Use the self-guided app or sign up for a walking tour with curator Tom Cugliani.

Recommended for ages 10+. The tour is not ADA-accessible. 

Guided Tours Available Every Other Sunday
10:00-11:30am
Manor Grounds
Free; preregistration is required

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School vacation is a great time to be at Sylvester Manor! Our School Break Program threads the music of a composer throughout the week, drawing inspiration from the natural world in a musical representation of the seasons. This year, our focus is on Henry Purcell, the great English composer of the 1600s. Children will listen for how Purcell blended old traditions into something entirely his own, and discover the depth of feeling in his work while planting herb gardens, making tinctures, performing a puppet show and more!

All sessions are led by Hannah Gray, a certified Forest School educator and Director of our Summer Youth Program. Sign your child up today to experience a dynamic, science-based, re-wilding curriculum, created in the spirit of kindness and compassion for the children of our changing world.

November 25, 27 & 28
9:30am-12:30pm
Manor Grounds
Daily & Weekly Pricing

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Sylvester Manor is a historic site, a working farm, an outdoor classroom and a gathering place, and all of it is woven into the life of Shelter Island. We invite you to learn more about how we serve the community by reading our 2026 Economic Impact Statement. None of this happens without you: our neighbors, volunteers, partners and supporters. Thank you for helping us preserve, cultivate and share historic Sylvester Manor.

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Last weekend’s nor’easter brought gusty winds and another 4.6 inches of rain, which means we’ve had over 6 inches of precipitation in each of the months of July, August and September. It was wonderful to see so many dedicated CSA members show up last Saturday despite the weather – thank you for your dedication and unwavering support!

We’re fortunate that the Farm’s sandy soils drain quickly, allowing late-season crops to thrive. Cover crops in certain areas are already well established and we’re busy preparing the Farm for the change in seasons. We are also focused on harvesting as much as we can. Assuming the weather continues to cooperate, we will have an abundance of sweet potatoes, squash, greens, brassicas and a whole lot more. Thank you for everyone’s ongoing support this season, we look forward to seeing you at the CSA and Farmstand!

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October brings a beautiful abundance of seasonal produce from our fields to the Farmstand shelves, including brightly colored pumpkins, hearty root vegetables, and an abundance of fresh greens.

Cooler temperatures are welcoming some of our favorite fall crops: carrots, squash, potatoes, onions, and garlic. Our brassicas — kale, cabbage, and bok choy — are thriving, while greens like arugula and a variety of lettuces will continue to flourish in the coming weeks. The crisp autumn weather enhances the natural sweetness of these vegetables, making them especially delicious this time of year. We also stock our fresh eggs and woodland-raised pork daily.

The Manor Mercantile is filled with local natural soaps, beautiful tableware, and signature Sylvester Manor clothing, aprons and wine glasses — all wonderful ways to bring a little piece of the Manor home with you.

We’ll continue restocking with fresh harvests throughout the fall, so be sure to stop by and see what’s growing. 

Facebook: The Farm at Sylvester Manor
Instagram: @thefarmatsylvestermanor

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October Farmstand Hours
Thursday – Sunday Through Sunday, October 11
9am-5pm

After October 11
Friday – Sunday
9am-5pm

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The Shelter Island Town Board voted this week to approve our Site Plan, following the approval last fall of our ZBA special permit. We’re grateful to all who supported our application over the past year. Next, we’ll work with the Building Department to obtain a Building Permit for the Manor House Rehabilitation and Adaptive Reuse Project and ultimately lead to hiring a general contractor. The construction project is expected to take about three years to complete. In the meantime, we’ll be improving our internal circulation, enhancing emergency access and redesigning our primary entry to ensure that Sylvester Manor is welcoming and accessible to all.

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Thanks to the generous Dewey Lee Curtis scholarship, Collections Management Associate Eden Sherrod joined the Decorative Arts Trust’s Boston Symposium in late September. On this trip, the group visited Boston’s premier institutions showcasing the finest of American decorative arts, timed during the Semiquincentennial and set at the birthplace of the American Revolution. In this photo, Eden is at the Museum of Fine Arts, posing in front of a display case where a silver tea set is put in conversation with a sugar mold, which is on loan from Boston’s City Archaeologist’s collection. These artifacts are inextricably linked, yet rarely interpreted alongside one another. The tea ceremony of high society was only made palatable by imported sugar in the form of a cone, released from this type of mold. This is an especially pertinent connection to make at Sylvester Manor, where the Sylvester family had hands in a sugar plantation in Barbados, and used their silver tea sets to enjoy the product of those operations here on Shelter Island. 

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As we welcome the final months of 2026, we’re here to help with your year-end giving. If you’d like a copy of your tax acknowledgment letter, or have questions about making a year-end gift, please reach out to Alyse in our Development Office at aread@sylvestermanor.org.

Sylvester Manor is registered with most Donor-Advised Funds, and we’re happy to help if you need assistance finding us. Learn more about ways to give. Thank you for supporting Sylvester Manor –– your gift helps Sylvester Manor remain vibrant and welcoming for all.

Trails Open 

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The trails and grounds are open for your enjoyment, seven days a week from sunrise to sunset. Pick up a map highlighting our four walking trails (Creekside, Woodlands, Old Growth Forest and Farm). Paper maps are available at the kiosk at the front entrance to the Manor and also at the Welcome kiosk located by the parking area near the bathrooms. You can always download a digital version by clicking the button below.

Due to storm damage, the Land Bridge is temporarily closed. Please adhere to the posted trail closures.

Leashed dogs are welcome, but please pick up after your dog and dispose of the waste properly. No bicycles or motorized vehicles are allowed on the trails. The public restrooms are open to the public.

Download the “Sylvester Manor Walking Tour” from the App Store for a self-guided tour of the grounds. Use the app and learn more about our historic property at your own pace.