CONTACT:
Michelle Santos, Marketing Coordinator & Social Media Strategist
Discover Albany
Phone: 518-434-1217 x 110
Email: msantos@albany.org


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 26, 2018

Wild Tails & Dutch Roots Entice Visitors to Albany  
New Guided Walking Tours Hosted by the Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center

Albany, NY – The Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center is excited to announce two new guided walking tours for the 2018 season. Visitors can now explore Albany’s wild side on a weekend safari or dig deeper into the city’s Dutch roots on a weekday tour.

“Albany is a city of storytellers, and we love to share our city's story with visitors in innovative ways,” said says Michele Vennard, President and CEO of Discover Albany. “These guided walking tours are a fun and interesting way to learn about Albany’s rich history.”

The two guided walking tours offered this year by the Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center:  

  • Wild Tails of Albany Animals: The City of Albany is WILD! Wild Tails of Albany Animals is a first of its kind. The guided walking tour leads your family on a safari through downtown Albany. Together with your guide, you will uncover many creatures in the form of carvings and statues hidden in plain sight. Your guide will regale you with historic tails of Albany’s long-time love of furry and feathered friends, big and small, including Owney the Railway Mail Dog and our beloved Nipper!
  • Going Dutch!: The Albany Dutch are more than just tulips and wooden shoes! Echoes of Albany’s Dutch roots can be felt throughout the City, from our street names to our architectural gems. Going Dutch is a guided walking tour within the original perimeter of Beverwyck. Learn how the tenacious Dutch adapted to the New World, formed relationships with the Native Americans and adjusted to English rule before the Revolution.

Wild Tails of Albany Animals will be held on May 12, June 9, July 14, August 11, September 8 and October 13, 2018. The tour will run from 11:00AM to 12:00 PM and the cost is $3 for adults and free for children. Following the walking tour, continue the trek at the Albany Institute of History & Art’s “A Menagerie of Whimsey: The Art of William B. Schade” exhibit. The exhibition includes Albany artist William B. Schade’s work featuring whimsical furry and feathered animals from grinning crocodiles to prancing hippos.

Going Dutch! will be held on May 24, June 28, July 26, August 23, September 27 and October 25, 2018. The tour will run from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM for $3 a person. Finish your exploration of Albany’s Dutch roots at the New York State Museum’s “a small fort, which our people call Fort Orange,” exhibit. The exhibit examines the discovery of the Dutch colony at Fort Orange and the events that shaped our region’s culture through artifacts, historical and archaeological research, and film footage

ABOUT Discover Albany

The Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. was established in 1976 to promote the civic and commercial progress of the community through increased development of conventions and tourism. Today, the organization is known as Discover Albany. Discover Albany currently represents more than 300 member businesses and assists each year in hundreds of regional meetings. Discover Albany also operates the Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center, Henry Hudson Planetarium, and the Albany International Airport Information Center.  The Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau Foundation was established in 1993 to provide educational opportunities and work with other organizations to secure grants and funding to advance regional travel and tourism projects.  For more information, call 518-434-1217 or 800-258-3582 or visit www.albany.org.

 

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