ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WEEKEND: WINTER

Welcome Reception with a Peek into Mohonk’s Past
5pm

Kick off our anniversary weekend with some light refreshments hosted by the Smiley family in our historic Lake Lounge. Meet family members and take a look back in time as we show recently discovered film footage from the 1920s to the 1940s, shot by Albert K. Smiley (1883-1964), the nephew of our founder. We’ve put together highlights from over 100 reels of these vintage films to give you a glimpse of a time gone by.

Early Morning Hike or Snowshoe with Eric Gullickson & Tom Smiley
7:30am

Guided hikes are a longstanding tradition at Mohonk that began with our founder Albert K. Smiley in the 1870s. Today, fifth generation family members Eric Gullickson (our president) and Tom Smiley (our CEO) will lead you on an early morning hike or snowshoe along one of the many trails traversed by their great-great-grand-uncle in the late 1800s.

House History Tour with Sevan Melikyan
11:15am

Accompany Smiley family member and local art gallery owner Sevan Melikyan on a history tour of the Mountain House. Great for first-time guests and longtime stayers who want to learn more from a family member!

Mindfulness in Minutes with Nina Smiley
12pm

Join Nina Smiley, Ph.D., our Director of Mindfulness Programming and co-author of The Three Minute Meditator and Mindfulness in Nature. She will teach you how to bring meditation into your life.

Please note: class is for ages 16+ only and is limited to 24 participants. Please arrive 5 to 10 minutes prior to the start of class.

S’mores, Skating, and Smileys
2pm

Lace up your skates and spin around the ice in our grand open-air pavilion. Then warm up by the 39-foot stone fireplace and enjoy s’mores with our President Eric Gullickson (a great-great grandnephew of our founder) and his family.

150th Celebration Party
9pm

Tonight we party like it’s 2019: We’ll have a live music with jazz combo, After Five, a cash bar, and a birthday cake to celebrate 150 years of Mohonk Mountain House. So put on your dancing shoes and celebrate with the Smiley family!

Smiley Family Parlor Open House with Sandra Smiley
9:45am

Stop by the Smiley Family Parlor to visit with Sandra Smiley, a great-grandniece of our founder, to share stories and reflections on Mohonk’s History.

Blacksmith Demonstration with Jim Clark
10:30am

Join our Barn Museum curator Jim Clark and discover the techniques and skills used in the art of Blacksmithing.

Winter Bonfire with Hot Cider, Hot Cocoa, & Cookies with Tom Smiley
4pm

Bundle up and head down to the corral for a winter bonfire hosted by Tom Smiley, our CEO. (It’s not the OK Corral—it’s the really awesome corral!) Enjoy hot cider, hot cocoa, cookies, and good company as you warm up by the fire in the crisp mountain air.

Art Tour with Pril Smiley
10am

Join Pril Smiley, our director of art and a great-grandniece of our founder, for a tour of the artwork collections that adorn the hallways of the Mountain House. Learn the stories behind the images, including historical information on the Mohonk Boys School, a look at our watercolor and oil painting acquisitions, vintage photographs, and more.

Eric Gullickson
President of Mohonk Mountain House

After a 10 year career in journalism and public relations, Eric joined the Mohonk Management team in 2010 as the Director of Hotel Operations. Eric was promoted to General Manager in 2014 and was appointed as Vice President in 2016. Throughout his life, Eric has been involved with the resort in a variety of ways, ranging from seasonal jobs in his teenage years to serving as a member of the Board of Directors in his adult years, giving him a unique perspective on the operation from the inside out.

Tom Smiley
CEO of Mohonk Mountain House

With an extensive background in manufacturing and engineering management, Tom joined the Mohonk management team in 2003 after serving as a member of the Mohonk Mountain House Board of Directors. For the last 8 years, Tom has led the Properties and Project Management teams as Director of Properties and was appointed as Vice President in 2016.

Nina Smiley, Ph.D.
Director of Mindfulness Programming

Nina Smiley, Ph.D. graduated from Vassar College and earned a doctoral degree in psychology from Princeton University. She is co-author of The Three Minute Meditator, Mindfulness in Nature (2017), and the CD Mini-Meditations That Will Enhance Your Life. Nina taught psychology at the University of Maryland and worked at the American Psychological Association. She has studied mindfulness with Jack Kornfield (founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center), Sharon Salzberg (co-founder of Insight Meditation Society), Joseph Goldstein, and others. Nina’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Real Simple, Shape, Prevention, and O, the Oprah Magazine. She delights in sharing insights about mindfulness meditation and well-being.

Pril Smiley
Mohonk Board of Director and Art Director

Pril Smiley was raised at Mohonk, along with her fourth-generation siblings and cousins. As an adult, she balanced her Mohonk involvement with a career in electronic music. While still a student at Bennington College, in 1963, Pril started working at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center in New York City. Following college graduation, she became established as a teacher and administrator at the Center. More notably, she was a pioneering composer—writing electronic music for over forty theatre, film, and dance productions, and serving for six years as Electronic Music Consultant for the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center after it had just opened. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1975. Her electronic compositions continue to be performed internationally.

Meanwhile, on the Mohonk front, Pril was elected to the Mohonk Board of Directors in 1972, and became involved in many facets of the business over the ensuing decades. Currently, she continues her work at Mohonk Mountain House as a member of the Board of Directors and as Mohonk’s Art Director.

Sevan Melikyan

Sevan Melikyan is the director of Wired Gallery in High Falls, New York, a founding member and director of Chagall in High Falls, Inc., a lecturer on art museums, a tour guide for Artful Journeys, and an artist. Sevan has produced dozens of art exhibits featuring Hudson Valley artists at Mohonk Mountain House, where he also leads monthly house tours. In 2013, Art Society of Kingston presented Melikyan with its ASKars award in recognition for his “significant contributions to the arts” and The Ulster County Executive recognized Melikyan as an Arts Ambassador. Before moving to the U.S., he lived in Paris, France where he earned a BA focusing on arts marketing, and in Istanbul, Turkey, where he was born of Armenian parents in 1965. He is married to Maria Guralnik, a fourth generation Smiley Family member. Their son, Robert, a Junior at Ithaca College, performs at Mohonk Mountain House during Christmas and 4^th of July celebrations.