Catskill Mountain Region April 2011

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www.catskillregionguide.com VOLUME 26, NUMBER 4 April 2011 CONTENTS

PUBLISHER Peter Finn, Chairman, Catskill Mountain Foundation

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, CATSKILL MOUNTAIN FOUNDATION Sarah Taft

ADVERTISING SALES Don Boutin & Steve Friedman

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Vicki Lester, Carol White and David White

ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE Candy McKee Toni Perretti Laureen Priputen

PRINTING Catskill Mountain Printing

DISTRIBUTION Catskill Mountain Foundation

On the Cover: “Olana in Summer,” by Stuart Friedman EDITORIAL DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE: April 6 2 THE ARTS

The Catskill Mountain Region Guide is published 12 times a year by the Catskill Mountain Foundation, Inc., Main Street, PO Box 924, Hunter, NY 12442. If you have events or programs that you would like to have covered, please send them by e-mail to tafts@ 14 FIRE TOWER MOUNTAINS OF THE catskillmtn.org. Please be sure to furnish a contact name and in- clude your address, telephone, fax, and e-mail information on all CATSKILLS: PHOENICIA AND WILLOW correspondence. For editorial and photo submission guidelines send a request via e-mail to [email protected]. TRAILS TO MOUNT TREMPER The liability of the publisher for any error for which it may be By Carol & David White held legally responsible will not exceed the cost of space ordered or occupied by the error. The publisher assumes no liability for errors in key numbers. The publisher will not, in any event, be liable for loss of income or profits or any consequent damages. The Catskill Mountain Region Guide office is located in TEA TIME AT WILDERSTEIN Hunter Village Square in the Village of Hunter on Route 23A. 17 The magazine can be found on-line at www.catskillmtn.org by clicking on the “Publications” button, or by going directly to www.catskillregionguide.com 7,000 copies of the Catskill Mountain Region Guide are 18 THIS OLD HOUSE By Vicki Lester distributed each month. It is distributed free of charge at the Plattekill, Sloatsburg and New Baltimore rest stops on the New York State Thruway, and at the tourist information offices, restaurants, lodgings, retailers and other businesses throughout Greene County. The magazine is also distributed in public spaces 20 HORIZONTAL HYDROFRACKING: at major corporate offices in New York City. Home delivery of the Guide magazine is available, at an How Upstate New York Communities additional fee, to annual members of the Catskill Mountain Foundation at the $100 membership level or higher. Can Face the Heavy Impacts from ”2000 Catskill Mountain Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without Shale Gas Industrialization written permission is prohibited. The Catskill Mountain Region Guide is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. All photo- graphic rights reside with the photographer.

THE CATSKILL MOUNTAIN 22 PARCELIZING THE CATSKILLS AND THE FOUNDATION BOILED FROG SYNDROME 7970 MAIN STREET P.O. BOX 924 HUNTER, NY 12442 PHONE: 518 263 2000 APRIL AT THE FAX: 518 263 2025 24 WWW.CATSKILLMTN.ORG CATSKILL MOUNTAIN FOUNDATION

April 2011 • guide 1 The Arts A Night of Wit, Warmth and Great Songs in Stamford Irreverent, reflective and belly-laugh funny, Rob Carlson, with Vin Pasternak and Paul Payton, provides a terrific night out filled with wit, warmth and great songs when Rob Carlson and Benefit Street come to the Roxbury Arts Group 76 MAIN! Stamford on Saturday, April 2 at 7:30 pm. The musical journey of Rob Carlson and Paul Payton began in 1968 when Paul joined Benefit Street. The story of this successful road band is amusingly recounted in detail on the group’s Web site, www.benefitstreetband.com, and serves as a win- dow into the music scene of those exciting times. After a 39-year “pause,” original Benefit Street members Rob Carlson and Paul Payton are again working together with Vin Pasternak in Rob Carlson & Benefit Street. The new group has reclaimed the Benefit Street name since “two-thirds of us were in it, and Vin lives a mile from the namesake street in Providence, RI,” says Paul. “Rob deserves top billing this time around since most of the songs are his, and since we originally got together as the road band supporting his latest solo album Pieces of Paradise.” This band’s first group CD, a self-titled seven-song EP, debuted in November, 2010, and is available online and at band gigs as a hard copy. Unlike many bands with veteran players, the group’s repertoire consists of all original material. “The Bells of St. Stephen’s” and “Seven Years,” two songs from the original Benefit Street’s repertoire, have been re-recorded for the new CD, but the group is constant- ly developing new songs, reflecting their joy in composing and arranging. “Consider us to be ‘young guys in older bodies,’” says Paul. “We think our music is ageless, timeless, and contemporary, and we’re getting excellent audience response among all ages. In fact, we’ve been invited back to every venue we’ve played.” A hallmark of Rob Carlson & Benefit Street is its mix of humor and “straight” songs. “I was with Modern Man for 15 years,” says Rob. “We were known for our comedy and clever songwriting, but part of me was missing.” Now the group blends straightforward songwriting with smart humor, prompting Rob to remark, “This is the group I always wanted to have.” Needless to say, Vin and Paul are smiling! The Roxbury Arts Group’s Stamford venue is located at 76 Main Street. Tickets are $15/$12 for seniors. For more information, call 607 326 7908 or visit www.roxburyartsgroup.org.

Take Dance at Kaatsbaan Photo by Steven Schreiber Kaatsbaan International Dance Center is pleased to welcome Take Dance on Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 7:30 pm. The company will offer a preview of Salaryman, Takehiro Ueyama’s first full-evening production.Salaryman takes audiences through a “day in the life” of over-worked Japanese executives: a look at the world of the Japanese businessman as he struggles to meet societal expec- tations while keeping his hopes and dreams alive. The theatrical blend of fantasy and reality as imagination takes over makes Salaryman one of Ueyama’s most ex- citing works to date. As a native of Tokyo, Ueyama draws from his own personal experiences and casts a haunting spotlight on Japan’s collectivist business culture. While Salaryman was conceived prior to the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the piece has evolved into a visceral journey for Ueyama. “My initial intention for Salaryman was to showcase Japan’s rigorous business landscape,” explains Ueyama. “Now, as the Japanese struggle to survive one of history’s largest catastrophes, I recognize that their innate stringent and steadfast norms are indicative of not just the corporate culture but of the Japanese community as a whole and will ultimately help the coun- try thrive once again.” Described as “a bold tribute to modernity, with just enough originality,” (The New York Times) Ueyama’s East-meets-West style comes from his Japanese upbringing coupled with his Juilliard schooling and tenure with Paul Taylor Dance Company. In Salary- man, a cast of ten dancers performs multiple vignettes that portray Japan’s “big biz” culture. To help portray the essence of Japa- nese society, Ueyama collaborates with two Japanese artists—filmmaker Yuko Takebe and set designer Yukinobu Okazaki. Inspired by the eponymous song by Japanese rock singer Kiyoshiro Imawano, SALARYMAN is set to the ambient sounds of metropolis Tokyo, metronomes, and contemporary works by Laurie Anderson, Michael Gordon, and Eve Beglarian, to name a few. Tickets for the Saturday, April 16 performance are $25 reserved/$10 student rush at the door. Kaatsbaan International Dance Cen- ter is located at 120 Broadway in Tivoli. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 845 757 5106 or visit www.kaatsbaan.org.

2 • www.catskillregionguide.com An Afternoon with Garrison Keillor At UPAC in Kingston The Bardavon is pleased to present: An Afternoon with Garrison Keillor on Sunday April 3 at 5 pm at UPAC in Kingston. A consummate story-teller, Keillor returns to Kingston by popular demand after selling out the theater two years ago! The sponsor for this event is M&T Bank. Garrison Keillor is the host and writer of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer’s Almanac heard on public radio stations across the country and the author of more than a dozen books, including Lake Wobegon Days, The Book of Guys, Love Me and Homegrown Democrat. He was born in Anoka, Minnesota, in 1942 and gradu- ated from the University of Minnesota. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters and the Episcopal Church. In 1969 he began writing for The New Yorker. It was writing an article about the Grand Ole Opry in 1974 that inspired him to create a live variety show for ra- dio. Thus A Prairie Home Companion was born on July 6, 1974 in a St. Paul college theatre in front of an audience of 12 people. In 1987, he ended A Prairie Home Companion and moved to New York where, in 1989, he started a new program, The American Radio Company, which played to sold-out houses for four seasons. The show returned to the name A Prairie Home Companion in 1993 and is once again based in Minnesota. The decision to resume broadcasting under this widely recognized name has reconnected A Prairie Home Companion to its midwestern roots. In addition to his books, he has written poetry and is a consummate story-teller whose voice can be heard on numerous record- ings. He lives in St. Paul with his wife, violinist Jenny Lind Nilsson, with whom he has a daughter. He has two grandsons. Tickets for An Afternoon with Garrison Keillor on Sunday April 3 at 5 pm at UPAC in Kingston are: $85 Golden Circle, $60 Orchestra/ Loge, $55 (Members) and $55 Rear Orchestra/Rear Balcony, $50 (Members). Purchase your tickets in person at the UPAC Box Office, 601 Broadway Kingston: 845 339 6088, the Bardavon Box Office, 35 Market Street, Poughkeepsie: 845 473 2072 or online at www.TicketMas- ter.com or by calling 800 745 3000. Please note that member benefits are not available through Ticketmaster.

Susanna Heller at the John Davis Gallery This April, the John Davis Gallery will host a new exhibition featuring the work of Susanna Heller. A reception for the artist will be held on Saturday, April 2 from 6 to 8 pm, and the show will run through Sunday, April 24. Susanna Heller was born in New York, NY in 1956 and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1977. Her work is represented in both public and private collections including: The Art Gallery of Ontario, Air Canada Corporation, Canada Council Art Bank, The Donovan Collection, Mcmillan, Binch, Museum London, National Bank Financial, Oakville Galleries, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, Toronto Dominion Bank, Torys and The Woodbridge Group. “Last Blues of Dusk,” oil on linen by Susanna Heller Ms. Heller says of her work: “A painting, like a walk, connects the physical experience (feet on the ground/paint on the canvas) to movement, energy, and space. In a painting you enter and travel in a multitude of ways. I paint tactically, not strategi- cally. The work is without a formula and I work with no physical hierarchies or imperatives. This explains the ever shifting surface, mark, texture, density, etc, within each painting and from painting to painting. I don’t look at a painting as static. “For the ordinary practitioner of the city or the canvas, the walker’s/painter’s/drawer’s bodies follow the thicks and thins of urban space, the ins and outs of the space of a person trapped in bed, or the space of our eye’s trajectory as it travels back towards a distant horizon.” The John Davis Gallery is located at 362 1/2 Warren Street in Hudson. Gallery hours are Thursday through Monday, 11 am to 5 pm. For further information about the gallery, the artists and upcoming exhibition, visit www.johndavisgallery.com.

April 2011 • guide 3 Hudson Valley Philharmonic’s 51st Anniversary Season Continues with “Russian Romantics” An All Russian Program Features Internationally Re- nowned Violinist Judith Ingolfsson The Bardavon is pleased to continue the 51st Anniversary Season of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic (HVP) at the Bardavon on Saturday, April 2 at 8 pm. The concert, titled Russian Romantics, spotlights acclaimed violinist Judith Ingolfsson performing one of the greatest works for violin and orches- tra, Glazunov’s Concerto, violin, op.82 in A minor. HVP Music Director/ Conductor Randall Craig Fleischer will be at the podium. The 51st Anniver- sary Season is sponsored by Rhinebeck Savings Bank, with additional support from the Dr. Jeffrey Perchick Memorial Fund and WMHT/WRHV FM. Student rush tickets will be available one hour prior to the concert for $20. The all-Russian program also features Mussorgsky’s Khovantchina—Dance of the Persian Maidens (Persian Dances) and Khov- antchina’s Entr’acte (Act 4, Scene 2), as well as Rachmaninoff’s Symphony no. 2, op.27, E minor. Ticket holders are invited to a pre- concert talk with Maestro Fleischer and members of the orchestra one hour prior to the performance. Since winning the 1998 Gold Medal of the prestigious International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, Judith Ingolfsson has established herself world-wide as an artist of uncompromising musical maturity, extraordinary technical command and charismatic performance style. A native of Iceland, Ms. Ingolfsson made her debut as orchestral soloist in Germany, at the age of eight. In the U.S. she has been heard with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, among others. Ms. Ingolfsson has collaborated with many of the acclaimed maestros of our time, including Jesus López-Cobos, Raymond Lep- pard, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Gerard Schwarz, and Leonard Slatkin. She was also heard as soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra on its 2000 fifteen-city North American Tour, highlighted by a performance at Carnegie Hall. Highlights of Ms. Ingolfsson’s current season include performances with the Austin, Bakersfield, and Las Cruces symphony orchestras, and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. With her husband, pianist Vladimir Stoupel, she also tours throughout the U.S. and Europe with The Ingolfsson-Stoupel Duo. Her recital performances have taken her throughout the U.S. and around the world. With pianist Vladimir Stoupel, she has performed in Germany, Italy, and on Brooklyn’s famed Bargemusic series. An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with the Avalon and Miami String Quartets and the Broyhill Chamber Ensemble, and has appeared, both on tour and at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ Alice Tully Hall, with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two. Ms. Ingolfsson has frequently appeared on radio and television broadcasts, beginning with a performance on Icelandic TV at the age of five. Since then, she has been seen on PBS, CBS Sunday Morning and Japan’s National Broadcasting Company (NHK). In 1999, National Public Radio’s Performance Today named her “Debut Artist of the Year” for her “remarkable intelligence, musical- ity, and sense of insight.” She is also the recipient of the 2001 Chamber Music America/WQXR Record Award for her debut CD for Catalpa Classics, featuring a varied program ranging from Bach to Ned Rorem. Spring 2008 saw the release of her recording of Tchai- kovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, available on the orchestra’s own label. At the age of 14, Judith Ingolfsson was admitted to The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she pursued studies with the legendary violinist and pedagogue Jascha Brodsky. She went on to earn her Master’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of David Cerone, and continued her graduate studies at the same institution while working with Donald Weilerstein. Prior to her triumph at the Indianapolis Competition, Ms. Ingolfsson, who began violin studies at the age of three, was a prize-winner at the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York City and the Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy. In 2008, she concluded two years of service on the faculty of the College of Music of the University of Colorado at Boulder. In 2008, she was appointed professor on the distinguished faculty of the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart. Judith Ingolfsson performs on a Lorenzo Guadagnini violin, crafted in 1750. Tickets for the Bardavon’s presentation of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Russian Romantics on Saturday, April 2 at 8 pm at the Bar- davon are available at various prices ranging from $24 to $44. Specially priced $20 Student Rush tickets will be available one hour prior to the concert. Tickets are available at the Bardavon Box Office (35 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, 845 473 2072) or through Ticketmaster (800 745 3000 or www.ticketmaster.com). The Bardavon is handicapped accessible and has secure and convenient parking. For further information about the Bardavon or the Hudson Valley Philharmonic log on to www.bardavon.org.

4 • www.catskillregionguide.com Prescription for Cabin Fever Shiermonnikoog: Panoramas of A Dutch Island Opens April 2 in Kingston Just when you think you can’t take another minute of winter, Hendrik Dijk’s stunning panoramic photographs of his boyhood home on the Dutch Island Schiermonnikoog takes you to the sunlit beaches of your heart’s longing. The Dutch people declared Schiermonnikoog the most beautiful area in the Netherlands in 2006. You’ll find no reason to disagree in Dijk’s current show, Schiermonnikoog: Panoramas of a Dutch Island, opening at Donskoj Gallery’s new, larger space at 101 Abeel Street in Kingston on April 2, and continuing through April 26. Dijk draws us across the Atlantic to an island locked in a time that seems bygone in post-economic meltdown modern society. Dijk shows us a world touched by the sea as ours is by the river, where every cow, field, dune marsh and home is respected and cared for in a way that our “make it new” modern world appears racing to forget. For Dijk, a Dutch citizen who lived on Schiermonnikoog as a teenager from 1960 to 1966, photographing there annually since 2007 has given him the opportunity to explore and record the deep-seated feelings and emotions typical to adolescents on both sides of the Atlantic. An island in a chain continuing from The Netherlands to Germany and Denmark, Schiermonnikoog offered little to do for teens—no theater, clothing stores, music shops or transportation by car. In Dijk’s youth, young people turned instead to the dunes, the beach, the woods and the wetlands … working out their universal teenage angst at the scale of a community of 900 inhabitants in a landscape a mere 2x7 miles surrounded by the immensity of the sea and the unbroken horizon. But this exhibition is no exercise in nostalgia. Despite a palpable emotional connection with the island, Dijk has more than met the artistic challenge to show us how to find our own unique perspectives in a place that is everything we already know and much of what we long for. In these panoramas he leads us to a direct connection with nature and helps us find the balance in what we see and feel. Schiermonnikoog: Panoramas of a Dutch Island Opens April 2 at Donskoj Gallery, 101 Abeel Street, Kingston, and runs through April 26. Gallery hours are Fridays from 5 to 7 pm, Saturdays from 1 to 4 pm, or by appointment. An opening reception will be helf on Saturday, April 2, from 5 to 7 pm. For more information, call 845 339 2996 or e-mail [email protected].

April 2011 • guide 5 New Film Series at the The Hurt Locker Roxbury Arts Group Five films exploring the changing face of the American war hero in film will comprise The Roxbury Arts Group’s 2011 film series, open- ing on April 2. The series is curated by award-winning filmmaker Joseph Stillman. Screenings are at 3 pm in the Hilt Kelly Hall of the Roxbury Art Center. Each film will by fol- lowed by a Q and A discussion led by distinguished panelists, includ- ing Ramsey Clark, the former U.S. Attorney General, on May 21, Dr. Harry Matthews of Hartwick Col- lege on April 12, and other guests to be announced. Susan Kenny, RAG’s Executive Director says, “This series will offer us the opportunity to discuss war, the American hero and how the soldiers’ experience has changed since the Civil War.” The films are set during four of America’s conflicts ranging from the Civil War to Iraq. Stillman says that not only do the films reflect a change in America’s idea of the hero but also in each film the protagonist enters the conflict with one idea of what heroism means and by the end of the film has come to realize something very different about the nature of war and his role in it. The series begins on April 2 with Glory, a tribute to a little-known legion of black soldiers who bravely fought for the Union in the Civil War. The 1989 film stars Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Matthew Broderick and Cary Elwes, and was directed by Edward Zick. Dr. Harry Matthews, Hartwick College’s Esteemed Professor of African American History, will lead the Q and A. On April 16, the film will be Saving Private Ryan, a WWII drama about an army captain assigned to take his squad of seven into France to locate a private whose three brothers have been killed in battle and to return him home safely. This 1998 film stars Tom Hanks, Ed Burns, Matt Damon and Ted Danson, and was directed by Steven Spielberg. Born on the Fourth of July will screen on April 23. The film is a powerful saga of a real-life, gung-ho marine Vietnam veteran, Ron Kovic, who came home paralyzed from war only to endure the struggle and humiliation of a personal transformation and a country’s questioning of that conflict. This 1989 film stars Tom Cruise and was directed by Oliver Stone. The series continues with the 2009 Academy Award-winning The Hurt Locker on May 14. Kathryn Bigelow directed this gripping drama that follows one of the U.S. Army’s elite EOD (explosive ordinance disposal) teams operating in the ferocious war zone of Iraq. The film stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pearce. The final film in the series is From Mills River to Babylon and Back…The Jimmy Massey Story. This 2009 documentary film, directed by Joseph Stillman, is about a career Marine staff sergeant who refused to continue killing innocent civilians in Iraq. The film examines the political, legal, moral and human rights implications of the war. Jimmy Massey, Martin Sheen, Cindy Sheehan, Ramsey Clark, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Doug Rokke appear in the film. Ramsey Clark, former Attorney General who served in both the Kennedy and Johnson adminstrations and is more recently known as the founder of Indict Bush Now, will be the guest speaker at this screening and will be on hand for the Q and A. In 2010 Mr. Clark was chosen to be the chairperson of an international campaign to investigate war crimes committed by officials from the Bush administration. Joseph Stillman is an award winning filmmaker who has lived in upstate New York for the past thirty years. After graduating from film school, he began working in Hollywood where he cut his teeth as a cameraman on independent feature films. In 1979, he moved to New York City where he began to produce and direct TV commercials and movies. He has worked with some of the greatest actors and directors in the business, including Christopher Plummer, Maggie Smith, Elizabeth Ashley, Elaine May, Rod Steiger, Richard Chamberlain and Sam Raimi. Joe has also produced and directed more than 300 national TV commercials, fifteeen motion pictures, numerous documentaries and a hundred other films through his company, La Paloma Films, which is based in Oneonta, NY. A $5 donation is suggested for each of these films. They will be shown at The Roxbury Arts Center, 5025 Vega Mountain Road, Roxbury, NY. For more information call 607 326 7908 or visit www.roxburyartsgroup.org.

6 • www.catskillregionguide.com Yale Strom to perform “In The Memory Of…” with the Carei String Quartet at New Paltz Klezmer violinist and ethnographer, Yale Strom, will perform his newest Jewish piece, “In The Memory Of…,” with the Carei String Quartet on April 5 at 8 pm in McK- enna Theatre located on the campus of the State University of New York at New Paltz. There will be a pre-concert discussion at 6:30 pm in the same theatre. Tickets, available at the door, are $8 general admission, $6 seniors, SUNY New Paltz faculty and staff, and $3 students. “In The Memory Of…” is based upon melodies from a 1931 cantor’s book Strom found in the abandoned “Mare” synagogue during his invitation to participate in the world music festival in Satu Mare in 2008. This composition is dedicated to the Jews of Romania and Hungary that perished in the Holocaust. Following the perfor- mance of “In The Memory Of…,” Strom will perform klezmer tunes from Transylva- nia and the Carpathian Mountain regions. Yale Strom pioneered among revivalists in conducting extensive field research in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans among the Jewish and Rom communities. Initially, his work focused primarily on the use and performance of klezmer music among these two groups. Gradually, his focus increased to examining all aspects of their culture, from post-World War II to the present. Strom has become the world’s leading ethnographer-artist of klezmer music and history. Since Strom organized his first band, Hot Pstromi (1981), he has been composing his own New Jewish music, which combines klezmer with Hasidic nigunim, Rom, jazz, classical, Balkan and Sephardic motifs. He composed original music for the Denver Center production of Tony Kushner’s The Dybbuk, and composed all the New Jewish music for the National Public Radio series Fiddlers, Phi- losophers & Fools: Jewish Short Stories from the Old World to the New, hosted by Leonard Nimoy. The concert is sponsored by the Department of Music, the Louis and Mildred Resnick Institute and the Office of Academic Affairs. For additional information, call 845 257 2700 or visit www.newpaltz.edu/music.

April 2011 • guide 7 The Man Who Planted Trees: Two Very Special Family Performances at UPAC in Kingston

“Laughs, heartbreak, war, regeneration, scented breezes, sparkling wit and the best dog puppet ever. Just perfect for children and grown ups.” —The Guardian

The Bardavon is pleased to present two performances of The Man Who Planted Trees on Saturday, April 2 at 11 am and 1 pm at the Ulster Performing Arts Center (UPAC) in Kingston. This one-hour production by the award-winning Puppet State Theatre Company of Edinburgh, Scotland is for children in Grade 3 and up. Due to the intimate nature of this very special family production, audience seating will be on the UPAC stage with the actors, and is limited to 150. Hear the wind, feel the rain, smell the lavender, and laugh with Dog in this multi-sensory theatrical delight. Based on Jean Giono’s classic novel, this play is a unique blend of comedy and puppetry and tells the inspiring, ecologically-oriented tale of a human being who saw a need and decided not to ignore it but “to put things right.” In spite of wars and hardship, a French shepherd sets out with his dog to plant a forest and transform a barren wasteland. This uplifting and unforgettable story shows us the difference one man (and his dog!) can make to the world. Puppet State Theatre Company based in Edinburgh, Scotland was founded in 2003 by Richard Medrington, who has worked as a professional puppeteer since 1984. In 2006 he teamed up with Rick Conte and Ailie Cohen to develop an adaptation of Jean Giono’s The Man Who Planted Trees. Aided by stage/office manager Elspeth Murray and administrator Jennifer Williams, the first three years of touring saw the show performed more than 800 times. In 2009, they appeared for the fourth time at the Edinburgh Fringe and were honored to be part of the new Made in Scotland Showcase. Touring to date has taken them to all corners of the UK, Ireland and the Channel Islands, Bermuda, Malaysia, and the U.S. Awards include the Eco Prize for Creativity 2007, Total Theatre Award for Story Theatre 2008, Victor Award for best show at the International Performing Arts for Youth Showcase in Cleveland OH and Best Children’s Show at the Brighton Festival 2009. In October 2009, Puppet State was part of Scots on Broadway and performed to great acclaim at the New Victory Theater in New York. Tickets for The Man Who Planted Trees on Saturday April 2 at 11 am and 1 pm at UPAC in Kingston are $20 adults, $15 members, $10 children 12 and under. Limited seating for up to 150 is available. Due to the unique and intimate theatrical nature of this performance, audience members will be seated directly on the stage floor. Patrons are encouraged to bring their own pads on which to sit. Those with physical restrictions that require chair seating should contact the box office. Purchase your tickets in person at the Bardavon Box Office (35 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, 845 473 2072) at the UPAC Box Office (601 Broadway, Kingston, 845 339 6088 or through Ticketmaster (www. ticketmaster.com or 845 454 3388). Please note that Bardavon Member benefits are not available through Ticketmaster.

8 • www.catskillregionguide.com Planning a weekend or family gathering in the Catskills? Stay with us! We offer affordable residential and meeting facilities in a beautiful setting only two hours from New York City

The Catskill Mountain Foundation has extensive and affordable facilities for artistic residencies, corporate retreats, and private events in a spectacular natural setting only two hours from metropolitan New York. The Foundation’s facilities are located on the inspiringly beautiful Greene County mountain top and surrounded by the NY State Catskill Park, with its great natural beauty and numerous public hiking trails.

These facilities include comfortable housing, as well as dedicated space for meetings, performances, rehearsals, studio arts, exhibition and film screenings. Our fourteen-room Sherwood House Hotel is situated near both Windham and Hunter Mountain ski areas and is an ideal choice for groups looking for first-class budget accommodations near the slopes.

for more information visit our Web site: www.catskillmtn.org/facilities/index.html call: 518.263.2073 or email: [email protected] Save the Date Catskill Mountain Foundation Annual Benefit July 16, 2011 at the Orpheum Theater in Tannersville, NY

Come celebrate the completion of the Orpheum Theater!

For more information, contact Candy McKee at [email protected]

April 2011 • guide 9 Photo by Janos Sutyak

Bard Presents New Dance Performance Choreographed to Bach’s Goldberg Variations The Bard Conservatory of Music, Dance Program, and Music Program present, A Closer Paradigm: Bach Among Us, on Sunday, April 17, at 5 pm and Monday, April 18 at 8 pm in the Sosnoff Theater of the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. The col- laborative performance features Bach’s timeless Goldberg Variations with original choreography to a string trio transcription by Dmitry Sitkovetsky by members of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company on faculty in partnership with the Bard Dance Program. This dance is preceded by a short musical prologue of works by Hanns Eisler and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and two of Bach’s irrepressibly danceable Inventions by students of the Bard Dance Program. This event is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are required. In an unconventional staging to create a warm, inclusive setting, performers and audience members are side by side on the stage of the Sosnoff Theater, removing the traditional divisions of artist and audience. Dancers, choreographers, and musicians represent a creative fusion of five Bard departments, including members of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company on faculty in partnership with the Bard Dance Program; and students and faculty of Bard’s programs in dance and music, the Bard Conservatory of Music, and the Conservatory’s Artist-Fellow Program. Dancers include Leah Cox, Stuart Singer, Liza Batkin ’14, Emily Mayer ’12, Kalena Fuji ’14, and Stephanie Saywell ’14. Musicians include Helena Baillie (violin), Marka Gustavsson (viola), and Emma Schmiedecke (cello). Beginning in fall 2009, the dance program at Bard College has partnered with the world-renowned Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company to offer new classes in dance technique and choreographic methods, as well as special campus-wide forums and work- shops, such as this event. Courses are taught by current and former members of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company under the direction of Leah Cox, the company’s education director. Both performances will take place in the Sosnoff Theater of the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College in Annandale, NY. For more information, visit fishercenter.bard.edu.

10 • www.catskillregionguide.com Spring Trio: A Group Exhibit of Painting and Prints in Rhinebeck “Spring Trio Paintings and Prints,” a group exhibit of work by Alix Travis, Louise Kalin and John B. Hopkins, will be on view at Montgomery Row Second Level in Rhine- beck from April 1 to April 29, 2011. Alix Travis’ paintings are made quickly with broad strokes with only passing atten- tion to detail. Her subjects are transformed by light and the paintings are expressive, full of high key color, and emotional. Using large brushes or palette knives, soft edges outnum- ber hard; paint is rarely layered and there are few special effects. The result is vivid and striking paintings that appear to be effort- lessly created. Travis is a plein air painter who is con- stantly looking for shapes, angles, light ef- “View from the Train,” by Alix Travis fects, and interesting lines that take the landscape beyond the ordinary. When not painting outdoors she makes sketches that are taken into the studio, combined and developed into large oil paintings. While reflecting man’s use of space now, often a series of paintings develop into a community of tangential spaces with a strong sense of the history of human endeavor. Travis is drawn to the American vernacular architecture and landscape that have been arranged by man’s activity. Although people are seldom included in these plein air paintings, they are often the focus of paintings created in the studio. Travis’ paintings have been shown in solo, group and juried shows throughout New York, in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. She studied at Worcester Art Museum, Art Students League, New York, and the Cleveland Institute of Art. Louise Kalin says: “My newer pieces explore my emotional connections to decaying plant materials, water and sky—whether it is the Hudson River and its distant shores, or the waters of Cape Cod. Two things haunt me: momentary beauty and feelings of loss. Water and sky are timeless. I’ve always wanted to incorporate line drawings without using hazardous materials and processes to etch my plates. I now use solar plate-making techniques to continue that exploration.” Kalin has always been intrigued by geometric shapes within her environment. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, she continued studying experimental printmaking and mixed media with Anne MacCrae MacLeod at the DeCordova Museum School in Concord, MA. She began translating landscapes into geometric layers of color, reminiscent of American vernacular quilts and architecture, and building collagraphic plates of abstracted landscape and natural plant forms. Later a fellowship at the McDowell Colony provided time for the evolution of her print-making so that the geometric prints were released from their outside boundaries, becoming asymmetrical and soft-edged. Kalin has exhibited throughout New England. Her works are included in eighteen corporate collections in addition to private collections. John B. Hopkins’ paintings, ranging in size from the intimate 8” x 8” to large 20” x 24”, bring the viewer into direct observation of details of the landscape. Using soft or bold colors depending on the scene, Hopkins make you feel the temperature of the scene such as the warmth of sunlight on goldenrod or the cool morning before the sun has warmed snow. He uses a variety of brushstrokes some- times leaving portions of the canvas slightly washed and when appropriate creating more texture with heavier layering of paints. Hopkins has worked for over thirty-five years as an artist and arts administrator. This time span has provided the framework for the evolution of his art from his early abstract and figurative works into interpretive landscapes of the farmland and hills that make up his immediate surroundings. During the past few years, Hopkins has concentrated on his passion for painting, creating a prolific body of work in which his paintings have become more personal, and at the same time more universal. Hopkins is a graduate of Swain School of Design and of Boston University. His work has been shown throughout the Northeast and he has been the recipient of grants and awards for his paintings and for curating the work of others. His home and studio are in the Catskill Mountains of New York. A reception will be held on Saturday, April 16 from 5 to 7 pm. Montgomery Row Second Level is located at Montgomery Row, 6423 Montgomery Street (Route 9) in Rhinebeck. It is open Monday through Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm. For more information, call the gallery at 845 876 0543 or visit www.montgomeryrow.com.

April 2011 • guide 11 “Ashokan #4,” mixed media by Jan Sawka

Passion and Art: A Festival of Artist Jan Sawka at the Red Eft Gallery Utopian Direction of Warwick, NY and the Red Eft Gallery of Wurtsboro, NY are pleased to announce a unique opportunity to experience and learn about one of upstate New York’s most accomplished artists, Jan Sawka. The month-long festival will include two distinct exhibitions show casing different areas of the artist’s activities and a lecture. Artist and designer Jan Sawka (pronounced Yan SAF-ka) is known internationally for his painting, printmaking, architecture and multi-media. He has created symbolic artworks for the Solidarity Movement, Human Rights Watch, non-nuclear future fundraisers, Holocaust memorials and Haiti. Jan Sawka’s works are in the permanent collections of over 60 major international museums, includ- ing the Pompidou, Paris; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, Toyama, Japan; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Israeli Museum, Jerusalem; and National Museum, Warsaw. Sawka has designed sets for production ranging from the Samuel Becket Theater in New York to the Grateful Dead and Steve Winwood. His multi-media work has included projection images on downtown Houston’s skyscrapers for “Sky Power,” the 40th anniversary of NASA. In 2003, he was awarded the Gold Medal in Multi-Media at the International Biennale of Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy for his pilot for a large-scale multi-media spectacle called “The Voyage.” This year, he was honored by the American Institute of Architects for his “Peace Monument, Jerusalem” design. Between international projects and travels, Sawka lives and maintains his studio in the Hudson Valley. Reflecting the artist’s love of the Hudson Valley, the exhibition at the Red Eft Gallery in Wurtsboro will feature a major painting installation called “Passion and Art.” The exhibition at Utopian Direction in Warwick will focus on multimedia projects and paintings that are thematically related. Utopian Direction, which is a bookstore, gallery and host to a salon and art think-tank, will host a lecture by Sawka on the connection between classical art training and its relationship to the cutting-edge of art and multi-media. An artist’s reception for the “Passion and Art” exhibition will be held on Saturday, April 2, from 6 to 8 pm at the Red Eft Gallery, 159 Sullivan Street, Wurtsboro, NY. The show will be on view until May 7. The “Sawka Summarizes” Jan Sawka lecture will be held on Sunday, April 17 at 2 pm, at Utopian Direction, 7 West Street, War- wick, NY. Donations are gratefully accepted. Following the lecture, a special champagne reception will be held at the Red Eft Gallery. The Red Eft Gallery is open to the public Friday from 3 to 7 pm, Saturday from noon to 6 pm and Sunday from noon to 5 pm or by ap- pointment. For more information, contact the Red Eft Gallery at 845 888 2519. You can also contact Utopian Direction at 845 248 8678.

12 • www.catskillregionguide.com “The Last Judgment in Cyberspace,” c-print by Miao Xiaochun

In God We Trust: Contemporary Chinese Religious Art at Bard College Bard College will host the exhibition In God We Trust: Contemporary Chinese Religious Art, curated by Patricia Karetzky, Oskar Munsterberg Lecturer in Art History at Bard College, and Daozi Wang Min, professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing. In God We Trust: Contemporary Chinese Religious Art explores the theme of Christianity in Chinese art today. The Chinese Cul- tural Revolution (1966–76) did what centuries of civil war, foreign invasion and periods of chaos and uncertainty could not. Overnight Chinese religions were extirpated. In the aftermath, faith in Mao was dissipated, though the inland population, as opposed to that of the coastal cities, still venerates him. Since the 1980s, in the rush to modernization and capitalism, many social programs that provided healthcare, housing, food and unemployment insurance were abandoned. Large segments of the urban population of China have been left to their own resources. Those in the countryside still struggle for subsistence existence. Bereft of the comforts of the cult of Mao, many Chinese, feeling increasingly vulnerable and fragile, are turning to religion. While the government has allowed the reestablish- ment of several religious institutions, including Catholic and Protestant orders, In God We Trust: Contemporary Chinese Religious Art presents the kind of Christian art not sanctioned by the government. Renowned artists Miao Xiaochun and Cui Xiuwen and artists like Gao Yuan and Longbin Chen appropriate the great masterpieces of Western art by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and others, which form the basis of art education in China, and interpret them in unique ways to infuse their art with spiritual meaning. The Gao Brothers (Gao Chen and Gao Qian) appropriate Christian themes as a form of social protest, contending the restrictive policies of the government. Though these artists are not necessarily practitioners, their use of Christian themes is particularly significant in today’s society. A second group of artists, like Li Qiang, explore the grassroots movement of Christianity in China, documenting in their works the humble life of rural practitioners and believers; other artists like Cao Yuanming, Daozi, Gao Ge, He Xuming, Yu Benping, Wu Yingde and Zhu Jiuyang use art as an expression of their own faith. In God We Trust will be on display from April 1 to April 30 in the Fishbowl/George Ball Lounge of the Bertelsmann Campus Center at Bard College. Exhibition hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 12 pm to 5 pm. An opening reception and lecture by Patricia Karetzky will be held on Tuesday, April 5, at 4 pm. The reception, lecture and exhibition are all free and open to the public. For more information about this exhibition, log onto www.bard.edu.

April 2011 • guide 13 FIRE TOWER MOUNTAINS of the Catskills: PHOENICIA and willow trails to mount tremper By Carol and David White

The Mt. Tremper Fire Tower. Photo by Daniel Chazin

wo trails lead the hiker to the fire tower on 2,720-foot Mount posted, and once successfully asked permission at a home. If park- TTremper, which has magnificent views to the nearby Bur- ing near road’s end, the trail is 3.8 miles to the fire tower through roughs Range, the Ashokan Reservoir, and the six Devil’s Path interesting terrain and attractive forest as it climbs a hollow and peaks. The shorter and more common approach is the Phoenicia crosses a ridge to the broad summit of Mt. Tremper. Trail from the south, its trailhead 1.7 miles east of Phoenicia on If you can spot a car at each trailhead, it is a 7.7-mile drive County Route 40. Because most of the trail is an old jeep road, it between trailheads and you can enjoy a fine seven-mile trek over can be a fairly monotonous 2,000-foot ascent up broad switchbacks Mt. Tremper, ascending the mountain one way and descending for three miles, but this route features two lean-tos and two springs. the other side. This is especially rewarding when foliage is off the The more interesting approach is from Willow, a hamlet on trees from later October through early May for better viewing; it Route 212. Because there is no official Department of Environ- is also gorgeous in mountain laurel season in June. mental Conservation (DEC) parking area for hikers here, it is Hikes between early to mid-May and July 4 or beyond possible that an extra mile one-way would have to be road walked involves the infamous black flies, which swarm around the head (see directions); we’ve parked along the road where land is not and nip necks and ears, producing itchy bites much like mosquito

14 • www.catskillregionguide.com bites. Pick a breezy day or choose hikes where you can maintain a still off trees for better viewing but snows will have melted. The steady pace—you can keep ahead of black flies! They don’t pursue trail to Mt. Tremper from Willow is also particularly lovely during you like mosquitoes do, but when you stop to eat or if you move mountain laurel season because the lower reaches are loaded with too slowly, they will surround you. We bought a net for the height this beautiful flowering shrub. of black fly season. Another tip: black flies do not like dimness or Depending on where you find to park in Willow, you’ll road darkness; they vanish at sundown. We discovered that they even walk past houses and a “private road” sign at the end of Jessup avoid the back part of a lean-to—people eating lunch at a picnic Road, then climb 0.2 miles to a DEC sign where you bear left up table were fanning away these critters, while we, cowering in the a curving old road; it’s 3.8 miles to the fire tower from the sign back of the lean-to, were black fly free! Therefore, with two lean- (although the sign says 3.6 miles.) When the route swings to the tos on the Phoenicia Trail to Mt. Tremper, you could plan a break right, the grade eases to a gradual walk through copious evergreen at the Baldwin Memorial Lean-to partway up and eat lunch in mountain laurel. Soon you enter State Land and begin climbing the Mt. Tremper Lean-to on top. Of course the fire tower usually again up the mountainside; rock ledges rise to the left. The terrain offers nice breezes. You could hike in very cloudy weather (not drops off to the right as you make your way into Hoyt Hollow thunderstorm weather), or in slightly drizzly weather, in which and the trail levels, staying on contour at about 2100 feet around case they go into hiding. the mountain. The Phoenicia Trail was lengthened by half a mile when a Mount Tobias is behind you and Little Rocky and Olderbark large new DEC parking area was established. We recommend that Mountains are in the foreground, with Indian Head Mountain Catskill Forest Preserve hikers purchase the set of (now) six Catskill becoming visible in leafless seasons in the background. After Trails maps created by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference losing a little ascent, you will climb steadily to the junction with (www.nynjtc.org). On the Northeastern Trail Map #141, you will the Warner Creek Trail; this is a welcome new section of the Long see parking areas on County Route 40 east of Phoenicia; you can Path that, to the north, climbs Plateau Mountain and the Devil’s park at the first area on the Esopus Creek side and walk back a few Path without necessitating any long road walks, as previously. At dozen yards to the original trail, which climbs briefly to intersect this junction you turn left and head southwest toward Mt. Trem- the Phoenicia Trail at its current 0.5-mile point. The official DEC per for 2.2 miles to the fire tower (regardless of what trail signs parking area is a little farther east, if you want to experience the may say—we measured all trails in the Catskill Forest Preserve entire trail; the trail loses a little ascent to the 0.5-mile point. with a surveying wheel from 2001 to 2003.) This trail is good in winter when the rocks on the route are From here you will climb about 150 vertical feet up the snow-covered and foliage is off, because it ascends entirely in the ridgeline and enjoy an extended ramble largely on contour at woods. Passing a spring and a rocky hillside, a former quarry, 2500 feet with slightly rolling territory. Eventually you lose the the trail continues on level and gradual grades for an extended 150 feet in a long gentle downgrade to a low point, 1.2 miles “breather” before continuing to switchback up the mountain. At from the junction and one more mile to the fire tower. The trail 2.2 miles, a spur trail to the right leads to the Baldwin Memorial now begins its ascent to the broad wooded summit of Mt. Trem- Lean-to. Below this lean-to, we once saw a large rock sculpture of per, and when the route swings left amidst scenic rocky ledges, a person leaning against a tree, no doubt Rip Van Rockle himself! you will have completed most of the work. Enjoy gradual and Lean-tos are located near springs, and up the trail you’ll notice a level terrain all the way across the summit, 0.4 miles to this reno- side path to the left at 2.3 miles, which runs ten yards to a large vated tower. In summer months, fire tower interpreters are here boulder where water from a spring comes out of a metal pipe. to answer questions. A few yards beyond is the Mount Tremper Half a mile above the lean-to, the relentless ascent ends as Lean-to on the red-marked Phoenicia Trail, which descends for the trail swings to the northeast and levels out along the broad another 3.1 miles to County Route 40 east of Phoenicia. summit. The Mount Tremper Lean-to appears ahead at mile Views from this fire tower are splendid, because it is located three and the fire tower is fifty yards farther. Not far below here, a near the Burroughs Range (Slide, Cornell and Wittenberg Moun- descending hiker once warned us, “I saw a rattlesnake up ahead.” tains) and the Devil’s Path peaks (Indian Head, Twin, Sugarloaf, Mt. Tremper is one of the few mountains in the Catskill Forest Plateau, Hunter and West Kill). The Ashokan Reservoir spreads Preserve that has rattlesnakes, as 3,140-foot Overlook Mountain out to the southeast, the water source for New York City. Catskill also has. Because these peaks are lower-altitude than many in water is so pure that New York City is one of the few cities in the Catskill Forest Preserve, their milder climate is perhaps more the United States that does not need to filter its water. That’s conducive to hibernation than are the high peaks. one reason to maintain the pristine environment of this precious The other approach to Mt. Tremper is from the hamlet of Catskill Forest Preserve, along with its nearly limitless opportuni- Willow, mentioned above. This winter has been very snowy and if ties to experience the still-wild world so nearby. West of Route you hike this less-used approach, you may have to break trail on 28 (due west of the Mt. Tremper trailhead) lies the vast Slide snowshoes, making it a long and strenuous day. Wait until later Mountain Wilderness, one of the largest wilderness areas east of April to attempt this approach to Mt. Tremper, while foliage is the Mississippi that includes ninety-five square miles of Catskill

April 2011 • guide 15 virgin forest. In Catskill Peak Experiences, Bob McElroy describes a three-day trek through “the forest primeval,” the longest bushwhack in the Catskills without cross- ing a road or a footpath, through “ancient growth never subdued by logging, thanks to its daunting terrain,” he writes, “one of the rare places where one can see the country as it was before Europeans came. The thought of trying to walk all the way across this truly wild world excites me.”

To Reach the Trailheads and Parking Areas: The official DEC trailhead for the Phoenicia Trail is 1.7 miles east of Phoenicia on County Route 40, which continues east from Main Street. You can park at a fishing ac- cess area on the Esopus Creek side (closer to Phoenicia), and walk back west a few dozen yards to the origi- nal trailhead (short connector part not maintained), as noted above. The Willow Trail is in the hamlet of Willow, Route 212. Turn west onto Van Wagner Road for 0.4 miles to Jessup Road, where the Post Office is located. Turn left. You can park here or along the road where land is not posted, or ask a hom- eowner for permission to park. There is no DEC parking area. Jessup Road is about one mile to the road’s end beyond “no parking” signs and a sec- ond pond; from there a woods road ascends 0.2 miles to a DEC sign.

Carol and David White are authors of Catskill Day Hikes for All Seasons (Adirondack Mountain Club, 2002) and Looking for Angels! editors of Catskill Trails, 3rd edition: Vol- For this year’s giving, please consider becoming a Sustaining Angel and ume 8 (Forest Preserve Series, Adirondack be a dynamic partner in the Catskill Mountain Foundation’s arts-based economic development work. Mountain Club, 2005). Carol is editor of Catskill Peak Experiences: Mountaineer- Sustaining Angels is designed to help us establish a broader base of consistent support, ing Tales of Endurance, Survival, Explora- locally, regionally and beyond. Achieving our goal will bring crucial benefits to our area— tion & Adventure from the Catskill 3500 new opportunities for local business owners, a revitalized economy, and a richer cultural environment for our community that will attract many new visitors. Club (Black Dome Press, 2008). Signed copies of all of these books are available at For more information or to become a Sustaining Angel please contact: the Village Square Bookstore and Literary Candy McKee at [email protected] Arts Center in Hunter, NY.

16 • www.catskillregionguide.com Tea Time at Wilderstein

ut on your fancy hat and attend Wilderstein Historic Site’s Wilderstein is located at 330 Morton Road in the Town of Pannual Daffodil High Tea on Saturday, April 16 at 1 pm. Rhinebeck. The cost per person is $30. Included in the ticket A special treat for tea enthusiasts, this event offers a glimpse of price for the high tea is a special tour of the mansion. Advance what tea time was like during the Victorian era. Guests enjoy a reservations are necessary, as limited seating tends to fill up festive afternoon featuring fine tea, homemade cakes, cookies and quickly. Please call Wilderstein at 845 876 4818 to RSVP and for delectable finger sandwiches. additional information. Scheduled on the early side for a high tea, this allows more time for touring the Wilderstein mansion, taking in the site’s remarkable Hudson River views, and strolling the enchanted Calvert Vaux-designed landscape while the daffodils are in bloom. Wilderstein was the home of Margaret (Daisy) Suckley, a cousin and confidante of Franklin Roosevelt. The landscape, designed by Calvert Vaux, boasts walking paths with breath- Etiquette tip taking springtime views of the Hudson River. The estate’s Tea cups with a handle are held by placing one’s Victorian Queen Anne mansion has had extensive restoration fingers to the front and back of the handle with one’s work completed on the exterior in recent years and remarkable pinkie up for balance. Pinkie up does not mean straight interiors originally installed in 1888. Many Rhinebeck residents up in the air, but slightly tilted. This is not an have fond memories of being invited by Miss Suckley to tea at affectation, rather a graceful way of avoiding spills. Wilderstein.

April 2011 • guide 17 This Old House By Vicki Lester

“Richtmyer Tavern Sunrise,” by Rick DeMeis

’m not sure when my romance with old houses began. It could facades that they have come under the knife of one or more Ihave been when I was 13, old enough to go from my house to well-meaning owners. Have you ever seen a house adorned with “the Avenue” by myself. I used to like to walk aimlessly about the shapely eyebrow windows that have been closed up and sided streets a lot, studying the different types of buildings along the over, changing the building’s brow and its charming, original face? way. That’s how I first came upon a little white steepled church Why care about what the face of some old house looks like that was like none that I had ever seen before. Behind the church anyway? was a spooky-looking graveyard with overgrown trees and really There are lots of legitimate reasons for changing the look of old headstones; all of it enclosed by a black wrought iron fence. a house. Vinyl side it because it’s too time consuming—and too The scene was like something out of Washington Irving. And, costly—to re-paint. Make the windows smaller to make it more sure enough, it turned out to be an early 19th century Reformed efficient to heat. Make the doors bigger for delivery of over- Dutch Church from the days when that section of Brooklyn had stuffed furniture. Add a room on the side to accommodate old been inhabited by the Dutch. There it stood like an anachronism Uncle John. Good reasons all for re-arranging the face and body amidst car lots, movie theaters, bank buildings, and pizza parlors. of a house. That distinctive old church is what I think about when I Yet. think about real estate. I think this is so because houses have Yet those original windows, doors, siding and shape told a “spirits,” akin to souls; and, like humans, they have pasts as well. story and held the past. That old house started somewhere and They have personalities, too. And faces. Some beautiful; some that somewhere is a key to the past. What about the former ugly: Some buildings, like Lexington House on Route 42, are caboose that is now a house near North Lake in Haines Falls, aging beauties, neglected now in favor of some younger, newer NY? What story might it tell us about the era of railroads in the buildings. Others are almost unrecognizable; you can see in their Catskill High Peaks?

18 • www.catskillregionguide.com What about the Reformed Dutch Church in Prattsville, the 40 or more “workers’ homes” in Prattsville, built by Town with its multi-tiered tower and oval window above the central Founder Zadock Pratt from 1824 to ca. 1850. It may surprise doorway? I’m not sure when or why the doors on either side of many to learn that Prattsville is one of New York’s first planned the central doorway were closed off and sided, but when those communities. It may also surprise them to learn that in its heyday, doors went so, too, did the memory of an earlier time when men the 1840’s, Prattsville had three churches, an opera house, the first and women entered and left the church by separate doorways and printing press in the Catskills, and a private school which 13-year- communed indoors with their God on separate sides of the build- old Theodore Cole, son of Hudson River School artist Thomas ing. One might say “Thank God” to that, but on the other hand Cole, attended. The school, the Wright School, is gone, a victim of we’ve lost a reminder of how far we’ve come as a society. fire. One of the three churches, Grace Church, is also gone. Many In 1967, St. Mary of the Mountain in Hunter, the oldest of the worker homes are still there but are unrecognizable as such Catholic Church in the Catskills, was a bustling spiritual com- due to architectural changes made by many owners. munity. By 2009, it had fallen into serious disrepair. Today, it is At this point, I probably sound like a raving lunatic who in danger of collapse. This building, constructed in 1839 with wants to stop the 19th or earlier centuries in their tracks. I don’t funds given by such local families as Burns, Carr, Dolan, Gil- think I’m that bad. But I do think that old houses are worth lespie, Kennedy Lane, Lawler, O’Donnell, Quinn and Shevlin, is purchasing and protecting. Just recently, I learned of a mid-19th not a house but was the spiritual “home” of a large group of Irish century house for sale on Prattsville’s Main Street that can be Catholics who had fled their native home where they suffered un- purchased for $64,000. Much of its distinguished architecture is der persecution and famine to make a new life as workers in the still intact (although not all) and there is still time for some loving Catskills’ tanneries. Before construction was completed, including owner to “save it” and restore it to its former glory. I’m not a real a cemetery, the almost three-year-old daughter of Michael Lackey estate agent. Far from it. But in other communities these restored and Mary Ann Glennon, was buried in the churchyard. houses add value to the property and commerce of their neigh- Another old building that always catches my eye as I drive bors. I don’t know about you, but when I drive around Greene from Windham to Prattsville via Route 23 through the Town of County and see the Italianate facades, Greek revival columns, Ashland is a former 19th century “drover’s inn,” now privately even the New Deal architecture of the Hunter-Tannersville High owned. From what I know of 19th century commerce, these inns School, I feel a sense of history that makes me feel connected and were used as overnight stays by men “driving” tanned animal alive. Many of these houses deserve a better fate than deteriorat- hides or other goods from the Mountain Top to the ship ports of ing to the point of collapse. I know that’s easy for me to say since Catskill, Coxsackie and Athens. Here, these “drovers” could get a I’m not the one who owns them or intends to buy them (if I were stiff drink, a bite to eat, a bed to rest, and respite for their teams Ruler of the World, I think I would, however. Smile.) Surely, of horses. The former drover’s inn in Ashland is in a sad state of however, there are others out there like me. So ask your friendly neglect and will probably last only a few more winters, I fear. Mountain Top realtor about these real estate “diamonds in the I write about these buildings that are not homes, despite rough.” Also look into New York State tax credits for helping to the title of this article, because they hold the most history of this preserve these buildings and the history they represent. area’s former way of life, but old homes tell stories, too. Consider Adopt an old house today.

April 2011 • guide 19 Horizontal Hydrofracking

How Upstate New York Communities Can Face the Heavy Impacts from Shale Gas Industrialization

“Kingston Reservoir, Sawkill Road,” by Kelly Sinclair

orizontal hydrofracking, a method of gas production which in municipal planning, law, and traffic engineering to participate H has the potential to pollute millions of gallons of fresh in a forum, “How To Apply Local Controls to Shale Gas Industri- water, may be allowed to start in areas of New York State outside alization.” This forum will take place on April 9 from 2 to 4 pm the New York City and Syracuse watersheds by this summer. To at The Otesaga Resort Hotel, 60 Lake Street, Cooperstown. prepare for the introduction of heavy industry into traditionally “I think we got the best in their fields,” said Northrup. rural upstate New York, some towns have adopted, or are in the Northrup has developed several narrated PowerPoint presen- process of drafting, land-use and road-use ordinances to address tations on hydrofracking, the most recent of which is titled “Frack- the costs and problems associated with this kind of activity. ing Shale Gas Industrialization,” accessible at http://my.brainshark. These problems may include high volumes of heavy truck com/Fracking-Shale-Gas-Industrialization-Video-753892639. traffic and the noise it brings along with it, damage to roads, Local elected officials in Otsego, Delaware, Chenango, and bridges, culverts and other road construction considerations, all- Madison counties will be sent special invitations, as the forum is night lights at drilling sites, noise from compressor stations, and geared toward local legislative action. The invitation urges officials the transformation of rural communities into industrial zones. to avail themselves of the expertise offered at the forum to “pro- Because land and road use controls are not uncommon in tect your town, roads and property values under New York law.” Texas, James Northrup, who resides alternately in Cooperstown Among the presentations will be “Why Local Controls and Dallas, TX, was surprised that they are not generally already Can and Should Be Applied To Regulate Industrialization,” by in place in New York towns. To get reliable information about Helen Slottje, managing attorney of Community Environmental these controls to area municipalities, Northrup sought out experts Defense Council, located in Ithaca, NY, where she has lived for

20 • www.catskillregionguide.com 12 years. Slottje attended the University of Penn- sylvania and Harvard law schools and has practiced commercial real estate finance law in Boston at a large Boston law firm. “Property ownership does not include the right to destroy your neighbor’s peace and quiet. Municipalities should act now, before our towns are overridden with truck traffic, residential property values decrease and home loans and home insurance are difficult to find,” Slottje said. Planning consultant Nan Stolzenburg’s presentation is titled “Land Use Plans to Protect Your Town from the Hazards of Industrialization.” Stolzenburg is principal planner and founder of Community Planning & Environmental Associates in Berne, NY. She is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners, which is the only organization in the United States that establishes education, training, and experience requirements for planners. She also holds a master’s degree in Regional Plan- ning and has more than 20 years of professional and technical experience. She has developed many comprehensive plans and regulatory programs for upstate New York communities, some of which have won national and state-level planning awards. Stolzenburg assisted Otsego County in the finalization of its award-winning Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan, adopted in 1999. She was also the principal consultant for the Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Capacities of “View from Flat Iron Bridge,” by Paula Friedman the Cooperstown Region, completed in 2002. “The most important first step a municipality can take to ad- dress threats to water quality, the environment and rural character California and District of Columbia bar associations. She has re- is to develop a new comprehensive plan, or update an old plan. cently opened a law practice in Cooperstown focusing on land use After these threats become a reality, land use planning is rarely and municipal law. While in law school at George Washington successful,” Stolzenburg said. University, she clerked for the Antitrust Division at the United Stolzenburg stressed that comprehensive plans must be in States Department of Justice and the Office of General Counsel at place in order to support any kind of land use law and that it is the Central Intelligence Agency. important for communities to be proactive and articulate a land “Heavy industrialization of our region is positioned to occur use plan as soon as possible. at an unprecedented pace. Without local control, the existing Michael Wieszchowski, senior traffic engineer and project landscape may become unrecognizable. It is incumbent upon manager with Laberge Group in Albany, will address “How Road local governments to exercise their power to protect the health, Use Plans Can Help Your Town Control Truck Traffic on Your safety and order of our communities,” Kennedy said. Roads.” A graduate of Clarkson University, he has more than 18 The presentations will be followed by a question and answer years’ experience in the transportation field and is certified as a panel moderated by Erik Miller, executive director of the Otsego professional traffic operations engineer. County Conservation Association. “Road use planning is a proactive way for municipalities to This forum is sponsored by the Cooperstown Chamber of Com- control the future of their roadway,” Wieszchowski said. merce, Brewery Ommegang and the Otsego County Conservation Middlefield resident and practicing attorney Michelle Ken- Association. Seating is limited and registrations will be taken on a nedy will speak on “Land Use Ordinances to Prohibit Heavy first come, first served basis through the Otsego County Conservation Industry in Your Town.” Kennedy is a member of the New York, Association at [email protected] or 607 547 4488.

April 2011 • guide 21 “Mountain Retreat, Ashokan,” by Estelle Nadler Parcelizing the Catskills and The Boiled Frog Syndrome

re you: A local planning official? A second homeowner is a membership organization dedicated to enhancing all aspects Awho loves the peace and tranquility of your new home? A of the forest in New York’s Catskill Region. CFA works to ensure farmer? Someone that owns forestland? Or do you just care about that the Catskill Mountains have a productive, working forest for our working landscape and open space? The Greater Stamford present and future generations. Area Chamber of Commerce (GSACC) is pleased to announce Farm Catskills (www.farmcatskills.org) is also a member- a special screening of the film Parcelizing the Catskills and The ship organization that believes in supporting a working landscape Boiled Frog Syndrome on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at 7 pm. that in turn supports the rural economy. Their members include In response to regional parcelization and resulting land frag- farmers, landowners, community leaders, and anyone interested mentation, two Catskill Mountain residents, Art Siegel and Jack in farms, the environment, and the communities of the Catskills. McShane, have produced this film documenting the parcelization They work to protect the working landscape, to help farmers get of their beloved Catskill Region. Mr. Siegel interviewed key peo- the resources they need to succeed, and to promote a healthy local ple, including many leaders of regional organizations. Included in food system. the film are video clips from aerial photo missions that illustrate Local resident, and president of CFA, Douglas Murphy, the beauty of the region and the challenges threatening its future. states, “This film presents a wide range of thought-provoking con- Both Mr. Siegel and Mr. McShane and the event’s sponsors cepts and eye-opening facts to be considered by anyone who loves will be present to discuss issues and solutions raised by the film, the Catskills and is interested in local and regional land use issues.” the viewpoints of the sponsoring organizations, and ideas of those The public is invited to a free showing of the film at the in attendance. Frank W. Cyr Center located in the Churchill Park Historic Dis- Along with the Greater Stamford Area Chamber of Com- trict at 159 West Main Street in Stamford. merce, this event is sponsored by two other local not-for-profits. For more information about this event, or others, please visit The Catskill Forest Association or CFA (www.catskillforest.org) www.CatskillMtns.org.

22 • www.catskillregionguide.com April 2011 • guide 23 April AT THE CATSKILL MOUNTAIN FOUNDATION Don Quixote, performed Tania Kravath by the Bolshoi Ballet

“Evening Paddle,” by Sheila Trautman where the performing arts, fine arts, crafts, movies, books, great food and good friends meet Mountain Cinema At the Doctorow Center for the Arts, Main Street, Hunter March Schedule for Screen Two, the only place on the Mountain Top to see the best Foreign and Independent Films Ticket Prices: $8 / $6 seniors & children under 11 Film schedule subject to change, please call ahead to confirm:518 263 2002 (recorded messages) or visit www.catskillmtn.org. BARNEY’S VERSION HARVEST (Rated R, 132 minutes) (rated R, 103 minutes) DIRECTED BY Directed by marc meyers richard j. lewis Gathered one summer in a beautiful Based on Mordecai Richler’s shoreline town, three generations award-winning novel, are drawn together by their patri- Barney’s Version is the warm, wise and witty story arch, played by Oscar® Nominee Barney Panofsky, who meets the love of his life at his Robert Loggia. With endearing mo- wedding—and she is not the bride. A candid confes- ments of humor and uplifting spirit, sional, told from Barney‘s point of view, the film spans Harvest is a portrait of a family awkwardly yet delicate- three decades and two continents. There is his first wife, ly hanging on to what was, what now is, and to one an- Clara, a flagrantly unfaithful free sprit with whom Bar- other. A superb ensemble cast, including Tony® Winner ney briefly lives in Rome. The Second Mrs. P. is a wealthy Victoria Clark, Arye Gross, newcomer Jack Carpenter and spoiled princess who shops and talks incessantly, barely also featuring Oscar® Nominee Barbara Barrie tugs on noticing that Barney is not listening. And it is at their heartstrings and reminds us of a love that can weather lavish wedding that Barney meets, and starts pursuing, all storms 4/8–4/10. Friday 7:15; Saturday 4:15 & 7:15; Miriam, his third wife, the mother of his two children, Sunday 7:15 and his true love. With his father as his sidekick, Barney takes us through the many highs, and a few too many “Harvest grabbed everyone [at the Cleveland Int’l Film lows, of his long and colorful life. 4/1–4/3. Friday 7:15; Festival] and did not let them go until the credits were Saturday 4:15 & 7:15; Sunday 2:15, 4:15 & 7:15 complete. Harvest is a film that will find its audience … because that audience is all of us. “A master acting class, courtesy of —Examiner.com Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman.” —Richard Roeper

24 • www.catskillregionguide.com THE TIME THAT Hi Def BALLET & opera REMAINS (unrated, 109 minutes) At the Doctorow center for the Directed by Elia Suleiman arts, Main Street, Hunter The Time That Remains is a humorous, heartbreaking film composed of stylized autobiographical episodes from the life of writer/director Elia Suleiman. The film explores life among the Israeli Arab community. Inspired by his father’s diaries, letters his mother sent to family members who had fled the Israeli occupation, and the director’s own recollections, the film spans from 1948 until the present, recounting the saga of the filmmaker’s family in subtly hilarious vignettes. In Arabic with Eng- lish subtitles. 4/15–4/17. Friday 7:15; Saturday 4:15 & 7:15; DON QUIXOTE Sunday 2:15, 4:15 & 7:15 performed by the bolshoi ballet “A lovely autobiographical film. Its exquisite balance of Sunday, APRIL 10 at 2:15 pm visual rigor and heartfelt emotion gives it remarkable, if Tickets: $20 always quiet, beauty and power.” 2 hours, 45 minutes with one intermission —A.O. Scott, The New York Times A stunning production, based on the epic masterpiece by Miguel de Cervantes, originally created for the Bol- PEEP WORLD shoi by Marius Pepita in 1869. (unrated, 89 minutes) Directed by barry blaustein On the day of their father’s 70th birth- day party, four siblings come to terms with the publication of a novel written by the youngest sibling that exposes the family’s most intimate secrets. 4/22–4/24. Friday 7:15; Saturday 4:15 & 7:15; Sunday 7:15

“Takes a bit of a plot cue from the 1998 Danish Dogme THE GIRL OF THE GOLDEN film The Celebration with its cracking portrait of a fam- ily gathered together to mark the 70th birthday of their WEST, BY PUCCINI judgmental, piece-of-work patriarch.” —Hollywood Reporter FROM THE NETHERLANDS OPERA Sunday, APRIL 24 at 2:15 pm SUPER Tickets: $20 (unrated, 96 minutes) 2 hours, 20 minutes with one intermission Directed by james gunn In Italian with English subtitles The outlandish dark com- Puccini’s operatic take on the Wild West is sprinkled edy Super is perhaps the with Hollywood glitz in this splashy production from definitive take on self-re- the Netherlands Opera. The Girl of the Golden West (La flexive superheroes. When Fanciulla del West) stars blond bombshell soprano Eva- sad-sack loser Frank sees his ex-addict wife willingly Maria Westbroek as the cowgirl Minnie. snatched by a seductive drug dealer (Kevin Bacon), he Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s Hollywood-style production decides to fight back under the guise of a DIY superhero updates this Wild West story to the capitalist culture of called Crimson Bolt. With a hand-made suit, a wrench, Wall Street. In a new angle on the age-old love triangle and a crazed sidekick named Boltie (Juno’s Ellen Page), theme, corrupt Sheriff Jack Rance (Lucio Gallo) and the Crimson Bolt beats his way through the mean charismatic criminal Dick Johnson (Zoran Todorovich) streets of crime in hopes of saving his wife. 4/29–5/1. vie for the love of glamorous blonde and devout Chris- Friday 7:15; Saturday 4:15 & 7:15; Sunday 2:15, 4:15 & 7:15 tian Minnie (Eva-Maria Westbroek), finding her way in a man’s world.

April 2011 • guide 25 In the Doctorow Center for the Arts Main Street, Village of Hunter

Screens One and Three, showing the best of first-run Hollywood films.

We show the very best Hollywood films available each week. The following are some films that we may show during the month of April.

For the most up-to-date schedule, call 518 263 2002 or check www.catskillmtn.org. While there, sign up for our e-mail updates so you can get the newest schedule delivered to your e-mail box each week!

BATTLE: LOS ANGELES DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: Rodrick rules Starring Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez Starring Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick, Robert Capron A Marine Staff Sergeant who has just had his retirement Greg Heffley is back as the “wimpy” kid who must deal approved goes back into the line of duty in order to with his parents’ misguided attempts to have him bond help reclaim the city of Los Angeles from alien invaders. with his older brother—and chief tormentor—Rodrick.

CEDAR RAPIDS SOURCE CODE Starring Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan An insurance agent has no idea what he’s in for when An action thriller about a soldier who becomes part of a he’s sent to an annual convention and finds himself mission to find the bomber of a commuter train. under the “guidance” of three convention veterans. HANNA LIMITLESS Starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana Starring Bradley Cooper, Anna Friel & Abbie Cornish A 16-year-old who was raised to be the perfect assassin A writer discovers a top-secret drug which bestows him is dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a with super human abilities. ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives.

THE LINCOLN LAWYER ARTHUR Starring Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei Starring Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner A lawyer conducts business from the back of his Lincoln A drunken playboy stands to lose a wealthy inheritance town car while representing a high-profile client. when he falls for a woman his family doesn’t like.

PAUL RIO Starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez Two British comic-book geeks traveling across the U.S. When Blu, a domesticated macaw from a small town, encounter an alien outside Area 51. meets the fiercely independent Jewel, he takes off on an adventure to Rio with this bird of his dreams.

26 • www.catskillregionguide.com VILLAGE SQUARE bookstore kaaterskill fine arts & & literary arts center crafts gallery presents Save the Date! Crafter Karin Houben Discussion and Booksigning “Itty bitty bead-weaving madness brought to you by with Jacques D’Amboise & my big paws and myopic eyes! Jennifer Homans Date: Saturday, July 23, 1:00 pm Admission:$5 National Dance Institute Director Jacques D’Amboise & Jennifer Homans, author of Apollo’s Angels: History of Dance. Mr. D’Amboise has been recognized as one of the finest classical dancers of our time. He now leads the field of arts

education with a model program that exposes thousands of Photos by Melissa Harris school children to the magic and discipline of dance. “I live, work & play on the outskirts of Woodstock, New “...an important and original work of cultural history, New Republic York. My home and studio look out onto the beauty that dance critic Jennifer Homans places ballet—an art often viewed is the Catskill Mountain/ Hudson Valley region. Year as hermetic and esoteric—in the larger context of the times and societies in which it evolved, flourished, and flagged, only to be round I am inspired by the beauty and mystery of the revitalized by an infusion of fresh ideas.” fields & flowers, hills & valleys, meandering streams & —Publisher’s Weekly coursing waterfalls.” Hunter Village Square You can find Karin’s work, plus the work of many other 7950 Main St/Rte. 23A / 518 263 2050 fine regional craft artists, at Kaaterskill Fine Arts Gallery. We Hours: Thur. & Fri. 10AM-5PM, feature exquisitely crafted items for the home and garden in Sat. 10am–7pm, Sun. 11am-5pm a wide range of styles and price ranges. KAATERSKILL fine arts An ever changing selection of fine arts and exquisite crafts MOUNTAINTOP SHOWCASE: ARTISTS OF THE HIGH PEAKS

an Exhibition of Mixed-Media Works by Catskill Region Artists THROUGH may 1, 2011

Left to Right: Robert Cepale, Francine Barbet, Naomi Blum The beauty of the northern Catskill Mountains has long been an inspiration to many artists, and the artists in this show each bring a unique interpretation to their subject matter. This eclectic exhibit will showcase artists who work in a wide variety of media, brought together by a love of art and of the splendid countryside. Rather than highlight only a few artists or a central theme, this exhibit will celebrate the variety of media and artists who live and work in the Catskill Region.

Hunter Village Square | 7950 Main St/Rte. 23A, Hunter 518 263 2060 | [email protected] | www.catskillmtn.org/gallery GALLERY HOURS: wed.–Fri. 10AM-5PM, Sat. 10am–7pm, Sun. 1Pm-5pm

April 2011 • guide 27 highlights of the 2011 PERFORMANCE season Doctorow Center for the Arts (DCA) 7971 Main Street, Rte. 23A, Village of Hunter, NY Tickets: 518 263 2063 or www.catskillmtn.org Cellist Yehuda Hanani Guitarist Eliot Fisk Photo by Judith Grunberg Photo by Keitaro Yoshioka

Susan Beecher Michael Connelly CATSKILL HIGH PEAKS FESTIVAL: MUSIC WITH ALTITUDE! OUR 2011 COURSE SCHEDULE IS Presented in partnership with Close Encounters with Music, NOW AVAILABLE! SIGN UP NOW! Yehuda Hanani, Artistic Director Special Week-Long Event, August 27–September 4 Ceramics Courses: Daily Master Classes, Workshops, Concerts and Lectures, Sensational Salt Fire! all Open to the Public! with Susan Beecher Saturday, August 27 Opening Gala Concert Featuring: Begin, Refresh & Refine! • Cellist Yehuda Hanani, world renowned cellist, Throwing & Slip Decorating Techniques teacher, performer • Pianist James Tocco, who enjoys international renown with Michael Boyer as a recitalist, orchestral soloist, chamber musician, and Flashing & Fuming pedagogue at the absolute peak of his talent • Violinist Shmuel Ashkenazi, guru to chamber musicians with Randy Brodnax all over the world, founder of the Vermeer String Quartet, and first prize winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition Pouring And Drinking Pots: A Tour Featuring a program including the celebratory Mendelssohn C mi- with Mark Shapiro nor piano trio, Beethoven trio opus 11 in B-flat major, and brilliant solo piano works. Finding Form & Surface: High/Low Fire: Sunday, September 4 Achieving Atmospheric Effects on Your Work Closing Concert Featuring American Guitar Master Eliot Fisk with Michael Connelly and Acclaimed Cellist Yehuda Hanani This unconventional and varied evening will highlight works by Boccherini, Bach, Paganini, Albeniz, Villa-Lobos and de Falla for And many more! flavors ranging from Baroque to Flamenco.

And don’t forget about our beautiful EXPANDED On-Campus Housing! STEVEN E. Sherwood House is a 14-room facility located GREENSTEIN PIANO beside the newly landscaped Batavia Kill COLLECTION Creek. Each room is beautifully furnished Photo by Francis X. Driscoll GRAND OPENING and air conditioned. June 11 & 12 Rooms are first-come, first-serve, Saturday, June 11, 2 pm: Piano Museum tour with Kenneth so call early for reservations. Hamrick, harpsichordist/fortepianist and Steven Greenstein, owner of the piano collection and vintage piano restorer. Saturday, June 11, 8 pm: Opening Gala Jazz Concert Look for our Summer Course brochure, or log Featuring the Roland Hanna Trio playing a piano onto www.sugarmaples.org. For more informa- owned by the jazz great, Sir Roland Hanna tion, to register or to make reservations for Sunday, June 12, 2 pm: American Virtuosi Piano Quintet with Kenneth Hamrick performing on three pianos from the collection. housing, call Fran Imperiale at 518 263 2073.

28 • www.catskillregionguide.com Executive Chef, Michael Cotrone, presents: Thai-Italia

Every Saturday night, 5 pm to 9 pm featuring classic Italian and Asian specialties, such as: Mango Salad with Seared Salmon, Thai Tofu & Butternut Squash Curry, Pasta with Ragu Bolognese, Penne with Herbed Grilled Chicken Alfredo and Spaghetti with Shrimp Fra Diavolo

HUNTER VILLAGE SQUARE, 7950 Main St./Rte.23A, Village of Hunter, NY 518-263-2071 • www.catskillmtn.org

When a small group of compassionate citizens came together some years ago, their purpose was quite simple: to enrich life on the mountaintop. This progressive group of second homeowners, soon to become the Windham Chapter, has taken many small steps to make great strides in our community. As a division of the Catskill Mountain Foundation, the Windham Chapter is committed to supporting projects in the arts, education, and recreation.

Their impact has been felt on many levels; from the very public to the intensely personal: radio and emergency equipment for local firefighters, medical care for families, band uniforms for WAJ students and college scholarships for deserving graduates. This group saw a need and made a commitment to help fill it. Since 2003, the Windham Chapter has awarded nearly 2 million dollars to local non-profit organizations.

Some people want things to happen, some people wish things to happen...

The Windham Chapter makes things happen. The Windham Chapter is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, governed by an all-volunteer board. Windham Chapter• P.O. Box 600• Windham, NY 12496 www.windhamchapter.com

April 2011 • guide 29