As the World Turned: Soap Opera Prop Shop Opens in Amenia
On September 17, after the final episode of As the World Turns airs, the romance, treachery, and routine bouts of amnesia may cease, but those stylishly appointed, Oakdale, Illinois houses will live to see another rotation of the globe, thanks to ATWT’s multiple Emmy Award-winning set decorator Dennis Donegan. When the show’s cancellation was announced early last winter, the cast and crew were invited to buy the props that have been piling up in CBS storage rooms throughout its 54-year run. Now, with his share of the booty, which is substantial, Donegan and his wife, Martha, have opened a shop, Donegan’s Done Ag’ins, in Amenia that’s stylishly stuffed to the rafters with great-looking furniture and accessories that they are offering virtually at tag-sale prices.
Restaurant News: Crave, All This and Great Food Too?
The view from Walkway Over the Hudson, just adjacent to Crave
Dutchess County correspondent Kathryn Matthews reports that last December when chef-owner Ed Kowalski opened Crave, his stylish contemporary American restaurant in Poughkeepsie, he was hailed a “genius” by the same naysayers who, just a few years earlier, had told him he was nuts to open Lola’s Cafe & Catering in such dicey neighborhood. The difference? Both of Kowalski’s side-by-side businesses are hard by the entrance to Walkway Over the Hudson, which is predicted to attract over 1 million visitors this year.
Style: A Pop-Up Shop with Vintage Fashion Opens in Hudson
Petria May at her store-within-a-store at FACE Stockholm
Though dressing up is rarely a necessity in the Rural Intelligence region, Petria May believes that the love of beautiful, well-constructed clothes transcends geography. Over the past seven years, the former New York City lawyer has owned and operated high-end vintage clothing stores in Norfolk, CT, and Great Barrington, MA, Now she is taking on Hudson, NY, with her new boutique at FACE Stockholm, the makeup store on Warren Street.
Garden/Road Trip: A Pocket Garden, Among Other CharmsInternationally renowned designer Michael Devine will open the garden behind his eponymous shop in Kinderhook on Saturday to raise funds for a bike rack in the village square. Our advice: Visit the garden, then make a 1/2 day, at least, of this charming, walkable village, whose Broad Street is lined with some of the grandest old houses in the entire region. |
Style: Hammertown Barn Turns 25When Joan Osofsky opened the first Hammertown Barn in Pine Plains 25 years ago, country style was all about painted antiques and dried flowers. As Hammertown grew and expanded to Great Barrington and Rhinebeck, its style evolved to reflect a contemporary rural aesthetic. Now, with help from her son, Gregg, she is launching a curated, niche e-commerce business. |
Spencertown Academy's Festival of BooksEvery year for the past five, book lovers have gathered at the Spencertown Academy on Labor Day weekend for its justifiably famous sale of recycled, high-quality books. And every year, the other programs at this festival have become more and more ambitious. This year, topnotch authors, including Susan Orlean, will discuss, The Books that Changed Our Lives. |
Not Just For Kids: Go On, Be A Kid AgainNothing like a county fair to bring out a person’s heedless inner child, critters and fritters being such timeless delights. Yet Kids correspondent Taitia Shelow poses a burning question regarding strategy: Which is better? To eat the wild fried foods at this weekend’s Columbia County Fair before the wild rides? Or after? Oy. |
Girls Gone Wild at the Goshen FairCountry fairs are all about tradition, and the Goshen Fair this weekend (September 4 - 6) in northwestern Connecticut is true to its agricultural roots with old-fashioned competitions and graphics. But, as Celia McGee reports, there is also room for innovation: This year’s poster depicts a prize-winning Lumber Jill, Shannon Strong, in the crosscut sawing contest. |
AgriCulture: Disappearing ActHow to turn a daunting bumper crop of fresh-picked produce into just a few, convenient square-inches of robust flavor? Just pick, wash, peel, if necessary, then concentrate. No, our blogger Mark Scherzer is not recommending some Uri Geller-esque magical mind game. He’s extolling the virtues of ketchup, and not just the tomato kind. |
Instant Intelligence
September 2 - Pittsfield Tyne Daly performs her cabaret act at Barrington Stage Company; 8 p.m.
September 2 - Poughkeepsie Public unveiling of Jenny Holzer’s For Elizabeth, a series of outdoor benches inscribed with the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop at Vassar College; 6 p.m.
September 3 & 4 - Hudson At the Hudson Power Boat Association Dock, the Hudson River sloop Clearwater offers free deck tours on Friday from 12:30 to 4 p.m. and on Saturday 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. Also on Friday, a 3-hour sail from 5 - 8 p.m; $50/adults; $35/members; $15/kids. for which reservations are required.
September 3 & 4 - Pittsfield “Songs By Ridiculously Talented Composers & Lyricists You Probably Don’t Know But Should”; 8 p.m.
September 3 - 6 - Great Barrington Michael Wainwright Outlet Sale, everything 50% off (except stemware); noon - 5 p.m.
September 3 - 6 - Lakeville Lime Rock Park Historic Festival XXVIII and Taste of the Litchfield Hills (September 4 - 6)
September 4 - Ancramdale Acramdale Opera House Summer Dance Shindig with Nicki Denner Latin Jazz All-Stars and Sofia Tosello $15/advance, $20/door; 8 p.m.
September 4 - North Adams Courtyard C at MASS MoCA will be the scene of a Reggae-Soul Dance Party with reggae/world music masters Meta & the Cornerstones; 8 p.m.
September 4 - Rider’s Mills The Riders Mills Art Show, an outdoor invitational exhibition showcasing the work of some 37 artists at the Riders Mills Schoolhouse; 10 a. m. - 4 p.m.
September 4 - Stockbridge Invasive Plant Control for Homeowners, a lecture/demonstration at the Berkshire Botanical Garden; 10 a.m - noon
September 4 & 5 - Rhinebeck Rhinebeck Artists’ Studios Tour; pick up maps at Gazen Gallery; free, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
September 4 & 5 - Lenox Tanglewood Jazz Festival at Seiji Ozawa Hall.
September 4 & 5 - Pine Plains Hammertown Barn Tent Sale; 9 a.m. - 5 p.m./9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
September 4 & 5 - Falls Village Shanghai String Quartet at Music Mountain; 6:30 p.m/3 p.m.
Now - October 1 - Regionwide Hudson Valley Bounty seeks applicants for the 5th Annual Chili-making contest taking place Columbus Day weekend (October 9) at Henry Hudson Park, Hudson.
