Excursions

Community

Stealing Beauty: The Olana Viewshed Tour

You don't have to be erudite or sophisticated to be moved by a beautiful vista.  It's one form of beauty that everyone agrees upon.  Yet the notion of protecting a view that's comprised largely of private property, is new. On Saturday, October 24, The

By Editor

Community

An Alternative Harvest Festival in Millerton

The miracle of Millerton's gentrification is that it happened without art galleries, which are frequently crucial to a small town's revival. (The Hanback Gallery, formerly of Lenox, opened on South Center Street only this August.)  Nevertheless, Millerton is crawling with artists and collectors so instead of

By Editor

Community

Columbus Weekend Harvest Festival Hopping

Crisp apples, bright orange pumpkins, pressed cider, home baked pies, sugary cider donuts, and live bluegrass: if you can't find a harvest festival near you this weekend, you must be hiding under your bed.  Throughout the region cities, villages, and historic sites are sponsoring all manner of festivities,

By Editor

Community

Walkway Over the Hudson Officially Opens

This weekend marks the opening celebration of the Walkway over the Hudson, a 1.28-mile "linear park" for pedestrians, the longest walkway bridge in the world.   The occasion is the culmination of nearly two decades of effort on the part of visionary community activists, led by board chairman

By Editor

Community

Excursions: Hancock Shaker Village Holds a Country Fair

Lots of towns in our region have Country Fairs to celebrate the harvest, and they are all charming and valuable in their way.  But for ambience—sheer aesthetic perfection—it's impossible to beat the Country Fair at Hancock Shaker Village.  The agricultural demonstrations, the wagon rides, the farmers&

By Editor

Community

Two Chatham Alpaca Farms Host Open Days

On September 26 and 27, Spruce Ridge Farm of Old Chatham and Chatham Alpacas of Chatham Center invite the public to visit their farms, meet their alpacas, and learn more about these inquisitive, charming animals.   Alpaca breeders from across the United States and Canada will be open this weekend as

By Editor

Community

Excursion: Columbia County Farm Festival in Valatie

Free tractors rides, pick-your-own apples (Honey Crisps!), live bluegrass (Cathy Grier and the Gentlemen of the Night followed by the Wickers Creek Band), Kinderhook Farm burgers made from hormone-free, grass-fed, cosseted-and-coddled cattle (all that bovine happiness results in lots of healthy Omega 3's!), square dancing (Fern Bradley and

By Editor

Community

Historic-Site Hopping: New York's First Heritage Weekend

2009 has been a big year for the Hudson River Valley.   The Quadricentennial of Henry Hudson's discovery of his namesake river has launched a thousand ships and a history feeding frenzy.  Now that we're all in the mood, what better time to introduce a lovely custom

By Editor

Community

Fence Art Show in the Hamlet of Riders Mills

Riders Mills, a tiny hamlet in north-central Columbia County,  is a rarity even here in the country: it is bisected by neither a state nor a county road, making it the most remote and perhaps least spoiled of a trio of small villages (in addition, Rayville and Malden Bridge) that

By Editor

Community

Road Trip: Copake Falls Day This Saturday

Lots of towns around here have an annual festival with live music and plenty to buy, eat and drink but Copake Falls Day may be the only one we've heard of that kicks off with not one but two foot races.  This is as it should be.  On

By Editor

Community

The Mount Is A House of Mirth Once More

When Susan Wissler took over as executive director of The Mount last year, the Edith Wharton Estate & Gardens in Lenox was on the brink of foreclosure and we believed The Age of Innocence Was Over.  Working tirelessly with board chairman Gordon Travers, Wissler has not only kept The Mount

By Editor

Community

Fitch's Corner Horse Trials This Weekend

Now in its 16th summer, the Fitch’s Corner Horse Trials in Millbrook this weekend, are, in essence, a competition, with each horse performing three disciplines.  Dressage will take place at 8 a.m. Saturday morning, and there will be cross-country jumping and stadium jumping on both days.  Two hundred

By Editor