People peeping

Interested in seeing photos of your friends and neighbors at fab events from the past two years in the Hudson Valley, Litchfield Hills in Connecticut, and the southern Berkshires in Massachusetts? Celebration photos from 12 issues of Hudson Valley Connoisseur magazine are now archived online at www.hvcmagazine.com/society.html. We've got photos from galas, benefits, art shows, wine festivals and more! Come check it out ...

No day but today

I just read in the Poughkeepsie Journal that the Broadway musical "Rent" is extending its closing date to September 7.

Its producers had announced earlier this year that the very-long-running show would close on June 1, but a surge in ticket sales has apparently changed those plans. "Rent" opened on Broadway on April 29th, 1996, and has won the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Musical but after so many years, sales were declining.

I'm going to take a little credit for its extension because I was one of those people creating the surge in recent sales -- I saw "Rent" on Broadway just last month. ;-) It was a fabulous production. (Then again, I may be biased -- I have the music memorized.) "Rent" channels the story of the Puccini opera "La Boheme" through the counterculture residents of New York’s East Village in the early 1990s. It was a trip down memory lane for me.

I took the train to New York on a Saturday morning and had plenty of time before the 2 p.m. (and SRO) matinee. The line to get into the Nederlander Theater stretched around two blocks (!!) but the staff did an excellent job moving everyone inside quickly. No complaints here! It's a wonderful production -- uplifting, exciting, funny and optimistic despite its serious themes (such as AIDS, poverty, gentrification). Go, see "Rent" before it leaves Broadway for good. No day but today.

Pasta Primo Vino!

I've wanted to attend the Shawangunk Wine Trail's Pasta Primo-Vino event since its first year but have not yet had the opportunity. I've toured some of the wineries on the trail in separate events and liked what I saw (and tasted!) Maybe this year I'll get to Pasta Primo Vino -- how can you go wrong with this? Fine pasta dishes paired with nice wines .. I also understand that the tickets sell quickly, so it's best to make reservations soon!

Here is more info from the wine trail:

Celebrate the start of the winegrowing season by visiting each of the wineries on the wine trail as they pair their wines with a delectable pasta dish. Your taste buds will be tingling with dishes like Pasta Carbonara with Pancetta at Warwick Valley Winery, Fettuccini con Zucca e Pangrattato (with pumpkin and bread crumbs) at Whitecliff Vineyards,“Husband’s Delight,” comfort food at its best at Glorie Farm Winery and Gnocci in a sage and butter sauce at Benmarl Winery.

Be the first to taste Warwick Valley Winery’s 2007 Pinot Gris crafted from 89% Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigio) and 11% Sauvignon Blanc. This wine has a delicate floral and honey aromas are followed by good fruit and welcomed acidity. Also newly released at Warwick Valley Winery just in time for the Pasta Primo Vino is Harvest Moon, a semi-sweet white wine with 1% residual sugar, made from the Cayuga and Vidal grapes.

When arriving at Glorie Farm Winery, pair their “Husband’s Delight” with their first Estate Released 2006 Cabernet Franc. A stop at Whitecliff Vineyards will have you tasting their 2007 Estate Grown Awosting White which is their “Hudson Heritage White,” a blend of Seyval and Vignoles. This wine is lovely, soft, low acid with flavors of apricot and peaches. In addition to the Awosting White, Whitecliff will be releasing their 2007 Pinot Gris, 2007 Redtail, 2007 Mt Laurel White and 2007 Riesling for this event.

Celebrating spring with Pasta Primo Vino is a wonderful way to be introduced to Hudson Valley Wines. The new releases available for tasting at the 10 wineries will make you see why Hudson Valley Wine has reached new levels in winemaking.


This year the event takes place over the weekend of April 19 and 20. Event tickets include tasting fees at all the wineries as well as the pasta sampling. The event starts at 10 a.m. each day and runs until 6 p.m. Tickets for this two-day event are $20 per person when purchased in advance or $25 in person the day of the event at any of the participating 10 wineries. For more information and to purchase tickets go to www.gunkswine.com.

Wine trail members include: Adair Vineyards & Rivendell Winery, New Paltz; Whitecliff Vineyards, Gardiner; Benmarl Winery, Glorie Farm Winery & Stoutridge Vineyards, Marlboro; Baldwin Vineyards, Pine Bush; Brotherhood "America's Oldest" Winery, Washingtonville; Applewood Winery & Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery, Warwick.

The Word is Art!

Here’s a chance to see the work of some young artists before they hit the big time! "Word is Art" will show the work of 15 local high school art students who belong to The Art Institute of Mill Street Loft’s chapter #2242 of the National Art Honor Society (NAHS). The exhibition runs from Saturday (March 15) through Friday, April 11 at 455 Maple Street in Poughkeepsie. Admission is free. The public is invited to attend the artists’ reception from 4 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, including a gallery talk, refreshments and the opportunity to meet and talk with the artists. There will be art for sale.

Here is more information from the organizers:

NAHS students are selected according to a national set of criteria and this group represents 10 area high schools in three Hudson Valley counties. Each piece in the exhibit is inspired by a word, a nine letter (at least) unusual adjective, randomly selected in a drawing by each student. The chapter’s faculty advisors are Art Institute Directors Todd Poteet and Michael Gallo-Farrell.

The National Art Honor Society is comprised of students who demonstrate artistic and academic excellence. The Art Institute of Mill Street Loft’s chapter focuses on the promotion of the arts in our community and the raising of scholarship funds through various activities and venues including: gallery exhibitions, art excursions, volunteer services, guest artists, art competitions, and creating public murals. This chapter is unique in that it is the only one not directly affiliated with a regular school. Members of NAHS are also eligible for additional scholarships to college through the National Art Education Association, or participating schools. Scholarships can range $1,000 to $45,000.

The Art Institute of Mill Street Loft is a year-round pre-college portfolio development program designed for motivated high school students interested in pursuing careers in the visual arts. Since 2000 our students have been offered more than 11 million dollars in merit-based scholarships to the nation’s leading colleges, universities and art schools. For a complete list of Spring 2008 NAHS participants and further information about The Art Institute and Mill Street Loft, please visit its Web site or call 845-471-7477.

Vive la France!

If you are a Francophile (or just like fine French pastries and music) and you will be in New York City on March 28, this is worth adding to your calendar.

Visitors to the New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West (between 76 and 77th Streets) will enjoy free Friday night admission from 6-8 p.m. March 28 and the opportunity to purchase fine chocolates and French pastries in celebration of the ongoing exhibition French Founding Father: Lafayette's Return to Washington's America. The exhibit, on the occasion of the Marquis de Lafayette's 250th birthday, explores his role in the American Revolution and how his year-long tour of the fledgling United States in 1824 inspired the patriotic identification of a young nation. The exhibition runs until August 10.

A local connection? Well, Robert R. Livingston, one of the owners of the Clermont estate (and the man who negotiated the Louisiana Purchase) was friends with Lafayette. According to this Poughkeepsie Journal article, French Marquis de Lafayette spent the night of Sept.16 at Clermont, the home of the Livingston family, where he was entertained by a magnificent ball. Clermont, near the western border of Dutchess and Columbia counties, is now a state historic site and park with lovely views of the Hudson River and Catskills.

During the March 28 event, the beloved Upper West Side bakery Soutine will sell its renowned pastries and visitors will be treated to a performance by internationally acclaimed soprano Juliana Janes-Yaffé.

Lines & Colors through the lens

"Symphony of Lines and Colors" features photographs by area artists and runs through March 25 at RiverWinds Gallery @ A. G. Edwards a division of Wachovia Securities LLC, 6423 Montgomery Street (Route 9), Suite 10-Second Floor in Rhinebeck.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, 10 a. m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays or by appointment.

Interested? Here are descriptions of the artists, from the organizers:

Christopher Staples is fascinated by perception and meaning, the seen and unseen. She layers textures of visual information using multiple media: painting, photography, printmaking, image transfers and collage. Fragments of words, color, transparency, marks, symbols, images and even objects both found and natural convey the immediate and visceral.

Linda T. Hubbard's photographs of New Zealand capture the incredible rugged landscape of this far away county. The mountains, glaciers, lakes, and seacoast create their own symphony of lines and colors....The blue water of the glacier lakes, the reflections of the mountains in the waterways...the road taken....all speak to you - in rhythms and patterns.

Mary Ann Glass takes you to the world of roses.....their color, the symmetry of the petal shapes - they create their own symphony. Her closeups of this magical world of nature invite you to enter each row of petals, each inner world...