Calvert Vaux Preservation Alliance benefit

A benefit to support the efforts of the Calvert Vaux Preservation Alliance, a non-profit corporation dedicated to the stabilization, restoration and adaptive reuse of the Hoyt House at Margaret Lewis Norrie State Park in Staatsburg and other endangered architectural sites throughout the United States, will take place from 2-4:30 p.m. Sunday. It will include music by David Temple, refreshments, and several speakers. More information is in this Poughkeepsie Journal article.

HITS Saugerties begins this week

The HITS Saugerties Spring Horse Show Series begins on Wednesday, May 20. The first week runs through Sunday, May 24, and is followed by Week II from May 27-31 and Week III from June 3-7. The shows take place at the scenic HITS-on-the-Hudson facility in Saugerties and will feature more than 1,000 horses in a variety of divisions.

You can see more than just horses at HITS -- on Saturday, the second annual HITS Classic Car Showcase returns to the show grounds with hot rods to classic cruisers. On the same day, sample fare from area restaurants at the Taste of HITS-on-the-Hudson.

And for the first time, the Hors'n Around Saugerties exhibit takes place on the streets of Saugerties with nearly 50 artist-decorated fiberglass carousel horses. The horses will all be available for purchase at an auction to raise money for a local food bank at the end of the season during the Marshall & Sterling Finals on September 12.


Here is more information about the HITS schedule:

 
The HITS Saugerties Spring Horse Shows offer divisions for every level of rider in equitation, hunter, and jumper disciplines. The Open Jumpers are one of the most popular divisions, and as always HITS Saugerties will offer some of the best prize money in the nation for them.
 
The Open Jumper Division will consist of four Open Jumper classes each week, including a $10,000 Open Welcome, $5,000 Open Speed, and two Grand Prix events, held each Friday and Sunday. The Friday class will offer $25,000 each week, while the Sunday class will offer increasing prize money of $50,000 (sponsored by EMO Insurance), $75,000 and $125,000 (sponsored by Purina Mills in the spring and by Strongid C 2X in the summer) during each three-week series.
 
Top grand prix rider and HITS Saugerties High Performance Committee member Laura Chapot shows at Saugerties every year. This year, Sshe will bring horses and clients to the first and third weeks of the spring series and then will show at all of the HITS Saugerties Summer Series (July 19 - August 2).
 
Chapot is pleased to contribute to the High Performance Committee. She said, "I think it's been great to be a part of the High Performance Committee for HITS Saugerties and to have a management team that wants to hear what we want - our suggestions and our feelings. Tom has put in a tremendous amount of effort to make these shows the best they can be, and we're really excited to see the improvements this year."
 
Chapot feels that the most important improvement made to HITS Saugerties is the footing. "The key thing is footing. To get good footing in will make the whole experience for everyone a lot better. It sounds like HITS really made a huge effort and hopefully found the right mix. It will make a big difference to everyone, most importantly for our horses and the competition."
 
While the prize money for the open jumpers is a big draw, Chapot feels that the reduced fees for this year's competitions is what makes it feasible for many riders at Saugerties. "The prize money increasing each week is great, but what's even better is that HITS has been reducing costs for exhibitors. Prize money only goes to a few people. In order to encourage people and have them be able to show, the fact that they reduced the nominating fee and entry fees is really something that they should be praised for," she explained. "That affects everyone. As a trainer and rider, and a person who owns some of her own horses, entry fees affect me a lot. We bring several younger horses, and they might not win prize money. To bring them at less cost is greatly appreciated."
 
The lower fees will also make a big difference for riders who compete in the non-professional divisions. Junior and Amateur Jumpers will have a great opportunity to win money at Saugerties this year because the classics will be split not only by High and Low, but by Juniors and Amateurs as well.  This means there will be four classics each week:  $5,000 Junior Jumper Low, $5,000 Amateur-Owner Jumper Low, $10,000 Junior Jumper High and $10,000 Amateur-Owner Jumper High.  And, the Low Junior and Amateur-Owner Classics will also count for NAL points.
 
Starting out Week I, the Children's/Adult Jumpers will compete together in their $10,000 Marshall and Sterling Jumper Classic. For Weeks II and III, they will be split and compete for $2,500 each in their classics and will earn points for both Marshall & Sterling and NAL. And every week, the Modified Junior/Amateur Jumpers will have a classic worth $3,500 in prize money. During Week II, there will be a fun Saugerties Team Relay Classic.
 
The hunters will have their fair share of prize money as well. The Amateur-Owner Hunters, Small Junior Hunters, Large Junior Hunters, and Small, Medium, and Large Pony Hunters will each have a $1,000 classic every week. The M&S/NAL Adult Hunters, M&S/NAL Children's Hunters, and Bit O' Straw Classics will each give $500 in prize money every week as well.
 
In addition to the great prize money available, exhibitors will be happy to know that the footing has been revamped in most of the show rings. Tom Struzzieri, President and CEO of HITS, Inc., made the decision to redo the footing in the grand prix ring, all of the jumper rings and schooling areas, as well as many of the hunter rings. HITS also plans to use the old footing from the rings to improve the walkways leading from the stabling areas to the competition areas.
 
This year, HITS has the popular new wood and metal stalls available, an upgraded VIP area, and increased access to electrical power in the tent areas. Olympic Course Decorator Flora Baptiston is returning to bring beauty and color to all of the rings at HITS Saugerties.
 

Shad Fest becomes Springtide Festival

The Hudson River Maritime Museum's "Springtide Festival" takes place from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday along the Rondout waterfront in Kingston. The event used to be called the Shad Festival, but was changed in 2008 when conservation groups noticed a decline in the numbers of shad and asked organizations not to serve shad or shad roe at their events. The Museum's spring festival instead focuses on the shad’s birth and spawning venue – the Hudson River.

This year, in honor of the 2009 Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Celebration and the 400th anniversary of Hudson’s 1609 voyage, HRMM has put together a display of 400 years of living and boating on the Hudson River. Boats that will be present at the museum’s waterfront dock and in the yard will include a Native American canoe, small steamboat, kayak, wooden sailboat, “perriauger”, the “Lark” (boat used to ferry visitors to the Rondout II Lighthouse), HRMM’s 1898 steam tug “Mathilda”, 24-foot sea skiff – even a ’57 Chevy boat. More about the Quadricentennial on the Quad Updates Blog.

There will also be numerous displays and exhibits, live entertainment, and Taste of the Rondout where local restaurateurs will serve "alfresco" samples of their regional cuisine in the museum's park-like waterfront yard. Hot dogs, veggie dogs and soft drinks will also be available for purchase.

More details and directions are at the Hudson River Maritime Museum Web site.

Honoring Ben Feder of Clinton Vineyards

The Hudson Valley Wine and Grape Association and Hudson Valley Vintners will honor Clinton Vineyards owner and winemaker Ben Feder on June 12 at the Hudson Valley Wine & Culinary Food Pairing Dinner.

Ben will receive the "Hudson Valley Veritas Award" for lifetime achievement for visionary leadership in Hudson Valley winemaking. Here is more about Ben from the release:

Ben Feder, former graphic artist and book designer came to the Hudson Valley in 1969 and purchased a rundown 100 acre dairy farm. Ben and the cows didn’t seem to get along. Intrigued by making wine, Ben sought advice from fellow winemaker Herman Wiemer who made wine for Walter S. Taylor at the Bully Hill Vineyard and then went off to make his own prize winning riesling in the Finger Lakes. Advice to Ben was to grow Seyval Blanc, a French-American hybrid grape that does well in the harsh climate of the Northeast. The cows left their pasture and grapes were planted.  Ben’s first vintage was in 1977, the year after Gov. Hugh L. Carey put through a farm winery bill permitting small wineries to sell direct to customers, retailers and restaurants.  Ben produces white wine, champagnes, made from the classic method champenoise, late harvest dessert wine and pure fruit dessert wines made from locally grown fruits.

The Hudson Valley Wine & Culinary Food Pairing Dinner will begin at 7 p.m. June 12, 2009 at Terrapin Catering located at the Dinsmore Golf Course in Staatsburg. The dinner will celebrate winning wines from the Hudson Valley Wine Competition, which will be paired with haute cuisine prepared by Chef Josh Kroner. The dinner is open to the public and costs $85 per person, which includes dinner, wine, tax and gratuities. Pre-paid reservations may be made at http://hudsonvalleywineandgrapeassociation.ticketleap.com

New top chef at Bird & Bottle

The Bird & Bottle Inn in Garrison has named Douglas Gardner of Cortlandt Manor as executive chef of its restaurant. The historic building first opened as an inn and tavern in 1761.

A graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York City, Gardner attended classes and lectures given by his role model, famed Chef Jacques Pepin. Gardner first joined Bird & Bottle in 2006 as a sous chef, and then worked at Zeph's restaurant in Peekskill before returning to the Bird & Bottle as executive chef.

Hudson Valley chefs, authors win James Beard awards

The Hudson Valley made a great showing in tonight's James Beard Foundation awards -- the "Oscars" of the culinary world.

WineWise -- written by a trio of professors at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park -- won best beverage book. Authors included Michael Weiss, who has been wines columnist for Hudson Valley Connoisseur magazine for the past three years, Steven Kolpan, wines columnist for the Valley Table magazine, and Brian H. Smith. Congratulations to all!

Also, Westchester County chef Dan Barber won the prestigious Outstanding Chef award. Way to go!

You can read about all the awards in this story from USA Today.

The ceremony was hosted by Cat Cora, Emeril Lagasse and Stanley Tucci at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. Awards in 38 categories were presented, including Restaurant and Chef, Book, Design and Graphics, and special achievement awards.

Make scents for Mother's Day

Here's a suggestion for an early Mother's Day gift -- the Scenterprise "Perfume Studio Seminar" taking place this Sunday (May 3) in the Cucina Room at Gigi Trattoria in Rhinebeck. Each participant will create his or her own custom fragrance, and each leave with a personalized Bespoke Perfume. Cost is $85 per person. Gigi Skizza (their delicious signature flatbread pizzas) and soft beverages are included and a cash bar will be available. To register, contact sue@scenterprises.com or call 917-449-1134.

Here's more from the Gigi e-mail:

About Host Sue Phillips: President of Scenterprises Ltd, and recognized international fragrance expert who created TIFFANY, TIFFANY FOR MEN, BURBERRYS, DIANE VON FURSTENBERG'S HOME FRAGRANCE COLLECTION, TRISH MCEVOY 1, 2, 3, and many more.  Sue will lead the Perfume Studio workshop -  a fun, interactive and innovative way to experience fragrance.
Price of $85.00 per person includes:
* Fragrance Seminar and Master Class Workshop  
* Olfactory Journey by Expert Fragrance Guide
* Your 20 ml Custom Perfume Creation & Spray
* Certificate of Registration with your own Formula

Speaking of Gigi ... Laura Pensiero, John Storm and the rest of the Gigi folks have been keeping busy with many projects, including their Gigi Trattoria restaurant in Rhinebeck, running the catering at the Vassar College Alumnae House in Poughkeepsie, and the Gigi farm market and cafe at Greig Farm in Red Hook.