Hudson Valley images

View beautiful images of the region (like this one!) by Poughkeepsie Journal photographer Lee Ferris through July 30 at the Hyde Park Library Annex. For more information, please call 845-229-7791.

“A Silver Celebration under the Stars”

Wow -- this sounds like fun: Powerhouse Theater’s 25th anniversary gala benefit at Vassar College on June 27. It will feature performances by many award-winning artists, including Oscar winner Mary McDonnell, David Strathairn, Rob Morrow, Mark Linn-Baker, Tony and Grammy Award-winner Duncan Sheik, Deborah Hedwell, Carol Kane, Wendy Makkena, Randle Mell, Jenny Powers, Jon Tenney, Jennifer Westfeldt, (and many more to come) and will be followed by a "Locavore" party celebrating 25 seasons of Powerhouse.

Here are more details from the press release:

Beginning at 7pm the gala will offer selections from favorite Powerhouse plays and musicals performed by some of Broadway and Hollywood’s top artists, all of whom, at one time or another, have trod the stage at Powerhouse. A party will follow that will celebrate food and drink produced in the Hudson Valley.

Following the performance, the audience is invited to join the artists for a light supper with drinks and dessert under the stars as Powerhouse celebrates Hudson Valley food artisans with a Locavore Party—food and drinks grown or produced locally —offered by Gigi’s Hudson Valley, Clinton Vineyards, Keegan Ales, and Babycakes Café. The party will begin at 8:30pm, outside the Martel Theater on the Frances Daly Fergusson Quadrangle.

”I’m thrilled and honored that so many of our wonderful artist ‘alums’ are joining us here in Poughkeepsie to celebrate 25 seasons,” New York Stage and Film Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer said. “What a unique opportunity to see all these artists who mean so much to us, all sharing a stage together!”

“We’re celebrating our future stars as members of the current Powerhouse Apprentice Company will join in the program,” noted Edward Cheetham, producing director of Powerhouse Theater. “This special quarter-of-a-century celebration is also a benefit that will help support Powerhouse in the future and promises to be a great party!”

Individual tickets are on sale now; special sponsorship packages, which include gala tickets and Powerhouse season subscriptions, are also available. To purchase tickets and for additional information, go online (http://powerhouse.vassar.edu), call (845) 437-5599, or visit the Powerhouse Box Office in person on the Vassar campus.

THE GALA BENEFIT PERFORMANCE
The performance, directed by Sheryl Kaller, with musical direction by Fred Lassen, will begin at 7pm in the Martel Theater of the Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film.

Featured will be members of the original 1985 cast of John Patrick Shanley’s first Powerhouse play Savage in Limbo: Oscar winner Mary McDonnell (Dances with Wolves), Randle Mell, and Deborah Hedwell.

Other featured artists at the gala will include New York Stage and Film co-founder and producing director Mark Linn-Baker, who recently appeared off-Broadway in John Patrick Shanley’s Romantic Poetry and is the star of the classic film My Favorite Year and the series Perfect Strangers; Carol Kane (Wicked, Annie Hall, and Taxi); Wendy Makkena (Side Man); Rob Morrow (Numb3rs, Northern Exposure); Jenny Powers (Little Women, Grease, Follies); Reg Rogers (Holiday); Tony and Grammy Award-winning composer of the smash Broadway hit Spring Awakening, Duncan Sheik; David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck, The River Wild, Passion Fish); from The Closer Jon Tenney (The Heiress), who is also a member of Vassar’s class of 1984; Jennifer Westfeldt (Wonderful Town, Kissing Jessica Stein, Ira & Abby); and many more to come!

These Powerhouse artists, along with members of the 2009 Powerhouse Apprentice Company, will perform selections from favorite plays and musicals of the past 25 seasons, including Savage in Limbo by John Patrick Shanley (1985); Snakebit by David Marshall Grant (1994); the Tony Award-winning Side Man by Warren Leight (1996); A Year with Frog & Toad by Willie Reale and Robert Reale (2000); Adrift in Macao by Christopher Durang and Peter Melnick (2002); Dangerous Beauty by Jeannine Dominy and Michele Brourman (2005); The Boy Who Heard Music by Pete Townshend (2007); and Nero (Duncan Sheik & Steven Sater, 2008).

THE LOCAVORE PARTY
Following the performance, the audience is invited to join the artists for a light supper with drinks and dessert under the stars as Powerhouse celebrates Hudson Valley food artisans with a Locavore Party (celebrating food grown or produced locally). A light supper will be prepared by Gigi's Hudson Valley, the official caterer of Vassar's Alumnae House, from the best fresh local produce in the area; Clinton Vineyards will pour some of their award-winning wines; Keegan Ales, voted best brewery in both the Hudson Valley and in New York State and recipient of the Matthew Vassar prize at the Tap New York Festival, will serve a selection of his favorite beverage; and a dessert buffet of sumptuous sweets will be provided by Babycakes Café. The party will begin at 8:30pm, outside the Martel Theater on the Frances Daly Fergusson Quadrangle.

THE BOX OFFICE
Individual orchestra tickets are $100; limited balcony seats available for $50 (Enter code: GALABALC). Both options include the performance and party. A special Mainstage subscription plus gala packages offers admission to the gala, any of the three Mainstage shows, and all 9 readings for one person (15% off single ticket prices). To purchase tickets, go online to Powerhouse, call (845) 437-7235 or (845) 437-5599, or visit the Box Office on the Vassar campus.


POWERHOUSE THEATER
Powerhouse Theater, now entering its 25th season, is the result of a unique collaboration between New York Stage and Film and Vassar College. The program consists of an eight-week residency on the Vassar campus during which more than 200 professional artists and some 40 apprentices live and work together to create new theater works. Powerhouse steadfastly supports both emerging and established artists.

The annual residency has included such writers as John Patrick Shanley, Beth Henley, Henry Kreiger, Warren Leight, Christopher Durang, Richard Greenberg, Stephen Belber, Eric Bogosian, Steve Martin, Dael Orlandersmith, Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater; directors Mark Brokaw, Joe Mantello, Lisa Peterson, Roger Rees, Liz Swados, David Warren, and Michael Wilson; and actors Chris Cooper, Dana Delany, Olympia Dukakis, Edie Falco, Peter Gallagher, Joel Grey, Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Timothy Hutton, Kristen Johnston, Lucy Liu, Julianna Margulies, Rob Morrow, Frances McDormand, Josh Radnor, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Kyra Sedgwick, Fisher Stevens, David Strathairn, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Westfeldt, among many others.

Since its inception in 1985, Powerhouse has played a significant role in the development of hundreds of new plays, provided a home for a diverse group of artists free from critical and commercial pressures, and established itself as a vital cultural institution for the Hudson Valley, the New York metropolitan area, and the surrounding region.

Mark O'Connor to debut Quad Quartet

Grammy Award-winning violinist and composer Mark O'Connor returns to Riverspace in Nyack tomorrow for the local debut of a string quartet commissioned to celebrate the Hudson River Quadricentennial.

String Quartet No. 3 is called "Old Time." Like "Appalachia Waltz" - his best-known solo violin work, which he performed at Riverspace in 2007 - and the six-movement "American Symphony," the new piece paints a sweeping musical picture. You can read more in this article.

Historic Bicycle Tour of Olde Fishkill

The Fishkill Historical Society will sponsor a bike tour of "Olde Fishkill" on Sunday, June 21 with three different bicycle tours for three different skill levels. Each tour incorporates historic sites along the way. The family tour covers 0.6 miles of even terrain and visits 8 historic sites within the Village of Fishkill. This tour can also be easily walked. The medium tour covers 4 miles, with some hills and even terrain, and visits 15 historic sites in the Village and Town of Fishkill. The extended tour covers 24 miles, with some challenging hills, and visits 26 historic sites. This goes through the Village and Town of Fishkill as well as parts of Beacon. Sites will have receivers to briefly share information about the site.

A community picnic will follow at Van Wyck Homestead from 4 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Registration for the event begins at noon, and is free; donations are gratefully accepted.

Registration for the family and medium tours is at Van Wyck (Village) Hall, 1095 Main St. in Fishkill, and the extended tour registration is at Van Wyck Homestead, 504 Rt. 9 in Fishkill. Maps can be picked up at Town and Village Hall in Fishkill prior to the event, and at the registration locations the day of the event. Visit www.soundearth.com/BikeTour for more details.

Learn background, care of your historic home

Historic Huguenot Street is offering a series of lectures designed for owners of early 20th century to colonial-era homes, starting Saturday, June 20. This sounds like a great activity for homeowners who are curious about how to stay true to the origins of their houses.

The four workshops are:
 
Intro to Preservation, Saturday, June 20
Researching Your Home's "Genealogy" with Archives Specialist Susan Stessin-Cohn, Saturday, July 18
Period Roofs and Windows, Saturday, August 15
Historic Hardware with blacksmith Jonathan Nedbor, Saturday, September 19

Workshops take place from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Restoration Workshop at Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, with the exception of July 18, which will be held in the site's library.  Cost is $80 for the series or $25 per workshop.  Advance registration is strongly recommended.  To get more information or to register, click on the "Historic Homeowners Series" link at www.huguenotstreet.org or call 845-255-1660, ext. 300.

Beacon Sloop Club Strawberry Festival

Following all the River Days flotilla excitement ... the Beacon Sloop Club’s annual Strawberry Festival takes place, rain or shine, from 12-5pm Sunday June 14 at Riverfront Park in Beacon (very close to the Metro North Beacon Train Station).

Here is the club's message:

Our guests will hear live music and enjoy the best shortcake you have ever imagined --- locally grown strawberries made with home-made biscuits topped with real whipped cream --- while surrounded on three sides by the glorious Hudson River. There will be many treats such as strawberry smoothies, freshly made chocolate covered strawberries and other great foods. Many vendors will be on hand selling food and crafts, and a farmers’ market will offer freshly baked breads, vegetables and many other local items. Tanks of live fish and other river life will be on exhibition along with displays of local river history and environment. An area is also available with activities and musical performances for children throughout the festival.
For information on being a food or crafts vendor or booking an activist or environmental table please call 845-463-4660 or visit beaconsloopclub.org for an application.
The Woody Guthrie will be taking guests on free sails from the Beacon Harbor. The public may sign up for a free afternoon sail to experience the beauty, power and grandeur of the Hudson. Guests may sign up at the Beacon Sloop Club booth for one of the five free sails during the afternoon. Seating is limited so be sure to arrive early and sign up at the Beacon sloop Club table.
The music will be sublime with folksinger/activist Pete Seeger, Dan Einbender & His Kids, Melissa Ortquist & Karen Brooks, Dave King, Spook Handy, Driscoll & Smith, Howland Wolves, Cecilia St. King.
Admission is free to Beacon Sloop Club Strawberry Festival. For additional festival info: (845) 831-6962, (845) 496-5617, www.beaconsloopclub.org
The Beacon Sloop Club is all volunteer and a non-profit organization. The BSC Strawberry Festival raises money for the public sailing program on the Woody Guthrie and other environmental education programs. There is never a charge for sailing aboard the Woody. The BSC meets the first Friday of each month at the clubhouse in Beacon, right on the river near the Metro-North train station, for a potluck dinner, business meeting and music. The public is always welcome.

Rare Mercedes Silver Arrow headed for Lime Rock

Labor Day may seem like a long way off but if you're interested in rare cars, you might want to mark this on your calender ...

One of the world’s great racing cars, a 1939 Mercedes-Benz W 154 Silver Arrow, will be specially featured at Lime Rock Park’s Vintage Festival September 4-7, 2009.

A stellar attraction of the legendary period from 1934 to 1939, the W 154 represents the apogee of the supercharger era of Mercedes-Benz's racing vehicles. Rudolf Carraciola drove a Silver Arrow to the Grand Prix world title in 1938. The car dominated again in 1939, piloted by Hermann Lang.

Germany's Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union GP motor racing vehicles between 1934 and 1939 were dubbed “Silver Arrows” by the press, applying later to Mercedes-Benz F1 and sports cars from 1954 onward.

Very few of these cars were built and many were broken up or simply disappeared during the war era 1939-45 war. Audi has commissioned several replicas of their Auto Union ancestors which appear at important vintage events.

But the W 154 Mercedes coming to Lime Rock is the real thing, campaigned by the likes of Lang, Carraciola and England’s Dick Seaman, who won the 1938 German Grand Prix.

The Mercedes will join several other exceptionally rare Grand Prix cars at the Festival. "The Festival this year will have some of the greatest racing cars of all time, both on display and competing," said Skip Barber. "I can't wait to see them on our newly resurfaced track.”

Lime Rock Park is located just over the Dutchess County border in Lakeville, in northwest Connecticut.

River Day dinner-dance in Poughkeepsie

A reminder that the reservation deadline is coming up for the June 9 River Day dinner-dance celebration at the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum Pavilion, to benefit Walkway Over the Hudson. The event should offer a great view of the the Halfmoon, the Clearwater, and the rest of the Quadricentennial Flotilla as they arrive in Poughkeepsie.

Walkway Over the Hudson is the nonprofit leading the effort to the transform the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge into the world’s longest elevated pedestrian park.

The $40 admission charge covers dinner by Lola’s Café and beer and wine donated by Mahoney’s Irish Pub. (Children under 10 years old will be admitted free.) Music will be provided by a popular area DJ and fun activities are planned. Reservations are required as seating is limited. To reserve seats please visit www.walkway.org or call 845-454-9649.

More information about the event is in this earlier Quad Updates blog post.