Events & Activities In The Catskills & Hudson Valley | August 2024
Posted by Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty on Tuesday, July 16th, 2024 at 10:20am
Summer is in full effect in the Catskills and Hudson Valley Region. Yes, the August weather is hot, but the beautiful days also seem endless – which means you can pack a lot in! Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty is going to keep you cool with events entertaining, arty, outdoorsy and some that are even worthy of going inside for. Let’s get immersed in Upstate culture! Here's our curated list of the Upstate events we think are cool enough (literally and figuratively) for us, the Local Experts in Catskills and Hudson Valley Real Estate to recommend to you, our newsletter and blog readers.
Don’t receive our newsletter? Join our 80,000+ subscribers here:
Let’s fill our calendars with fun! (revised Aug 1, 2024)
Ulster County Fair
Where: New Paltz
Of all the events that happen in the country in the summer, there is no event more iconic than the county fair. We’ll start with Ulster County’s; located 3 miles southeast of New Paltz at the base of the Mohonk Preserve on Route 299. The Ulster County fair is a memory-making place for those of us who call the region home and for the visitors who come from afar for the day. Whether you go for shaved ice or local crafts, craft beer, crafty games that the kids will love, or that cheat-day fried dough, there is no shortage of entertainment and excitement for literally everyone of any age. There’s nightly entertainment (check out the schedule if you want to plan ahead), pig races, horse shows, a garden tractor pull, and of course, the chance to win a giant stuffed animal to strut the midway with!
Dutchess County Fair
Where: Rhinebeck
The Dutchess County Fair happens during the doggiest dog days of August, the days when you don’t necessarily want to go anywhere. Shake it off and go to the fair! The ice cream, lemonade, and dill pickles will keep you cool and charged with electrolytes while you stroll through the barns filled with cows, sheep, chickens, bunnies, and goats. Of course there’s a midway with rides, but there’s also an early-industrial museum that fascinates children, a landscape design competition display that’s like nothing you’ll find elsewhere, endless junk food (try the fried brussels sprouts), and product displays that are so much more entertaining than Netflix! We highly recommend it!
Escape To Margaritaville - The Woodstock Playhouse
Where: Woodstock
Love of, reverence for, and participation in the arts is baked into Woodstock. The town’s seal, quadrants containing a painter's palette, a harp, comedy and tragedy masks, and a parchment tell the tale of the town’s commitment to fostering creativity.
The original Woodstock playhouse was built in 1938 in just 48 days! Consumed by fire in the 1980’s it was rebuilt and is once again an anchor of the community and of the Catskills arts scene. They offer a full season each summer. This year, our pick is Jimmy Buffet’s Escape To Margaritaville, a musical comedy featuring the music of the late Jimmy Buffett. Why? Jimmy Buffett = summer!
Winged Wheel At Tubby’s Kingston
Where: Kingston
Tubby’s in Kingston calls themselves a “neighborhood bar with great cocktails, natural wine, mescal, beer, food from Junebug’s good cooking, and chill vibes”. That’s true. It’s also a hotbed of alternative music in the Hudson Valley. The number of performers that cycle through here rivals a Nashville club; they have DJ nights, trance nights, techno, acid house ambient, punk, folk psychedelia, and open turntables. Tubby's is a little bit of a secret; people find it when they discover a favorite underground band is making an appearance, and come back again and again because the same thing’s happening every night! In other terms, Tubby’s has brought great rejoicing to the Upstate music nerd community!
You should check out their full calendar, but the debut performance of Winged Wheel, a supergroup anchored by Sonic Youth’s drummer Steve Shelley is a chance to really hear something brand new.
Bard College/Spiegeltent
Where: Red Hook
Bard College is known as both a leading liberal arts college and a summer space for world-class performing arts. In two venues, the Fisher Center and The Spiegeltent, they offer formal performances and “sumptuous summer weekends of dazzling performances, drinks, and dancing.”
Here are our picks – one from each venue:
At The Fisher Center July 26 – August 4
Le prophète by Giacomo Meyerbeer is a new French Opera, a psychodrama in which religion, power, ego, and manipulation collide. Sound dramatic? It’s Opera!
At The Spiegeltent August 8th
Lily Henley and Duncan Wickel Playing Bluegrass On The Hudson
This is folk music that spans continents! It's exciting and haunting at the same time. Perfect for an August evening.
Kraftwitch at The Avalon Lounge
Where: Catskill
Kraftwitch creates music in the spaces where wild and urban landscapes meet; a music that’s spatially playful, sliding in liminality between the natural and digital. Kraftwitch is a good friend of our Marketing Director, who says, “Look….what they do is esoteric enough that it’s difficult to explain – just understand that you need to go see it. Who doesn’t want to spend some time marinating in the inexplicable?!”
Catskill Mountain Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Where: Hunter
Catskill Mountain Shakespeare’s mission is to “weave the timeless beauty of classic texts into the fabric of their community”. Born in 2020, the pro theatre troupe has been wowing very picky Upstate theatre types with their creative, inclusive performances that use the Catskills as a ready-made, perfectly scaled backdrop. (Seriously, never before have we heard so many positive reviews!) This summer Julius Caesar is on the boards!
Scenic Sips Festival
Where: Hillsdale
Columbia County has a growing reputation for quality breweries and distilleries. Hillsdale is a bucolic place with some sneaky hidden gems. Come for the day and start at Taconic State Park for the streamside trail to Bash Bish Falls and the wonderful Rudd Pond, and then head to Hillsdale for a great late afternoon sip fest.
The Real Maine Lobster Bake
Where: Windham
Windham is known as one of Upstate’s premiere ski destinations. In the summer, there are endless outdoor activities to do in Windham and its surrounds, plus one of our favorite weekly events! It’s a favorite simply because a mountain-top ski town that's hundreds of miles away from the coast of Maine is as unlikely a place for a lobster bake with live music that we can think of; also because (we can all agree on this) lobster’s the tastiest food on the planet. Don’t cook! Go to the unlikely lobster bake!
The Kommuna Lux At The Falcon
Where: Marlboro
We feature events at the Falcon in Marlboro all the time because they a) have great acts, b) have a great egalitarian mission (never a cover, just a suggested donation that’s really just a suggested donation). This summer The Kommuna Lux caught our eye. Long story short, they play joyful Ukrainian Klezmer music. Joyful! Listen to their video and put them on their calendar!
Hike For The Catskills: Platte Clove To Echo Lake
Where: Platte Clove
The Hike For The Catskills is a chance to fundraise to protect the habitats of the Catskills while enjoying them. Hikers can fundraise through the month of August and join guided hikes like this one in Platte Clove. Meet your guide Dan at the entrance to the Platte Clove Preserve. Bring water, sunscreen, and a snack and plan to be on the trail until two o'clock.
Phoenicia Festival Of the Arts
Where: Varga Gallery, Phoenicia
Christine Varga’s Phoenicia Festival of the Arts is back and even bigger this year! What started as a three-day event is now a whole month of art exhibits, artist talks, poetry readings, and music spread across various galleries and venues. It’s a fantastic celebration of creativity and community!
Summer Hoot
Where: The Ashokan Center, Woodstock
The Summer Hoot is always, well… a hoot! Enjoy live music, dancing, and great food, with performances from Jay Ungar and lots of other cool acts. It’s a perfect chance to camp out, hang with friends, and enjoy some awesome outdoor vibes.
Music at the Grazhda “Bandura’s Journey”
Where: Grazdha Music And Art Center Of Greene County, Jewett, NY
Don’t miss the last concert of the 2024 Music at the Grazhda season! Julian Kytasty and Teryn Kuzma are set to deliver an unforgettable night of classic Ukrainian folk songs. It’s a perfect chance to dive into the rich sounds and traditions of Ukrainian culture—definitely an event to catch!
Film & Dance Series: Dirty Dancing
Where: HPAC, Hurleyville, NY
This month’s Film & Dance Series at HPAC is featuring a screening of the beloved classic Dirty Dancing! After the film, embrace your inner Frances Houseman or Johnny Castle with a dance lesson in the Ballroom. Whether you're there to dance or just enjoy the movie, it’s a unique and lively event worth checking out!
Hunter Stone Carving Seminar
Where: Bluestones Park, Tannersville
Get ready for the 17th season of the Hunter Stone Carving Seminar, where you can dive into stone carving for free! Join Master Sculptor Kevin VanHentenryck—yep, the guy behind that cool Rip VanWinkle sculpture—at the park’s temporary studio and start chiseling away on stones ranging from a few hundred pounds to 12 tons. It’s a hands-on, creative blast with over 300 petroglyphs already on display, and it’s all happening Monday – Saturday!
Hot Sauce Hullabaloo
Where: All One One All Farm, Goshen
If you love adding some heat to your meals, the new hot sauce festival at Goshen’s All One One All farm is a must-visit! You can either submit your own hot sauce for a taste test or join in the fun by sampling and voting for your favorites. Plus, all the money raised helps support AOOA’s Fresh Food for All program.
Food Truck Fest with Roadhouse 60’s Live
Where: Windham House Country Inn & Golf Resort, Windham, NY
A fantastic way to kick-off Labor Day weekend! Feast on delicious food truck treats, hit up the outdoor bar, and dance the night away as the band starts rocking at 7pm. Bring your appetite and dancing shoes—this is one party you won’t want to miss!
OUT OF ORDER
Where: Bridge Street Theatre, Catskill, NY
Catch Carl Holder’s “Out Of Order” at Bridge Street Theatre for a theatre experience like no other! Originally designed for living rooms, this show mixes hilarious moments with deep emotional beats (all thanks to Carl pulling random index cards with quirky prompts!) The show will be performed among the audience in a cozy Speakeasy setting - get ready to laugh, cry, and see life from a fresh perspective!
"Seeds Under Nuclear Winter: An Earth Opera"
Where: The Widow Jane Mine at The Snyder Estate, Rosendale
Since its premiere at Widow Jane Mine in August 2022, Elizabeth Clark’s “Earth Opera” has enchanted audiences with the otherworldly sounds of choral voices echoing off the mine’s walls. With nearly 35 local performers, cool instruments like bagpipes and a giant Celtic war horn, and creative light experiments, it’s a wild mix of music and art. It’s an evolving, unique experience that you really have to hear and see to believe!
While you’re out and about, look for the Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty logo - there are over 100 of us that live in and around the Mid-Hudson Valley and love to enjoy these summer events just as much as we know you will! Stop us with real estate questions if you see us walking through the throngs, or stop into one of our six office locations in the mid-Hudson Valley!
Leave A Comment