Photo courtesy of @mountaintoparboretum and @misscarlarhodes

We love a good membership! We find that when we purchase a membership to a museum or park, we're about 100 times more likely to frequently visit it than if we don't have a membership. Our dream is to have memberships to a few parks and historic sites in each county in the Hudson Valley. As real estate agents, we're often driving and have time to spare because we're early for an appointment. How lovely to have an excuse to stop somewhere beautiful and take a walk (of any length) or be entertained by a new exhibit while providing sustaining funds to some of the organizations we feel make the Hudson Valley and Catskills such a wonderful place to live. Perhaps you, too, would like to put down

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The area north of New York City has drawn artists home since the early 1900s. Visit a coffee shop and you'll hear artists discussing their projects. Our restaurants and cafés are hung with art. Not a weekend goes by without a gallery opening, theatrical opening, or concert. The Hudson Valley and Catskills Region's art workshops offer something transformative: the chance to learn everything from ancient stone carving techniques to modern candle making from truly skilled artists, inspired by the natural beauty all around us and by one another. In addition to being the local experts in Upstate Real Estate, many of us at Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty have creative pursuits outside of our careers. We curated a short list of workshops in the area…

'Tis the season to do stuff. Real Estate agents are people too, so we understand the holidays are packed! But are they packed with the type of events you actually want to attend? Our list of events for November and December 2025 in the Catskills and Hudson Valley does not include the usual parade of Nutcracker performances and Handel's Messiah sing-alongs. We're keeping it small this year with a list of events that you're unlikely to find on your Instagram feed. They are to deeply satisfying escapes from the usual holiday melee you might elsewhere - Upstate gets carried away just like everyone else. We've got a pottery workshop, a walk with goats, a drum circle (in case you need to get some excess energy out), a quiet reading of fairytales, and a

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"Dink”, "Dink”, “Dink”. It’s the sound that’s taking over America! A sound that springs from an awkward, oversized ping pong racket hitting a wiffleball-esque ball. It’s the sound of quartets of friends coming together for a little exercise and a little chat while they get some sun. If you haven’t been living under a rock, perhaps you’ve made the “Dink” that delights so many once or twice already. Pickleball is the thing right now. Like many things, it took a while to spread across the Hudson Valley and Catskills, but, as the MLP championships (Major League Pickleball) are playing out on TVs in sports bars everywhere, it’s here now.

A few weeks ago, I was in the city for a meeting, and I ended up with a little time to spare on a beautiful day.

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Time to dust off your flannel, don your sweaters, perfect your apple-picking technique, and prepare for the kind of outings that makes you wonder why anyone would want to live anywhere else. As local real estate experts who've lived and worked in the Hudson Valley and Catskills for decades, we at Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty try to stay plugged into everything that's happening Upstate. It's not hard! Every time we put our monthly list of Upstate events together we feel compelled to participate! September brings that magical transition from salty summer days to autumn's crisp ones - it's officially festival and fair season, people! 

From intimate chamber music concerts overlooking the Hudson River to pungent garlic festivals that'll have you

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Picture this: You, sunshine, and fields of blooms stretching toward the Catskills. Armed with scissors and a bucket, you're suddenly transformed into a floral curator - no rush, no notifications, just you finding your perfect dahlia.

Let's be honest—there's something deeply satisfying about ditching the bodega bouquet for flowers you've harvested yourself. The Hudson Valley's u-pick flower farms offer this small luxury, just a quick ride from NYC's buzz.

The Hudson Valley flower season runs from May through October, with each month offering different blooms. Most farms operate on weekends, with most flower farmers keeping up-to-date social media feeds that tell you exactly what's ready for picking.

Whether you're planning a solo mental health

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Summer in the Hudson Valley and Catskills will make you a joiner as Ulster, Greene, Columbia, Dutchess, and Orange counties offer up the experiences you never knew you needed – like perfecting your downward dog while llamas “judge” your form (fear not - they’re not really all that judgy), or letting goats lead your hiking expedition (heads up - they have questionable navigation skills). July and August bring an eclectic mix of adventures, from channeling your inner lumberjack at amateur axe throwing events to witnessing the first fully staged American production of Smetana's opera "Dalibor" at Bard College – because, for the right person, nothing says "summer fun" quite like a sung-through 19th-century Czech drama! Whether you're seeking barnyard

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Let's embrace the chill of the Catskills and Hudson Valley this winter season with enthusiasm! Yes, January and February might have the chilliest temperatures of the year, temperatures that on occasion might make your phone shut down in protest, but that's ok! Why? Because the region offers up so many cozy doom-scroll alternatives that you could blithely drop that phone in the Hudson River and not miss it until March. While the rest of the world complains about winter, let’s put on our layers and puffy coats and treat the single-digit degree days as a communal challenge. Sure, you could stay home under a blanket, people do it – or you could join us for two months of concerts, walks, learning opportunities, and other events that will have you fighting

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December in the Catskills and Hudson Valley is always a feast for the senses! There are holiday displays, there are makers’ markets with DJ’s, oysters, and incredible wares you won’t find in any shop, and there is always counter-programming for when the red, green, silver, and cheerful become way too much. While the wind blows and the landscape softens under drifts of snow, we’re doing things! Join us, the local experts in Upstate Real Estate as we tug on just a few of the strings that make up Upstate’s tapestry of a calendar this month.

 

 

Friday, December 6th

Woodstock Holiday Open House

Where: Woodstock, NY

This is always a great time. Santa arrives at evening’s end in a conveyance that is different every year,

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It’s the first of November. It’s time to talk some turkey!

Now, let’s be clear, we’re not talking about your Aunt Hilda’s frozen bowling ball turkey; the one she picked up on special at the end of last November and plans to foist upon you when she shows up at your house at 6 AM on Thanksgiving morning!? That one will require three-to-five days of thawing, Aunt Hilda! It will also take a minor miracle to taste like anything besides regret! 

What we are talking about are local turkeys raised on small farms in the Upstate region who havecultivated heritagebreeds and truly free-range birds using sustainable practices. If you’re going toeat a turkey for Thanksgiving-and let’s face it, over 90% of us are going to eat a turkey forThanksgiving (only

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