Now that the weather is starting to heat up, Ulster County residents are starting to feel that familiar itch springtime brings; the urge to wander through the multitudes of forest preserves. If your pleasure is hiking, biking, climbing, fishing, boating, swimming, riding, or even just good old-fashioned picnicking, there’s no better time to start. The parks are not very crowded in the spring (honestly, they're never over-run, but this time of year you can pretty much bank on solitude) and you can catch everything as it sprouts.   Many hikes and recreational areas in the Hudson Valley, Catskills and Rondout Valley have public parking and free admission. But, if you've exhausted those possibilities or just want full, no-holds barred access to…

  Ahhhh, performance camps! Something near and dear to my heart. I've attended them, I've taught at them, I've wriggled my way out of teaching at them once I decided I'd spent way too much time in summer performance camp. Anyway. I feel pretty well qualified to talk about performance camp.   As a working parent I know that choosing the summer camp(s) your kids will attend is a decision that ranks right up there with choosing the right school district to live in. It's not small. You want them to be safe. You probably want them to get some fresh air. Most of all you want them to be happy. As a theatre kid I did not give the teeniest hoot about fresh air. I spent my pre-teen and teen years roughly the color of Casper The Friendly Ghost because I…

 

Of course the Hudson Valley is bucolic. Of course there are farmers' markets and country fairs. But there are also two very special Broadway-style theatres here in the Hudson Valley that make going to shows there feel positively metropolitan!  The Bardavon Opera House is a classic renovated theatre in the city of Poughkeepsie, and Ulster Performing Arts Center is located in the midtown neighborhood of historic Kingston.  Over the years I have been lucky to see amazing shows in both houses: Natalie Merchant, Black Crowes, Jerry Lee Lewis, Patti Smith, Patti Labelle, Whoopie Goldberg, Joan Rivers, Anthony Bourdain, John Waters, Liza Manelli, Kathy Griffin, Blondie, and more, more, more.  Both theatres have the architecture, seating and acoustics you

…

 

As soon as I finished posting our list of Hudson Valley Writers I thought, jeez I should post about Hudson Valley musicians too. I needed some help with this one. I listen to showtunes. Period. So, I emailed a couple of friends who are very hooked into the music scene (read: hip, cool, and unique) so that I could get you a list of local artists who sing something other than "Oh What A Beautiful Morning!" from Oklahoma! 

 

 

Our first list comes from Mark Lerner who is both the bassist for Life In A Blender (that's him, first on the left), a NYC based band that the New Yorker once called "Rife with oddness." I love that. Mark lives in Phoenicia, NY, is a GREAT graphic designer (when he's not playing bass), and is very involved in the

…

 

Who doesn't love fireworks (besides maybe the family dog). Here's a list of fireworks displays with the Catskill Mountains and Hudson River as a perfect backdrop. I like to get in as much firework viewing as humanly possible this week. They're just soooooo pretty. Luckily some of the displays in the area are staggered so I can get more than one firework fix. Below are the displays that I think are MOST scenic (the insiders guide), and the folks at Ulster Publishing have kindly put together a complete list!

As a fireworks officianado I like to pack the right gear. Scroll down for a list of essentials to pack in that LL Bean tote (I know you've got one, everyone does).

 

 

From The Walkway Over The Hudson

 Wowza! That's a

…

Get Some Green From a Hudson Valley CSA 

My parents have a biodynamic farm in Maine.

What is biodynamic farming?

Biodynamic is beyond Organic. You use only what you find on your own land to fertilize and support what you produce, animal and vegetable. So how has it come to pass that I have the blackest of black thumbs? It seems I can't even grow parsely, and I have a herd of deer that live in my backyard. Right now I have so many home improvement projects on the docket that even considering adding building a fenced-in garden to the list makes me feel....well.....not nice. However I grew up spending summers eating my Mom's yummy veggies. She used to chase me out of the garden because I would eat all the peas off the vines before she

…

With Guest Blogger Martha Frankel, Woodstock Writers Festival

For months I've been searching for a resource to help me put together a reading list of books by local Hudson Valley authors to share with our newsletter subscribers. I've always been a sucker for locally grown talent. When I was in high school my friend's older brother was an up-and-coming folk singer. He came to do a concert at our school and I've been an Ellis Paul fan ever since (give him a listen, great songwriter). I think that sharing the same geography with an artist can give you an extra connection to their work. Maybe you'll find a little extra comfort or meaning by taking in the creations of those who have walked the same ground as you. Well, I searched high and low for a good

…

  Woo-hoo! The weather's great! You're ready to strap on some hiking boots and hit the trails of the Catskill Mountains. One problem. The little people. You want to spend some quality time with Mother Nature and the kids in your life. But you don't want that quality time to involve a whine-fest. What to do? There are two ingredients to a pleasant family trek: 1. timing 2. choosing the right hike.    My Dad who was an Elementary School Principal for decades gave me some great advice when my daughter was old enough for me to start including her in outings; 90% of having a good time with kids is timing. Don't start the hike anywhere near what is normally a mealtime for them. Give them some real food before you set out and take some snacks. My…

Hiking in the Gunks in the Spring - Adventure Time!

by Amber Rodriguez - Administrative Assistant 

 

I had a mid-week day off last week. The sun was shining and the ice was melting (well the ice was starting to melt), and after a long winter cooped up I HAD to get out there! Smell the air! See some sights! No one was game for going with me. So I loaded some snacks in my car and headed for Minnewaska State Park in New Paltz.

 

If you've never been to Minnewaska, make the effort! It houses some of the most beautiful terrain in the Shawangunk Mountain Ridge. There are lakes, waterfalls, carriage paths for easy walking and serious cliffs for rock climbers. But, when's there's snow on the ground it's ALL serious stuff. I wanted to do the

…

Looking for things to do in the Catskills? Well, wonder no more, we can tell you exactly what to do in the Catskills.

 

We're looking forward to Summer at Village Green Realty. Not that we don't love winter in the Catskills. The smell of a snow storm coming in, the skating, the nesting with a good cup of tea - all really good stuff. But we're looking forward to the Summer Music Festivals in the Catskills. It might sound cliched (and more than a bit dorky) but in Summer our "hills are alive with the sound of music". Festivals this summer range in content from country to opera, from musical theatre to world. In some cases tickets for these events go on sale early and sell out before the first big thaw. So, since we don't want you to be lamenting

…