New Year, No Netflix - Get Out and About Upstate
Posted by Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty on Wednesday, December 28th, 2022 at 1:28pm
Sooo.... I think it might be time to admit I have a problem. I feel comfortable making this confession because I think it's a problem almost everyone shares with me at the moment. I am just a leeeeettle bit addicted to streaming television. Sigh. Yes, I know, we all have an excuse for our urge to hunker down and watch yet another Adam's Family reboot; for a chunk of time there wasn't all that much else for us to do in our free time (blah, blah, etcetera, etcetera). But I've had my fill of lightly plotted holiday movies and dramas about families who don't like each other - I'm movin' on! I'm going to win The No Netflix Challenge! Haven't heard of it? Not surprising, I just made it up! Here are the rules: 1 - do anything but watch streaming tv 6 days of the week. That's it - one rule. On the seventh day you can go ahead and binge watch because, let's face it, habits die hard. I should point out there's also a notable exception made for binge watching tv while exercising. Go ahead, watch a whole season of Yellowstone while you sweat! What else shall we do with our evenings you ask? I've put together a huge list of other things we can do locally. It includes everything from night classes to swing dance lessons, from paralegal certification (that one's probably not really going to happen for me) to aerial gymnastics. I'm going to share it with you so you can join me in the Upstate No Netflix Challenge. Let's go!
Wallkill River School
Bob Ross fan? Here's your chance for some in-person art lessons. The Wallkill River Center For The Arts offers classes in plein air painting. Plein air painting is landscape painting done outdoors with the landscape right in front of you. While Bob was filmed mainly in his studio, he was doing plein air style painting indoors from his magical memory. In January The Walkill River Center For The Arts in Montgomery is offering classes in not only plein air painting but in stitching and portraiture. Sign up!
Woodstock School Of Art
The Woodstock School Of Art has so many offerings on its spring calendar that it gathered them together in a 28 page course catalogue worthy of a conservatory school. There are plenty of evening and weekend offerings both online and in the studio. The Art and Music class and the Watercolor Weekend look intriguing!
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The Hudson River Maritime Museum
You know what smells wonderful on a crisp January day? Freshly planed teak. But where and when you ask will I have the opportunity to plane some teak? The Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston offers courses in furniture building, wood crafts, and boatbuilding throughout the winter and spring.
The Hudson River Maritime Museum
How cool would it be to be a ship's captain? Pretty darn cool! The Hudson River Maritime Museum in partnership with True North Maritime Academy is offering a course that will get you from A-Z. Taught by instructor Captain Ken Roberts, "The course is for six-pack through 100 ton master and is ideal for those who are uncertified or for people seeking to refresh their skills in navigation, chart plotting, rules of the road, and safety and regulations. It is the highest level license and is required for operators of both inspected and uninspected vessels.
Flexibility In Flight
If you're a fan of Cirque Du Soleil or Pink you're probably already an admirer of aerial gymnastics and nursing a secret desire to contort yourself in the air with silks a-waving; Flexibility In Flight in Chester is the place for you! They offer hammock classes, silk classes, pole classes, classes in circus skills and yoga. They have flexible pricing models for those who are aerial addicts and those who just want to give it a little try.
Clay Arts Center
The Clay Arts Center in Port Chester is dedicated to the advancement of ceramic arts. They offer one-time classes for those who have never worked with clay, and class sessions in levels beginner to advanced. There are classes for youth and adults. Most classes are offered in the evenings for those who have other commitments during the day.
Kingston Ceramics Studio
"Throwing" pots might just be the pinacle of anti-Netflix. You're moving! You're digging in! You can't be wearing your pj's (unless you like them muddy) and you have to be engaged. The Kingston Ceramics Studio is, "a welcoming community clay studio offering weekly group pottery classes for adults and kids, private ceramics lessons for pairs, parties for groups, and open studio time for students and artists." What could be more creative than working a formless lump into something beautiful? The Kingston Ceramics Studio's classes are offered by rolling admission so if you're ready to join right now, they're ready to have you! There are day and evening classes.
Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild
To us at CBVGR, Woodstock's Byrdcliffe Guild seems to need no introduction (Village Green Realty began in Woodstock and has grown through the Catskills and Hudson Valley and our founder, Joan Lonergan, has been deeply involved with the Guild for years), but just in case, I'll quote their website, "The Arts and Crafts Movement and its idealistic philosophy, based on the synthesis of nature, love of craft, and simple living, was the genesis of the Byrdcliffe Colony and remains a living and growing component. The tradition and the future of education is alive and centered at the historic Byrdcliffe Art Colony." They have incredible courses in ceramics, jewelry, nature and art, weaving and writing taught by experts who have chosen to make the area their home and by visiting artists. The "synthesist of nature, love of craft, and simple living...", so not Netflix!
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The Rock Academy
Have big rock dreams that haven't come to fruition yet? This is what The Rock Academy in Woodstock is all about! They're starting their spring season in February. Whether you play and/or sing well, or kind of, join the session and prepare for a show. You can take lessons in keyboards, drums, guitar, base, etc as you prep - or not. Get off your couch and be in a band!
Got 2 Lindy
Will swing dance ever really go out of style? Nope - it's just too cool. Got 2 Lindy offers lessons in both Marlboro and Kingston so no matter where you are in the HV you can learn to jitterbug, shag and charleston.
Colleges
Perhaps you're looking for something more formal than an aerial silk or ceramics class - you want to advance your career or dig into some deep study. We're fortunate to live amidst a group of prestigious institutions that offer educational opportunities for matriculating students and life-long learners alike. Here's the lowdown on higher learning for those looking to use the time they save not streaming things to hit the books.
Bard College
Bard College in Annandale-On-Hudson has a really interesting lifelong learning program. Called the Lifetime Learning Institute or LLI, it’s a member-run and volunteer taught program that offers classes on topics based in the volunteer teachers' areas of expertise. Members pay a $175 yearly fee and volunteer some time every year; in exchange they can take as many classes as they like. Some classes are in-person and others are offered remotely. Upcoming offerings include a class on the nuts and bolts of the supreme court, quilts as art and craft, affordable housing in America at the time of the Civil War, and a dance class.
Marist College
Marist College in Poughkeepsie offers NIGHT CLASSES that blend online learning with in-person learning at night. They offer degrees in Management Studies, Organizational Communication, Behavioral Studies, Organizational Leadership, Information Technology Management and a Paralegal Certificate – they also have.
Mount Saint Mary College
Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh's Center For Lifelong Learning offers all kinds of flexible learning opportunities – online, offline, credit, non-credit, classes that last a day, several weeks, and six months. The topics are varied too! There’s coaching for business, personal finance classes, yoga in business and gender in business.
Pace University
Pace University offers traditional continuing education that helps you advance your career. There are options for earning a certificate in Project Management, Construction Management, and Human Resources Management. They also have a list of worthwhile 2-day courses in topics like marketing and psychology.
SUNY New Paltz
It turns out Bard is not the only college in The Hudson Valley that has a Lifetime Learning Institute! SUNY New Paltz has one too, and they have a completely different roster of classes. Members must be 55+ and classes are given in-person and via zoom. Here’s their catalog of upcoming classes which includes a real-estate related class on decluttering your home to prepare to downsize and an intro to tai-chi.
Culinary Institute Of America
We have the most amazing cooking school in the country right here! How can we not take advantage of that?! The CIA in Hyde Park offers one-off workshops and multi-day bootcamps for “foodies” who want to study at the top culinary school in the country. Eat the spoils!!!
Vassar College
Vassar in Poughkeepsie has an LLI Chapter too with a HUGE course offering. The spring catalogue is not out yet, but the fall catalogue was packed full of interesting topics: Pickleball, Songs of The Hudson Valley, Thomas Cole and His Views. I can't wait to see what's on the new schedule!
I'd love to hear how you tackle the No Netflix Challenge. What classes are you taking or offering in the area? Did we miss a great opportunity?! We would not want to do that!!!
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