Ilana Papele’s The List

For those of us who grew up listening to the Harder They Come soundtrack, which may have only been my brother and me, there is a delightful recent jam session with Toots and The Maytals at Daryl’s House. Daryl being Daryl Hal and this time they’re not at his house, but in Jamaica. Before listening to Sweet and Dandy, be sure to listen to the segment before and learn how to make Suzanne’s jerk sauce. www.livefromdarylshouse.com/index.php?page=ep28. By the way, we found out what the real words were about 25 years later and were quite shocked that they did not match what we interpreted.

Call for Entries –Photowork ‘10 – 23rd Annual National Juried Photography Exhibition, April 17 – May 15, 2010. Juror: Nat Trotman, Associate Curator, Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY. Cash awards /exhibition opportunities. Photography and photo/mixed media. Entry Deadline, Monday, March 1, 2010. Send SASE for prospectus to: Barrett Art Center, 55 Noxon Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601, (845) 471-2550, or see our website for application at www.barrettartcenter.org.

The annual Commercial Fruit Growers School and Trade Show, hosted by Cornell Cooperative Extension Hudson Valley Regional Fruit Program will take place at the Holiday Inn located at 503 Washington Avenue in Kingston. The classes are Tuesday, February 23 (Tree Fruit and Trade Show) Wednesday, February 24 (Tree Fruit) Thursday, February 25 (Grapes) and Friday, February 26 (Berries). NYSDEC pesticides re-certification credits will be available. The Trade Show will take place on Tuesday, February 23 in the Holidome from 4:00pm to 7:00pm for registrants only. Registration is $35 per person per day and $45 per person on Friday in advance, price includes lunch. Pre-registration is recommended before February 19. Walk-in registration is $45 each day and $50 on Friday. Registration begins at 8:00 AM each day.
For information about classes and receiving credits contact Mike Fargione, Commercial Fruit Extension Educator, at 845-691-7117. For a complete agenda and registration information or vendor information visit www.cceulster.org or contact Jenny Burkins at 845-340-3990.

Upstate plays Crazy Heart (music by T Bone Burnett) and Last Station (Helen Mirren, oh I adore Helen Mirren) 845-876-2515. www.upstatefilms.org. Upstate has also opened a second location, on Tinker Street in Woodstock. Playing A Single Man.
Moviehouse in Millerton plays Valentine’s Day, Wolfman and Crazy Heart. (518) 789-3408, www.moviehouse.net. Remember, Tuesday is discount night.

The Tremaine Gallery at The Hotchkiss School exhibits Photographs by Anne Day and John Isaac through March 6. The show features works of two accomplished photographers, Anne Day and John Isaac, each of whom has spent a lifetime documenting important social and human issues around the globe and in this country.

Housatonic Camera Club Photography Annual Show And Sale on display at Noble Horizons, Life Long Learning Center, 17 Cobble Road, Salisbury, Ct, through Feb. 28 . Over 75 local artists. General viewing weekends 11 AM to 4 PM. For other hours call Noble Horizons. 860-435-9851. For information about the Housatonic Camera Club call 518-789-3523 www.housatoniccameraclub.org.

Philadelphia Flower Show Bus Trip on Wednesday, March 3, 2010- Take an exotic journey to dozens of destinations around the globe. Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County is now taking reservations for their annual bus trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show www.theflowershow.com. The theme this year “Passport to the World”. Cost is $65 per person, which includes transportation and admission to the show. Leaving from the Farm & Home Center on Rt. 44 in Millbrook promptly at 8am and returning home at approximately 9:30pm. Please call Nancy Halas at 845-677-8223 x 115 to register. Checks should be made out to Cornell Cooperative Extension and mailed to 2715 Rt. 44, Suite 1, Millbrook, NY 12545 Attn: Nancy Halas. Seats will only be reserved upon payment in full. No refunds after February 12. Substitutions are allowed. Limited Seating.

Thursday, February 18:

Red Hook will be the site of the big “salamander counting”, aka Vernal Pool Survey, this spring led by the famous Michael Klemens (IES) and also Neil Curri (GIS guy at cooperative extension). Please consider signing up for the needed core group.
Michael and Neil hold a first meeting at IES late morning or late afternoon. Please contact them if interested or for more information. The first training has been scheduled for Sat. Mar. 6 in the afternoon. Neil Curri , Michael Klemens .

John McCary will discuss “Me and My Brother Against My Cousin: Tribalism in Iraq and the Future of Afghanistan,” at Vassar. Free and open to the public, the lecture will begin at 5:00pm, in New England Building, Room 104. “Sgt. John A. McCary, who speaks fluent Arabic and specializes in ‘human intelligence,’ improvises how he does his job and the Army is improvising how it uses soldiers like him,” wrote The Wall Street Journal in September 2004. “[His] experience in Iraq shows why this war is so hard to win.” McCary’s talk will include his personal experiences from his tour in al Anbar province, Iraq, where he was stationed on a Forward Operating Base deep in hostile territory, halfway between the violent cities of Ramadi and Fallujah. He spent a full year in country starting in the fall of 2003.

Also at Vassar, 5:00 – 9:00pm, Late Night at the Lehman Loeb. (845) 437- 7745 or http://fllac.vassar.edu.

The Millbrook/Washington Historical Society has a fabulous speaker scheduled for an astounding topic, Slavery in the Hudson Valley. Anne Gordon, the Ulster County Historian, will speak on the background of slavery here in the Hudson Valley – why it was used as a source of labor in a new land, who owned slaves and how many. Also covered will be the difference between northern and southern slavery, and what were the reasons it was finally abolished here. Anne will talk a little about the life of Sojourner Truth while she was here in the Valley. I heard her speak at the Fountains on Sojourner Truth and it was amazing information. 7:30 p.m. Lyall Memorial Federated Church. The public is invited and there is no charge. There will be light refreshments served.

With the closing of Seany B’s, Open Mic Thursday resumes at La Puerta Azul. Alternating electric and acoustic, this Thursday is electric. Earlier start – hooray! – 8:30 to 11:30.

Friday, February 19:

Vassar Music Faculty Concert at 8pm. Rachel Rosales, soprano, Robert Osborne, bass-baritone; Todd Crow, piano; and Richard Howard, poet, commentator, and translator. Music by the familiar: Debussy, Duparc, Fauré, Zemlinsky, Chausson, Chabrier, Hindemith, Charpentier, and Vierne; and the not so familiar: Caplet, Gretchaninov, Taneyev, Sauget, Cras, Diepenbrock, Sévérac, Bréville, and Capdevielle. Skinner Hall of Music (845) 437-7294 or http://music.vassar.edu. Free!

Hotchkiss, Melvin Chen & the Portals Resident Quartet will be coming to Hotchkiss for a special winter appearance at 7 p.m. The performance will feature Melvin Chen on piano with Jessica Lee, violin; Harumi Rhodes, violin; Jacob Braun, cello; and Melissa Reardon, viola. Chen, an acclaimed pianist and associate director of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, is artistic director of the Summer Portals program at The Hotchkiss School, and the quartet musicians are music instructors for the program. The Hotchkiss School, at the intersection of Routes 41 and 112 on 11 Interlaken Road in Lakeville, CT. Katherine M. Elfers Hall. Visit www.hotchkiss.org/arts, or 860-435-4423 for more information.

Shakespeare’s Clowns at the Bardavon. See 5th graders after their three week clown residency. An annual event and supposed to be really neat. 7pm and only $5. 845-473-2072, www.Bardavon.org.

Saturday, February 20:

“Hot Chili for Haiti” Fundraiser at Presbyterian Church in Pine Plains. The First United Presbyterian Church in Pine Plains warmly invites our community to a “Hot Chili for Haiti ” Fundraiser in the Fellowship Hall from 4 to 7 pm. The eat-in supper includes a bowl of chili, muffin or roll, dessert, and coffee or tea for $8./adult and $4./child under 10 years. Chili also is available to purchase for $10./quart. Although reservations are not necessary, quarts of chili may be pre-ordered by phoning 518-398.1380.

The Hudson Valley Youth Chorale captures the hearts of their audience with their pure love of singing. Their upcoming concert is “For the Children: A Benefit For the Children of Haiti”. 7pm at Holy Cross Church, Pine Grove Avenue, Kingston, NY. Admission is free and all donations collected will be donated to help the children of Haiti. For more information visit www.hvyc.org or call 845-679-8530

The Importance of Being Earnest – On Stage at Hotchkiss Feb. 20-21. The Hotchkiss Dramatic Association will be performing Oscar play at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee on Sunday, Feb. 21, at 2:30 p.m. in the The Hotchkiss School¹s Walker Auditorium. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for students and senior citizens, and may be purchased at the door or in advance by calling 860-435-3203. All proceeds are to benefit relief efforts in Haiti.

Hudson Valley Philharmonic at the Bardavon highlighting Prokofiev. 3pm. www.baravon.org, 845-473-2072.

Shorty King’s Clubhouse plays at la Puerta Azul, 8:30. 845-677-azul.

Senior Project Exhibit Opens at Mill Street Loft’s Gallery, 5:30 pm at 45 Pershing Avenue, Poughkeepsie. It will be on view Mondays-Fridays 9am-5pm and by appointment on weekends through March 13th. The exhibit features drawings and paintings by 7 area high school students who completed a rigorous fall class designed to challenge and prepare them for college studies in the visual arts. The Artists’ Reception is free and open to the public. www.millstreetloft.org; info@millstreetloft.org; 845-471-7477.

Predators of the Wild with Bill Robinson at the Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck. Live Birds of Prey and reptiles. 845-876-3080, 11am and suitable for children.

Vassar Guest Concert. Daedalus Quartet performs Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 131, Mozart’s String Quartet, K. 589, and Joan Tower’s Night Fields. 8pm, Skinner Hall of Music, (845) 437-7294 or http://music.vassar.edu. Free.

The Kleinert/James Gallery in Woodstock presents “Go, Go, Go Said the Bird,” a day of celebrating T.S. Eliot and Hudson Valley art from ‘noon till nine’. An exhibition of artwork by Joan Ades and Claire Lambe will be accompanied by a reading by Carey Harrison of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets, in their entirety, at 2:00 pm and again at 7:00, following refreshments at 6:00. There will also be musical interludes in the form of passages from Johann Sebastian Bach suites and preludes, played by Hudson Valley musicians, between each of the Quartets, marking the tradition of sacred art that runs from Bach to Eliot. The Kleinert/James Gallery is located at 34 Tinker St., in Woodstock, NY. The snow date for the event is Sunday, February 21. For more information call 845-679-1242 or email clairelambe@hotmail.com.

Sunday, February 21:

Winter Ecology Walk at noon. This family-friendly afternoon of exploration, led by our educators, will introduce visitors to the ecology of winter. Discover animal tracks, plant adaptations, cold-weather insects, ice formations, and the wonders of winter survival. A winter craft will be offered. Please RSVP to freemanp@caryinsitute.org or 677-7600 x121. This event will begin at the Cary Institute auditorium, located at 2801 Sharon Tpk., Millbrook. FREE. Please wear boots and bring water. In the event of severe weather, the program will be moved to February 28th. www.caryinstitute.org.

“Under Our Skin” an eye opening documentary about Lyme Disease, in collaboration with the Sharon Women’s Club, 11am, Millerton Moviehouse. Under Our Skin is a gripping tale of microbes and money that exposes the hidden story of Lyme disease, one of the most controversial and fastest growing epidemics of our time. Each year thousands go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed… told that the symptoms are “all in their head.” Following the stories of patients and physicians fighting for their lives and livelihoods, the film brings into focus a haunting picture of the healthcare system. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Filmmaker, Andy Abrahams Wilson. http://www.underourskin.com, www.themoviehouse.net.

Arlington HS String Quartet plays during brunch at la Puerta Azul, 12 – 2. Also on February 28. Remember, you can buy $25 coupons to Puerta Azul for cheap at www.restaurant.com.

Tuesday, February 23:

The Artful Dodger at noon. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center (845) 437-7294 or http://music.vassar.edu.

Wednesday, February 24:

“The Spirituality and Vision of Bruce Springsteen” at 7pm at the Grace Church Parish Hall. This one night class is taught by Father Doug Fisher. All are welcome.

Palmer Gallery Exhibition. 4 x 4. Vassar. Four artists use the Palmer Gallery as a site for collaboration throughout the course of the exhibition. On view through Tuesday March 3. (845) 437-5370 or http://palmergallery.vassar.edu.

“Our Ordinary Three Dimensions in a Quantum Universe”. Philosopher Alyssa Ney will discuss the intersection of quantum mechanics and three-dimensional reality in a lecture. She is the James P. Wilmot Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Rochester. This is part of the Philosopher’s Holiday Lecture Series at Vassar College. 5:00pm in Taylor Hall, room 203.

Thursday, February 25:

Richard S. Ostfeld, senior scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY, will discuss the focus of his current research, “Biodiversity Loss and the Rise of Emerging Infectious Diseases,” at Vassar College. The program, free and open to the public, will begin at 4:30pm in Sanders Physics, Room 207. This presentation will describe two case studies of diseases – Lyme disease and West Nile virus encephalitis – that are exacerbated when biodiversity is reduced. These studies show that the current biodiversity crisis is likely to increase human exposure to many infectious diseases. Similar lecture scheduled at IES on March 5.

Late Night at the Lehman Loeb, 5:00 – 9:00pm. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center (845) 437- 7745 or http://fllac.vassar.edu.

Open Mic Acoustic With Freddy Sire at The Blue Door. 8:30 start.

Friday, February 26:

Lick the Toad at La Puerta Azul.

Triple Bill Opera at Bard. The Graduate Vocal Arts Program of The Bard College Conservatory of Music presents an evening and matinée of opera in the Sosnoff Theater of The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, February 26, at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, February 28, at 3:00 p.m. The triple bill features three fully staged one-act operas, including the world premieres of two Conservatory-commissioned operas—Song from the Uproar: The Lives and Deaths of Isabelle Eberhardt by Missy Mazzoli and Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera by David T. Little, with libretto by Royce Vavrek—and the 1925 French opera L’Enfant et les sortilèges (The Child and the Magic Spells) by Maurice Ravel, with libretto by Colette. Tickets are $20, $30, and $75 (the latter includes priority seating and an invitation to the February 26 postperformance champagne reception with the artists). To purchase tickets, call the Fisher Center box office at 845-758-7900 or go to www.fishercenter.bard.edu.

Saturday, February 27:

Three Wishes and Wolves in Sheeps Clothing at the Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck. 11am, family series. Puppet shows. 845-876-3080, www.centerforperformingarts.org.

The Union Vale Fire Company is holding a Spaghetti Dinner at Union Vale Station 1, Rt. 82, Verbank, from 4-8 pm, to benefit the Piquet family who lost their home and its contents to a fire last month. $7 Advance (call 845-724-4038), $8 at the door. Children 5 and under are free. Take Out or Eat In!

Cabin Fever Dinner at Grace Church at 6pm. Great food and an opportunity for laughter in the midst of a long winter. Donation: $20.

Defensive Driving Course at the Millbrook Library, 10 am – 4 pm. Save 10% on a portion of your auto insurance for 3 years! And reduce up to 4 points from your driving record. The cost is $40.00 payable in cash (this includes $5.00 nonrefundable deposit.) To enroll please contact Daytona Driving School at 845-781-8087 or driving@optonline.net or call the Library @ 845-677-3611, ext. 2. Please bring a packed lunch.

Singing Leaves: The Stories & Songs of the Crickets and Katydids, 2:00pm Sharon Audubon. Join author, photographer and professional recording artist John Himmelman for this presentation that introduces the audience to the creators of the insect songs we have all heard since childhood. While sharing photos and song recordings of species from the Northeast, John will cover where to find crickets and katydids, keeping them as pets, why and how they sing, and fun stories of his adventures up and down the east coast in search of them. John’s new book, “Guide to the Night-singing Insects of the Northeast,” will also be available for purchase and signing. Registration is not required, but highly recommended. Free, but donations always welcome. www.sharon.audubon.org, Route 4, Sharon, CT 06069 / (860) 364-0520.

Oblong Millerton & Rhinebeck to host Ralph Nader, author of “Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us”.

Vassar has four events, free and open to the public.
1:30pm Senior Recital. Emily Bookwalter, viola, assisted by Thomas Sauer, piano. Featuring the Sonata in D Major by Bach, Arpeggione in A Minor by Schubert, Sonata in E-flat Major by Brahms, and Rhapsodie from Suite Hebraique by Bloch.
Skinner Hall of Music (845) 437-7294 or http://music.vassar.edu.
4:00pm Senior Recital. Jon Roth, bass, assisted by David Alpher, piano. Music of Handel, Mendelssohn, Wolf, Donaudy, and Vaughan Williams. Skinner Hall of Music (845) 437-7294 or http://music.vassar.edu.
8:00pm Vassar College Orchestra. Eduardo Navega, conductor. Skinner Hall of Music (845) 437-7294 or http://music.vassar.edu

8:00pm Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre 28th Annual Bardavon Opera House Gala. Performance of faculty and student pieces as well as repertoire by George Balanchine, David Berkey, and Doris Humphrey. Tickets ($9) are available at for purchase, in person, at the Vassar College Info Center in Main Building or in Kenyon Hall at the dance office. Tickets ($11) are also available through Ticketmaster (845) 454-3388. Bardavon Opera House (845) 437-7468 or http://dance.vassar.edu.

Sunday, February 28:

Vassar College and Community Wind Ensemble concert at 3pm. James Osborn, conductor. Skinner Hall of Music (845) 437-7294 or http://music.vassar.edu.

Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre 28th Annual Bardavon Opera House Gala at 3pm, Bardavon Opera House (845) 437-7468 or http://dance.vassar.edu.

Monday, March 1:

Magical History Tour, St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, Dia Beacon. 2pm. Celebrate 400 years of history through music. 845-400-0100, www.diaart.org.

Darwin Days Dramatic Reading. Maria Mitchell. A one woman play, performed by Frances Sternhagen ‘51, and written by Barbara Gibbins Duffy ‘51, celebrates the life and achievement of astronomer Maria Mitchell, Vassar’s first professor. 7pm.Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film, Martel Theater (845) 437-5370 or http://arts.vassar.edu.

Wednesday, March 3:

Philadelphia Flower Show Bus Trip. Take an exotic journey to dozens of destinations around the globe. Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County is now taking reservations for their annual bus trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show www.theflowershow.com. The theme this year “Passport to the World”. $65 per person, which includes transportation and admission to the show. Leaving from the Farm & Home Center on Rt. 44 in Millbrook promptly at 8am and returning home at approximately 9:30pm. Please call Nancy Halas at 845-677-8223 x 115 to register. Checks should be made out to Cornell Cooperative Extension and mailed to 2715 Rt. 44, Suite 1, Millbrook, NY 12545 Attn: Nancy Halas. Seats will only be reserved upon payment in full. Substitutions are allowed. Limited Seating.

Thursday, March 4:

Tivoli Bays Talks: Citizen Science: An Eye on Eels. Catherine O’Reilly. 7:30 – 8:30pm Tivoli Bays Visitor Center. Free. 845-889-4745 x105.

UV Town Board Meeting is scheduled, 7:30pm.

Friday, March 5:

Beauty and the Beast. March 5th at 7 PM, March 6th at 8 PM and March 7th at 2 PM. The drama club, ‘97 Miles off Broadway’ is pleased to present Disney’s classic, Beauty and the Beast. Audiences of all ages will be enchanted by the talented presentation of this wonderful Broadway show, directed by Dr. Karen Burrows. Tickets can be reserved by contacting Diane Schnoor at 677-6269 or e-mail dianejacksonschnoor@gmail.com. Seats are $10.00, Senior Citizens and Students $8.00.

Being this is Valentine’s weekend, most restaurants have special menus planned. Please make reservations.

Belgique in Kent has wonderful boxed chocolates. Beautifully boxed, decorated and delicious. Fabulous chocolates. And Dean says Adams has Valrhona.

Harneys has a special Valentine’s Day tea – chocolate and roses. Wow.

One of this winter’s goals for me was to finish every complete work by Jane Austen. There are only six and I had already read three. Northanger Abbey has a few hilarious scenes. Sense and Sensibility was what I expected and I guess I can see the film in good conscience now. And then I finally read Persuasion. Not as funny as Pride and Prejudice nor Emma, but I think my favorite of her works.

The reason I bring this up is for those wanting to read a breathtaking letter this Valentine’s Day, one that you will read again and again. If the letter doesn’t have to be addressed to you, do read Persuasion. No fair jumping ahead. Or I suppose copy it and leave it under your pillow. Or someone else’s.

Restaurants – In Millbrook, Aurelia has Doug Marcus playing tunes on Saturday, 7 to 10, 845-677-4720. Charlottes 845 677 5888, charlottesny.com. Cafe les Baux (845-677-8166), Carriage House (845-677-3080), Millbrook Café (845-677-6956), Copperfields (845-677-8188). Red Devon in Bangall (845)868-3175, www.reddevonrestaurant.com, has a prix fixe menu special, Stissing House in Pine Plains (518-398-8800, www.stissinghouse.com), Serevan in Amenia (845-373-9800).
Artist’s Palate in Poughkeepsie 845-483-8074, Crave in Poughkeepsie 845-471-8555.
Number 9 in Millerton 518.592.1299, www.number9millerton.com.
Arrividerci in Sherman, CT, has specials throughout the weekend (860-210-1266. Don’t believe the Garmin – they are at the junction of Routes 37 and 39). Lakeville has a few wonderful places to go as well, like the Woodlands and Boat House is always fun. Please forgive if I’ve left your favorite off the list. I’m not ignoring Rhinebeck and Red Hook – there are just too many good restaurants to list.

Flowers: Kamilla’s Floral Boutique in Millerton for the most exquisite orchids that will flower for weeks. Millbrook Florist for a pretty bouquet of cut flowers (and George will let you choose what goes into it). Adams has beautiful, basic tulips that cheer up any room. And if on Route 199, Battenfeld’s has the loveliest anemones I have ever seen.

Chocolate: I’m kind of a chocolate snob and was just brought five bars of exquisite German chocolate. Warren Cutlery has Dolfin and I think Vosges. The Lindt Sea Salt is yummy and Valrhona is divine, but hard to find in Dutchess. Slammin’ Salmon and Red Devon both carry that luscious Green and Black though. And Red Devon has their Valrhona chocolate crusted almonds, which are scrumptious.

Wine and champagne: talk with Carl at Village Wine and Spirits (845-677-3311) about his new Prosecco. The Millbrook Winery and Vineyard has a special tasting as well on Saturday, Feb. 13 & Sunday, Feb. 14, on the hour, 1 to 4pm. Limited space availability at each tasting time. Cost is $20 per person and includes a souvenir Millbrook wine glass. All guests participating in our Valentine’s Tastings will be entered to wine a romantic Vineyard Picnic for 2. Space is limited to 7 couples (or 14 guests) per hour. Reservations are strongly recommended. To make a reservation call (845) 677-8383 ext. 20.

Pastry: Beth at Best Creations can make whatever you desire. 845-677-2253.

And of course this is also President’s Day Weekend.
Olana Presidents Day Weekend Tours: “Lincoln, Church and the U.S. Civil War” $9/adult; $8/students and seniors, children under 12, free. House tours focus on the impact of the U.S. Civil War on Church’s life and career. Call (518) 828-0135 for more information. Carriage roads (nature trails) on over 250 acres are open every day 8 a.m. to dusk; no charge from November-March. Tour starts at 11am every half hour until 3pm Friday, Saturday and Monday, 12 noon on Sunday.

Kudos to Kristin Stroup for raising $1,141.48, which was donated to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund. And of course thank you to everyone who donated. That was a lot of sitting outside by Village Wine and Spirits in very cold weather.

Aside from Luna the cat needing a home, a nine month old Japanese Chin (male) and a Dutch bunny (neutered male) need new home. Please let me know if you would like more information about these animals.

Upstate plays Precious, Crazy Heart (music by T Bone Burnett) and Last Station (Helen Mirren, oh I adore Helen Mirren) 845-876-2515. www.upstatefilms.org. Upstate has also opened a second location, on Tinker Street in Woodstock. Playing A Single Man.
Moviehouse in Millerton plays Up In the Air, Young Victoria and A Single Man until Friday. Then comes The Wolfman, Crazy Heart and Valentine’s Day. (518) 789-3408, www.moviehouse.net. Remember, Tuesday is discount night.

Want to share your thoughts about what’s best in the Hudson Valley? http://hudsonvalley.metromix.com/best-of-awards. There’s another way of sharing too. State Senator Steve Saland and Congressman Scott Murphy both have surveys on their websites. www.nysenate.gov/press-release/your-opinion-matters and http://scottmurphy.house.gov/Forms/Form/?ID=582.

February is a good month to make those seed orders. Please don’t forget Camphill in Copake and their Turtle Tree Seeds. www.turtletreeseed.com. Local, great selection, biodynamic and open pollinated and benefiting Camphill Village’s villagers, about 100 adults with developmental disabilities.

Warm Hearts Art Show & Sale February 12th-15th. Opening Reception, 7-9pm Friday, February 12. Mixed Media, Student Photography, Local Artists. United Methodist Church, 6434 Route 55 Wingdale, N.Y. Sat. 10-6, Sunday Noon-6, Monday 10-6. Sponsored by the Eastern Provinces Photographic Society, Inc. A small group of artists with big hearts raising money for art scholarships for three local high schools, Dover. Pawling, and Webutuck, for any student pursuing a career in the arts www.eppsinc.org.

The Tremaine Gallery at The Hotchkiss School opens Feb. 3 with an exhibit titled Photographs by Anne Day and John Isaac. The show features works of two accomplished photographers, Anne Day and John Isaac, each of whom has spent a lifetime documenting important social and human issues around the globe and in this country. The exhibit runs through March 6. There will be a meet-the-artists reception on Saturday, Feb. 13, from 4-6 p.m. in the gallery. A lecture and slideshow about the art of photography will be given by Day and Isaac on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. in the Hotchkiss Science Lecture Hall.

Housatonic Camera Club Photography Annual Show And Sale on display at Noble Horizons, Life Long Learning Center, 17 Cobble Road, Salisbury, Ct, through Feb. 28 . Over 75 local artists. General viewing weekends 11 AM to 4 PM. For other hours call Noble Horizons. 860-435-9851. For information about the Housatonic Camera Club call 518-789-3523 www.housatoniccameraclub.org.

Local artist Ginny Howsam Friedman – From Manhattan to Millbrook. Oil Paintings. Urban landscapes and Hudson River and Hudson Valley landscapes through February 14, 2010. Piermont Fine Arts Gallery, 218 Ash Street, Piermont, NY 10968 (845) 398 1907. Gallery Hours: Thursday & Sunday 1-6 and Friday & Saturday 1-9.

Philadelphia Flower Show Bus Trip on Wednesday, March 3, 2010- Take an exotic journey to dozens of destinations around the globe. Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County is now taking reservations for their annual bus trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show www.theflowershow.com. The theme this year “Passport to the World”. Cost is $65 per person, which includes transportation and admission to the show. Leaving from the Farm & Home Center on Rt. 44 in Millbrook promptly at 8am and returning home at approximately 9:30pm. Please call Nancy Halas at 845-677-8223 x 115 to register. Checks should be made out to Cornell Cooperative Extension and mailed to 2715 Rt. 44, Suite 1, Millbrook, NY 12545 Attn: Nancy Halas. Seats will only be reserved upon payment in full. No refunds after February 12. Substitutions are allowed. Limited Seating.

Postponed until February 24. “The Spirituality and Vision of Bruce Springsteen” scheduled for Wednesday, February 10, at 7pm at the Grace Church Parish Hall. This one night class is taught by Father Doug Fisher. All are welcome.

Thursday, February 11:

Late Night at the Lehman Loeb Art Center, 5:00 – 9:00pm (845) 437- 7745 or http://fllac.vassar.edu. Wow, the third anniversary already! Special night planned.

Town board meetings for Washington and Union Vale.

Lecture at Hotchkiss on the exhibit.

With the closing of Seany B’s, Open Mic Thursday resumes at La Puerta Azul. Alternating electric and acoustic, this Thursday is hosted by Freddy Sire and is acoustic. Earlier start – hooray! – 8:30 to 11:30.

Friday, February 12:

Grace Church Youth Group Gaming Night. Grades 6-10.

At Vassar, 7pm, Darwin Days dramatic reading. Blue Lias: or the Fish Lizard’s Whore. A play about Mary Anning, a fossil hunter from the early 19th-century, which explores the roles of gender, class, and religion in science. Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film, Martel Theater (845) 437-5370 or http://arts.vassar.edu. Free!

Also at Vassar, 8:00pm Music Faculty Concert. Thomas Sauer, piano. Music of Schumann, Chopin, William Albright, and featuring Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” Skinner Hall of Music (845) 437-7294 or http://music.vassar.edu. Free!

Bert Carey Trio plays at La Puerta Azul. 845-677-AZUL.

Falsettos opens at the Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck (.org), 845-876-3080. It’s a story about self-discovery and redefinition of what it means to be a family. The Tony Award-winning Falsettos takes the stage February 12-28. Written by James Lapine with a score by William Finn, Falsettos follows the story of Marvin, a confused Jewish New Yorker in his 30s, as he struggles with his sexual orientation. Marvin has the “perfect” family: his wife, Trina, and son, Jason, who is about to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. After Marvin leaves Trina for another man and Trina ends up with the family psychiatrist, Mendel, Marvin must take a look at himself and consider what “family” really means.

Saturday, February 13:

Red Hook Winter Farmer’s Market! Elmendorph Inn from 10-2. Red Hook, New York, 7562 Route 9. Just north of the main stop light in town which is at the intersection of Routes 199 and 9. For more information contact Robert McKeon 845-399-4582 845-399-4582, mckeonandny@yahoo.com.

Two senior recitals at Vassar, both free and at Skinner Hall of Music. 1:30pm Sophie Blum, violin; assisted by Anna Polonsky, piano; and Laura Sousa ’10, violin. Music of Bach, Tchaikovsky, Sarasate, and the second movement of Prokofiev’s Sonata for Two Violins. 4:00pm Gail Nakano, mezzo-soprano, with Richard Mogavero, piano. Music of Mozart, Schumann, Berlioz, and Grieg. (845) 437-7294 or http://music.vassar.edu.

Artist opening at Hotchkkiss, 4 to 6pm.

Acoustic Relapse at Coaches in Millbrook. 8 to 11. Classic Rock.

Sunday, February 14:

AKA St. Valentine’s Day.

Grace Church “Grassroots: the kick-off to our most important fundraiser” Come to our Parish Hall for a free lunch, Wii Golf on the big screen, putting contests and information as to how you might help in preparing for our Annual Golf Tournament/Dinner in July. You need not be a golfer to join the fun. All are welcome. 11am – 12:30.

The Gender Defenders at UPAC in Kingston, www.upac.org.

Monday, February 15:

Tuesday, February 16:

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner at 6pm, Grace Church. Bring friends.

The Artful Dodger at Vassar, 12noon. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, (845) 437- 7745 or http://fllac.vassar.edu

Wednesday, February 17:

Thursday, February 18:

John McCary will discuss “Me and My Brother Against My Cousin: Tribalism in Iraq and the Future of Afghanistan,” at Vassar. Free and open to the public, the lecture will begin at 5:00pm, in New England Building, Room 104. “Sgt. John A. McCary, who speaks fluent Arabic and specializes in ‘human intelligence,’ improvises how he does his job and the Army is improvising how it uses soldiers like him,” wrote The Wall Street Journal in September 2004. “[His] experience in Iraq shows why this war is so hard to win.” McCary’s talk will include his personal experiences from his tour in al Anbar province, Iraq, where he was stationed on a Forward Operating Base deep in hostile territory, halfway between the violent cities of Ramadi and Fallujah. He spent a full year in country starting in the fall of 2003.

Also at Vassar, 5:00 – 9:00pm, Late Night at the Lehman Loeb. (845) 437- 7745 or http://fllac.vassar.edu.

The Millbrook/Washington Historical Society has a fabulous speaker scheduled for an astounding topic, Slavery in the Hudson Valley. Anne Gordon, the Ulster County Historian, will speak on the background of slavery here in the Hudson Valley – why it was used as a source of labor in a new land, who owned slaves and how many. Also covered will be the difference between northern and southern slavery, and what were the reasons it was finally abolished here. Anne will talk a little about the life of Sojourner Truth while she was here in the Valley. I heard her speak at the Fountains on Sojourner Truth and it was amazing information. 7:30 p.m. Lyall Memorial Federated Church. The public is invited and there is no charge. There will be light refreshments served.

Friday, February 19:

Vassar Music Faculty Concert at 8pm. Rachel Rosales, soprano, Robert Osborne, bass-baritone; Todd Crow, piano; and Richard Howard, poet, commentator, and translator. Music by the familiar: Debussy, Duparc, Fauré, Zemlinsky, Chausson, Chabrier, Hindemith, Charpentier, and Vierne; and the not so familiar: Caplet, Gretchaninov, Taneyev, Sauget, Cras, Diepenbrock, Sévérac, Bréville, and Capdevielle. Skinner Hall of Music (845) 437-7294 or http://music.vassar.edu. Free!

Hotchkiss, Melvin Chen & the Portals Resident Quartet will be coming to Hotchkiss for a special winter appearance at 7 p.m. The performance will feature Melvin Chen on piano with Jessica Lee, violin; Harumi Rhodes, violin; Jacob Braun, cello; and Melissa Reardon, viola. Chen, an acclaimed pianist and associate director of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, is artistic director of the Summer Portals program at The Hotchkiss School, and the quartet musicians are music instructors for the program. The Hotchkiss School, at the intersection of Routes 41 and 112 on 11 Interlaken Road in Lakeville, CT. Katherine M. Elfers Hall. Visit www.hotchkiss.org/arts, or 860-435-4423 for more information.

Aside from Lula the cat needing a home, a nine month old Japanese Chin (male) and a Dutch bunny (neutered male) need new home. Please let me know if you would like more information about these animals.

Kudos to Kristin Stroup for raising $1,141.48, which was donated to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund. And of course thank you to everyone who donated. That was a lot of sitting outside by Village Wine and Spirits in very cold weather.

Come this Friday, February 5, the Millbrook Library will be open.

Upstate plays Precious, Young Victoria and Crazy Heart (music by T Bone Burnett) and Small Change (a Truffaut). 845-876-2515. www.upstatefilms.org.
Moviehouse in Millerton plays Up In the Air, Young Victoria and A Single Man. (518) 789-3408, www.moviehouse.net. All are strong Oscar contenders and only January beats February for movie watching.

Want to share your thoughts about what’s best in the Hudson Valley? http://hudsonvalley.metromix.com/best-of-awards. There’s another way of sharing too. State Senator Steve Saland and Congressman Scott Murphy both have surveys on their websites. www.nysenate.gov/press-release/your-opinion-matters and http://scottmurphy.house.gov/Forms/Form/?ID=582.

February is a good month to make those seed orders. Please don’t forget Camphill in Copake and their Turtle Tree Seeds. www.turtletreeseed.com. Local, great selection, biodynamic and open pollinated and benefiting Camphill Village’s villagers, about 100 adults with developmental disabilities.

The Tremaine Gallery at The Hotchkiss School opens Feb. 3 with an exhibit titled ³Photographs by Anne Day and John Isaac.² The show features works of two accomplished photographers, Anne Day and John Isaac, each of whom has spent a lifetime documenting important social and human issues around the globe and in this country. The exhibit runs through March 6. There will be a meet-the-artists reception on Saturday, Feb. 13, from 4-6 p.m. in the gallery. A lecture and slideshow about the art of photography will be given by Day and Isaac on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. in the Hotchkiss Science Lecture Hall.

Housatonic Camera Club Photography Annual Show And Sale on display at Noble Horizons, Life Long Learning Center, 17 Cobble Road, Salisbury, Ct. , through Feb. 28 . Over 75 local artists. General viewing weekends 11 AM to 4 PM. For other hours call Noble Horizons. 860-435-9851. For information about the Housatonic Camera Club call 518-789-3523 www.housatoniccameraclub.org.

Local artist Ginny Howsam Friedman – From Manhattan to Millbrook. Oil Paintings. Urban landscapes and Hudson River and Hudson Valley landscapes. January 28-February 14, 2010. Piermont Fine Arts Gallery, 218 Ash Street, Piermont, NY 10968 (845) 398 1907. Gallery Hours: Thursday & Sunday 1-6 and Friday & Saturday 1-9.

Abby is bringing Zumba to Amenia on Saturdays. $12 at Studio22, 4789 rte 22 in Amenia is a wonderful little place right next to Fudgies ice cream where children and adults can enjoy tap, ballet, jazz and zumba in a lovely studio setting. www.zumba.com and you can read Abby Ross’s profile. What does she like about Zumba? “What’s great about Zumba is that it’s for everybody! It’s fun, easy and a great work out! Great to beat out the winter dull drums.” Good for ages 13 to 90! Any questions email her at abbyross@msn.com or call her cell 845 518 0749.

Thursday, February 4:

Modfest Music for Late Night at the Lehman Loeb, 6pm. Performance by Adrienne Elisha, composer and violist, of Circle Voices, inspired by Harry Roseman: Hole in the Wall. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, (845) 437- 7745 or http://fllac.vassar.edu.

Geraldine “Gerri” Griswold of White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield leads you on a journey 66 degrees north, five hours from Boston, and what will seem like light years away from what you call home. Travel to the remote Western Fjords, watch sure-footed Icelandic Horses trot across a frozen lake, marvel at glaciers, geysers, breathtaking waterfalls and more. We’ll also spend some time exploring the quaint capital, Reykjavik, home to 180,000 of the nation’s 300,000 residents. Gerri has visited Iceland ten times and will be leading a group of 15 intrepid travelers on a birding trip to Iceland’s Myvatn district this coming June. 6:30, Sharon Audubon, www.sharon.audubon.org, Route 4, Sharon, CT 06069 / (860) 364-0520. Good idea to rsvp. Free, but donations gladly accepted.

Union Vale Board Meeting, 7:30 Town Hall.

Tivoli Bays Talks: Transforming History: The Story of a Saw Kill Mill; Ruth Oja. 7:30 – 8:30pm, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center, Tivoli, 845-889-4745 x105.

Friday, February 5:

Renowned climatologist Dr. James E. Hansen will present his new book Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth about the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity at 7pm, Cary IES. Coined the father of climate science, Hansen is the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies. More than 30 years ago he created one of the first climate models, Model Zero, which he used to accurately predict warming scenarios in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.His Congressional testimonies propelled the issue of global climate change into the public and policy discourse. The event will be held in the Cary Institute auditorium, located at 2801 Sharon Tpk., Millbrook. FREE. Books will be available for purchase by Merritt Bookstore following the lecture. Dr. Hansen will be available for signing. www.caryinstitute.org.

American Symphony Orchestra at Bard, Leon Botstein, “Bruckner and Beethoven.” The American Symphony Orchestra performs Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 (“Eroica”), and Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3 in D Minor. Tickets: $20, $30, $35. Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. 8 p.m. Preconcert talk Saturday at 6:45 p.m. 845-758-7900 or www.fishercenter.bard.edu. Also on Saturday.

Modfest Vassar Bookstore Faculty Author Series. Russian Studies professor Alexis Klimoff discusses his recent book, The Soul and Barbed Wire: An Introduction to Solzhenitzyn, about the famous Russian novelist, historian, and essayist. At 5pm. Vassar College Bookstore, Main Building, College Center, (845) 437-5370 or http://arts.vassar.edu.

At 8pm, Modfest VRDT Dance Performance. The Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre, John Meehan, director. Features selections from The Griot Dance, choreographed by Department of Dance chair Stephen Rooks, with music by Vassar adjunct artist Howard Kilik. For reservations, email dancetix@vassar.edu. The Frances Daly Fergusson Dance Theater, Kenyon Hall (845) 437-5370 or http://arts.vassar.edu.

Tenor George Conrad and pianist Joel Flowers will present a whimsical evening concert of 19th and 20th century music, entitled “Still to Us at Twilight; Songs of Days Gone By,” February 5 at The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck. The concert highlights the sweetness and simplicity of such arrangements as Thomas Moore’s “‘Tis the Last Rose of Summer,” credited as the first million-selling song ever, and Stephen Foster’s “Molly, Do You Love Me?” Songs including “Come Down Ma Evenin’ Star,” “Bird in a Gilded Cage,” and “Love’s Old Sweet Song” will also be included. Conrad said “the unabashed sentimentality of the lyrics” drew him to select songs from the period in an effort to renew people’s awareness of their beauty and value. Tickets for the 8 p.m. concert are $16 for adults and $14 for seniors and children by calling (845) 876-3080 or visiting www.centerforperformingarts.org.

Saturday, February 6:

Free screening at Upstate Films, 11am. The Asperger’s Difference debuted at Upstate Films in Rhinebeck, New York, on Saturday, November 21. The screening was FREE, open to the public, and followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker, Jamey Wolff, and two of the featured young adults with Asperger’s Syndrome. The DVD and the companion discussion and resource guide was available for purchase.

Grace Church Parrish Theater will be the scene of entertainment and illumination of a great passion of the church’s Director of Music, Peter C Muir. His new book, Long Lost Blues, Popular Blues in America 1850-1920, traces the full scope of early blues music from its genre roots in slavery to its bursting into mainstream American culture, 7pm.

11:00am Modfest Open Rehearsal. Mahagonny Ensemble. Features new works by student composers, Will Healy ’12, Toru Momii ’11, and Cooper Troxell ’11. Mark Van Hare ’10, conductor. Skinner Hall of Music (845) 437-5370 or http://arts.vassar.edu

3:00pm Modfest Vassar Bookstore Alumnae/i Author Series. Vanessa Camilleri ’95, editor of the book Healing the Inner City Child: Creative Arts Therapies with At-Risk Youth, discusses her work. Vassar College Bookstore, Main Building, College Center, (845) 437-5370 or http://arts.vassar.edu

4:30pm Modfest Concert. Vassar Jazz Ensemble showcases a colorful variety of sub-genres of jazz music. Jim Osborn, conductor.
Students’ Building, second floor, (845) 437-5370 or http://arts.vassar.edu

Sunday, February 7:

Stop by the Millbrook winery from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. for a Pre-Super Bowl Taste Off! Tasting Room managers, Stacey and Barbara, will square off on a battle of chili and wine tastings. One will host a red chili and red wine tasting and the other will host a white chili with white wine tasting. Visitors get to vote on their favorite combination. May the best team win!! Special ‘team’ discounts available on all wine purchases as well!

3:00pm Modfest Alumnae/i Music, Art, and Writing. W. K. Rose Fellowship Winners. Featuring the work of composer Jonathan Elliott ’84; painters Eleanor Daniels ’66 and Katherine Mangiardi ’09; and writers, Ralph Sassone ’83 and Kate Brattin ’07. This combined concert, reading, discussion, and presentation of artwork spotlights past winners of the W.K. Rose Fellowship, awarded annually to a Vassar graduate in the creative arts since 1970. Villard Room, Main Building (845) 437-5370 or http://arts.vassar.edu

5:00pm W. K. Rose Exhibition Opening Reception. An exhibition the artwork of Eleanor Daniels ’66 and Katherine Mangiardi ’09—the earliest and most recent recipients in visual art of the W. K. Rose Fellowship. On view through February 20.
James W. Palmer III Gallery, Main Building, College Center (845) 437-5370 or http://palmergallery.vassar.edu.

Ariel Quartet plays at the Church of the Messiah in Rhinebeck at 4pm. $25 for most of us. Rhinebeckmusic.org, 888-758-5673. Rhinebeck Chamber Music Society.

Tuesday, February 9:

12:00pm The Artful Dodger. These popular talks are relaxed and informal discussions in which an engaging member of the Vassar community shares personal experiences and interpretations of a work of art in the collection. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, (845) 437- 7745 or http://fllac.vassar.edu.

Free concert at the Hotchkiss School. www.hotchkiss.org/arts, 860-435-4423. Jazz pianist Peter Madsen will perform exhilarating piano improvisations with his band at 7 p.m. Madsen has been thrilling audiences around the world for 30 years.

Wednesday, February 10:

“The Spirituality and Vision of Bruce Springsteen” at 7pm at the Grace Church Parish Hall. This one night class is taught by Father Doug Fisher. All are welcome.

Thursday, February 11:

Late Night at the Lehman Loeb Art Center, 5:00 – 9:00pm (845) 437- 7745 or http://fllac.vassar.edu.

Town board meetings for Washington and Union Vale.

For the record, Pittsburgh is neat. Great architecture, bustling streets downtown and more arts than I had anticipated. Warhol Museum, Carnegie Mellon Museum, The Other Radio City Music Hall, a public, festive ice rink, many performances. Cordon Bleu school with restaurant. Phipps Botanical Garden has a Frabel exhibit. Trolleys going up mountain side. Pedestrian friendly, rivers, honest cab drivers. High tea at the William Penn Omni (admittedly geared for soccer moms with chocolate chip scones – definitely not the Savoy, but fun).

If I did nothing else of merit on Monday, I filled the birdfeeders just in time. Picked up a neat book on bird feeder birds so I don’t need to post every warbler on facebook with a “please identify”.

The Nutcracker at both the Bardavon (.org) and UPAC (.org) this weekend. Sugar Plums and Nutcrackers at The CENTER for Performing Arts at 661 Route 308, Rhinebeck, www.centerforperformingarts.org. 8 p.m. Friday, December 11 and Saturday, December 12, 3 p.m. Sunday, December 13. Sugar Plums and Nutcrackers, a classical ballet and variety performance drawn from The Nutcracker, will thrill with a mixture of fantasia lighting and candy land bon bons, Christmas trees that grow forever, and furry hip-hop dancing mice. Glistening dew drops come from toy shops, while tap dancing soldiers dance with flare as sugar plum fairies dance en l’air.

The Millbrook Library Silent Auction will be held all this week. Please come in and bid on a wide variety of wonderful items during regular library hours. Register with the Circulation Desk first to receive your bidding number. All Auctions, including the quilt, will close on Saturday, December 12th at 3pm. Light refreshments will be served between 3 & 4pm. Winners will be announced at 4pm. You need not be present to win.

RiverWinds Gallery, 6423 Montgomery Street (Route 9), Suite 10 (2nd floor), Rhinebeck presents “Hudson River” through January 26, 2010. Artist Claudia Gorman has contributed a few pieces of work. Monday–Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 10am-2pm or by appointment.

Local artist Emily Fuller has her paintings at the Sharon Town Hall through January 1, 2010. Emily Fuller is a contemporary realist painter finds subject matter in New York State’s Harlem River Valley in northeast Dutchess County. 63 Main St. Sharon, Ct. Hours: Monday-Friday 9-12 noon, 1-4pm. Weekends by appointment please call 917-841-3652. emilyfullerart.com or emilyup1@gmail.com.

Millbrook School has an exhibit by artists John and Andrea Alvin to December 18.

Upstate Films has the Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Collapse and Art & Copy. www.upstatefilms.org. 845-876-2515

The Movie House in Millerton has Blind Side, An Education and the Private Lives of Pippa Lee. Also, a very special event on Sunday. (518) 789-3408 www.themoviehouse.net.

Both wonderful places have gift certificates available, including Upstate’s membership.

Oblong Books is doing something smart. For every $100 spent now, get a $15 coupon to spend in January 10 to February 10…for reading on those long wintery, nights.

Thursday, December 10:

Late Night at Vassar’s Lehman Loeb. 5 to 9pm.

Nutcracker at UPAC. www.upac.org.

Union Vale Town Meeting, 7:30. Washington Town Board Meeting 7pm.

Friday, December 11:

Gamelan Music at Bard. Hudson Valley Gamelan presents Giri Mekar and Chandra Kanchana. All are welcome. Olin Hall, 8:00 p.m. billylitalo@gmail.com.

There’s a Monster in My Closet! Community Children’s Theatre of Dutchess County will perform the musical adaptation of the book “There’s a Monster in My Closet!” on December 11, 12, and 13th at Spackenkill Hill School, 112 Spackenkill Road, Poughkeepsie, New York. Tickets available at the door. Children of all ages will enjoy this lively, fun-filled musical. Show times: Friday 7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 1:00 & 3:30 p.m. CCTDC is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing live theatre to area children. For more information e-mail info@cctdc.org. A pre-holiday treat for the entire family!

Bard Senior Dance: Arranged Spaces. Friday and Saturday, December 11 and 12, at 8 pm Sunday, December 13 at 3pm and 8 pm Theater Two. Featuring works for Senior Project in Dance choreographed by Jacqueline Brock, Siena Evans, Kalia Feldman-Klein, Natalie Golbuff, Claire Lutz, and Magdalene San Millan. Free of Charge (845) 758-7900.

Cover Two with Freddy Sire and Dan Flynn, play at Seany Bs at 10pm. Acoustic Music From A to Z.

Saturday, December 12:

Audubon Pollywogs: Winter Homes 10:00-11:00am at the Sharon Audubon. This popular program is for 3 & 4 year olds and a parent and includes a short nature lesson, hike or activity, craft, story and snack during the 1 hour session. This is our last Pollywog session of the year and is a featured “Daddy & Me” session, where Dads are encouraged to attend with their child(ren.) Registration is required. Cost is $10 per parent/child pair ($3 each additional child.) www.sharon.audubon.org. Route 4, Sharon, CT 06069 / (860) 364-0520.

Dinner, drinks and live Jazz at Aurelia in Millbrook (Mediterranean inspired food) is hosting with Doug Marcus, bass and vocals. 845-677-4720 and reservations requested.

Brother Victoire signs his books at Merritt in Millbrook. Very interesting man. 11am to 1pm. 57 Front St. 845-677-5857.

Solas An Lae: A Holiday Celebration at Bard’s Sosnoff Theater. $20 Orchestra, $17 Parterre / First Balcony. This cool, hip, glittering evening of dance and gaiety — followed by a post-show holiday reception — is for the entire family. The Solas An Lae (SAL) Annual Holiday Celebration features the critically acclaimed Solas An Lae Dance Company and a cast of over 100 dancers from the SAL School of Irish Dance. Produced and directed by Deirdre Lowry and Patrick Brown, and featuring the music of Kila, an eclectic Irish musical traditionalist; innovative lighting design by Jeremy Lechterman; and visual backdrops from some of Ireland’s most interesting contemporary visual artists. (845) 758-7900.

Bard Concerto Competition Preliminary Round. Olin Hall, 10:00 a.m. conservatory@bard.edu or 845-758-7196.

Screening of ART & COPY, plus Q&A with cinematographer Peter Nelson at Upstate, 3:45pm. Like “MAD MEN” in real life, ART & COPY explores the creative rebels behind the most innovative advertising campaigns of our time. http://upstatefilms.org/special-events.

Sunday, December 13:

Opening Tour of Interpretive Display “The Archaeology of Fishing along the Estuary” on the Greenway Trail, Bard College/Hudson River Research Reserve, 1pm. For more information, email Christopher Lindner at lindnerarch@gmail.com.

Special screening at the MovieHouse with FilmWorks Forum showing a documentary biography of Louisa May Alcott at high noon. FilmWorks Forum at The Moviehouse is an independent film series, all screenings are open to the public free of charge, usually followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women, is an almost universally recognized name. Her reputation as a morally upstanding New England spinster, reflecting the conventional propriety of mid-19th century Concord, is firmly established. Raised among reformers, iconoclasts and Transcendentalists, the intellectual protégé of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, Alcott was actually a free thinker, with democratic ideals and progressive values about women – a worldly careerist of sorts. Most surprising is that Alcott led, anonymously and under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard, a literary double life not discovered until the 1940s. As Barnard, Alcott penned some thirty pulp fiction thrillers, with characters running the gamut from murderers and revolutionaries to cross-dressers and opium addicts – a far cry from her better-known works featuring fatherly mentors, courageous mothers and impish children.

Bard Concerto Competition Final Round. Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. 1:00 p.m. 845-758-7900 or fishercenterboxoffice@bard.edu. Free.

Washington Headquarters in Newburgh has a special day, 3 to 6pm. Decorated and with guides, walk through the Hasbrouck House and hear the Salmagundi Trio play 18th century music. Mulled cider too. $4. 845-562-1195.

Hunt for T’Was the Night Before Christmas at Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie. Also on December 20. Families search for all mentioned in the classic poem. Lorraine Hartin-Gellardi reads it, as well as other tales. www.lgny.org, 845-454-4500 x 17. $10 for adults.

Tuesday, December 15:

Bard College Symphonic Chorus and Chamber Singers perform in the acoustically superb Sosnoff Theater of the Fisher Center. The program includes choral works by Franz Schubert and Johannes Brahms, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem Mass. The program begins at 8:00 p.m. and tickets are $5 (free for Bard students and children 12 and under). For tickets call 845-758-7900.

Wednesday, December 16:

Bard National Climate Seminar “Spring 2010: The Youth Voice.” Jessy Tolkan, Energy Action. The National Climate Seminar is a biweekly, national phone conversation featuring top climate scientists, political leaders, and policy analysts. Hosted by the Bard Center for Environmental Policy. 3 p.m. For information go to http://www.bard.edu/cep/ncs/, or contact cep@bard.edu, or 845-758-7073.

Bard Graduate Vocal Arts Program Concert. Olin Hall, 8:00 p.m. 845-752-2191 or conservatory@bard.edu.

Thursday, December 17:

Late Night at the Lehman Loeb. 5 to 9pm. (845) 437-7745 or fllac.vassar.edu.

Friday, December 18:

It’s A Wonderful Life at the Bardavon. www.bardavon.org. 7:30, $5 and big screen Jimmy Stewart classic.

One of the best perks about living in the Hudson Valley is going to the Great Houses along the Hudson in December in seeing them decked out in period holiday splendor. One example, Locust Grove has decorated mansion tours the first three weekends in December, 12 to 4pm. $9 and a wonderful way to see something on Poughkeepsie’s Route 9 that isn’t neon nor completely consumer oriented. However, there is a gift shop.

Trying to not green wash, but do the right thing this shopping season? www.motherjones.com/environment/2009/11/your-eco-label-lying has guides for the quagmire of environmentally compassionate sounding labels.

How about a tree you can plant this Christmas? Many nurseries, like Twin Brooks, have a great selection of live trees. Also, Abels off North Clove have a huge selection and they are one of the few lands in Union Vale under easement. Please buy your trees locally and not from tree farms halfway across the country or from Canada. Twin Brooks 677-5050 open every day, Abels is open weekends and by appointment 845-677-6395 or steve@abelstrees.com. For cut trees, Wachenheimer on North Clove, Rollins in Mabbettsville (nice wreaths too), EvergreenTree (.com) Mabbettsville 677-3785, Hahns in Salt Point also has development easements, 266-5042. And please specify locally grown trees! http://www.cceulster.org/Cut%20Your%20Own%20ChristmasTree%20brochure09.pdf for good care guidelines.

The Millbrook Library Silent Auction will be held all week starting Monday, December 7th. Please come in and bid on a wide variety of wonderful
items during regular library hours. Register with the Circulation Desk first to receive your bidding number. All Auctions, including the quilt, will close on Saturday, December 12th at 3:00 pm. Winners will be announced at 4:00 pm. Light refreshments will be served between 3:00 & 4:00 pm
You need not be present to win.

Ulster Ballet Christmas Carol at UPAC December 3, 4, 5 and 6. Times vary. www.upac.org.

RiverWinds Gallery, 6423 Montgomery Street (Route 9), Suite 10 (2nd floor), Rhinebeck presents “Hudson River” through January 26, 2010. Artist Claudia Gorman has contributed a few pieces of work. Monday–Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 10am-2pm or by appointment.

Local artist Emily Fuller has her paintings at the Sharon Town Hall through January 1, 2010. Emily Fuller is a contemporary realist painter finds subject matter in New York State’s Harlem River Valley in northeast Dutchess County. 63 Main St. Sharon, Ct. Hours: Monday-Friday 9-12 noon, 1-4pm. Weekends by appointment please call 917-841-3652. emilyfullerart.com or emilyup1@gmail.com.

Millbrook School has an exhibit by artists John and Andrea Alvin to December 18.

Upstate Films has the Messenger, An Education, Crude. A Serious Man ends Thursday. www.upstatefilms.org. 845-876-2515
The Movie House in Millerton has The Twillight Saga: New Moon, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Blind Side. (518) 789-3408 www.themoviehouse.net.
Both wonderful places have gift certificates available, including Upstate’s membership.

Wednesday, December 2:

The Full Cold Moon. During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest. It is also sometimes called the Moon before Yule. The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun. Also, this is the first full moon of two starting this December. Ergo, the full moon on December 31 is a Blue Moon, which is the Full Long Night Moon. Which sounds deliciously romantic.

National Climate Seminar at Bard. “Educators, Citizens, Copenhagen and Beyond.” David Orr, Oberlin College. The National Climate Seminar is a biweekly, national phone conversation featuring top climate scientists, political leaders, and policy analysts. Hosted by the Bard Center for Environmental Policy. 3pm. http://www.bard.edu/cep/ncs/, or contact cep@bard.edu, or 845-758-7073.

Citizen Science Vernal Pool Survey, Town of Washington, New York 7 — 8:30 pm, The Farm & Home Center, 2715 Route 44, Millbrook. (845) 677?8223 x153 or vcb4@cornell.edu. Dr. Michael W. Klemens, a research conservationist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and the director of the Metropolitan Conservation Alliance (MCA), and Neil Curri, Sr. GIS Resource Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County (CCEDC), will present the results of a survey of vernal pools in the Town of Washington, New York.
Vernal pools are the subject of increased public interest and conservation concern. These seasonal wetlands, small in size and isolated from larger water bodies, play critical ecological roles—from preventing floods and recharging aquifers to supporting threatened wildlife. Despite their importance, vernal pools are often unprotected by state and federal regulations.
The project was a collaboration between the Cary Institute and CCEDC, which organized over 30 volunteers from the community to perform field surveys of 83 of the nearly 200 pools in town. The project was endorsed by the Town of Washington’s Conservation Commission and the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development.
The vernal pool study was initiated by concerns over increasing amphibian mortality by Millbrook Matters, a community not-for-profit dedicated to sound development and the conservation of open space.

Thursday, December 3:

Environmental Change, Pathogen Pollution, And The Timely Birth Of Conservation Medicine at 11:00 a.m., join us for a lecture by Dr. Katherine F. Smith, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Brown University and a Consulting Senior Scientist at the Wildlife Trust. Dr. Smith’s research focuses on disease biogeography, conservation medicine, and species extinction. Her lecture will explore the geographic distribution of infectious diseases, including how climate change and human-induced “pathogen pollution” influence public health and biodiversity. The event will be held in the Cary Institute’s auditorium, located at 2801 Sharon Turnpike (Rte. 44) in Millbrook, New York. For more information, call (845) 677-7600 x 140 or e-mail gillespiem@caryinstitute.org

Bard’s Dawn Upshaw Master Class. Presented by the Graduate Vocal Arts Program. Olin Hall, 3:00 p.m. 845-752-2191 or conservatory@bard.edu.

Tivoli Bays Talks: Reading the River: Hudson River Real-time Data, Alene Onion . Tivoli Bays Visitor Center. 845-889-4745 x105. 7:30 – 8:30.

Scavenger hunt at Vassar. Scavenger hunt designed by student docents and Arlington High School history students. Art Center.

Vassar performs Rent. Book, music, and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. Directed by Christopher Grabowski (Drama chair, professor of Drama and director of theater). Through December 5. Martel Theater, 845-437-5584 or drama.vassar.edu.

Late Night at the Lehman Loeb. 5:00 – 9:00pm (845) 437-7745 or fllac.vassar.edu.

Freddy’s Acoustic Open Mic Night at Seany B’s. Late start at 10pm, but great music.

Union Vale’s Town Board meeting is cancelled.

Friday, December 4:

Vassar College Jazz Ensemble. James Osborn, director. 8pm, free. Skinner Hall of Music, 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and The Stissing House invite you to a viewing of “Homestretch” the award winning documentary about the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and an art show featuring the paintings of Leslie Priggen (50% of all sales and commissions will be donated to the TRF) and sculptures by Peggy Kauffman (25% of all sales and commissions will be donated to the TRF). Wine and hors d’oeuvres 5:30 – 8:30.
RSVP By Nov 30th to Patricia Jean pkjean@gmail.com or contact The Stissing House, 7801 South Main Street, Pine Plains, NY 518-398-8800.

5th Annual Green Buildings & Energy Conference 9am to 4:30pm. Education & Workforce Development for the 21st Century Economy
Presented by the Hudson Valley Regional Council and S3 Consulting. Cary Institute auditorium, 2801 Sharon Turnpike, Millbrook. $75 including lunch. Register now – space is limited. http://www.hvregionalcouncil.org/ or call 845-564-4075 for more information.

Head Soup plays at La Puerta Azul. 677-azul.

Susanna Leonard Hill in Red Hook before the Tree Lighting. At Merritt Books. 5:30 to 7:00 Susanna Leonard Hill grew up in New York City with her mom and dad, one sister and two brothers, and an assortment of cats. Susanna began writing as soon as she could hold a pencil. She used to lie on the kitchen floor and ask her mom how to spell things. She wrote her first book in 2nd Grade. It is called The Girl and The Witch.

So, obviously Red Hook has a tree lighting ceremony tonight. So does Millbrook, at the Tribute Gardens, between 6 and 6:30. And in Poughkeepsie, Celebration of Lights Parade and Firewoks. begins near the intersection of Main Street and Academy Street in downtown Poughkeepsie and ends with the film classic, Mary Poppins on the big screen at Bardavon. This annual parade, tree lighting, and fireworks finale kick off the holiday season. Poughkeepsie Mayor John Tkazyik and members of the Common Council will be joined by the Amerscott Highland Pipers, Poughkeepsie High School Jazz Ensemble, Poughkeepsie Middle School Choir, Poughkeepsie Exempt Fireman’s Association Color Guard, DARE, Arlington Rotary Club, Columbia Elementary School PTA, Dutchess County Girl & Boy Scouts, and several Hudson Valley Philharmonic brass ensembles. Also marching in the parade will be Arm of the Sea Theatre and IABAS Traditional Brazilian Band with 200 children from Warring, Clinton, and Circle of Courage elementary schools. Thunder Road Cruisers will supply several classic 50’s/60’s cars plus a float and Al’s Garage will provide a float and hay ride. Finally Santa Claus will arrive on a City of Poughkeepsie Fire Engine. Mary Poppins is the 1964 classic, only $5 a seat and 8pm start.

Saturday, December 5:

The Annual Cookie Sale at Grace Church, Franklin Ave. 10AM to 2PM. Homemade cookies wll be sold by the pound as well as our Cookie Cafe. Come, have tea and pick your favorite cookies. Taste treats from Tastefully Simple, easily prepared foods available to order in time for Christmas. 677-3064 for info.

Monastery Christmas Craft Fair December 5 and 6 (Second Sunday of Advent), from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the premises of Our Lady of the Resurrection Monastery, off Rt. 82 and 5 miles south of Millbrook, NY. A wonderful way of buying local and Brother Victor’s vinegars are heavenly. Great places to pick up Christmassy things, nativities, cards and ornaments as well as jams, herbs, tapenades. Brother Victor also has cookbooks for sale, his own vegetarian harvest recipes.

Sugar Plum Shop at St Josephs in Millbrook.

Meet Rex Peterson, horse trainer featured in Hollywood films, and his horse, Harbor Mist, who portrays Secretariat in the upcoming Disney movie, at Windrock Farm. www.cariswanson.com, 914.456.3155. 1pm.

Celebrating India Edghill’s latest book, Delilah, at Merritt Books in Millbrook, 2pm. Author India Edghill inherited her history-buff father’s love of research. Her favorite areas of study are the Ancient Near East, Victorian England, and India at any period. India lives in New York’s Hudson Valley, with a comfort of spaniels, a lounge of cats, and a plethora of books.

Special event at Locust Grove, with a Twilight Holiday Tour & Historic 4-Course Dinner at 5:30pm. On the opening day of the holiday season, tour the mansion at twilight and enjoy the warm glow of the house filled with holiday splendor. Stroll the grounds by candlelight as you return to the Museum Pavilion for a historically-inspired four-course holiday dinner, presented by Chef Charlie Fells from the Artist’s Palate. Dutch recipes from the 1600’s bring you back in time for a Quadricentennial celebration. Start the holiday season right with this elegant dinner! Cost: $100/person, $700 for a table of 8. Includes cocktail and hors d’oeuvres upon arrival, twilight mansion tour, 4-course holiday dinner with selected wines, and presentations by Chef Fells. 845.454.4500 or www.lgny.org.

The Millbrook Arts Group is presenting a Holiday Concert at 7PM in the Millbrook High School Auditorium. Admission is free. Please join us for some holiday fun, like the bell ringers from Lyall, a youth chorus from St. Joes’s, the Millbrook HS jazz band, some local celebrities, and more.

Vassar College Orchestra. Eduardo Navega, conductor. 8pm, free. Skinner Hall of Music 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

Getting Started with Perennials will by taught by Erika Hanson. Perennials return year after year to provide color and texture in our gardens. Participants will be inspired by beautiful plant combinations and discover the most dependable perennials for lower maintenance and long-term beauty. Learn the basics of perennial gardens, including soil preparation and planting techniques, plant selection, design, and maintenance. The class takes place from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Franklin W. Olin Humanities Building at Bard College. The cost is $47 for nonmembers and $42 for members. Course number GAR171. Register on-line www.nybg.org/edu, or call 800-322-NYBG (6924).

A bit of a trek, but if you have hankering to see Albany, The Magic of Christmas concert is at 7:30, Palace Theatre. Also on Sunday at 3pm. Not only the Albany Symphony, Music Studio, Capitol District Youth Chorale, Irish Step Dancers, Tap Dancers and Bell Choir from the Bethlehem Lutheran Church. 518-465-4755, www.albanysymphony.com.

The Bard College Big Band, directed by Thurman Barker, performs selections from the great American songbook with guest vocalist Judi Silvano. 8pm, Olin Hall. 845-758-7572 or tbarker@bard.edu.

Mita Bland is having a book signing at the Hammertown Barn. She has done the watercolors that illustrate the book, Sister Parish Design, which was written by Susan Crater and Libby Cameron.

Clancy Tradition at the Towne Crier in Pawling, 855-1300, www.townecrier.com.

Will Smith Trio at La Puerta Azul.

Union Vale Tree lighting at Tymor, 6:30pm.

Sinterklaas in Rhineback. www.sinterklaasrhinebeck.com. What, what a day is planned. One example is Upstate Films in Rhinebeck, 1-3pm, has a free show! The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus takes over upstate for the sinter cirkus & variety show! Family-friendly show, new acts every half-hour – Magic, Sword Swallowing, a Contortionist, and more! With live music by David Arner. Part of that day’s Sinterklaas celebration. From morning to midnight.

Asian Longhorned Beetle Workshop at the Sharon Audubon.10:00am-1:00pm. The Asian Longhorned beetle and Emerald Ash Borer are wood boring beetles that came to us from China in wooden pallets or packing material. The larval form can also be transported unknowingly in firewood. Rose Hiskes of the CT Agricultural Experiment Station will present what these beetles look like, the damage they can cause to our trees, and how you can help report any sightings of the beetle to the state. If you spend a lot of time outdoors in the winter time, whether it be during walks in the woods, bird counts or hunting trips, you can help us look for and report these damaging insects before they begin to destroy Connecticut’s forests. Registration is recommended. Please email wmiller@audubon.org or call the Center at (860) 364-0520 to sign up. www.sharon.audubon.org, Route 4, Sharon, CT 06069 / (860) 364-0520

Sunday, December 6:

A Service of Lessons and Carols. Vassar College Choir, Women’s Chorus, Madrigal Singers, and Cappella Festiva Chamber and Treble Choir. Christine R. Howlett, Drew Minter, and Susan Bialek, conductors. 7pm, Chapel, free. 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

Bard Conservatory Orchestra, conducted by Nanse Gum, with violin soloist Soovin Kim. Program includes Rossini L’Italiana in Algeri Overture, Beethoven Violin Concerto, and Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4. Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, 3:00 p.m. 845-758-7900 or fishercenterboxoffice@bard.edu. Tickets must be purchased, proceeds to benefit the Scholarship Fund. Free to the Bard community with I.D.

Windows in the Wilderness Chamber concert to be held at the Church of St. John in the Wilderness, Copake Falls, NY. The first concert, followed by refreshments, held at 2PM, Rte. 344, Copake Falls, adjacent to Taconic State Park. Sunday’s concert will be a Trio Concert of music by Haydn, W.F. Bach, Telemann, Schieckle, and Corigliani.

Live Falcons at the Sharon Audubon, 10am. Erin O’Connell, Audubon Sharon’s Wildlife Rehabilitation & Outreach Coordinator, will introduce some of the Center’s newest resident education falcons, including an American Kestrel, Merlin and Peregrine Falcon. Learn about the adaptations these fast-flying birds of prey use in order to survive. www.sharon.audubon.org, Route 4, Sharon, CT 06069 / (860) 364-0520

Upstate Screening of Out of Faith, sponsored by the Jewish Community Center of Dutchess County as part of the Passport to the Jewish Arts series
A woman’s loyalty to her faith and family murdered in the Holocaust threatens to tear her family apart in this intimate examination of assimilation and interfaith marriage. 11:30am. Tickets are $5 if you pre-register, or $7 at our box office the day of the show. Please call the JCC DC at 845-471-0430 to register.

Upstate Screening of Crude: The Real Price Of Oil, plus Q&A with director Joe Berlinger. Joe Berlinger’s (Brother’s Keeper, Paradise Lost, Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster) inspiring work of investigative journalism lays out the decades-long battle fought by an Ecuadorian indigenous group against the oil drillers who pillaged their land. 2pm.

Bardavon has Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at 3pm.

Monday, December 7:

Bard Lecture Series: “Self and Society in the Liberal Arts” “Galileo’s Starry Messenger and Letter to Duchess Christina.” Matthew Deady. Presented by the First-Year Seminar. Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. 4:30 pm. inside.bard.edu/firstyear/.

Tuesday, December 8:

The annual meeting of the plotholders of the Washington Hollow Cemetery will be held Tuesday, December 8, 2009, 7:00pm at the Town of Washington Town Hall, Reservoir Drive, Millbrook, NY. For more information, please call 677-3619.

Bard Conservatory students in concert. Presented by The Bard College Conservatory of Music. Olin Hall, noon. 845-758-7196 or conservatory@bard.edu.

Wednesday, December 9:

Alex Ewing shares Bravura!: Lucia Chase and the American Ballet Theatre. 5 to 7 PM at Merritt Books in Millbrook.
To many, Lucia Chase (1897-1986) was the American Ballet Theatre. In Bravura!: Lucia Chase and the American Ballet Theatre, Alex Ewing has written a captivating account of the life of his mother, Lucia Chase, and about how the seeds of American Ballet Theatre were sown from grief.
Born into enormous wealth, Lucia had the opportunity to choose her future without regard to realities or probabilities of success. She dreamed of becoming an actress and dabbled in theater and music early on, always with an enormous optimism that affluence and sheltering often fosters. She did not begin to study ballet seriously until after her husband and the father of her two small children died unexpectedly, leaving her with massive wealth but a shattered life.
After a period of grieving, Lucia sought out Mikhail Mordkin, a former member of the Bolshoi Ballet and the Ballets Russes, who ran the Mordkin School of Dance Arts. She studied ballet seriously for the first time. The comfort of the discipline and the demand for full focus eased her grief and gave purpose to her days. And the ballet took hold of Lucia and took over her life.
A dancer when the company made its debut in 1940, she was artistic director for an unprecedented thirty-five years, from 1945 to 1980. Over the course of her career, she received numerous honors and awards, including the U.S. Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
It was Chase who brought Nureyev, Bujones, Kirkland, and eventually Baryshnikov to ABT. Under her leadership, the company worked with such legends as Agnes de Mille, Anthony Tudor, Jerome Robbins, and Twyla Tharp. Her drive, ambition, tenacity, and money kept the doors open even during the lean years.
Combining unique personal insights as Chase’s son along with experience garnered from his own professional dance and administrative career, Alex Ewing offers the definitive story of one of the true pioneers in the world of American ballet.
Please join us in welcoming author Alex Ewing to Merritt Bookstore to celebrate the publication of this fine biography of his remarkable mother.
Merritt Bookstore 57 Front St., Millbrook NY 12545. 845-677-5857.

Thursday, December 10:

Late Night at Vassar’s Lehman Loeb. 5 to 9pm.

Nutcracker at UPAC. www.upac.org.

Union Vale Town Meeting, 7:30. Washington Town Board Meeting 7pm.

Friday, December 11:

Gamelan Music at Bard. Hudson Valley Gamelan presents Giri Mekar and Chandra Kanchana. All are welcome. Olin Hall, 8:00 p.m. billylitalo@gmail.com.

There’s a Monster in My Closet! Community Children’s Theatre of Dutchess County will perform the musical adaptation of the book “There’s a Monster in My Closet!” on December 11, 12, and 13th at Spackenkill Hill School, 112 Spackenkill Road, Poughkeepsie, New York. Tickets available at the door. Children of all ages will enjoy this lively, fun-filled musical. Show times: Friday 7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 1:00 & 3:30 p.m. CCTDC is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing live theatre to area children. For more information e-mail info@cctdc.org. A pre-holiday treat for the entire family!

Wondering where the Swine Flu is headed? H1N1 tracking on Google Earth. www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2009/11/chasing-flu-interactive-map.

Clothes swap. The Sunday after Thanksgiving, 11am start and must be finished by 1pm. Leftover clothing to go to good homes, like Planned Parenthood’s HIV program and Dutchess Outreach. Warm winter clothing is much appreciated. Please rsvp.

Walkway over the Hudson is a wonderful way to walk off holiday calories as well as see the Hudson in her glory.

Want to volunteer for Thanksgiving? The Lunch Box in Poughkeepsie, 29 North Hamilton Street, needs volunteers. Every year, they feed hundreds of people – last year was over 1,000 at Thanksgiving and this year will invariably be more. A man named John Flowers runs this program, as well as other volunteer opportunities and is happy to answer your questions at 845-242-8106. The Hickey family and friends sponsor Thanksgiving, but I have a call into them to find out you can help other time. Time is great though and please swing by to help out if you can. 10:30 – 2:30.

Walking the Dog Theatre in Hudson has a new play, about Chekhov and Olga. I Take Your Hand in Mine. 1. 800. 838. 3006, 1. 800. 838. 3006, wtdtheater.org. November 27, 28, 29. All shows 8 pm, except Sundays, 2 pm. Thanksgiving Weekend Special – two shows on Saturday, November 28: 2 pm and 8 pm. At Space 360, 360 Warren Street, Hudson, NY.

Monastery Christmas Craft Fair, November 28 and 29 (first Sunday of Advent) and December 5 and 6 (Second Sunday of Advent), from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the premises of Our Lady of the Resurrection Monastery, off Rt. 82 and 5 miles south of Millbrook, NY. A wonderful way of buying local and Brother Victor’s vinegars are heavenly. Great places to pick up Christmassy things, nativities, cards and ornaments as well as jams, herbs, tapenades. Brother Victor also has cookbooks for sale, his own vegetarian harvest recipes.

Local artist Emily Fuller has her paintings at the Sharon Town Hall through January 1, 2010. Emily Fuller is a contemporary realist painter finds subject matter in New York State’s Harlem River Valley in northeast Dutchess County. 63 Main St. Sharon , Ct. Hours: Monday-Friday 9-12 noon, 1-4pm. Weekends by appointment please call 917-841-3652. emilyfullerart.com or emilyup1@gmail.com.

The Millbrook Library has been very fortunate to again receive a wonderful quilt to put up for auction. The quilt has been made and kindly donated to us by, Lucy Bureau, Pam Nardone and Sharon Ruth. Debby Brown has again shown us her expertise in machine quilting. It is a mixture of oriental fabric and has been given the appropriate title of “Geisha Garden”. It will be on display at the Circulation Desk and tickets will be 1 for a $1.00 and 6 for $5.00. The drawing will take place December 12th @ 3:30 pm. The quilt is a Queen size (102” x 87”)

Local artist Millicent Cox’s paintings grace the Millbrook Library for this month’s Off the Wall.

RiverWinds Gallery, 6423 Montgomery Street (Route 9), Suite 10 (2nd floor), Rhinebeck presents “Hudson River” through January 26, 2010. Artist Claudia Gorman has contributed a few pieces of work. Monday–Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 10am-2pm or by appointment.

Millbrook School has an exhibit by artists John and Andrea Alvin to December 18.

The gift of gardening and botanical knowledge for that special person can be obtained at Bard’s NYBG program. www.nybg.org/bard or contact Amy Parrella at arboretum@bard.edu, or (845) 758-6822, ext. 7179. To register for classes and download a registration form, go to www.nybg.org/edu.

Thursday, November 26:

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. Wonderful family, great friends, spectacular food and a day of hanging out, cooking and catching up.

However, if you would like to make your life a bit easier on the cooking/entertaining side, here are some local tips.
Order your bird early, so you don’t end up with the 44 pounders like I do. Quattros has fresh birds, but not organic. Janis and Jim Archer have fresh and organic heritage birds – you can still see them walking around Smithfield on the way to Shekomeko.
Quattros also has smoked duck and pheasant sausage – some of our staples here. 635-2018.
Side dishes can be ordered from Red Devon, Slammin’ Salmon, Babettes Kitchen and will impress your guests. Red Devon Market will be open Thanksgiving morning, from 8 am till 2:30 pm in order for people to pick up to-go items. The restaurant will be closed.
(845)868-3175, www.reddevonrestaurant.com.
Beth at Best Creations can duplicate your family favorite baked goods. 677-2253. Kate of Art of the Tart will make custom, glorious tarts. theartofthetart@gmail.com, (845) 868-7107.

But let’s say you’d really rather just go out to dine. No problem. Many local restaurants take off the day, but not all.
Charlotte’s Restaurant in Millbrook will be open on Thanksgiving from Noon to 4pm. We will start with a choice of one of our delicious soups, followed by a traditional Thanksgiving Buffet and ending with tempting dessert for $39.95 per person. We are taking reservations now at 845 677 5888. www.charlottesny.com.
Number 9 in Millerton offers a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. 2 seatings one at 2 PM and one at 4:30 PM. A $45 3 course feast. Reservations are required. 518-592-1299.

And if you have totally given up, a caterer: Chocolate Mousse Caterers
(845) 518 – 6533, chefgirlhg@aol.com, www.chocolatemoussecatering.com.

Saturday, November 28:

The Union Vale Fire Company Penny Social. Rt. 82, Verbank. 2pm doors open & drawings begin at 4pm. Prizes for children & adults! www.uvfdny.com Contact Joann at (845) 724-4038 for more info.

Sale starts at the Albert Shahinian Fine Art Gallery. They are leaving Hudson for Rhinebeck (after moving up from Poughkeepsie and settling halfway I suppose). 415 Warren St, sale goes to December 13. 518-828-4346. www.shahinianfineart.com

Tuesday, December 1:

Bard Conservatory students in concert. Free. Olin Hall, noon. 845-758-7196 or conservatory@bard.edu.

Also at Bard, a screening and a lecture. Jon Bowenmaster to speak at 7:00 p.m. Jim Ottaway Jr. Film Center. National Geographic Explorer, Filmmaker, and Writer will screen and speak about his new film OCEANS 8 (his Antarctic Expedition) and his adventuring experiences around the world. For more information: contact Julia Rosenbaum at 845-758-7159, or e-mail rosenbau@bard.edu.

Wednesday, December 2:

The Full Cold Moon; or the Full Long Nights Moon. During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest. It is also sometimes called the Moon before Yule. The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.

National Climate Seminar at Bard. “Educators, Citizens, Copenhagen and Beyond.” David Orr, Oberlin College. The National Climate Seminar is a biweekly, national phone conversation featuring top climate scientists, political leaders, and policy analysts. Hosted by the Bard Center for Environmental Policy. 3pm. http://www.bard.edu/cep/ncs/, or contact cep@bard.edu, or 845-758-7073.

Thursday, December 3:

Bard’s Dawn Upshaw Master Class. Presented by the Graduate Vocal Arts Program. Olin Hall, 3:00 p.m. 845-752-2191 or conservatory@bard.edu.

Tivoli Bays Talks: Reading the River: Hudson River Real-time Data, Alene Onion . Tivoli Bays Visitor Center, Tivoli. 845-889-4745 x105. 7:30 – 8:30.

Scavenger hunt at Vassar. Scavenger hunt designed by student docents and Arlington High School history students. Art Center.

Vassar performs Rent. Book, music, and lyrics by Jonathan Larson?. Directed by Christopher Grabowski (Drama chair, professor of Drama and director of theater). Presented by the Experimental Theater of Vassar’s Drama Department. Through December 5. Martel Theater, 845-437-5584 or drama.vassar.edu.

Late Night at the Lehman Loeb. 5:00 – 9:00pm (845) 437-7745 or fllac.vassar.edu

Friday, December 4:

Vassar College Jazz Ensemble. James Osborn, director. 8pm, free. Skinner Hall of Music, 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and The Stissing House invite you to a viewing of “Homestretch” the award winning documentary about the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and an art show featuring the paintings of Leslie Priggen (50% of all sales and commissions will be donated to the TRF) and sculptures by Peggy Kauffman (25% of all sales and commissions will be donated to the TRF). Wine and hors d’oeuvres 5:30 – 8:30.
RSVP By Nov 30th to Patricia Jean pkjean@gmail.com or contact The Stissing House, 7801 South Main Street, Pine Plains, NY 518-398-8800.

Saturday, December 5:

The Annual Cookie Sale at Grace Church, Franklin Ave. 10AM to 2PM. Homemade cookies wll be sold by the pound as well as our Cookie Cafe. Come, have tea and pick your favorite cookies. Taste treats from Tastefully Simple… easily prepared foods available to order in time for Christmas. Call 677-3064 for info.

Sugar Plum Shop at St Josephs in Millbrook.

Special event at Locust Grove, with a Twilight Holiday Tour & Historic 4-Course Dinner at 5:30pm. On the opening day of the holiday season, tour the mansion at twilight and enjoy the warm glow of the house filled with holiday splendor. Stroll the grounds by candlelight as you return to the Museum Pavilion for a historically-inspired four-course holiday dinner, presented by Chef Charlie Fells from the Artist’s Palate. Dutch receipes from the 1600’s bring you back in time for a Quadricentennial celebration. Start the holiday season right with this elegant dinner! Cost: $100/person, $700 for a table of 8. Includes cocktail and hors d’oeuvres upon arrival, twilight mansion tour, 4-course holiday dinner with selected wines, and presentations by Chef Fells. Reservations requested by Friday, November 27th. 845.454.4500 or www.lgny.org.

The Millbrook Arts Group is presenting a Holiday Concert at 7PM in the Millbrook High School Auditorium. Admission is free. Please join us for some holiday fun, like the bell ringers from Lyall, a youth chorus from St. Joes’s, the Millbrook HS jazz band, some local celebrities, and more.

Vassar College Orchestra. Eduardo Navega, conductor. 8pm, free. Skinner Hall of Music 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

Getting Started with Perennials will by taught by Erika Hanson. Perennials return year after year to provide color and texture in our gardens. Participants will be inspired by beautiful plant combinations and discover the most dependable perennials for lower maintenance and long-term beauty. Learn the basics of perennial gardens, including soil preparation and planting techniques, plant selection, design, and maintenance. The class takes place from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Franklin W. Olin Humanities Building at Bard College. The cost is $47 for nonmembers and $42 for members. Course number GAR171. Register on-line www.nybg.org/edu, or call 800-322-NYBG (6924).

The Bard College Big Band, directed by Thurman Barker, performs selections from the great American songbook with guest vocalist Judi Silvano. 8:00 p.m., Olin Hall. 845-758-7572 or tbarker@bard.edu.

Sunday, December 6:

A Service of Lessons and Carols. Vassar College Choir, Women’s Chorus, Madrigal Singers, and Cappella Festiva Chamber and Treble Choir. Christine R. Howlett, Drew Minter, and Susan Bialek, conductors. 7pm, Chapel, free. 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

Bard Conservatory Orchestra, conducted by Nanse Gum, with violin soloist Soovin Kim. Program includes Rossini L’Italiana in Algeri Overture, Beethoven Violin Concerto, and Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4. Presented by The Bard College Conservatory of Music. Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, 3:00 p.m. 845-758-7900 or fishercenterboxoffice@bard.edu. Tickets must be purchased, proceeds to benefit the Scholarship Fund. Free to the Bard community with I.D.

Windows in the Wilderness Chamber concert to be held at the Church of St. John in the Wilderness, Copake Falls, NY. The first concert, followed by refreshments, held at 2PM, Rte. 344, Copake Falls, adjacent to Taconic State Park. Sunday’s concert will be a Trio Concert of music by Haydn, W.F. Bach, Telemann, Schieckle, and Corigliani.

Unison in New Paltz has a few performances coming up and I have two tickets I can’t use. Please let me know if you want them to be yours. This Saturday, Aoife Clancy & Robbie O’Connell onstage. www.unisonarts.org.

Annual Quilt Raffle! The Millbrook Library has been very fortunate to again receive a wonderful quilt to put up for auction. The quilt has been made and kindly donated to us by, Lucy Bureau, Pam Nardone and Sharon Ruth. Debby Brown has again shown us her expertise in machine quilting. It is a mixture of oriental fabric and has been given the appropriate title of “Geisha Garden”. It will be on display at the Circulation Desk and tickets will be 1 for a $1.00 and 6 for $5.00. The drawing will take place December 12th @ 3:30 pm. The quilt is a Queen size (102” x 87”)

At Locust Grove, aka the Samuel Morse Historic Site, paintings by local artists Marie Cole and Mary Untalan. Exhibit ends November 22. 845-454-4500, www.lgny.org.

Local artist Millicent Cox’s paintings grace the Millbrook Library for this month’s Off the Wall.

RiverWinds Gallery, 6423 Montgomery Street (Route 9), Suite 10 (2nd floor), Rhinebeck presents “Hudson River” through January 26, 2010. Artist Claudia Gorman has contributed a few pieces of work. Monday–Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 10am-2pm or by appointment.

Millbrook School has an exhibit by artists John and Andrea Alvin to December 18.

The shepherd at Dancing Lamb Farm and Icelandic Sheep Dairy is drastically reducing her flock of magnificent purebred Icelandics and dairy cross ewes. These are spectacular animals from lines that have been great milkers, fleece and meat lamb producers, and great mothers. Visit the website at www.dancinglambfarm.com for more information or call the shepherd, Mike Kelley, at 518-634-2196 for more information

With Tuesday being economy night at Millerton’s Movie House (.net), the new Number 9 restaurant has an early bird/pre movie special at 5 PM. Open for dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays from 5 pm to 10 pm, brunch on Sundays from 11 to 2. Reservations are suggested.

The gift of gardening and botanical knowledge for that special person can be obtained at Bard’s NYBG program. www.nybg.org/bard or contact Amy Parrella at arboretum@bard.edu, or (845) 758-6822, ext. 7179. To register for classes and download a registration form, go to www.nybg.org/edu.

Stissing House is back on winter schedule, so lunch is back weekends and Fondue has returned with it Swiss Fondue with garnishes on Saturday and Sunday lunch and Sunday dinner. It can be ordered in advance for parties of 6 or more at dinner on other nights, but is not on the regular menu. Oh yum.

Wednesday, November 18

Bard Graduate Vocal Arts Program Core Seminar I Concert. Free. Olin Hall, 8:00 p.m. 845-752-2191 or conservatory@bard.edu.

National Climate Seminar at Bard “China, India, and the U.S.” Mohan Monasinghe, IPCC Vice Chair. The National Climate Seminar is a biweekly, national phone conversation featuring top climate scientists, political leaders, and policy analysts. 12 noon. www.bard.edu/cep/ncs/, or contact cep@bard.edu, or 845-758-7073.

Thursday, November 19:

Big Band Tribute at the Bardavon, 2pm, only $5 and an annual event. www.bardavon.org.

Washington/Millbrook Historical Society meeting at Lyall Federated Memorial Church. Free. 7:30 and tonight’s topic is Millbrook Then and Now with John Kading. Lots of slides and memories,

Vassar exhibition curator, Patricia Phagan, The Philip and Lynn Straus Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Art Center, will give a lecture about Dürer and printmaking, with a reception to follow. (845) 437-5632 or fllac.vassar.edu. Taylor Hall 203, Late Night at the Lehman Loeb. 5:00 – 9:00pm (845) 437-7745 or fllac.vassar.edu.
Vassar VRDT performance Final Showings November 19 to 21, 8pm. For advance reservations for the performances, please email dancetix@vassar.edu. Includes faculty and student pieces as well as repertoire by Balanchine and Humphrey.
Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre. The Frances Daly Fergusson Dance Theater, Kenyon Hall, 845-437-7468 or dance.vassar.edu

And a little treat from the campaign trail. Whilst going door to door, I met a man singing a fine version of Folsom Prison and he may be coming to Seany B’s for Freddy’s acoustic night. Late start of about 10pm, but worth it for Johnny Cash fans.

Friday, November 20:

Farm & Home Center in Millbrook…. hosted by JP’s North & Dutchess County 4H. Preview starts @ 5pm, auction begins at 630pm. Auction includes clothing, tack & accessories. Something for everyone. Come on out, support your local 4H, find a bargain or 2 & have a good time!!! And with the proposed county cuts for 2010, the 4H desperately needs you.

Loopey’s has a special night with the Bush Brothers at 9:30pm, after the dinner crowd has (mostly) left. Kitchen is open to 11pm. 677-6212.

The 1979 Star Trek plays at UPAC in Kingston. 7:30, www.upac.org.

Bard Chamber music featuring students of the Conservatory. Free. Olin Hall. 8:00 p.m. 845-758-7196 or conservatory@bard.edu.

Garrsion Arts Center, Balter Gallery – Clay Pot Luck Holiday Sale and Exhibition Holiday shopping with a river view! Through November 29. 845-424-3960.

Saturday, November 21:

Owls at the Sharon Audubon.. Environmental Education Intern Ashley Brant will introduce you to some of the Center’s resident owl species. After the program, our Audubon Pollywogs (3 & 4 year olds) are welcome to stay with an adult and make an owl craft to take home, and also enjoy a snack. Registration is highly recommended. Please call the Center to register, especially if you plan to stay for a craft and snack. www.sharon.audubon.org, Route 4, Sharon, CT 06069 / (860) 364-0520.

Free screening at Upstate in Rhinebeck of The Asperger’s Difference, followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker, Jamey Wolff, and two of the featured young adults with Asperger Syndrome. www.upstatefilms.org.

Vassar Senior Recital. Mark Van Hare, composer. Skinner Hall of Music, 4pm. 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

Backgammon and Blues at the Stissing House. Ticket information can be found at www.millbrookyachtclub.com. Featuring legendary blues men Ernie Williams and David Malachowski. Music begins at 8pm, Cash bar and bar snacks menu available.

Brutal Relapse plays Seany B’s in Millbrook, 10pm ish start.

Sunday, November 22:

Vassar College Madrigal Singers. “Mysteries and Miracles: Songs and Carols, Medieval to Modern.” Drew Minter, conductor. Skinner Hall of Music, 3pm. 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

The 1979 classic, The Jerk, plays in Rhinebeck, 8:30pm. www.upstatefilms.org.

Bard Chamber music featuring students of the Conservatory. Free. Olin Hall. 3:00 p.m. 845-758-7196 or conservatory@bard.edu.

Town Crier in Pawling, 7:30. Musical heritage night celebrating the music & message of Pete Seeger.

“Tot Ziens…”Until We Meet Again. A Special American-Dutch Toast for Participants of
The Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial & Introduction of New Friends:
Sustainable Hudson Valley and Hudson Valley Smart Growth Alliance. 4:00-7:00 p.m.
The Artist’s Palate, 307 Main Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 with a Special Preview of
“Canvas”. Small Plates. Wine Flights. Suggested Donation: $30. Music provided by
Blue Gardenia Jazz Standards Trio & Voices of Glory. HFCQ Committee
845. 486.1283.

Monday, November 23:

“Is Palladio Boring?” Guido Beltramini, executive director of the Andrea Palladio International Study Center in Vicenza, Italy, will examine the legacy of the 16th century Italian architect at 5:30. Free and open to the public, the program will begin at 5:30pm in Taylor Hall, Room 102.

Bard Lecture Series: “Self and Society in the Liberal Arts” with “Shakespeare’s King Lear.” Romulus Linney. What a fabulous name. Presented by the First-Year Seminar. Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. 4:30 pm. inside.bard.edu/firstyear/.

As many Americans anticipate sharing their favorite Thanksgiving foods, the Vassar campus is setting aside a day to think about the issues surrounding the food we eat. Starting at 10:00am and continuing through the evening, the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, in conjunction with other Vassar organizations, will host “Think Food!” a day dedicated to fasting, reflecting, acting, and connecting around food issues. All activities are free and open to the public. Drawing on the diverse perspectives and experiences of its sponsoring organizations, the program aims to discuss issues of food access, sustainability, nutrition, and our psychological relationship to food, with a special focus on hunger.
To this end, “Think Food!” includes a voluntary fasting component. Fasters are encouraged to use the money they would have spent on food to make a donation to the two local food relief agencies sponsored by this year’s “Community Works” campaign: Dutchess Outreach in Poughkeepsie and Queens Galley in Kingston, NY (see http://communityworks.vassar.edu/recipients/index.html).
The program will take place in the Rose Parlor on the second floor of Vassar’s historic Main Building. The day will open with a “Gathering of Intentions” at 10:00am. A mid-day harvest at the Poughkeepsie Farm Project at Vassar Farm will begin at 11:00am with the harvested produce delivered to Dutchess Outreach’s food pantry and soup kitchen. The “Think Food!” day will culminate with a “Conversation with Fasters” at 4:00pm, and at 5:00pm a “Break-Fast” meal.

Thursday, November 26:

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. Wonderful family, great friends, spectacular food and a day of hanging out, cooking and catching up.

However, if you would like to make your life a bit easier on the cooking/entertaining side, here are some local tips.
Order your bird early, so you don’t end up with the 44 pounders like I do. Quattros has fresh birds, but not organic. Janis and Jim Archer have fresh and organic heritage birds – you can still see them walking around Smithfield on the way to Shekomeko.
Quattros also has smoked duck and pheasant sausage – some of our staples here. 635-2018.
Side dishes can be ordered from Red Devon, Slammin’ Salmon, Babettes Kitchen and will impress your guests. Red Devon Market will be open Thanksgiving morning, from 8 am till 2:30 pm in order for people to pick up to-go items. The restaurant will be closed.
(845)868-3175, www.reddevonrestaurant.com.
Beth at Best Creations can duplicate your family favorite baked goods. 677-2235. Kate of Art of the Tart will make custom, glorious tarts. theartofthetart@gmail.com, (845) 868-7107.

But let’s say you’d really rather just go out to dine. No problem.
Charlotte’s Restaurant in Millbrook will be open on Thanksgiving from Noon to 4pm. We will start with a choice of one of our delicious soups, followed by a traditional Thanksgiving Buffet and ending with tempting dessert for $39.95 per person. We are taking reservations now at 845 677 5888. www.charlottesny.com.
Number 9 in Millerton offers a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. 2 seatings one at 2 PM and one at 4:30 PM. A $45 3 course feast. Reservations are required. 518-592-1299.

And if you have totally given up, a caterer: Chocolate Mousse Caterers
(845) 518 – 6533, chefgirlhg@aol.com, www.chocolatemoussecatering.com.

Unison in New Paltz has a few performances coming up and I have two tickets I can’t use. Please let me know if you want them to be yours. This Saturday, Aoife Clancy & Robbie O’Connell onstage. www.unisonarts.org.

Local artist Millicent Cox’s paintings grace the Millbrook Library for this month’s Off the Wall.

RiverWinds Gallery, 6423 Montgomery Street (Route 9), Suite 10 (2nd floor), Rhinebeck presents “Hudson River” through January 26, 2010. Artist Claudia Gorman has contributed a few pieces of work. Artist Reception Friday, Nov 13th 5:30-7:30 pm. Monday–Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 10am-2pm or by appointment.

The shepherd at Dancing Lamb Farm and Icelandic Sheep Dairy is drastically reducing her flock of magnificent purebred Icelandics and dairy cross ewes. These are spectacular animals from lines that have been great milkers, fleece and meat lamb producers, and great mothers. Visit the website at www.dancinglambfarm.com for more information or call the shepherd, Mike Kelley, at 518-634-2196 for more information

With Tuesday being economy night at Millerton’s Movie House (.net), the new Number 9 restaurant has an early bird/pre movie special at 5 PM. Open for dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays from 5 pm to 10 pm, brunch on Sundays from 11 to 2. Reservations are suggested.

Thursday, November 12:

Town Board meetings for Washington at 7pm and Union Vale, 7:30.

Late Night at Vassar’s Lehman Loeb. 5 to 9. (845) 437-7745 or fllac.vassar.edu.

Last Sunset Sensation at Locust Grove for 2009. Chef Ed Kowalksi from Lola’s Café. 5:30 – 7:30, www.lgny.org.

Into the Woods at The Hotchkiss School. Be careful what you wish for might be the caution for this fanciful musical that weaves together the lives of familiar characters from childhood fairytales who are put in novel situations. Thursday, Nov. 12, through Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 pm, with a matinee on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 2:30pm in the school’s Walker Auditorium to benefit the Sharon Audubon Society. $10 for adults, and $5 for students and senior citizens and may be reserved in advance by calling 860-435-3203 or purchased at the door.

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams?, directed by Estefi Fadul ‘10* (*senior project in Drama). Presented by the Experimental Theater of Vassar’s Drama Department. Through November 14. 8pm. Powerhouse Theater, 845-437-5584 or drama.vassar.edu.

Friday, November 13:

Vassar Camerata and Mahagonny Ensemble. Emily Bookwalter ’10, Nicholas Rocha ’11, Catherine O’Kelly ’11, and Mark Van Hare ’10, conductors. Selections will include “O vos omnes” by Pablo Casals, “Façade” by William Walton, and a new work by Nathan Hall ‘04. 8pm. Skinner Hall of Music, 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

The second of the two Town of Washington Comprehensive Plan Visioning Meetings is at 7:00 pm at the Millbrook Firehouse.

Shorty King’s Clubhouse brings the best Post-War Jump, Swing, Rockin’ Boogie and Rhythm & Blues back to La Puerta Azul, 8pm. And my chickens covet those pumpkins at the Blue Door. Wow.

Saturday, November 14:

The Fountains Flea Market, Saturday Nov. 14 from 9am to 4pm, 79 Flint Road, Millbrook, Some of the items for sale include original art, stationery, and crafts, handmade quilts, clothing (men’s and womens’) knitted and crocheted items, furniture, book, jewelry, household goods.

Lyall Federated Church is having their holiday bazaar from 10-2pm and a luncheon between 11:30 and 1pm. Jewelry, holiday decor, bake sale and white elephant.

A flag retirement ceremony at the VFW post, starting at 1pm . Flags will be picked up by the Girl scouts and Boy scouts starting at 11:00 AM.

Sip & Sign at Millbrook Vineyards & Winery, a holiday book signing with 25 authors
1:00 – 4:00 p.m. This is an extraordinarily rare gathering—an event book lovers and oenophiles in the Hudson Valley should not miss! There will be tasty treats along with Millbrook’s wonderful wines…the perfect place to find that unique gift—and enjoy the afternoon. An autographed book is a lasting treasure: visitors will be delighted to find books to please just about everyone on their holiday shopping list.

Walton Ford Book signing at the Shekomeko General Store, 1398 Route 83 in Pine Plains. For those of you who have admired my datebook this past year, he is the artist. 5 to 7pm and his new book called Pancha Tantra. Cover painting reminds me of the Helmut Newton of Charlotte Rampling more than the Victorian etching I think it’s based on. 518-398-6298 and they’d like an rsvp.

Albrecht Dürer: Impressions of the Renaissance, an exhibition organized by the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, will feature 41 works celebrating the world of Albrecht Dürer, one of the greatest artists of the Northern Renaissance. With keen curiosity and limited education, Albrecht Dürer interacted with leading humanists and scholars of the northern Renaissance, an exciting period when the spread of resurrected texts and classical art sparked a fashionable cultural revolution in his native Nuremberg. The 35 prints in this exhibition include portraits of classical scholars to prints with biblical and allegorical themes. Included are numerous works from the Art Center’s Warburg Collection of Old Master Prints All except one of the prints will be drawn from the permanent collection of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, renowned for its Old Master print collection. 5pm. The exhibition will open to the public, without charge, from Saturday, November 14 through Thursday, December 24. (845) 437-7745 or fllac.vassar.edu.

The Millbrook Follies, 2nd annual fundraiser for the 97 Miles Off Broadway, Millbrook HS Drama Club, 7 pm at the Millbrook HS Auditorium. Performers include administrators, teachers and students in a variety of show-stopping acts! Tickets are $6 at the door.

Two treats at the Millbrook School. Artist’s reception for Andrea and John Alvin’s gallery opening, 5 – 7pm and then “The Shadow Box” at 8:15 in the Chelsea Morrison Theatre, which is next to the gallery. It is the 1977 Pulitzer-Prize Winning Drama by Michael Cristofer, deals with the impact of cancer on three generations. Somewhat painful, but it is an important springboard for insight, healing and dialogue. Hospice of Dutchess County is also sponsoring the play and related workshops. The event is free, but donations (to hospice) will be gratefully accepted.

Senior Recital. Isaac Leslie, trumpet. Featuring music of Bach, Enesco, Arban, Rodrigo, and Chick Corea, with arrangements by Isaac Leslie and others. 4pm, Skinner Hall of Music 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

Vassar College Choir. A program of British choral music with works by Elgar, Holst, and O’Regan, and featuring the stunning Requiem by Herbert Howells. Christine R. Howlett, conductor. 8pm. Skinner Hall of Music 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

“Joan Mitchell: Portrait of an Abstract Painter” (director Marion Cajori) will be presented on Saturday, November 14, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. Steven Holden of the New York Times has said of this film “The best thing about Marion Cajori’s study of Joan Mitchell, the Abstract Expressionist painter who died at the age of 66, is the way it makes a complete emotional portrait of the toweringly acerbic artist by interweaving her conversation with shots of works that reveal her vulnerable inner life….The gorgeous shots of Mitchell’s canvases, intercut with scenes of Paris and of Vetheuil and its environs, offer eloquent visual testimony to Mitchell’s appetite for being in the moment. The canvases have grand chaotic romanticism. While celebrating the physical universe with an ecstatic love of color, they don’t shy away from expressing a harsh, feral apprehension of nature and its violence.” $8 and it runs for 58 minutes. At the Washington Montessori School Auditorium, 240 Litchfield Turnpike, New Preston, CT.
The Washington Art Association is located in Bryan Memorial Plaza, Washington Depot, CT. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10-5 and Sunday 12-5. 860-868-2878 www.washingtonartassociation.org.

Antique Bird Carvings and the Artists Who Made Them. 2pm at the Cornwall Historical Society, 7 Pine Street, Cornwall Village, CT. Audubon Sharon and the Cornwall Historical Society are sponsoring a presentation by birder and Audubon supporter Joe Ellis. In addition to being an avid birder, Joe is also an avid collector of bird carvings. His presentation will be about his new book, Antique Bird Carvings and the Artists Who Made Them 1900-1970. This is a free program.

Project Relapse plays at the DelaVergne in Amenia, 8 to midnight. Once known as Top of the Stretch, it is said to be a good steakhouse. Band includes many favorite local musicians – Freddy, Joe, Norm and Bobby.

Sunday, November 15:

Holiday Auction! Rhinebeck Town Hall, 80 E. Market St, 1 to 3pm. Numbers and preview available 1:00, auction begins promptly at 2. Gift baskets, hand made items, baked goods, holiday, new merchandise, small collectibles, quality books on gardening, cooking, crafts, holiday decorations and other topics. Light refreshments will be served. No admission fee. Checks and cash accepted as payment for auction items. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to do early holiday shopping for that special person! All sales are final.

Local artist Ginny Howsam has several paintings in a group show at the Piermont Fine Arts Gallery in Piermont, NY. Artist’s reception 3-5pm at the Gallery. 218 Ash Street/Piermont Landing, Piermont, NY 10968, (845)398-1907.

Vassar College and Community Wind Ensemble. James Osborn, conductor.
Skinner Hall of Music, 3pm. 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu

Saint Joseph’s School’s Penny Social from 1PM to 4PM.

“Into the Woods”2:30pm at The Hotchkiss School Walker Auditorium. The Hotchkiss Dramatic Association will be presenting a special performance of “Into the Woods” at the Walker Auditorium at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, CT on Sunday, November 15th at 2:30pm. Each year the theatre company donates the proceeds of their matinee performance to an area non-profit and this year’s performance will benefit Audubon Sharon. Ticket price is $10 for adults and $5 for children. For more information or tickets, call (860) 435-3203. A limited amount of tickets are also for sale at the Audubon Center.

Lyle Lovett with His Large Band at the UPAC in Kingston. Oh he’s wonderful. www.upac.org.

Thursday, November 19:

Washington/Millbrook Historical Society meeting at Lyall Federated Memorial Church. Free. 7:30 and tonight’s topic is Millbrook Then and Now with John Kading. Lots of slides and memories,

Vassar exhibition curator, Patricia Phagan, The Philip and Lynn Straus Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Art Center, will give a lecture about Dürer and printmaking, with a reception to follow. (845) 437-5632 or fllac.vassar.edu. Taylor Hall 203

Vassar VRDT performance Final Showings November 19 to 21, 8pm. For advance reservations for the performances, please email dancetix@vassar.edu. Includes faculty and student pieces as well as repertoire by Balanchine and Humphrey.
Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre. The Frances Daly Fergusson Dance Theater, Kenyon Hall, 845-437-7468 or dance.vassar.edu

Late Night at the Lehman Loeb. 5:00 – 9:00pm (845) 437-7745 or fllac.vassar.edu.

Big Band Tribute at the Bardavon, 2pm, only $5 and an annual event. www.bardavon.org.

And a little treat from the campaign trail. Whilst going door to door, I met a man singing a fine version of Folsom Prison and he may be coming to Seany B’s for Freddy’s acoustic night. Late start of about 10pm, but worth it for Johnny Cash fans.

Thanks for your job postings, which I have forwarded along. Want a job in sales for a local magazine? Looking for a position as manager in the food industry?

Leonardos in Rhinebeck is closing. In Lakeville, a new Italian restaurant, Café Guilia, opened. Described to me by a fan as Italian comfort food, 2 Ethan Allen St. Lakeville, CT 06039. 860-435-9765, Thursday through Monday 5:30 to 9:30pm, closed Tues. & Wed.
Also, the owners of the wonderful Bottle Tree Grocery in Ancramdale have opened the #9 Restaurant in Millerton, 53 Main St, (back entrance of Simmons Way Inn), 518-592-1299, number9millerton.com.

Need a huge bird cage? Lisa is selling one big enough for parrots and macaws. lasanker@yahoo.com.

The Bardavon and UPAC are having food drives, partnering with Cee Cee’s Free Food Pantry in Poughkeepsie and Queens Galley in Kingston to help feed local families for the holidays.
Through 11/19, the Bardavon will be accepting non-perishable food items on behalf of Cee Cee’s Free Food Pantry (337 Mansion Street, Poughkeepsie), a nonprofit agency providing food to the needy for more than thirteen years. Food items may be dropped off at the theater (35 Market Street, Poughkeepsie) at performances or during regular Box Office hours (11am – 5pm Tuesday through Friday). Donations for Cee Cee’s are accepted at First Congregational Church (269 Mill Street, Poughkeepsie).
Through 11/20, UPAC will be accepting non-perishable food items as well as paper and cleaning products (soap, detergent, toilet paper, etc.) on behalf of Queens Galley (254 Washington Avenue, Kingston), a nonprofit organization providing relief, awareness, education, and prevention of food insecurity for the community. Food items may be dropped off at the theater (601 Broadway, Kingston) at performances or during regular Box Office hours (11am – 5pm Wednesday through Friday).
Of course, we have food pantries closer to home too. Check with Father Doug Fisher at Grace Church.

“Emerson High” at the Cunneen-Hackett in Poughkeepsie. A new play exploring the complexities of human relationships and how we each arrive at our own version of what is moral. The play runs to November 15. www.halfmoontheatre.org, 888-718-4253.

The Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck will host the premiere of “Venus” by Dutchess County choreographer Elaine Colandrea at 8 p.m. November 14 and at 3 p.m. November 15. The multimedia performance promises to be a sensual delight, with 14 dancers, a soprano singing onstage, a dancing violinist, a montage of photographs by four area photographers, and an installation by sculptor Helen Suter. For information, call 845-876-3080 or visit www.centerforperformingarts.org

An exhibit of Paintings by artist Staats Fasoldt at The Gardiner Library. The show will consist of watercolors and oils inspired by the Hudson Valley. Staats received a MFA in painting from SUNY New Paltz and has taught at The Woodstock School of Art for 25 years. http://ulster.net/~staats/index.html. Artist’s reception Sunday November 15th from 3-5pm. Through December 29.

“Emerson High” at the Cunneen-Hackett in Poughkeepsie. A new play exploring the complexities of human relationships and how we each arrive at our own version of what is moral. The play runs to November 15. www.halfmoontheatre.org, 888-718-4253.

Friday, November 6:

Expect great bargains on quality items at the Grace Church Tag Sale. Friday Nov 6, and Sat. Nov. 7, 9am-4:30pm, with a Bag Sale Sun. Nov 8, 11am-1pm, upstairs in the Grace Church Parish Hall (3330 Franklin Ave., Millbrook). Please call Helen Ashton 845-266-4389 for more info. Continue your bargain hunting on the main floor of the Parish Hall with a children’s rummage sale and bake sale sponsored by Millbrook Community Preschool at Grace on Saturday, November 7, from 9am-4:30pm. The children’s rummage sale will feature gently used children’s clothing (infant-teen), books, DVDs, games, train tables, doll furniture, and more.

Lecture And Visual Journey By Alex S. Maclean. Using dramatic aerial photographs, MacLeans’s book Over: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point, catalogs our culture’s excessive use of energy and natural resources, highlighting the need for sustainable solutions. The lecture will be held in the Cary Institute auditorium, located at 2801 Sharon Tpk., Millbrook. Free. Books will be available for purchase by Merritt Bookstore. Contact freemanp@caryinstitute.org. 7pm.

Vassar Guest Event: La Follia Barocca. A 12-member early music string ensemble from Milan, Italy, featuring Enrico Casazza, violinist, and Marcello Scandelli, cellist. Music by Fiorenza, Dell’Abaco, Vivaldi, and Locatelli. 8pm. Skinner Hall of Music, 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu

Join Congressman John Hall for an evening with Jackson Browne to benefit John Hall for Congress! Jackson Browne will be performing 2 concerts in the NY area and has made a limited number of seats available to benefit John Hall’s re-election campaign. 845-598-3971 or djrigg@aol.com for tickets or more info.
Friday, November 6th
at the Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston, NY
Saturday, November 7th
at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Brookville, Long Island

Saturday, November 7:

Sharon Audubon Pollywogs: Insects, a Special “Daddy & Me” Session! 10am, $10 adult/child pair ($3 each additional child). What makes an insect an insect? Where do insects go when it gets cold outside? Join Education Intern Ashley Brant for this fun program created for 3 & 4 year olds with a parent and learn all about insects! We’ll visit some live insects, make a fun craft, read a story and even enjoy a snack! We encourage all Daddys to join us this week for our “Daddy & Me” session (but Mom can come, too!) Please call in advance to register so we can prepare enough snack and craft material. (860) 364-0520.

The Pleasant Valley Free Library Building Expansion Fund will host a benefit concert featuring guitarists and vocalists Helen Avakian and Terry Champlin at 7:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall in Pleasant Valley. Tickets can be purchased for a $20 contribution at the Pleasant Valley Library.

Bardavon in Poughkeepsie has HVP II at 8pm. www.bardavon.org. Brahms.

Two concerts at Vassar: 4:00pm, Senior Recital. Seth Biberstein, baritone. Assisted by David Alpher, piano. Skinner Hall of Music. 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu
8:00pm, Vassar College Women’s Chorus. Christine R. Howlett, conductor. Featuring Psalm Trilogy by Canadian composer Srul Irving Glick, Libby Larsen’s Canticle of Mary, and the inventive and captivating music of British composer, Tarik O’Regan.
Skinner Hall of Music. 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

Night of 1000 Pies in Kent, CT. Yes, PIES. www.kentct.com.

Grand Wine Tasting at Arlington, 12 to 5. info@arlingtonwine.net.

Sunday, November 8:

Changing Seasons. A Family Friendly Nature Walk. Join Cary Institute educators for a late fall walk. Participants will look for birds, observe sings of the changing seasons, identify stream invertebrates, and make a bird feeder to take home. Trail is suitable for strollers and wheelchairs. To ensure we have enough craft supplies please RSVP to 845-677-7600 x121 or freemanp@caryinstitute.org. Walk begins in Cary Institute auditorium parking lot, 2801 Sharon Tpk., Millbrook. Free, 12 noon – 2 pm.

Vassar, Performance by the Dance Theater of Harlem Ensemble, 3:00pm. Additional details will be announced. For advance reservations for the performances, please email dancetix@vassar.edu. The Frances Daly Fergusson Dance Theater, Kenyon Hall
845-437-7468 or dance.vassar.edu

Also at 3pm, Vassar Guest Event: Sérgio and Odair Assad, guitarists. Brazilian-born brothers Sérgio and Odair Assad have created a new standard of guitar innovation, ingenuity, and expression. Their exceptional artistry and uncanny ensemble playing come from both a family rich in Brazilian musical tradition and from studies with the best guitarists in South America. Skinner Hall of Music, 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

Bard Conservatory Orchestra, conducted by Harold Farberman with soprano soloist Ariadne Greif. Program includes Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story Suite, Debussy’s La Mer, and Harold Farberman’s Greek Dances. Sosnoff Theater, Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, 3pm. 845-758-7900 or fishercenterboxoffice@bard.edu. Tickets must be purchased, proceeds to benefit the Scholarship Fund. Free to the Bard community with I.D.

Taste of the Hudson Valley at the Grandview in Poughkeepsie, www.tastehv.org. Benefits St Francis.

Annual Railroad Exposition at the MidHudson Civic Center, Everything related to model trains – vendors, layouts, clinics, films, displays and a white elephant table. Hydeparkstation.com.

Monday, November 9:

Bard Innovative Contemporary Fiction Reading Series with Celebrated young novelist and Bard graduate Jedidiah Berry returns to campus to read from his acclaimed postfantasy detective novel, The Manual of Detection, about which Publishers Weekly writes, “Berry’s ambitious debut reverberates with echoes of Kafka and Paul Auster,” and Kirkus Review states, “In his first novel, Berry has created a wonderful and fantastic world, a vintage mystery seen through a hall of funhouse mirrors.” Bradford Morrow introduces. Weis Cinema, Bertelsmann Campus Center, 2:30 p.m. 845-758-1539.

Wednesday, November 11 (Veteran’s Day):

National Climate Seminar “What Washington Needs.” Congressman Ed Markey. The National Climate Seminar is a biweekly, national phone conversation featuring top climate scientists, political leaders, and policy analysts. Hosted by the Bard Center for Environmental Policy. 3 pm. For information go to www.bard.edu/cep/ncs/, or contact cep@bard.edu, or 845-758-7073.

Veteran’s Day at FDR. No charge for US Veterans to tour the presidential library and home. 9 to 5.

Lengthy, but important to Millbrook History:
The World War I Monument that is a Millbrook landmark will be re-dedicated at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 11 (not 11:00 as announced earlier). The Mayor of Millbrook, the President of Millbrook Rotary, which coordinated the restoration project, prominent Millbrook citizens whose financial support saved the monument from decay, and Steve Roy whose company restored the metal work on the eagle will all be present, as well as many citizens of Millbrook Village. The ceremony at 10 will precede an event honoring the Millbrook veterans, which will take place at 11:00. This project was launched in January 2009 at a Rotary meeting when Abigail Mack, an Object Conservator who works only on “objects” such as sculpture and monuments in disrepair, returning them to museum quality condition and Steve Roy has 35 years of experience working world-wide on restorations, in addition to producing his own sculpture, described the damage to the monument and showed how it could be restored. Through photos, Steve and Abigail showed the nature of the damage to the eagle on top of the tall base, and explained that it is the eagle that will be their focus. The eagle had incrustations and corrosion, with little or no patina left. The iron stain from the core material inside means that water had infiltrated the monument. Both Mack and Roy described the complex process of restoration through photos and technical explanations. Row showed the particular he prefers for the eagle, explaining that it will look beautiful against the green trees behind it. He plans to remove the eagle from the pedestal, bring it to his foundry, open it up, clean it out, and weld it back. Mack and Roy agreed that once done, regular maintenance would be important because the monument is a valuable Millbrook structure.
The monument was originally erected, most believe, to honor the World War I veterans of Millbrook, so it is nearly 100 years old. Originally it was at the intersection of the major highways in Millbrook—82, 343, and 44—but over the years the highways were moved, so now it is at the rotary on highway 343.

Thursday, November 12:

Town Board meetings for Washington at 7pm and Union Vale, 7:30.

Late Night at Vassar’s Lehman Loeb. 5 to 9. (845) 437-7745 or fllac.vassar.edu.

Last Sunset Sensation at Locust Grove for 2009. Chef Ed Kowalksi from Lola’s Café. 5:30 – 7:30, www.lgny.org.

Into the Woods at The Hotchkiss School. Be careful what you wish for might be the caution for this fanciful musical that weaves together the lives of familiar characters from childhood fairytales who are put in novel situations. Thursday, Nov. 12, through Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 pm, with a matinee on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 2:30pm in the school’s Walker Auditorium to benefit the Sharon Audubon Society. $10 for adults, and $5 for students and senior citizens and may be reserved in advance by calling 860-435-3203 or purchased at the door.

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams?, directed by Estefi Fadul ‘10* (*senior project in Drama). Presented by the Experimental Theater of Vassar’s Drama Department. Through November 14. 8pm. Powerhouse Theater, 845-437-5584 or drama.vassar.edu.

Friday, November 13:

Vassar Camerata and Mahagonny Ensemble. Emily Bookwalter ’10, Nicholas Rocha ’11, Catherine O’Kelly ’11, and Mark Van Hare ’10, conductors. Selections will include “O vos omnes” by Pablo Casals, “Façade” by William Walton, and a new work by Nathan Hall ‘04. 8pm. Skinner Hall of Music, 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

VOTE. Download an absentee ballot application or find a candidate to give you the form. www.dutchesselections.com/Absentee_Voting/index.html. However, as it is within a week of the election, your best bet to have your vote counted is to visit the Board of Elections up to Monday, November 2.

Frankenstein’s Fortress in Stanfordville. Friday and Saturday 6:30 to 9:30, Sunday 6:30 to 8:30. $14 for adults, $5 for kids under 10. www.frankensteinsfortress.com and really is amazing. This year, the Lion’s Club Café has treats for the tricksters. Look for the orange slips – that reduces admission by $1. Ends on Halloween.

One of the many things I have learned going door to door on this campaign is how many people are unemployed and truly struggling. Please, please let me know if you are hiring and I’ll spread the word.

I’m finding plenty of kittens on the campaign trail too. Six kittens need homes. Six adult cats are possibly looking for homes too. Please let me know if you are interested and I’ll put you in touch with the humans.

The Bardavon and UPAC are having food drives, partnering with Cee Cee’s Free Food Pantry in Poughkeepsie and Queens Galley in Kingston to help feed local families for the holidays.
From 10/30 – 11/19, the Bardavon will be accepting non-perishable food items on behalf of Cee Cee’s Free Food Pantry (337 Mansion Street, Poughkeepsie), a nonprofit agency providing food to the needy for more than thirteen years. Food items may be dropped off at the theater (35 Market Street, Poughkeepsie) at performances or during regular Box Office hours (11am – 5pm Tuesday through Friday). Donations for Cee Cee’s are also being accepted at First Congregational Church (269 Mill Street, Poughkeepsie).
From 10/30- 11/20, UPAC will be accepting non-perishable food items as well as paper and cleaning products (soap, detergent, toilet paper, etc.) on behalf of Queens Galley (254 Washington Avenue, Kingston), a nonprofit organization providing relief, awareness, education, and prevention of food insecurity for the community. Food items may be dropped off at the theater (601 Broadway, Kingston) at performances or during regular Box Office hours (11am – 5pm Wednesday through Friday).
Of course, we have food pantries closer to home too. Check with Father Doug Fisher at Grace Church.

Expect great bargains on quality items at the Grace Church Tag Sale. Friday Nov 6, and Sat. Nov. 7, 9 AM-4:30 PM, with a Bag Sale Sun. Nov 8, 11 AM-1 PM, upstairs in the Grace Church Parish Hall (3330 Franklin Ave., Millbrook). Please call Helen Ashton 845-266-4389 for more info. Continue your bargain hunting on the main floor of the Parish Hall with a children’s rummage sale and bake sale sponsored by Millbrook Community Preschool at Grace on Saturday, November 7, from 9 AM-4:30 PM. The children’s rummage sale will feature gently used children’s clothing (infant-teen), books, DVDs, games, train tables, doll furniture, and more.

Works by local artists Gabriella Kiss and Chris Lehrecke, Warner Gallery, Holbrook Arts Center, Millbrook School through October 30. Gallery hours Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm, Saturday 8am to 1pm Sundays by appointment. Please contact Bill Hardy @ 845.677.8261 extension 132 or bhardy@millbrook.org.

1998 olds for sale; it has only had two owners. 138,000 miles/perfect motoring vehicle, probably never left the hudson valley except for a few trips to nyc. Contact bbsidesign@aol.com if interested.

Audition Notice for Falsettos. Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. Callbacks: Monday, November 2nd at 7 pm. The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck, 661 Route 308, Rhinebeck. Needed: actors/singers/dancers – All Parts are Open, 3 men – 25-45 year old. 3 women 25-40 year old, 1 boy – 10-13 years old. Prepare: A contemporary song (bring sheet music in correct key). Wear shoes/clothes appropriate for dancing. Performance dates: Feb. 12 – Feb 21, Fridays through Sundays. No appointment necessary. Falsettos is directed and choreographed by Kevin Archambault for CenterStage Productions. For further information, contact Mr. Archambault at kevinarch2002@yahoo.com.

Wednesday, October 28:

If you missed the Botany of Desire at the Millerton Moviehouse Columbus Day weekend, as I did, watch it on PBS tonight.

Community Visioning Workshop at the Millbrook Firehouse, 7pm. The results of the MasterPlan Survey can be viewed at www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=QxI2yaBcr7aflUpws5IRrEpeJTCw6Lmfv3WtQAjL5PI_3d.

Thursday, October 29:

Palmer Gallery Exhibition. An exhibition in honor of the celebration of the Hudson River Quadricentennial. 5pm. On view through December 18. James W. Palmer III Gallery, College Center, Main Building, (845) 437-5370 or palmergallery.vassar.edu.

Late Night at the Lehman Loeb. 5:00 – 9:00pm. (845) 437-7745 or fllac.vassar.edu.

One more goody at Vassar: Samuel R. Delany, award-winning novelist, critic, and professor of creative writing at Temple University, will give a public reading and lecture about his forthcoming novel, Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders. The program, free and open to the public, will begin at 7:00pm in the Villard Room on the second floor of the College Center in Vassar’s historic Main Building. There will be a question-and-answer session after the reading.

Open Mike Electric Night at Seany B’s. Stay up late on a school night and hear the tunes.

11th annual Williamstown Film Festival, October 29 – November 1, features films such as Peter Callahan’s Against the Current about a man who swims 150 miles in our own backyard–the Hudson River from Troy to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. www.williamstownfilmfest.com.

Friday, October 30:

The Future of Your Woods and Wildlife Workshop Comes to SUNY Ulster. Do you own wooded land in the Shawangunk Region? Would you like to get more from your land, or learn how to care for your land for future generations? Whether you own land for recreation or a place to get away from it all, to produce timber, or because you enjoy wildlife, this workshop will provide the information and tools needed to understand and deal with some of the issues facing woodland owners today. Woodland owners in the Shawangunk region in Orange and Ulster counties are encouraged to attend.
This workshop will take place at SUNY Ulster in Stone Ridge. There is $15 registration fee. Laura Heady at 845-256-3061. Register online www.dnr.cornell.edu/ext/pwt/bio/.

Tymor Park Safe Halloween Party for youths up to fifth grade. $3, 6 to 8pm. Wear your costume. An evening of food, music, games, scares, prizes and fun! And you don’t need to live in UV to participate.

Vassar, 8:00pm Music Faculty Recital. Richard Wilson, piano, with guest Joseph Genualdi, violin. Music of Mozart and Brahms. Skinner Hall of Music. 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

Symposium: John Cage at Bard College. The work of the influential American composer John Cage (1912–92) is alive at Bard College, where the John Cage Trust and its archives are housed. A concert of Cage’s chamber works will be performed by faculty and students of The Bard College Conservatory of Music. Free and open to the public. 7:30 p.m. Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. 845-758-7900 or www.fishercenter.bard.edu.

Bardavon shows Alfred Hitchcocks The Birds on the big screen. 7:30 show, but go early to hear the nifty old Wurlitzer Organ.

Pippin. This hip, tongue-in-cheek, anachronistic fairy tale captivated Broadway audiences and continues to appeal to the young at heart everywhere. The energetic pop-influenced score by three-time Oscar®-winning composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz (“Godspell,” “Children of Eden” and the animated films “Pocahontas,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “The Prince of Egypt”) bursts with one show-stopping number after another, from soaring ballads to infectious dance numbers. (845) 876-3080, www.centerforperformingarts.org. Oct. 30-Nov. 8. , 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays, The Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck.

Vienna Boys Choir at Trinity Pawling. www.pawlingconcertseries.org, 845-855-5634. 8pm. Wow. “With 500 years of history, this famous choir has a regal presence and an angelic sound”.

Rocktober at Seany B’s in Millbrook with the Last Rights. 9 – 10 ish start. 677-2282.

Saturday, October 31 (AKA Halloween, Hallowe’en, All Hallows Eve):

This is the final day at the Millbrook Farmers’ Market and they are having a party. In the spirit of Scott’s favorite holiday, they have a full day of activities including: a pumpkin carving demonstration by local artists Sharyn Faranda and Jeffrey Carey, fifth grader, Mason Blanchette will read, “Festival of Bones,” Sharita will do introductory readings based on your astrology and numerology, and Burt Carey and the Lucyfurz will play scary songs. Scott will make a stone soup from vendor offerings for the community to enjoy. Please plan to stop by and celebrate a great year of local food and a supportive community.
Audubon Pollywogs program from 10-11am and learn about pumpkins! If you have a 3 or 4 year old child, or can borrow one … bring them by (in costume if you like!) for this fun program! Pre-registration is preferred. 10:00-11:00am. $10.00 per adult/child pair ($3.00 each additional child). We’ll have a short lesson, read a book, make a craft and even have a tasty snack! www.sharon.audubon.org, (860) 364-0520.
Trick or Treat at the Fountains in Millbrook. 6:30 to 7:30. Children from the Millbrook community are invited to trick or treat at the Fountains at Millbrook as well as take a tour of their Haunted House. Please meet in the Main Lobby at 6:30 to be taken around the building to the apartments of participating residents. Questions or directions? Call the Community Life office at (845) 905 – 8014.
Symposium: John Cage at Bard College. The Fisher Center hosts the second of two performances during this symposium weekend: Dance Music for Elfrid Ide (1940); Amores (1943); Credo In Us (1942); Chess Pieces (1944; arranged by Brian Nozny, 2008). Legendary Toronto-based percussion quintet Nexus will perform. Free and open to the public. 8:00 p.m. Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. 845-758-7900 or www.fishercenter.bard.edu.

Sunday, November 1: All Saints Day, End of Daylight Savings so Fall behind one hour.

WVKR, 91.3, not only will I be on the radio for an interview with Jay, but so will Nora Gutherie. Wow! She’s Woody’s daughter and when she found dozens of songs in the attic, she contacted Billy Bragg and Wilco to record them, Mermaid Avenue. Show is from 6am to 9am. I’m on at the end, but plan to listen to the whole show so I can hear Nora.

Vassar Music Faculty Recital. Anna Polonsky, piano. Music of Schumann, Brahms, Debussy, and Honegger. 3:00pm. Skinner Hall of Music. 845-437-7294 or music.vassar.edu.

Monday, November 2: All Souls Day, Day of the Dead. Also, Full Beaver Moon, though sometimes the Frosty Moon.

Bard Lecture Series: “Self and Society in the Liberal Arts: Dante’s Inferno.” Giuseppe Mazzotta, Yale University. Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. 4:30 pm. inside.bard.edu/firstyear/.

Union Vale Historical Society meets, 7:30, at the Fountains.

Tuesday, November 3:

GO VOTE! Polls open 6am to 9pm. Local elections are very important. Please go vote!

Bard Conservatory students in concert. Olin Hall, noon. 845-758-7196 or conservatory@bard.edu.

Vassar, Peter Andreas, director of the international studies program and associate professor of political science at Brown University, will examine the 1992–95 battle for Sarajevo. The lecture, free and open to the public, will be based upon the topic of Andreas’s recent book Blue Helmets and Black Markets: The Business of Survival in the Siege of Sarajevo and will begin at 5:00pm in Rockefeller Hall, Room 300. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation.

Wednesday, November 4:

National Climate Seminar at Bard. “Copenhagen Prospects.” Andrew Revkin, New York Times. The National Climate Seminar is a biweekly, national phone conversation featuring top climate scientists, political leaders, and policy analysts. 3pm. www.bard.edu/cep/ncs/, cep@bard.edu, 845-758-7073.

An exhibit of Paintings by artist Staats Fasoldt at The Gardiner Library. The show will consist of watercolors and oils inspired by the Hudson Valley. Staats received a MFA in painting from SUNY New Paltz and has taught at The Woodstock School of Art for 25 years. http://ulster.net/~staats/index.html. Artists reception Sunday November 15th from 3-5pm. Through December 29.

Thursday, November 5:

Late Night at Vassar’s Lehman Loeb. 5 to 9pm.

“Emerson High” at the Cunneen-Hackett in Poughkeepsie. A new play exploring the complexities of human relationships and how we each arrive at our own version of what is moral. This is opening night and a pay what you can. The play runs to November 15. www.halfmoontheatre.org, 888-718-4253.