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.