Events 06.23.22

Strawberry Festival to Benefit Stephentown Historical Society

Once again, Strawberry Shortcake will be the star at the 40th Annual Strawberry Festival to be held June 26th at Gardner’s Ice Cream and Coffee Shoppe. Gardner’s is located at 15879 NY Route 22 in Stephentown (just south of the traffic light at the intersection with Route 43). This is a fund raiser for the Stephentown Historical Society and will run from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Fresh strawberries will be served on your choice of sponge cake or homemade biscuits with whipped cream, or add ice cream for “the works”! Homemade strawberry rhubarb pies will also be available for purchase – choose “a la mode” or take home a whole pie! In addition, you will find various historical albums, t-shirts, and other Historical Society memorabilia. For additional information, contact 732-841-3457 or 518-733-5923.

The Stephentown Strawberry Festival began in 1982 when the Historical Society was still in its infancy and preparing for the town’s 1984 bicentennial celebration. Over the years, as close as we can tell, volunteers from the society have prepared and served up over 8000 servings of this summer favorite. We hope to see you there!

The SVFD’s Car Show Is Happening On Saturday, August 20, 2022.

Cruise on down to Stephentown on Saturday, August 20 to check out the Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department’s Car Show from 10 AM – 2 PM. 

Antique Autos, Classic Cars, Antique Tractors, Hot Rods, and Antique Fire Trucks! Plus food, vendors, and raffles. There is something for everyone to enjoy.

The entry fee for vehicles is just $10. Door prizes and trophies will be awarded. Walk-ins and spectators enter for free, but a donation is suggested.

Vendors are also welcome; tables are available for $10. If you are interested in reserving a spot, please email us at stephentownfiredepartment@nullgmail.com.

RAIN DATE: Sunday, August 21

Grafton Lakes State Park to Hold Dance in the Park

Grafton Lakes State Park will host a Dance in the Park event on Saturday, July 9th. Kick off the summer by getting moving and dancing the evening away! Pre-registration is encouraged for the lessons. Dance in the Park is open to dancers at all levels of experience with or without a partner. Open dancing will follow the lessons and demos. 

Have you been itching to dance, but there hasn’t been the opportunity recently? Come out to the park for this unique summer event. Grafton Lakes State Park is offering lessons for two styles of dance: clogging and freestyle swing dance.

Hill Country Cloggers will be leading a demo at 3pm on the Rabbit Run Pavilion followed by a short instruction (no specific shoes needed). The second and third lessons of the evening will be taught by Alpha Dual Adventures and will cover freestyle swing (concrete floor). Mixed tape music will follow the swing dance performance. Light refreshments will be available.

Schedule:

3pm-4pm- Clogging- presentation and lesson, Hill Country Cloggers

4pm-5pm- Beginner Swing Dance lesson, Alpha Dual Adventures

5pm-6pm- Intermediate Swing Dance lesson, Alpha Dual Adventures

6pm- Swing Dance performance, Alpha Dual Adventures

6:15pm-8pm- Open dancing DJ music

Lessons are $6 for singles or $10 for couples. Sign up for two lessons and get the third for free! No charge for the open dance.

Pre-registration for lessons encouraged. Dance in the Park will take place at the Rabbit Run Pavilion. Swing dance lessons are geared towards adults, minimum age of 14 (no age minimum for clogging or the live music). No partner required. Call 518-279-1155 to register.

Independence Day Celebration at Schuyler Mansion

On Monday, July 4th, 2022, Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site invites the public to attend an old-fashioned Independence Day celebration on the mansion grounds, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. This event is free and open to the public.

There will be a variety of 18th century inspired activities that may be sampled throughout the afternoon, including demonstrations of candle-dipping, tin-smithing, and natural dying. “Dr. Stringer,” Philip Schuyler’s physician, will discuss the fascinating subject of 18th-century medicine.

Special appearances include the Gratto Variety Show, that delights crowds with juggling, stilt-walking and other amazing feats of daring, along with performances of the historic Punch & Judy Puppet Show, presented by the Punch Bowl Sister and, of course, Rural Felicity, who will regale the crowd with the Fife & Drum.

In addition, visitors can play Historic Cherry Hill’s “Hudson River Trading Game,” or visit the “Hands-On History” tent where children and their families may enjoy signing the Declaration of Independence with quill pens, crafts, and playing with colonial games and toys.

Schuyler Mansion will be available for Open House (self-guided) tours from noon to 4:00 p.m. free of charge. Free Stewarts Shops ice cream, and a reading of the Declaration of Independence will round out the holiday. Please note: street parking only

Schuyler Mansion is located at 32 Catherine Street in Albany’s historic South End and was the 18th-century home of Revolutionary War Major-General Philip Schuyler (1733-1804) and his family. The mansion is open for guided tours Wednesday through Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (through Oct 30th). For further information, please visit www.parks.ny.gov or find us on social media.

Sand Lake Center for the Arts

Sand Lake Center for the Arts presents Wine & Sweets on June 28 from 6-8pm. Come and join SLCA and this event’s sponsors, Nancy and Michael Perry, Susanne and Steve Keller, Raona and John Roy, and Sean and Andrea Fagan to sample wines donated by Joseph Carr from Josh Cellars and sweets by Piping Dreams. Tickets are $20 each and include 2 glasses of wine and select sweets tastings. Reserve your spot today at www.slca-ctp.org or by calling the office at 518-674-2007.

Sand Lake Center for the Arts has summer camps still available for your children grades 6 – 12:

Script to Screen runs August 1 – 5 from 9am – 3pm. Campers spend the week making an original film with Westfield Productions.

Theater Camp runs August 8 – 12 from 9am – 3pm. Campers will spend the week conceptualizing, writing, producing and acting in an original piece of theater with Brian Sheldon.

Each camp costs $100 per child. Sign up on www.slca-ctp.org or by calling the office at 518-674-2007.

Sand Lake Center for the Arts announces auditions for The Lyons by Nicky Silver, directed by Dennis Skiba. Auditions will be held June 27 and 29 at 6:30 pm at SLCA. Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. See www.slca-ctp.org for a list of available roles and a description of the play. Production dates for the play are September 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 at SLCA.

Poestenkill Historical Society Annual Concert-on-the Green

On Sunday afternoon, June 26th, from l to 4PM we are pleased to announce we will be holding our annual concert. Keller & McGowan Duo will be performing for us again this year. It will be held on the Town Hall lawn. This will be held rain or shine – we have a large canopy. Don’t forget to bring your chairs or blanket. Light refreshments will be available. Hope to see you all there!

Award winning poet Frank X. Gaspar reading at Arts Letters and Numbers

Arts Letters & Numbers is pleased to announce a reading by award-winning poet and author Frank X. Gaspar on June 29th at 6 PM in the ALN arts studio, 2nd floor, 1548 Burden Lake Road, Averill Park, NY. The program is open to the public.

Mr. Gaspar is the author of six collections of poetry and two novels, and his work has appeared widely in magazines and literary journals, including The New Yorker, The Nation, The Harvard Review, The Hudson Review, The Kenyon Review, The Georgia Review, The American Poetry Review, The Southern Review, Prairie Schooner, The Tampa Review, Miramar, among others. Among his many awards are the Morse, Anhinga, and Brittingham Prizes for poetry, multiple inclusions in Best American Poetry, four Pushcart Prizes, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Literature, and a California Arts Council Fellowship in poetry. He was a John Atherton Fellow at Bread Loaf, and a Walter Dakin Fellow at Sewanee. His debut novel, Leaving Pico was a Barnes and Noble Discovery Prize winner, a recipient of the California Book Award for First Fiction and a New York Times Notable Book (paperback edition). His second novel Stealing Fatima was a MassBook of the Year in Fiction (Massachusetts Foundation for the Book). 

Mr. Gaspar has held the Helio and Amelia Pedrosa/Luso-American Foundation Endowed Chair at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and the Ferrol A. Sams Distinguished Chair, Writer in Residence at Mercer University. He teaches in the MFA Writing Program at Pacific University, Oregon. 

Frank was born and raised in the Portuguese community of Provincetown, Massachusetts. His Azorean ancestors, from Pico and Sao Miguel, were traditionally whalers and Grand-Banks fishermen, sailing out of the Islands and then Provincetown. Frank served with the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. His poetry and fiction have received serious critical attention both in Portugal and in the United States. A donation of $10 is suggested but not required.

Nassau July 4th Party

The community is invited to celebrate July 4th Independence Day on the lawn of Grace United Methodist Church, Nassau, from 11:00am to 2:00pm. 

The Hudson Valley-Berkshires Interfaith Network together with Grace UMC will host the event which will also recognize Pastor Dion Marquit’s years of service in Nassau. Beef hot dogs, watermelon and ice cream will be provided by the organizers. Guests are asked to BYO chair, and a food item (salad, dessert, etc.) to share with the group. 

This is an alcohol-free event. Gather with us and your neighbors as we celebrate our American tradition of religious freedom, peace, and recognizing the unity of all in these United States. There will be a reading of the Declaration of Independence at 12:30 by volunteers. Music from 1:00 to 2:00 with the Church Street Stompers. In the event of inclement weather, activities will be moved indoors at the Church.

To Love A Child Announces 2nd Annual Nine And Dine Charity Golf Scramble
Seeks Golfers, Sponsors And In-Kind Donations

CLIFTON PARK – To Love A Child announces it’s Second Annual Nine and Dine Golf Scramble on Friday, July 22, 2022 at the Fairways of Halfmoon Golf Course to benefit two special programs.  The Thyme to Thrive Educational Program in the Capital Region, which focuses on slowly transitioning individuals of all ages into a healthier lifestyle thru mini camps and workshops for kids and teens. The second program is Food Forests & Clean Water in Zimbabwe where we will be planting indigenous trees, vegetable gardens, and fruit bearing bushes to enhance the country’s health, food sources, and maintain the natural balance of life between animals, plants, fungi, and micro-organisms. 

Golfers are welcome to sign up for golf and non-golfers are encouraged to join us for dinner.

Advance registration is a must as limited spots are available. $85 per person includes 9 holes of golf with cart, prizes and a delicious dinner. Dinner only attendees are $45 per person with cocktails and dinner at 6:15 pm. 

Sponsor opportunities are available: Dinner Sponsor $500, $250 Cocktail Sponsor, Contest and Prize Sponsors, Golf favor bag in-kind donations are available. Wonderful opportunity to promote your business to local attendees and support children.

Visit www.toloveachild.net for more detailed information on this fun filled event and for registration and sponsor forms. Send sponsor donations and golfer registration forms to PO Box 165, Clifton Park, NY 12065. Questions? Call 518-859-4424 or email directoratTLC@nullaol.com. We thank you for your support and look forward to seeing you on the course.

Town of North Greenbush Summer Concert Series

Kicking off our first Summer Concert of the 2022 season is “Harmony Rocks” on Sunday, June 26th. The band starts at 6pm behind town hall in the gazebo at 2 Douglas Street in Wynantskill. There will be wonderful music for the adults while the children can play on the playground during this event. 

Last year, folks brought their dancin’ shoes and had a great time enjoying the fresh evening air while relaxing to their favorite hits. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and get ready for a fun filled evening in North Greenbush.

Town of North Greenbush Summer Concert Series Announced

This is going to be an exciting year as we kick-off our biggest Summer Concert Series yet. Supervisor Joe Bott would like to invite you to the concerts on Sundays at 6pm at the Gazebo at Town Hall Park on Main Avenue (2 Douglas Street) in Wynantskill. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets and dancing shoes (or boots) and get ready for a rockin’ good time. This is truly a mix of different musical genres, offering something for everyone. If you have any questions, please contact Deputy Town Supervisor Kelly Hoffman at (518) 283-5313, x5. If concerts are canceled due to inclement weather, we will try to have it posted on the town website at www.townofng.com and the front sign as soon as feasibly possible. 

6/26 – Harmony Rocks

7/3 – Donny Elvis

7/10 – Southbound Renegade

7/17 – The Refrigerators

7/21 – Jet Crash Billy

7/31 – Emerald City

8/7 – Harmonie Duo

8/14 – Kyle Bourgault Band

We look forward to seeing ya’ll soon!