Arm-of-the-Sea will unveil its latest Esopus Creek Puppet Suite, titled Bending the Crick of Time: True Tall Tales from Old Saugerties, in its hometown at Saugerties’ Tina Chorvas Waterfront Park on August 23, 24 and 25. Visit https://armofthesea.org/current-offerings/esopus-creek-puppet-suite for more about the new production.
In September, the troupe will visit Town of Olive Day at Davis Park in West Shokan; visit https://olivefreelibrary.org for details on the September 7 performance. And the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival in Saugerties will host two performances daily on September 28 and 29; buy tickets and find out more at https://hvgf.org.
Open-Air Performances, Arm-of-the-Sea Theater, June 15-September 29, various mid-Hudson venues, mostly free; (845) 246-7873, https://armofthesea.org.
Festivals & Events
7/12-14: Hudson Valley Chalk Art Festival in New Paltz
Last year’s first-ever Hudson Valley Chalk Art Festival brought chalk artists from all over to New Paltz’s Water Street Market to create gorgeous ephemeral art, and over 4,000 spectators turned out to watch them at work and enjoy the results. Admission is free for viewers. For more info, visit https://hudsonvalleychalkfestival.com.
7/20-21: Rosendale Street Festival to feature 74 bands
The long-running, all-volunteer-run Rosendale Street Festival seems to get bigger and better every year, jamming downtown Rosendale with festive crowds of appreciative listeners as the best local bands (and some more widely famed) rock out at six separate locations, all within easy walking distance. Streets will be closed to auto traffic, but shuttles will operate from large parking areas on the periphery. The music lineup for 2013 had not yet been announced as of presstime, so check https://rosendalestreetfestival.ning.com for more details as Festival weekend nears.
7/20-21: Shandaken Arts Festival and Studio Tour
Already, 34 artists in the Shandaken/Phoenicia/Chichester/Mount Tremper are signed up to open their studios to visitors during the Shandaken Arts Festival weekend! There will also be special exhibitions set up at locations yet to be announced, mostly outdoors. For more info, including a self-guided tour map, visit www.shandakenart.com.
7/30-8/4: Ulster County Fair in New Paltz
The quintessential city-escape summer day trip is a visit to a county fair, and Ulster County’s 144-year-old tradition still hangs onto that old-timey flavor. It has all the requisite attractions of a larger fair – midway rides, carnival games, livestock and produce competitions, equestrian events, tractor pulls, racing pigs, country music acts, fireworks, junky fair food and so on – but on a manageable human scale. Your family can see most everything in a long day and come home tired but happy. The County Fair opens at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, which is Carload Night: $40 admission for the whole crew. On Wednesday through Sunday, the Fairgrounds open at 10 a.m. and the rides start running at 11, with your $15 wristband getting you into all rides, exhibits and entertainment (games of chance cost extra). The Ulster County Fairgrounds, located at 249 Libertyville Road on the west side of the Wallkill from New Paltz, offer ample free parking. For more info including the schedule of evening musical entertainment, visit www.ulstercountyfair.com.
