Brickyard-goers relax during one of the Smorgasburg events.
Kingston’s Hutton Brickyards is getting set for another summer season that will feature expanded facilities, riverside “glamping” and a food festival showcasing regional cuisine.
Los Angeles-based MWest purchased the former Hutton Brickyard on Kingston’s Hudson River waterfront back in 2015. Since then, the company has worked to transform the once-ragged former industrial site into a scenic event venue for everything from weddings and corporate retreats to craft shows and rock concerts. Last year, following a season that included the Smorgasburg food festival and a pair of concerts by music icon Bob Dylan, the Kingston Planning Board approved a five-year special use permit to allow the company to continue operating the venue.
Since last summer, the company has added a number of upgrades and expansions intended to create a more user-friendly site. According to MWest CEO Karl Slovin, the changes include a doubling of parking spaces to provide 1,000 spots, expanded restroom facilities, the addition of permanent bars, dressing rooms, office space and a prep kitchen. Slovin added that the Brickyard had also undertaken a major landscaping project to “green up and soften” the look of the site. Slovin said much of the work had been informed by missteps and growing pains experienced over the past two summer seasons. Among the changes is the replacement of Smorgasburg — a popular Brooklyn-based food festival — with a new, produced-in-house event called “Hutton Fare.”
Slovin said the concept came about after Smorgasburg announced that it would discontinue its run at the brickyard to focus on larger events in New York City.
“The decision was taken that we would bring in some event consultants and learn from everything that went on last year to make it bigger, faster and stronger,” said Slovin.
The show will eliminate Smorgasburg’s craft element to focus solely on hot prepared food and packaged food products from the Hudson Valley. The event will take place over the weekends of July 21-22, Aug. 18-19, Sept. 15-16 and Oct. 20-21. Hutton Brickyards is currently soliciting applications from potential vendors.
“The Hudson Valley is renowned for its handmade, fresh, local food and drinks,” said Slovin. “We are looking forward to showcasing those items in this one-of-a-kind community experience.”
In addition to the food festival, the brickyard will host the return of “Field and Supply,” a high-end craft fair curated by New York City designer Brad Ford on Columbus Day weekend. The brickyard, said Slovin, has also added high end camping experiences — known as “glamping” to its offerings. MWest has partnered with Brooklyn-based Terra Glamping for the effort. The company provides roomy tents outfitted with queen-sized beds, carpets and furnishings along with equally luxurious dining and lounge accommodations. Slovin said the glamping company would allow the brickyard to host overnight guests for weddings and other events.
“It essentially allows us to create a seasonal hotel starting in the late spring and running into the fall,” said Slovin.
Yes. Focus on the local–and add a few food trucks. Always thought Smorg was too commercial/corporate for that site.
Also, it’d be nice to drag that music barge (Counterpoint?) up here and provide a truly unique concert venue. Make it weird. Weird sells…
Agree! Who wants to pay for overpriced food from the city when we have plenty of other options here in the Hudson Valley. Fresh is better and local fare makes more sense. Music Barge? No so sure….
Agree on the ‘local’ piece – but all of that food WAS local!
Just so you know and understand. It was.
Just because a restaurant or shop owner from ‘someplace else’ wants to visit our community and BE WELCOMED we should be mindful that the supply and sources of the ingredients pretty much came from the Ulster County area. And that ‘local’ is actually defined as food from sources within 100 miles of a location.
Remember gang…it’s the ‘transplants’ and ‘city’ folk who are currently driving almost all of the economic growth, restoration, and small-business momentum in Kingston because the LOVE IT HERE and WE SHOULD WELCOME THEM. This should NEVER be a US vs THEM situation
because we are very dependent on them.
(Now, you can dislike that reality, but it is the reality. Tourism, food, and hospitality are the single most powerful economic driver in Kingston and Ulster County. So those of us around here who hold a chip on their shoulder about that need to change their shirt and start fresh. No one is coming here to ‘steal’ the town or ‘take over the town’ they really do care about this place.
Think about it – they’re investing their money, their physical labor, their time (working the 40-60 hour week in the city and then working the long weekends to restore properties, open small
businesses that hire US and invest in US.) They don’t have to, they want to. They care about this place. That’s a hefty load for folks to bear and it is always extremely disappointing to see ‘locals’ who simply view ‘city people and outsiders’ as rich, lazy folk who want to take over. That is just not the reality. And remember…many of today’s ‘locals’ are city transplants who put in crazy amounts of sweat equity in our town.
So try to be kind. We should be so lucky.
In short – let’s all be nice! When we aren’t it is only a reflection on US.
Many of us work in the city and invest in our properties here so don’t talk to me about being nice! Flipping properties is not about being NICE!
I LOVE how you just interjected your own perception on my comment. NO WHERE DID I SAY ANYTHING ABOUT FLIPPING PROPERTIES!!! READ, SISTER, READ!!! TAKE DOWN YOUR OWN BIAS AND READ!!! I AM TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO COME HERE AND OPEN SHOPS – KINGSTON WINE CO; BRUNETTE WINE BAR; EXIT 19; BLUE CASHEW; CLOVE & CREEK; OAK; KOVOS; HAMILTON & ADAMS; NEW HOTELS – THESE PEOPLE LIVE HERE -FULL TIME!!! BOUGHT HOUSES AND LIVE IN THEM, FULLTIME; OWN SHOPS FULLTIME; HIRE LOCALS, FULLTIME. JUST TO LIST A FEW OF THE DOZENS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE INVESTING IN KINGSTON.
SHAME ON YOU!!!
SHAME ON YOU!!!
YOU LIE IF YOU CLAIM I’M TALKING ABOUT FLIPPERS.
Actually, IF YOU ARE SAYING YOU WORK INTHE CITY AND LIVE HERE – THEN YOU ARE THE ONE WHO’S USING AND ABUSING.
YOU ARE THE ONE BEING UNKIND, YOU ARE THE ONE WHO LIES.
OWN IT, GIRL.
Um, no one is talking about flipping properties except you.
I agree with the other person – Be Nice. You are not being nice.
Truth.
Susan, why so hateful? Do you have any figures on the number of “flipped” properties? If you want to comment then do so factually, thoughtfully and NOT hatefully. “Kind and Smart” sets a good example. You should follow it “Susan.”
Stop your preaching! You are naive if you think that Kind and Smart is just that.