The biggest barbecue gathering in this region happens every August at the Ulster County Fairgrounds, where the 15th annual Hudson Valley RibFest will be held Friday through Sunday, August 16-18. The event goes on rain or shine, and parking is plentiful and free.
This weekend: Unlike the gallery experience, in which one rarely meets the exhibiting artist, an open studio tour is a two-way street, where visitors get to ask questions of the artists and the artists get feedback. Visitors have the opportunity to see works-in-progress as well as completed works, and some of the artists offer a hands-on experience.
Nina Smiley and Eric Gullickson of Mohonk Mountain House have launched an all-new ice cream flavor in commemoration of the hotel’s 150th anniversary. The new signature flavor, named Mohonk Mountain Crunch, features a rich vanilla base, chocolate-covered pretzels, dark chocolate fudge, and a salted caramel swirl. It was created in collaboration with Jane’s Ice Cream , a family-run creamery in the Hudson Valley.
In the seven years since Sevan Melikyan opened Wired Gallery in High Falls, he’s become known in these parts as
Unison Arts Center has mounted a year-long exhibition designed to disappear on its own. “Composed to Decompose,” the 21st annual show to be featured in the art center sculpture garden, opened Sunday, July 21 and will remain on view through July 2020.
Saturday, July 27: The Ulster County Volunteer Firemen’s Association has held a parade every summer for nearly a century, but this year’s 84th annual parade will be special.
Rambling Rose clientele, who have come to rely on the shop owner’s expertise in fashion, may be surprised to learn that Mazur is going into real estate sales. As one of her longtime customers put it so succinctly, she will be going “from dresses to addresses.”
Now that New York State has removed the religious exemption that allowed parents to refuse to vaccinate their children on grounds of faith-based beliefs, the New Paltz Central School District has amended its official policy with regard to immunization requirements for students.
Friday, July 12-Sunday, July 14: Want to take a flight in a hot-air balloon, or go aloft on a tethered ride? No problem. A helicopter ride more your speed? Yeah, you can do that, too. Or do you just want to take in the spectacle of more than 100 hot-air balloons launching throughout the weekend? Or view the Illumination Moon Glow on Friday and Saturday evenings: a stationary display of hot-air balloons with their burners fired up, glowing against the night sky? A greater number than ever of the eyecatching “shape balloons” are expected this year – which have included lighthouses, cartoon animals and even a tuxedo balloon – and the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome will get into the act, too, with an antique airplane display and flyovers (wind and weather permitting, as is true of all flight activities over the weekend).
“The beauty of ballooning here is the topography,” says Chris Healy, a balloonist with 33 years experience. “It’s just a beautiful place to fly. I’ve flown most places in the country, and if you’re flying in California, or Arizona, out toward the desert, you’ve really got to like brown. And if you’re going to fly down South, you’ve got to like flat. But here we’ve got the Shawangunk Ridge to the north, we’ve got the valley carved out by a glacier and the Hudson River. Rolling green hills, farmland, lakes and streams: This really is one of the best areas in the whole country to fly in.”