Entertainment

Hudson launches Summerfest

Hudson launches Summerfest

Saturday, August 19: Performers at this inaugural event include NRBQ, Matchstick Architects, Black Mountain Symphony & the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus. The library tent will present readings by authors and illustrators and art demonstrations by Etsy volunteers. 

Armor & the man

Armor & the man

On view until August 26: Artist Ernest Shaw explores what it means to be mortal at ASK gallery in Kingston. “All living things develop some kind of metaphorical armor – even plants and bacteria. Anxiety is an essential part of surviving.”

Jazz great Jimmy Cobb performs at Opus 40

Jazz great Jimmy Cobb performs at Opus 40

Saturday, August 19: Any other jazz eminences have stumbled on the rocks of Harvey Fite’s spectacular sculpture park, including local residents and jazz titans like DeJohnette, Holland, Abercrombie and (one-time local resident) Metheny. Still, there is something pretty special about this one: drummer Jimmy Cobb, the last surviving member of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue ensemble (a group that included John Coltrane, Bill Evans and Cannonball Adderley) takes to the rocks.

Bard spotlights Chopin’s influences & solo piano works

Bard spotlights Chopin’s influences & solo piano works

Friday, August 18: In symphonies and other large-scale orchestral works, composers stake their claims, craft their legacies and position themselves in the traditions. Chamber works and – especially – solo piano music, on the other hand, are more likely to be the composer’s secret heart-songs and experimental diaries. This is why I so much prefer them. 

Kids’ Almanac (Aug. 17-24)

Kids’ Almanac (Aug. 17-24)

Stage IV breast cancer: a family affair; eclipse-viewing parties; Dirt: The Secret Life of Soil; Bindlestiff Family Cirkus at Hudson Summerfest; Bear Fair in Cragsmoor; and Volunteer Day with fireworks in Woodstock.

The near-death laughter of Malachy McCourt

The near-death laughter of Malachy McCourt

During the course of his life, writer and raconteur Malachy McCourt started the first singles’ bar in America, was a concrete inspector on the New Jersey Turnpike, a pioneer in talk radio, a soap opera star and a candidate for governor of the state of New York. Now he turns his gaze to Death.

Check out the Historic Village Diner in Red Hook

Check out the Historic Village Diner in Red Hook

It’s a classic of its type: a Silk City Diner, known in its day as the Cadillac of diners. Roughly 1,500 of them were turned out by the company between 1926 and 1966. The counter’s original Formica top bears the dark wear marks of hundreds of thousands of elbows bent over as many cups of coffee.