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A time of ferment: The rise and legacy of Poughkeepsie brewing tycoon Matthew Vassar

A time of ferment: The rise and legacy of Poughkeepsie brewing tycoon Matthew Vassar

Matthew Vassar barely acquired any formal education, being kicked out of night school after throwing a bottle of ink at the schoolmaster who had just smacked him in the head with a ruler. A niece named Lydia Booth, who had begun her teaching career as a private tutor and opened the Cottage Hill Seminary on Poghkeepsie’s Garden Street, was the first to plant in Matthew’s mind the notion that a fully accredited college for women was direly needed.

11 Jane Street hosts Linda Mary Montano’s Art/Life/Death 78th BirthdayArama Party

11 Jane Street hosts Linda Mary Montano’s Art/Life/Death 78th BirthdayArama Party

Saturday, Jan. 25: Known among other things for her multiyear “endurance art” pieces, for her Sacred Sex workshops with Annie Sprinkle and Barbara Carrellas, for founding the Art/Life Institute in Kingston, for having spent two years as a nun and for fascination with the subjects of chickens and death, internationally renowned performance artist Linda Mary Montano regularly returns to her birthplace, Saugerties, for an audience-participation event.

Levin Brothers play Senate Garage

Levin Brothers play Senate Garage

Saturday, Jan. 25: Individually, the Levin Brothers have been involved in some of the most daring and experimental music of the last 50 years: Tony cutting a striking figure as bassist and Chapman-stick player with Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, his own project Stickmen and many more; Pete working more behind-the-scenes as an ace keyboardist and first-call synthesist on the legendary New York session scene of the ’70s and beyond, moving effortlessly between jazz and pop.

Chico Freeman plays the Falcon

Chico Freeman plays the Falcon

Sunday, Jan. 26: The jewel of Marlboro welcomes the legendary saxophonist and composer Chico Freeman, who has spent more than 40 years in the center of the modern jazz maelstrom, mostly as a leader and as sideman with McCoy Tyner, Lester Bowie, Jack DeJohnette, Wynton Marsalis and others.