Culture is a space for reporting on creative, historical, and personal stories that shape the artistic character of our region
Woodstock Artists Cemetery Preserves Town’s History in Stone
The Woodstock Artists Cemetery began with a father seeking a place to bury his teenage son. Since 1934, the hillside burial ground has become a record of the people who helped shape the town. The Woodstock Memorial Society, the nonprofit that runs the cemetery off Mountain View Avenue, has about 50 burial plots available. In…
Felice Brothers Film Captures Band’s Ambitions and Anxieties
Even when you’re in a local band with fans that include Wesley Schultz of the Lumineers and Conor Oberst, getting signed to a major record label and receiving an advance on sales can be…
A Film 18 Years in the Making Found Its Footing in a Hudson Valley WhatsApp Group
Matthew Dougherty moved to Bearsville in 2017 with enough savings to spend a year making a movie. Nearly a decade into his first documentary, he needed time to work without the expense and demands…
For Four Generations of Avery Artists, Woodstock Is Common Ground
Overlook Mountain, Cooper Lake, and the trees and wildlife around Woodstock appear again and again in the Avery family’s art. Across four generations, the landscapes have remained familiar even as each artist has found…
In Woodstock, Thomas Edison’s Piano Finds an Audience
Five years ago, piano broker Robert Friedman, known as “the Steinway Hunter,” stumbled upon Thomas Edison’s piano while browsing a Long Island estate sale website. Today, the instrument sits in Rondavid Gold’s Woodstock home,…
WAAM Studio Tour Invites Visitors Into Artists’ Creative Spaces
At Betsey Regan’s studio, an art tour can turn into a salon. At Roger Ricco’s property, visitors can wander through a meadow planted for pollinators. In Gail Albert’s kitchen, about 30 photographs will offer…
At Levon Helm Studios, the Last Shows for Now Signal an Uncertain Future
Cindy greeted people as she normally did. Parking lot staff and part-timers smoked cigarettes and talked about the old nights as cars came in. The smell of cannabis hung in the air. It was…
A Guide to Fall Festivities in the Catskills
As summer officially comes to a close and the maple trees start to drop their leaves, it’s time to indulge in all things Autumn. The Catskill’s uniquely beautiful landscapes will be highlighted this season…
Writers of the Catskills: In Conversation With Lisajoy Sachs
Lisajoy Sachs, 55, has visited the Windham area with her family throughout her life and has lived in town for the past 18 months. She has published two historical novels inspired by her grandmother’s…
From Bali to Big Indian, a Journey Told Through iPhone Videos
A Big Indian resident who spent three months traveling across Asia will present a film about his trip Friday, assembled from videos he shot on his iPhone. Stephen LaMarca’s “Trekkin’ the Ring of Fire:…
On 9/11’s 25th Anniversary, Woodstock Firefighters Climbed Overlook Mountain
The Woodstock Fire Department held its eighth annual 2-mile hike up Overlook Mountain on Sept. 11, honoring first responders on the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The hike commemorated firefighters’ ascent through the…
Woodstock Film Festival Lineup Brings Catskills Stories to the Big Screen
Volunteer firefighters in the Catskills, a Woodstock painter, and a chance conversation with a stranger in town will reach the screen next month at the 27th Woodstock Film Festival. The festival, running Oct. 14–18…
The Day the Dalai Lama Came to Woodstock
Thousands gathered at Woodstock’s Andy Lee Field on a cool, clear afternoon in September 2006 to hear the Dalai Lama speak. Word-of-mouth had spread news of the free talk, drawing neighbors from across town…
How the Catskills Remember 9/11
Ram Singal was writing an email in the World Trade Center’s North Tower at 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, when the building shook. At first, he thought an earthquake had struck. Then the…
In Maplecrest, Ceramicists Find Their Shape in Clay
Catskill-based artist Eileen Sackman has worked with ceramics for more than 25 years, making plates, cups, vases, and other pieces. Many prominently feature endangered animals. “It’s anywhere from near-threatened to endangered or extinct animals,”…
Tiny Kitchen, Big Pizza at Ralph’s Bar and Bowling in Big Indian
Near the Slide Mountain trailhead and Big Indian Wilderness, a bright-red barn houses Ralph’s Bar and Bowling, a lively gathering place for residents, tourists, and pizza lovers. Inside, cowboy decor, taxidermied animals, and cow…
Opus 40 Benefit Celebrates Mohawk Language and Culture
As the sky turned golden and crickets began to chirp at Opus 40 on Saturday, Theresa Bear Fox, a singer-songwriter from the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory in upstate New York, took the stage to hoots…
Revolutionary War Veterans Honored With New Footstones
The Woodstock Cemetery Committee and American Legion Post 1026 dedicated new grave markers to two Revolutionary War veterans during a ceremony Thursday, Sept. 3, at Woodstock Cemetery on Rock City Road. The committee, American…
In Hunter, Artists Use Stone-Carving to Help Shape a Tradition
Kevin VanHentenryck was studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan when he saw a film that changed his life. “Savage Messiah,” released in 1972, traces the life of French sculptor Henri…
Irish Dance Steps Into the Next Generation At an East Durham Feis
On Feis day, the tense waiting is part of the performance. Young Irish stepdancers, some as young as 5, stand shoulder to shoulder beneath a pavilion at the Michael J. Quill Irish Cultural Center…
Mary Frank Has Never Looked Away
Mary Frank plucks what looks like a spoiled mushroom from her garden in Bearsville. Rosie, her trusty Havanese, stays close as Mary squeezes the mushroom between her fingers, releasing a cloud of spores into…
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