Culture is a space for reporting on creative, historical, and personal stories that shape the artistic character of our region
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 life and completed four more manuscripts in the six-book series. Her biggest challenge as a new writer, she said, has been…
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…
Dolly Parton’s Generosity Came in Gestures Grand and Small
In 2005, Woodstock musician Larry Campbell was rehearsing with a band backing Dolly Parton for a string of television appearances. His wife, Teresa Williams, had a family friend in Tennessee, where she grew up,…
Woodstock Band Big Deep Will Play Free Show at Happy Life Productions
Woodstock band Big Deep will play a free show Saturday, Aug. 22, on the front porch of Happy Life Productions as part of the Woodstock Music Walk. The performance begins at 6 p.m. at…
Late Jazz Drummer Jack DeJohnette Celebrated as Fans Throng UPAC
Decades ago, bass player Dave Holland was summoned to the U.S. to perform with the legendary Miles Davis, who had seen him play at Ronnie Scott in London and wanted him for a gig…
Inaugural Catskills Book Festival Draws Crowd to West Kill
In the Catskills, reading is alive and well, according to author Glynnis MacNicol. “This idea that people aren’t reading is not actually true,” she said. “It’s not my experience as an author, it’s not…
A Record 46 Artists Open Their Doors in Saugerties
The Saugerties Artists Studio Tour will be held Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 8 and 9, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. With 46 artists participating, it will be the largest in the…
Haines Falls Exhibit Explores Women Artists of the Catskills’ Past, Present, and Future
The Hudson River School, one of the United States’ first true artistic movements, grew out of the beauty of the Catskill Mountains. Yet much of the art used to characterize the period was painted…
“Fill Your House With Stacks of Books”
Inside the entrance to Chris Evers’ used bookstore on Partition Street in Saugerties is posted “A Doctor’s Advice.” It is from Dr. Seuss: “Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies…
Augusta Savage Day Debuts in Saugerties as Sculptor and Longtime Resident Is Honored
Saugerties honored Augusta Savage, the acclaimed Harlem Renaissance sculptor who lived there for 15 years, with a day celebrating her legacy that included a documentary, a slide show about her upstate life, readings of…
At Home With Marco Benevento, Among Pianos and Peacocks
The tennis was over, and the eggs were nearly gone. Marco Benevento sat at the kitchen table with his wife, KT, working through the last of breakfast, with a flight to Alabama in the…
Hunter Historical Map Project Enters Next Phase as Planners Wrap Up Townwide Tour
Mountain Top Library Director Jaki Elmo and Town Historian Diann “Dede” Terns-Thorpe joined town residents Carol Dale and Lisa DiNino Nemerson last week at the library in Tannersville, narrowing a final list of historical…
Big Indian Cultural Festival Holds Final Celebration of Unity and Tradition
The Pine Hill Community Center was filled with movement, music and color on Saturday, celebrating unity and Native American and African heritage as the cultural center behind the event prepares to dissolve after more…
The Felice Brothers Record Album for Sony Music Nashville in Saugerties
Two years ago in Woodstock’s Bearsville Park, a group of music industry allies urged James and Ian Felice to sign with Sony Music Nashville. The group included Wesley Schultz of the Lumineers and his…
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