Right is right, even if no one else does it.
– Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts
Storytellers’ Concert Series at Woodstock Day School
I totally agree with author Barry Lopez when he writes, “Everything is held together with stories. That is all that is holding us together: stories and compassion.” So when I heard about the Woodstock Day School Storytellers’ Concert Series, I wanted to let you know about it.
This three-part series consists of concerts and storytelling in a casual dinner-theater format in the school’s Bridge Building. Tim Sutton – head of the Media Department at the Woodstock Day School, as well as from the bands Ratboy and Ratboy, Jr. – explains, “Concertgoers will have the unique opportunity to hear the artists perform and tell stories about their work, process and adventures.”
A short performance by a student musical ensemble will open each show. Dinner, prepared by ‘Cue Barbecue, dessert and beverages will be available on an à la carte basis, and include vegetarian options.
The dates of the Storytellers’ Concert Series are Thursday, February 28, featuring Marco Benevento, Dave Dreiwitz and Andy Borger; Thursday, March 21, with Jeremy Bernstein and Friends and the Carl Mateo Group featuring Peter Dougan and Josh Tyler; and Thursday, April 18, with the Five Points Band and Ratboy featuring Tim Sutton. The doors open at 6 p.m., and shows begin at 6:30. Admission costs $10 for adults and is free for kids, but donations are welcomed. Tickets are available at the door, first-come, first-served.
The Woodstock Day School Bridge Building is located at 1430 Glasco Turnpike in Saugerties. For more information, call (845) 246-3744, extension 337, or visit ulsterpub.staging.wpenginedayschool.org.
NYCA stages Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince in Hurley
The story The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was first published in 1943, and inspiring lines such as, “It is only with the heart that one can see clearly; what is essential is invisible to the eye,” have been widely quoted and served as French class translation fodder ever since. The New York Conservatory for the Arts has taken this work from the page to the stage, and now your family can experience The Little Prince as a musical cabaret performance.
The Little Prince takes place on Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2 at 8 p.m. and on Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $12.
The New York Conservatory for the Arts is located at 120 Schildknecht Road in Hurley. For tickets or more information, call (845) 339-4340 or visit https://nyca.org.
Reel Expressions Youth Film Festival comes to Poughkeepsie, Rosendale & Rhinebeck
Our son has just started creating his own Minecraft gaming videos, and it’s fun to witness his enthusiastic narratives as he and his teammates thwart the creepers and discover gold and diamonds in their mining. I love the freshness, humor, intensity and grit of youth shorts, and the Children’s Media Project’s Reel Expressions Youth Film Festival sounds like it has lots of it: “The films are diverse in style and subject matter, covering poignant teen issues such as relationships, youth violence and gender identity.” Selections for the Festival were made from submissions around the country, with an emphasis on Hudson Valley teen filmmakers.
The approximately 90-minute showing will be followed by a question-and-answer session with some of the youth filmmakers, along with a reception after that. Content is rated PG, but parental guidance is strongly recommended, as some of the topics are intended for mature teen and adult audiences.
The Reel Expressions Youth Film Festival takes place on Saturday, March 2 at 2 p.m. at the Cunneen-Hackett Theater. Tickets cost $15 at the door, $10 in advance; youths 18 and under pay $5. Additional screenings will take place on Tuesday, March 19 at the Rosendale Theatre, located at 408 Main Street in Rosendale; and on Saturday, March 16 at Upstate Films, located at 6415 Montgomery Street in Rhinebeck.
The Cunneen-Hackett Theater is located at 12 Vassar Street in Poughkeepsie. For tickets or more information, call (845) 485-4480 or visit www.childrensmediaproject.org.
Puppets perform Caps for Sale at Kingston Library
Siberian-born Esphyr Slobodkina published Caps for Sale in 1938, and decades later, one of the two million copies found its way to our bedtime-story shelf. The peddler’s frustration in getting his hats back from the thieving monkeys reminds me of the helplessness that I feel when I get stuck in my parenting – and also that there’s always a solution on the flip side that’s silly, fun and effective. I just have to be open to it, just like the peddler’s surprise solution to reclaiming his hats.
Whether Caps for Sale is a classic in your house like it was in ours, or your family is new to the story, head over to Kingston Library for a puppet performance based on the book, with themes that celebrate diversity. Caps for Sale will be presented on Saturday, March 2 at 10:30 a.m. and is free and open to the public for school-aged children.
The Kingston Library is located at 55 Franklin Street in Kingston. For more information, call (845) 331-0507 or visit www.kingstonlibrary.org. To learn more about the performers, visit https://vtpuppetree.org.
Join the family! 
