Rhythm program for kids in Rosendale
Have you been to Sky Lake before? Just being in the beautiful, tranquil setting feels calming and restorative. Sky Lake is open to the public and offers free weekly meditation sittings and monthly Open Houses, and this weekend, it has a special program for children. “Exploring Rhythm: Synchronizing Body and Mind! for Children” takes place at Sky Lake on Saturday, March 9 from 1 to 3 p.m. The cost is $15 for children, $25 for an adult/child pair.
Sky Lake is located at 22 Hillcrest Lane in Rosendale. For more information or to register, call (845) 658-8556 or visit https://sky-lake.org. To learn more about the instructor, visit https://timothyquigley.com.
Erica Chase-Salerno thanks Martha Koenig for her awesome tip about Metro-North’s $1.50 round-trip family train fare for kids riding to New York! Erica can be reached at kidsalmanac@ulsterpublishing.com.
Manhattan Country School Farm teaches rural skills to kids
Lambing season is in full swing at the Manhattan Country School (MCS) Farm, where sustainability and a land-based education are taught to children from city and local schools. The natural landscape is their classroom, and they learn to master skills needed to maintain the 180-acre farm.
Students feed and care for animals and learn to make original textiles, from sheep to loom. They plant, harvest and cook vegetables for their own meals, collect sap from trees to make syrup, monitor the solar production of the electricity that powers the farm and learn about environmental issues and their impact on people and wildlife. This work helps to build self-confidence, instills a connection to local communities and the environment and provides firsthand knowledge of the natural world.
Since 1966, more than 7,620 students have learned how to live more sustainable lives at the MCS Farm, and more than 6,700 of these students were from public, charter and independent schools in New York City and the local Catskill area. For more information, visit www.manhattancountryschool.org/farm/why-farm.
This Thursday is Astronomy Night at SUNY-New Paltz
Astronomy Nights are held on the first and third Thursday of each month at SUNY-New Paltz when the university is in session. The free program begins with an indoor planetarium show at the John R. Kirk Planetarium, located in the Coykendall Science Building. After the show, the Smolen Observatory, located in the Alumni Soccer Fields on the south side of the campus, will be open for telescope viewing if the sky is clear. Call the Observatory at (845) 257-1110 to hear a message indicating if the public viewing has been canceled due to cloudy weather. Visitors can participate in either the Planetarium show, Observatory telescope viewing or both.
Astronomy Night telescope viewing begins shortly after sunset, so the start time changes according to the seasons. The next Astronomy Night will be held this Thursday, March 7 at 6:30 p.m. If the Planetarium show fills to capacity, a second show will be offered one hour later and the Observatory will stay open later to accommodate the additional visitors.
Planetarium shows take place in a dark indoor domed theater. Please arrive early to reserve a seat for the show. Visitors of any age are welcome, but younger children need to be under adult supervision at all times. Please do not bring cell phones, beepers, music players, food or beverages into the planetarium. Large groups may schedule a private show at the Planetarium.
A typical viewing night at the Smolen Observatory will include a planet or two, star clusters, binary stars and nebulae. Observatory visitors will spend most of their time outdoors. Be sure to dress appropriately; it always feels colder when you’re standing still for long periods of time. Visitors of any age are welcome at the Observatory, but younger children need to be under adult supervision at all times.
The Observatory is wheelchair-accessible. Visitors may come and go to the Observatory freely during the viewing time. Once the viewing has begun, the outdoor lighting surrounding the Observatory will be turned off, so be prepared to walk to and from vehicles in the dark. There are no restroom facilities at the Observatory.
Scout troops and school groups are welcome to attend the public viewing nights, but advance notice is appreciated. The Planetarium is available for private shows for birthday parties and for corporate, civic, hospital, church and scouting organizations. Teachers are welcome to arrange a visit to the Planetarium as a field trip activity.
There is a $3.50 per person charge for private showings. Seating is limited to 44 people. Shows are typically one hour in duration, and the show’s content can be customized for any age group. For more information and schedules, visit www.newpaltz.edu/planetarium/shows.html.
“Stories Rising” next Thursday in New Paltz
In honor of Women’s History Month, Hudson River Playback Theatre (HRPT), a New Paltz-based nonprofit, celebrates women and girls in “Stories Rising” at 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 14. The performance is based on the remarkable events of “One Billion Rising” on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2013, when men and women from around the globe came together in tens of thousands of events to demand an end to violence against women and girls. This action of worldwide solidarity cut across borders, races, class, religions, sexual orientation, age and gender in a global expression of inspiration and hope.
HRPT invites audience members to tell about their experiences of this powerful day, their thoughts and feelings about the current status of women and girls and any personal moments and watch them transformed into theater, music and movement. All are welcome. Admission is by suggested donation: $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors. The performance will take place at Deyo Hall, located at 6 Broadhead Avenue in New Paltz, between North Chestnut and Huguenot Streets, beside the Rail Trail (not on campus).
For more information, visit www.hudsonriverplayback.org, call (845) 419-3822 or e-mail heidi@hudsonriverplayback.org.
Jorelle Pomé and company to perform at High Meadow
Survival: It’s a Dance is a new contemporary dance work by independent Rosendale-based choreographer Jorelle Pomé, in collaboration with dancers Kyle Ducham and Ruby Bard. It will be performed on Saturday, March 9 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 10 at 2 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center at High Meadow School in Stone Ridge. As the name of the work suggests, the piece is based on the recovery process of Pomé, who, seven years ago, was in a coma for six weeks after a car accident and not expected to live. Since then, however, even with major disabilities, she has fought her way back through rehabilitation to reclaim her life as a dancer and choreographer, continuing to create dance pieces and to direct others in her work.
The 30-minute Survival: It’s a Dance is a collaboration with able-bodied female dancers, who have been working on the piece with Pomé since May, says project manager Sherry Williams. “They’re all very athletic dancers, and each will have a solo in the piece as well as working together,” she says. Pomé will be in the dance, too – at moments with a wheelchair and at other times moving with the assistance of the other dancers.
While the work is based on the choreographer’s accident and her recovery, it’s ultimately inspirational and upbeat, says Williams. “It’s been a challenge for Jorelle, but it’s in the studio that she really shows her personal strength and joy in the act of dancing. She’s very clear and precise and happy. She loves working with the dancers, and they love her.”
Pomé has performed at the Joyce SoHo, the Mulberry Street Theatre, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival and recently at Backstage Studio Productions in Kingston and the Mary Anthony Dance Theater in Manhattan. She holds a BFA in Choreography from Concordia University and has traveled widely.
Survival: It’s a Dance is produced by Earthborne Dance Project, a nonprofit organization started by Pomé’s family and friends to allow for the creation of new dance pieces and to raise awareness of those who have had their artistic visions challenged by disability, but who continue to create.
Erica Chase-Salerno wishes her daughter a brilliant new year filled with love, light, laughter, discovery and wonder: “You are invited to the festival of this world and your life is blessed.” Happy Birthday! Erica can be reached at kidsalmanac@ulsterpublishing.com.
Join the family! 
