“How dreary—to be—somebody! How public—like a frog—to tell your name—the livelong June—to an admiring bog!”
– Emily Dickinson
Camp Ramapo
I say “Eat,” you say “Play,” and we all say “Friends and Family Weekend at Camp!” Next Saturday and Sunday, June 10 and 11, Ramapo for Children invites family, friends and alumni for a weekend of fun at its seventh annual Eat, Play, Give event. Activities include zipline, climbing wall, ropes course, stories and s’mores around the campfire, canoeing, kayaking, fishing and swimming! Plus, meals are included.
How much does this package cost, anyhow? As Hudson Valley residents, we are so fortunate to get a 50 percent discount off these rates, using the code HV50 at checkout: Eat and Play for the Day, Saturday only, $60/person; Eat, Play, Camp, pitch your own tent, $80/person; Eat, Play, Bunk, Saturday overnight to Sunday, $100/person; children under 3 are admitted free.
Ramapo for Children is located at Route 52, Salisbury Turnpike in Rhinebeck. To register or for more information, call (845) 876-8409 or visit www.epg2017.eventbrite.com. To learn more about the camp, visit www.ramapoforchildren.org.
FRIDAY, JUNE 2
The Moonlights play Woodstock Library
If you and your family have not had the distinct pleasure of hearing Rachel Loshak and Dean Jones singing together as the Moonlights, then clear your calendar for this Friday, June 2 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Woodstock Library for a wonderfully mellow and fun performance for all ages. I think the album is clever and creative, and I kind of feel like I’m in the band, because I sing along with each of them when I listen to the album.
The Woodstock Library is located at 5 Library Lane in Woodstock. For more information, call the Woodstock Library (845) 679-2213 or visit the band’s website at www.themoonlightsmusic.com.
Seussical in Woodstock, Beast in Poughkeepsie
Got kids who enjoy watching other young people perform? This weekend, you can treat them to two fantastic musicals!
Seussical! The Musical takes place at the Woodstock Playhouse on Friday and Saturday, June 2 and 3 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, June 4 at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $21 for adults; $18 for seniors and students; and the performance length is 2.5 hours. 103 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock; (845) 679-6900, www.woodstockplayhouse.org/seussical.
Beauty and the Beast is performed at the Cunneen-Hackett Theatre on Saturday, June 3 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 4 at 12 noon and 4 p.m. Tickets cost $15 for adults and $12 for children and seniors. “Story Time with Belle” costs $18 and takes place on Sunday, June 4 at 1:15 and 3:15 p.m. at 12 Vassar Street, Poughkeepsie (845) 476-2455; www.fromstagetoscreen.net.
SATURDAY, JUNE 3
Kingston Library presents Dr. Marmalade
Is young stuffed-animal vet Doc McStuffins on heavy rotation at your home? So, how about leaving your dwelling and discovering a new vet for stuffed animals? It’s time to meet Dr. Marmalade! Dr. Marmalade has the kids interacting with practically every aspect of the show, from making monkey sounds to traveling by “hot air balloon” to translating for a lost puppy. Dr. Marmalade makes her appearance at the Kingston Library this Saturday, June 3 at 10:30 a.m.
The Super Saturday experience is free and open to school-aged children. The Kingston Library is located at 55 Franklin Street in Kingston. For more information, call (845) 331-0507, extension 7, or visit www.kingstonlibrary.org/kids/supersat.php.
Marist hosts Hudson Data Jam Awards Expo
Would you say that data collection is your kids’ jam? The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies thinks so! The Cary Institute knows that young people can shape static Hudson River watershed numbers into vibrant and dynamic creative directions that help others interpret and understand the result. Young people were invited to play with the numbers from the data that have been collected, and you can check it all out this weekend!
The Hudson Data Jam Awards Expo takes place on Saturday, June 3 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the Marist College Science and Allied Health Building. Projects submitted include movies, original songs, comics and poems, and participants will also share a poster that includes the Hudson River data set used, graphs that capture data trends and comparisons and an outreach plan for communicating their science story to the general public.
Was your kid involved? Check this out: More than 200 area students in grades 6 through 12 took part in the Hudson Data Jam, including Beacon High School, Clarkstown High School, Croton-Harmon High School, Hawk Meadow Montessori School, Linden Avenue Middle School, Marymount School of New York, Millbrook High School, Millbrook Middle School, Oakwood Friends School, Poughkeepsie Day School, Poughkeepsie High School, Rye High School, Stissing Mountain Middle School, the Chapin School and Woodlands High School.
Marist College is located at 3399 North Road in Poughkeepsie. For more information, call (845) 677-5343, visit http://bit.ly/1nVCK0N or click on www.facebook.com/hudsondatajam.
Snapping Turtle Walk at Boscobel
Is your crew familiar with Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo and Michelangelo? No, not the artists; I’m talking the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Because it’s that time of year again, and you and your family can see live turtles this weekend. On Saturday, June 3 from 7:30 to 9 a.m., join in on the 23rd annual Snapping Turtle Walk at Boscobel. Staff from Constitution Marsh will explain some biology about snapping turtles; the female turtles climb up the riverbank to the lawn to lay 20 to 60 ping-pong-ball-sized eggs before returning to the water; and refreshments include coffee, juice and donuts.
Turtle Walk admission costs $12 for adults, $8 for children 6 to 12 years and is free for children under 6 years, $10.80 for adult Boscobel members and $7.20 for child Boscobel members. This event goes on rain or shine, and registration is required. Boscobel is located at 1601 Route 9D in Garrison. For more information, to make reservations or to learn more about upcoming programs, call (845) 265-3638 or visit www.boscobel.org/events/snapping-turtle-walk.
Melvin the Magnificent in Hudson
Let’s face facts: Sometimes fire safety can be dull and boring. But not this weekend! On Saturday, June 3 at 10:30 a.m. at the FASNY Museum of Firefighting, you and your crew can catch Abracadabra: It’s Melvin the Magnificent. Enjoy Melvin’s humor, engaging hands-on demonstrations and, of course, all things fire (prevention). And, as this is a Super Saturday event, Melvin the Magnificent is a free show to anyone residing in Columbia County!
The FASNY Museum of Firefighting is located at 117 Harry Howard Avenue in Hudson. For more information, call (518) 822-1875 or visit www.fasnyfiremuseum.com.
“Money for Teens” workshop in New Paltz
Got a teen who could use a wealth wake-up call instead of simply fantasizing about financials? Well, this workshop facilitated by Joanne Leffeld is just the experience for our kids! On Saturday, June 3 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Wellness Embodied: A Center for Psychotherapy and Healing, Joanne presents “How to Adult: Money for Teens – The Straight Facts about Saving, Investing and Planning for Your Future.” She shares tips and experience about long-term investing, pitfalls of credit card bills and student loans, and plans for a secure and prosperous future. This is a free workshop, open to area teens.
Wellness Embodied is located at 126 Main Street in New Paltz. To register or for more information, call (845) 532-6064 or visit http://bit.ly/2qyDn88. To learn more about the presenter, visit www.joanneleffeld.com.
SUNDAY, JUNE 4
Kingston Multicultural Festival at Gallo Park
Do you have a Sunday List, like the Reher Bakery did? It’s a collection of names of customers who request rolls weekly on their way home from church, written on a folded paper bag. The Center will display a poster-size image of the bag at its tent for people to examine. “We would love to hear from anyone who recognizes the names and remembers the bakery from the time before urban renewal demolished most of the Rondout neighborhood,” Reher chairman Geoff Miller said. The names include Sickler, Matthews, Carpino, Bruhn, Tremper, Polacco, Sepesy and Bruck.
The fifth annual Kingston Multicultural Festival takes place this Sunday, June 4 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the T. R. Gallo West Strand Park. Attendees will taste flavors from around the world, see energized live dance and musical performances and more! Definitely bring the kids to this one. In the event of rain, the family-friendly event will be held at the Andy Murphy Midtown Neighborhood Center, on Broadway at the corner of Hoffman Street in Midtown Kingston. T.R. Gallo West Strand Park is located at 2 Rondout Landing in Kingston.
For more information, call (845) 338-8131 or visit http://bit.ly/2rhGVMW. To learn more about the host organization, visit www.rehercenter.org or www.facebook.com/reherbakery.
Touch-a-Truck at Ulster Fairgrounds
Remember MC Hammer’s popular 1990 snippet, “Can’t Touch This!”? Well, that was then, because your kids can touch everything at the New Paltz Rotary’s Touch-a-Truck taking place this Sunday, June 4 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ulster County Fairgrounds. And look what you get for your $5 admission (free for kids under 2): face-painting, a bounce house, cow train and more!
The Ulster County Fairgrounds are located at 249 Libertyville Road in New Paltz. For more information, call (845) 797-3063 or visit www.newpaltzrotary.org.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7
Games, Games, Games for youth in Kingston
Are you looking for life skills, peer support and fun experiences for your 14-to-24-year-old? Then start dialing now to register for Games, Games, Games, taking place on Wednesday, June 7 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at 39 John Street in Kingston. This free afternoon gathering is a fun chance to connect with Adolescent Services staff and learn about any additional services.
Registration is required. For more information or to register, call (845) 331-7080, extension 154 or 164. To learn more about the organization, visit www.familyofwoodstockinc.org.
New Paltz teen nationally published
As soon as I heard that New Paltz High School senior Cerissa DiValentino’s poem was published in American High School Poets’ Of Love and Dedication anthology, I had to share it with all of you! Cerissa is a student of Language Arts instructor Joe Neden, and she plans to pursue creative writing in college. For more information, visit www.highschoolpoetrycontest.com and www.justpoetry.org.
The Magnificent, Elegant She
by Cerissa DiValentino
The deep red shade that painted her lips,
coordinated with the color of the wine that danced within her glass and intoxicated her bones,
“It might storm,” she whispered through her fragile fingers.
The mahogany in her eyes reaching,
reaching for the black ineffable clouds that rolled in over the city.
In the moment of her distraction,
I absorbed every breathtaking detail of her complexion,
I watched the city lights bleed into her velvet Valentino gown.
Cloth creased between my fingers from the nervewracking feeling of basking in her presence,
rumble of talk and chatter similar to drowned-out echoes that fell more distant than they were.
Sweet smells of cinnamon lavender intertwined with a warm scratch of vanilla,
spilling into the evening air through temporary steamy swirls of a nearby waiting coffee.
When she giggled, the handful of scattered freckles that kissed her nose bounced with her dimples,
highlighting her jawline like the sound of rain to a thunderstorm,
and the light she projected swallowed me whole,
drew me blind in her elegance.
And that was it.
The magnificent, elegant she.
Remembering Ana Dooley
Ana Lauren Dooley, 15, of Eddyville, was a musician, artist, writer and dedicated student. After five years of fierce determination in the face of a relentless cancer, Ana passed away on March 22, 2017. Ana expressed a love of music and an astonishing ability to sing from a very early age, and started singing lessons at six years old. She attended the High Meadow School in Stone Ridge from first through eighth grades, where her love of learning and incessant curiosity about everything from science to history to philosophy were cultivated and nurtured. She attended the Woodstock Day School in ninth and tenth grades: a place that embraced her and allowed her to flourish as both a student and the emerging young woman she was becoming.
Ana was an accomplished musician and performer who started playing guitar at the age of 11 and performed in numerous shows, both independently and with the Paul Green Rock Academy. In 2016, with best friend Marissa Gaylin by her side, she produced and performed in a show that raised $1,000 for Hudson Valley’s Make-a-Wish chapter: her way of saying “Thank you” for the wish they granted her in 2013.
Ana adored animals. Her first career dream was to be a vet or work at a shelter. She was a “frog whisperer” who loved to catch and release frogs at Willow Kiln Park in Rosendale and anywhere else frogs tend to linger. She liked to explore forest trails throughout the Hudson Valley, taking pictures of whatever caught her fancy, particularly the sky. Ana adored her cats Pepper and Luna, but had a special place in her heart for her dog, Roo.
In the last year of her life, Ana cultivated a love of crystals and stones. She was fascinated with divination and magic. Her bedroom was her haven where she surrounded herself with positive energy in the form of candles, crystals and the music she loved: the Smiths, Led Zeppelin, Prince, the Doors, Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath.
Ana is survived by her parents, Jacqueline and James Dooley; her sister, Emily Rose Dooley; her maternal grandparents, Judy and Aaron Krongard; her paternal grandmother, Janne Dooley; her aunts, Amy Dooley Mosbacher and Lisa Krongard Levitan; and cousins, Chloe and Layla Mosbacher and Nicole, Michelle and Joseph Lomuscio.
Ana’s memorial was held at the Woodstock Day School in Saugerties on May 21. A Wish Fund was created during Ana’s life to help pay for experiences and memories that she shared with her sister, Emily. One of her last requests was that any money remaining in the Wish Fund after she die go towards Emily’s college education. Donations can be made here: http://healingana.com/donate. Thank you.
Erica Chase-Salerno wishes her husband, Mike Chase-Salerno, a wonderful birthday: best of husbands, best of men! She can be reached at kidsalmanac@ulsterpublishing.com.
Join the family! 
