FRIDAY, JUNE 15
Bardavon hosts Teen Film Festival
Know any youth who like movies or have a short attention span? Looking for a balance to this summer’s mainstream blockbusters? Make plans for the Reel Expressions International Teen Film Festival at the Bardavon this Friday, June 15 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Come early; the doors open at 5 p.m. for interactive media activities and light refreshments. You’ll see youth-produced films in narrative, animation, experimental and documentary genres, from the Hudson Valley and around the world, so perhaps the experience will inspire a filmmaker in your own family.
Tickets are free for young people under 21, $8 for seniors and adult students and $12 for adults, all general admission seating. Be advised that some film content may not be appropriate for children under 13. The Bardavon is located at 35 Market Street in Poughkeepsie. For tickets or more information, visit www.feelthearteffect.org/events/reel-expressions or www.bardavon.org/show/reel-expressions-international-teen-film-festival-2.
SATURDAY, JUNE 16
Swim season opens at Minnewaska
“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming…” coaxes the eponymous character in the movie Finding Dory. Swimming families throughout the region have been waiting for this announcement: It’s go time at Minnewaska! There’s a $10-per-vehicle entry fee, or use your Empire Pass.
Minnewaska State Park Preserve is located at 5281 Route 44/55 in Kerhonkson. For more information about this or additional cool programming, call (845) 255-0752 or visit https://parks.ny.gov/parks/127/details.aspx.
• Lake Minnewaska Beach opens for the season on Saturday, June 16 and stays open from, 11:15 a.m. to 6:45 p.m., seven days per week until Labor Day. This is a gravel/sand beach with a dock and is located closest to the upper parking lot.
• Lake Awosting Beach opens for the season on Saturday, June 16 from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for the weekend only. Then it resumes a seven-day-per-week schedule beginning Saturday, June 24 through Labor Day. This beach, on smooth slab rock, is located four miles by foot or bicycle from the Wildmere (lower) parking lot.
Hike & tea at Wilderstein
Wilderstein means “wild man’s stone,” and it is also the name of the estate in which FDR’s cousin, and eventual confidante and archivist, Margaret “Daisy” Lynch Suckley was born. Come explore the wildness in the style that Daisy’s guests did on a guided hike this Saturday, June 16 from 2 to 4 p.m. Tea and light refreshments will be served afterwards. Tickets cost $15 general admission, less for Wilderstein and ADK members.
The Wilderstein Historic Site is located at 330 Morton Road in Rhinebeck. For reservations or more information, call (845) 876-4818 or visit www.facebook.com/wilderstein-historic-site-117865314943432 or http://wilderstein.org.
Family Saturday at Hanford Mills Museum
Sawmill? Gristmill? Woodworking? If you have your own resident Nick Offerman wannabe, head on over to the Hanford Mills Museum this weekend! June 16 is a Family Saturday, which means special hands-on activities for the kids, a fun learning lab and kid-friendly tours of the historic water-powered sawmill, gristmill and woodworking shop. The two remaining Family Saturdays will be July 28 and September 1.
Admission costs $9 for adults and teens, $7 for seniors and is free for children aged 12 and under. There are also additional groups who receive free or discounted admission.
The Hanford Mills Museum is located at 51 County Highway 12 in East Meredith. For more information about Hanford Mills, admission or Family Saturday, call (607) 278-5744 or visit www.hanfordmills.org/programs/events/family-saturdays.
SUNDAY, JUNE 17
Free Family Day at Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz
Make 2018 the year you stopped giving Dad a necktie or soap-on-a-rope. Round up the crew for Free Family Day at Historic Huguenot Street on Sunday, June 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., including admissions into the historic house tours, exhibits, and grounds. Maybe stop by the gift shop and pick up a memento for him because you are so loving and generous. Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy on the lawn. And some chocolates from Lagusta’s Luscious. Walk the rail trail together. What a great way to celebrate father figures and family!
Historic Huguenot Street is located on Huguenot Street in New Paltz. For more information, call (845) 255-1660 or visit www.huguenotstreet.org/calendar-of-events/2018/6/17/family-day-free-admissions or www.facebook.com/events/524152267982024.
Pride Month
Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall Riots in June 1969, and the Hudson Valley continues its celebrations this weekend:
• A Pride Youth Dance Party for ages 12 to 19 takes place on Friday, June 15 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center at 300 Wall Street in Kingston. The dance includes a deejay, photo booth, dinner and more. Admission costs $5. Visit http://lgbtqcenter.org/news/pride-youth-party.
• OutHudson’s Warren Street LGBTQ Parade 2018: Superheroes kicks off on Saturday, June 16 at 2 p.m. on Warren Street in Hudson. Setup happens at noon at Seventh Street Park in Hudson. Register at www.outhudson.com/outhudson-parade-form. Admission to the event is free. Visit www.outhudson.com.
• The Pride Family Craft Fair and Fun takes place on Saturday, June 16 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Promenade Hill Park on Front Street at the end of Warren Street in Hudson. Admission is free. Visit www.outhudson.com.
• Queering the Box offers a screening this Saturday, June 16 from 3 to 5:15 p.m. at the Rosendale Theatre at 408 Main Street in Rosendale. The event’s films highlight “the intersection of queerness and other oppressed identities.” Admission costs $10 for adults and is free for high school and college youth with ID. Visit www.facebook.com/events/2019422941607838.
Text and chat hotline
(845) 679-2485 is a text and chat hotline number for area youth and adults. How about you and your family put it into your phones right now? This confidential service by Family of Woodstock makes it easy to connect with a paid or volunteer staff member to get support around issues involving drug abuse, domestic violence, bullying and other issues involving personal safety, mental health services, housing (or shelter), concerns about the well-being of loved ones, crisis situations, education and questions about resources in the Ulster County community. Prefer to chat from a web browser? Contact textmeback.org. If calling remains your first choice, it’s the same number as the text hotline: (845) 679-2485.
I implore you to share this information widely, starting by entering it in your and your youth’s phones together. These communications remain free, private and confidential, as they have for the past 48 years at Family; Family’s was the first hotline in the country! In 2017, Family had over 80,000 contacts at its Woodstock site alone.
Times have changed, and as people increasingly connect via text, Family has adapted to remain accessible to people who might be reluctant to share their situations out loud. Another advantage to texting or chatting is the time in between responses for thoughtfulness and deliberation, which can reduce anxiety simply from the slower pacing.
Again, please do not wait; let’s all enter this information in our phones and computers right now: Family of Woodstock’s textmeback.org text and chat hotline; or text or call (845) 679-2485. For more information, visit www.familyofwoodstockinc.org/textmeback.
Erica Chase-Salerno wishes a Happy Fathers’ Day to her husband, brother, father and father-in-law. She can be reached at kidsalmanac@ulsterpublishing.com.
Join the family! 
