6-year old: Life is like a half-eaten pie.
Dad: What do you mean?
6-year-old: ‘Cause half of the world
is great, like a pie, and the other
half is no pie.
– Cooper, age 6, Hurley
FRIDAY, JULY 6
Jake Sorgen and Friends perform at Maverick
Transform your weekend from ho-hum to heck-yeah with live music in a unique, historic venue. Maverick Concerts presents Jake Sorgen and Friends, part of the Maverick Prodigies series. This improviser, composer and musician grew up in Woodstock and performs in his hometown this Friday, July 6 at 8 p.m. at the amazing Maverick Concert Hall: one of my favorite spots in the entire Hudson Valley. Admission is free for young people under 16, $5 for full-time students and $10 for adults; all tickets are sold at the door.
Maverick Concerts is located at 120 Maverick Road in Woodstock. For more information or a complete schedule of the season, call (845) 679-8217 or visit https://maverickconcerts.org/schedule/jake-sorgen-2. To learn more about the performer and to hear his work, visit https://jakesorgen.com.
SATURDAY, JULY 7
Revolutionary War encampment at Historic Huguenot Street
Don’t just celebrate Independence Day in 2018; directly experience the traditions of the 1700s yourself! On Saturday, July 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the DuBois Fort Lawn of Historic Huguenot Street, be a part of New Paltz in the War for Independence! See living historians of the Fifth New York Regiment (which actually included many Ulster and Orange County soldiers back then!) demonstrate marching, drilling and display and share about arms and weaponry of the time. Reenactments of civilian life will also take place all day, including candlemaking, woodworking, musketball and cartridge manufacturing and Colonial cooking. Children will also have fun playing Colonial games and participating in reenactment military drills.
This encampment is free and open to the public and takes place rain or shine. The DuBois Fort is located at 81 Huguenot Street in New Paltz. For more information, call (845) 255-1660 or visit www.huguenotstreet.org/calendar-of-events/2018/7/7/new-paltz-in-the-war-for-independence.
Tanabata festival activities in Gardiner, Kingston
It’s the seventh day of the seventh month, and you know what that means: It’s Tanabata time! This traditional Japanese celebration, also known as the Star Festival (different stars from your Subaru, which are in the constellation Taurus), shares the story of the sky king’s daughter and her cowherder husband, who meet up annually when the Milky Way first becomes visible this time of year. There’s even a Tanabata song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PvDIsuVcoI.
Here are two local opportunities to incorporate love, stars and good wishes into this special day.
• Japanese Tanabata Festival, Saturday, July 7, 12 to 2 p.m. at the Gardiner Library, 133 Farmers’ Turnpike in Gardiner; (845) 255-1255; www.gardinerlibrary.org. Write wishes on special tanzaku paper to hang on bamboo branches, and receive a free yo-yo and play a challenging fish water-balloon game with it. Free.
• Tanabata Star Festival, Saturday, July 7, 5 to 9 p.m. at the Lace Mill boiler room back studio, 165 Cornell Street in Kingston; (845) 750-1947; www.facebook.com/events/2261347330549572; http://bonodori.org. Write your yearning on the paper slip and make your wish on the stars; art exhibition; Japanese shaved ice, along with cold beer and sake. Fundraiser for Bon-Odori Dance Festival for Peace.
Tours at Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History
Do you like history with local flavor? Do you love local flavors? Interested in sparking an interest in your kids about their own ethnic heritage? Then come be among the first to see what’s new and happening at the Reher Center!
The Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History is housed in a 19th-century building that featured a family bakery. Today, the Reher Center preserves and presents stories with universal appeal about immigration, community, work and bread; it’s like getting your history and eating it, too! So go online and get your free tickets for one-hour small-group preview tours with the new director, Sarah Litvin, this Saturday, July 7 at 1 and 3 p.m. (Psst: I heard that Graziano Tecchio, owner of Graziano’s Downtown Café, is providing the baked goods for these tours, so…Yum!)
Can’t make it this weekend? Reserve your spot for Saturday, August 4 at 4 or 6 p.m. Please note that the tour includes one flight of stairs, and that, while the building is being restored, it is not currently handicapped-accessible.
The Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History is located at 99-101 Broadway in Kingston. For your free preview tour tickets, visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3464918. For a complete schedule of events and more information about the Reher Center, call (845) 481-3738, e-mail director.rehercenter@gmail.com or visit www.rehercenter.org.
Crandell Theatre stages A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS
“Here we have Frog. And over here we have Toad. They are both at the end of a winter-long hibernation. Let’s take a peek in and see what they’re dreaming about.” Getting curious? It’s from the opening of A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS, and your young kids will love to attend a performance of it! Wish granted: This Saturday, July 7 at 11 a.m. and again at 1 p.m. at the Crandell Theatre, Columbia County Youth Theatre presents a 35-minute abbreviated version of the Tony-nominated musical that stars Arnold Lobel’s beloved characters. The story spans the seasons as these friends celebrate their similarities and differences, with upbeat music and energized choreography, charming even the youngest theatergoers. This performance is free and open to the public of all ages.
The Crandell Theatre is located at 48 Main Street in Chatham. For more information, call (518) 392-3549 or visit https://ccyt.org/events or www.crandelltheatre.org/a-year-with-frog-and-toad-kids.
Independence Day Celebration at West Point
I mean, if you’re going to celebrate our country, go big or go home, right? I give you the West Point Independence Day Celebration! The live music by our Army’s oldest band and the spectacular fireworks show take place Saturday, July 7 at 7:30 p.m. at West Point’s Trophy Point Amphitheater (rain date Sunday, July 8, 7:30 p.m.). Reserve your free tickets online at http://westpointband.army.mil/trophy-point/concerts/july-7th.html, bring a picnic and lawn chairs and come early to get through the checkpoint and to claim your spot.
The Trophy Point Amphitheater is located at 117 Washington Road at West Point. For reservations, directions or more information about upcoming events, call (845) 938-2445 or visit http://westpointband.army.mil/trophy-point/concerts/july-7th.html.
SUNDAY, JULY 8
“Making Art that Moves” workshop at Storm King
Artist George Rickey, who created kinesthetic designs, declared, “Since the design of the movement is paramount, shape, for me, should have no significance.” The Storm King Art Center features three of Rickey’s pieces, and they just might inspire your kids to create their own movable art. Round up your crew and join this week’s children’s and family program: “Power Up! Making Art that Moves” this Sunday, July 8 at 1 p.m. on Museum Hill.
“Power Up!” encourages children and youth to craft unique pieces that use the wind and sun to enable motion in each creation. Suitable for ages 4 and up, these drop-in family programs take place on Sundays through November and are free with admission. No registration is required. Museum entry costs $18 for adults, $15 for seniors aged 65 and up, $8 for ages 5 to 18 and students and is free for children aged 4 and under and members.
The Storm King Art Center is located at 1 Museum Road in New Windsor. For a complete schedule of family programs or more information, call (845) 534-3115, e-mail info@stormkingartcenter.org or visit http://stormking.org/events/categories/children-and-families.
TUESDAY, JULY 10
Free special needs picnic at FDR Library
Back in the day, FDR felt that he had to hide his polio paralysis from the public. Now we learn about that aspect of his physicality openly, but we hide his smoking. The point is, being differently abled is just that: another way to maneuver wherever one wishes to go.
Our community still has a way to go to enable access, but Dutchess County is continuing to make strides with its Think Differently initiative. Be a part of positive change for all citizens at “A Day at the Farm” this Tuesday, July 10 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum, rain or shine. Dutchess County’s sixth annual special needs picnic is free and open to the public of all ages and abilities, and includes petting animals, live music and gluten-free food options. Reservations are required by July 5, as space is limited.
The FDR Library and Museum is located at 4079 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park. For reservations or more information, visit www.dutchessny.gov/picnicrsvp.
Erica Chase-Salerno still celebrates strawberries. She can be reached at kidsalmanac@ulsterpublishing.com.
Join the family! 
