“Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
Or cried out behind a door.
Names blown over the earth
and out to sea.”
– Billy Collins: “The Names,” for victims, survivors and heroes of 9/11
Walkway hosts StarWalk with live astronaut on Friday night
Take it from David Bowie himself, from “Starman”: “Let the children lose it/Let the children use it/Let all the children boogie.” That’s obviously a specific directive to plan your family’s landing at this Friday’s StarWalk: “Distant Realms: Neptune and Andromeda” at Walkway over the Hudson on September 7, with real NASA astronaut Col. R. Shane Kimbrough!
Kimbrough does a meet-and-greet with folks starting at 7 p.m. at the Ulster Welcome Center, then heads east across the bridge. Meanwhile, there are so many cool hands-on activities to do, such as “Walking” the Solar System, looking through telescopes, celestial storytelling and lots more! This event is free and open to the public of all ages. Registration is requested, for staff planning.
Walkway over the Hudson has two entrances: 87 Haviland Road in Highland and 81 Parker Avenue in Poughkeepsie. For more information or to register, call (845) 454-9649 or visit https://walkway.org/event/starwalk-distant-realms-neptune-and-andromeda or www.facebook.com/events/209966519787785.
SUNY-New Paltz Saturday Arts Lab
Calling all kids in grades K through sixth: ready to put your Andres San Millan or Iza Trapani artist and writer hats on? Because it’s time to register for SUNY-New Paltz’s Saturday Arts Lab! This fall term runs weekly for nine Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to noon or 1 to 3 p.m. The courses are: “Playful Engagements in Art,” for kindergartners; “Art Investigations: Imaginations and Materials,” for grades 1 and 2; “Draw It, Paint It, Build It: Multimedia Making,” for grades 3 and 4; and “Storytelling: Connecting to Your Story,” for grades 5 and 6. The cost for the series is $75, and scholarships are available to families who qualify for federal Free Meals Benefits.
SUNY-New Paltz is located at 1 Hawk Drive in New Paltz. For more information or to register, call (845) 257-3850, e-mail saturdayartslab@newpaltz.edu or visit www.newpaltz.edu/sal/courses.html. To learn more about the artists I happened to reference above, visit www.figureartscape.com and www.izatrapani.com.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
Open House at Boathouse in Poughkeepsie
Remember the days of singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” to your littles back in the day? They grow up so fast… Now that those cuties are cropped-shirt or Axe-aftershave years old, they can row merrily in their dreamy lives all on their own! This Saturday, September 8 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., youth in seventh grade or above are invited to attend the Arlington Rowing Association’s Boathouse Open House. Try the rowing machine, “get in the tank” and check out the Learn to Row program. This free event is open to all from seventh grade on up.
The Boathouse is located at 270/272 North Water Street in Poughkeepsie. For more information, visit http://arlingtonrowingassociation.org or www.facebook.com/events/2125524077690220/?active_tab=about.
Thomas Cole National Historic Site presents Kids Paint Out
Scenic, majestic, beautiful, luminous…how else would you describe our Catskills? According to renowned artist Thomas Cole, “Must I tell you that neither the Alps nor the Apennines, no, nor even Aetna itself, have dimmed, in my eyes, the beauty of our own Catskills? It seems to me that I look on American scenery, if it were possible, with increased pleasure. It has its own peculiar charm – a something not found elsewhere. I am content with nature: Would that I were with art!”
This weekend, you can offer your family the same opportunity to paint some of the same that landscapes Cole was so excited about! On Saturday, September 9 from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 5 p.m., be a part of “Kids Paint Out” at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. All ages are welcome, and all supplies are provided at this free event. This is a brilliant, hands-on way to connect our kids with not just the style, but also the actual location and land of the Hudson River School of Painting: “The goal of all programs at the Thomas Cole Site is to enable visitors to find meaning and inspiration in Thomas Cole’s life and work. The themes that Cole explored in his art and writings – such as landscape preservation and our conception of nature as a restorative
Power – are both historic and timely, providing the opportunity to connect to audiences with insights that are highly relevant to their own lives.”
Advance reservations are appreciated, but drop-ins are welcome. The rain date for this event will be Saturday, September 15. The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is located at 218 Spring Street in Catskill. For more information or to reserve your spot, e-mail mmcool@thomascole.org, call (518) 943-7465 or visit https://thomascole.org. To see the wonderful new children’s book about Thomas Cole, Picturing America, visit https://thomascole.org/story.
Old Stone House Day returns to New Paltz
In 1678, the first US fire company began, composer Antonio Vivaldi was born and New Paltz was settled. Hmm, I wonder if the traditional gift for a 340th anniversary happens to be stone… Well, this weekend, it just so happens that there’s a way to celebrate it all! On Saturday, September 8 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., New Paltz honors its beginnings at Old Stone House Day, an event of fascinating history and exploration for all ages. Activities include house tours, two of which haven’t been opened to visitors for years; phonograph displays; Colonial military and civilian life demonstrations; animals and more! Admission costs $20 for adults; $15 for seniors, students, children 13 to 17 years, active military and veterans; $10 for children ages 6 to 12 years; and is free for children under 6.
Old Stone House Day takes place along Huguenot Street in New Paltz. For more information and a map of activities, call (845) 255-1660 or visit https://bit.ly/2MMGo3v.
Pickling workshop
at Clermont
Q: What is green and flies?
A: Super Pickle!
Interested in pickling but didn’t get this skill passed down to you in your family? Enjoy learning cool stuff with your family? Want to inspire them to create yummy edibles in the kitchen? Then sign up right now for the “We Can Pickle That!” workshop taking place this Saturday, September 8 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Cottage at Clermont State Historic Site. Geared for ages 8 to 108, here’s a unique opportunity to connect with your kids over cooking that’s not another decorate-a-sugar-cookie workshop. This gathering teaches real skills and tastes great, uses no sprinkles, is great for vegetarians and takes place at a local historic estate! The cost is $10, free for children 12 and under, and all supplies are included.
Clermont State Historic Site is located at 87 Clermont Avenue in Germantown. Registration is required, and can be made by e-mailing info@friendsofclermont.org or calling (518) 537-6622. For more information, visit www.friendsofclermont.org.
SEPTEMBER 9
Heroes’ Day at Hudson River Maritime Museum
Who are your heroes? How about beyond people, such as doggos? This weekend, we are celebrating all heroes! On Sunday, September 9 from noon to 5 p.m., the Hudson River Maritime Museum invites all of us to Heroes’ Day! Honor emergency service personnel and see cool displays and demonstrations including the John J. Harvey retired fireboat, active firetrucks, Coast Guard, K-9 unit and dive tank by the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department, family-friendly activities and more. At the end of the day, a ceremony honors current, retired and fallen heroes, as well as a remembrance of 9/11.
The Hudson River Maritime Museum is located at 50 Rondout Landing in Kingston. For more information about admissions, activities and schedule, call (845) 338-0071 or visit www.facebook.com/events/1859965217422811 and www.hrmm.org/heroes-day.html.
SEPTEMBER 13
Bread & Puppet
at Simon’s Rock
“In a real sense we are not the Puppet and Bread Theater; we are the Bread and Puppet Theater. The real purpose is to create the occasion for the eating of bread together,” says Peter Schumann, founder of the Bread and Puppet Theater Company. How lucky we are that they are performing right in our region this week! You can catch them performing The Grasshopper Rebellion Circus on Thursday, September 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the Daniel Arts Center at Simon’s Rock College. Give your family a wonderful chance to experience live entertainment reflecting cultural movements, growth and change, all through puppetry and community. This performance is free and open to the public, and takes place on the lawn behind the Daniel Arts Center (indoors in the event of rain).
Simon’s Rock College is located at 84 Alford Road in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. For more information, call (413) 644-4400 or visit https://bit.ly/2wHGy2q. To learn more about the show and the performers, visit http://breadandpuppet.org/our-domestic-insurrection-circus.
Erica Chase-Salerno is grateful for our heroes. She can be reached at kidsalmanac@ulsterpublishing.com.
Join the family! 
