CCS Bard gets $50M endowment
Bard College announced on August 26 that it has received a commitment for $50 million to be used as a permanent endowment for the Center for Curatorial Studies. CCS Bard, located on the Annandale campus, is the first institution of its kind in the US dedicated exclusively to Curatorial Studies, an interdisciplinary field exploring the historical, intellectual and social conditions that inform contemporary art exhibition-making and practice. It specializes in art since 1950.
Bard received $25 million from the Marieluise Hessel Foundation and a matching commitment of $25 million from George Soros as part of Bard College’s transformational billion-dollar endowment drive.
Ulster County Food Fight returns to libraries
The Ulster County Food Fight is an annual food collection contest held in cooperation with 12 libraries throughout Ulster County from Wednesday, September 1 to Saturday, October 16. The “Food Fight” is part of the Great Give Back that is happening on October 16 throughout New York State.
The common goal is to “Spread food all over Ulster County” by filling up the shelves of local food pantries and to putting an end to hunger in our communities. The library that collects the highest number of food items during this period wins the Food Fight and receives a winner’s certificate.
Help your library win the Food Fight with your donations of non-perishable (and non-expired) food items for local food pantries. It sounds like a messy fight, but this is a clean competition with other libraries in Ulster County. The following libraries will be participating:
Gardiner Library, (845) 255-1255; Highland Public Library, (845) 691-2275; Hurley Library, (845) 338-2092; Kingston Library, (845) 331-0507; Sarah Hull Hallock Free Library (Milton), (845) 795-2200; Morton Memorial Library (Pine Hill); (845) 254-4222; Olive Free Library, (845) 657-2482; Phoenicia Library, (845) 688-7811; Plattekill Library, (845) 883-7286; Rosendale Library, (845) 658-9013; Stone Ridge Library, (845) 687-7023; West Hurley Public Library, (845) 679-6405.
Please contact your local library to find out what local food pantry it is supporting and all the details of how you can donate food items.
Team Hope Walk for Huntington’s Disease Society of America
The Northeast Region of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) will host the Hudson Valley Team Hope Walk on Sunday, October 24 at 9 a.m. at the Walkway over the Hudson State Historic Park. All proceeds support HDSA’s mission to improve the lives of people affected by Huntington’s disease (HD) and their families.
“What I love best about the Team Hope Walk is to see the HD community come together,” said Virginia Goolkasian, HDSA’s Northeast Regional development officer. “It has the feel of a family reunion, complete with hugs and smiles among teams who walk each year, and it is a warm welcome to newcomers who no longer feel alone in the fight against HD. For everyone, it is a feeling of empowerment as they see an army of people coming together to make a difference.”
Team Hope is HDSA’s largest national grassroots fundraising event, which takes place in over 100 cities across the US and has raised more than $20 million for HD since its inception in 2007. Thousands of families, friends, co-workers, neighbors and communities walk together each year to support HDSA’s mission to improve the lives of people affected by HD and their families.
For more information about the event, contact Virginia Goolkasian at vgoolkasian@hdsa.org or (516) 426-7440. Online registration and donation can be found at https://hdsa.org/thwhudsonvalley.
Master Gardener plant sale September 11 at SUNY Ulster
The annual Master Gardener Plant Sale will take place on September 11 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Xeriscape Garden at SUNY Ulster, located at 491 Cottekill Road in Stone Ridge. The sale will offer an array of plants from the Xeriscape Garden plus perennials, shrubs, trees and houseplants grown by the master gardeners.
Proceeds benefit the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County’s Master Gardener program. Cash or checks will be accepted at the sale, which will be held rain or shine.
For additional information, go to tinyurl.com/2021MGplantsale or contact master gardener coordinator Dona Crawford at (845)340-3990, extension 335, or e-mail dm282@cornell.edu. Free guided tours of the Xeriscape Garden are also available by request for your group or organization. To schedule a tour, call the Master Gardener Hotline at (845) 340-3478.
Stamptrotters Stamp Club to meet on September 9
The Stamptrotters Stamp Club will hold its business meeting on September 9, 7:30 p.m., at the VFW, 30 Elizabeth Street in Red Hook.
The meeting will include a discussion, Q & A and short business session. All ages and experience levels are welcome.
For additional information, call or text (845) 681-9837.
Vax site at Hudson Valley Mall to reopen; SUNY Ulster, SUNY New Paltz host vax clinics
Ulster County announced Friday that it will reopen its COVID-19 vaccination site in the old Best Buy store at the Hudson Valley Mall in September and is partnering with SUNY Ulster and SUNY New Paltz to administer vaccinations on campus as cases continue to climb in the county.
County executive Pat Ryan said that the site originally went online back in March and has a capacity of 2,500 doses a day, with parking for more than 300 cars. The FDA recently announced that individuals should receive a booster shot eight months after their last side dose. Ryan said on Friday that the county reported 573 active cases of COVID-19, the highest number of reported cases since April 26, as the Delta variant continues to spread locally.
The county announced that it will partner with SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Ulster to offer vaccines to unvaccinated students by hosting vaccination clinics on campus, as state regulations now require all SUNY students to be vaccinated to attend in-person classes.
“Our ability to offer vaccines safely and quickly was an essential part of why Ulster County became a leader in vaccination rates,” Ryan said in a prepared statement. “As we enter the next phase of vaccinations, I am confident that we will again be able to replicate our previous success. With the FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine, there is no reason why residents should hesitate to get vaccinated. In the coming days and weeks, we will continue to monitor the numbers and follow the science and make needed adjustments as necessary.”
Earlier this month, Ulster County executive Pat Ryan opened a new vaccination site located at Kingston Plaza, between Savona’s Plaza Pizza and Scanlon Cleaners. The vaccination site is open every Friday from 2 to 7 p.m. Appointments can be made at https://vaccinateulster.com, and walk-ins will be accepted.
– Brian Hubert
Join the family! 
