Something new and exciting has come to Benton Corners in the Town of Gardiner. No, it’s not the traffic light long promised to prevent collisions at this perilous intersection of Route 44/55 and Bruynswick Road (County Route 7). The New York State Department of Transportation still lists that project as due for completion by October 10, 2024, although no roadwork is visible as yet. Nor are we referring to Pitch Pine Outfitters, the charming “outdoor convenience store” that opened in May in the building that formerly housed Base Camp (https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2024/05/27/pitch-pine-outfitters-now-open-in-gardiner).
This week’s big news for Benton Corners is that construction of Full Circle, the “agribusiness hub” envisioned by Hudson Valley Trailworks owner Mike Benevento and his partners, is substantially complete. The first business to open its doors there, to be called Crescent at Full Circle, will celebrate with a “Soft” Opening Day this Thursday, August 1. The day’s events will include yoga classes, sound healing, song circles and musical performances, culminating with a potluck meal. Gardiner Bakehouse, soon to open its storefront at Full Circle, will be on hand to present a “cookie taste test extravaganza.” From 11 a.m. on, there will also be vendors setting up their booths, previewing the indoor/outdoor farm, flea and makers’ market that will take place at the site every Sunday beginning August 4.
Both Crescent and Gardiner Bakehouse will occupy the largest of the new buildings at Full Circle: a barnlike 4,720-square-foot structure featuring a deep awning-shaded colonnade along its long axis, facing an interior courtyard. At its southerly end, across from the bakery entrance, stands a 600-square-foot coffeehouse, to be called Benton and run by Melissa and Greg Gagne, owners of the Grazery in New Paltz. The eatery will be connected by a breezeway to a greenhouse for growing microgreens, which will also contain tables for dining. Benton should be open for business by the end of August, according to Crescent’s Jenny Wonderling.
Between Benton and the Bakehouse, screening the view of the busy intersection, the developers have built up an earth berm to create what Wonderling calls a “natural play area” for kids, which will have a water feature when complete. The central plaza encompassed by the various buildings will form a sort of “village green” for public gatherings and outdoor concerts, including a lawn with a firepit and seating area, as well as a paved platform where an open-sided pavilion is to be built. Also planned are an 820-square-foot storage structure for equipment used by Hudson Valley Trailworks, near the entrance to the site from Bruynswick Road, and a network of recreational trails in the woods at the rear of the 4.78-acre parcel.
“Mike Benevento was really the one with the vision behind this whole thing,” notes Wonderling, who terms the layout a “modern-day piazza.” In seeking permits for the project from the Gardiner Planning Board, the developer described his intent for Full Circle to serve as a “third place” – neither home nor workplace – for the community to gather, outside of Gardiner’s Main Street downtown strip. This Thursday’s event will launch that concept with a full day of activities, with admission on a “pay as you wish” basis.
Building community and connections by unleashing people’s creativity is the core of what Wonderling has been trying to achieve with her business, heretofore housed at Crescent Farm at 1201 Bruynswick Road. The descendant of several generations of artists, she has worn many professional hats, from running a restaurant in TriBeCa to teaching yoga and breathwork to documentary filmmaking and journalism (she’s currently content director at INSIDE + OUT Upstate NY, but spent some time writing for the Woodstock Times in years past). From 2005 to 2019, as proprietor of the three Nectar home décor shops in High Falls and Rhinebeck, Wonderling traveled abroad in search of fair-trade furniture, art and gift items to sell. After that, as one of the founders of Circle Creative Collective in New Paltz, she organized workshops in hands-on crafts such as dyeing and weaving and orchestrated massive “interactive site-specific theater dreamscapes” including Bloom at Stone Ridge Orchard and Luminous at the Widow Jane Mine. “I love the alchemy of creativity,” Wonderling says.
She branched off on her own to start Crescent in late 2022, as a nurturing home for yoga, breathwork, Reiki, sound healing and writing workshops, rituals, communal dinners, story slams, drum and song circles, handicrafts including instrument-making, connecting with nature, healing the spirit and building community with others. Crescent Farm, whose 26 acres boast Wallkill River waterfront, a fine view of the Shawangunk cliffs, an 1860s farmhouse, two rentable cottages and a studio, will continue to function as a venue for classes, retreats, boutique weddings, herb walks and such. But much of the focus will now shift to the sunlit 2,000-square-foot studio and performance space in the barn at Full Circle. The sealer was still drying on the concrete floor when HV1 paid a visit last weekend, but eventually a more yoga- and dance-friendly wooden floor will be installed. Music events will be regular offerings, and the space will also be rentable for all sorts of classes and gatherings.
At this Thursday’s launch at Crescent @ Full Circle, and on the schedule of events in the weeks to follow, the lineup of performers and teachers includes some formidable names in the alternative healing and world music pantheons, of whom the best-known is probably bansuri flute virtuoso Steve Gorn. Following a welcoming ceremony by Jenny Wonderling and Stefanie Frank at 10 a.m., the soft opening event will feature Renée Skuba at 10:30 a.m., Lesley Majzlin at noon, Elana Bell at 1 p.m., Onome at 2 p.m., Prana Apana with Sama Shakti and Dave Schneider at 3 p.m., Jessica Caplan at 4 p.m., Radharani at 5 p.m., Crash Taylor at 6 p.m., CC Treadway & Friends at 7 p.m., Steve Gorn and Holly Shelowitz at 8 p.m. and Michael Gabriel at 8:30 p.m. You can learn more about all the performers on the Crescent website at https://crescenthv.com/calendar-schedule/opening-day-crescent.
Full Circle is located at 293 Bruynswick Road, on the northeast corner of Benton Corners, across Route 44/55 from Lombardi’s Italian Restaurant. The soft opening event on August 1 runs from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Admission is by voluntary donation. Attendees are asked to RSVP at https://crescenthv.com/contact. Please bring a dish or beverage to share if you wish to participate in the potluck meal.