You always know summer is near at hand when dozens of gaily decorated fiberglass beasties begin to make their appearance on the streets of downtown Saugerties. Each year since 2009, the Saugerties Chamber of Commerce has organized a summerlong street exhibition that draws thousands of visitors and shoppers to the village to admire fanciful works by local artists – all variations on a common template. The last several years have featured butterflies, owls, horses and hippie vans; this year the theme is Barkin’ around Saugerties.
On Sunday, May 18, the Stone Pony Catering Company on Kings Highway threw open its doors for an opening reception at which 35 wildly imaginative renderings of dogs were unveiled. The place was so packed with enthusiastic art mavens, dog-lovers and boosters of downtown businesses that parking spaces were tough to find. Out front, volunteers from the Saugerties Animal Shelter were on hand to show off real live dogs in search of their forever homes.
Each year, a portion of the proceeds of this street art event goes to the artists, another to the Chamber, another to a scholarship fund for Saugerties High School graduating seniors and the balance to a local not-for-profit. This year’s beneficiary will be the building fund for the Shelter’s new headquarters, currently under construction. Most of the funds are raised at the end of the summer, when the sculptures are auctioned off. This year’s auction gala will take place at SPAF at 169 Ulster Avenue, beginning at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 14.
Chamber co-chairs Mark Smith and Peggy Schwartz praised Stone Pony proprietor John Livermore and his staff for hosting the opening event, as well as the village’s Department of Public Works for installing the sculptures all over the downtown streets. “They’ll be put out starting tomorrow, and they can usually do them in one day,” Smith noted. The base of each doggie is marked with a QR code that, when scanned, will take would-be buyers to the Chamber website, where they can place bids on their sculpture of choice. The dogs will faithfully wait in place until the end Labor Day weekend, so visitors will have plenty of time to view all 35 of them and decide which is their favorite.
As is typical of this annual event, the array of interpretations of what an artsy dog might resemble is wildly varied, from naturalistic to bizarre. The pups are painted, decoupaged or appliqued, often costumed or accessorized. Attendees at the opening saw dogs in hiking boots, clown shoes or high heels, bandanas, hats, wigs, glass eyes, false eyelashes. Several superhero dogs wear capes and one an astronaut’s helmet and oxygen tank. One called Hudson River Dog rides in a handsome recreation of a vintage wooden motorboat.
For this viewer, who spent many childhood hours playing with plastic dinosaurs and reading books about long-extinct creatures, the one I most wanted to take home was Dino Dog, created by Jerelyn Mason and Rich Keyes. The green-skinned pup sports an impressive double row of stegosaur plates along its spine. Another that caught my eye was Candle Mountain’s Best Friend by Christine Moss, which will be displayed at Candlestock’s Imagination Studio – “a brand-new location,” according to Schwartz. Its back is topped by three battery-operated candles, with a pattern of wax drippings rendered in multicolored mosaic.
The most flamboyant doggie diva on view was Sarah Jessica Barker at the Mutt Gala by Andrew Rein, done up in a blonde wig, rhinestone bling and a gown with a print of bright-red lips and a tulle-trimmed hem. “I just like to do fun stuff that’s ridiculous and makes people laugh,” said Rein, a Brooklyn transplant. “We’ve been here four years, and this is one of our favorite events. We enjoy meeting the tourists on the street who come to look at the art. There are so many conversations that happen.”
Many of the sculptures are homages to real dogs, living and dead, beloved by the artists themselves. Smith contributed a memorial to a pet lost by his niece in the past year, titled Gone but Not Forgotten: a golden canine angel wearing a transparent halo and sparkly wings. One of the most ambitious and moving projects is Tiffany Incorvaia’s Love Letter: a dog coated all over with decoupaged pages from letters that owners wrote in appreciation of their pets. “I made some letterboxes for the Saugerties Library. Anyone of any age could submit a love letter,” explained Incorvaia, whose usual medium is painting. This is her first year participating in the event.
Appropriately, a fair few of the sculptures are adorned with messages touting rescue dogs as the best kind to get, and urging people to adopt. If this year’s street art event serves to raise public awareness of the services offered by animal shelters and their ever-growing need for funding, in an economy where more and more people are being forced to give up their pets, then Barkin’ around Saugerties 2025 will be more than just a fun thing to do on a summer afternoon.
To see photos of the dog sculptures, place bids in the auction and get updates on September’s gala, visit https://discoversaugerties.com/barkin-around-saugerties or www.facebook.com/saugertieschamberofcommerce. To make a donation directly to the capital campaign for the Saugerties Animal Shelter’s future headquarters, visit www.saugertiesanimalshelter.com/new_building.shtml.
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