Meet a live alligator, see a dozen dance troupes or check out tricky bubbles
“30 days hath September, All the rest I don’t remember.”
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26
A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer with ASL at Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck
Here’s something that I learned this week: Domestic violence impacts one out of every two deaf women, and one out of every six deaf men. And here’s another thing I learned: If you want to raise awareness about domestic abuse, you can highlight a particularly vulnerable population, such as the hearing-impaired, and you can create a show that naturally integrates signing into all of the performances, rather than a separate, stand-alone interpreter for a special single showtime. And guess what? This wonderful production exists!
A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer incorporates all that I have shared here, and it takes place this Friday and Saturday, February 26 and 27 at 8 p.m. and on Sunday, February 28 at 3 p.m. at the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck. Ticket prices are by donation/pay what you can, and proceeds will support the Grace Smith House, Inc., a domestic violence shelter located in Poughkeepsie.
This show draws from a collection of writings edited by Eve Ensler and Mollie Doyle and is about stopping violence against women and girls. Especially notable is the fact that for the first time in the Hudson Valley, this production includes a deaf actor who speaks and signs her own monologue, as well as signs for the duration of the show, providing inclusive ASL access to the deaf community.
The Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck is located at 661 Route 308 in Rhinebeck. For tickets or more information, call (845) 876-3080 or visit https://centerforperformingarts.org. To learn more about this local haven for victims of domestic violence, visit www.gracesmithhouse.org. To learn more about these readings, visit www.eveensler.org/books/anthology-a-memory-a-monologue-a-rant-and-a-prayer.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27
SUNY-Ulster hosts 24th annual DanceFest
Love attending dance performances, but wish you weren’t limited to just one troupe or genre? Then you are going to want to attend the 24th annual DanceFest this Saturday, February 27 at 7 p.m. in the Quimby Theater at SUNY-Ulster. The schools performing are the Vanaver Caravan, American Youth Ballet, Barefoot Dance Center, Dutchess School of Performing Arts, Gina Marie’z Academy of Performing Arts, Natyanikethan School of Indian Classical and Folk Dance, New York Academy of Ballet, New Paltz Ballet Theatre, Saugerties Ballet Center, Rhinebeck Dance Centre, the D’amby Project and Ballet Arts Studio.
Tickets cost $18 general admission and $12 for seniors and children under age 12. SUNY-Ulster is located at 491 Cottekill Road in Stone Ridge. For tickets or more information, call (845) 256-9300 or visit https://vanavercaravan.org.
Rosendale Theatre presents Justice! Find Your Voice
At this weekend’s performance of Justice! Find Your Voice, you’ll find not only your voice, but your dancing feet and connections with area youth as well! Justice! Find Your Voice takes place this Saturday, February 27 at 4 p.m. at the Rosendale Theatre. This multimedia show by the Center for Creative Education’s new touring performance team ACE (Arts Commando Ensemble) includes elements from the Energy Dance Company, the Percussion Orchestra of Kingston (POOK) and SOL! Sing Out Loud. If you’ve ever seen these teams perform before, you know how fun and energizing their work is to watch.
This performance is in honor of Black History Month, and it is an opportunity to hear today’s youth express themselves drawing from their own thoughts, feelings, fears and joys. Show director Drew Andrews shares, “Black history is American history. This piece depicts injustice against Black Americans as well as various social transgressions plaguing us today. We must understand injustice for one is injustice for all.”
Tickets cost a suggested donation of $5 for children and $10 for adults, with proceeds going toward the Center for Creative Education and Youth Arts at the Rosendale Theatre. The Rosendale Theatre is located at 408 Main Street in Rosendale. For more information, visit https://cce4me.org or www.rosendaletheatre.org.
Kicking off maple-tapping season
In the fall, we are inundated with everything-pumpkin, but this time of year is reserved for all-things-maple! Here are two sugaring events to visit this weekend with your family:
Maple Sugaring Basics for Children takes place on Saturday, February 27 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Ellenville Public Library. This event is free and open to the public of all ages, as the instructors share about how maple sugaring is done and what is needed for the process. The Ellenville Public Library is located at 40 Center Street in Ellenville. For more information, call (845) 647-5530 or visit https://eplm.sharepoint.com.
A Sugaring-Off Celebration takes place on Saturday, February 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum Outdoor Discovery Center. The sugaring opening-day festivities include tours of the maple sugaring process, crafts, games and Native American storytelling around the campfire. Admission costs $10 for adults, $7 for children ages 3 to 17 and is free for children under 3. Remember to dress warmly and wear shoes or boots that work well in wooded areas. My kids’ favorite part of this event is at the end: tasting the difference between natural versus synthetic syrup. The Outdoor Discovery Center is located on Muser Drive, across from 174 Angola Road in Cornwall. For more information, call (845) 534-5506 or visit https://hhnaturemuseum.org/index.php/maple-sugar-opening-day.
Bubble Trouble at Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck
I like big bubbles and I cannot lie…How about you? Then head on down to the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck to see Bubble Trouble, for bubbles like you’ve never seen before! And that your kids will want you to replicate at home, so good luck with that. But seriously, Bubble Trouble is fun for the whole family (how do you put fog in a bubble, anyway?), and you can see it all this Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck.
Tickets cost $7 for children, $9 for adults and seniors. The Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck is located at 661 Route 308 in Rhinebeck. For tickets or more information, call (845) 876-3080 or visit https://centerforperformingarts.org. To learn more about the performer, visit https://jeffboyer.com/bubble-trouble.
Women’s Studio Workshop’s Chili Bowl Fiesta at Rosendale Rec Center
The Women’s Studio Workshop’s 19th annual Chili Bowl Fiesta is one of the “it” events of the year, and I’m talking for both adults and kids. It’s the perfect convergence of food, including 20 types of chili, with vegetarian and meat-based offerings; excellent music from one of my all-time favorite kindie bands, Dog on Fleas; more than 900 gorgeous handmade ceramic bowls by the folks at Women’s Studio Workshop themselves, at all price points to choose from; and the playground is right outside!
The Fiesta takes place this Saturday, February 27 at the Rosendale Recreation Center, with early admission from 2 to 4 p.m. for $5, which gives you first pick of the awesome bowls, and free admission from 4 to 7 p.m. The Rosendale Recreation Center is located at 1055 Route 32 in Rosendale. For more information, call (845) 658-9133 or visit www.wsworkshop.org/support-us/chili-bowl-fiesta.
Woodstock Harley-Davidson Spring Fashion Show
Why attend this weekend’s third annual Woodstock Harley-Davidson Spring Fashion Show taking place this Saturday, February 27? First of all, Harley-Davidson just commands cool: a piece of Americana that was around before anybody else did bikes. Second, the proceeds from this event benefit the Center for Spectrum Services, whose programs serve individuals with autism, their families and the professional community through trainings and more. Third, check out who’s modeling this year! Highlights include newly inaugurated Kingston mayor Steve Noble, Tommy Keegan of Keegan Ales, Spectrum Services staff and families as well as professional models walking the runway.
Concerned about the brouhaha caused by crossing legs in the front row during New York Fashion Week? No problem here; sit however you like! General admission costs $10 for the fashion show only, which takes place from 7 to 8 p.m. VIP admission costs $25 and includes a pre-show reception from 6 to 7 p.m. with complimentary wine, beer and hors d’oeuvres. Everyone can participate in the raffles and free door prizes.
Woodstock Harley-Davidson is located at 949 State Route 28 in Kingston. For more information, or to sponsor staging and lighting, call (845) 338-2800, extension 110, e-mail joi@woodstockharley.com or visit ulsterpub.staging.wpengineharley.com or https://centerforspectrumservices.org.
“Soil, Seed & Sun” at Pine Plains Library
Feeling ready for spring? So are the folks at the Pine Plains Free Library! You and your 5-to-8-year-olds can get your seasonal pick-me-up this Saturday, February 27 at 10 a.m. with “Soil, Seed and Sun,” including a hands-on craft making seed bookmarks. This event is free and open to the public.
The Pine Plains Free Library is located at 7806 South Main in Pine Plains. For more information, call (518) 398-1927 or visit https://pineplains.lib.ny.us.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28
Hudson Valley Reptile Expo at Civic Center in Poughkeepsie
See you later, alligator! In a while, crocodile! Now you’re all warmed up for the Hudson Valley Reptile Expo taking place this Sunday, February 28 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center. In addition to seeing tons of reptilian critters and cricket-food for sale, you can catch the live show Gators: Up Close and Personal at 10:30 a.m., 12 noon, 1:30 and 3 p.m. Admission is by cash only: $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 7 to 12 and free for children under 7 with an adult.
The Mid-Hudson Civic Center is located at 14 Civic Center Plaza in Poughkeepsie. For more information, call (845) 616-5838, e-mail jen@herpnerds.com or visit www.herpnerds.com.
Beauty and the Beast at West Point’s Eisenhower Hall
The song “Beauty and the Beast” brought Disney songs back to the pop charts after 30 years: It won a Golden Globe, an Academy Award and a Grammy. It was the first Disney song to get transformed into pop music, and by doing so, it helped to establish Celine Dion’s international singing career.
Been a while since you’re heard the strains of “Tale as old as time/Song as old as rhyme/Beauty and the Beast”? You can see a captivating live performance this Sunday, February 28 at 5 p.m. at Eisenhower Hall at West Point. Tickets cost $42, and remember to bring photo identification for anyone 16 years of age and older to get through the West Point entrance. To reach West Point, use the Stony Lonesome Gate off Route 9W or the Thayer Gate in the village of Highland Falls. For tickets or more information, call (845) 938-4159 or visit www.ikehall.com.
THURSDAY, MARCH 3
Puppets perform The Enchanted Caribou at Gardiner Library
Storytimes can be enjoyable, but puppet shows bring folktales to a whole new level! This Thursday, March 3 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., bring the kids to see a puppet presentation of The Enchanted Caribou at the Gardiner Library. Geared for preschool and elementary school-aged children, this Inuit tale shares about a young maiden who was changed into a white caribou and rescued by a young hunter. This event is free and open to the public.
The Gardiner Library is located at 133 Farmers’ Turnpike in Gardiner. For more information, call (845) 255-1255 or visit https://gardinerlibrary.org.
Talk on Pauli Murray’s friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt at Hyde Park’s Wallace Center
This talk sounds like a terrific novel: a dynamic friendship between a writer-turned-activist/granddaughter of a mulatto slave and the First Lady of the US – and it’s all true! This Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m. in the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home, you can meet author Patricia Bell-Scott and hear about her book, The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship – Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt and the Struggle for Social Justice.
It all started with Pauli Murray writing a letter to protest segregation in the South. The First Lady wrote back, and over time, Bell-Scott shows how their friendship had an impact on American social justice.
The FDR Library and Home is located at 4079 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park. For more information, call (845) 486-7745 or e-mail clifford.laube@nara.gov.
Special Olympics Art Exhibit
Reconnect with those feelings of competition and community during last weekend’s Special Olympics games by visiting Arts Mid-Hudson’s Special Olympics Winter Games Art Exhibit! Participating artists include Abilities First, the Anderson Center for Autism, the Devereux Center, Madison Cahill, ARC of Dutchess and Taconic Resources. The exhibit is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. until March 5, and all proceeds from artwork sold go directly to the artist.
Arts Mid-Hudson is located at 696 Dutchess Turnpike, Suite F, in Poughkeepsie. For more information, call (845) 454-3222 or visit www.artsmidhudson.org. To learn more about the competitions on which this art is based, visit https://specialolympics-ny.org/winter-games.
Erica Chase-Salerno’s hair continues to grow, and she has begun her new chapter of treatment with induced menopause/meno-play. She can be reached at kidsalmanac@ulsterpublishing.com.
Join the family! 
