Woodstock had no emergency rescue squad in 1973, when the president of Rotron had a heart attack at the Woodstock Golf Club. In the 45 minutes it took for an ambulance to arrive from Kingston, the man died. The following year, the Woodstock Fire Department agreed to add a fifth company to its volunteer services, and the Woodstock Rescue Squad was formed.
The ninth annual Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice, held August 3-5, took the theme of “Sirens of the Voice” in the year of #metoo.
The Tomas Young/Pearl Jam/Phoenicia thrift shop story begins with Young’s enlistment in the Army after the World Trade Center attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The production, set in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, will be one of 13 events at the ninth annual Voicefest, held August 3 through 5 at the outdoor stage in Phoenicia’s Parish Field and other venues around town.
There’s no statute against statues.
The production runs at the Comeau Property in Woodstock from July 27 through September 2, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, at 5:30 p.m.
The Big Indian Beautification Committee has raised over $20,000 to put up a gazebo for free concerts in Big Indian Park
Mamma Mia!, opening July 14, will run three weekends. The production unites local theater regulars, former professional actors, and stage newcomers, aged from 16 to 91, in an upbeat show set to the music of Swedish pop group ABBA. Phoenicia is hosting what may be the first community theater production of the long-running Broadway musical, the rights having been made available for the first time just a few months ago.
Artistic director Matt Mitler said he is fascinated by the mythological archetype of the trickster, an entity who destroys to make way for the new. “In some spiritual practices, it’s considered ‘holy destruction,’” Mitler explained, “from Baldr in the Norse myths to Jesus.” In the search for a text that would embody destruction leading to creation, the company turned to Macbeth. They approach the play’s violence as a kind of ritual combat, designed to create a purifying catharsis for actors and audience. Dzieci Theater Company will present Makbet, their Eastern European-flavored version of the Shakespeare tale of ambition and revenge Saturday, July 7.
The beautiful mountain swimming hole near camping and hiking areas can be quite busy in the summer months. The permits, which are only required on weekends, are available free of charge online.
The business of media is changing, but local, on-the-ground, fact-checked journalism is needed now more than ever.
