Fight In "The Willows" Halloween Night In Beacon

Several neighbors in Beacon reported that there was a fight at “The Willows,” which is the loop after Willow Street proper jumps Verplanck. This area is known for its yard displays, usually boasting of fire pits, sometimes interactive candy games, and a temporary haunted house set up in the street. If there are any rumbles or skerfuffles, it is usually not a surprise. This is a destination spot for kids to come from all over Beacon, if kids in Beacon haven’t traveled out, like to Cold Spring or the community across from Dutchess Stadium.

Not all years are teaming with people, as the crowd ebbs and flows with the weather and day of the week. This year Halloween was on a Thursday, which is traditionally an active pre-weekend day, the weather was fine, and crisp orange leaves danced through the air with warm wind gusts. Many kids, teenagers, parents and caregivers were out.

After dark, neighbors reported hearing sirens headed to East Willow, with a report of approximately 4 cop cars plus a “blinky lights car,” is how it was described. Other neighbors reported seeing a fight between two girls, where one girl allegedly opened her jacket or cloak to reveal a gun to whoever was versing her. The neighbors did not know if it was a real gun, or if they actually saw a gun. Young neighbors did not seem surprised to see girls fighting, as they say they see girls fight at Rombout Middle School. Either they allegedly fight, or allegedly talk about scheduling one. Girls have been known to fight on Main Street, as this writer witnessed years ago between two teenage girls with a skateboard. The fight was quickly broken up by a parent, uncle or community member.

Update 11/2/2024: Video has emerged of two girls fighting. This article is not interested in the identities of the girls. This article was reporting that there was a fight, or fights. And for anyone who is surprised about fighting in Beacon, this is to report that fighting is not unusual here. Despite what anyone would like to hide as a bad look. It just happens, and people move on. Wishing, of course, that everyone is safe and the people fighting are able to resolve between themselves. Reports remain that people also saw guys fighting.

Meanwhile, kids with orbie guns were about. Orbie guns, otherwise known as Gel Blaster Guns, look like assault rifles but shoot out plastic orbie circles that never really disintegrate from the earth. Kids of all ages in Beacon have been known to carry these Gel Blasters around Rombout Middle Schools, Memorial Park, the Skate Park during adult baseball games, Loopers Plaza, and other locations where kids gather to have fun. When school let out for summer, Beacon Police Chief Figlia issued a warning to kids and parents not to carry such guns as ALBB reported, as they could be mistaken for a real gun.

Some neighbors also reported seeing what they thought to be a guy in a pig mask trying to sell drugs to trick or treaters, who allegedly got into a few fights himself.

Last year, neighbors reported seeing a man with a flame gun approaching people to shoot their toes. Apparently, he then went into people’s property. Later, some neighbors saw a picture of the man with the flame gun in a mug shot with his outfit still on.

Meanwhile, the infamous trickster guy from Willow Street was out again this year, looking for prey to scare. He stays very still until the unsuspecting person passes him, and then he begins his pursuit.

Response To Social Media Response To This Article

After this article was published, a few individuals from Beacon took to tearing it down grammatically. What is interesting is that when articles are published about fights or police activity in other areas of Beacon that are not “nice” or “suburban” areas, those articles are not picked apart as viciously as one this was.

Below are two video responses from Katie the Editor, Publisher, and Creator of A Little Beacon Blog.

Spirit of Beacon Day 2024: Who Will Be There! Maps Of Vendor Tables

For the 47th year of the Spirit of Beacon Day, which started in 1977 as an answer to racial tensions between youth and the community, there will be 85 vendor tables in the center of Main Street with the goals of reaching people in the community about their services, providing joy, and food! One of the goal’s of this year’s Spirit of Beacon Committee was to incorporate more cultural food and vendors.

Food from some Main Street businesses who are also setting up tables on the sidewalk, like Nansense (Afghan burgers newly opened on Eliza Street), Matcha Thomas, Pats Kitchen Corp, St. Rocco Society, Masjid Ur Rashid, Hidden Rose Catering/Single Hungry Club, Hudson Valley Food Hall, Keyfood, Mama La’s Food For The Soul, The Potluck Eatery, and more.

Plus, all of the restaurants in Beacon (see ALBB's Restaurant Guide here) and shops (see ALBB's Shopping Guide here).

Visit vendor tables from organizations including (but no limited to) Queer Family Network, Chabad Of Beacon, Nails By Yoshii, Growing And Empowering Myself And My Sisters Inc., Beacon Light Tabernacle Sda Church, Beacon Of Health Collective, Midnight Ferry, Goodwill Church Beacon, Kadampa Meditation Center New York - Beacon Branch, Beacon Prison Rides, Rapp- Release Aging People From Prison, Makerdale, Daydream Collaborative Clinic, Piano Adventures Beacon, and many more.

A Little Beacon Blog will be there in the Kids Section offering face painting. The Kids Section is once again in the front yard of the generous Salvation Army Beacon Corps.

Remember, don't ask the businesses for their bathrooms! Use the Porta Potties that the Spirit of Beacon Sponsors have generously provided for you. Sponsors in part this year include Keyfood, Ziatün, Roundhouse, Dia:, and Hudson View park. Find this year’s banner once again on Keyfood (because Beacon remains in a Banner Ban).

See you out there!

Beacon Jews Signed This Open Letter In Support Of Ceasefire Resolution

When the City of Beacon/s City Council was debating signing the Ceasefire Resolution which it passed, several Jewish community members in Beacon signed and published an Open Letter In Support Of A Ceasefire Resolution. That was a contentious time that has tempered today, but will not go away, as a Ceasefire was never established, Palestine continues to get bombarded by Israel, funded by the Untied States who is supplying the weapons to massacre Palestinians, and Israel has escalated its bombardment of Lebanon again.

Since that time, A Little Beacon Blog faced harassment from a few people, including an Anonymous Letter Writer who was relentless in sending dozens of letters to businesses in Beacon who do an do not work with A Little Beacon Blog. This action created fear in us, and hesitation to publish more. But we know we must continue on with the rest of the world in resisting this violent, colonialist takeover.

Worse, is the strain it has put on the Jewish community globally, who has risen up shakily but loudly to say “Not in our name.”

Below is the Open Letter as it has been published. Should it be updated, we will update it here as well. The original can be found here. More people who are Jewish and live in Beacon or pay Beacon taxes can sign here.


Open Letter From Beacon Jews In Support of a Ceasefire Resolution

If you are Jewish & you want to sign on, please go to: https://bit.ly/BeaconJews4CF

We are Jewish Beaconites who represent a wide array of Jewish spiritual, religious, and cultural practices and beliefs. We have a range of experiences with, perspectives on, and personal connections to, the land and people of Israel and Palestine. In all our diversity, we are united in our support of a Ceasefire Resolution for the City of Beacon.

Over the past weeks, we’ve heard some Jewish community members cite their fear of speaking out, fear of pro-Palestinian protestors, and fear of their own public comments being posted on social media in their opposition to a Ceasefire Resolution. The Rabbi of BHA wrote in our local newspaper that a Ceasefire Resolution “will strain, if not shred, the social fabric here in Beacon.” We have heard other Jewish leaders suggest that there is a sinister, antisemitic underbelly to the local Ceasefire movement. A highly inflammatory and personally targeted petition is circulating with the aim of discrediting the growing Ceasefire movement and painting it as broadly antisemitic.

As Jews, we understand what antisemitic hate looks and feels like. We know the fear. Our ancestors endured pogroms, concentration camps, expulsion, discrimination, and exclusion. We have lived through the rise of antisemitism and anti-Jewish violence in this country along with a rise in hate-crimes of many kinds over the past decade (and some of us live at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities). These traumas live in our memories and in our bodies.

We, too, were deeply affected by the events of October 7th. Some of us have loved ones in the region for whom safety is a daily concern. Many of us feel fear when speaking out publicly on this issue, due both to antisemitism, and to pressure to conform coming from within our Jewish communities. It is risky to enter a heated and difficult debate that directly affects the people and communities we love.

It is from this place of deep knowing that we say: we will not let our fear be used to silence the urgent cries of our neighbors, who are calling out, “Ceasefire, NOW!”

In our Ceasefire Resolution debate here in Beacon, we are seeing anti-Zionism and critique of Israeli military actions being conflated with antisemitism. As is often the case when Jews confront criticism of Israel, discomfort is reported as danger, and complex language around activism and resistance is flattened into a simple attack on the Jewish people.

This is dangerous for Jews and non-Jews alike.
— Beacon Jews In Support Of Ceasefire Resolution

Antisemitism exists in all movements, because antisemitism exists everywhere. It is all of our responsibility to confront antisemitism wherever it surfaces. In our Ceasefire Resolution debate here in Beacon, we are seeing anti-Zionism and critique of Israeli military actions being conflated with antisemitism. As is often the case when Jews confront criticism of Israel, discomfort is reported as danger, and complex language around activism and resistance is flattened into a simple attack on the Jewish people.

This is dangerous for Jews and non-Jews alike. For Jews, the conflation of Israel and Judaism means that Jews can be targeted for the Israeli government’s actions, regardless of their stance on Israel. For non-Jews, antisemitism is a serious accusation. When used broadly, and when not clearly defined, it can be defamatory. To be wrongly accused of antisemitism can result in harsh consequences; it can cost someone their job, reputation and standing, before the accusations can be addressed. We as Jews must call out when the threat of antisemitism is used to mischaracterize a legitimate call to action.

At the same time, we have heard our Palestinian neighbors describe experiences of explicit xenophobia and racism: being called “terrorists'' on our city streets, harassed at their places of work, and warned against wearing their keffiyehs. They confront racism in all its forms, all while their family members in Gaza are dying and their families in the West Bank are under constant threat and surveillance.

As Jews we have been taught about the Nazi Holocaust: never again. With over 100 Palestinians being killed every day, Never again is right now.

There is no time to wait.

Many local Jews are in community and communication with our Palestinian neighbors, and stand with them. The need for conversation between and among Jews of differing perspectives has also been made clear by this debate.
— Beacon Jews Who Support Ceasefire Resolution

We agree that dialogue is a productive way of building understanding across lines of difference, and of addressing and rooting out bias in ourselves and others. And in the simplest sense, we are in dialogue. Many local Jews are in community and communication with our Palestinian neighbors, and stand with them. The need for conversation between and among Jews of differing perspectives has also been made clear by this debate.

These last few weeks at City Council we have been in lively and passionate exchanges about these issues. A call for mediated, formal dialogue, no matter how well intentioned or needed, cannot be used to divert attention from the urgent call for a Ceasefire. Palestinians do not have the luxury of tabling this in exchange for careful conversation. People are dying now, and we must act now.

We appreciate that the City Council is listening, and that there is renewed interest in pursuing a Ceasefire resolution.

We stand united for a Ceasefire Resolution, and against all forms of oppression including Islamophobia and antisemitism, and call on the Beacon City Council to pass a resolution now.

SIGNED:

(List in formation, will be updated several times daily. Current number of signers: 76.)

Abigail Shapiro Taylor Ward 4
Arthur Camins Ward 2
Avis Olsen Ward 1
Brandon Vote in Fishkill/Glenham, pay Beacon School Taxes
Daniel Fisherman Ward 1
Dan Spitzer Ward 1
Dara Silverman Ward 1
Daria Gates Ward 1
David Ross Ward 1
David Smolen Ward 2
Deborah D. Vote in Fishkill/Glenham, pay Beacon School Taxes
Diana Cowdery Ward 4
Donna Minkowitz Ward 1
Elizabeth Greenblatt Ward 1
Emily Joslin-Roher Ward 2
Emma Myers Ward 2
Erica Patterson Ward 2
Eve Morgenstern Ward 4
Gracelyn Woods Ward 2
Hana Feit I work, worship, go to school, or live part time in Beacon
Harper Horwitz Ward 4
Harry Teitelman Ward 4
Ilana Friedman Ward 2
Jen Clapp Ward 1
Jennifer Clair Ward 4
Jessica Simkovic Ward 3
Jillian Heller Ward 3
Joan Unterweger Ward 3
Joshua K. Burghardt Vote in Fishkill/Glenham, pay Beacon School Taxes
Julie Beth Napolin Ward 4
Katya Levitan-Reiner Ward 1
Laura Bellizzi Ward 2
Lauren A. Ward 2
Lauren Spiro Ward 4
Lev Olsen I work, worship, go to school, or live part time in Beacon
Lila Barchetto Ward 4
Margo Sivin Ward 4
Martin Z. Vote in Fishkill/Glenham, pay Beacon School Taxes
Masha Schmidt Ward 4
Matt Harle Vote in Fishkill/Glenham, pay Beacon School Taxes
Matthew Ward 2
MJ Witenberg Ward 2
Nicolette Dakin Vote in Fishkill/Glenham, pay Beacon School Taxes
Noga Cabo Vote in Fishkill/Glenham, pay Beacon School Taxes
Ori Alon-Ray Ward 3
Parisa Karami Ward 3
Paula K. Vote in Fishkill/Glenham, pay Beacon School Taxes
Paula King Ward 1
Peggy Ross Ward 1
Phoebe Zinman Ward 3
Randy Bennis Ward 2
Randy Patterson Ward 1
Ray Roy Vote in Fishkill/Glenham, pay Beacon School Taxes
Ray Simons Ward 2
Rebecca Wisotsky Ward 1
Rusty Stahl Ward 1
Ruth Danon Ward 1
Sadie Greene-Kaufman Ward 1
Sam Adels Ward 2
Sarah Capua Vote in Fishkill/Glenham, pay Beacon School Taxes
Sarah From Ward 1
Sarah Richardsen Ward 4
Sasha Stim-Fogel Ward 2
Sergio Perez Ward 2
Sharon Strauss Ward 2
Sheila Webb-Halpern Ward 3
Steve Gold Ward 4
Stuart Gabriel Ward 4
Susan Myers Ward 1
Suzy Konecky Ward 1
Tina Bernstein Ward 2
Tom Stringer Ward 3
Tyler P. Ward 2
Valerie Barela Ward 2
William P. Ward 3
Yael Korman Ward 2

New To The Restaurant Guide! Bagelish & Nilufers Home Kitchen Plus The New Ice Cream Spot Located Inside The HV Food Hall

ALBB’s Restaurant Guide has been updated! This list changes daily. As restaurants open and close, try new menus, & new methods. We monitor their social media, but if you know of something different than what is on this list, please let us know!

Bagelish & Nilufer Home Kitchen have recently opened right here on Main St in Beacon and added to the Restaurant Guide.

Bagelish

“Experience the Extra-Ordinary”… bagels are produced with a unique process using specially milled flour with no bleaching agents or bromides. When possible, they source locally produced flour, butter, bacon, salmon, and coffee. For their ethnically diverse offerings, they source ingredients from around the globe, including Lebanese extra virgin olive oil, Lebanese za’atar, Irish cheddar, Korean and Portuguese sea salts.

Located at 226 Main St.

Nilufer Home Kitchen

Executive Chef, Numerologist, Life Coach, EFT Therapist… a Turkish table offering breakfast and lighter fare prevail.

Five Pennies Creamery

And incase you missed it on our Instagram… Five Pennies Creamery has opened up in the Hudson Valley Food Hall!

Beacon’s newest family-owned business. We’ve all been waiting. Overheard at the new countertop: “We heard you were coming to Beacon! We have been waiting ever since!”

Owner Dan the Ice-cream Man makes the icecream in the Food Hall. That’s right - 100 flavors made right here on Main Street. What are the flavors? Well, there are many didferent variations of chocolate ice-cream, for instance. Several variations of coconut icecream. Not all at once, but in rotation. There’s a chance there will be different flavors each time you come. Flavors like Toasted Coconut, Cookie Dough, pralines & Cream, Smurfs, Cookies & Cream, Banana Pudding, Chocolate, Vanilla, and others are ready to be scooped. Waffle cones are available. Chunky ice-cream is the norm. Swirls of flavor are prominent.

Hudson Valley Food Hall is a sponsor of ALBB’s Restaurant Guide! Making features like this possible. With sprinkles on top.

Pro-Palestine Protestors Shut Down Westbound Hamilton Fish Newburgh Beacon Bridge As Part Of An International Coordinated Economic Blockade On Tax Day

HAPPY MONEY MONDAY!! That’s what we celebrate at ALBB’s sister business, the media resource Tin Shingle (hey Anonymous, Cowardly Letter Sender! You missed one of my businesses!! And it won’t by my last!!)

Happy Tax Day Economic Shutdown Day. Free Palestine.

Repost @hv4freepalestine :
BREAKING: Pro-Palestine protestors have shut down the westbound Hamilton Fish Newburgh Beacon Bridge as part of an international coordinated economic blockade on Tax Day with @a15actions to compel the U.S. government to divest from the genocide happening in Palestine. Hudson Valley organizers join over 50 cities around the world in disrupting the global economy in response to a call from Gaza to fight for a liberated Palestine.

From the Hudson Valley organizers: “Tax Day is a reminder that the Biden administration has made over 100 transfers of taxpayer dollars in military assistance to Israel since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza. We refuse to allow business as usual to continue while Palestinians are murdered by Israel using American weaponry and tax dollars. Those committed to Palestinian freedom in the Hudson Valley have tried many tactics—we’ve demonstrated, we’ve lobbied our representatives, Pat Ryan and Marc Molinaro, for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, we’ve visited their offices, we’ve educated the public. Those on the highway today are done waiting on congressional representatives. We are committed to keeping up the pressure until the genocide ends and Palestine is free.”

Banners Banned and Grounded On Main Street - No Hanging Banners

After years and years of banners hanging across Main Street, both organizations, I Am Beacon and the Spirit of Beacon Day were denied permission in 2022 to hang promotional banners across Main Street. Banners serve several purposes, including income to the City with a permit fee, income to organizations for sponsor logo placement on the high-visibility banners, and good old fashioned IRL (In Real Life) promotion for people when they aren’t lost looking in their phones.

The Spirit of Beacon Day raised theirs to the roof of Key Food. The Masjid Ar Rashid Mosque was also denied permission to hang their yearly banner celebrating Eid, the end of Ramadan. Their banner now hangs on the front gate of the Mosque. The Parade of Green was also denied hanging their banner, so theirs was grounded this year in the grassy area at Cross Street and Main Street.

In July 2022, City Administrator Chris White confirmed to the Spirit of Beacon Day Committee via email: “We no longer accept applications for banners on Main Street so you won’t be able to install one. The prior Administrator stopped issuing permits for banners after staff raised concern about safety after several of them broke and got loose into the traffic lanes of Main Street. We were also getting pressure from certain religious organizations about putting up religious banners so rather than try to navigate complex free speech issues, the prior Administrator just stopped issuing permits. I have continued this policy and have not accepted applications during my tenure here.”

The former City Administrator at that time was Anthony Ruggiero, who served under Mayor Randy Casale, who served 2 terms as Mayor and was Beacon’s Highway Superintendent for 16 years. During those years, banners were hung to promote goings on around town. Currently, the Highway Superintendent (titled Superintendent of Streets in Beacon) is Michael (Micki) Manzi. It is not known what Micki’s techniques are for hanging the banners, that may have differed from former Mayor and Highway Superintendent Randy.

Said Lesly Deschler Canossi via ALBB’s Instagram: “They used to allow Ree Play Sale years ago. I thought it was helpful.”

The Beacon Library also chimed in: “We requested in 2022 for the library’s anniversary and were told it was because of Central Hudson.” ALBB is currently following up on the Central Hudson reasoning.

Ceasefire Resolution Passes In Beacon

Ceasefire Resolution passed in Beacon! The entire night was dedicated to hearing from the public (except for the decision on what fencing company to award the bid to for Wee Play Tot Park, and the Fire Department Volunteer Members who Qualify for Length of Service Award Program Contribution for 2023.)

The council then debated from 10:30-11pm on a different draft of what was made available to the public, and then voted.

Councilmember Molly Rhodes: Yes
Councilmember Jeffrey Domanski: Abstain
Councilmember Amber Grant: Yes
Mayor Lee Kyriacou: Abstain
Councilmember Paloma Wake: Yes
Councilmember Pam Wetherbee: Yes (after a long think)
Councilmember Dan Aymar-Blair: Yes

Pro-Palestine March Down Main Street In Beacon | Saturday, Feb 3, 12pm, Pohill Park

Beacon's Demonstration For A Free Palestine! Ceasefire Now!
End the Genocide! End the Occupation! End the Apartheid! Free Palestine!
Day: Saturday, February 3, 2024
Time: 12pm start
Location: Pohill Park (Main Street and Wolcott near Bank Square Coffee)
From the organizers at Next Up Hudson Valley: "We need to wage peace the way they wage war. Join us this Saturday as we continue to disrupt the normalcy in Beacon, New York. #FreePalestine 🍉✊🏾"
Information >

Beacon Farmers Market Closed For Anticipated Snow Storm - January 7, 2024

In anticipation of the first snow storm of the season, which is predicted to drop 4”-8” of snow, the Beacon Farmer’s Market is closed. Said the Beacon Farmer’s Market via their Instagram: “When there is snowfall in Beacon, cars must be removed from Main Street to allow plows to come through. When this happens, parking lots like the DMV Lot must be made available for public/resident parking. We’re happy to do our part for the residents of Beacon.”

SOON IS NOW - A Festival Of Climate And Eco Art, Performance And Activism - Here In Beacon - September 23, 2023

SOON IS NOW is an afternoon of art and live performance about climate change and the ecological in Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park, a former industrial site and brownfield transformed by Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architects, the Scenic Hudson Land Trust, and others, into a sustainable park on the Hudson River in Beacon, NY. This site is on the unceded land of the Wappinger, in a region with a vital history of environmentalism rooted in Scenic Hudson’s fight to save Storm King Mountain from industry and Pete Seeger’s fight for an unpolluted Hudson River.

Twinkle Burke, What We Give Back, by Madeline Sayet, photo by Lucas Millard 

Audience walking to the next performance, photo by Flynn Larsen

Part reverence for the River, part cry for what is lost to climate chaos, part response to the pollution and rejuvenation of the park's ecosystem, SOON IS NOW places art in conversation with the landscape and brings audiences into an immersive experience with original works. 

Actors, dancers, musicians, performance and visual artists are curated throughout the park (many of them Beacon-based): Edwin TorresAlex WatermanRaven ChaconBob BellerueKoyoltzintliElise Knudson, Elisa Santiago, Randy Burd, Cecilia Fontanesi, Tom King, Jim FletcherJaanika PeernaTwinkle BurkeJojo GonzalezCamille SeamanAndrew Brehm and Jean Brennan.

Edwin Torres, Water’s Way: A Poet’s Choir for the Hudson River with E.J. McDonald, LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, Tamalyn Miller, Kristin Prevallet, Urayoán Noel, Jayden Featherstone. photo by Flynn Larsen  

The Resistance Revival Chorus will be performing a special concert at 5pm including a new song about climate change. 

The Resistance Revival Chorus, photo by Ginny Suss

On SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23rd at 2pm the day starts at the River Center (the red barn) in Scenic Hudson's Long Dock Park with a visual arts exhibition. Meet activists including Beacon Climate Action Now, Climate Reality Hudson Valley & Catskills and Fareground, and learn what you can do. Sign up for an 80 minute tour of performances throughout the park that start at 2:30, 3pm and 3:30pm, first come, first served. Even if you don't get on a tour you will be able to experience performance, visual art in the River Center and the concert by The Resistance Revival Chorus at 5pm. Poppy's Farm 2 Trailer food truck will be at the event selling tacos. Parking at Long Dock Park is limited. Park at the Metro North Beacon Train Station where all parking spots are free on the weekends, a short walk to the event. Free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by Climate Reality Hudson Valley & Catskills and HV Climate Solutions Week. Part of Climate Change Theatre Action's 2023 season. Funded by Arts Mid-Hudson, the Clara Lou Gould Fund for the Arts administered by Beacon Arts, and many local businesses and individuals. 

Tom King, photo by Lucas Millard

Jaanika Peerna, Glacier Elegy, photo by Flynn Larsen

Liz Zito, Eric Magnus, Andrew Brehm, The Oysters, by Miranda Rose Hall, photo by Lucas Millard

Elise Knudson, Sentinels, photo by Flynn Larsen

For more information: soonisnow.org or contact evemorgenstern@gmail.com.

About Eve Morgenstern:

Eve Morgenstern, Director/Founder/Producer is a photographer and filmmaker. She has been awarded artist residencies at The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Workspace and MacDowell, and grants for her work from The New York State Council on the Arts, Chicken and Egg Pictures, The George Gund Foundation, The Park Foundation and Arts Mid-Hudson. Her environmental film Cheshire, Ohio has screened in festivals in the US, Canada and Asia and is distributed by Bullfrog Films and ovid.tv . Her photographic project Facades of Crises had its solo Museum premiere at Bildmuseet in Umeå, Sweden. Eve is also co-chair of her Climate Reality Hudson Valley & Catskills chapter. She lives in Beacon, NY with her daughter Chloe and her beloved mutt Amber. “This started as an experiment to produce plays from Climate Change Theatre Action, a project that uses storytelling and live performance to foster dialogue about our global climate crisis. The project grew to include visual art and original live performance created in dialogue with the site. The idea to curate works throughout Scenic Hudson's Long Dock Park as a tour for audiences is intentional and meaningful as this site was once a brownfield, remediated and revisioned into a beautiful climate resilient public park on the Hudson River.”

CREDITS SOON IS NOW:

Eve Morgenstern, Founder, Director

Connie Hall, Producer

Brian Mendes, Producer

ALBB is a Media Sponsor of this event, and is proud to partner to help get the word out.

10,000 Friends On Instagram - Thank You! Looking Forward To Meeting More Of You!

Nice to see you all. Here at ALBB, Instagram’s number counter has hit 10,000 followers. Our Instagram Editor Teslie is doing flips and spins she’s so excited. Katie our publisher has taken a knee and is taking a minute. For those who count, with those silly Instagram rules, 10,000 is a big deal. That number is nothing without you, because that number IS all of yous.

Why? Because sometimes we write about sunshine ☀️ and rainbows 🌈. And 🍭 and chocolate 🍫. We write happy and loopy. But sometimes we write straight 🧜🏾‍♀️ 😡 when we lose pieces of the community or fairness.

Why do we write this way? Because you read it. You want to read it. Which has brought the greatest joy. You ask for more. You like your dessert but you love your veggies. And for those who eat meat, we serve a bloody steak.

ALBB has the pleasure and the honor of holding stories from those who share them with us. Business stories. Personal stories. It is how we get to know all of you and connect all of you. Which in turn protects all of us more.

Beacon is a transient town for many. For those who have homes, and those who don’t. Roots that run beneath Beacon’s streets and yards run deep. It is that spirit that keeps us writing while we are still here.

To all of our sponsors and financially contributing readers who have supported us: thank you, you make it possible by investing in us and our payroll. To all of our readers: thank you!! You guide us on what to cover.

Keep sharing and tagging! 🙏🏽 🤲🏽

PS… if you haven’t yet, follow us on Instagram! >

Beacon Elks Club Donates to Beacon Youth Police Academy

PICTURED: Jeannie McAuley, Loyal Knight, Beacon Elks Lodge #1493;
Beacon Police Sgt. Joseph Conti; and Cathy Oken, Youth Activities
Chair, Beacon Elks Lodge.

Beacon Elks Lodge donated $200 of their Gratitude Grant to the Beacon Police Department’s Summer Youth Academy.

The Beacon Youth Police Academy is a free, week-long program for students entering grades 9-12 and provides an introduction to careers in law enforcement.

The goal of the academy is to help participating youth understand the role police officers play in the community, the duties required to be performed on the job, and requirements of becoming a police officer. In addition, the program fosters relationships between the officers and the youth participants. This is accomplished with mock situations and lectures, field trips, physical fitness exercises, and games.

The Gratitude Grant is one of three grants the Beacon Elks Lodge has obtained for the 2023-24 Elk Year.

“These grants allow the Beacon Elks Lodge to be an active and integral part of the community,” said Jennifer Velez, Exalted Ruler, Beacon Elks Lodge. “Additionally, the grant allows the Elks to support local law enforcement missions and initiatives and provides local youth with an opportunity to learn about the possibilities of a career in law enforcement.”

“Our Youth Activities team helps assist local youth organizations, local youth initiatives, and local first-responder organizations with the development of young men and women in the community,” added Velez.

For more information on the Beacon Youth Police Academy, contact the Beacon Police Dept. at (845) 831-4111.

For more information on the Beacon Elks Youth Activities Committee or community service and outreach, contact Robert K. Lanier, Public Relations Chair.

A Celebration Of The Literary Arts; Beacon LitFest June 17 & June 18

The two day festival, a collaboration of the Beacon LitFest Committee and Howland Cultural Center, will feature a stellar line up of award-winning writers, poets, and playwrights, workshops, and cameo appearances by NYT and NPR Puzzlemaster Will Shortz and accomplished actor and producer Emily Mortimer.

The Beacon LitFest Committee and the Howland Cultural Center (HCC) in Beacon, NY, announce the inaugural Beacon LitFest scheduled for the weekend of June 17 and 18. Saturday will feature an all-day program of exceptional writers, poets, and playwrights and include provocative literary conversation, staged performances, and guest appearances by NYT and NPR Puzzlemaster Will Shortz and accomplished actor and producer Emily Mortimer.

A book-signing, first edition book gifts, and cocktail hour will follow. On Sunday, the Beacon LitFest@HCC will offer writing workshops with master instructors.

On Saturday June 17th, the main program begins at 11am and will end at 5pm, with a midday lunch break. It will feature special guest New York Times and NPR puzzler Will Shortz in conversation with bestselling author Danielle Trussoni. They’ll discuss her hotly anticipated thriller, The Puzzle Master, which has already garnered the 2023 Prix Bete Noire des Libraires and American Booksellers Association Indie Next awards, which Booklist calls “a sure-fire hit.” 

Novelist Laura Sims will introduce her new, razor-sharp suspense novel How Can I Help You and discuss the development of her critically acclaimed novel, Looker, for television with her guest, the award-winning actor, screenwriter, and producer Emily Mortimer. 

Poet and editor Martine Bellen will read from her new release An Anatomy of Curiosity and cultural activist, educator and anthologist Patricia Spears Jones will share work from A Lucent -Fire, Pain Killer and others. 

Indran Amirthanayagam poet and translator will read from his latest Ten Thousand Steps Against the Tyrant. Nonfiction writers, Donna Minkowitz (Growing Up Golem, Ferocious Romance), Ginger Strand (The Brothers Vonnegut, Flight) and Jamie Price, PhD (The Call) will share sometimes subversive research methods when writing about major social and political topics.

Unique to the Beacon LitFest is the inclusion of playwriting as a literary art. Award-winning UK and US Playwrights Nigel Gearing and Charlotte Meehan will discuss the form and function of language in dramatic works. 

A book signing will include a free first edition copy of Trussoni’s The Puzzle Master with any book purchase, and a cocktail reception will follow Saturday’s activities to allow writers and audience members to mingle. 

June 18th Program for Beacon LitFest

On Sunday June 18, at 10am, 12pm, and 2pm, Beacon Litfest@HCC will offer three consecutive live writing and storytelling intensives, limited to 10 participants each. The workshops, led by notable Hudson Valley writers, include: Live Writing-A Poetry Project with poet and curator Ruth Danon, PhD; Is It Memoir? Is It Fiction? with journalist and memoirist Ken Foster; and From Stage to Page: Adding Drama to Narrative with Dramaturg, writer and producer, Shane Bly Killoran. “Our plan with this festival is to highlight Beacon’s growing literary community and expose audiences to fresh and thought-provoking work, says Dr Hannah Brooks, LitFest co-producer and Howland board member.

Lead-in LitFest programs have included sold out presentations of “The Vagina Monologues” staged in collaboration with Hit House Creative and “Hudson Valley Poets Present” produced with Live-Writing: A Project for Poetry.

Howland Cultural Center and BLF support diverse voices in panelists and audiences and are committed to inclusivity and access to cultural participation. American Sign Language translation is being provided for the main program and a percentage of tickets and workshop seats to community members of limited means. “Our goal,” says Howland President Theresa Kraft, “is building true community--the arts help us get there.”

The Howland Cultural Center, the city’s former library and known today as the ‘Jewel of Beacon,’ is located at 477 Main St in Beacon, NY. Tickets for the Saturday and Sunday events are available to the public at howlandculturalcenter.org or at the door.

Beacon Elks Lodge To Hold Flag Day Ceremony

From a press release sent by the Beacon Elk’s Lodge:

“The Benevolent and Protected Order of Elks Lodge will hold their annual Flag Day Ceremony on Sunday, June 11, 2023, beginning at 1 p.m., at the Beacon Lodge, 900 Wolcott Avenue,
Beacon, N.Y.

”The purpose of this service is to honor our country’s flag, to celebrate the anniversary of its birth, and to recall the achievements attained beneath its folds.

”U.S., State, and local elected officials, and area first responders have been invited to the ceremony.

”Keynote speaker will be Mr. Patrick J. Walsh, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran (1958-1961) and a member of the Benevolent and Protected Order of Elks for more than 50 years.

”The Elks prompted President Woodrow Wilson to recognize the Order’s observance of Flag Day for its patriotic expression. But it was not until 1949, when President Harry Truman, himself an Elk, made the proclamation that thereafter June 14 would be a day of national
observance for the symbol of our country.

“The public is invited to attend this rain-or-shine event. A collation will occur in the Elks grill room at the conclusion of the ceremony.”

I Am Beacon Hosts Mixer & Opens Membership To Gain Access To Volunteer Opportunities

The non-profit group, I Am Beacon, has opened a membership program for the first time after serving the the community of the City of Beacon for a number of years in a wide-ranging list of efforts, which include producing the Back To School Block Party, and many years ago, organizing the city’s 4th of July event. To celebrate and grow the new membership, I Am Beacon is hosting a Mixer on May 17 at Two Way Brewing Co. The mixer is open to the public, and the ticket price is discounted for members and for sale online here.

When launching the membership, I Am Beacon said in a press release: “In today’s world, it is more important than ever to foster community connections. At I Am Beacon, we understand the importance of building strong relationships with our neighbors and are committed to creating opportunities for people to come together and learn from one another.”

To date, I Am Beacon has awarded $31,000 in scholarships, run 3,113 miles for charity, held more than 50 community events, gotten more than 700 supply kits to students, and distributed 327 turkeys in their annual Turkey on Every Table collection, according to their website. Hear them directly in their “This Is Beacon” podcast.

Reuben Simmons shared about the new membership: ”For the past two years we have piloted a membership program with great success! I am happy to get to this point where we can offer membership to all.” Benefits include volunteer opportunities, discounts on Thursdays at Key Food, and discounted tuition at Marist College for active volunteers.

Board member and branding designer for all of I Am Beacon’s materials, Brianna Rascoe, had this to say about her commitment to I Am Beacon: "Becoming a board member at I Am Beacon has helped me engage with my community in an intuitive way. The organization has fostered collaboration in a way that provides ample opportunity to give back in any capacity, from a helping hand to bringing our outside skill sets together to catalyze both our longtime events and the creation of new youth programming."

Tickets to the mixer are $30 for members, and $40 for non-members. Two Way Brewing is located at 18 West Center Street, next to Brett’s Hardware. The event is Wednesday, May 17th from 6-8pm. Tickets include one free drink and a chance to win a door prize. Buy tickets online here.