Summer Numbers - Presidents Day Weekend Packs Restaurants

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This photo was taken in March 2012, back when the Vintage Cafe was serving breakfast and lunch amidst their antique collection.

This photo was taken in March 2012, back when the Vintage Cafe was serving breakfast and lunch amidst their antique collection.

Sunshine gets anyone giddy, but when it beams on a weekend in Beacon, the first weekend in Beacon after a snowstorm hit the previous week, that results in a lot of people out on the sidewalks, exploring. It inspired me to head out and hit winter clearance sales at Mountain Tops and Bellus on Main, but if you were out and trying to get lunch or dinner at your favorite restaurants, chances are you were met with a 25-minute or even an hour wait, as certainly was the case at Beacon Falls Cafe. Once in, the special may not have been available anymore!

"We were packed for all three days, even Monday," recalls Stefany Lynn, bar manager at Max's on Main. "There was a steady stream of people for the entire day. The dining room was full at 10:30 pm. We ran out of sloppy joes! I couldn't even get one!" Max's wasn't the only restaurant that ran out of dishes. The Vault ran out of their salmon special when they opened the patio sooner than anticipated. Says Vault manager Chris Sudol about the weekend: "For the most part, the weekend was a big success, and we definitely learned a few things as well. Opening the patio was great for the public, and we did business that we haven't ever seen at The Vault before. The only time we saw sales like that was when there was a band playing, and the sales came from drinks."

Jason Schuler, owner and partner at Drink More Good, expressed with eyes wide open: "Did you see how many people were out this weekend? We did summer numbers!" Summer numbers is a sales term that refers to a great sales day, usually expected and hoped for in the summer, not for a weekend when people are usually trying to squeeze in a last ski run. Other weekends that tend to be great are the weekend after Thanksgiving, and other weekends during December. Restaurants in Beacon usually go on vacation during the first weeks of January in order to give staff a break and recover from the intense holiday season.

Welcome to early spring, Beacon! And welcome new visitors. Be sure to check A Little Beacon Blog's Things To Do In Beacon Guides for your full list of things to do, shop and eat during your stay!

Visiting and Local Artists Have a New Teaching Studio To Host Workshops In (Sponsor Post)

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Owner and artist Maria Amor in The Atelier Room 205. Call or email her to book: (646) 705-3833 AtelierRoom205@gmail.com

Spring planning has begun. The arts scene in Beacon is flourishing, attracting artists from all over to spend the day or a week here. With the Atelier Room 205, visiting and local artists have a wonderful and inspiring studio to host a workshop in. The Atelier, one of Beacon's newest teaching studios, is located in the old Beacon High School, a building brimming over with creativity. It is a school building converted into artist studios. Your students will feel the creative impulses for sure during your workshop!

Book now for Spring and Summer dates by calling owner Maria Amor at (646) 705-3833 or email AtelierRoom205@gmail.com.

For more pictures, please see here: http://www.alittlebeaconblog.com/atelier-room/

This message has been a sponsored post from our Sponsor Spotlight partner, Maria Amor, founder of the Atelier Room 205. Thank you for supporting businesses who support us!

BeaconArts Elects New President and Other Key Positions - Plus a Song! (Partner Post)

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BeaconArts member meetings are super welcoming and easygoing, yet are packed with information about what is going on around Beacon, NY. The meetings are fueled by each member's excitement about what he or she is contributing to the community at large through individual creative projects. This beat runs through every meeting, but January's is exceptional. Members recall what the organization and its fiscally sponsored projects accomplished over the past year, then an election for board members (or re-election, for some) is held.

Elevating the start of this month's member meeting was a performance of the song "Freedom and Truth," composed by Debra Kaye with words by the late Margaret Fuller. Fuller was a visionary women's rights and social activist, a transcendentalist poet, and an intellectual scholar and writer who used the power of her pen to advocate for women’s equality, abolition of slavery, prison reform, democracy, and human rights.

The song's performance honored one of BeaconArts' 2016 accomplishments: aiding in the installation of a Margaret Fuller Marker at the Beacon Visitor Center, commemorating Fuller's historic visit to then-Fishkill Landing in Fall 1844. Fuller lived in this area for seven weeks while writing America’s first feminist work, Woman in the Nineteenth Century. The book's publication profoundly impacted the women’s rights movement, inspiring the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York. BeaconArts commissioned this song for the Margaret Fuller Historical Marker Dedication on May 21, 2016. The trio of performers - Debra Kaye, Kelly Ellenwood, and Kathleen Bosman - reunited to perform it live at the beginning of January's meeting.

New BeaconArts Board Members and Positions

Longtime Board of Directors President Dan Rigney ended his term of eight years at the helm of BeaconArts, leading it through an invigorating time for Beacon and growth for BeaconArts. Citing his background and involvement in artistic movements in other states, Dan may or may not have gotten choked up during his final speech as president, but promised to stay on as an active strategic planner with the group.

New to the helm, but no stranger to the daily workings of BeaconArts, is Kelly Ellenwood (professional opera singer and now teacher). She has long been an active promoter of members and BeaconArts fiscal sponsorship projects, and as a citizen, she is deeply rooted in several volunteer organizations in the area, including Beacon Art and Education Foundation.

Stepping into the Vice President role is Theresa Gooby, artist and former director of Beacon Open Studios. (The fiscally sponsored project of BeaconArts kicks off May 12 this year.)

The newly elected Treasurer is Aaron Verdile. He also serves as Treasurer for the Beacon Sloop Club, and is a financial advisor at Prudential.

Continuing their roles on the Board of Directors are Secretary Erica Hauser of Catalyst Gallery, and Members at Large Pamela Dailey of Pamela Dailey Design and Christina Jensen of Jensen Artists. 

Re-elected to her role as a Member at Large is Sommer Hixson, a PR professional and the Director of Communications for Glynwood. New Members at Large include the artist Rick Rogers, who almost always has an open studio in his gallery overlooking Fishkill Creek near Dogwood. Terry Nelson, founder of the Beacon Independent Film Festival and new Head of Day-To-Day Operations at The Ground Radio, is also a new Member At Large. 

If you're not a member yet of BeaconArts, you can join right here, and it's really easy.

BeaconArts Annual Member Meeting Held At The Beacon Music Factory

The Beacon Music Factory may best be known by some as the home of Rock Band Boot Camps, where adults and kids immerse themselves in the study of covering of bands they love - costumes and all. The newest location for The Beacon Music Factory is on Rt. 52 and recently re-opened. The new space was renovated to accommodate the steady flow of aspiring musicians of all ages who come in for private and group lessons, band rehearsals, and sometimes occasional related gatherings, like a BeaconArts meeting.

The welcome desk at Beacon Music Factory.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

One of several private music rooms inside of Beacon Music Factory.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

BeaconArts is a Community Partner of A Little Beacon Blog and is part of our Sponsor Spotlight program. This article was part of their monthly messaging partnership. Thank you for supporting organizations who support us!

Peoples Bicycle's Lights Stay On Under New Ownership

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Back when a few businesses were closing in Beacon, chatter started about People's Bicycle also leaving town. People's Bicycle was originally opened by Jon Miles, who renovated the shop space. Prior to that, there was one other bike shop in Beacon, on the other side of Main Street. It closed a few years ago when the owner, Tom Cerchiara, decided to put all of his efforts into his then-growing land surveying business, TEC Land Surveying PC.

People's Bicycle became the only bike shop in Beacon, and was known for building cargo bikes like the ones you see Zero To Go riding around as they pick up food waste for compost. People's Bicycle conducted regular repairs and tune-ups, and sold Kona mountain bikes. Speaking of mountain bikes, there is quite a scene of sponsored mountain bike riders - gals and guys -  in Beacon, in addition to regular riders who like to go up and down the mountain. Would the town be at a loss without a bike shop?

Tim Schopen thought so. In fact, he believed in the need for a bike shop so much that he purchased People's Bicycle from Jon, and has been preparing for his grand re-opening this weekend, Saturday, January 14. "I have worked in a few different bike shops with the dream to own my own sometime," says Tim. "Bike brands we will carry in the shop are Kona for now, with more to come. There are both mountain and road cyclists in this area, with hopefully more cyclists to come when the Rail Trail comes to town, or the Fjord Trail in a few years."

Trailblazers continue to make new bike paths to make it easier - or more challenging, but in a good way! - to ride around or above Beacon. Tom Cerchiara may now be hooked into his land surveying day job, but he's still on the bike, forging new trails, literally. He's clearing a trail from Gordons Brook Notch up to the Red Casino Trail, between the fire tower and casino ruins. A second, singletrack trail will run along the north side of the access road, and will give cyclists the opportunity to make a quick ride, about 45 minutes to an hour long. That route will also function as an exit trail for rides that run onto the Fishkill Ridge.

With Beacon's (so far) manageable snowfall and population of bike enthusiasts, there is sure to be a need for winter repairs and tune-ups. People should keep the new business in mind as they keep rolling on two wheels instead of four!