Strawberry Festival This Sunday - A Little Beacon Blog Will Be There Face Painting

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The annual Strawberry Festival from the Beacon Sloop Club is here! This is their opening festival for their series of harvest-inspired (Strawberry, Corn, Pumpkin) celebrations and fundraisers held down at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park. Look forward to Hudson Valley locally grown fresh picked strawberries, homemade strawberry shortcake topped with the Beacon Sloop Club’s famous real whipped cream. You will also find strawberry smoothies and other strawberry delights.

Live music will be played and will be powered from two solar power stages. The event is dedicated to the environment, so look for environmental educational displays, activities for children, and a variety of food and artisan hand-made crafts.

Free sails on the sloop Woody Guthrie will be available. To sail, you’ll need to sign up at noon at the Beacon Sloop Club’s merchandise table. Bring a blanket, or a chair and enjoy the festivities of the day surrounded by the Hudson River. There is a kids park in the park, so little ones will have swings to swing on an slides to climb.

A Little Beacon Blog’s Face Painting Table

A Little Beacon Blog will be there with our face painting! Kids and adults are welcome. We take requests, and can even paint your spirit animal. The face painting chair is a relaxing experience.

About The Beacon Sloop Club

According to the Beacon Sloop Club, here’s what you can expect at the festival: “.

Founded by folk singer and activist, Pete Seeger, The Beacon Sloop Club is a 501-c3 volunteer organization dedicated to the preservation, protection and restoration of the Hudson River and surrounding waterways through advocacy, education and celebration.

As part of our mission, we provide free river access through free sails and sail training on the ferry sloop Woody Guthrie, a replica of the 18th and 19th century sloops that once plied the Hudson River.

The Beacon Sloop Club offers free seasonal music festivals to the people of the river, as well as other events, lectures and classes throughout the year.

Our monthly meetings are the first Friday of the month, starting with potlucks at 6:30 and ending with a Circle of Song. Everyone welcome!

City Wide Yard Sale - This Saturday! - Follow The Neon Signs

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Follow the signs!! Better than a spring candy hunt are the neon signs that have popped up all over Beacon for the highly anticipated City Wide Yard Sale and event from the Parks and Recreation Department, which is finally here!!

Follow the neon poster signs for where the next yard sale is. You may discover someone’s purged basement of tiny pools. You may discover an assortment of power tools. You may discover a collection of books! And don’t miss this church yard sale that includes a cookie sale! Saturday from 9am-3pm. Find a map of officially registered yard sales here as the PDF version, and here as the Google Maps version. There may be more yard sales not registered. Keep your eyes open! Enjoy.

Howland Public Library Presents: Special Screening of "The Peekskill Riots" Episode One: The Mighty Oak in the Forest”

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Special Screening of "The Peekskill Riots" Episode One: The Mighty Oak in the Forest” and Q&A with local Filmmaker Jon Scott Bennett**

The Howland Public Library is pleased to announce a special screening on Thursday, May 23rd at 6 PM of Episode One of the docu-series "The Peekskill Riots," followed by a Q&A session with Hudson Valley filmmaker Jon Scott Bennett.

The docu-series will shed light on the historic events of August and September 1949, when violence erupted at benefit concerts for the Civil Right Congress outside Peekskill, NY, featuring actor, singer, and activist Paul Robeson. Citizens of Peekskill, galvanized by racist and anti-Semitic sentiments and disdain for Robeson’s left-wing views and campaign for civil rights, started two riots that resulted in hundreds of injuries, made national news, and unofficially marked the beginning of the McCarthy era, which would nearly erase Robeson from the public consciousness.  

Through compelling storytelling and archival footage, Episode One serves as an introduction to Robeson's life and activism and the events leading up to the Peekskill concerts. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with Bennett in a thought-provoking Q&A session following the screening.

Join for an evening of education, reflection, and dialogue.

Film Screening, The Peekskill Riots, Episode One: The Mighty Oak in the Forest
Day: Thursday, May 23, 2024
Time: 6pm
Location: Howland Public Library, 313 Main Street, Beacon, NY 12508
RSVP here >

Cold Spring Farmers' Market Opens Earlier For Summer Hours With New Vendors

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This just in from the Cold Spring Farmers’ Market, as first reported by Eggbert’s Free Range Farm - earlier hours and new vendors:

“The market is switching over to our SUMMER HOURS this weekend! Which means that the market begins at 8:30 AM - 1 PM. Even more time for shopping and eating and picnicking! Also because of the switch to summer hours, we also have some new vendors coming for the season, make sure you walk around and peruse the new makers!”

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

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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

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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.

The Howland Public Library Presents: In Eclipse - Opening April 13, 2024

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Art and astronomy come together in the upcoming exhibit, In Eclipse,  at the Howland Public Library, opening on April 13th. The group show features the works of over 20 local artists inspired by the April total solar eclipse. This eclectic showcase offers a glimpse into different interpretations through drawings, paintings, and photography. From illustrations of the celestial event to metaphorical interpretations, each piece reflects the multifaceted meanings of the word eclipse.

Join the library for the opening reception on Saturday, April 13th from 5-7 PM,  featuring a special reading by writer Donna Minkowitz, as we celebrate the artistry of the eclipse in all its forms. In Eclipse will be on view until May 4th. 

Soup4Greens 8th Annual Soup & Ceramic Bown Fundraiser - This Sunday, April 7, 2024

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Soup4Greens 8th Annual Soup & Ceramic Bowl Fundraiser is happening this Sunday, April 7, 2024 at the Beacon Farmers Market from 10am-2pm.

Shop savory soups & handmade bowls for a good cause. Purchase soup donated by local restaurants & homemade bowls crafted by local artisans. 100% of proceeds contributes to GREENS4GREENS food benefit program. This program contributes to a community where fresh, healthy food is accessible to all.

The goal is to reach $6,000 to fund the GREENS4GREENS program - an internal food benefit program.

See the delicious menu below…

Light-In for a Ceasefire Now, A Jewish-led Hanukkah Ritual Action, Wednesday 12/13 Hudson NY

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Light In for a Ceasefire Now, A Jewish-led Hanukkah Ritual Action

Members of the Hudson Valley Jewish community join with other communities on Hanukkah using ritual, song and art  to turn up the heat on our ongoing demand for a CEASEFIRE NOW and an end to US aid to support Israels current genocide and ongoing occupation. We will be lighting our menorahs as we shine the light on the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and the Occupied Territories.  We will weave together stories and make connections across struggles and liberation movements to amplify the demand for a Ceasefire Now and a Free Palestine, adding our voices to the broader movement in the Hudson Valley, the US and across the globe to call for a CEASEFIRE NOW and end the mass killing of Palestinians. There will be a wide variety of voices represented, and each candle will be lit by a person representing a different intersection of this movement.

WHAT: Light In for a Ceasefire Now, A Jewish-led Hanukkah Ritual Action -Hanukkah ritual to Demand a Ceasefire Now

WHEN: Wednesday, December 13, 5-6PM EST

WHERE: Promenade Hill Park, Hudson, NY 

WHO: Organized by an informal network of HV Jewish and Jewish adjacent artists, educators, activists and community members.

WHY: We as Jews demand an end to the genocide in Palestine. We will be lighting our menorahs and shining the light on our demand for a Ceasefire now and a Free Palestine. We as Jews say “Not in our Name” “Never again is now” Anti-zionism does not equal Anti-semitism.

Beacon Performing Arts Center Presents Finding Nemo Kids November 16-19

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Beacon Performing Arts Center Presents Finding Nemo Kids
Days: Thursday, November 16, 2023 - Sunday, November 19, 2023
Times: November 16 at 7:30, November 17 at 7:00
November 18 at 10:00am, 12:30pm, 3:00pm, and 5:30pm
November 19 at 10:00am, 12:30pm, 3:00pm, and 5:30pm
Location: Beacon High School Theatre. 101 Matteawan Rd, Beacon, NY
Featuring hand-crafted puppets by Beacon local Adam Izen, Beacon Performing Arts Center brings a vibrant underwater world to life on stage in this story full of family, friendship, and adventure! This magical production will have audiences of all ages captivated by their favorite characters: Nemo, Dory, Marlin, Bruce, Crush the Turtle, and more! The performance runs approximately 45 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are available on the day of the production at the door or in advance at www.beaconperformingartscenter.com/box-office . Adults $10, Students under 18 $5, Seniors $7, Children under 2 are free.
Information >

RAIN DATE: Soon Is Now Moves To Next Saturday, October 1st, 2023

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As is fitting with Soon Is Now mission to move and inspire people to change their ways in order to help the climate not keep changing, Soon Is Now has moved their event to their rain date of October 1, 2023.

Soon Is Now was created by Eve Morgenstern 3 years ago. It is a climate and eco art, live performance and activism event. Says Nara Garber: “There is no more urgent issue right now than climate catastrophe, the ripple effects of which drive so many other crises. Come to Beacon, NY on October 1st and enjoy an afternoon of poetry, dance, and song amidst the beauty of the Hudson River and Long Dock Park while contemplating all we stand to lose and must fight to preserve. The Resistance Revival Chorus will end the afternoon with a free concert.

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

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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 Torres, Alex Waterman, Raven Chacon, Bob Bellerue, Koyoltzintli, Elise Knudson, Elisa Santiago, Randy Burd, Cecilia Fontanesi, Tom King, Jim Fletcher, Jaanika Peerna, Twinkle Burke, Jojo Gonzalez, Camille Seaman, Andrew 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.

The Beacon Sloop Club 2023 Corn Festival - Another Year Successful

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The annual Corn Festival from the Beacon Sloop Club happened last Sunday, with so much help from all of the volunteers of the Sloop Club. A Little Beacon Blog was there as a vendor for the first time, offering our face painting services, which we have been accustomed to doing because what else are you going to do at a blogging table except type or talk? So we zen out over kids (and adults) who sit in the chair wanting their faces painted their spirit animals or visions. If we’re on point, usually the kids fall into a light trance nap in the chair as we finish painting their faces.

This year at the Corn Festival, there were quite a few visitors who stopped by our table who were not from Beacon. People from Brooklyn, Cold Spring, and other areas. They were curious about what is a “sloop” (it’s a one-masted sailboat). Despite having this festival for years and years, it looks like the Beacon Sloop Club still has a big purpose and mission to educate the new people coming to Beacon who want to enjoy Beacon’s beauty, and keep it as it is. But these new people need to understand what Beacon is first.

FAQ: What Is A SLOOP? What Is Beacon Sloop Club?

Let’s revisit briefly: The Beacon Sloop Club was founded by folk singer and activist, Pete Seeger. They are a volunteer organization dedicated to the preservation, protection and restoration of the Hudson River and surrounding waterways through advocacy, education and celebration. When you’re from NYC, you tend to think of the Hudson River as a barrier in the subway system between NYC and Hoboken, NJ, for instance. Here, we look at it as a waterway with ecosystems, one that used to have another name before Dutch settlers renamed it.

The Hudson River’s name before the Dutch renamed it was Muhheakunnuk. According to Riverkeeper: “Henry Hudson 'discovered' what the Lenape called Muhheakunnuk, ‘The River that Runs Both Ways.’ People have lived along the shores of the Hudson River since the last ice age, bathing in its waters, living off its bounty, caring for its future. The Lenape tribe balanced the needs of man and the needs of fish and fowl, plant and animal.”

The Beacon Sloop Club’s mission is to carry out that treatment. As part of their mission, the Beacon Sloop Club provides free river access through free sails and sail training on the ferry sloop Woody Guthrie, a replica of the 18th and 19th century sloops that once plied the Hudson River. The Beacon Sloop Club offers free seasonal music festivals to the people of the river, as well as other events, lectures and classes throughout the year.” Donate to them at any time. Like right now.

FAQ: Why Beacon For Pete Seeger?

This is a great question that I was asked. One I did not know. He’s such an embedded celebrity in Beacon, but I hadn’t considered his origin story as to why Beacon. So I reached out to his granddaughter, Moraya Seeger DeGeare to find out. She confirmed with her brother, and this is what they said: “He and my grandma (Toshi Seeger) lived in Greenwich Village and could not afford $100/month rent controlled apartment. So he came up to Beacon. Hiked the mountain. Climbed a tree and had a dream of building a cabin to raise his kids in. He climbed down. Went into town. Called Grandma and said: “Toshi, I found the place.”

You can next catch the Beacon Sloop Club at the Pumpkin Festival on October 15th, 2023. ALBB will be there too, with face paint! We take cash or card, and a portion is donated back to the Beacon Sloop Club. The rest helps us live our lives here in Beacon and produce this blog.