All phone numbers are in area code 518 unless otherwise indicated.  All addresses are in Hudson unless otherwise indicated.

 

 

Thursday, May 25

Bob Dylan Birthday Show with Pat O’Shea and Special Guests – Hudson Valley rocker Pat O’Shea hosts a tribute concert for Bob Dylan, featuring O’Shea and special guests performing a broad array of songs by the Nobel Prize-winning rock poet – Dylan celebrates his 76th birthday the day before the show. – O’Shea’s musical connections to Dylan run deep, including his six years playing guitar for the legendary Levon Helm of The Band, who formed the Dylan-influenced group after touring the world with Dylan in 1965-66. The group went on to record several albums with Dylan – O’Shea has also collaborated with longtime Dylan guitarist Larry Campbell, who served as music director for Levon Helm’s Ramble concerts  – Information at 518-828-4800 or helsinkihudson.com  – Doors open at 6 pm, show at 8 pm – Club Helsinki, 405 Columbia Street

Opening night! – Mac-Haydn Theatre, Inc. opens its 49^th season of presenting professional musical theatre in its unique theatre-in-the-round – The season opens with Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, running from Thursday, May 25 through June 4. – All shows are given at least a two-week run with matinee and evening performances ; curtain times will vary. – In addition to the opening show, the season includes the following: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Anything Goes, Saturday Night Fever, Sweeney Todd, Spamalot, and Hello Dolly, as well as a children’s theatre series. Group rates are available, as are discounts for children under 12 and seniors – The box office is open and theatregoers are urged to make their plans and order their tickets now  – Information and tickets at 518-392-9292 or www.machaydntheatre.org

Thursday-Sunday, May 25-28

TSL Films:

Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary – “A thought-provoking, uplifting, powerful, and passionate film about an outside-the-box thinker whose boundary-shattering music continues to impact and influence people around the world.”

Last Men in Aleppo – Winner of the Grand Jury Documentary prize at the Sundance Film Festival – Follows the White Helmets, an organization comprised of ordinary citizens who are the first to rush toward explosions in the hope of saving lives. – “…heart-pounding suspense and improbable beauty…”

Tony Conrad: Completely in the Present – A non-fiction film examining the life and works of avant-garde video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician, and educator, Tony Conrad. – The film mirrors Conrad’s own playfully radical approach to art making.

Bang! The Bert Berns Story – Music meets the Mob in this biographical documentary, narrated by Steve Van Zandt, about the life and career of Bert Berns, the most important songwriter and record producer from the sixties that you never heard of.  His hits include Twist and Shout, Hang On Sloopy, Brown Eyed Girl, Here Comes the Night, and Piece of My Heart  He helped launch the careers to Van Morrison and Neil Diamond and produced some of the greatest soul music ever made.

I Called Him Morgan – In 1972, the 33-year-old jazz trumpet star Lee Morgan was shot dead by his common-law wife, Helen, during a gig at a club in New York City.  The murder sent shockwaves through the jazz community, and the memory of the event still haunts the people who knew the Morgans.  Helen served time for the crime and, following her release, retreated into obscurity.  Over 20 years later, a chance encounter led her to give a remarkable interview.

Modern Times (1936) – A classic Charlie Chaplin film

Information and schedule at 822-8448 or www.timeandspace.org – Time & Space Ltd., 434 Columbia Street

Friday, May 26

Free HWM Wine Tasting – Hudson Wine Merchants holds its weekly in-store complementary tasting – In preparation for summer, this week they will be pouring (not rose’) “light body chill-able reds.” – Information at hudsonwinemerchants.com or call 528-828-6411 – 5 to 7 pm – Hudson Wine Merchants, 341 Warren Street

The Hudson-Athens Ferry starts regular runs this weekend and each Friday and Saturday during the summer, from 5 pm to 10:30 pm, leaving Hudson on the hour, and Athens on the half-hour.   See details under HUDSON CRUISES below.

Lily and Horn Horse, Max Hamel, Scott Kellerhouse, with Lily Konigsberg and Matt Norman performing as Horn Horse – Information at www.thespottydog.com or 518-671-6006 – 8 pm – The  Spotty Dog Books & Ale, 440 Warren Street

Morgan O’Kane / Vic Thrill – Listen at http://www.morganokanemusic.com/ and http://www.victhrill.com/  – Information at www.thehalfmoonhudson.com or 828-1562 – 8 to 11 pm – The Half Moon, 48 South Front Street

Lara Hope & the Ark-Tones  – Winner of the 2017 Ameripolitan Music Award for Rockabilly Female and named the “Best Up-and-Coming Band” by Hudson Valley Magazine, Lara & the Tones turn back the clock sixty years to the earliest days of rock ‘n’ roll—the days of Bill Haley and “Rock Around the Clock”— with a joyful immediacy that makes them seem like only yesterday. They will also be celebrating the release of their brand-new album, “Love You to Life.” – Information at 828-4800 or helsinkihudson.com – 9 pm – Club Helsinki, 405 Columbia Street

Friday-Sunday, May 26-28

Let Me Tell You:  Tiny Books, Big Ideas – An exhibition of handmade miniature books, many made through workshops at Drop Forge & Tool – The exhibition opened on May 22 and remains on view through June 25 – Fri. from 3 to 6 pm, Sat. from 12 noon to 6 pm, Sun. from 12 noon to 5 pm, or by appointment,  or e-mail to [email protected] – Drop Forge & Tool, 442 Warren Street

Ghent Playhouse presents True West by Sam Shepard  –“A dark comedy that has become a contemporary masterpiece.” – Directed by Patrick White with Kevin Kilb, Nathaniel Drake, Stephanie Sloane, and Rob Weber – Runs on weekends through June 4 – Information and tickets available at www.ghentplayhouse.org or 800-838-3006 or 518-392-6264 – Fri & Sat at 8 pm; Sun at 2 pm – Ghent Playhouse, 6 Town Hall Road, Ghent

Saturday, May 27 

The Hudson Farmers’ Market – Columbia County’s largest (and perhaps oldest) farmers’ market is now back in its usual outdoor spot for its 21^st year of operation  – New Vendors include the fishmonger Pura Vida, Dairy Direct, Atina Foods, Berkshire Mountain Distillers, and Jacuterie.   The Destino Taco Cart is also on hand. – Accepting SNAP and WIC – Note earlier starting time! –Information at http://www.hudsonfarmersmarketny.com – 9 am to 1 pm – Parking lot at Sixth and Columbia Streets

Hillsdale Flea Market – A variety of sellers eager to share their items with bargain hunters – Antique appraiser David Gallagher will be there from 11 am to 1 pm – The Fire Department will be offering food and beverages – Rain date is Sunday, May 28 – Early Bird entry for a fee at 8 am – Free entry from 9 am to 3 pm – Hillsdale Hamlet Park (just southwest of the intersection of Routes 22 and 23), Hillsdale

Summer in Spencertown —Welcome warm weather and kick off summer and the  Memorial Day weekend at this annual open air celebration on the village green – Features local vendors such as davistudio fine porcelain and Joseph and Connie Mondel Antiques; organic food, vegetables and plants from the Farm at Miller’s Crossing; handmade goods from Frances Culley’s Apothecary; Australian pit barbecue; animals for adoption and much more – Entertainment throughout the day by a young troupe of singing jugglers and live music by the Amy Ryan Band and Kid Kurt. – During the event, Spencertown resident Olga Moreland will display her collection of one hundred handmade afghans, many of them vintage granny squares, creating a kaleidoscope of color draped over the pews, galleries and railings of adjacent St. Peter’s Church. The event benefits Friends of St. Peter’s, a non-sectarian, nonprofit organization created to support the physical maintenance of St. Peter’s Church, erected in 1771, and an example of the classic 18th-century New England Protestant clapboard church and steeple. The church itself is always open, in the tradition of sanctuary – Current fundraising efforts are dedicated to replacing the roof. – Free admission – Rain or shine – 10 am to 3pm – The Village Green, Spencertown

Exhibition Opening – 100 Years of Collecting –– The exhibition surveys the history of the Columbia County Historical Society.  It includes CCHS institutional history, featuring early documents and significant artifacts that describe a transition from social club to an organization centered around a coherent, strong cultural focus.  Some of the Historical Society’s early acquisitions are on view for the first time in many years; other institutional documents and objects will be on exhibit for the first time.  In addition, new acquisitions, old favorites and often overlooked objects will be on display in the recently revitalized gallery spaces. – Information at http://www.cchsny.org/100-years-of-collecting.html – 12 noon to 4 pm – Museum Galleries, Columbia County Historical Society Museum & Library, 5 Albany Avenue, Kinderhook

Hudson River Sightseeing Cruises start this Saturday (May 27) and are available on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays during the summer months.  See details under HUDSON CRUISES below.

The Fields Summer Opening – Art Omi introduces new works on view for the summer season – The works include: new sculptures by Tony Tasset, Tom Burr, Angela Bulloch, and Matt Wedel in The Fields; a site-specific installation by Andre Kruysen, shown with drawings by Joan Banach, in an exhibition curated by artist Folkert de Jong in the Benenson Visitors Center; and Godia Wlodarczack’s site-specific, large-scale drawing on the glass wall of the café. – At 2:30 the Artichoke Dance Company will perform Liberate the Earth Dance!, an interactive performance taking place in The Fields.  The performance is the culmination of a collaboration between Operation Unite, Art Omi, and NYS Dance Force – Food will be available at Café Omi and from special guest vendors – Children will be able to enjoy art activities and a tractor ride – Free and open to the public – Information by e-mail to [email protected] – 1 to 4 pm – Art Omi, 1405 County Route 22, Ghent

Exhibition Opening – Figure 2: The Sense of Being: Spencer Hall and David Paulson – “…features two artists working with what it means to be human, in both form and context….These two artists work with emotional responses to form.  Hall reaches deep to turn the self inside-out and force the unseen to be visible, while Paulson navigates from the outside in—through the surroundings, past the obvious, and into the essence of being.” – On view through July 9 – Information by e-mail to [email protected] or 518-392-3336 – 4 to 6 pm – Thompson Giroux Gallery, 57 Main Street, Chatham

Joan Buck Reveals the Price of Illusion – Author Joan Juliet Buck talks and signs copies of her memoir, The Price of Illusion – In addition, 20^th-Century, Modern, and Contemporary Fine Art from the Collection of Camilla & Earl McGrath will be on view in the galleries  – Information at stairgalleries.com or 518-751-1000  – 5 to 7 pm – Stir Galleries, 549 Warren Street

Exhibition Openings at John Davis Gallery – A group of artists open the season with a medley of exhibitions on display in the Main Galleries, the Sculpture Garden, and the Carriage House – These six solo shows feature sculpture, photography and painting – Artists include Isidro Blasco, (Main Galleries); Weixian Jiang (Sculpture Garden), and Thaddeus Radell, Pauline Decarmo, Janice Nowinski, and Robert Simon, (Carriage House) – All on view through June 18 – Information at 518-828-5907 or by e-mail to [email protected] – 6 to 8 pm – John Davis Gallery, 362 ½ Warren Street

Exhibition Opening – Paper Covers Rock: Artwork by Brie Ruais / Letha Wilson – Information by email to [email protected] – On view through July 2 – 6 to 8 pm – September Gallery, 449 Warren Street, #3

The National Theatre of London / NT Live presents its production of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night – Information and reservations at 822-8448 – 7 pm – Time & Space Limited, 434 Columbia Street

North Indian Bansuri Flute Raga Concert – with Eric Fraser and Ehren Hanson – Eric Fraser (Bansuri Flute) is founder of SoundandNature and the Brooklyn Raga Massive.  He is a Fulbright Senior Research scholar for Indian music and is one of the world’s leading exponents of the Gayaki (vocal) style of Indian Bansuri flute. – Ehren Hanson (Tabla) is a renowned tabla player and recipient of the prestigious American Institute for Indian Studies grant.  He is one of the most sought after tabla artists in the US, and has performed with several of the great legends of Indian classical music.  He is founder of the Anindo Chaterjee School of Tabla and the Brooklyn Raga Massive. – Information at 347-404-0140 or by e-mail to [email protected] – Suggested donation at the door – 7:30 to 9:30 pm – Mettabee Farm and Arts, 551 Harlemville Road, Hillsdale – (Five minutes from Hawthorne Valley Farm Store)

Saturday-Sunday, May 27-28

Hudson Berkshire Wine Festival – A unique, interstate festival featuring award-winning beverages from the Hudson Valley and the Massachusetts Berkshire Region – Artisans, vendors, food and music – Children’s activities – Sat from 11 am to 6 pm, Sun 11 am to 5 pm – Columbia County Fairgrounds, 182 Hudson Street, Chatham

Exhibition – Street Photography and the urban scene:  Photographs from classic to contemporary – Featured artists are Catskill photographer Richard Sandler (Eyes of the City), whose photographs were captured in New York City between 1970 and 1990, and the late William Hellermann (Lights at the End of the Tunnel) who in 1980, walked the night streets of New York’s Hell’s Kitchen, where he shot 35 mm Kodachrome slides.  Also featured are two portfolios:  Susan Bowen (New York Walking) and Peter Donahoe (The Nightline: A Memoir of Work) – Information at 518-567-4056 or DavisOrtonGallery.com – The exhibition opened on May 20 and is on view Saturdays and Sundays through June 18 – 11 am to 5:30 pm or by appointment

Saturday-Monday, May 27-29

Trinity United Methodist Church Youth Group Huge! Spring Yard Sale – Lunch available – Information at 965-3273 or 755-7851 – Sat from 9 am to 4 pm, Sun from 11 am to 3 pm, Mon from 9 am to 3 pm – Trinity United Methodist Church, 555 Joslen Boulevard, Greenport

Sunday, May 28

Book Signing – Authors Joan Osofsky and Abby Adams will be signing their new book, Entertaining in the Country: Love Where You Eat – The book includes photographs by John Gruen – Information at 518-828-3430 or finchhudson.com – 2 to 4 pm – Finch Hudson, 555 Warren Street

A Bintel Brief: Sixty Years  of Letters from the Lower Eastside to the Jewish Daily Forward – For more than eighty years the Jewish Daily Forward’s legendary advice column, “A Bintel Brief,” (Yiddish for “a bundle of letters”), dispensed shrewd, practical and fair-minded advice to its readers.  Created in 1906 to help bewildered Eastern European Jewish immigrants learn about their new country, the column also gave them a forum for seeking advice and support in the face of problems and challenges ranging from wrenching spiritual dilemmas to family squabbles, and predicaments when old world meets new.  Directed by Carol Rusoff – Features live musical accompaniment and a diverse cast of actors who will bring to life the history, the humor, and the struggle of the Jewish Immigrant experience.  Refreshments will be served following the reading.  – A free event, but reservations are recommended – Information at www.hudsonhall.org  or 518-822-1438 – 3 pm – Hudson Hall, Hudson Opera House, 327 Warren Street

Exhibition Opening – Blotched Surface: Work by Wayne Montecalvo – On view through July 1 – Information at 518-822-8448 – 6 to 8 pm – Time & Space Limited, 434 Columbia Street

Performance Night at Red Dot – Proceeds to benefit Animalkind – Hosted by Girlgantua and John Philip, with pianist Woody Regan and Special Guest, New York cabaret artist Bronwyn Rucker – Come sing, recite, or listen! – Suggested donation at the door – Information at 518-828-3657 – 10 pm to 12 midnight – Red Dot, 321 Warren Street

Next Monday, May 29

Memorial Day

Next Tuesday, May 30

Helsinki Open Mic – Try out new material on the big Helsinki stage – Hosted by Cameron Melville and Ryder Cooley – Information at 518-828-4800 or helsinkihudson.com  – Sign-up begins at 6:30 pm – Performance from 7 to 10 pm – Club Helsinki, 405 Columbia Street

The Spotty Dog Trivia Night – A bi-weekly, all-nerd throwdown! – Information at www.thespottydog.com or 518-671-6006 – 6:30 pm – The  Spotty Dog Books & Ale, 440 Warren Street

HUDSON CRUISES, INC.

*Hudson-Athens Ferry – Hudson Cruises provides a regular evening Hudson-Athens Ferry service on Fridays and Saturdays  during the summer months beginning Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend and sometimes beyond – Roundtrip tickets available on the boat for cash only – Advance purchase of 10 tickets available at a discounted price on the boat  – Bicycles are allowed on the ferry if room permits – Information at hudsoncruises.com or 518-822-1014 – The ferry departs Hudson on the hour and Athens on the half hour from 5:00 pm to 10:30 pm – (Last return from Athens at 10:30 pm – Don’t miss the boat!) – Board at the City dock behind the gazebo, Henry Hudson Riverfront Park, Water Street, access via Broad Street grade crossing past the Amtrak Station on Front Street

*Hudson Cruises’ Sightseeing Cruises are offered on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays during the summer months through Labor Day weekend and beyond – Views of the Catskills, Mount Merino, Olana and the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse are always on the route.– Information and tickets at www.HudsonCruises.com or call 888-804-9716 – Tickets may be purchased onboard, if there is room – Boarding at 12:30 pm, cruise from 1 pm to 2:30 pm – City dock behind the gazebo, Henry Hudson Riverfront Park, Water Street, access via Broad Street grade crossing past the Amtrak Station on Front Street.

For more information on Columbia County events, visit www.columbiacountytourism.org

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