Things to Do Memorial Day Weekend in the Catskills

  |  May 21, 2015
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The Terrace at Fenimoore Art Gallery. Courtesy of Visiting Cooperstown.

Fenimore Art Museum
The Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown is hosting an Iroquois Cultural Festival Saturday, May 23 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum’s new Lucy B. Hamilton Amphitheater, located near the shores of the Otsego Lake, will celebrate its grand opening this Saturday. Otsego: A Meeting Place Iroquois Sites are located nearby. Native American music, dance and storytelling performances will be held at the amphitheater between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Traditional Iroquois activities such as playing lacrosse and building canoes will take place throughout the day. Native American arts and crafts as well as traditional Iroquois cuisine will be available. For more information, visit click here.

Hudson River Maritime Museum
The Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston is hosting an exhibition called Lighthouses of the Hudson, celebrating the museum’s 35th anniversary. This year also marks the centennial of the Rondout Light, which was built in 1915. Thirteen lighthouses are part of this exhibition, seven of which are still standing. A fascinating history surrounds this place as for many years the Hudson River was the main route connecting New York City and Albany. A photo collage included in this exhibition speaks about the restoration processes at the Saugerties, Hudson-Athens, Rondout, and the Esopus-Meadows Lighthouses. The museum is open daily from May to October, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit click here.

Hudson_River_Maritime_Museum

The Hudson River Maritime Museum.

The Woodstock – New Paltz Arts & Crafts Fair
On May 23 – 25, over two hundred artists and artisans will showcase a variety of works in all media and styles at the Ulster County Fairgrounds in New Paltz. Fiber, glass, metal, leather, jewelry, mixed media, fine art, and photography, as well as other handcrafted products will be on view over the span of three days. Since 1982 the Woodstock – New Paltz Arts & Crafts Fair has become an attraction for visitors from all over the world. The fair takes place over the Memorial Day weekend in May, as well as Labor Day in late summer. For more information, visit click here.

Bearsville Theater
Bearsville Theater in Woodstock is hosting a Bob Dylan Birthday celebratory concert Sunday, May 24 at 8 p.m. The legendary folk musician was born on May 24, 1941 in Minnesota, and lived in Woodstock in the late 1960s – early 1970s. This year a group of Hudson Valley musicians will celebrate Dylan’s birthday at the Bearsville Theater, and will perform some of his best known songs. The event is sponsored by WDST Radio Woodstock. For more information, visit click here.

Thomas Cole National Historic Site & Olana State Historic Site
The Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, in partnership with Olana State Historic Site in Hudson, are co-hosting River Crossings: Contemporary Art Comes Home, a show that will remain on view through November this year. The exhibition, featuring twenty-eight contemporary artists inspired by the works of Thomas Cole and Frederic Edwin Church, is the first major collaboration between the two institutions, and the first event since the 19th century when contemporary artists are invited to present their works in these settings. Artists such as Chuck Close, Martin Puryear, Lynn Davis, Cindy Sherman, Kiki Smith, Maya Lin, Stephen Hannock, and Jerry Gretzinger are among those featured in this show. For more information, visit click here.

Longyear Gallery, Margaretville

Longyear Gallery
Longyear Gallery in Margaretville is hosting an opening reception Saturday, May 23 at 3 p.m. featuring artist Margaret Leveson. Founding member of the Blue Mountain Gallery in Manhattan and the Longyear Gallery in Margaretville, Leveson is primarily a plein air painter, captivated by the Catskill Mountains scenery. Her paintings look a bit impressionistic: the artist likes to apply color in oil sticks over the canvass or linen that is available. A new project is completed within hours, although sometimes it takes months to complete more complex artworks. Leveson studied at the NYU Institute of Fine Arts, and later earned an MFA from Brooklyn College. She’s lived in the Catskills since 1977. For more information, visit click here.

About Simona David

Simona David is a writer living in the Catskill Mountains, New York. She is the author of Art in the Catskills (3rd edition, 2016), available on Amazon.com and Kindle. For more information, visit www.simonadavid.com.

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