Chronogram January 2025

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At Adams, we’re grateful for our customers everyday. Starting January 3rd, we’ll be celebrating you with our month-long Customer Appreciation savings, giveaways and prizes!

Each week is something newscratch-off tickets, coupons and drawings. Win a $100 Adams Gift Card! Enter to win $500 of groceries in our Supermarket Dash! We’ll also feature healthy products and information for a great start to the New Year.

Check our sales flyers or go to adamsfarms.com, and thank you for shopping at Adams!

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january 1 25

Their son Nico’s room was once the artist Kurt Sluizer’s studio. Nico has chosen a mix of black and orange finds for the room.

Photo by Winona Barton-Ballentine

HOME & GARDEN, PAGE 24

DEPARTMENTS

6 On the Cover: Frank Tagariello

An unexpected Manhattan street scene from 2018.

9 Esteemed Reader

Jason Stern believes in the power of magic

11 Editor’s Note

Brian K. Mahoney clears out his Notes app.

FOOD & DRINK

18 Isolation Proof Gin: Spirit of the Catskills

Jake Sherry at Isolation Proof in Bloomville is redefining gin in the Catskills with hyperlocal, seasonal creations like ramp, strawberry rhubarb, and mushroom gins. Crafted with foraged ingredients and whey-based distillation, these boundary-pushing spirits deliver a true “taste of place” while championing sustainability and Catskills-inspired innovation.

20 Sips and Bites

Recent openings include Panacea in Amenia, Fantzye Bagels in Kingston, Lift Cafe in Rosendale, Untouchable in Newburgh, and Little Loaf Bakeshop in New Paltz.

22 Cafe Mutsi: Cardamom and Community

Cafe Mutsi, a Nordic-inspired cafe and wine bar in Andes, blends Moroccan and Finnish culinary traditions with Catskills creativity. Enjoy all-day menus, seasonal local fare, and Friday wine bar nights in a welcoming space that celebrates community, sustainability, and the owners’ heartfelt cultural roots.

HOME & GARDEN

24 Farmhouseology

A Woodstock couple’s decade-long renovation of their 1824 Colonial unveils local history, artistic legacies, and their own transformative journey.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

32 Harvesting Health

Discover the roots of community supported agriculture and its impact on local food systems, fostering community, sustainability, and access to fresh, nutrient-rich produce.

OUTDOORS

36 Deep Hole Revival

Accord’s Deep Hole swimming spot gets a new lease on life, balancing public access with ecosystem preservation.

COMMUNITY PAGES

38 Great Barrington: Challenge & Opportunity

The closure of Bard College at Simon’s Rock has left Great Barrington grappling with uncertainty, but community resilience shines as locals reimagine the campus’s future.

48 Great Barrington Portraits by David McIntyre

RURAL INTELLIGENCE

54 100 Hikes in the Southern Berkshires

Bill Siever’s new guidebook highlights regional trials.

1 25

Clara Stickney playing the harp at the Great Barrington Arts Market at St. James Place in December.

Photo by David McIntyre

COMMUNITY PAGES, PAGE 38

ARTS

56 Music

Michael Eck reviews Born Horses by Mercury Rev. Morgan Y. Evans reviews C.O.R.E. by Circuline. Seth Rogovoy reviews Nu~Bossa Elixir~s by Stephen Johnson and Vanessa Falabella. Plus listening recommendations from Bryan Zellmer, the new executive director of Bardavon Presents, which oversees the Bardavon and UPAC.

57 Books

Anne Pyburn Craig reviews We Are Watching by Alison Gaylin, a gripping, socially astute thriller in which a bookstore-owning Catskills family confronts grief, intergenerational struggles, and the sinister reach of an online cult.

Plus short reviews of As Ever, Miriam by Faythe Levine; If Not in Heaven, Then in Saugerties by Will Nixon; Cold Spring, NY by Alissa and Will Malnati; I Tell Henrietta by Tina Barry; and Town of Olive by Melissa McHugh.

58 Poetry

Poems by Jerrice J. Baptiste, Daniel W. Brown, Tom Cherwin, Steve Clark, Tom di Mino, Jennie Gaffney, Joseph Rocco Goldberg, Robert Harlow, Drew Kolenik, Christopher Porpora, Michael Ruby, Eileen Sikora, Alan Silverman. Edited by Phillip X Levine.

THE GUIDE

60 Musician and Bard prof Franz Nicolay talks about his latest book Band People: Life and Work in Popular Music

62 Artist Felix Sockwell has transformed his Wallkill home into a visionary retreat full of “attractive nuisances.”

64 CPW opens its new Kingston headquarters on January 18.

66 Live Music: Kate Pierson, Slowdive, moe., and more

69 Troubador Freedy Johnston plays Avalon Lounge on January 24.

70 Sarah Hanssen and Michelle Silver’s show of artistic interventions, “Two Things Are True,” is at Distortion Society.

71 Short List: Napoleon Dynamite, “The Price Is Right,” and more.

72 Highlights of museum and gallery shows across the region.

HOROSCOPES

76 Love Among the Ruins

Cory Nakasue reveals what the stars have in store for us.

PARTING SHOT

80 No Strings Attached

Jacinta Bunnell explores guaranteed income through 80 lists.

Street Smarts Frank Tagariello’s Decisive Eye

By Mike Cobb

Brooklyn-born photographer Frank Tagariello began his career in 1978. After graduating from Pratt Institute, he worked as an art director and travel photographer at Travel & Leisure magazine. Like his hero, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Tagariello always carries a camera ready to capture what Bresson called “the decisive moment” or the exact instance of a distinctive event.

“I see a moment as I’m walking when light, form, and color all come together. A situation that is unique, and I’m able to capture it in a split second,” he says.

These days Tagariello often uses an iPhone to shoot spontaneous street photography in New York City, where he currently lives. His photo “Chelsea Market Handmaids” was an unplanned encounter.

“I took this photo in 2018. The location was behind Chelsea Market on 10th Avenue in Manhattan. ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ was a popular TV series at the time, and you could not help noticing the iconic uniforms. Not sure what they were doing, I did not see any camera crews, just these women, standing, very quiet. A form of protest?” Tagariello says.

Chelsea Market Handmaids is part of the exhibition “Multiplicity: Together and Apart” at the Olive Free Library Association showcasing 11 artists whose works are presented as multiple pieces that are intended to work together or individually. “When asked to create diptychs for the upcoming

show, I paired the handmaids with a photo I took last year in Times Square on my way to work: a woman, on her knees, praying in front of a neon American flag, enforcing the serious state of women’s rights after the last election,” Tagariello says.

“Multiplicity: Together and Apart” opens January 18. Curated by Jan Sosnowitz, the show will run from January 18 through March 1 with an opening reception on January 18 from 3-5pm, and an artist’s meet and greet event on March 1 from 2:30-4pm.

“I originally proposed a show of diptychs and triptychs, but after I chose these artists, it became clear that a broader scope was needed, Sosnowitz says. “This show is based on the inherent curiosity and exploration evoked in producing visual art. What I find fascinating is the interaction between these pieces. The diversity of personal interpretations was exactly what I was after.”

Included in “Multiplicity” are the works by Nova Darkstar, Ted Dixon, Robin Factor, Pat Hough, Sarah Mecklem, Lowell Miller, Robert Ohnigian, Vincent Pidone, Alan Samalin, M. J. Shepard, and Tagariello.

Always drawn to strong color combinations, lighting, and people, Tagariello’s photos work in tandem or stand alone. Tagariello says, “I have friends who say I took a ‘Frank photo’ and have sent me an interesting, colorful, composed photograph. It’s nice to know that I had some influence on how people can see the world.”

Chelsea Market Handmaids, Frank Tagariello, photograph, 2018

EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Brian K. Mahoney brian.mahoney@chronogram.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR David C. Perry david.perry@chronogram.com

DIGITAL EDITOR Marie Doyon marie.doyon@chronogram.com

ARTS EDITOR Peter Aaron music@chronogram.com

HOME EDITOR Mary Angeles Armstrong home@chronogram.com

POETRY EDITOR Phillip X Levine poetry@chronogram.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Anne Pyburn Craig apcraig@chronogram.com

contributors

Winona Barton-Ballentine, Mike Cobb, Michael Eck, Melissa Esposito, Morgan Y. Evans, Tristan Geary, Jamie Larson, Lindsay Lennon, Elias Levey-Swain, David McIntyre, Cory Nakasue, Seth Rogovoy, Sparrow, Jaime Stathis

PUBLISHING

FOUNDERS Jason Stern, Amara Projansky

PUBLISHER & CEO Amara Projansky amara.projansky@chronogram.com

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mission

Founded in 1993, Chronogram offers a colorful and nuanced chronicle of life in the Hudson Valley, inviting readers into the arts, culture, and spirit of this place.

The

largest

selection of On-Running in the area

esteemed reader by

Jason Stern

The incantation abracadabra is derived from the Hebrew or Aramaic of almost identical pronunciation, meaning “I will create as I speak.” Etymology aside, this statement provides a fairly sturdy definition of magic.

Magic is action in the invisible world that produces a manifestation in the visible domain. To be considered magic the action must also arise via a mechanism that is mysterious or unknown.

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Someone transported through time from the beginning of the last century or millennium would assume that the technology of today, mobile computers and communication devices for instance, are feats of magic. They operate in a medium that is invisible to the senses, through electrical impulses transmitted in the atmosphere. We call it science, though this may be a new name for the role played by people called magicians in times past.

Like so much technology, we see an externalization of powers that are present or latent in our human instruments.

In abracadabra is the essence of magic. An image is taken from the shelf of the great library of all possibilities and is concretized as an object or event. We are all unwitting magicians, for we demonstrate this phenomenon many times each day. We begin with an idea, or image, which is fully native to the invisible world, and communicate it into existence.

Is it not revealing that words are formed through spelling and a magician does his work by casting spells? Indeed, the event at hand is itself magical. The words I am writing here at my desk in the dark days leading up to the solstice are reverberating in your mind at some later date, in January perhaps, as the days begin to lengthen. The words resound and create meaning, and that meaning may evoke associations, emotions, and even inform actions.

In this sense all narratives arising from the invisible realm of thought are magical spells. They inform what we think, how we see, how we feel, what we do, and how we relate to one another. These spells are cast upon us from the moment of our birth, passed on by family, education, media, and reinforced though unconscious complicity in society. We are immersed in the magical field of a worldview that informs almost the entirety of our values and deeds.

For instance, the dominant lens of the present epoch is the atomistic, entropic worldview that goes under the general heading of science. Its magical effect is to evoke a sense of competitive isolation (survival of the fittest), meaninglessness (there is no mystery, only measurable data), nihilism (everything matters equally, i.e. nothing matters), and suicidal ideation (we are a danger to ourselves, one another, and life on Earth and might as well die). This is not to say that the scientific worldview is wrong. Nevertheless, its effect on the psyche of those in its spell is observable.

William Blake suggested that “if the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.” This itself is a magical incantation, evoking the quality of wonder and unknowing that accompanies a sense of the infinite, the unknown It points to the possibility and potential of setting aside the accumulated models and information about ourselves, one another, and the cosmos, and opening to direct contact with ourselves and the world.

Speaking is always casting a spell. Words and the narratives they weave give rise to thoughts, attitudes, and action, both within ourselves and others. Words have magical power. They may be used to destroy and create, to obscure and reveal. As begins the Gospel of John, “In the beginning was the Word.”

To notice the force of the spells being cast, and to be aware that we are continuously casting spells, may itself begin to break the spells we are under. We may begin to believe less of what we believe, to be freed from the grip of opinions and assumptions, and seek to look and come to know directly, for ourselves.

The real white magic is to allow the words one speaks to vibrate in every resonant cavity of one’s instrument, in the chest and throat, head, belly, and spine. In this way the whole of oneself speaks, rather than a part. “I” speak, rather than “Jason.” And that wholeness effects wholeness. It knits fractured parts together and allows remembering, and healing.

I may intend to use words to cast spells that create eddies of harmony in the flow of my life and ripple out into the larger pool of life. With words made magic with intention I bring what was present in the realm of possibility to life. With words I set out a pattern of wholeness, as in the prayer of Jesus Christ: Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

by Brian K. Mahoney

Clearance Tale

Iused to do it in the old-fashioned way. I carried a pen at all times. When the muse struck—on the subway, in the woods, at the bar—I’d scribble on the nearest available surface: electric bill, cocktail napkin, matchbook, tangerine rind. Admittedly not the most efficient system for organizing random thoughts, as my desk resembled a compost heap at times, but it did cage a spark of spontaneity in the assorted ephemera.

Now I use the Notes app on my phone. It’s still a chaotic embarrassment in there, with grocery lists and workout routines and book and movie recommendations and gnomic utterances like, “Believe everything you read: just don’t think it’s true.” Or this: “Poetry is the open mike night of the soul.” Or this morbid curiosity: “My own death is hard to imagine but easy to picture.”

I was originally going to write, “I use the Notes field on my phone like everyone,” but that’s surely false. There are specialized apps for tracking groceries and workout erg expenditure and the proper sorting of odd aphorisms. (Actually, I searched on the App Store and nothing comes up for “Gnomic Utterances.” Any developers out there want to partner on this? I’m smelling opportunity. Or that might be a tangerine rind.)

The upshot of this haphazard accounting was that I needed to clear my desk of debris from time to time, and as tangerine rinds are notoriously hard to file away, my “notes” would need to be transfigured from fragment into a villanelle or essay or jeremiad or be discarded. And now, at the end of the year—I write to you on December 17—I’m bringing that kind of rigor to my Notes app and will be attempting to make sense of those febrile jottings now. What follows are actual notes I left myself in the past few months that never amounted to a full thing on their own. Strap in.

“The

Romans Called It Dying”

One of the pleasures of living in a house for a long time is that you learn its quirks and eccentricities. You’ve fixed nearly everything twice so you know its vulnerabilities and where it’ll never go wrong on you. Like a lover, you know what it takes to keep it satisfied.

And then you get a letter from the city water department informing you that the house you’ve lived in for 21 years has a “lead service line.” The word lead is a homograph so at first it’s tricky

to parse, but it turns out the city didn’t mean lead as in “lead on, MacDuff” but as in: the extensive use of lead pipes caused widespread lead poisoning among the Roman elite and could have contributed significantly to the decline of the Roman Empire. (Historians debate this point. And don’t come at me about the whole men constantly thinking about the Roman Empire trope. When did it become a crime to have read all six volumes of Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire?)

The city was kind enough to inform the 2,700 affected households that the service line, which connects the house to the municipal water system, is owned by the homeowner. And that you should run your tap before you drink it—lead pools in sitting water. And children should be tested to determine lead levels in their blood. The headline in the paper the next day: “Mayor Urges Residents Not to Be Alarmed.”

“Yacht Rock Christmas”

My dearly departed brother Paddy was a yacht rock aficionado. Whether this had to do with his work in the maritime industry or just a sincere love of smooth melodies and crisp production values, I don’t know. But when I’m thinking of my little brother, I’ll often throw on some ’70s AM gold in his honor.

And then I heard Michael McDonald singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” while out Christmas shopping and I realized I could go full sail through the holidays. Amongst the Kenny Loggins and Dan Fogelberg of it all, my favorite find was “December” by Earth, Wind & Fire. If that sounds eerily similar to the 1978 hit “September” by the funk legends, that’s because it is. They recorded “December” for their 2014 album Holiday, changing only the dates in the lyrics. Gotta love creatives who know how to squeeze more juice out of an old lemon.

“Flognarde and Clafoutis”

In its weekly “Eats” column, the New York Times magazine recently included a recipe for clafoutis, a crustless cherry tart from France. As someone who rarely bakes—or eats dessert—I’d never heard of this dish. Nor of its cousin, flognarde, which replaces cherries with a different stone fruit. You string those two words together with a conjunction—Flognarde and Clafoutis—you’ve got the title of a French police procedural

starring Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel as a couple of mismatched detectives. Or, Flognarde & Clafoutis, an upscale boutique selling $180 sweatshirts reading “L’Upstate et Froid.”

“Sidewalk Zucchini”

Everyone is pretty lax about yard maintenance on Jarrold Street. It’s like the before photo in an ad for a landscaping company. There’s a foreclosed house up the street that’s been abandoned since 2010 and is entering its tear-down phase. Squatters were living there briefly until a neighbor saw them getting Door Dash delivered and the cops rousted them. I trim the hedges in front of the house when I get annoyed enough about having to walk out into the road because they’re blocking the sidewalk. A full-grown Rose of Sharon rises up out of a sewer grate.

Adding to the general unkemptness, last August a four-foot long zucchini tendril was growing out of a crack in the sidewalk in front of my neighbor’s house. I watered it for a couple of weeks until it died.

“Pocket Protector”

What I wouldn’t give to have a pen explode in my pocket. It seemed like I ruined a dress shirt every other week in high school with an exploding pen, but I haven’t suffered such a calamity in decades. (Besides, who even wears dress shirts anymore?) Has pen technology improved so much in recent years? Did the pocket protector manufacturers all go broke?

“Sororicide”

Reading Daniel Mason’s magisterial novel North Woods—set on one farmstead in the Berkshires over several centuries—all manner of human behavior is depicted, from tender love to incredible cruelty. In a particularly dark scene (spoiler alert!) one spinster sister murders another with an axe. Which gave me pause: what is sister killing called? Killing your brother is fratricide, everybody knows that. It’s one of the opening scenes of the Bible. Cain kills Abel. In Egyptian mythology Osiris is cut down by Set. There’s a whole subcategory on Wikipedia about it. But sororicide? No one talks about it.”

“Buy Tangerines”

Just in case I lose my phone and need something to write on.

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Nearest and Dearest

THE BENEFITS OF A MICROWEDDING

By Melissa Esposito

Modern weddings are a personalized experience. Sure, there will always be the couples who want to host a grand-affair wedding: a black-tie event at a palatial venue filled with hundreds of guests—a fair portion of whom the happy couple might not even know personally, as a favor to parents. But for others, the same idea can be cringe-inducing, whether due to budget constraints, alternative lifestyle preferences, or a tendency to shy from being the center of attention, even on The Big Day.

Enter: The microwedding, an increasingly popular trend for couples who want to enjoy a more intimate experience with the ones who matter most, and without the frills of a large-scale occasion.

“At its simplest, a microwedding is small, thoughtful wedding; fewer guests, fewer decisions to make, and a simpler experience all around,” says Erica Beckman, a wedding photographer and one of three business partners at The Wedding Foundry, a microwedding service organized by a supergroup of Hudson Valleybased wedding specialists. In addition to Beckman— who also runs Clean Plate Pictures and co-founded Hudson Valley Elope—the two other partners are Billiam van Roestenberg of Liberty View Farm in New Paltz and Juan Romero of Lekker Catering (and former chef/owner of Duo Bistro).

“I think a lot of it has to do with how things went during the pandemic. A lot of people couldn’t spend

An intimate microwedding held at Liberty View Farm in Highland and arranged by The Wedding Foundry.

Photo by Clean Slate Pictures

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time with loved ones and it made them realize how much that time really counts,” Beckman says. “When you have this big wedding and there are 200 people, or more, and half of them are acquaintances you haven’t even seen in 10 years—what it comes down to for those couples is the thought that life is too short to share their wedding day with all of these people that they don’t even know.”

Something More Peaceful

This mindset has led to an increasing number of microweddings around the region, typically defined by a guest list of between 50 to 70. Although these nuptials are taking place at a smaller scale, they’re still offering a distinctly beautiful occasion where elegance meets simplicity.

And this balance is a chief goal of The Wedding Foundry’s events, which take place on van Roestenberg’s scenic and sustainable Liberty View Farm in Highland and offer packages—a one-stop shopping of sorts—that cover all of the necessities: venue, catering, photography, florals,

an officiant, and more, but without it being a cookie-cutter experience; each event is still designed to fit couples’ personalities.

“I’ve been hosting big weddings on the farm for years, this is our 18th season, and they’re huge, weekend events with a lot of moving parts that can see upward of hundreds of guests,” van Roestenberg says. “Instead, these microwedding couples are looking for something more intimate during which they can have a deeper connection with the friends and family they want to invite. In some cases, they come from high-net worth families and have seen siblings have the big extravagant weddings—and then decided that the same route just wasn’t for them. They don’t want an over-the-top wedding, just something more peaceful. And we are here to walk them through it.”

The all-inclusive service offers base packages starting between $15,000-$20,000, but addons are available for upgrades like bar and food. “When it comes to catering, Juan is a culinary genius,” he explains. “One couple had family members from Greece who said our Greek

offerings were exactly like the food they loved back home. For how cost-effective these weddings are, our services are top quality.”

The concept of microweddings is not to be confused with elopements, which have also seen enough of a post-pandemic uptick that destination wedding resorts around the country have started offering elopement packages. When Beckman saw elopement photography requested with increasing frequency, it prompted her to co-found Hudson Valley Elopements with an officiant partner, Michele Zipp. But Beckman says that even the mindset around elopements has changed; no longer are they minimalistic, rushed happenings. Instead, they’re intentional events where couples want only their nearest and dearest but while still creating an unforgettable day. “These elopements are usually planned four to five months out, but some will even book a year out,” she explains. “And we’re doing about 25 to 40 each year.”

Small to the Max

While a venue like Liberty View Farms has

Chef Juan Romero of The Wedding Foundry focuses on family-style meals for microweddings.

Photo by Clean Slate Pictures

As it only holds 120 guests maximum, Colony Woodstock specializes in microweddings. Courtesy of Colony Woodstock

the acreage to offer large-scale weddings, a host like Colony Woodstock, a music venue in the heart of the village, has less crowd capacity and can only offer small events. Although she doesn’t quite consider each event to be a microwedding, private events coordinator Laura Anson says she’s seen the same shift in mindset shying away from classic wedding whites and extended guest lists, to more casually elegant affairs and smaller gatherings.

“We are definitely seeing more intimate weddings, where couples are not inviting their extended family or parents’ friends—instead, they’re much keener to keep the numbers small and the event itself pretty low-key,” Anson says. “Every wedding here is so different, no commonality between them except that people are a little more focused on smaller guest lists, which is good because our max is 120. But we are definitely seeing a trend toward the event being more intimate overall with more thought going into keeping it personal. Most don’t even hire a wedding planner. These are couples who don’t want that boxy, square conference room feeling with bright white decor and traditional ceremonies or receptions.”

Anson says that some of the couples she works with want such a no-fuss experience that they forgo common accoutrements like floral arrangements, whereas others have even opted to skip their wedding cakes, instead choosing dessert tables. “It’s as though they want to keep it beautiful, but make it feel more like a familial party rather than like the traditional buttoned-up weddings of 20-plus years ago,” she says. “And it’s not necessarily a budget thing, because many can be small but just as high-end.” Instead, these intimate events prove that small weddings can be formal and beautiful without being stuffy.

“It feels more convivial, like a beautifully lit private party,” Anson says. “It’s lovely for us to watch, too. Everything feels more intimate and a little more special.”

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Jake Sherry turned a distilling hobby in the pandemic into Isolation Proof, a craft gin distillery in Bloomville that uses local ingredients like ramps and mushrooms to produce gins that reflect the terrior of the Catskills.

Spirit of the Catskills THE

HYPERLOCAL EXPRESSIONS OF ISOLATION PROOF GIN

By Melissa Esposito Photos by Gentl & Hyers

When we think of gin, we usually think of a distinct botanical, juniper-inflected flavor and clear appearance. But Catskillsbased craft gin distillery Isolation Proof explores the versatility of this spirit, pushing boundaries through seasonal releases that include savory flavors—mushroom gin, anyone?—or vibrant hues, like the pale pink strawberry rhubarb gin.

Beyond taste and appearance, Isolation Proof’s seasonal products are made with hyperlocally sourced or foraged ingredients. From wild apples to hillside spring water, the brand creates a distinctly Catskills “taste of place.”

“There are a lot of clear gins, and I wanted a way to differentiate us, but I’m also excited about using local ingredients to do so,” says Jake Sherry, owner, distiller, and man of many hats. “Classic gin is made with seven core botanicals and you need to rely on a global supply chain for some, but by offering expressions of seasonally sourced ingredients, we can use items from the farm down the road or that are found while foraging on our own property. It turns into a product that’s the reflection of a place, and I embrace the challenge of finding seasonal ingredients and building delicious gin around a uniquely Catskills recipe.”

From Hobbyist to Full-Timer

Sherry began distilling as a self-taught hobbyist in 2018, while working a full-time position in the film advertising industry in the city. “Around the same time, I discovered both the Catskills and the hobby of distilling,” he explains, “but by 2020—we all know what happened. Film production slowed and suddenly I had a lot of extra time, so I found myself in Bovina distilling in my barn more and more.” The Isolation Proof brand started during that time, its name a nod to the solitariness of quarantine.

“We became a craft gin distillery—and gin is an important distinction from just calling it a distillery, because when people think about distillers in New York they often associate it with whisky,” Sherry explains. “But because I was a gin drinker, it was important to me to focus on this spirit, and to open people’s eyes to the bigger picture of what gin could be. It’s a juniper-touched spirit, but beyond that, there are so many possibilities.” (Juniper, which gives gin its distinctive flavor and aroma, must be present in all gin by law.)

The first product was a classic clear gin. The second was a pivot that many other distillers were taking at the time—to hand sanitizer. “I started making a strong, 60-proof gin that worked as a sanitizer, but realized we could lower the proof and make a classic London-style dry that’s more suitable for cocktails,” Sherry says. “I took the approach of getting it to market first then continuing to evolve it—add a few more grams of cinnamon here, change the licorice root; it allows the gin to be consistent, but a living product that gets better over time.”

About a year later, in 2021, Isolation Proof started to gain momentum in interest and sales, and Sherry realized he couldn’t simultaneously give his full attention to both the distillery in the Catskills and to his career as

a director of advertising in the city. “I was growing restless from working on other people’s brands and was passionate about distilling, so I abandoned my career of over a decade and pivoted to something in which I had no formal training,” Sherry laughs. “I think that coming out of the pandemic gave me the perspective to consider how I really wanted to spend my time. And luckily my wife was, and has been, super supportive of the decision.”

Bottling the Unexpected

Although the distillery started in Bovina, as the business grew Sherry realized he needed more space and found a new location nearby in Bloomville. The move was bittersweet at first, as he sourced water from a spring on the former property for his gin, which he insisted on continuing and would truck over tanks of water to the new spot. “One day I was exploring the new property and was lucky to find a spring that bubbles out of a big boulder on the hillside,” he says. “Quality water is important, and using this natural spring allows us to keep the taste and minerality.”

That same hillside exploration led him to fresh ramps last spring, which he used to create a pale green-hued ramp gin. “Wild ramps are the catnip of chefs around here, so I thought, how cool would it be to make a ramp gin? And people went crazy for it,” he says, clarifying that actually, “it was divisive. People either loved it or would yell, ‘Why would you make such a weird savory gin?’ But it’s great for cocktails like a Gibson or bloody Mary.” Sherry says it’s the first ramp gin created in the world.

Next, when local farms were harvesting strawberries in June, he distilled a strawberry rhubarb gin, giving the classic summer pie combination a boozy twist. During the fall, he sourced wild apples from the Bloomville property and infused assam tea to create the Orchard Gin, which has a dark amber color that almost presents like a whisky and offers hints of pear, cocoa, spice, and a slight sweetness from the apples.

Also of intrigue: mushroom gin. “Like with the ramp gin, some people were super interested, others were, like, ‘Why?’ but I wanted to push the boundaries of how gin could taste,” he explains. The idea was presented to him in summer 2022 by Andrea Gentl, a photographer and mushroom forager who was writing a cookbook called Cooking with Mushrooms and knew of Sherry’s affinity for experimental gins. “She asked if I’d like to make a mushroom gin to use alongside the book, and I thought, ‘Who would want that?,’ so I only made a small amount—but as it turns out, restaurants were really into the idea. Mushrooms were having a moment, and at the same time, the cocktail scene had started experimenting more with savory cocktails. The gin came out earthy, not overly mushroomy, and with a natural sweetness that worked even as a simple gin and tonic.” It’s made with maitake and shiitake mushrooms, chamomile, and green coriander, in addition to the usual botanicals.

A Sustainable Sip

The distillery produced about 28,000 bottles of gin in the last 12 months. Sherry says he has plans to try more savory flavors over time, like heirloom tomato or a spicy gin, and wants to continue utilizing locally grown ingredients as much as possible. “Besides being able to support local farms, it’s also more sustainable, which we value,” he says.

Another sustainable measure is making the gin from whey sourced from the Finger Lakes dairies, rather than the standard corn. “It’s an upcycled product and makes a much smaller carbon footprint than corn coming from the Midwest,” Sherry says. “We also compost all spent botanicals and are in the process of installing solar panels for all equipment. The property has a beautiful 15-acre field where we plan to create an off-grid tasting space.”

Currently, Isolation Proof Gin can be found in boutique wine and spirits shops around the Hudson Valley and Catskills, as well as in select bars and restaurants around the state including local cocktail hot spots Lone Wolf, Chleo, and more. “Our goal is to become known as the gin of New York; I’m really proud of pushing the boundaries of what gin can do and especially to be doing this in the Catskills,” Sherry says. “For me, it’s like transporting people here through gin. Capturing the Catskills in a bottle and bringing people here with each sip.”

Isolationproof.com

sips & bites

Panacea

6 Autumn Lane, Amenia

In the former Serevan space in Amenia, the newly opened Panacea aims to nourish the belly and the soul with a cozy space and comforting food. Chefowners Jacob Somers and Khendum Namgyal met in 2018 while cooking at Union Square Cafe, where much of the produce was sourced from Hudson Valley farms. Eventually the pair followed the food to its source and ended up in the region, and in August they opened Panacea. The restaurant blends culinary influences, with a good dose of New England seafood (think mussels in a Thai red curry with basil, coriander, pickled radish tops, and Vitsky’s bread, $22), housemade pastas, and classic American mains like a New York strip steak. The menu rotates monthly with availability. Panaceany.com

Fantzye Bagels

392 Hasbrouck Avenue, Kingston

The new Kingston bagel shop’s name is Yiddish for “fancy,” and the menu takes a refined approach to this Jewish classic. With artisanal, sourdough bagels and in-season, local sourcing, Fantzye is serious about its sandwiches. Don’t be surprised to see caviar on the menu or a lion’s mane mushroom bagels with vegan schmear and fermented chilies. (Don’t worry if you’re a traditionalist, you can still get the classics, like egg-and-cheese with greens and aioli, $9, or bagel and a schmear, $6.) Fantzye started as a pop-up in Martha’s Vineyard, turned into a food trailer, and in late November inaugurated its first brick-and-mortar.

Fantzye.com

Lift Cafe

424 Main Street, Rosendale

Lift Cafe opened in November, moving into the former Perry’s Pickle locale. Owners Peter Oellers and Daniel Malpica moved to the area from New York City in 2014 and are partnering with their 36-year-old son Myles O’Meara, who manages the cafe with his wife and daughters. The family’s vision is to become a community anchor, complete with a calendar of events, and also serve as a space to gather over coffee, smoothies, and fresh-pressed juices. The menu also features healthy snacks, ideal for those who are seeking protein options or who are tracking their macros.

Liftcaferosendale.com

Untouchable

40 Liberty Street, Newburgh

Over the past few years, new eateries like Toasted and Bivona’s Simply Pasta have extended the gastronomic corridor of Liberty Street out from the heart of downtown Newburgh. Untouchable, a bar with more than a few violent incidents in its former iteration, is the latest to join this effort with a total visual overhaul and a new musical orientation thanks to new owner Tom Schmitz of Quinn’s in Beacon. The doors opened in early October, and aside from the classic bar offerings, the spot boasts music, from both live bands and vinyl DJs, plus rotating works by local artists. Fridays and Saturdays 5pm-midnight.

Little Loaf Bakeshop

218 Main Street, New Paltz

Little Loaf Bakeshop, a queer- and trans-owned vegan bakeshop formerly housed in the Poughkeepsie’s Underwear Factory, is set to open a permanent location on New Paltz’s Main Street this month. Co-owners Rian Finnegan and Colleen Orlando started in 2022 at farmers’ markets and quickly expanded to wholesale and regional festivals. Known for their inventive pastries like banana Nutella croissants and savory danishes, the duo aims to create a welcoming community space alongside their delicious offerings. The new location will feature an expanded menu, including vegan breakfast sandwiches and artisan breads. For Finnegan and Orlando, Little Loaf is more than a bakery—it’s a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community and a hub for collaboration and connection.

—Marie

Doyon, Maggie Baribault, Remy Commisso

Cardamom and Community

CAFE MUTSI IN ANDES

By Maggie Baribault Photos by Heaven McArthur

On a quiet lane just off Main Street in Andes is Cafe Mutsi, a cafe and wine bar opened in May 2024 by Raoul Koopman and Nicole Bassis. The couple blend traditional flavors from their respective backgrounds—Koopman, born in the Netherlands, is of Moroccan descent and Bassis is Finnish—with a contemporary sensibility inspired by the Catskill region. The cafe’s bright, minimalist Nordic design and open kitchen invite guests into a warm, community-focused space, where local ingredients and cultural stories come together in the food and drink.

“‘Mutsi’ is a Finnish word for ‘mom,’” Bassis explains. “I spent every summer growing up in Finland with my grandparents, so I take a lot of inspiration from that Nordic culture.” But the name isn’t just a literal translation of “mom”; it’s casual, affectionate slang—how teenagers might say, “Hey, mom!” Bassis’s word choice speaks to the warm and welcoming environment she strives to create in the cafe, where visitors feel like they’ve stepped into a friend’s home.

Rooted in Tradition, Elevated by Innovation

The menu at Cafe Mutsi is deeply connected to the owners’ cultural roots and the seasonal bounty of the Catskills, with a contemporary twist that invites experimentation and local collaboration. “A lot of the recipes are inspired by food memories, by recipes of our mothers and grandmothers from both my husband’s and my culture,” Bassis says. “We’re bringing these traditional flavors onto the table but in a more modern way.”

The all-day cafe menu features a range of baked goods, breakfast, and lunch items, including a rotating selection of sweet and savory pastries, local yogurt with housemade granola and a blueberry compote ($11), shrimp toast with fennel and dill ($14), and shakshuka ($16).

The cafe also offers retail items like freshly baked bread, housemade harissa sauce (from Koopman’s mom’s recipe), coffee, and Finnish sweets. The full range of espresso drinks are made with coffee beans from Pennsylvania-based microroastery Alabaster Coffee & Tea Co.

One of the cafe’s signature items are its cardamom buns ($5.50), a nod to Bassis’s Finnish grandmother, a professional baker. “I have memories of sitting at the kitchen table and rolling those buns with her in Finland,” Bassis recalls. The buns, known as pulla, rolled with cinnamon and sugar and spiced with freshly cracked cardamom, have become a popular treat for locals.

Bassis’s grandmother, Maila, is also honored through the “M” in the cafe’s logo, inspired by her handwritten recipes. “My passion for food and hospitality was nurtured during those summers spent with her—picking berries, mushrooms, and potatoes, and mastering the art of crimping Karalian pies with my little fingers—not to mention rolling those delicious pulla,” Bassis says.

But the cafe’s menu is not just a nostalgic homage to the past—it’s a dynamic celebration of what’s available in the present, evolving with the seasons to showcase fresh, local ingredients from nearby farms and artisans. “We get a lot of our

meat locally, literally right here in Andes,” Bassis explains. Beef is sourced from Gladstone Farms, while lamb comes from Evans and Evans Farm.

On Friday evenings, the wine bar serves up shareable plates, pairing seasonal produce with natural wines. Dishes like Haus Haus Cous Cous, made from Koopman’s grandmother’s recipe with almonds, apricots, eggplant, and hummus ($18), steak tartare with rye carta di musica ($18), and confit garlic chicken with schmaltzy rice ($22) showcase the couple’s diverse culinary heritage.

In the warmer months, Bassis and Koopman pick produce from local farms themselves. “It’s about getting our feet in the dirt, seeing what’s fresh, and feeling more connected to the ingredients,” Bassis says. Their hands-on approach allows them to craft seasonal dishes that are both inspired and reflective of the local bounty.

The Heart of Everything

The couple’s commitment to supporting local farmers, purveyors, and makers is as much about sourcing fresh, high-quality ingredients as it is about building strong relationships with the community, a philosophy that extends beyond their food.

“There’s an influx of young, enthusiastically collaborative business owners here in Andes,” Koopman says. “It’s low-hanging fruit for us to want to collaborate with them.” The cafe works with local businesses, showcasing art from Hawk + Hive gallery, using pie dough from Magpies bakery, and displaying records from Sounds Good Music House. “It’s a labor of love from start to finish, and we’re trying to support the local community as much as possible,” Bassis adds.

Sustainability is also a key part of Cafe Mutsi’s ethos. “We’re constantly looking for ways to reuse or repurpose,” Bassis says. Leftover bread ends

are made into breadcrumbs, bamboo utensils are used in place of plastic, and disposable takeout containers are kept to a minimum.

As Cafe Mutsi enters its first full year, Bassis and Koopman plan to expand their offerings and deepen their connections with the community.

“We’re slowly expanding our menu and hours,” Bassis says. “Our next step is bringing in more pop-ups.”

Whether it’s a flour-dusted wave from their open kitchen or a smile while pouring an espresso from behind the coffee bar, Bassis and Koopman are dedicated to creating an inviting space where visitors can feel at home.

Cafe Mutsi is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9am to 2pm for its all-day menu, with wine and shared plates services on Friday evenings from 5 to 9pm. Cafemutsi.com.

The menu at Cafe Mutsi in Andes reflects the backgrounds of owners Raoul Koopman (Dutch and Moroccan) and Nicole Bassis (Finnish).

Top: David and Leslie Foti Drayer’s 1824 Colonial farmhouse has been the home to some iconic Woodstock residents. When they bought it in 2015 it needed a complete overhaul. The couple replaced the roof and many rotted exterior boards and caulked gaps before painting the home Soot with the help of Chip’s Painting Services. “He mentioned he had never used as much caulk as he did on our house,” says Foti Drayer.

Bottom left: A corner dining nook in the kitchen has a pendant light by Arthaus, a CB2 table found at an estate sale, and Industry West chairs. The lithograph is by Ben Shahn and the couple found the ladder in their barn.

Bottom middle:  The home’s former dining room was converted into a home office for Foti Drayer. She added a marble CB2 desk and art from local antique shops.

Opposite top: To create a family friendly mudroom, the couple captured an unfinished space adjacent to their kitchen and added insulation, extra windows, and blackand-white tiles from Siena Arlecchino. They added a bench from Kingston Consignments and a vintage rug from Knotted Fox. With the help of their contractor they added the built-in hooks and repurposed a door from the living room for the entrance.

Opposite bottom: David Drayer and Leslie Foti Drayer with their son Nico. The couple turned a former studio into an office with overflow guest space for Drayer. They added a woodstove, Moroccan rugs from Etsy, and a Wes Lang artwork on the wall.

Farmhouseology

A Classic Woodstock Story

By Mary Angeles Armstrong Photos by Winona Barton-Ballentine

When David Drayer and Leslie Foti Drayer first eyed their 1824 Colonial in Woodstock, they thought they ’d stumbled onto the rambling farmhouse of their dreams. First-time home buyers, the couple was living and working in the city but longing for the ample rooms, closets, kitchens, and expanded spaces—as well as the beauty—of the Hudson Valley. “ The city was too expensive and too nuts,” explains Drayer. “ We just wanted a cute country house.”

In 2015, they thought they ’d found it. Their 3,100-square-foot, two-story home had two spacious bedrooms, separate living and dining rooms, a classic farmhouse kitchen, and a vaulted studio space outfitted as a separate apartment. The home’s mashup of traditional Colonial bones and Arts and Crafts details gave it a quirky, antique charm. Wide-plank floors stretched throughout the traditional post-and-beamframed home punctuated with both Colonial and artist windows, original Dutch doors, brick fireplaces, and plenty of custom built-ins. Sitting on two-and-a-half acres along the Sawkill Creek, the setting was decidedly bucolic. “ We loved it,” says Foti Drayer. “ We thought we’d found a unique home that was turnkey.”

What they got instead was a crash course in Woodstock’s eclectic history, the realities of 200-year-old fixer-uppers, and a newfound appreciation for old houses and the people who love them. But they persevered, and, as they restored the house it transformed them. “ Ten years later we ’ re still here,” says Foti Drayer. “ We built our life here, had a child, found a great community, and we lived to tell the renovation tale.”

House Calls

At first, they were just looking for a weekend home. Both natives of Chautauqua County in Western New York, the couple met in high school, then attended Kent State together before moving to New York City, where Drayer became a creative director and Foti Drayer went into fashion. Their shared small-town roots had them longing for country life and they soon found themselves visiting the Hudson Valley on their days off. They loved the region’s combination of big city culture and rural lifestyle. “ We really loved it up here and always dreamed of being here full time,” says Foti Drayer.

They decided to search for a weekend retreat, originally focusing on Phoenicia. “ We thought Woodstock was a little cheesy,” Drayer explains. Despite this, their search

eventually brought them to the Zena farmhouse and they immediately connected to the property. “ We were really drawn to this house,” says Drayer. They had it inspected and then bought it, even though friends and family expressed some skepticism. “Everyone questioned what we were doing. We both worked so much and were traveling at the time,” says Foti Drayer. “Even my mother thought we were crazy, but this house felt like it was meant to be ours.”

Right after buying the home they realized what they were actually up against. “ The foundation was sinking and we had to jack the house up,” remembers Drayer. “ That took us into the basement where we discovered 200-year-old tree trunks holding up the first floor.” The furnace was also regularly catching fire, and, after trying to repair it, they had to replace it altogether. (They would eventually install minisplits throughout the house.) Very soon after, they needed to replace the roof. “ That ’s when we realized how much work the home needed, and how neglected it actually was,” says Foti Drayer. “It needed extensive renovations—roof, furnace, insulation, structural work—you name it we’ve tackled it. “

If These Walls Could Talk

Meanwhile, as they were delving into the guts of the home, they began uncovering its story and rich creative legacy. Built

The couple salvaged some of the home’s original wood beams to create kitchen shelving and then matched them with cabinets by Woodstock-based Evolve Cabinetry. The fixtures are from Etsy.

In the living room the couple exposed the post-and-beam detailing and removed an entryway wall for a more expansive space. Most of the furnishings and art were gleaned secondhand from across the Hudson Valley, from estate sales, antique marts, and Etsy. “I love finding and collecting things from all different eras,” says Foti Drayer. “I love mixing old and new. The house is very much an old farmhouse, so I didn’t want to double down on that look.”

as a working farm, the home’s original, very dilapidated barn still sits in the backyard. They found evidence it was an inn for a time during the late 19th century.

As Woodstock transformed from a peaceful farming village into a haven for artists, the home transformed as well. After painter, lithographer, and mountaineer Bolton Brown helped found the Byrdcliffe Art Colony in 1902, he took up residence in the home, where he lived until his death in 1936. Soon after, abstract and impressionist painter Kurt Sluizer and his wife moved into the home after fleeing the Netherlands to escape the Holocaust. The home remained the artist ’s refuge until the 1980s. Sometime during that period, the original farmhouse was expanded to include the vaulted artist studio with north-facing windows.

The home took a classic Woodstock turn from visual to musical art when, during the Y2K era, it was rented to a member of the hardcore reggae punk band the Bad Brains, who rehearsed in the studio. “ We were watching a documentary about them and saw our house,” says Foti Drayer. “It was surreal.”

The house also offered up other artifacts of the past, including stamps and other treasures. “It ’s like the house is sharing its history with us.” The couple realized they ’d stumbled onto a home with important local and cultural

history and took their roles as stewards seriously. “ The home has been here for 200 years,” says Drayer. “It ’s our job to make sure it ’s here for another 200.”

Slow Renovating

Over the next decade the couple took a slow and considered approach to the home’s renovation, taking on each project one at a time and resisting the urge to rush. “ We always thought about the house’s integrity while making it more comfortable,” says Foti Drayer. “ We remained committed to preserving the home’s history and architectural details.”

With the help of a local contractor, they tore out years of paint and plaster throughout the first floor to uncover the original post-and-beam details. “ People had been renovating on top of renovations on top of more renovations,” says Foti Drayer. “And everything in this house had to be custom made because nothing is standard.” To highlight the home ’s character, the couple decided to restore the original ceiling beams and framing. They also kept the original Dutch doors for historical accuracy and refinished the wide-plank floorboards throughout the first floor.

In the living room, they tore out an internal wall capturing space from the home ’s entrance hall and, after

adding much-needed insulation, were careful to preserve the original plaster walls. They also wanted to preserve the antique Colonial windows. After repainting the window frames, they paired them with custom storm windows for insulation. Next came an update of the home ’s central kitchen. They wanted to preserve the room’s architectural details while making it more practical for their daily needs. “ We didn’t want it to feel like a generic farmhouse kitchen,” says Foti Drayer. “ We wanted to modernize the space but keep the spirit of the house alive.” They decided to tear out the dated cabinetry and appliances, then added custom mint green bottom cabinets and open shelving above the counters. They chose custom white tiles for the kitchen backsplash. They took a similar approach when they decided to transform an adjacent half bathroom to include the laundry, previously located in the basement. “ We thought it was going to be an easy demo,” says Foti Drayer. “But the contractor realized the toilet was being held up by a two-by-four that had rotted. One day we would be going to the bathroom and just fall straight through the floor.”

In addition to revamping the first-floor bathroom and laundry, the couple added a new family bathroom on the second floor with an added skylight and raised floor to accommodate the plumbing.

When Your House Remodels You

The experience of working on the house became a catalyst for Foti Drayer. “Going through the whole process and realizing what we’d actually unwittingly taken on was a kind of a-ha moment for me,” she says. She was inspired to leave fashion behind and get her real estate license, focusing on the community she’d grown to love. “I really found my passion as a realtor,” she says. “My journey began with that realization. Now I love helping others find their ideal homes, just as we did, and introducing them to the incredible community here. “

In 2020 the couple were able to move to the home fulltime and started a family. Even with the work it entailed, they ’ve grown to love the house more as time goes by and have no regrets. “I’ve never felt so at home in a place as I do here,” says Foti Drayer.

The couple converted a former second-floor alcove into a full bathroom. They exposed the room’s original beams then added skylights and blackand-white Moroccan tiles. They custom built the wood cabinet under the window. “We wanted it to feel like it had always been there,” says Foti Drayer.

Bring your outdoor space to life with lead designer, Lily Johnson, and her team:

•Landscape Design

•Native Meadows

•Bespoke Arbors, Pathways & Ponds

•Project Management

Book a consultation today: habitualgardens.com/chronogram

New Year, New You

The New Year is the quintessential time to start fresh and renew commitments to bettering the mind, body, and soul. Whether it’s health, finances, spirituality, or new hobbies, there is a wealth of local resources in the Hudson Valley to start those resolutions right.

Whole Sky Yoga

3588 Main Street, Stone Ridge Wholeskyyoga.com

A sweet little sanctuary located in the Marbletown Multi-Arts building, Whole Sky fosters a welcoming and non-judgmental environment, where folks of all backgrounds can convene and explore their practice. With a full schedule of yoga classes seven days a week, as well as Pilates and Barre, seasonal workshops, teacher trainings, and community gatherings—there is truly something for everyone.

BDY/PWR

(972) 740-5293

Bdypwr.com

Unleash the power of the body in the New Year! Beacon-based certified National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) trainer Elizabeth Vargas has worked with dozens of clients, in-person and virtually, from tailoring pre and postnatal exercises, to weight-loss and nutrition, and more. Book a session online or by phone and start 2025 right!

Lourdes Laifer Coaching

(845) 262-0259

Lourdeslaifercoaching.com

Reclaim self-worth and attain transformation with expert life coaching. Certified life coach Lourdes Laifer holds a BA in Psychology and a Positive Psychology Specialization Certification. Embodying empathy, resilience, and guidance, Lourdes helps her clients heal, rediscover self-belief, reduce stress, and find inner peace using targeted strategies, somatics, and other modalities. Contact Lourdes to start healing today.

Joanna Leffeld aka Moolah Doula

(845) 706-4145

Joannaleffeld.com

Joanna Leffeld helps clients heal their relationship with money through compassionate, somatically attuned sessions. Sessions facilitate releasing selflimiting beliefs and embodying abundance while living one’s true purpose. Step into the future by booking a session today.

TEG Federal Credit Union

Tegfcu.com

Start the year strong and achieve financial success with TEG Federal Credit Union! Whether it’s saving more, budgeting better, or paying down debt, TEG is here to support its members’ financial resolutions. From personalized guidance to smart financial tools, they make achieving goals easier.

Got2Lindy Dance Studios

Kingston & Marlboro Classes (845) 236-3939

Got2lindy.com

Got2Lindy Dance Studios’ mission is to turn non-dancers into dancers and strangers into friends. The studio is dedicated to creating an open, welcoming, and safe community for everyone, with no partner or experience needed. Join the fun—mention Chronogram and get $10 off on the next beginner swing dance class series for new students!

SYNC Psychological Services

& SYNC Somatics™

admin@syncpsych.com

Syncpsych.com

This group psychotherapy practice is dedicated to serving a diverse, vibrant clientele. Psychologists, psychoanalysts, social workers, mental health counselors, and creative arts therapists offer passionate and compassionate care, addressing individual challenges, whether emotional, relational, cultural, racial, sexual, or political. Multiple location offerings include New York City, the Hudson Valley, Connecticut, and online.

Newberry Artisan Market

236 Main Street, Saugerties (845) 247-3002

Newberryartisanmarket.com

This exciting artisan market hosts over 35 local Hudson Valley vendors including pottery, jewelry, unique designer clothing, vintage, art and more right in the heart of the Saugerties Village. Come see beautiful products and meet the friendly staff who are ready to help everyone with their total shopping experience!

Ride for Mental Health

Rideformentalhealth.org

Join The Ride for Mental Health and help “Ride Away the Stigma”! This annual event is not only a cycling journey through the stunning Hudson Valley, but also a powerful movement to support mental health research, treatment resources, and efforts to end the stigma associated with mental illness. Riders of all ages and skill levels are welcome. With routes ranging from the scenic Rail Trail to challenging climbs, there’s an option for everyone, whether it’s a family-friendly day or a rewarding challenge. The funds raised make a tangible impact by supporting organizations like McLean Hospital, global leaders in mental health care, research, and education, as well as support for local non-profit organizations like the New Paltz Youth Program and the Maya Gold Foundation. Participant involvement directly contributes to expanding resources and support systems for individuals and families facing mental health challenges. Join as a rider or volunteer to be part of this passionate community working toward meaningful change. Register today and bring friends, family, and colleagues to be part of this impactful journey. Visit rideformentalhealth.org to sign up, learn more, and pedal forward together.

Chronogram

Eat.Play.Stay. Newsletter

Chronogram.com/eatplaystay

It’s time to discover more of the Hudson Valley. Get in on the mosttalked-about restaurant openings, buzz-worthy events, important community stories, and curated real estate listings before everyone else. Sign up for our newsletter and get digital exclusives on the region’s arts and cultural scene in your inbox each week.

Harvesting Health

The Case for Community Supported Agriculture

By Jaime Stathis

The origin story for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has deep roots and tendrils, but the short story is that a group of organic farmers looked at biodynamic agricultural traditions from Europe and developed a CSA model for the United States. The basics of CSA is that customers reduce the burden on farmers by purchasing a share, which gives them a weekly portion of the harvest. CSAs traditionally produce fruits and vegetables but may include meat, dairy, grains, herbs, maple syrup or honey, and even natural medicines.

The first formal CSA was founded by Robyn Van En at Indian Line Farm in South Egremont, Massachusetts, and is still going strong. After Van En died in 1997, Elizabeth Keen and Al Thorp (now married) rented from Van En’s son, David, and continued farming and running both the farm and the CSA.

Keen and Thorp had just completed farming apprenticeships and weren’t prepared to run the farm. “We had no experience,” Keen says, laughing. “We each had two years of apprenticing, which—in the scope of what you need to know to run a farm—is certainly not enough.” They figured it out, and although Thorp now works off the farm as a land surveyor and engineer, Keen is entering her 28th year of farming at Indian Line.

Sharing the Risk

Keen’s tenure at Indian Line is impressive, and she gives a lot of credit to the CSA, which she refers to as the “lifeblood of the farm.” Another safety net that has helped Indian Line succeed is that the land is in a land trust—which ensures permanent access, control, affordability, and stewardship—and is owned by The Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires, Inc., who

purchased the land in the summer of 1999 for a lump sum. Knowing the land is secure removes a significant part of the financial burden for farmers. “One reason people fail is because they don’t have a long-term situation to lean into,” Keen says, and that security has been critical to their success.

Whether due to drought, flooding, disease, or some other reason—like injury or illness to a farmer—farms can have off years. “2018 was a washout year,” Keen says. “So many farms lost so much.” Some years, Keen has bought produce to make sure her CSA members had enough in their weekly share because she recognizes the financial burden she’d bear without the steady support of her members and wants to make sure they feel taken care of.

Connecting People with Food

Besides the basis of CSAs, where members shoulder some of a farm’s financial burden and risk upfront, there’s no single model for how CSAs function. There are variations in pick-up protocol, pricing structures, working hours on the farm, and whether shareholders select the produce in a free-choice model or if boxes are pre-packed. Luckily, there’s no right way, and CSAs thrive by adapting to their members’ wants and needs.

When CSAs have pick-up locations—such as a school, church, food co-op, hardware store, brewery, etc.—it’s easy for members to quickly collect their weekly shares. While convenience is an undeniable boon, it doesn’t help customers connect with their food as profoundly as when they go to the farm and choose their food. Another bonus of on-farm pickup is interacting with the farmers and other members during pick-ups, a surefire way to increase social capital,

Above and opposite: CSA produce pickup at Glynwood, 2022. Photos by Sean Hemmerle

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an essential component of all CSAs. “CSA members deepen their relationship with the land where their food is grown and with the farmers who labor in the fields,” explains Maddie Schmutz, CSA and workshare manager at Poughkeepsie Farm Project.

“CSA is more than a transactional relationship with food,” Schmutz says. “It’s a gathering place of peer-supported learning, a system of reciprocity, and an investment in the well-being of the family and fellow community members.”

Indian Line doesn’t offer off-site distribution, and neither does Glynwood in Cold Spring. “Everyone comes to the farm, and that means there is this social fabric woven at the farm, at the farm store, and at CSA pick-up,” explains Kate Anstreicher, Glynwood’s Program Manager. “Many young families use it as an opportunity to run around and play together, and we have a pick-your-own section where people can pick herbs and flowers,” Anstreicher says. “That’s something that I’ve seen twoyear-olds to 80-year-olds enjoy on a nice day.”

Anstreicher points out that being able to go to a farm and select your own produce is a privilege, and having a variety of pick-up locations increases accessibility. “Some farms, especially those in really rural areas who want to increase the physical accessibility of their CSAs, might have more urban pick-up locations within reach by walking or by public transport,” Anstreicher says. Even when people pick up off-site, they still interact with other members and feel connected to their food and each other in ways that aren’t possible under the fluorescent lights of a corporate supermarket.

“Being part of a CSA fosters a sense of community and belonging, which can help combat the growing issue of social isolation,” says Mahla Zare, PhD, Associate Professor of Agribusiness Management at SUNY Cobleskill. “The connections between members and farmers create a deeper appreciation for where our food comes from and strengthen local networks.”

In addition to helping reduce food insecurity, eating a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables has widely known health benefits. Healthy eating starts with what we have in our kitchens, and one way to eat healthier is to pre-pay for a share of produce through a CSA so your fridge and cupboards are stocked with nutritious food.

Local Food Is Better

It’s a tricky metric to measure, but experts agree that local food is also more nutrient-rich. “From a health perspective, CSA produce is typically harvested at peak ripeness, which means it retains more nutrients compared to food that has traveled long distances,” Dr. Zare says. “This freshness not only enhances the flavor but also contributes to better nutrition.”

In addition to the health benefits for our bodies, eating locally is much healthier for the planet. “CSAs reduce the need for long-haul transportation and often rely on sustainable farming practices, which helps lower carbon emissions and supports a healthier planet,” Dr. Zare explains.

Eating is Believing

“Seeing is believing, and eating is understanding,” Keen says, speaking of the almost undeniable fact that local food is fresher, delicious, and more nutritious, but it’s bigger than that.

Peace of mind comes from knowing who is growing your food, especially when we’ve seen large-scale contamination in everything from salmonella in cucumbers and peanut butter to listeria in widely distributed Boar’s Head lunch meat. “CSAs often provide greater food safety,” Dr. Zare says. “With a direct relationship to the source, members can trust that their produce is handled with care, reducing the risk of contamination that sometimes occurs in larger industrial systems.”

If you’re unsure if local food is better for you and the environment, Keen and Anstreicher suggest the simple act of seeing, smelling, and tasting local food so you can see for yourself. If you’ve ever eaten a sad tomato— conventionally grown, trucked thousands of miles, and typically spotted in January—you know exactly what they’re talking about.

• Relaxing, spa-like environment

Deep Hole Revival

INITIATING A CULTURE OF STEWARDSHIP IN ACCORD

By Remy Commisso

To have a place to swim in a stream, to me, feels like something that’s so fundamental to being human—that we enjoy the forest, that we enjoy land and rivers, and that we do it in a respectful way that cares for the place where we are,” says Accord resident Dan Getman, who, in 2022, purchased the 17-acre property on the Peters Kill that contains the local swimming spot dubbed “Deep Hole” with the vision of preserving it for public access in perpetuity.

The Hudson Valley and its natural swimming spots have long been a highlight of summer in the region for locals and tourists alike. In recent years, however, increased traffic and a lack of public conscientiousness have degraded sites and ticked off more than a few neighbors, leading to the closure, or limiting of access to, swimming areas across the region. A few years ago, Deep Hole didn’t used to be the accessible, safe destination that it is now. Dogs ran loose, broken glass scattered the ground, and propane tanks, dragged in to grill hotdogs and hamburgers, were left behind.

After some “soul searching,” resident Dan Getman bought the property on Towpath Road in hopes that it would have a renaissance as the once peaceful and quiet destination that he grew up with. “I don’t live that far away, so it’s a spot that I pass by a lot and that I care about,” Getman says. “I swam there many times. The swimming hole was in danger of closing off completely if somebody bought it or started developing the land.”

Before Getman stepped up, the land was owned by a woman in Australia. “She apparently did not know that it had a swimming hole in it. The town had been trying to reach her for years,” Getman says.

In May, the property became a nonprofit natural sanctuary to aid the conservation of the ecosystem. “I thought ‘what a beautiful gift to the community.’ People are drawn to the spot. The energy of the place is beautiful and welcoming of people into calmness, into peace and to joy and to relaxation and into that sweet energy,” Getman says.

After the land had been neglected for so long, Deep Hole was a puzzle project for Getman. He had to figure out how to clean and conserve the land while maintaining a safe gathering place for swimmers in the area and to abide by the law of the lands. “How do you preserve land? How do you preserve a swimming hole? That’s a particular kind of risk. It draws people to slippery rocks and beautiful spots that are inherently hazardous,” he says.

These were the questions that motivated Getman and his current board members. “I called together a group of friends who loved Deep Hole and formed an advisory group to plan how we would care for it,” Getman says. “How can we keep people from dumping trash all over? How can we create reasonable rules so that people can be there and enjoy it without trashing it? How do we invite people with a different relationship to

the land that they don’t technically own, but that they still care about?”

There are a few signs reminding visitors of the “leave no trace” policy. Signs on the property and the website exhort visitors to carry-in-carry-out, no alcohol or glass, and no fires of any kind.

The group of volunteers that helped Getman on the journey are still board members today and active Hudson Valley community members. The team includes Kathleen Mandeville, an Episcopal priest and consultant; David Todd, a development consultant; and Steeven Price Lall, a healer at Sacred Traditions.

It’s thanks to Getman and the board members that Deep Hole has a parking lot from which people can safely walk to the sanctuary. He intentionally built it on the smaller side—there’s room for two dozen cars at a time—so Deep Hole wouldn’t become too overpopulated. “When we started to build the parking lot and put down stones, there were people up in arms, pushing the rocks down into the woods and saying, ‘We’re gonna fight back’,” he says. “It was a few people that were kind of hostile because they didn’t know what the changes meant.” Getman says that town officials have welcomed the parking lot after years of visitors blocking traffic and fire department access points with haphazardly parked cars on an already narrow, winding road.

“We want to welcome public access in the broadest possible way, but to do it in a way that does not damage the land, the animals, the community as a whole,” Getman says.

One of the final steps in Deep Hole’s evolution is a privy system. Getman plans to build composting toilets near the parking lot. He says this will be this year’s priority.

“We hope that people feel this is a community place—for and by the community who cares, tends, and looks after it. We can teach each other to form a relationship to the land,” Getman says.

“These efforts will align a very diverse group of urban and rural visitors from near and far into a new, direct, and reciprocal relationship with the natural environment and with each other—inculcating a gentle but palpable awareness that none of us are ‘consumers’ or ‘owners’ or ‘visitors’ to this place. Rather, by our presence, we are all effectively stewards of Deep Hole.”

Admission is free. To help maintain Deep Hole, the nonprofit accepts donations via its website: Deepholekeepers.org

David Todd, Deep Hole board member enjoying a bracing dip at the swimming hole in Accord. Photo by Paul Willis

Accord resident Dan Getman bought 17 acres surrounding a longstanding swimming hole on Towpath Road in 2022 in order to save it for public use in perpetuity. Photo by David Todd

Challenge & Opportunity GREAT BARRINGTON

By Jamie Larson

Photos by David McIntyre

Great Barrington, Massachusetts, has been busy putting out fires lately—literally so in late November, when the Butternut wildfire tore through East Mountain State Forest, scorching over 1,670 acres, leaving a dark mark on the region’s storied Berkshire landscape. While those flames are extinguished, a number of metaphorical fires still burn, as civic challenges confront this popular New England destination town.

The hottest issue at present is the recent announcement that Bard College at Simon’s Rock, a fixture of the community for more than 50 years, is set to close its 275-acre campus and relocate its early college program, in a much smaller capacity, to a new facility adjacent to the main Bard campus in Barrytown, New York. The departure leaves a vacuum, with most of the 238 employees facing

layoffs and a town grappling with the loss of a significant cultural and economic driver.

But as Great Barrington faces this and other hurdles, many community members look forward with optimism and are engaged in finding solutions—like a bucket brigade chasing down stubborn embers.

Simon’s Rock’s Next Chapter

The impending closure of Simon’s Rock marks a seismic shift for Great Barrington. Almost as soon as the news of the closure was announced in November 2023, community members came together to discuss the future of the site, which contains over 50 buildings, including the public-facing institutions the Daniel Arts Center and the Kilpatrick Athletic Center. Bard CFO Taun Toay recently told Rural

Looking east down Main Street at sunset.

Opposite, top: Community Access to the Arts was recently selected to receive a $2 million grant from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott for its work nurturing creativity in those with disabilities.

Opposite, below: In late November, the Butternut wildfire scorched 1,670 acres in East Mountain State Forest.

programming designed to entertain and engage. Frangione shares that the theater’s upcoming offerings at their smaller in-town venue include developmental readings of new plays as part of their Berkshire Voices program, a free informal “Conversations With” series on topics like playwriting and theater design, and a series of performances exploring themes of diversity and innovation. “We’re dedicated to new plays, and that’s all we do,” he says. “We have great presenters coming to talk about gender representation in the theater today, with some script work and discussions about the state of theater in regard to the LGBTQ+ community.”

Nearby, the handsomely restored, historic Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center hosts everything from live music to opera screenings. The Triplex Cinema, recently saved by a community effort, now offers a lineup of blockbuster hits and indie darlings. With iconic performance institutions like Jacob’s Pillow and Tanglewood not far outside of town, there’s truly something for every audience.

Additionally, local galleries like Geoffrey Young Gallery, Bernay Fine Art, and Lauren Clark

Fine Art amplify the voices of contemporary and regional visual artists.

Natural Beauty

Great Barrington’s breathtaking landscape has been a draw for outdoorsy types for generations, offering a tapestry of enticing trails, vistas, and waterways. So, it was especially jarring for locals to spend weeks with plumes of smoke billowing on the horizon from wooded areas often hiked and explored in November. The Butternut wildfire required a massive effort from regional fire companies and led to the temporary closure of a section of the Appalachian Trail that traverses the town. There are also now potential hazards for hikers in the charred landscape, including shifting earth and falling trees.

Despite the disaster, Great Barrington remains a busy gateway to outdoor activities. Ski Butternut keeps visitors flocking to the area in the winter, offering 22 trails catering to various skill levels, along with a tubing area.

For those seeking winter hiking opportunities, the region is home to a ton of trails. Among notable hikes in the area are Monument

Mountain, offering panoramic views of the Housatonic River Valley, and Bash Bish Falls, Massachusetts’s highest single-drop waterfall.

Shop, Eat, and Smoke Local

Down main drags and side streets, stores and restaurants here are as high-quality as they are eclectic. Hammertown provides a curated collection of modern and rustic home furnishings, perfect for a Berkshire retreat. Asia Barong enchants shoppers with a museum-quality selection of Asian antiques and artifacts and 1 Mercantile showcases artisanal gifts.

For vintage hunters, Boho Exchange is a trove. Robin’s Candy brings colorful confections, delighting both young and old. Fluff Alpaca specializes in cozy alpaca wool and its luxurious warmth, perfect for the chilly season. The Bookloft, an independent bookstore, carries a wide range of titles and genres in an inviting setting. Meanwhile, the Berkshire Co-op Market intertwines grocery shopping and community, showcasing local products ranging from organic cheeses to handmade soaps.

Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce

Daniel Arts Center on the campus of Bard College is the performance home of local arts group like Great Barrington Public Theater. It's unclear what will happen to the center once the early college shuts down after the spring semester.

Stephen and Julie Browningh, owners of No Comply Foods, outside their restaurant on Stockbridge Road.

Robert Lloyd, owner of Robert Lloyd Vintage Barware, in his shop on Railroad Street.

President Betsy Andrus is refreshingly blunt and unfiltered in her vociferous boosterism of Great Barrington. “I don’t get when people complain about there being a vacant storefront,” she said, adding that the town is thriving economically. “It’s empty because they’re moving to a new spot and something new is coming in!”

Great Barrington’s culinary scene continues to impress, focused on local sourcing, rural charm, and highly skilled kitchens. Moon Cloud on Railroad Street blends all three, offering inventive cocktails paired with small plates that heavily feature homemade preserved and aged bites.

For a quintessential fine dining farm-to-table experience, Prairie Whale delivers hearty seasonal fare served in a casual, rustic setting in the lineage of owner Mark Firth’s scene-setting Brooklyn restaurants Diner and Marlow & Sons. Former

Prairie Whale chef Stephen Browning hung out his own shingle in April of last year, opening No Comply Foods, a world-fusion bistro on Stockbridge Road.

Cafe Adam takes an upscale approach with globally inspired dishes that celebrate agricultural bounty of the Berkshires. At Bizen Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar, diners discover an authentic taste of Japan, from artfully prepared sushi to ramen that rivals any metropolitan offering. For beer fans, Barrington Brewery & Restaurant serves handcrafted brews like its celebrated Black Bear Stout, while Berkshire Mountain Distillers in nearby Sheffield invites visitors to sample award-winning spirits.

The town also continues to grow as a cannabis industry destination, with seven (yes, seven) dispensaries in operation or coming soon.

Farnsworth Fine Cannabis offers a curated selection of premium products with Wonkachic elegance, Rebelle Dispensary prides itself on quality and community engagement, and the mom-and-pop Calyx Berkshire sits not far from the center of Main Street.

However, business leaders, including Andrus, express concerns about market saturation, fearing that the influx of dispensaries may exceed local demand, especially with formerly reliable customers from New York now having stores in their own towns.

Community with Heart

While tourism may be Great Barrington’s engine, art its soul, and nature its brilliance, at the heart of the town’s resilience is its community of care and support. This is embodied by nonprofit leaders

Brooke Redpath, owner of Matrushka Toys & Gifts, in its new location on Railroad Street.

like Gwendolyn VanSant, whose dedication to inclusivity and justice has made a lasting impact in town and beyond. VanSant, a Simon’s Rock graduate and founder of Multicultural BRIDGE, has crafted a network of programs, from cultural competency workshops to transitional housing and a community kitchen.

BRIDGE addresses the health needs of local people of color, women, and those in crisis. The organization has developed spaces for wellness and solidarity, including a community farm and garden that provide culturally specific foods and healing herbs. “This space is about belonging,” VanSant says. “For communities of color, it’s a safe place for wellness, healing, and liberation.” Collaborations, such as a Black feminist book club with MASS MoCA and racial justice initiatives with local law enforcement, underscore BRIDGE’s expanding impact.

“Together we’ve built spaces for healing and joy,” VanSant says. “This is a community that leads

with heart and action.”

Other successful nonprofits doing similarly important work include the Railroad Street Youth Project, which supports teens with mentorship and skill-building programs; Volunteers in Medicine, a provider of free healthcare to underserved residents; and the Berkshire South Regional Community Center, which fosters connection through free weekly dinners, offering sustenance and solidarity.

Community Access to the Arts (CATA) has also become a transformative force here, nurturing the creativity of people with disabilities. From their Great Barrington studios, artists with autism, developmental disabilities, and brain injuries gather to explore dance, visual arts, writing, and more. Simultaneously, CATA’s teaching artists bring programs into schools, residences, and day-habilitation centers, ensuring that art becomes part of the daily lives of people across the region. “It’s about more than creating

art,” said executive director Margaret Keller. “We’re creating opportunities for people to thrive and changing how our community thinks about disability.”

CATA’s efforts caught the attention of philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, who recently provided a $2 million Yield Giving grant to the institution. Keller describes the award as a profound moment for the organization. “It’s a testament to our community and the power of what we’re building together,” she says. With these resources, CATA plans to expand access to the arts for underserved groups and ensure that creativity continues to flourish where it’s needed most. While Simon’s Rock’s closure signals the end of an era, Great Barrington’s people, steady economy, and ability to adapt remain a palliative force for progress. As VanSant notes, “Great Barrington is a community that doesn’t shy away from challenges. We rise, we create, and we come together.”

Jamie McCormack, owner of Refill GB, in front of her storefront on Rosseter Street.

community pages

Great Barrington Pop-Up

Portraits by David McIntyre

Maya Bronson

We embedded ourselves in the hallway of the Great Barrington Arts Market at Saint James Place on December 7. Thanks to Kristen Kanter for securing a spot for us and getting us settled in nice and snug. Frigid temps did not discourage dozens of Great Barrington residents who showed up to represent their town.

Top row: Gail Lansky, Triplex Cinema Great Barrington; Gina Amoroso, Hettle Textiles; Dennis Iodice, Berkshire Dry Goods.

Bottom row: Allison Piracci, Solulu Handmade; John Myers, musician and instructor at Bard College Simon’s Rock; Ayako Otoshi, Ayakito Japanese Kitchen, a Japanese rice ball pop-up shop.

Top row: Serena Johnson, managing director, Great Barrington Public Theater; Clara Stickney, musician and Harrison Levenstein, potter; Ava Rogers, jeweler Ava Rogers Jewelry.

Middle row: Eliza and Emma Doucet, students at Bard College at Simon’s Rock; Victoria Bokaer, collections librarian, Bard College at Simon’s Rock; Emery de St. Andre and Aero Homeyer of the Montessori Bee Project.

Bottom row: Ted Okun, Barrington Crokinole Club, with Barb; Lisa Dubel and Ron Rich; Sophia Ying Wang, assistant professor, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Xin Tong, adjunct faculty, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, with Grace and Daniel Tong.

Opposite, top row: Gabrielle Senza, artist, activist, and empowerment coach; Brooke Redpath, owner, Matrushka Toys & Gifts; Jenise Lucey, executive director, Berkshire South Regional Community Center; Jennifer Wilkerson, owner and designer of Brosgé, wearing Brosgé; Meryl Joseph, visual artist, filmmaker, theatre director, production designer.

Middle row: Holland Brown with Don Eaton, insurance professional; Kristen Kanter, owner JK Custom Furniture & Design, manager Great Barrington Arts Market and Railroad St. Collective; Barbara Dean and Graham Dean host "Common Sense Songs" on WBCR on Wednesdays from 8-10pm; Janis Bowersox, retired.

Bottom row: Dan Ruderman, Walk Unafraid Foundation; Lori Tobin with Nacho and Reggie; Justin Torrico and Reagan Smith, Earth Nest Farm.

Berkshire Bound

From historical destinations to idyllic mountain views, the Berkshires blend the best of natural beauty with a bevy of enriching arts and cultural experiences. A bucolic mecca to outdoor adventurists, the Berkshires is also a bustling home to must-stop mom-and-pop shops, the country’s largest contemporary art center, and endless small-town neighborhood warmth.

Ombra and Brava

Ombra and Brava are restaurants that feed and befriend anyone passing through Lenox. “Our locations catch visitors from the nearby cultural institutions, but people quickly feel right at home,” explains Whitney Asher, owner of Ombra and Brava.

While the restaurants are located within two blocks of one another, they have different menus, atmospheres, and crowds.

Brava

65 Church Street, Lenox, MA (413) 637-9171 Bravalenox.com

A large part of Brava’s allure is its extensive drink menu, which has garnered accolades like Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence for the past 10 years. Brava’s menu includes 200 wines, 100 beers, and robust spirits offerings.

The restaurant specializes in tapas and pizza, like its wild mushroom, fontina, and thyme pizza. Quality bites are made with expert hands. “On a given night, there’s a combined 100 years of experience behind the bar,” Asher says.

Brava is larger than its sister restaurant, Ombra, and opened on Housatonic Street in 2012. In the first year of the pandemic, there wasn’t enough room to adhere to restrictions requiring diners to stay six feet apart, which spurred the move to Church Street.

Ombra

27 Housatonic Street, Lenox, MA (413) 881-4038 Ombralenox.com

The original location was the perfect size for a more intimate setting, now Ombra. Ombra is open later than many restaurants in the county, cooking until midnight and pouring drinks until 1am. It’s an ideal spot for younger crowds, after-event bites, and date nights.

The menu is tapas-style with elevated bar food, like millionaire tots—tater tots garnished with crème fraîche and caviar.

“At either location, we encourage grabbing a bite and making a friend,” Asher says.

Produced by Chronogram Media Branded Content Studio.

West Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Antimony Brewing

55 Pittsfield Road, Lenox, MA (413) 551-7503

Antimonybrewing.com

This brewpub in the heart of the Berkshires offers good vibes, award-winning craft beer, and scratch-made pub fare in a newly renovated taproom with views of the on-site brewery. In addition to their signature brews, they serve creative cocktails and a curated selection of wines. Open daily for lunch and dinner, the pub is family-friendly with a kids’ menu available. Enjoy live music on weekends and check their website for the latest event calendar. It’s the perfect spot to relax après-ski or after other winter activities.

Berkshire HorseWorks

101 Patton Road Richmond, MA (413) 698-3700

Berkshirehorseworks.com

Enjoy hands-on, experiential activities with horses for children, families, couples, friends, and organizations. Activities include trail rides and hiking with horses, equine-assisted team building, donkey play, and pony rides. Open year-round by appointment. Call to book.

Mad Macs Inc.

5 Cheshire Road Pittsfield, MA (413) 445-5858

Madmacs.com

Since 1998, Mad Macs Inc. has been Berkshire County’s “go-to” for Apple sales, service, and iPhone repair. Other areas of expertise include PC sales and service, network services, VOIP systems, Pro AV, and managed IT services for SMBs.

Trailblazer

The Story Behind 100 Hikes in the Southern Berkshires and Just Beyond

By Jamie Larson

Local outdoorsman Bill Siever’s new guidebook, 100 Hikes in the Southern Berkshires and Just Beyond, showcases his passion for uncovering and sharing the hidden treasures of the area where Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut meet. A Berkshires resident since 2006, Siever’s connection to the area began in his teenage years when his family visited Bartholomew’s Cobble in Sheffield, Massachusetts. The visit left an indelible impression, and as an adult, he returned, attracted to the landscapes and opportunities for exploration.

In 2020, Siever began the ambitious task of creating a comprehensive hiking guide for the subregion. Rural Intelligence wrote about his efforts then and helped connect him with volunteers to test his hike descriptions. He says the response was overwhelming. “I had about 30 people testing trails,” Siever says, adding he had one volunteer in her 80s who tested about 50 hikes for him. “She was just incredible, and we’ve all become friends through this process.”

Siever’s collaborative approach to trail testing was key to the book’s development. He worked with hikers of varying experience levels, asking them to verify trail conditions, directions, and features like parking areas or scenic views.

“I wanted to know, ‘If I say you can see the Catskills from this spot, is that actually true?’” he explains. Volunteers brought a variety of perspectives to the project. “Some hiked with their dogs or kids and gave me feedback I couldn’t have anticipated,” Siever adds. “I don’t have kids or a dog, so their input was invaluable in making the guide as inclusive as possible.”

The book itself includes over 60 day hikes in southern Berkshire County and dozens more in neighboring New York and Connecticut. It highlights famous landmarks like Monument Mountain and Bash Bish Falls while also featuring lesser-known gems such as Great Mountain Forest in Connecticut and Over Mountain Conservation Area in New York. Siever’s detailed maps, difficulty ratings, and seasonal tips make the guide accessible to hikers of all levels, while his thoughtful inclusion of local history adds a compelling narrative layer.

“There’s so much history in this area,” Siever says, recounting stories like the purported curse on Ashintully Gardens, tied to an early 20th-century expedition to an Egyptian tomb. “I love finding these connections that bring a place to life beyond its trails.” He also emphasizes his commitment to accuracy, noting that his testers didn’t hold back when something needed adjustment. “I wanted them to tell me everything that was wrong—no sugarcoating. It’s how the book became as reliable as it is.”

Siever’s motivation for creating the guide came from a frustration with incomplete or misleading online information about the region’s trails. “This area needed a good hiking guide because the internet is full of scattered, often inaccurate information,” he says. His goal was to create a resource that locals and visitors could trust while inspiring a deeper connection to the region’s wilderness.

“I hope people not only discover new places but also come away with a greater appreciation for what makes this area so special,” Siever says.

McLennan Reservation, Tyringham, Massachusetts

Mercury Rev Born Horses (Bella Union Records)

Since the early ’90s, the genre-stretching Mercury Rev, hatched in Buffalo and now partially based in Kingston, has been offering a certain stripe of baroque Catskill Mountain psychedelia to the world—pastoral, obliquely rootsy and gently chaotic all at once; equal parts Big Pink and Orange Sunshine. On the collective’s latest effort, Born Horses, vocalist Jonathan Donahue adopts a Hudson Valley sprechgesang, which would have felt oddly appropriate, in vinyl’s waning days, on the Giorno Poetry Systems label. Typically lush and delightfully pretentious (especially on the title track), Born Horses comes across as though it was recorded in a dark cathedral, with the stained glass windows shattered, lead dangling, letting in all the ravaging elements. Together, the recitative and the beautifully droning backdrop are positively mesmerizing. I don’t take drugs, but I’m pretty sure this is what that sounds like. The muted trumpet on “Ancient Love” doesn’t speak so much of West Coast cool jazz as of universal chill; of “a golden age when you were mine.” As Donahue intones in the single, “Patterns”: “The more I look, I see patterns, even in the way Ian Curtis danced.” “There’s Always Been a Bird in Me” juggles piano against a motorik beat, with quiet howls of swelling guitar winning the fight, while never interrupting the tale—“it only sings when it hurts and it always seems to hurt.” Born Horses won’t disappoint longtime fans of Mercury Rev’s glorious cacophony, but it’s likely too obscure to grow that devoted cult either, not that founders Donahue and Grasshopper likely care.

—Michael Eck

Circuline C.O.R.E.

(Inner Nova Music)

Red Hook’s Circuline delivers elaborate, melodic prog on C.O.R.E., an album six years in the making. Lyrics alluding to current events weave in and out of Dream Theater-meets-Oceans of Slumber-meets-Styx-esque passages that ensorcell and at times would overwhelm if not for the tactful execution of all involved. The dazzling puzzles of the bass-groovy opener, “Tempus Horribilus,” and the brooding “You” are far more ambitious than what most other bands these days do, and they cover lots of emotional ground as well. While the upstate scene is known for horizon-seeking prog players like Claudio Sanchez, Joey Eppard, and Tony Levin, it’s also mired with cringy, sub-par Tool- and Rush-tribute glop, which makes Circuline refreshing to hear. The band’s arrangements leap from one surprise to the next and explore new worlds, instead of just retreading familiar ground. Don’t miss out on this expansive musical journey.

—Morgan Y. Evans

Stephen Johnson and Vanessa Falabella Nu~Bossa Elixir~s (Movita Records)

Decades ago, bossa nova expanded its sonic palette beyond “The Girl from Ipanema” to include a host of other influences, including jazz, Tropicalia, and Musica Popular Brasileira (MPB). Kingston’s Stephen Johnson and Vanessa Falabella push the limits of bossa nova into Nu Bossa territory, integrating influences from other world musics as well as a fusion of traditional sounds played on wooden instruments with contemporary sounds played on keyboards, accordion, guitar, and bass. With the expert mixing assistance of Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois, Bob Dylan), multi-instrumentalist Johnson and Falabella swap vocals on original compositions of political and social import alongside bossa classics by the likes of Gilberto Gil, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Joao Donato.

Seth Rogovoy

SOUND CHECK | Bryan Zellmer

Each month we ask a member of the community to tell us what music they’ve been digging.

Presenting all types of performing artists for a living, I spend a lot of my time streaming a wide variety of music for the sake of research, including artists like Kurt Elling, Father John Misty, Justin Furstenfeld, and Laurie Berkner (I have four kids), and I love getting to discover artists I didn’t know about previously, like the classical cross-over quartet I learned about only a few months ago, Sons of Serendip. I am digging their uniquely ethereal renditions of popular hits as well as their own originals. Nostalgia has been a major influence in my choices lately, and I’ve been playing the R.E.M., Barenaked Ladies, Mother Mother, and Weezer catalogs quite a bit. I also enjoy the mesmerizing melodies of artists like Ruth Moody, Imaginary Future with Kina Grannis, Nickel Creek, and the Little Stevies.

All in all, I tend to crave variety over any particular artist, album, or song, but my playlist selections always include a mix of classic rock, Americana folk, ’70s and ’80s pop, ’90s grunge/ alt rock, and let’s not forget the Broadway show tunes. I’ve been on a big “Dear Evan Hansen” kick recently. In addition to actively listening to music, I like to sing and play the guitar. I enjoy playing songs by Simon and Garfunkel, the Beatles, Ben Folds, and a few others, but I mostly like to compose my own songs and perform them for my dog, Apollo. He’s a bit of a critic, but at least he knows not to heckle me.

Bryan Zellmer is the new executive director of Bardavon Presents, which oversees the production and presentation of events at the Bardavon Theater in Poughkeepsie and the Ulster Performing Arts Center (UPAC) in Kingston. Bardavon.org.

As Ever, Miriam Faythe Levine

OK STAMP PRESS, 2024, $25

In 1915, art professor Charlotte Partridge and English professor Miriam Frink crossed paths at Milwaukee Downer College, where Partridge was head of the Fine Arts Department. The two fell in love and went on to cofound the pioneering Layton School of Art just five years later and run it for 34 eventful years. Levine, archivist at Women’s Studio Workshop, spent hundreds of hours among correspondence and archived material to illuminate their lives, their award-winning careers, and a love story that was ahead of its time.

If Not in Heaven, Then in Saugerties:

A Town Portrait in Poems

Will Nixon

BUSHWACK BOOKS, 2024, $20

Ulster County poet and photographer Will Nixon, stuck in the alternate reality that was the April 2020 Covid lockdown, found himself deeply touched by the experience of seeing his much-beloved community of Saugerties reduced to a shadow of its former self and was moved to capture the essence of his love in a series of poems about its characters and ambience. Besides the poems themselves, the book includes the stories that inspired them and portraits by fellow Saugertesian Joanne Pagano Weber.

Cold Spring, NY

Alissa and Will Malnati

HEIMISDOTTIR PUBLISHING, 2024, $38

The Hudson Highlands have a powerful magic, and the tiny, vibrant village of Cold Spring concentrates that spirit into a classic, vital Main Street framed by enigmatic mountains and waters. The Malnatis have distilled the village’s soul into a coffee table book featuring 50 revealing, evocative blackand-white images of its downtown, where historic architecture meets 21st-century commerce and the surrounding farmlands and forests and the creatures that inhabit them, and its exquisite backdrop of water and stone.

I Tell Henrietta

Tina Barry AIM HIGHER, 2024, $24

High Falls writer Barry’s collection of 40 hybrid poems and micro fictions wanders in the land where memoir and imagination merge, accompanied by eight interpretive images by Stone Ridge artist Kristin Flynn. The meticulously observed, lyrical work evokes the mysteries of the mid-20th-century adult world through a child’s eyes and those of the woman she becomes, rendering the resonant moments that stay with us as we grow older in a diary-like series of observations and adventures that the speaker shares with her closest confidante.

Town of Olive

Melissa McHugh

ARCADIA PUBLISHING, 2024, $24.99

Olive is quintessential Catskills—a place of fresh breezes and epic prettiness, a challenging place to settle, where indefatigable pioneers took on the challenge of extracting a living from the rocky soils, forest, and flowing waters and built a community that would draw many hundreds of urbanites in search of peace and fresh air and, later, a water source for their ever-thirsty millions. McHugh, an archivist and director of the Olive Free Library, tells the story of the town through images and a few well-chosen words.

—Anne Pyburn Craig

We Are Watching Alison Gaylin

Driving your 18-year-old to college is poignant, and Meg Russo is thinking some long thoughts behind the wheel as she and her husband Justin drive their Lily to Ithaca from the small Catskills town where they own a bookstore. The long-awaited journey, momentous and mundane, is shattered in a few moments when a Mazda packed with thugs starts playing a weird game of Thruway chicken, driving far too close, snapping photos of Lily.

Enraged and frightened, Meg loses control of the Subaru. Justin is killed instantly in the crash, and Meg and Lily—who’ve grown apart during Lily’s teen years, when Lily’s interests turned from novels to playing the bass—are left to mourn and pick up such pieces as they can back in Elizabethville, the little town with just a couple shops where everybody knows everybody—or so it seems on the surface.

Meg’s bookstore, the Secret Garden, has been thriving here for four decades, founded by her parents, given an early boost by her father Nate’s moderate renown as bass player in an `80s prog rock band. Reopening the store three months after the accident, she’s still an achy mess both emotionally and physically. Her coworkers and regulars are thrilled to have her back. But the day, which would never have been easy, is marred by the weird behavior of a stranger taking pictures from across the street, eerily reminiscent of the guys in the Mazda that day.

From there, the insanity just escalates. Without her husband, Meg is forced to recalibrate her remaining family relationships: with Lily, who feels to Meg like an impenetrable mystery, and with Nate, who feels like a burden. He’s living alone in an even more remote mountain town, his physical health is sketchy, and he’s given to ranting about things that make no sense to his daughter. Gaylin deftly shifts her narration among the three generations, letting us understand them better than they understand one another, and as the truly weird sense of menace begins to build, each has his or her own pieces of the larger puzzle to share—if they can find the words.

Why have people been taking photos and videos of the Secret Garden? Surely, Meg believes, the fatal accident was simply driver error. Wasn’t it? But who is the woman who intoned “You will pay for your sins” right before Justin’s untimely death and returns to say, “one down, three to go?” What’s up with the mysterious sequence of numbers on her Facebook page? It’s post-Covid; everyone’s a little nuts, especially online. Surely these strange moments have no connection to the “wolves” Nate rants about.

The truth, as it slowly becomes clear, is far darker and stupider than Meg or any sane soul could ever have imagined. To face it and survive, she’ll have to stop assuming that her daughter’s just high and her father’s just paranoid. The wolves, it turns out, really are at the door—and all over the place, anonymous online, hiding in plain sight in everyday life . A conspiracy theory with roots back in Nate’s days in the spotlight has grown creepy-crawly legs on the internet, and there exist a fair number of humans who are utterly convinced that this bookish, musical little family is poised to destroy all human life and must be violently stopped. Some of those humans are far too close for comfort.

Gaylin gives voice to ailing, haunted rocker Nate, stifled fantasy-writer-turnedbookstore-owner Meg, and Lily, navigating 21st-century young adulthood with heart and style, all three fine, kind people, with depth and precision. We feel their love and frustration, ache with gratitude as they fumble toward connection, and root for each of them as they face up to the cold, hard, weird and dangerous facts: They’ve been targeted by a delusional, bloodthirsty online cult.

In stark contrast to the slightly askew but deeply caring family that the stalkers believe they must kill, Gaylin sketches the mindset of the people who gang up to bully others and traces the way things can start with a misunderstanding, escalate to revenge, and turn deadly with sociopathy as an accelerant. Gaylin, who’s written 13 books and won multiple awards, speaks fluent Catskills, nails the current moment, and never lets her deft social commentary get in the way of a plot that moves smooth and swift as a bullet train.

—Anne Pyburn Craig

HARPER COLLINS, 2025, $14.99

To Travel

To travel Is to find a home. Or complete a goal. Maybe just for fun Because traveling is for everyone.

To travel Japan. With its exotic culture Hawaii. With its climate Las Vegas. The Big City. China’s past. Iceland lights. Australia’s critters. Places to go. Monuments to see I want it all To travel.

—Joseph Rocco Goldberg (12 years)

To the Question

To the question, “What happened to you?” a voice said, in the garden,

“I merged into oneness. All division, all drama fell away, along with all else unnecessary.

Enveloped in light, soothed in song, this is the way to carry on.

Enveloped in light, soothed in song, this is how I carry on.

Enveloped in light, soothed in song, we elegantly in peace as one carry on.”

—Christopher Porpora

Encounters

If it’s there, because she was here, then her fragrance lingers, as a given when such things occur.

Even if you no longer call her name, the notion of lingering cannot be overlooked. She is seen now as being alone even when she isn’t,

even when she does not want to be, so her presence because of absence is palpable. Where she is not can be accounted for,

even if variable, her motions.

Who’s keeping count of all those places?

Not me. At least, not any more. I have a photograph, more than just a souvenir,

her fragrance, one earring she must know she left behind. The framed picture on a shelf, eye level if you are standing nearby, its prominence gaining in importance the longer the distance between then and now. The momentum of where she is, certain to become a memory when you are elsewhere, well into the future when you write all this down, in a dimming light, of course. Pen or pencil, whichever is nearest at hand.

—Robert Harlow

Phases

The moon rises like a pumpkin surprise And the little girl says, “I want to hold it.”

I tell her that there are often things we’d like to hold, But can’t.

Things that wax and wane and finally disappear.

I was broken when we met And didn’t realize you could heal me.

I thought it was the woods

That made me feel like a goddess. I thought it was the trees That gave me peace. But I was wrong.

And waning now

Without your light, I search the sky for some reflection.

—Eileen Sikora

Riverside Reverie

The pebbles of another shore swell against my skin as if they were my own

an eternal compass pieces in the gears there’s no rust there

life itself curls around you cold like a whip the sudden kiss of wind

you walk, so as to talk because it rhymes.

—Tom di Mino

The Anniversary of Sandy Hook December 14, 2012

Behold the sky

Weeping angels hold their eyes Tears as heavy as spent shells.

—Daniel W. Brown

What Praying Mantis & We Need

In yellow passion fruit pulp-colored field, I flung my thin green body to blade of grass cradling most light. My front legs leapt to last

orb before sundown. I closed my eyes, absorbed the warmth. Big shadow of me disappeared. I rested on red barn door. Did you

bathe in sunlight as I did? Did you lie in slim lit corner of the field, lift your arms, embrace rays as you do a lover? Arrival of moon, I lie in

rawness of sound of crickets, scatting of toads in pond. Now, lightning zigzags white in sky. Gone diamond winged fireflies. Speckled sunlight webbing, we need.

—Jerrice J. Baptiste

Saving Sarah

In a timeless old movie, Sarah, finally defeated, Scrawls on a bathroom mirror

Of the men who’d debased her: “Perverted. Twisted. Crippled.” Then she slashes her wrist.

I gasped in horror in 1961, And I gasp in horror now. But this time around The gasp is lasting longer, And I don’t know when it will end.

Since November fifth it’s felt like America has cut her wrist And is bleeding to death.

The same men who crushed Sarah Would today crush our country; Stinking of money and power, Rancid with raw ambition, Their mantra “More, More, MORE,” The same sick men as always Have perverted America again, Twisted half the country to their will And left half feeling as crippled In spirit as sick men are in soul. Because that’s what they do, Just like in the movies. But movies don’t last four years. And this isn’t a movie.

Now, I wasn’t Little Mary Sunshine

Before this swarm of muckety-mucks Slithered out of their muck; For like hope, despair springs eternal. But in 2016 I was at least younger, Had more muscle, zest, hair.

Eighty now, I thought I could kick back, That I was done fighting these men, That their leader had been found out; I’d fooled myself into thinking That America was free at last Of this wolf in wolf’s clothing, That we’d seen how threadbare

This full-of-himself empty suit was And we’d let go of his coattails.

America and I got it wrong again, But neither of us is defeated. So my rocking chair shall sit vacant, My unfinished business lie undone, My despair dry its tears and take heart. For I must again gird these loins That once were put to happier use; Now, having manfully served that end, They must man up in another manner And cut these men down to their true size. We must scrawl the truth on every mirror, Then raise each mirror for America to see The true picture, like Dorian Gray’s, Of all the king’s men, And the truest words to name them: “Perverted. Twisted. Crippled.”

Game on!

—Tom Cherwin

Blind for Beth

Yes, I’m blind. Like Milton. I could use an amanuensis but have none.

What color is that berry? Can you tell me the color? What is saffron color?

I thought I could see in dreams. I was mistaken. I don’t know if I was mistaken.

I’m afraid of collisions. I have no way of knowing. Would I see the explosion?

No, I’m not blind. I’m only stricken with the knowledge of my blindness.

Nestle me in your arms. Describe the wind over water. Show me how the sun blazes.

—Steve Clark

Poem

It was in the sandbox watching the hairs on your neck, I knew I would love you for a very long time. It was the same place we traded seashells for smooth stones, and shared our lemonade.

—Drew Kolenik

In the Foothills of the Catskills

I love this crevassed land, where water cannot flow straight and all roads lead to dead ends. Like detritus riding glaciers, life gathers us in and drops us, where we stay.

—Alan Silverman

In the Blink of An Eye

In the blink of an eye, she’s placed upon his arms.

He immediately recognizes his baby girl’s charm.

At very first sight, he’s so incredibly in love.

“I’ll take her back for now” - and the caring nurse does.

In the blink of an eye, it’s time to go home,

Where babies grow fast and begin to roam.

He learns what makes her laugh, what makes her cry, he finishes each day with a sweet lullaby.

In the blink of an eye, somehow, she’s five.

He wishes time is something he could buy.

It’s harder to keep up now, she’s picking up speed.

But he knows daddy’s love is something she’ll always need.

In the blink of an eye, she’s off for a drive.

“I won’t be back late!”

He knows that she might, but he’d stay up and wait.

His daughter’s a woman now, a little girl in his eyes.

She still has the same wonder for the moon, stars and sunrise.

As each day passes, his love grows and grows.

An amount so grand that only he’ll ever know.

In the blink of an eye, he’s much older now.

He’s capable of only what his aging will allow.

He waits for her every single day.

She brightens up each one, even those in dismay.

In the blink of an eye, it’s time to go home.

Peace in knowing she’s got a full life of her own.

Then all of a sudden, he sees her from above.

He can’t console her, or give her his love.

He hates to see her in pain, she’s so, so far away.

He knows comfort comes from things that only dad would say.

In the blink of an eye, she feels the sun on her skin, a moment of peace from the pain she’s been in.

She hears a birdsong; she feels a soft breeze.

She notices the flowers, the clouds and the trees.

“I’m still here for you daughter” he says from the sky, “I promise you, forever, in the blink of an eye.”

—Jennie Gaffney

The Copse at Night

The copse is a blue whale, the largest whale in the whole world

The copse is a buffalo in the shadow of an unmoving cloud

The copse is the blackest ink, nothing more and nothing less

The copse is a woman in a Victorian dress lying on her back

The copse is a group of mammoths walking out of the past

The copse is two mammoths facing off above Shekomeko valley

—Michael Ruby

Playing for Keeps

Author Franz Nicolay Gives Voice to

Working

Musicians

in

Band People

By Peter Aaron

When watching a live show by a rock band or listening to one of its recordings, most audience members probably aren’t thinking much about all that goes into the music. To them, musicmaking is merely the work of some kind of mysterious, magical machine; like electricity or the internet, they know there’s some kind of science behind it that makes it possible for such conveniences to exist—but why ponder the processes when you can just flip a switch and voila you have light or cat videos? And yet such face-value-taking is a testament to the well-oiled operations of a band leader and their accompanists: If it’s all working the way it’s supposed to, the audience won’t be wondering about the musical sausage-making.

So many of these jobbing musicians make at least part of their living by providing the artistic buttress and canvas-coloring texture to the visionary singer whose songs and shows they’re hired to serve. But what is it like to be one of these musical mercenaries, these lessin-the-limelight, sessioneer-ing side players? In his new book, Band People: Life and Work in Popular Music, author and Bard College professor Franz Nicolay gives dozens of these often-unheralded musicians the chance to speak their piece. And it so happens that he’s an ideal conduit for their thoughts and voices—after all, he’s one of them himself.

“I conceived of this book as a collective portrait on the model of books like Studs Terkel’s Working or Paul Berliner’s Thinking in Jazz,” writes Nicolay, a keyboardist and accordionist best known for his ongoing membership in indie rock titans the Hold Steady, in the introduction to Band People. “[M]ixing analysis, narration, oral history, and quotations from literature (academic and otherwise).” All of that the book certainly does, in thought-provoking ways that pull back the curtain for a glimpse of what it’s like to be a member of this chosen artistic outlaw tribe while offering therapeutic, peer-to-peer moments of shared hopes and experiences as it grapples with the rapidly shifting realities of working musicians’ negotiating an increasingly unforgiving digital age.

Granite State Grounding

Center Sandwich, the remote New Hampshire census designated place where Nicolay grew up, isn’t exactly known for having a thriving music scene. In fact, besides its annual Sandwich Fair, the hamlet (population 156 in 2020), doesn’t seem to be known for much of anything at all. But its ruralness had appealed to the musician’s back-to-the-land mom and dad. “My parents were hippies,” he explains. “My mother was a visual artist, and my father was a potter.

We lived on 50 acres of uncleared land in a cabin with no running water, and our family raised sheep. It was a lovely way to grow up, but by the time I was 17 I was out of there and on my way to Greenwich Village.” He studied jazz and classical composition at NYU, and the idea of being in a band was, as it is for so many, a big part of the New York draw. “Most people coming out of the conservatory were more mercenary, but for me there was this romance associated with bands,” says Nicolay. “People in bands seemed to be attracted to idealism. A band was like a gang; there was this ‘allfor-one, one-for-all’ attitude, with a sense of bonding and in-jokes that served as a defensive wall against the outside world.”

Despite being in school, Nicolay wasted no time in making his way into the band world he’d been romanticizing. “I was a creature of ambition, and I started answering ‘musician wanted’ ads in the Village Voice,” he recalls. “I played guitar in an R&B cover band, I played piano for a singer. I was able to get my foot in a lot of different scenes.” One of those scenes was the dark-cabaret punk culture that had taken root in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, bringing a Brechtian bent and Weimar-era vibe to the club-scape. In late 2000 he joined the circus-like band World/Inferno Friendship Society, playing as the accordionist of the group’s frequently changing lineup. “Being in World/Inferno

Franz Nicolay

Photo by Miles Kerr

was an education,” Nicolay says about the ensemble, which was fronted by the late, eccentric Jack Terricloth. “It was a nine-piece band, and the vibe was very much ‘We bring the party.’ Everything was haphazard, and I was just a rube then. We went from playing to 40 people at Mercury Lounge to playing to over 1,000 at festivals.” Concurrent with his time in the group, in 2001 he founded Anti-Social Music, a nonprofit collective that presents concerts of works by emerging, mainly New York-based composers that to date has performed over 75 shows and premiered 123 new works. In 2002 he launched his own performing and recording project, the Balkan jazz-styled Guignol. But a bigger break, as it were, was just around the bend.

Grasping Stardom

Although he’d rejoin the group for shorter stints later, Nicolay served with World/Inferno Friendship Society for eight frenetic years, making three albums and touring widely with the caravan-like outfit before hopping off in 2008. Concurrent with his leaving, he started a solo career that thus far has produced six albums—the most recent is 2022’s New River—and a slew of singles and EPs. One of the bands that World/ Inferno met and played with in the Midwest was a quartet called Lifter Puller. After the Minneapolis band imploded, its members Craig Finn and Tad Kubler relocated to Brooklyn, where in 2003 they formed the Hold Steady. Nicolay performed as a guest player on Almost Killed Me, the Hold Steady’s 2004 debut, and was invited to become a full-fledged member when the group was preparing to record 2005’s Separation Sunday. “It was a pretty unambitious invitation,” explains Nicolay. “I was already in five other bands, doing stuff here and there, and Craig said it wouldn’t really be a big commitment. So I was, like, ‘Sure, what’s one more?’ But it was like jumping on a rocket ship.”

The Hold Steady’s brand of earnest, literate, melodic, and unabashedly classicist alt-rock swiftly found fervent favor in the music press and broadcast outlets. The band steadily morphed into a relentless road juggernaut, becoming a big-drawing favorite at large clubs and indie festivals in the US, England, and Australia. Nicolay made two more studio albums with the group, 2006’s Boys and Girls in America and 2008’s

Stay Positive, before leaving the group in 2010. “I was spreading myself too thin, it had been five very intense years,” he says. “I joined [Florida-based pop punk band] Against Me! as a touring member, which got me the budget to make another solo record [2010’s Luck and Courage; 2012’s Do the Struggle and 2014’s To Us the Beautiful would come next]. I also started doing a lot more sideman work.” In the latter capacity, Nicolay— who was dubbed “the number one accordionist in punk” by Dying Scene webzine—has seen his talents hired by the Dresden Dolls, Mark Eitzel, Frank Turner, Leftover Crack, the Loved Ones, Star Fucking Hipsters, Jennifer O’Connor, Hammell on Trial, and many others. Music, though, wasn’t the only creative or vocational avenue that Nicolay would pursue.

Back to School

Nicolay enrolled at Columbia University for writing, earning an MFA from the college in 2015; he’d later briefly return to teach there himself. When his Ukrainianborn wife Maria took a job at U.C. Berkley, he started as an adjunct teacher there in 2018. On his early solo tours of Eastern Europe he’d read ravenously and kept detailed road diaries, which would end up becoming the basis of his first book. “I’d always spend whatever free time I had checking out whatever bookstores there were near the clubs,” says Nicolay. “People would ask me to write things occasionally, and a friend of mine put out a chapbook that I’d written. It just seemed like the next logical step was a book-length project.” The Humorless Ladies of Border Control: Touring the Punk Underground from Belgrade to Ulaanbaatar garnered widespread accolades and was named a “Season’s Best Travel Book” by the New York Times when it was published in 2016.

In 2021 he signed on as a faculty member to teach music and written arts at Bard College, settling with his wife, who is also a Bard educator, and their two children in Tivoli. “I’d been to the Hudson Valley before,” he says. “I always liked it; it feels familiar because it’s mountainous and rural, like where I’m from in New Hampshire, but it’s not as remote.” The same year he started at Bard, Nicolay published Someone Should Pay for Your Pain, which centers on the dark and complex relationship and rivalry between an influential

but marginalized singer-songwriter and his younger and more commercially successful protege, was called “the great rock ’n’ roll novel” by Suicide Blonde author Darcey Steinke and a “knockout fiction debut” by Buzzfeed

Simmer and Boil

With his two previous books drawing on his own musical life and observations, Nicolay was keen to turn the microphone over to the musicians he interviewed and quotes for Band People. Featured in the book are some bigger names, like Nels Cline, Mike Watt, and Sleater-Kinney’s Janet Weiss, but also many who are perhaps less known to casual music fans—but no less valuable to the music itself. “I got stuck on this project, I think, as a way of making sense of my own career,” he writes. “[M]y barely bounded ambition to be a full band member and pro sideman and a legitimized composer/arranger and a cult figure and some kind of star and writer—and as a way to acknowledge the demands of my ego while still identifying with the craftsmanlike self-respect of being a reliable, prideful, dignified session player—even, occasionally, a secret weapon.” In the book, through his judicious interviews, the author-musician’s fellow tribe members candidly and vividly recount their methods for surviving as working musicians. Outside of Band People, though, Nicolay is emphatic about impressing upon his students the importance of having a sideline to being a side-player. “‘Get a portable skill,’ I always tell them,” says the teacher. “Something like carpentry, plumbing, copy editing, or house painting. Even if you have a decent amount of work as a musician, you can’t be on the road 365 days a year.”

Even with Band People’s ink still relatively fresh—the book was published in September—Nicolay is already looking toward his next literary foray and planning still more musical endeavors. “I have about 50 pages toward another novel, so I’ll be getting more into to that soon,” he says. “It’s, like, do a book, let that simmer a bit while you go and do another record. Then do another book. The do another record. It’s like rotating crops.”

Band People: Life and Work in Popular Music is out now through University of Texas Press. Franznicolay.com.

Franz Nicolay with The Hold Steady Photo by Lisa Jane Photography

Attractive Nuisance

FELIX SOCKWELL’S VISIONARY RETREAT

By Lindsay Lennon

On East Road in the hamlet of Wallkill, the sights are typical of any rural Hudson Valley community: country homes, American flags, swaths of forest. But on its western end, motorists are suddenly confronted with a hand-painted sign: “DO NOT STOP IN ROAD.”

It’s a safety warning, but feels like a dare. Just beyond the sign is a scene so intriguing, it’s hard not to rubberneck: A smattering of vintage Volkswagen buses suspended in mid-air.

It’s the property of independent artist and illustrator Felix Sockwell. What started in 2019 as a place to store his buses has grown into a massive roadside art installation—which Sockwell hopes to open to the public as a camping and entertainment venue.

A Texas native, Sockwell began his career in the early ’90s as an art director for Dallas-area agencies. After a stint in San Francisco, he moved to New York in ’97 to start the brand integration arm of famed ad agency Ogilvy, where he worked with corporate clients like IBM and Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

In 1999, Sockwell set out on his own as an independent illustrator. He’s best known for his intricate, continuous single-line drawings and murals that have graced public spaces, concert posters, national publications, and even the lobby of Facebook’s headquarters.

He’s also an icon aficionado, having created logos and graphical user interfaces for Apple, the New York Times app, Facebook, and more. He authored a book on the subject, Thinking in Icons: Designing and Creating Effective Visual Symbols, in 2017.

Sockwell’s winding backstory is enough to fill its own book: He’s a descendant of Patrick Henry. He found human bones on his property. He garnered media attention after transforming his garage in Maplewood, New Jersey, into a neighborhood bar and performance venue dubbed “Garage Mahal.”

Throughout the Garage Mahal adventure, people kept

telling Sockwell he reminded them of Mr. Plumbean, the protagonist of the 1977 children’s book The Big Orange Splot. Plumbean lives on a “neat street” where the houses look the same—until a seagull drops a bucket of orange paint on his roof. To his neighbors’ chagrin, Plumbean not only leaves the paint, but ups the ante: Stripes. Palm trees. A hammock. An alligator.

“He’s just having fun—he’s not doing anything to hurt anybody,” says Sockwell. “He was criticized by everybody, but then people started coming over and getting to know how fun it was to go over there and be in the creativity.”

Indeed, Sockwell has leaned into his Plumbean era. The exterior of his 19th-century house boasts vibrant colors, a clown’s face, and the words “Attractive Nuisance” (a tort law term describing “a dangerous condition on a landowner’s property” that could pose a safety risk to trespassing kids, according to Cornell’s Legal Information Institute). The inside, meanwhile, resembles a cross between a retro diner, farmhouse, and VW bus museum.

Before Sockwell arrived, the home was uninhabited for 40 years. “This was a scary, boarded-up nightmare,” says Sockwell. “I saw the potential in saving it and trying to revive it. I like resurrecting older things and making them purposeful.”

Across the street, a flock of hens and crowing roosters mill about. Beyond a stone archway and rustic barns, a geodesic dome looms among six suspended VW buses, and more on the ground.

His affinity for the buses began with a bus-shaped planter he bought in 2015 after his father died. After receiving an inheritance, Sockwell reinvented himself and stopped doing illustration work. “I just started doing creative stuff, without any end goal or any sort of goal,” recalls Sockwell.

After getting the planter, which he filled with ferns and kept in his kitchen, Sockwell “started coming into the

idea that I could buy [a VW bus],” he says. After some research, he was the proud owner of a 1970s red-andwhite 23-window bus. By the time he bought the Wallkill property, his collection had grown to four—nowadays, he’s got more than double that. “It’s a sickness, really,” he says. “Once you get into it, it’s hard to get out.”

His decision to put the buses on utility poles—which he says he convinced a power company to leave behind when they were replacing lines—was sparked by an old-fashioned small-town confrontation: A notice from the Town of Plattekill stating all vehicles visible from the road must be registered.

Sockwell’s response? He removed the motors and said he’d turn the buses into sculptures. After hiring a professional to ensure the poles were secure (Sockwell says they can now withstand hurricane-force winds), he mounted the buses with a forklift and welded them on. From afar, they look skewered, towering at different heights—creating a zagging pattern of hippie mobiles against a backdrop of woods and rocky cliffs.

It’s a jarring sight from the road, but looking ahead, Sockwell has bigger plans for his Plumbean paradise than just something to look at. The artist—a father of three—aspires to turn the property into a creative techfree zone for family camping, music, comedy, and artistic collaboration.

“You’re going to have to meet with people,” says Sockwell. “We’re not going to be on our phones out here, doing TikToks.”

To complement the experience, he plans to develop a board game that mimics the property’s trails and landmarks, which visitors can follow as they traverse between different attractions. “We’re trying to encourage families to spend time with one another, learn the old way, and make moments that are not on their phones,” he says.

Follow Felix Sockwell @felixsockwell

Felix Sockwell (pictured below left) has transformed his Wallkill home into a retreat full of artistic interventions.

Mona with Michael Douglas's Picture, Mary Ellen Mark, photo, 1976, courtesy of the Mary Ellen Mark Foundation and Howard Greenberg Gallery

The Center for Photography at Woodstock's new home at 25 Dederick Street in Kingston opens on January 18 with four simultaneous exhibitions.

Photo Op

CENTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY AT WOODSTOCK OPENS NEW SPACE IN KINGSTON

January 18

Cpw.org

“The first question everybody asks is: ‘Are you going to have a darkroom?’” remarks Brian Wallis, executive director of the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW). The center is moving into a four-story former cigar factory in midtown Kingston on January 18. The new headquarters will include 6,000 square feet of exhibition space, a theater, an expanded digital media lab, workshop rooms, offices, a photo library.

And yes, there will be a darkroom. Even in this highly computerized age, some artists lovingly develop their photographs by hand. In fact, the more archaic methods of photography are growing in popularity: tintypes, cyanotypes, ambrotypes, even daguerreotypes.

Why is the Center for Photography at Woodstock now in Kingston? A good question. It moved in 2021, and is considering changing its name (which was originally the Catskill Center for Photography). Until then, it largely goes by its initials, CPW.

Four initial exhibitions demonstrate the variety of photography today. “My Sister, My Self” features the work of Colleen Kenyon and Kathleen Kenyon, two

identical twin sisters who codirected CPW for nearly 25 years. The twins were born in Dunkirk, New York in 1951, both attended Skidmore College, then both studied photography and art at Indiana University.

To be a twin is to learn, quite young, the limitations— and tricks—of the camera. Some works of the Kenyons directly address twinhood, for example, Colleen Kenyon’s Colleen and Kathleen, Shady, New York, December 1979, in which one of the sisters—I’m not sure which—crowns the other’s head with Christmas tinsel.

In 1981, Colleen became CPW’s executive director; in 1982, Kathleen became associate director. Under their guidance, the center offered over 500 workshops, including ones led by Sally Mann and William Wegman. Kathleen edited their journal, Photography Quarterly Colleen was known for buoyant hand-colored selfportraits; Kathleen produced gently satirical collages. CPW will publish a catalog of this exhibition.

Does everyone have a secret fear that they’ll wind up in a mental hospital? I certainly do. Mary Ellen Mark’s exhibition “Ward 81” captures the lives of women in a locked psychiatric ward. Mark and writer Karen Folger Jacobs lived and worked for five weeks in the Oregon State Mental Institution in Oregon in 1976.

If you’re expecting freaks, you won’t get them. The weirdest photo shows a woman asleep, with a big picture of Michael Douglas next to her pillow—which wasn’t that

odd in 1976. Mark emphasizes the normality of these societal outcasts.

How many of these women took their own lives, one luridly wonders. “Ward 81” was published as a book in 1978, but since then new recordings have been unearthed, and new photographs.

Keisha Scarville’s exhibition “Recess,” is based on textiles she found in her mother’s closet after her death. (Scarville’s parents were both Guyanese.) The decision to take black-and-white photos of richly colored fabrics gives the work the solemnity of a memorial. Also, the lack of color heightens the physicality of the cloth—the folds and bulges of the fabric. Involuted patterns suggest the twisting pathways of a life.

Scarville, a Brooklyn artist, was the inaugural winner of the Saltzman Prize for emerging photographers, which comes with a $10,000 grant. She was an artist in residence at CPW in 2003.

The fourth exhibition, “Free, For All,” will feature works submitted through an open call during the first two weeks of January. The center bravely aims to hang every single photo they receive, salon style. The pieces must be ready to be mounted. The curators are also planning collaborations with community groups like the Kingston Garden Club, as well as the local high school. The weekly “meet the artist” series will continue.

—Sparrow

Colleen and Kathleen, New Paltz, New York, Colleen Kenyon, photograph, 1978

Yeison Landero

January 8 at Tubby’s in Kingston

Yeison Landero is the grandson of the legendary Colombian accordionist and singer Andres Landero, known as the king of cumbia. In addition to inheriting his grandfather’s instrument, Yeison inherited his artistic soul, melodic sensibility, and gift for getting a crowd on their feet and keeping them dancing. The junior musician also absorbed the influence of Alfredo Gutierrez, Lizandro Meza, Calixto Ochoa, Enriquez Diaz, and other prominent cumbia figures, and his own music combines traditional styles and instrumentation with laptop beats. (Steve Shelley/Whitney Johnson/ Cory Plump converge January 11; Early James arrives February 5.) 7pm. $25.

Pahua

January 9 at the Colony in Woodstock Composer, percussionist, DJ, and producer Pau Sotomayor AKA Pahua mixes Caribbean and folkloric beats with electronics and percussion. Raised as a mariachi singer in Mexico City, where she and her brother Raul cofounded the experimental neocumbia project Sotomayor, Pahua makes sounds that fuse alternative/dance electronica with Latin rhythms. She has toured with a live format and as a DJ set, and her songs can be heard in the video game EA Sports FC ’24 (formerly FIFA) and in the AppleTV+ series “Messi Meets America.” (Robert Burke Warren’s Bowie Birthday Bash is back January 11; Albert Lee picks it out January 16.) 10pm. $17 advance; $22 day of show.

Kate Pierson

January 15 at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, Connecticut

In support of Radios and Rainbows, her longawaited sophomore solo effort, the ever-ebullient, cofounding B-52s vocalist and long-time Hudson Valley resident touches down in Western Connecticut for a fun-filled evening. Packed with tracks from the new album as well as hits like “Love Shack,” “Roam,” “Candy,” and more, Pierson’s program will surely bring a busload of welcome, neon-glowing fun on this winter night. (The Genesis Show honors the UK prog rockers January 11; Martin Sexton does his “Abbey Road Show” January 24.) 7:30pm. $60-$90.

moe.

January 17-18 at the Bearsville Theater in Bearsville

Buffalo jam-rock juggernaut moe. journeys to hippie heaven for this two-night trip ahead of the impending release of Circle of Giants, the band’s 14th album. Beginning circa 1989-1990 as Five Guys Named Moe (after the Louis Jordan song of the same name), the group is lauded not only for their epic improvisational shows, but also for the annual Snoe.down festival they host farther upstate and their frequent appearances at fundraising concerts and festivals. (Medeski, Russo, and Cline climb January 11; Blind Pilot lands February 1.) 8pm. $81.15-$193.65.

Arun Ramamurthy Trio

January 26 at the Towne Crier in Beacon Described as “South Indian/Carnatic jazz,” the Arun Ramamurthy Trio is made up of violinist Ramamurthy (a member of the exalted Brooklyn Raga Massive collective), drummer Sameer Gupta, and electric bassist Damon Banks. The animated unit freely explores the kindred spirits of raga music and jazz as it explodes into improvisational flights of fancy, an approach that’s on full display on their ear-opening 2024 debut, New Moon, which was named Jazz Album of the Month at Bandcamp Daily. (Buffalo Stack piles it on January 3; Genticorum dishes Celtic folk February 2.) 7pm. $20.

Slowdive

January 31 at Mass MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts

Formed in 1989, UK shoegaze legends Slowdive burned brightly on the early ’90s alternative scene and collaborated in the studio with Brian Eno before burning out in 1995. But the band reunited in 2014 and has been steadily touring and recording ever since, releasing an eponymous full-length in 2017 and the well-received Everything is Alive in 2023. It’s in support of the latter disc—which All Music called “equally experimental and accessible, brimming over with aquatic atmosphere and pointed emotional feeling, and full of familiar joys and new surprises”—that the dreamy quintet pays this visit to the Berkshires’ beloved Mass MoCA arts complex. 8pm. $45.

—Peter Aaron

Slowdive plays Mass MoCA in North Adams January 31.

Daniella Dooling

Steven Evans

John Franklin

Franco Andrés

Kevin Tobin

Brian Wood

Bill Arning Exhibitions

Hudson Valley Free Day

All Hudson Valley residents receive free admission to Dia Beacon on the last Sunday of each month. Beacon and Newburgh residents always receive free admission.

Dia Beacon

Riggio Galleries 3 Beekman Street Beacon, New York diaart.org

September 28, 2024 –February 2, 2025

Not in Kansas Anymore

FREEDY JOHNSTON AT THE AVALON LOUNGE

January 24

Theavalonlounge.com

With the instant access to music that’s such a basic part of our lives today, it’s almost impossible to visualize how radically different things were not that long ago. Take, for example, the tale of singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston (born 1961), who grew up in the tiny town of Kinsley, Kansas, and bought his first guitar at age 16 via a mailorder catalog. When he was 17, Johnston had to have a friend drive him to the nearest record store, which was 35 miles away, so he could buy an Elvis Costello record that he’d read about. But the two actions set him on his path, and by the early 1990s he was living in New York and had begun making acclaimed albums full of his character-driven songs, such as his 1992 breakthrough Can You Fly and 1993 major-label debut, This Perfect World, the latter home to the Billboard Hot 100 hit “Bad Reputation.” Via email, the tunesmith answered the questions below ahead of his appearance this month at the Avalon Lounge.

—Peter Aaron

What was it like growing up in rural Kansas, and how do you think it shaped your songwriting?

Since I was a kid I’ve always kind of written little nonsense songs in my head. It’s probably better described as a condition than a talent. It took light years before I actually finished a good song. I was way into early ’70s FM radio when I lived in Phoenix in my early teens. The same station would play Sonny and Cher, Deep Purple, Sly and the Family Stone, Steve Miller, Anne Murray, etc. Back in Kansas, there was no FM radio. Just my friend Debbie’s collection of 8-track tapes (Kansas, ZZ Top, Charlie Daniels, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin) and my mom’s 8-tracks (Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn George Jones, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton).

Your songs are very literate. Did you read a lot as a kid?

I only went to college for one semester, but my friends attended classes, so I got a thin education by proxy. By my roommates telling me, “Read this.”

Your first big move was to attend college in Lawrence, Kansas, where you started following the punk/new wave scene there. What was it like for you to go from Kinsley, which must not have had much of a music scene at all back then, to being in an artistic community in which you were meeting likeminded peers and seeing them play in bands and make records?

In the ’80s in Lawrence I was still just a fan. I didn’t make much music until I moved away to New York years later. The Embarrassment was my favorite band. I learned to play guitar by trying to copy [group member]

Bill Goffrier’s guitar parts. My roommate, Frank Loose, was the drummer for [likewise prominent local trio] Get Smart! We had a huge apartment that bands would crash at. The Bad Brains stayed one night, and I had a hell of a time finding them weed, even though I worked at a hippie restaurant. Those were great times.

Kinsley is literally halfway between San Francisco and New York, and you moved to the latter city in 1985. What made you choose New York?

It was just one of those goals in life. Yes, there has always been a big sign at the edge of Kinsley, with two arrows pointing to New York and San Francisco: 1561 miles each way. I used to work at the Dyne-Quik, which was right next to the sign. I remember stepping out back for cigarette and looking up at the sign. It’s like a hokey movie, but it happened.

You’re known as a prolific songwriter, but you’ve taken more time between your last few albums; it’s been three years since the release of 2022’s Back on the Road to You, your most recent one. Do you have plans in place to release another album soon, or are you just going with the flow of your creative process?

It was too many years between records last time. I will get a new album out in the fall of 2025, which will make for an acceptable (I hope) three-year gap.

In the end, what is that you most hope people will get from listening to your songs?

I don’t know. I hope I can write a song that helps someone overcome a problem or a heartache.

Freedy Johnston plays Avalon Lounge in Catskill on January 24.

Photo by Marla Norton

Canvas of Healing

“TWO THINGS ARE TRUE” AT DISTORTION SOCIETY IN BEACON

Through January 31

Distortionsociety.com

When Sarah Hanssen inherited her father’s vast portfolio of abstract expressionist paintings, she was unsure at first about what to do with the collection. Many of us wrestle with similar questions in the wake of a parent’s death, as we find ourselves in the possession of their boxes of ephemera, years of files and documents. For Hanssen, the issue was more complex. Her father, the artist Peter Hanssen, was also her abuser.  As they were, the paintings elided crucial aspects of who her father was and what he had done, his sensibility as an artist and his role, in Hanssen’s life, as sexual abuser. About a year ago, Hanssen took his paintings down from her walls, deciding she could no longer surround herself with the vestiges of her trauma. Confronted with the blankness left behind in their absence, though, she found that merely taking them down was not enough. How, then, to proceed? Baked into that practical concern was a more fundamental question: How can we move past trauma? This is the question at the heart of “Two Things Are True,” on view at Distortion Society in Beacon through January 31.

Hanssen decided that in order for the paintings to return to her walls, they would need to change form. Their metamorphosis began in February of last year. Hanssen dropped off paintings with three artist friends with a simple assignment: transform them. Some of the artists painted over the works, others entirely deconstructed them, building something new with their constituent parts. While it began with friends, word of Hanssen’s project traveled fast. The idea snowballed. Now, over 30 artists have made contributions, using a wide array of approaches to reconstitute the artwork. Their methods are informed by their own approaches to art, as well as to their specific relationships with both Hanssen and their ideas around sexual abuse and grief. There is no money exchanged. The transformed artworks have all been gifted back to Hanssen by the artists; the project is an expression of community care. The show, co-curated by Hanssen and Michelle Silver, Distortion Society’s gallery director, contains works by Chris Nau, John Ringhofer, Melanie Cooper Pennington, Chad Collins, Arielle Toelke, John Witlock, Melanie Delach, Gemma Bailey, Elizabeth Brunnemer, Candice Smith Corby, Stephen Halker, Jesse Jones, Joanna Muesleisen, Megan Prince, Fara Tucker, and Cecilia Vasquez. The works are not for sale. The current show only contains a portion of the ever-growing collection. With 50 pieces completed and an equal number of

paintings still awaiting transformation, Hanssen plans for a larger show of the complete collection later in the year.  Not a painter herself, Hanssen’s artistic contribution to the project is a feature-length documentary. Even as a longtime filmmaker, this is new terrain for Hanssen. “I’ve always wanted to be behind the camera,” she explains, “and now I’m the subject of my own film.” It is a film about Hanssen, but it is also a film about grief and trauma and how we move past those things, how we heal from what Hanssen thoughtfully calls “post-traumatic injuries.”

While the project may have begun with trauma, Hanssen believes it is distinctly hopeful at its core. “The first step is admitting that the trauma took place,” she explains, “but you don’t want to hang out in that place too long, because it’s pretty depressing.” “Two Things Are True” is about Hanssen’s rejection of the trauma zone. Her refusal to live her life surrounded by her trauma—to have it literally lining her walls—and also her refusal to bury it. Hanssen knows that there are a lot of people carrying trauma who feel unable to heal—she knows because she used to be one of them. Hanssen is hopeful that the framework laid out by this project will help others emerge out from under their own traumas. “I think we all hope that by dealing with trauma and grief in a little bit more of a public way that there will be more access to healing,” she says.

—Elias Levey-Swain

How To Erase a Scroll by John Ringhofer is an intervention on a painting by Peter Hanssen, part of the group show "Two Thing Are True" at Distortion Society in Beacon through January 31.

Ruri Mito Dance Company

January 4-5 at PS21 in Chatham

Explore the body’s ever-changing mysteries with “Matou” and “Where We Were Born,” two captivating works by acclaimed Japanese dancer-choreographer Ruri Mito. In the solo performance “Matou,” Mito examines the body as a haunted vessel of constant flux, shedding and renewing like skin. The Sydney Morning Herald called it a “mesmerizing spectacle, ghastly and grueling, but also gorgeous.” In “Where We Were Born,” Mito’s sevendancer ensemble creates a kaleidoscopic tapestry of interconnected movement, choreographed to reveal the body’s role as the essence of human existence. 3pm. $15-$50.

“Shrek the Musical”

January 4-26 at the Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck

Get ready to journey to the swamp as “Shrek the Musical” takes the stage in Rhinebeck. This family-friendly production brings the Oscar-winning DreamWorks film to life, complete with toe-tapping songs, whimsical costumes, and plenty of laughs. Follow Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, and a host of fairy-tale misfits as they embark on a rollicking adventure to prove that beauty lies within. With a talented local cast, this hilarious and heartwarming show promises ogre-sized fun for audiences of all ages. $30.

“Pontoon”

January 7 at Philipstown Depot Theater

A one-man show written by and starring Rick Ehrsting. An aging man, concerned that he has wasted his life, is called to a mysterious lake by his big brother. There, he finds a group of motley old folks who own customized pontoon boats. He also finds gigantic fish that swallow you whole, intelligent mice, and a sky that doesn’t make sense at all. This production examines the fear and remorse that can accompany getting old but also reveals the possibilities for release and wonder. Directed by Rebecca Harris. 7pm. $25.

Natalie Cuomo and Dan LaMorte

January 10-11 at Mahoney’s in Poughkeepsie

After tying the knot last year, comedians Natalie Cuomo and Dan LaMorte opted for an international tour instead

of a honeymoon, thus the Funnymoon Tour. Between them, the duo has released three comedy albums, all premiering as number one on the iTunes comedy charts. Most recently, Natalie Cuomo was named one of New York Comedy Festival’s 2023 “Comics to Watch” and Dan LaMorte was named a New Face at Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in 2023. Cuomo and Lamorte perform separate sets then take the stage together to roast each other as only married couples can do. $35.

Artichoke Storytelling Series

January 11 at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon Now in its sixth year, the Artichoke features awardwinning storytellers from such well-known series and podcasts as “The Moth,” “Story Collider,” and “Risk,” as well as the occasional Beaconite thrown in to round out the lineup. Artichoke stories tend be funny or uplifting— they can get dark, but they usually end on a high note—and they are under 10 minutes. These are rapidfire storytelling events with seasoned raconteurs. The January show will feature Gastor Almonte, Ajay G, Kate Greathead, Gabe Mollica, Carly Ciarrocchi, and Tamar Vezvirian. 8pm. $25.

State Ballet Theater of Ukraine:

“Swan Lake”

January 19 at UPAC in Kingston

Experience the timeless beauty of “Swan Lake” as the State Ballet Theater of Ukraine graces the stage at UPAC. This enchanting production of Tchaikovsky’s iconic ballet brings to life the tale of love, betrayal, and redemption with exquisite choreography and breathtaking artistry. Renowned for their technical precision and emotional depth, the dancers transport audiences to a world of magic and romance, featuring the spellbinding dual role of Odette/Odile and the dramatic confrontation between good and evil. 3pm. $41-$91.

Third Annual Wassail Celebration

January 26 at Rose Hill Farm in Red Hook

In the quiet of January one of the loudest English traditions is celebrated at Rose Hill Farm. The Wassail forces the community out of hibernation and onto the apple orchard, chanting, yelling, and singing to encourage the land to shake off the frost and have a prosperous following year. As the sun sets, attendees

can flock to the taproom to make crowns out of foraged materials. Cider sommelier Dan Pucci sabers a bottle of cider and anoints the trees and says the name of the 50 fruit varieties while the wassailers make noise. 4:30pm.

“Dancing Lessons”

January 17- February 2 at Performing Arts of Woodstock  Performing Arts of Woodstock presents a classic performance of Great Barrington-based playwright Mark St. Germain’s “Dancing Lessons.” The comedy drama tells the story of an unlikely pair: a Broadway dancer named Senga and a science professor named Ever. Ever is forced to confide in Senga and take dance lessons so he can fit in at an upcoming banquet. Senga is recovering from an injury and can no longer dance professionally and Ever, on the autism spectrum, struggles with social settings. Their physical closeness ends in an awkward romance and a heartwarming story.

Napoleon Dynamite

January 24 at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since the release of Napoleon Dynamite. Did you know the average lifespan of a llama is 20 years? Which means that Tina the llama is most likely dead by now. No more ham for Tina. Regardless of whether you know who Tina is—or why ham is being fed to a llama—Jon Heder’s 2004 film chronicling the absurd exploits of the title character, an awkward teenager navigating a dysfunctional family and high school politics is worth a (re)watch.

“The Price Is Right” Stage Show

January 29 at Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center in Poughkeepsie

This family friendly (non-televised) version of the show is a live interactive experience with classic “The Price Is Right” games like Plinko, Cliffhangers, and The Big Wheel. Attendees can come up on stage for a chance to spin and wheel and win prizes ranging from electronics to appliances to lavish vacations. The audience will even have a chance to win prizes from their seats. There are three different packages you can choose from when buying tickets online including VIP and super fan packages. The games start at 7:30pm.

Jon Gries plays Uncle Rico in Jon Heder's 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite, which screens at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington on January 24.

Vanitas-Litha Flush, Jordan Nobuko Baker, oil on canvas, from "Wither and Bloom" at D'Arcy Simpson Art Works in Hudson.

Ellas Vinieron de Las Nubes Los Diablos, Jamal Ademola, film, from the group show "A Space Between Worlds" at the Wassaic Project.

THE ALDRICH CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM

258 MAIN STREET, RIDGEFIELD, CT

“A Garden of Promise and Dissent.” Work by Terry Adkins, Kelly Akashi, Teresa Baker, Alina Bliumis, Carolina Caycedo, Carl Cheng, Rachelle Dang, Anders Hamilton, Maren Hassinger, Hugh Hayden, Max Hooper Schneider, Athena LaTocha, Gracelee Lawrence, Cathy Lu, Jill Magid, Suchitra Mattai, Mary Mattingly, Brandon Ndife, Meg Webster, Faith Wilding, and Rachel Youn. Through March 16.

ART LIFE 717

717 COLUMBIA STREET, HUDSON

“Self-Love Affirmations.” Group show of work at the intersection of art and mental health recovery. January 8-March 1.

ART OMI

1405 COUNTY ROUTE 22, GHENT

“Shaboom: Presumed Ignorant.” Installation by the Shaboom collective: Silky Shoemaker, Paul Soileau, and Lex Vaughn. Through January 26.

ARTS SOCIETY OF KINGSTON

97 BROADWAY, KINGSTON

“State of Being.” Second invitational sculpture exhibition curated by Gulnar Babayeva. Through January 26.

BAU GALLERY

506 MAIN STREET, BEACON

“Fresh Start: The Promise of New Beginnings.” Members group show. January 11-February 2.

“In Dialogue With Wood.” Woodcuts by Ilse Schreiber-Noll. January 11-February 2.

BERNAY FINE ART

296 MAIN STREET, GREAT BARRINGTON, MA

“Annual Holiday Show.” Work by Sandy Litchfield, Lynda Schlosberg, Erick Johnson, Linda Pochesci, and Audrey Shachnow. Through January 12.

BILL ARNING EXHIBITIONS

HUDSON VALLEY

17 BROAD STREET, KINDERHOOK

“Darkness.” Work by Daniella Dooling, Steven Evans, John Franklin, Franco Andres, Kevin Tobin, and Brian Wood. Through February 8.

BUSTER LEVI GALLERY

121 MAIN STREET, COLD SPRING

“Small Work Show.” Group show. Through January 26.

CARRIE HADDAD GALLERY

622 WARREN STREET, HUDSON

“Unexpected Light.” Work by Jane BloodgoodAbrams, Harry Orlyk, Leigh Palmer, and Regina Quinn. Through January 26.

CLARK ART INSTITUTE

225 SOUTH STREET, WILLIAMSTOWN, MA.

“Wall Power!” Modern French tapestry from the Mobilier National Museum in Paris. Through March 9.

“Abelardo Morell: In the Company of Monet and Constable.” Paintings. Through February 17.

CONVEY/ER/OR GALLERY

299 MAIN ST, POUGHKEEPSIE.

“Bits & Pieces.” Work made from post-consumer plastic film packaging material by Judy Thomas. Through January 11.

CPW (CENTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY AT WOODSTOCK)

25 DEDERICK STREET, KINGSTON

“Free, for All.” Community photo exhibit. January 18-February 16.

“My Sister My Self.” Photographs by Colleen Kenyon and Kathleen Kenyon. January 18-March 31.

“Recess.” Photographs by Keisha Scarville. January 18-May 4.

“Ward 81.” Photographs of an Oregon psychiatric ward in 1976 by Mary Ellen Mark. January 18-May 4.

DANIEL ARTS CENTER AT SIMON’S ROCK

84 ALFORD ROAD, GREAT BARRINGTON, MA

“Harry Levenstein.” Ceramics. Through January 15.

D’ARCY SIMPSON ART WORKS

409 WARREN STREET, HUDSON

“Wither and Bloom.” Work by Jordan Nobuko Baker and Xan Peters. Through January 5.

DAVID M. HUNT LIBRARY

63 MAIN STREET, FALLS VILLAGE, CT

“ArtWall Exhibits—12x12: The 13th Edition.” Group show of 50 artists. Through January 10.

DIA BEACON

3 BEEKMAN STREET, BEACON

“Mary Heilman: Starry Night.” Long-term view.

“Andy Warhol: Shadows.” An installation that surrounds the viewer with a series of canvases presented edge-to-edge around the perimeter of the room.

DISTORTION SOCIETY

155 MAIN STREET, BEACON

“Two Things Are True.” Group show curated by Michelle Silver and Sarah Hanssen. Through January 31.

ETHAN COHEN GALLERY AT THE KUBE ART CENTER

211 FISHKILL AVENUE, BEACON

“Yigal Ozeri: The Truth of a Portrait.” Yigal Ozeri’s series of large-scale photorealist oil paintings representing some of America’s most influential and significant political leaders. Through January 20.

FORELAND

111 WATER STREET, CATSKILL “Anne Schaefer.” Installation. Through February 16.

FRANCES LEHMAN LOEB

ART CENTER

124 RAYMOND AVENUE, POUGHKEEPSIE

“Reproductive: Health, Fertility, Agency.” Traveling exhibition organized by Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago. Through February 2.

FRONT ROOM GALLERY

205 WARREN STREET, HUDSON “FR:25.” Twenty-fifth anniversary exhibition. Through January 25.

GARNER ARTS CENTER

55 WEST RAILROAD AVENUE, GARNERVILLE

“Chaos/Light.” New Work by Joan Harmon January 11-February 23.

GREEN KILL

229 GREENKILL AVENUE, KINGSTON

“Dan Keegan and Scott Kigour.” January 11-February 22.

GRIT WORKS | GRIT GALLERY

115 BROADWAY, NEWBURGH. “River Reflections.” Paintings by Maria Lago. Through January 12.

Twin, Brian Wood, oil on wood, from "Darkness," a group show at Bill Arning Exhibitions in Kinderhook.

HUDSON VALLEY MOCA

1701 MAIN STREET, PEEKSKILL

“Psychological Portraiture.” Group photography show. Through June 30.

LABSPACE

2642 NY ROUTE 23, HILLSDALE

“Holiday.” Group show. Through February 23.

LACE MILL GALLERIES

165 CORNELL STREET, KINGSTON

“While You Were Out.” Paintings by Paul Chidester, Dio Cortes, Leticia Ortega-Cortes, Edward O’Hara, Archil Pickhadze, Polly Reina, and Jill Ziccardi. January 4-26.

MASS MOCA

1040 MASS MOCA WAY, NORTH ADAMS, MA

“Like Magic.” Simone Bailey, Raven Chacon, Grace Clark, Johanna Hedva, Gelare Khoshgozaran, Cate O’Connell-Richards, Rose Salane, Petra Szilagyi, Tourmaline, and Nate Young use healing earth, witches’ brooms, AI, divination, and more to imagine care-full and joy-full futures into being despite the peril promised by the past and present. Through August 31.

“Power Full Because We're Different.” Installation by Jeffrey Gibson. Through May 31, 2026.

OLANA STATE HISTORIC SITE

5720 STATE ROUTE 9G, HUDSON

“A Closer Look.” Four themed artwork installations of Frederic Church’s art. Through March 30.

OLIVE FREE LIBRARY

4033 ROUTE 28A, WEST SHOKAN

“In the Still of the Night.” Annual small works show curated by Nathalie Andrews and Susan Shaftan Perrin. Through January 4.

“Multiplicity: Together and Apart.” Group show curated by Jan Sosnowitz. January 18-March 1.

PINKWATER GALLERY

237 FAIR STREET, KINGSTON

‘By Moonlight: The Magical Landscapes of Caroline Burdett.’ Paintings. Through January 7.

SUPER SECRET PROJECTS

484 MAIN STREET, BEACON

“Studio Work: Where Art Finds a Home.” Group show. Through January 7.

“The Thief.” Photographic exploration of motherhood by Emma McDonald Diamond. January 7-February 1.

SUSAN ELEY FINE ART

433 WARREN STREET, HUDSON

“Janus.” Work by Idil Barkan, Alexandra Rutsch Brock, Brantner DeAtley, Katharine Dufault, Kiki Dufault, Patricia Fabricant, Guzman, Ellen Letcher, Maggie Mailer, Henry Murphy, Tess Recordon, Noah Schmitz, Denise Sfraga, and Julie Torres. January 9-March 17.

THE WASSAIC PROJECT

37 FURNACE BANK ROAD, WASSAIC

“A Space Between Worlds”. Work by Walker Esner, Mira Pualawan, Judy Suh, Regina Durante Jestrow, Jamal Ademola, Jazmine Hayes, Paolo Arao, Mary Tooley Parker, and Dana Robinson. Through March 15.

TIVOLI ARTISTS GALLERY

60 BROADWAY, TIVOLI

“Selected Members Work.” Group show. January 10-February 2.

TREMAINE ART GALLERY AT THE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL

11 INTERLAKEN ROAD, LAKEVILLE, CT

“The Circe Effect: Women’s Creative Power Reclaims the Narrative.” Work by Chelsea Steinberg Gay, Dana Robinson, Katiushka Melo, Donna Dodson, and Madeleine Conover. Through January 25.

TROUTBECK

515 LEEDSVILLE ROAD, AMENIA

LONGYEAR GALLERY

785 MAIN STREET, MARGARETVILLE

“Holiday Invitational Exhibit.” Group show. Through January 5.

MAGAZZINO ITALIAN ART

2700 ROUTE 9, COLD SPRING

“Maria Lai. A Journey to America.” Comprehensive overview of Lai’s (1919–2013). Through July 28.

MARK GRUBER GALLERY

13 NEW PALTZ PLAZA, NEW PALTZ

“Holiday Salon Show.” Group show. Through January 31.

“The Urgency of Leisure.” Work by Dana Robinson. Through January 12.

WOODSTOCK ARTISTS ASSOCIATION AND MUSEUM (WAAM)

28 TINKER STREET, WOODSTOCK.

“Photographic Currents”. Group show. January 17-March 9.

Art NOW Management

ellen@artnowmanagement.com | 917-446-1028 artnowmanagement.com

CONCERT SERIES

Horoscopes

By Cory Nakasue

Love Among the Ruins

January is equal parts intense feeling and cool reason. It’s also radical acceptance and ruthless rejection. There are also multiple planetary shifts including the shifting of the Moon’s nodes. It’s likely that a feeling of newness will be palpable.

Venus moves into the sign of its exaltation, Pisces, on the second of the month. Exalted planets are like VIPs with exclusive privileges and precious talents. In Pisces, Venus is the ultimate lover, artist, dreamer, and empath. The only caveats when working with Venus in Pisces are over idealization and over identification. Our hearts can alternately race and bleed for people and situations that we can’t see clearly. In stark contrast to that, warrior planet Mars faces off with unrelenting Pluto for the second time on January 3. These two, in Leo and Aquarius respectively, continue their struggle for power and status. After that meetup, Mars continues its retrograde back into the sign of deep feeling Cancer on the 6th. This kicks off a few more months of emotional hyperarousal and the sharpening of protective instinct.

Mercury is racing through the sky at the moment, even as it enters cautious Capricorn on January 8, and methodical Aquarius on the 27th. Both signs are Saturn-ruled, making this month a great time for clear, practical thinking that’s inventive and original. The Moon’s nodes transition to the Virgo-Pisces axis, marking new points of focus for the next year and a half. This is where eclipses will now take place (mostly), encouraging the dissolution and rearrangement of boundaries that keep us isolated or protected. An agitating full Moon in Cancer perfects on the 13th. Its proximity to Mars, warns us about emotional reactivity. The sun enters Aquarius on the 19th to restore objectivity, and the month ends with a mentally adroit new Moon in Aquarius on January 29.

ARIES (March 20–April 19)

This is where you come apart. I mean this in the best possible way. There is so much ecstasy and healing that can be had when you stop living life in bullet points, tactics, and sole directives. You might feel as though your hard edges are dissolving and that you’re bleeding into the background or getting lost in the crowd, but what’s really happening is you’re learning to merge. This requires coming a bit undone and learning to like it. It’s an influence you’ll be working with well into summer. Lose yourself to find yourself.

TAURUS (April 19–May 20)

You are at your lovable best and most ruthless. You simultaneously want to embrace the world and dominate it. How you integrate these urges will determine your experience of the month. It’s not so much about striking a balance but rather finding appropriate channels to express both urges. In your social spheres, you gain much by accepting people for who they are and being forgiving of human foibles. When it comes to radically transforming the ways you wield power, you gain from unshakable devotion to your ideals. You must become an expert at modulating the hot and cold water taps for specific purposes.

Cory Nakasue is an astrology counselor, writer, and teacher. Her talk show, “The Cosmic Dispatch,” is broadcast on Radio Kingston (1490AM/107.9FM) Sundays from 4-5pm and available on streaming platforms. AstrologybyCory.com

Got Resolutions? Plan.

GEMINI (May 20–June 21)

Be responsible with the amount of favor that shines down upon you. One of the ways you can use your powers of enchantment is to teach those around you challenging lessons. There are edgy and radical ideas that you want to investigate and share with others. At any other time you might come off as overbearing or extreme, but with the soft and flattering Pisces moonlight hitting your cheekbones, you’re received as poetic and visionary. You are the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down and the red handkerchief thrown on top of the naked lightbulb.

CANCER (June 21–July 22)

Your eccentricity and individualism are quite pronounced now, and that may challenge those around you. The word “alienate” contains the word “alien,” which is what you might feel like, but it’s necessary to separate yourself from the herd. There are deep pockets of knowledge and resources that can only be accessed by a lone searcher. Ultimately, you’ll come back into the fray with much to offer the world. Right now, the things you find most enchanting lie way outside the well-trod paths you’re used to. Let this state of awe and wonder inspire you, but don’t expect it to last.

LEO (July 22–August 23)

Romanticism and detachment make strange bedfellows. On the one hand, you’d love to lose yourself in the fantasy of the people you’re close with, and a completely different part of you is demanding space and objectivity. You have the ability to satisfy both needs if you’re honest with yourself and others. Be honest about wanting to indulge your voracious appetite for grandeur. Be honest with yourself about your nostalgic yearning. Be honest about needing space and feeling “above it all” as well. Try not to shirk your responsibility and accountability to all of the lovely beings you’re in relationships with.

VIRGO

(August 23–September 23)

All Virgos understand sacrifice. But oftentimes, Virgo has a hard time discerning what and who is worthy of their offerings. I would never advise Virgo to simply “be more selfish.” It’s not in your nature. You may need new litmus tests and criteria, however, for deciding what and who to surrender to. This month contains wellsprings of inspiration and compassion. You may want to give yourself to the world! Is the world worth it? Time spent alone and tending to projects that develop your mind will help to clarify your heart. Loving people from a distance has its own rewards.

LIBRA (September 23–October 23)

Instead of hiding the quirky, kinky, antisocial aspects of your nature, indulge them. Better yet, honor and glorify them. Exploring the socially unacceptable could be a way to tap into deep pleasure, creative edge, and types of fun that are more enjoyable because they’re uncharacteristic or off-limits. If you’re not used to these types of things, you may have to practice doing them. Set little risk-taking goals everyday. Dare to lace your correspondence with more pointed expressions of yourself. Learning to love ourselves in totality might take some effort, but the rewards are so liberating!

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SCORPIO (October 23–November 22)

You have a direct line to the muse this month. Honor her by remembering that acts of creation manifest through you, not from you. Stay open and listen with your ears, your skin, and your gut—she’s dropping clues and inspirations all over the place. Cultivate your attention by dedicating time for this kind of listening. Meditation, bodywork, quiet walks in nature, or divination are all great ways to keep the channel for communication open. You may also develop an obsession with your family history. Start the year with deep reflection on patterns worth preserving or breaking.

SAGITTARIUS

(November 22–December 22)

The places and people you call “home” may seem a little distant or tenuous at the moment. If you were a plant, it might feel like the soil is loosening around your roots. You could take this as a sign to move on to something more ideal or to pack your roots a little tighter. What would it take for you to feel more connected to your living space and your chosen family? Follow your longings. Admit that, at least for the moment, you need to be held. Disruptions to your daily routines will make you crave respite even more.

CAPRICORN (December 22–January 20)

Everything is interesting right now. More importantly, everyone is interesting, and people feel the same way about you. Deep conversations with intimates are just as satisfying as small talk with neighbors and acquaintances right now. It would be very difficult to go it alone at this time because you’re “stickier” than usual. Other people’s thoughts, words, and feelings rub off on you, leaving you feeling warm and fuzzy. The downside of course would be attracting residue of thornier emotions, but if that’s the case, there’s no better time to search for the softer stuff those thorns are hiding.

AQUARIUS (January 20–February 19)

You could gain a lot by giving everything away, and it will be easy because it feels so good to share. It’s as if the more you spread yourself, your talents, and your resources around, the more your coffers swell. I’m not talking about wasting money or time on frivolous ventures or transactional engagements. This is about investing in the projects and people that nourish you on a soul level. Paradoxically, it’s the intangible and the ineffable that make you feel most secure. The fairy dust that you sprinkle around now could nourish the ground that supports you later.

PISCES (February 20–March 19)

Just when you thought it wasn’t possible to love any more than you already do, your heart opens wider. You’re aching for love, and your longing has reached epic levels of drama. Whether you classify your feelings as “good” or “bad,” you’re building capacity for romance and the sublime. It’s now easier to sense the magic in heartache and to have compassion for all living beings. You may even feel love for the rocks on the ground and planets in the sky. It’s impractical, but it isn’t wrong. Use this time to make something of real beauty, inspired by your expanded emotional perception.

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No Strings Attached Jacinta Bunnell on Guaranteed Income and Artful Living

Jacinta Bunnell’s new limited-edition book Believing in That Which Does Not Yet Exist contains full-color photographs and over 80 lists collected from people of all walks of life who answered the question: “What would you do if granted guaranteed income for two years, no strings attached?”

Bunnell, a mixed-media artist based in Stone Ridge, received $1,000 a month for 18 months from Creatives Rebuild New York while she was navigating chronic illness, brain surgery, and months spent figuring out her diagnosis.

“GI granted me more agency over my life as I gradually reshaped my artistic practice, allowing me to work from home and begin healing. I executed new projects and invested in crucial complementary health care not covered by my health insurance. I took time off from a job that I could no longer do because of a complex chronic illness. GI relieved stress I didn’t even know I was shouldering,” Bunnell says.

The experience inspired her to connect to other GI movements and learn what others might do if granted a similar opportunity. The responses Bunnell gathered from her survey question enlightened her as to the needs of the community.

“GI can keep people from falling below the poverty line. They are working extra

hours and/or several jobs to keep up with the basics: food, shelter, medical care, clothing, etc. People desire, but can’t afford, higher-quality food for their families, access to complementary medicine for chronic illnesses, and stable housing. Most people strongly desire a little extra money to help those in their community who have less, while being able to pay down their own debt and student loans. If they had a little extra, they could invest in starting their own small businesses and/or contribute to friends’ emergency fundraising efforts when they arise,” Bunnell says.

For those who say it can’t be done, Bunnell’s book shows that it can. And there are other examples throughout the world and the US such as the data compiled by the Stanford Basic Income Lab and Center for Guaranteed Income Research

“GI didn’t discourage work, it fueled creativity and motivation. If we had a program like this for everyone who needed it, I believe we would have a happier, healthier society with less stress,” Bunnell adds.

Copies of Believing in That Which Does Not Yet Exist can be ordered through Etsy: Etsy.com/shop/JacintaBunnell.

—Mike Cobb

A spread from Jacinta Bunnell’s book Believing in That Which Does Not Yet Exist

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