Earth Day Festivals at MEEC & PEEC Award-Winning Documentary at MEEC

The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970.

Earth Day is an annual celebration that honors the achievements of the environmental movement and raises awareness of the need to protect Earth’s natural resources for future generations.

Enjoy fun activities at the Mamakating Environmental Education Center (MEEC) that celerate our beautiful Earth and learn what you can do to keep her healthy. Programming is in conjunction with Mamakating Library. Drop in anytime on April 22, from 1:00pm4:00pm, 762 South Road, Wurtsboro.

Join MEEC before hand in helping

The Sensational Soul Cruisers are an 11-man horn group fronted by four soulful vocalists who pay homage to the very best of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s old school, classic soul, r&b, motown and disco, emulating the distinctive style, skill and choreography of a classic show band working together to deliver the ultimate Soul Cruisers dance party!

While it is still sometimes possible to find a band featuring a similar line up of instruments, it is unlikely that you will ever find another that performs with as much energy, passion, and talent as these gentlemen. From their humble beginnings rehearsing at the chicken coops on Route 33 to the basement of the Cycle Shop on Throckmorton Street, this band has come a long way from its “Eddie and the Cruisers” days to become one of New Jersey’s best kept secrets.

Over the past 25 years the Soul Cruisers have been fortunate enough to the Bashakill Area Association clean up the Bashakill, from 10:00am-Noon. Wear sturdy shoes and bring gloves. Meet at Haven Road parking lot.

Phone: 845-6445014.

Help Pocono

Environmental Education Center (PEEC) celebrate Earth! PEEC will have hands-on learning stations, interpretive hikes, conservation exhibits, crafts, food, music, and much more! Pre-registration is NOT required for the April 29, 11:00am-4:00pm event at 538 Emery Road, Dingmans Ferry. For more info: 570-828-2319 or visit www.peec.org.

See pg. 22 for Earth Day in Cornwall.

The Mamakating Environmental Education Center (MEEC) is excited about the return of Gene Weinstein, who presented MEEC’s first ever program on Eagles in November 2019. His is a life of service and MEEC is honored to have him back again.

Join MEEC for the Academy Award nominated documentary, Radio Bikini, which won first place awards at the Sundance Film Festival and the San Francisco Film Festival. This provocative film uses archival footage and “live” radio broadcasts from 1946 to cover testing of the Atomic Bomb on Bikini Island and its aftermath.

Gene is a local retired high school science teacher (Monticello) who is passionate about eagles, teaching, and his time in the Navy. He has the dubious honor of having witnessed the bomb firsthand as a young radioman aboard the flagship, USS Mt. McKinley. He will give commentary throughout the one-hour film as well as answer questions. Find out about the moment of detonation, widespread exposure, decontamination efforts, and the response to claims by the US Dept. of Veteran’s Affairs.

Radio Bikini: Testing of an Atomic Bomb will be shown April 23 at 1:00pm at MEEC, 762 South Road, Wurtsboro. Disturbing content, not appropriate for children. Call to register: 845-644-5014.

For the Kids: Rock & Roll Playhouse

The Rock and Roll Playhouse is the largest national kid-friendly live concert series having performed to hundreds of thousands of kids and their families.

grace the stage with many great artists from Bruce Springsteen, Little Anthony and The Imperials, Gloria Gaynor, Gary US Bonds, John Cafferty, Southside Johnny, The Emotions, Bon Jovi, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder, as well as being the long time favorite house band at New York City’s famed Copacabana.

See them perform in Soultown To Motown on April 29 at 8:00pm at Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center, 231 Creamery Pond Road, Chester. Tickets: www.sugarloafpacny.com

Founded in 2014 by independent concert promoter Peter Shapiro and educator Amy Striem, the Rock and Roll Playhouse have hosted over 1,000 shows in more than 35 leading live music venues across the United States, filling the void for shared musical experiences between parents and children across the country.

Performing songs created by the most iconic musicians in rock history, they offer their core audience of families with children aged 1-7, games, movement, stories and most importantly, an opportunity to rock out! The shows allow parents to enjoy the music they love while little fans are encouraged to explore their creativity and have fun!

On Earth Day, come sing and dance with The Rock and Roll Playhouse as they salute the greatest songs from their show, Bob Marley for KIDS featuring reggae band from Brooklyn, Sundub!

Kids 1 and under are Free at City Winery Hudson Valley, 23 Factory Street, Montgomery, on April 23 at Noon. See ad page 9.

Visitor Center: “Provenance”

Visitor Center in Newburgh will host Provenance, a group show curated by Marissa Passi with works by Sophia De Jesus-Sabella, Soull Ogun, Patricia Orpilla, Sagarika Sundaram, and Mia Wright-Ross.

The exhibit presents contemporary artists who engage craft materials and traditions to consider intertwining notions of materiality, lineage, and identity. The opening reception will be held on April 15 from 4:00pm-7:00pm. The ownership history of an art object, or provenance, is often recorded by cultural institutions in an effort to qualify an object’s authenticity or value. This practice frequently treats an object as its own entity from its completion to the present, separate from its creator, as it travels between places and amongst collectors. Recontextualizing the idea of provenance, this exhibition will encourage a broader application that centers and celebrates the layered histories and influences inherent to an object by re-engaging the agency of both the artist and the viewer.

The contemporary artists represented employ traditions, materials, and techniques associated with craft. This commonality is not coincidental, as craft media - including the weaving, metalsmithing, felting, and leather artisanship on vieware intrinsically rich with memory.

To observe any artwork is to activate it with one’s own interpretation; with craft media, the artwork is distinctly loaded with tactile connotations, historical applications, generational techniques, and material associations. Provenance thus presents works that are bolstered by their pasts, the identities of their creators, and the associations unearthed in the viewer.

Provenance is on view April 15 to June 3 at Visitor Center, 233 Liberty Street, Newburgh. For information, call 212-228-8965.

Ward’s Workshop in Warwick

Award-winning artist Ward Lamb, who has been painting for forty years, was the chairman of the Art Department at Minisink Valley High School (MVHS).

Ward and his MVHS colleague Adrienne Butvinik were, to CANVAS’ knowledge, the first local HS art teachers to arrange for an art exhibit of their students’ works in a local professional gallery, the former Country House Arts Center in Bloomingburg, owned and operated by Roanne Patterson in the early 2000s. Since then, student shows in local professional galleries have blossomed into becoming a popular event in many galleries.

Throughout the years, Ward has been active in exhibiting his work in the Hudson Valley. He is proud to have done portrait work for actresssinger Cher, among other interesting individuals.

Ward’s works range from realism, impressionist, landscape to expressionistic figures, and now he will host a portrait painting workshop for which he will be offering a demo/ workshop on the art of portraiture for the Warwick Art League (WAL) on April 22, from 10:30am12:30pm at the Warwick Senior Center, 132 Kings Highway, Warwick.

The workshop is free for League members who may also invite a guest. Non-members are also welcome for a minimal fee of $10. Participants should bring their own materials.

To register, call 845-987-8748.