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Draves and Davis

By Jamie Larson

Ken Davis and Kevin Draves run two traditional small-town businesses in Hillsdale, New York: an ice cream parlor and a “lifestyle boutique,” but their unique approach and style are anything but ordinary. The couple’s artistic taste and community mindedness are a big part of the reason the little village at the crossroads of the Berkshires and the Hudson Valley has become such a draw for people driving through.

For all the time they put in at Village Scoop and Passiflora, it’s a surprise that those businesses are not their day jobs. Draves, a costume supervisor for movies and television, and Davis, a photographer and a 20-year volunteer with GMHC and their Friends In Deed Groups, spend the weekdays in the city and weekends behind the counters of their businesses, adjacent to each other in the center of town.

“We always loved this area and knew the village square was sort of this hidden gem,” Draves says.

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A milkshake special at Village Scoop.

Draves and Davis met 21 years ago in New York before buying their home in Copake in early 2001. After a few years of keeping to themselves they wanted to become a more involved part of the community, opening Passiflora and later renovating the abandoned, flame-covered tattoo parlor next door into their modern ice cream shop. They’re now a part of a pleasant business district that seems to be adding interesting and diverse new stores and eateries all the time. Just this summer Village Scoop boldly expanded its operation to include local cheese plates, salads and yogurts, and are making “mocktails” as the area’s first alcohol-free bar.

“In a village this size, we all have to support each other and that’s really important to us,” says Draves. “Anyone who comes in, we are constantly talking up the other places in town.”

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“If Eyes Could Speak” by Ken Davis

Davis and Draves aren’t just trying to give back to Hillsdale but to their global community as well. The two first traveled to India and Nepal five years ago with friends and became involved with Himalayan Healthcare and Jeevankala, the charity’s shop through which indigenous women sell handmade items to support their families. Passiflora carries many of these goods, which are part of vital micro economies. Davis and Draves have since returned to the region twice, even helping Jeevankala design and set up a new shop in Katmandu. They’ll be returning again this fall. Many of the other intriguing items at Passiflora take on new meaning when you find out they go to support world charities and people in emerging markets.

“It’s what we were able to do to help support them. It’s not that hard for us to do and it means so much,” Davis says, adding that the store is packed with stuff they love and believe in. “But we also wanted to have a price point that’s for everyone. A lot of times we’re thinking about our friends and neighbors and what they like.”

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Clik here to view.While traveling, Davis embraced his passion for the people he met through his photography, taking photos of enchanting settings and the strangers-turned-friends along the way. His photos are now on display at the Roe Jan Community Library through September 11.

“It wasn’t difficult to communicate, even though we didn’t speak the same language,” Davis says of the people he met and photographed.

Draves exuberantly talks up Davis’ photos and the meaningful experiences behind them but is modest when discussing his career accomplishments. His filmography is impressive. He’s worked as costume supervisor on television shows and movies as diverse as they are acclaimed. He’s helped outfit stars in high style and period attire in Sex and the City, Taking Woodstock, Julie and Julia, and Boardwalk Empire and helped superheroes don leather and cape in The Dark Night Rises and Daredevil. He says he’s really excited to see the next release bearing his fingerprints, Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.

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Clik here to view.It’s easy and enjoyable to peruse Passiflora or treat yourself at Village Scoop oblivious to the personal aspects — the compassionate world view and keen artistry — the owners bring to their small-town businesses. But their story gives you one more big reason to stop in Hillsdale and see what’s so special at the crossroads.

“People say, ‘this is one of our favorite places on our way to…’” says Draves. “We came up here to get away but then we met all these amazing people. Now we’re in a position where we’re able to give back to the community. That feels good. We are stronger together.”

Passiflora
2638 State Route 23, Hillsdale, NY
(518)325-6559
Thursday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Village Scoop
2640 State Route 23, Hillsdale, NY
(518)325-6455
Fridays and Saturdays, 8 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sundays, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

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Clik here to view.This is a recipe I used to make at the bakery/coffee shop I was baking for in Brooklyn just before my husband and I left to move up to the beautiful northwest corner. I tried it a couple of times in the bakery once we took over, but I think it was a little too wacky for us back then — we were still transitioning from old owners, and I don’t think it quite fit in with what we’re doing. Now I bake corn muffins every morning and people absolutely love them, and I’ve been toying with the idea of trying this out again — it’s such a great all-in-one breakfast, and people are always wowed by the concept the first time they see them. This is a different cornbread recipe than the one I make every day — it’s a little thicker so that it will hold its own against the boiled eggs.  —Audrey Leary, Blackberry River Baking Co.

Egg in a Cornhole Muffins
Makes 6-8 large muffins

2 cups flour
2 cups cornmeal (I prefer to use a stone-ground one for some texture, but anything will work.)
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups sour cream
1 cup browned butter (I put butter in a cake pan and stick it in a pre-heating oven, then pull it out once it’s browned and fragrant.)
4 eggs
6-8 boiled eggs (I like to aim for soft boiled so the yolk is still a little runny, but cook to your preference), cooled and peeled
paprika, mustard powder, grated cheese and sea salt flakes (optional, to garnish)

1. In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Separately, mix together sour cream, browned butter and eggs — if the butter is still hot, mix it with the sour cream first so that the eggs don’t scramble when you whisk them in. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, stopping as soon as combined.

2. Get some jumbo muffin cups and a jumbo cupcake tin, or alternately (as we do at the bakery) some small pannetone molds. Drop a heaping spoonful of the corn batter in, about 1/3 of the way up the cup, and then place a hard-boiled egg on top, right in the middle. It helps if the egg has been toweled off so that it’s very dry on the outside. Take another heaping spoonful of the cornbread batter and place it on top, using your fingers to push it down the sides of the egg and carefully covering the top of the egg. Repeat, then top all of the muffins with your choice of garnish (I use mustard powder and paprika for a little spice and color, grated Parmesan for a cheesy crunch and salt because, you know, salt.)

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until the muffins have risen, browned and feel firm to the touch. Cut them in half while still hot and enjoy! I served these with sriracha butter. They’re also great for the next couple of days, grilled and buttered, and make an awesome breakfast on-the-go.

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Clik here to view.Lisa Green reports from Great Barrington. Back in the day, there was a TV show called Bowling For Dollars, but on Monday, August 22, a group of people gathered at the Cove Bowling Alley to bowl for Berkshire Baby Box. A new nonprofit engineered by South Egremont resident Hinda Bodinger, the organization provides expectant moms in the Berkshires with a baby shower in a box and a safe sleeping space for their newborns. Berkshire Baby Box is also partnering with local agencies to distribute the filled boxes during monthly parenting workshops in Berkshire County. At the event, teams of bowlers took time out between their turns to place their raffle tickets into a plethora of donated items, services and silent auction offerings. “I love this project and am moved beyond words by the community support and how many services there are out there for those in need,” said Bodinger, president of Berkshire Baby Box. [Above, Bodinger with State Representative Smitty Pignatelli.]

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Bruce Moore and Michael Alper, co-founders of Red House Design and Architecture;
the tiniest bowler, Isabella, with her mom Danielle Melino, a teacher at Mount Everett High School.

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Sue Weintraub, a board member of the Literacy Network of South Berkshire, and Jay Weintraub of Backyard Bounty of the Berkshires.

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Team spirit: Katrina Curtiss, Tina Chase, Rich Chase and Todd DiMario, a personal trainer at Soules Sports & Fitness and Berkshire South; Trena Heinrich, David State, Sandy Van and Carol Noble.

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Hinda Bodinger beside a Berkshire Baby Box filled with what new mothers will find inside: a waterproof mattress, fitted sheets, books, bath toys and more.

By Lisa Green

Since the Berkshire Opera Company folded in 2008, opera productions have been conspicuously absent from the performing arts scene in the Berkshires. So when Jonathon Loy and Brian Garman, both accomplished opera directors and conductors, announced plans to form the Berkshire Opera Festival, it wasn’t only opera aficionados that applauded the venture. While the principals in the cast of the first production, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, come from elsewhere, Loy and Garman didn’t have to go far to cast and hire many of the chorus, musicians and creative team members.

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Clik here to view.“I’m very happy to say that about 90 percent of our chorus is from the area, and nearly half of the orchestra is local,” says Garman. “There’s such a wealth of talent in the Berkshires that it would have been foolish not to tap into it. Employing local musicians whenever possible is central to the vision of Berkshire Opera Festival.”

The 2016 inaugural festival season opens on Aug. 27. You’ll appreciate it even more knowing who some of the locals are — on stage, behind it, and in the pit.

Beckie Kravetz, Wigs and Makeup Designer
Kravetz [in photo, above] is a world-renowned theatrical mask maker, which is how she started in the business, but through that segued into designing wigs and makeup. In 1988, she became the resident mask maker for the Los Angeles Opera, where she also worked as a principal makeup artist and assistant wig maker. Now living in Cummington, she’s missed working on opera productions. “I had a connection with an LA Opera colleague who had worked with Jonathon Loy at the Met (Opera Company), so when I read about the new company I introduced myself to him. Coming back to work in my own backyard is an incredible thrill.”

International costume designer Charles Caine, a 20-year Met veteran (and Egremont resident), is also working on this production. He had done a previous “Butterfly” with another wig and makeup designer, Steven Horak, who had a big wig stock, and those will be put to use in the Berkshire production. So Kravetz is primarily focusing on the makeup. While Kravetz often does dramatic, stylized painting for opera singers, she says Loy wants a subtle version of the Butterfly look, so the makeup will be only slightly dramatized.

The biggest challenge, she says, is that everybody is on stage in the first 15 minutes of the opera. “That’s a lot of people to get into wigs and makeup before the show,” she says. Fortunately, she has two assistants — Horak and an intern — and she’ll also be doing a training session with the cast to show them how to get started on their makeup. “Cat’s-eye (liner) works well as Asian eye makeup, and that’s really in style right now, so a lot of people know how to do it.” 

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Clik here to view.Steve Hassmer, Chorus and Uncle Yakuside
The tenor, who lives in Great Barrington, has a small part in Madama Butterfly’s story, as the uncle in the wedding scene. Hassmer’s degree was in music education, but he’s done more performing than teaching; he was in a national tour of My Fair Lady and worked on cruise ships for a while (a “survival job,” he calls it).

“After my wife finished dental school, we moved back east and I’ve been a stay-at-home dad, but in the past year I’ve been looking to get back into performing,” he says. He gave a concert last year in Stockbridge, has been taking voice lessons with the renowned opera singer Maureen O’Flynn, and has sung with Berkshire Lyric and The Cantilena Chamber Choir.

“It’s been such a treat listening to the world-class opera singers,” Hassmer says. “The Berkshire Opera Festival is super professional. Brian Garman is a fabulous musical director, and Jonathon Loy is great at running the rehearsals. It takes a lot of courage to do what these guys are doing, start up a company. They should be commended for trying to bring opera back to the Berkshires.”

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Clik here to view.Deane Prouty, Orchestra Contractor and Timpanist
Splitting his time between New Marlborough and New York City, Deane Prouty has to be one of the busiest guys in any music scene anywhere. As the orchestra contractor, he is responsible for hiring all of the musicians, holding auditions for the string players and many of the brass and wind players, to put together an orchestra of the highest quality. “We try to fill the roster first with local musicians, then we reach out farther to Albany, Springfield, and then New York,” he says.

Contracting also entails arranging the payroll schedule, collecting paperwork, and managing as a go-between for musicians and staff. He is responsible for arranging the venues for rehearsals and attending to the necessities — such as adequate lighting and room temperature — for the musicians. All of this is on top of being the timpanist, and schlepping the big kettle drums to and from the venues. (Aside from playing in both the Berkshires and New York, Prouty also runs a percussion rental and repair business in the city.)

Prouty was a member of the former Berkshire Opera for eight seasons, so he was able to bring many of those musicians into the BOF. With his familiarity of the region, he says, “I’ve been able to help Brian Garman with Berkshire issues.”

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Clik here to view.Maia Robbins-Zust, Technical Director
Loy and Garman contacted Robbins-Zust, owner of Berkshire Production Resources, about three years ago when they were first dreaming up BOF. “They said they knew I was a technical director in the area, and could I advise them,” she says. She was the technical director for the Berkshire Opera Company until it folded, so it was a natural for her to take on the position again.

Robbins-Zust is responsible for everything on the production end — building the sets, adjusting the lighting, overseeing the wardrobe staff and supertitles. There are separate scenic and lighting designers, and it just so happens that the scenic designer, Steven Dubay, was a student of hers at Williams College (where she is the technical director of the theater department) a decade ago.

The company is renting theater space at Berkshire Community College to build the sets, and have hired some of the students there to work on the production. Which is a good thing, because there’s a growing need for technical services. “For a rural area like Berkshire County, there are more stagehands than usual because there’s so much here, and theater companies are producing year round now.”

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Clik here to view.Paula Farbman, Chorus Member and Cio Cio San’s Mother
Lee resident Paula Farbman was a voice major in college (she studied at Juilliard when she was in high school) and a high school chorus teacher in Long Island. She also taught private voice lessons. The soprano sings with The Cantilena Chamber Choir and several other local choruses, but this is the first costumed stage production she’s been in.

“I auditioned for the chorus, and got the role of the mother, singing within the chorus,” Farbman says. “It’s going to be fun. It’s not easy memorizing parts as we get older, but it’s nice singing with a lot of younger singers.”

Farbman thinks the chorus has a good blend, and she’s just as complimentary of the Berkshire Opera Festival staff. “They’re certainly very professional,” she says. “Every day is planned out, and they’re respectful of our time. I really have to say I’m impressed with all of the staff. Having sung a lot, I have a pretty good idea if people know what they’re doing, and these people really do.”

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Clik here to view.Richard Mickey, Cellist
Opera has been an essential element of Richard Mickey’s career from the beginning, having played with the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company and the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company as a young student. As a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, he worked under music directors who were major opera conductors, so he played a number of concert-form operas.

A Fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center for three years, he moved to the area in 1980, and is a busy freelancer. The Stockbridge resident is also a regular member of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Berkshire Lyric Theatre and many other orchestras.

Like some of the other musicians and creative staff, Mickey introduced himself to the Berkshire Opera Festival directors when he saw a news article announcing its intentions. “I’m very impressed with the group and the leadership,” Mickey says. “And I love the Colonial Theatre. It’s a wonderful asset to the Berkshires.”

Madama Butterfly
Berkshire Opera Festival at The Colonial Theatre
August 27, August 30 & September 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $20-$98
111 South Street, Pittsfield, MA
Reserve tickets here or call (413) 997-4444.

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Clik here to view.Rachel Louchen reports from New Lebanon. Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon’s Great Stone Barn was the focal point of the annual benefit dinner, Visualizing the Museum’s Future, on Saturday, August 27.  This year’s benefit honored museum supporters Martha Clarke and Alfred Uhry, creators of the off-Broadway hit, Angel Reapers, inspired by the life of Ann Lee, founder of the Shaker movement. The evening also included a performance of Shaker songs, remarks from executive director Lacy Schutz (at left with trustee Paul Cassidy), a live auction and of course, a multi-course farm-to-table feast. But whatever was occurring during the evening, from drinks out front, hors d’oeuvre inside and dinner taking place just below, the Great Stone Barn was always in sight, providing a Shaker backdrop on a perfect late-summer night.

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Albany residents Jo and George Burdeau; Steven McCarthy and Gary Delemeester, whose spouses are involved with the museum.

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Trustee John Dax and Amy Butler; George Eager does woodwork for the museum, specficially restoring the windows in the barn, here with his wife, librarian Donna Eager.

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The great stone barn in all its glory; Ian Bickford, husband of executive director Lacey Schutz, with Rebecca Barth.

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Stephen Mcnabb and Toby Bilanow attend the gala yearly; Marita Glodt, president of the board of directors at Barrington Stage, with her husband, David Glodt.

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John Lillis, whose spouse is a trustee with his niece, Taber Bailey; Craftsman Adam Nudd-Homeyer of Tappen Chairs donated a circa-1820 chair for the auction, and Anna Thompson, curator of collections and exhibitions at Columbia County Historical Society.

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Vernon Evenson and The Darrow School’s Craig Wescott; Sharon Koomler, Nina Weber-Worth, Don Worth and Jerry Grant, museum director of collections and research.

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Jim Panichella, Natalie Faubert, Donald Blair and Jeff Daly, chairman of the museum’s board of directors.

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Clik here to view.Lisa Green reports from Hillsdale. Like moths to a flame, a parade of cars veered off Route 22 to the Roeliff-Jansen Park in Hillsdale, NY on Saturday, Aug. 27. Why? Because there were flames a-plenty at the first-ever Grillsdale produced by Shire 935 Productions and sponsored by many local and regional businesses. The tasting event, which was actually sold out before the first match was lit, featured renowned area chefs and restaurants manning separate booths and different types of grills offering bite-sized grilled items using meat and produce from the Roe-Jan region’s farms. Guests were given scorecards to rate each dish, and guest judges also weighed in on the competition. A portion of the proceeds from the raffle of a brand new road bicycle will support of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail. The judges awarded Jack Peele of JACüTERIE the best overall for his bite-size Bánh mì, while most original went to the Hillsdale Fire Company for its “beef sundae.”  “There were winners all around and we were so grateful to all the chefs who participated,” said Joanna Virello of Shire 935 Productions [above, with Meghan McCann]. “We’re already planning for Grillsdale 2017.”

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Bob McDonald and Robert Scott (chef at The Outlaw BBQ), representing The Mt. Washington House in Hillsdale team up to grill apple and peach-stuffed pork tenderloin, served with a peach chutney.

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Waiting for the music to start, , Michelle Gardina, Bruce Haight, Ralph Platt and Donna Platt relax on the settee provided by C. Herrington Home + Design.

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Jerry Peele of Herondale Farm and Roberto Luna; Susan Bauer, who works at Castle Street Cafe, pours wine in front of the neon sign.

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Dick Hermans, owner of Oblong Books, and Rory Chase, cheesemaker from Chaseholm Farm.

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Three bands performed on the truck bed, provided by Herrington’s; Marlene Graella of Copake Falls is flanked by her friends from the city, Jackie Gomes and Maureen Lehman.

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The capacity crowd ate, strolled, and ate some more.

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Fabric designer Patrick McBride and the very popular Bodi; Weekenders Nadia Boulejiouch and Curtis Rhine.

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Carrie Herrington and Wendy Hare.

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Photos courtesy Lime Rock Park.

By CB Wismar

For some, they are exquisite rolling sculptures – the finest representation of the designer’s art. For others, they’re nothing more than a necessity, like electricity and cable TV. Then there’s the group that just finds them a nuisance — members of the “it was better in the horse and buggy days” school of thought.

Whatever your particular perspective, from September 1-5, in and around Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn., this is the weekend when incredible automobiles comes to visit.

The Lime Rock Park Historic Festival 34 starts on Thursday, as it should, with a parade. Through the valleys of the Salmon Kill and the Housatonic River, through Salisbury and the loop around Noble Horizons (tough to get a seat, there) then down to Falls Village for a street fair and a concert with the incomparable Wanda Houston filling the village green with song.

That’s just Thursday.

Friday is practice day at Lime Rock Park, and the vintage race cars will be out in force. Don’t know the difference between a 1953 Nash Healey Le Mans and a 1929 Bentley Blower 4.5? This is the weekend to find out.

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Clik here to view.The drivers of these miraculous machines don’t just come from a few miles away to show off their beautifully restored machines. They come from places like Diablo, Calif. Essex, England. Duffy’s Forest, New South Wales, Australia. Bogota, Columbia. And “On a Boat in the Caribbean,” all to drive in the 34th Historic Weekend at Lime Rock Park.

Sure, Lou Timolat will be there from Falls Village, and Art Herbert will make the short drive from Monterey, Mass. Frank Filangeri will be there, as well, from Lake Ronkonkoma, NY. (We know that Lake Ronkonkoma isn’t all that far away from Lime Rock Park; it’s just fun to say out loud.)

Racing is on Saturday and Monday. There are different classes of racing so that Peter Ross’s 1932 MG J2 doesn’t have to try and keep up with Robert Mirabile’s 1963 Shelby Cobra. In all, 263 cars will be ready to race for cups and trophies and ribbons and the delight of the fans scattered on the hillside.

On Sunday, the Lime Rock track is quiet. It’s a good thing, because there would be no room to race. This is Sunday in the Park … the “Concours” of historic automobiles and great marques parks on every straightaway and hairpin turn of the track. 

Sunday is the day when hundreds of rolling sculptures stand still long enough for everyone to stroll around the track, meet Honored Guests racecar driver John Morton (who will be racing on Saturday and Monday) and designer, author, photographer and former racecar driver Peter Brock. You can get close enough to both see and appreciate these amazing automobiles.

The 34th Historic Festival has invited TV star (the host of Chasing Classic Cars on the Velocity Channel) Wayne Carini to bring some of his very private collection of carefully restored automobiles and motorcycles to be on display. 

This is a rare moment. Carini doesn’t show his cars in public, much. But this Festival is different. “I am pretty private when it comes to my collection,” admitted Carini. “But it feels right to bring some of my favorites to Lime Rock.” 

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Clik here to view.Part of this weekend will be rich with memories for Carini [left]. “It was in the early 1960s. I had just turned 10, and my birthday present was a trip to see the races at Lime Rock.” That trip was not in the Carini family station wagon. “We went up in my Dad’s 1928 Lincoln Touring Car.” The history lives on.

Festival Chairman Murray Smith, himself an internationally respected automobile aficionado, and Sunday Concours organizer Kent Bain invited Carini to be this year’s “Honored Collector,” a designation endorsed by Skip Barber, Lime Rock Park president, who also welcomed the Presenting Sponsors of this year’s Festival, The Prestige Family of Fine Cars.

“This is a wonderful weekend,” affirmed Barber. “Since 1983, Lime Rock Park has held this annual celebration. It’s an event unique to North America in that the racing and the concours are all on one property during one major vintage and historic event.”

And, if you’re still looking for something special to watch on this celebration weekend, we noticed that Simon Kirkby, the Director of the Lime Rock Driver’s Club, is bringing one of his cars to race. It’s a 1963 Hillman Imp. Who can’t root for a car called an “Imp?”

Lime Rock Park Historic Festival 34
Sunday in the Park, Concours, and Gathering of the Marques
Sept. 1-5, 2016
Lakeville, CT

One of our favorite events every summer is The Sylvia Center’s Farm-to-Table dinner, hosted by Great Performances in the fields of Katchkie Farm in Kinderhook, N.Y. The mission of The Sylvia Center is to inspire young people and their families to eat well through hands-on learning experiences on the farm and in the kitchen. Julie Cerny, farm education director and garden manager at The Sylvia Center, offers us recipes the teenagers are learning to make.

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Clik here to view.Sometimes, if I listen very very closely, I feel like I can hear tomatoes ripening. During late summer, the amount ready to be harvested and gobbled up in the garden can be tremendous…and overwhelming. So sometimes, we need to get back to basics. This simple tomato sauce is transformative — it allows the tomatoes do the talking, and you can taste each ray of sunshine they absorbed coating your pasta of choice. We chose farfalle pasta for several reasons, the preeminent being the immediate giggle that arrives from our students after saying it, followed closely by how the sauce nestles into its nooks and lastly, how the shape reminds us the butterflies fluttering across blooming meadows. If you’re still dazed with the onslaught of unremitting zucchini, whip out a spiralizer or mandolin and this sauce will pair perfectly with zoodles too. Make it your own, but always make sure you let the tomatoes talk—they’ve got a lot to say.

Pasta with Cherry Tomato Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients for the pasta:
4 cups farfalle or rotini pasta
½ cup Parmesan cheese

Ingredients for the sauce:
Yield: About 4 cups sauce
4 pounds tomatoes (cherry, heirloom, whatever you or your farmer has!)
¼ cup olive oil
Small onion
2 to 3 small cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
Slivers of fresh basil, to finish

1. Chop onion in small dice and mince garlic.

2. Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic. Add the tomatoes split in half and simmer for about 15 minutes.

3. Add the basil and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

4. Cook your favorite shape of pasta in salted water (1 lb of pasta in 1 gal of water) to an al dente consistency and toss in the pan with a desired amount of sauce. Coat well adding some of the boiling water if too dry. Top with Parmesan cheese. Serve hot.

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Lauren Ambrose and Kip Beacco at 2015’s festival

By Amy Krzanik

As the Duke Ellington song says, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing,” and the Oldtone Roots Music Festival does got that swing, and that bluegrass, that old-time country, as well as Cajun, contra and Appalachian folk music. Held for one day in Wassaic in 2015, Oldtone will go big this year, with a four-day fest at Cool Whisper Farm in Hillsdale, New York from Thursday, Sept. 8 to Sunday, Sept. 11.

The festival’s founders and producers, Berkshire County musicians Kip Beacco, Matt Downing and Jim Wright, are well known in the roots music world from their bands The Lucky Five, The Hunger Mountain Boys, The Hayrollers and other groups. The trio have used their connections to curate a lineup that includes respected Louisiana Cajun musician Jesse Lége and his Bayou Brew, banjo player Tony Trischka, Michael Daves, The Two Man Gentlemen Band from California whose set will be its only public performance of 2016, NYC’s Raya Brass Band and other singers, duos, trios and full bands from our area and beyond.

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Cool Whisper Farm

Friday evening will feature The Oldtone Classic Country Revue offering a convergence of all-star musicians Caleb Klauder, Lauren Ambrose, Andy Bean, Bradford Lee Folk, Pete Adams, Brian Kantor, Sauerkraut Seth Travins and others taking the stage together for a big howdy-doo.

A dance tent will offer live music each night so folks can get their ya-yas out contra, swing or square dancing. There will even be traditional Appalachian clogging. Roots music bands and instrumentalists are invited to participate in contests, and there will be intimate workshops with festival artists on Friday and Saturday.

In true family-friendly style, Oldtone is offering three nights of camping, food and plenty of activities for kids such as music by Hopalong Andrew, face painting, instrument lessons and more. A Friday night Cajun gumbo prepared by The Farmer’s Wife will be overseen by real live Southerner Jesse Lege, and the farm will host a pig roast on Saturday. Hoo-boy! That’s a lot of action.

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Hopalong Andrew photo by Bernie DeChant

“We really wanted to do a full-on festival this time, and it just snowballed,” says Beacco. “If we’re doing Friday and Saturday, we might as well do Thursday, and people will camp over Saturday, so we should have some bands on Sunday morning… It’s like when you sit down to eat and your eyes are bigger than your stomach.”

We’re excited to participate in the hoedown and we won’t be alone. “Some people don’t go to festivals because they have an idea that it’s going to be another Lollapalooza or Woodstock, but Oldtone is really for everyone from newborns to 95-year-olds.”

Oldtone Roots Music Festival
Thursday, Sept. 8—Sunday, Sept. 11
Cool Whisper Farm
1011 County Road 21, Hillsdale, NY
info@oldtonemusicfestival.com

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Clik here to view.Amy Krzanik reports from Becket. You never know what moves you’ll see on the dance floor at a Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival after-party. There might be a few couples waltzing around the perimeter or salsa-ing in the center of a crowd of onlookers, there very well could be break-dancing, and there will definitely be a conga line. The 2016 Festival Finale, on Saturday, Aug. 27, was no exception. Following a performance by either Pacific Northwest Ballet in the Ted Shawn Theatre or Souleymane Badolo in the Doris Duke, guests were treated to complimentary gourmet desserts, Six Depot coffee, Wandering Star beer and wine in the Bakalar Studio and outside in the Tea Garden. The Pillow’s favorite music maestro, DJ BFG, again turned the Haven tent into the hottest pop-up nightclub in town, as the scent of s’mores wafted over from the firepits on the Great Lawn. We can’t wait to do it all again next year. [Above, Sara Connonlly with Pacific Northwest Ballet artistic director Peter Boal, Melissa Elstein and Hussein Kassim.]

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Weston Hicks and Pillow board member Ann L. Hicks; the scene in the dance tent post performance.

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Liza Gennari, Claire Gennari, and Pillow alums Anna Rogovoy and Ashley David; Roger Chabot and Michael Parisi.

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Chocolatier extraordinaire Joshua Needleman who provided treats for the guests, with Patti Feinberg, Maurice Peterson, Pillow alum Angessa Lynn and hair stylist extraordinaire Mark Johnson.

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Sculptors Babette Bloch and Marc Mellon with Pillow board president Chris Jones; Peg and Pete Biasucci, whose daughter Leta was a soloist in the show, with Dave and Sue Fenton.

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Kerry Colnan and Austin McKissock; Pamela Tatge, director of Jacob’s Pillow, with board member and RI publisher Mark Williams.

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After dessert, a crowd began to trickle into the disco-balled dance tent; DJ BFG knows what the crowd wants to hear.

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One of the delicious burgers at Traghaven.

By Jamie Larson

Traghaven Whiskey Pub & Co. in Tivoli, New York has some magic to it. The pub is transportive, seemingly pulled from another time and place (namely West Cork, Ireland). It’s beautiful in a way pubs can be and the care that owner Gerard Hurley puts into the atmosphere, food and drinks make it feel like a community pub in the truest sense.

“It’s the essential West Cork pub experience,” says Hurley, who hails from Ireland’s largest county. “There are no shamrocks on the wall. You come in and it’s just the real deal. Traditionally a pub serves a community in more than one way.”

You may be wondering if that place used to be that lovable yet problematic dive called The Black Swan. Well, yes — but a lot has changed, aside from the cozy layout and the old black and white photographs that include portraits of President Kennedy and Noam Chomsky.

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Gerard Hurley

Hurley immigrated to the U.S. alone at age 17 and bounced around the country working odd jobs, acting, writing and pushing his first screenplay. When the production of his story fell through at the eleventh hour, he moved to Tivoli and figured he’d open a pub, a comfortable place that felt like home, where he could play chess, read a book, drink and socialize. He ran the Black Swan from 2001 to 2004. He then went back to Ireland to make the films The Pier and The Pride. While he was away the Swan was run by a tenant and became notorious as a fun, loud and increasingly grimy place to drink and party. In 2012 the state shut the place down for its, shall we say, liberal ID policy. Hurley had to leave his Irish projects behind to come back to the States and save his business, literally cleaning house.

“If I didn’t come back I would have lost my home and my connection to this place,” Hurley says. “I like and have a lot of respect for the other business owners in town. The difference with this pub, rather than a restaurant, is you can just hang out for a couple hours.”

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Clik here to view.A regular haunt for locals, travelers and of-age Bard students, the pub’s new draw is the excellent food, prepared by Chef Christopher Murphy.

The bar menu is straightforward but elevated by great local ingredients. There’s an Irish Burger with Dubliner cheese and stout onions ($15), and the Pig Candy Burger with thick-cut bacon, fried onions and BBQ sauce ($15), but there are also vegetarian options and less ordinary sides like a balsamic marinated portobello sandwich with arugula pesto and sundried tomatoes ($13), and roasted Brussels sprouts with pecans and capers. There are also well-executed pub mains like a half roast chicken ($16) and steak frites ($20). Hurley has a few head of cattle on his small homestead farm nearby and all the beef served at the pub is from his herd (really).

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A recent tuna special at Traghaven.

“The food’s really simple. We always source local,” Hurley says. “We’re not trying to be something we’re not, but we also refuse to cook out of a box.”

The bar and dining area are warm and welcoming and there’s a large, attractive patio out back. Drink business can get pretty busy and loud late at night, but there’s a mellow vibe at Traghaven at dinnertime.

But this is a whiskey pub and Hurley says he has the biggest selection of Irish whiskey in the United States. (He’s looked into it and says he doesn’t give a s*** if you don’t believe him.) There are 70 options behind the bar and more in a private reserve he’s not allowed to sell. Hurley knows his stuff and is happy to talk at length about the history and tradition behind Irish whiskey, which is in his blood. His father smuggled whiskey through Ireland in the volatile 70s and 80s and his grandmother owned a distillery in Boston, during prohibition, before returning to Ireland to open a pub.

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When the weather turns cold, Traghaven is the perfect spot for a hot toddy.

“If someone wants to talk whiskey, I will,” says Hurley, who has a deep knowledge of the spirit’s history, “but we’re not snobs. I love turning people on to whiskey who don’t know they like it.”

For the uninitiated he usually recommends Greenore for women and Concannon for men. Traghaven uses Clontarf as its main whiskey, though they’ve got Jameson’s if you want it. Hurley also loves pushing his hometown’s own West Cork Whiskey.

And there is beer, too. In the Irish style, it’s kegs and pints rather than bottles, and all the beer is either from Ireland or NY State.

Hurley says that unlike scotch, which has a narrow flavor profile, different kinds of Irish whiskey lend themselves to a wide swath of mixed drinks, and Traghaven has come up with some seriously good cocktail specials and mainstays including the Boulvardier made with Power, Campari and sweet vermouth ($11); the Gingeroo with Devlin whiskey, ginger, ginger beer and crystallized ginger ($10); or the Whiskey-rita with Paddy’s, triple sec, fresh lime and hot sauce ($10).

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Clik here to view.What’s not on the menu is how the place makes you feel. What Hurley has done with Traghaven is not unremarkable. It’s a gathering place now, a lively, sociable community hub. There’s regular live music, karaoke, quiz night and television for important political and soccer-related events. This is a pub at its best and an elegant merger of what’s good about West Cork Ireland and the Hudson Valley.

Traghaven Whiskey Pub & Co.
66 Broadway, Tivoli, NY
(845) 757-3777
Hours: Tuesday—Sunday, 5 p.m.—1:30 a.m.

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Clik here to view.Runaround Farm is a contemporary farmhouse on 12 rambling acres in Austerlitz. There is a true country kitchen which opens to a family room with a stone fireplace, formal dining room, living room, media/screening room and a wraparound porch. There are five bedrooms, including a spa-like master suite with marble bathroom, dressing room and office area. Another one of the bedrooms comprises an entire separate wing, also with dressing room and bathroom — perfect for guests. The grounds are true country, with fields as far as the eye can see, swimming pond and Hudson Valley views. Listed for $1.99 million by Stone House Properties.

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Clik here to view.Built in 1820, the E. W. Sweet House is a carefully restored Greek Revival in Copake with original details and custom cabinetry throughout. The four-bedroom, three-and-one-half bathroom home has a fully equipped modern kitchen with quartz counters. The house offers a wood stove, two fireplaces, dining room, living room and a screened porch overlooking two spring-fed, trout-filled ponds. There is an oversized garage with a bonus room and a 1,500-square-foot barn/studio with heat and electricity. The property also includes a wishing well, small horse barn, bluestone patios and path, mature trees, perennial gardens and a stream on seven-and-a-half acres. Listed for $929,000 by Scot Cohen Realty.

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Clik here to view.A rural road in Ancram leads to this house, located in a peaceful setting with far reaching mountain views of the Catskills. The three-bedroom, three-and-one-half bathroom main home was built in 2007 and has geothermal radiant heating throughout as well as central air. There is a kitchen with ceramic tile floor, dining room and living room with fireplace and hardwood floors. The lower level has an expansive studio/office space. The giant deck and sunroom face nine landscaped acres and a classic red barn. Listed for $1.15 million by Paula Redmond Real Estate.

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Clik here to view.This is a renovated 1900 Victorian in Hudson with 2,1000 square feet of living space. It has a well-proportioned living room, dining room with fireplace and a high-end kitchen with professional grade appliances and marble, and opens up to a deck for entertaining. Upstairs there is a large, vaulted master suite, a spacious second bedroom presently used as a media room and a cozy third bedroom. The ground floor has a bedroom suite with private terrace, so it has rental or Airbnb potential. Listed for $625,000 by Mary Mullane Real Estate.

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