By Rebecca Martin
How many of you are familiar with the city of Kingston’s Bluestone and its history? Whether you are a novice or an expert on the subject, plan on visiting the annual Bluestone Festival on Sunday, October 3rd at the Maritime Museum in Kingston.
KingstonCitizens.org was able to have a quick sit down with organizer Ed Pell on how you can participate and what you can expect this year.
By Rebecca Martin
Today at 2:00pm (Wednesday, August 18th) there is a groundbreaking for construction at the Kingston High School campus at 403 Broadway.
Read the press release HERE and see you there.
There are many good works underway in the city of Kingston in the midst of some pretty tough economic times. For instance, stewards of the ‘Project Forsyth’ program are working to gain a substantial grant to update the park at Forsyth in Kingston for all of our families and visitors to enjoy. Forsyth is a premier location that hosts our city zoo (with a wide array of rescued animals ranging from bulls to peacocks), nature center, open space, tennis courts and children’s playground.
By Rebecca Martin
The musicians living in the city of Kingston is really astounding. Artists such as Tony Levin, Gail Ann Dorsey, Larry Grenadier, Peter Wetzler, Vicente Archer, Peggy Stern and many more all call Kingston home. It’s fitting that series such as the one we’re posting today are sprouting up here at home. Follow this LINK to watch their last series performance.
Join the residents of Ward 5 as they plan a neighborhood celebration on Saturday, August 28th 2010. Click on the attached flyer for more information. If you’d like to lend a hand, contact Ward 5 Alderwoman Jennifer Fuentes at jenbloom@mac.com
By Rebecca Martin
In the early morning hours on Monday, August 9th Kingston lost a committed city resident. What’s more, is she happens to be the mother of Diane Reeder, founder and executive director of the Queens Galley.
I loved my time in getting to know Rose and her loving partner Farmer Frank Nazarro. Together, they helped shape the garden program in the city of Kingston, delivered countless truck loads of food to all the area soup kitchens, and were always ready and willing to lend a hand to anyone in need in the community.
Services are open to all on Saturday, August 14th. A wake and Funeral for Rose will begin at 11:00am. A reception to mourn and to celebrate her life will follow at 721 Media by the rooftop garden.
Visit this LINK to view her obituary, sign the guest book and to get more information on the weekend services.
Mulch and other garden augmentations are a multi-million dollar business, so I’ve often wondered with the city of Kingston’s yard waste problems why it didn’t process and sell it back to the county for profit. I suppose one day, it may decide to do so. In the meantime, get all the mulch you need….for free.
The Dept. of Public Works will be offering City residents free mulch at the transfer station on the blvd., effective immediately. It has been approx. 3 months since our brush pile was mulched and we have been turning it over, so it is now ready to be given away. We will require residents to load their own barrels, pickups etc.
We can load vehicles w/the appropriate cab covers such as small dump trucks provided that people contact the transfer station in advance.
A banner is going on the B’way overpass to notify residents of the availability.
Please advise people of this availability and suggest to them that they contact the transfer station prior to pick up, at 331-5787.
By Rebecca Martin
(excerpts taken from a letter generated by Fire Chief Rick Salzmann)
With the increasing number of foreclosures that the city of Kingston is experiencing, Building safety is receiving daily complaints regarding properties that are vacant and not being maintained. In an effort to better deal with these properties, Ward 9 Alderman Hayes Clement suggested a meeting with Bonnie Landi at YouthBuild. As a result, Youth Build will cut grass and perform basic yard work at vacant properties, where owners have ignored the notices that the Building Safety Department have sent to them.
By Rebecca Martin
An important opportunity has come to light.
On Tuesday, August 3rd at 7:30pm the common council will vote to support (or not) a grant proposal pitched by city planning coordinator Suzanne Cahill through the Financial and Economic Development Committee. The meeting will take place at Kingston’s City Hall at 420 Broadway.
The Ulster County Fair kicks off next Tuesday, August 3, and runs to Sunday, August 8. There’ll be music, food vendors, and rides, of course, as well as cows, horses, poultry and other animals raised with pride from 4-Hers. For more details, check out the fair webpage here. Regarding the fair’s history, the event is in its 141 year and launched in Ellenville. Subsequent years had the fair at the Kingston Armory on Manor Avenue before movings for many years to Forsyth Park in Kingston. Read the history here.
On Monday, July 19th LVanHart Artist Productions and 323 Wall Street will debut a brand new jazz series in Kingston, NY. The concert series will focus on the brightest talent on the jazz scene today. Guest artists will be drawn from the wealth of local talent that is in our geographic region, as well as bringing in the best that the New York jazz scene has to offer.
Jazz @ WallSpace is fortunate to have Steve Wilson and Vic Juris coming from NYC, joining forces with two locals, Jay Anderson from New Paltz, and Dennis Mackrel makes his home in Woodstock. This quartet exemplifies the mission of Jazz @ WallSpace. These four fabulous musicians have all played together in different configurations, but never in this quartet. Wilson and Anderson currently tour together in Maria Schneiders Orchestra. Anderson and Mackrel have performed together with Chaka Khan and Maria Schneider, as well as local favorite, Betty MacDonald. Juris has performed with Wilson, Anderson and Mackrel, with his own groups, with the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars, among others.
For more, contact Laura Hartmann at laura@lvanhart.com
This just in! A great opportunity for Kingston’s Youth.
– RM
Experience the Power of Wind!
Coinciding with the Junior Naturalist Program at Forsyth Nature Center is this weeklong series for 6th and 7th graders.
It’s hard to imagine that anyone could think drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation in NY State for a natural gas source is a good idea. Knowing the real environmental dangers and hazard to our surface water in the Southern Tier and Catskills regions is enough to call the whole thing off.
By Rebecca Martin
Leave it to Ev Mann (Executive Director of the Center for Creative Education) to bring someone as special as Eda Zavala Lopez to Midtown Kingston. The two met when she was in NY in April working on a project for indigenous rights at the UN. A noted healer from the Peruvian Amazon, Eda is descended from a long line of healers in the tradition of the Wari people.In July, Hudson Valley residents will have two unique opportunities to see her.
The folks at Kingston Digital Corridor have scheduled their montly mixer on Wednesday, June 30th at Keegan Ales in Kingston. Join them from 6:00pm – 7:30pm. It sounds like fun!
“Calling all independents, creatives, and digerati! Get out of your pyjamas and bring your non-digital selves over to Keegan Ales!
Out of focus? We are, too! Let’s come together and inspire some collaborative thought!
Our goal in hosting the ‘KDC Happier Hour!’ every last Wednesday of the month is to get all of you talented local yokels together so you can meet others of your species, talk shop (or not), share resources, and by all means, have some fun!