It was a beautiful afternoon in the Hudson River Valley with the leaves changing and a clear sunny sky. I was exhausted from all the running around with classes and needed a break from everything. With Midterms next week, I figured that I needed a change of pace and decided to head to the Sheep and Wool Festival at the Duchess County Fairgrounds.
Looking at the beautiful foliage on Route 87
I finally was able to sleep in after many early mornings and relax and enjoy breakfast. I got on the road after 10:00am and it seemed like everyone was headed in the same direction. The highway was packed until we got to Route 84 and then things calmed down.
Route 87 going up to New York
I had to stop several times just to take pictures of the foliage on the New Jersey side of the border. Unfortunately the best angles I could not get due to the fact there was no shoulder to step at on the highway. Still the colorful mountain was a site to see.
The foliage on the way up
With a rain storm coming up the coast, I wanted to be sure I got pictures of all the foliage with this brilliance.
The mountains were so beautiful I had to stop the car and photo them
Going through Hyde Park first, I stopped at the Hyde Park Farmers Market. I have been coming to this Farmers Market for years and it is always so nice.
It must have been just as the Market was closing because it was so quiet. All the vendors had time to say hello to me.
Walking by all the tents of produce and freshly made products
There were all sorts of produce, baked goods and craft products. The one thing I did notice was how expensive things have gotten. Egg Custards for $3.50 and breads for $10.00.
The colorful display of Fall produce
The Fino Farms who always has such great product
I took a quick walk through the market and then headed to the fairgrounds. That was just as packed as well.
The entrance of the festival on a beautiful sunny afternoon
The Sheep and Wool Festival is not as big as the Dutchess County Fair but had a lot of the same food and merchant vendors. On a smaller scale, it is much more manageable but with the number of people who attend this every year, they could use more food vendors for the event.
The sign and directions in the fairgrounds
The foliage was so beautiful that afternoon
The Festival takes place the second week of October just when the Duchess County foliage is coming to its peak. The fairgrounds were covered in golds and reds.
Entering the Midway at the Sheep and Wool Festival where the food vendors were located. The foliage was at peak color.
The Midway was not as packed with vendors as the fair but is had a nice selection of food vendors
Entering the middle of the festival was getting busy
The foliage was amazing both inside and outside the fairgrounds
I got up to the fair late this time, not arriving until 2:00pm ( I thought the festival ended at 6:00pm but it ended at 5:00pm) and needed to get done lunch. Amongst all of my choices, I still always head to Janek’s, the barbecue/hamburger truck that has been my favorite for years.
Janek’s food truck is always at the same location
For years I have been getting the Piggy Back burger with Cheddar cheese and pulled pork on top(which I highly recommend) but I decided to do something different and have the Burger with freshly made Pastrami and Swiss Cheese. A very nice substitute.
The Pastrami and Swiss burger
The burger was perfectly cooked with slices of smoked pastrami on top
Yum!
The dining areas of the festival were busy from the time that I got there until the festival closed that evening. Even up to closing time and just after, people were ordering food.
The crowds kept getting bigger at the Midway at lunch and dinner time
After a good lunch and getting my energy back, I headed over to the animal pens and the craft stalls to see all the handmade products. My first stop was the Sheep pens, where sheering was going on and they were many contests to showcase the livestock. The Sheep were being shown, sheered and were talking amongst themselves as we walked around the pens admiring them.
I found that the sheep looked really relaxed and seemed to have more fun staring at us
This little guy kept smiling at me watching him
While the livestock contest was going on to a huge crowd, I toured the Crafts stalls. In the Summer for the fair, this was full of cows and goats, it now had all sorts of wool vendors, knit items, handcrafts and cosmetic items.
The colorful wool items on display
These wool dragon sculptures I thought were really interesting
Bonny’s Beasts were back with more creative gifts
Bonny’s creative beasts
More creative beasts
I also revisited my favorite wood carvers to see their Santa wares. This was the first year that my mother did not want something!
The Santa Carvings
The Santa Carvings
After touring the stalls and the open museums on the fairgrounds, I decided just to take a walk around and see what things were open since the fair.
The 4H Building was closed and there were no milkshakes now. Just coffee and hot beverages. I thought I saw someone walking around with a milkshake.
The foliage around the fairgrounds was just dazzling
By 4:30pm, they kept making announcements that the show would closing by 5:00pm, so I just wondered around and observed everyone having a good time on this warm and sunny afternoon. I had been watching the football games on my phone to watch Michigan State lose again to number three Indiana. Cornell won the Bucknell game so I figured Bucknell must have been pretty bad.
The last of the patrons at the end of the afternoon with the beautiful foliage in the background by the food vendors
As I left at 5:00pm at the end of the show, I observed the old signs from previous shows. Time has flown since my first show a decade ago. I still can’t believe it will be 2026 soon.
The shoe sign from 2021, post COVID
The last show I went to pre-COVID in 2019
After the show was over, I decided to tour around Rhinebeck. I was going to attend the Cemetery walk at St. James Church again in Hyde Park at 7:30pm so I had plenty of time. I had taken this tour back in 2021 just as everything had opened up and it was a lot of fun.
St. James Church before twilight at 6:15pm
The staff was just setting up the lights at the cemetery (technically a graveyard)
The inside of St. James Church in Hyde Park, NY, parish of the Roosevelt family
I got to the church an hour before my tour and just relaxed and admired the beauty of the church. I never saw an hour fly by before my tour started. Then darkness came and my tour started.
Darkness came by 7:30pm and the cemetery looked much different
We started the lantern tour with a talk of the spirits who were buried in the grave yard. Each of the actors was waiting for us at each stop. I still could not believe these actors were waiting alone in the dark in a graveyard for people to walk by the them.
Each of the actors told their tales of when they were living and stood beside the place that they were buried. It was very intriguing.
The first person we met was Mrs. Emma Victoria Pitkin Marshal
Mrs. Marshall was once known as the ‘Poet Laureate’ of Dutchess County. She was well known in the world of publishing.
The second spirit I met was Mrs. Harper, Mrs. Mill’s housekeeper up at the Staatsburgh mansion. She told us the story of her life working for the Mills and Livingston families.
Mrs. Catherine Kennedy Harper
Mrs. Harper told us about her life working for the Livingston family and her relationship with Ruth, who she was her nanny and then housekeeper.
Our conversation with Mrs. Harper
Our next spirit we visiting was the ghost of Gertrude ‘Gerdie’ Livingston who talked about her time in the Hudson River Valley and in New York City.
Gertrude ‘Gertie’ Livingston
Mrs. Livingston telling her tales of the Hudson River Valley
In between our conversations with the spirits of the past, we walked through the graveyard as twilight gave way to darkness. The graveyard was illuminated with lanterns and lights to follow the paths. It is easy to trip over a tombstone while you are walking around the paths. They did give us lanterns to light the way but there were not enough to go around.
The vaults are illuminated at night to follow the ghostly trail
Our next with the spirits was the ghost of Reverend John McVickar, who was the Rector at St. James Church starting in 1811. He married Eliza Bard, the daughter of Dr. Samuel Bard of Bard College and raised their nine children together.
The spirit of Reverend John McVickar telling his tales of his life in the church
Walking past the church at night
The last apparition we met that night was the spirit of Mr. Augustus C. Colman, the son of a sailing captain who invested heavily in Manhattan real estate on the advice of his boss. John Jacob Astor.
The spirit of Mr. Colman telling his tales of the City
Both himself and the Reverend went at it in the graveyard
The stained glass windows at the church
The church at the end of the tour
After the tour was over, I drove to downtown Kingston , NY to talk pictures of the Dutch Reformed Church at night.
There was no cemetery walk this year here and I just wanted to visit this graveyard looked like at night with the full moon. It was more intriguing than scary.
The Kingston Old Dutch Reformed Church at 272 Wall Street
Even without a graveyard tour the ground can be a little spooky
After my tour of the Old Dutch Church and the graveyard, I walked around Downtown Kingston. I have never seen a town like this that rolls up its sleeves so early in the evening. It seems like a majority of the restaurants close at 8:00pm. I can understand the stores but the restaurants?
I stopped at my favorite go to restaurant in The ‘Stockade District’ Wing Shui at 53 North Front Street. The food is consistently wonderful and extremely reasonable and you can sit down inside the restaurant.
I was surprisingly hungry even after the big burger at lunch. It got cooler that evening so I ordered the Wonton Soup, the Steamed Dumplings and one of their wonderful eggrolls. It was such a great meal and really warmed me up. For such a small hole in the wall restaurant/take out place, the food is excellent.
My dinner that evening at Wing Shui
The Wonton Soup had for large wontons that you could barely fit in your mouth in the rich chicken broth. That warmed up after a graveyard walk in the dark.
The Wonton Soup with the oversized Wontons and rich chicken broth
The steamed dumplings were plump and moist and filled with spiced pork mixture.
The dumplings here are delicious
Their egg rolls are always a treat and are the first thing that I ever tried here years ago.
The egg rolls here are excellent
Yum!
I was nice to sit in the restaurant and just warm up. The temperature really dropped that evening and it was a rather cool October in comparison to other years.
After dinner, I walked around Downtown Kingston some more and admired some of the decorations and store windows decorated for the holidays. It seems like Halloween is now the lead into Christmas rather than Thanksgiving (some places have already decorated for Christmas).
The ‘Jack Pumpkin’ decoration that looked like it out of “The Nightmare before Christmas” in Downtown Kingston, NY
A lot of windows were decorated for the Halloween holidays. The merchants in Downtown Kingston are so creative and here are some of my favorites.
This was displayed in the window on a North Front Street store.
The faceless entities in the windows
They face this witches hat
The skulls and pumpkins in the window. The merchants get quite creative at the holidays in the downtown area.
I walked back to my car and contemplated the upcoming Halloween holiday and all the interesting events I planned to see. It is no longer just Trick or Treating anymore.
The front of the Old Dutch Church at night
While waiting for a friendly ghost to come and greet me.
When I was visiting Rhinebeck for the recent Sheep and Wool Festival (See day One Hundred and Forty-Nine on “MywalkinManhattan.com), I decided to visit Bard College and their contemporary art museum, the Hessel Museum. When approaching the museum, it almost appears to be a fortress with several large pieces of contemporary sculpture on the grounds outside the building.
Once upon entering the museum, you are greeted by many welcoming volunteers who will check your vaccination card and ID and your mask and then you can enter the museum for viewing. At the time I was there, NY State still had a lot of their mandates.
There were a couple of interesting exhibitions going on…
With classes being over and having the Summer Break ahead of me, I thought it was time to start exploring more of the Hudson River Valley region and continue my walk around the City. Instead of heading deeper Downtown into the Flatiron District, I also decided start exploring more of the West Side and started in Midtown West/Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton (Days One Hundred and Ninety Ninety-Six and Ninety Seven).
In the middle of exploring the neighborhood, I had an opportunity to leave the City and head upstate to see the Lindsey Webster Band perform at the Bearsville Theater on Saturday, May 22nd. I have written about seeing the band perform at the Woodstock Christmas Parade years ago when I used to spend Christmas in Woodstock from 2014-2017. When I saw the band in concert in December of 2014, I had not realized how huge the second album was going to be and a number one hit would come from it. It was nice to see the band in the very beginning when it was getting well known.
Lindsey Webster and her band at the Colony Hotel concert on July 6th, 2023
The entrance to the Bearsville complex
The mascot to the complex
The concert was at the Bearsville Theater at 291 Tinker Street in Woodstock, NY, which again I had not been to since the concert in 2014 and that was a very low key but lively concert.
Somehow I got to Hyde Park where I was spending the night, which is my headquarters in the Hudson River Valley when I am visiting the area very quickly. I checked in and dropped my bags off at the hotel before I drove to Woodstock which is about a half hour away over the bridge.
Since I had time before the concert started, I decided to stop at The Little Bear at 295 Tinker Street B, a Chinese restaurant within the complex for some dinner (see review on TripAdvisor). I have been many times when I have been up for a visit during Christmas and the food has gotten more uneven over the years since my first time.
The Little Bear Chinese Restaurant at 295 Tinker Street (Closed in December 2022)
I started my meal with the Steamed Dumplings. They were very soft and almost fell apart.
The Lemon Chicken had a nice sauce but again the chicken breasts were over cooked. The Lemon Sauce was delicious and tasted really good. The Mixed Fried rice was the best part of the meal. It was loaded with all sorts of meats, seafood and vegetables and they make it so good.
The Steamed Dumplings at Little Bear
The biggest problem that I have with Little Bear as a restaurant (see review on TripAdvisor) is the service. The family who runs the restaurant always seem so overwhelmed. At Christmas time, it was one of two restaurants that were open in Woodstock and the surrounding areas so it was mobbed, and the phone would not stop ringing with takeout orders. It was chaos! The people that run the restaurant are really nice but it gets to be too much for them when it is busy.
The Fried Rice at The Little Bear was the best part of the meal
After dinner, put the leftover fried rice in the car and headed over to the concert. This is when the State of New York needs to get their protocols together. I had to take a COVID test to go inside the building because I did not have my vaccine card on me. So I had to spend another $15.00 to be tested (negative of course) again. Thank God I have had all my vaccine shots. The concert started late because a lot of people had to take the test. Still it was worth it as the concert was excellent and the best part was that no one had to wear a mask.
The concert was of course excellent! I had not seen the band play live since 2014 and a lot of good things have happened to them since including a number one song. This is not the concert from that night but the songs you can enjoy just the same.
The Concert has not yet made it to YouTube but this concert from Daryl’s House is close:
The Lindsey Webster Band
What made the concert so special to all of us was not just the excellent vocals and music but it was the first time everyone was allowed to the Bearsville Theater without masks. It was nice to see people dancing and just enjoying themselves. It had been such a long time for everyone. It makes you appreciate life more.
The drive from Woodstock to Hyde Park was not that long and I got one of the best nights sleeps in a long time. The hotel was so relaxing after a long drive. What I love about staying up in the Hudson River Valley is the quiet of it all. That and people do not seem that much of a rush (unless you get those City visitors).
In 2023, I lucked out in that I had a series of walking tours on Friday and Saturday and Lindsey Webster, and her band were playing in Woodstock that Thursday night at the Colony Hotel in the ballroom. I had never seen a band play there before. The ballroom where they played that night really jammed and it was an excellent concert.
The ballroom at the Colony Hotel in Woodstock
Thank God the days of the COVID testing before the concerts is over (for now at least). It seems like a million years ago but I remember that first concert was right after everything had been officially lifted and they were still driving everyone nuts with over testing. It was nice to just walk into the building, relax, order dinner and watch a fantastic concert.
The Colony Hotel at 22 Rock City Road in Woodstock, NY
The band really rocked the ballroom that evening, and people were dancing in the aisles. Ms. Webster announced that she was expecting a child and the whole place applauded. She was a real trooper as she and the band performed two encores and the concert went until 11:00pm. What made it really special is that a lot of the band members family and friends were in the audience. It looks like they will be playing more concerts close to home in the next several months.
Lindsey Webster and her band rocked the whole night.
Before the concert started, I ordered dinner. Why I did not know before I had just had a lunch at Del’s Dairy Creme not even two hours earlier. I kept telling myself that I was not hungry but then I kept seeing all the wonderful sandwiches coming out of the kitchen and convinced myself that the concert would be going until 11:00pm and there would be nothing open that late at night (which was the case) and ordered a cheesesteak.
The Colony Hotel’s amazing Cheesesteak with homemade French Fries
I could not believe I ate this whole dinner and then watched a concert for the rest of the night. The food at the Colony Hotel is excellent and I swear that the French Fries are homemade. I got to see all the sandwiches coming out that night and the Reuben and Shrimp Po Boy looked excellent too.
The concert was great that night and the audience really got into it as we all knew the group’s song list and the best part was, they played several songs from here new album. She ended the concert with a signature song of hers, “Over the Rainbow” which took on a new meaning with her starting a family. People were really touched by this. I really enjoyed myself that evening.
The next day I started to explore the surrounding area and visit the small towns that make up the character of the Hudson River Valley. There has been much talk about the “Brooklynization” of the Hudson River Valley and I wanted to see those changes. In retrospect of the towns I visited, it depends on a couple of things: how close is the town to a train station to the City, how closed it is to Route 9, the corridor on both sides of the Hudson and how close to a college is the town.
What I like about so many of these towns is that the classic turn of the last century architecture that makes up the character of these towns. Also how carefully the new owners go to renovating these buildings back to their former glory. Town by town a lot of work has been done to refit these buildings and bring life back to downtowns that may have been forgotten by tourism.
My first stop was Rhinebeck, NY just above Hyde Park about a half hour up Route 9 depending on how fast you drive. Rhinebeck has changed a lot from I went to the Culinary Institute of America in the late 1990’s. It has transformed from a town of local stores and restaurants to a high end town of more expensive stores and restaurants. A lot of the mom & pop stores I remembered and galleries in the first wave of development are now gone. Still it is a very vibrant town with lots of activities.
Downtown Rhinebeck, NY is always fun to walk around in
I love to walk around the town and admire the stores. There is such a nice collection of businesses that cater to every taste. I still have my favorites that have been around for a long time and are staples in Downtown Rhinebeck. Many of these can be found on my websites:
The stores I love to visit are Pause Dog Boutique at 6423 Montgomery Street Suite 3 in the Montgomery Row Shopping Complex. This store formerly of Red Hook carries all sorts of pet products to pamper your pooch with from collars to snacks (see my review on LittleShopOnMainStreet@Wordpress.com). There is a unique merchandising approach to their items that showcases all the things that your dog could desire.
Pause Dog Boutique at 6423 Montgomery Street Suite 3
Another great store I love to visit is Samuel’s Sweet Shop at 42 East Market Street, a wonderful little candy and dessert store (see my reviews on TripAdvisor and LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com). I love the way they merchandise the store with all sorts of colors and displays. When I was walking around the store, admiring the shelves of candies and sweets, I eyed a glazed doughnut under one of the glass domes ($2.00) and had to have one. God with was soft, chewy and had a nice sugary glaze. Talk about waking you up!
I walked the Farmer’s Market which is held in the municipal parking lot, and I have to say that their wares are much more expensive than the surrounding towns. When a pastry is $5.00 or homemade soap or jelly is over $10.00 you are pricing yourself out of the local market. When I used to stop at the Farmer’s Market in Hyde Park, NY, the prices of everything were very fair. I guess post COVID people are trying to make their money back.
After finishing my walk around Rhinebeck, I drove further north to Red Hook, NY which is a quaint little downtown that I love. What I enjoy about the town of Red Hook is that it is not geared towards tourists as opposed it is a place that locals do their shopping. On a Sunday afternoon, it is really quiet as by the late afternoon a lot of things are closed.
Downtown Red Hook, NY
Check out my blog on Exploring Downtown Red Hook for more information on the town:
One store that was open and I was able to visit was Petals & Moss at 6 East Market Street. This wonderful little flower shop treats its plants and flowers with such respect, and they are merchandised like a piece of art. I was talking with the owner, and she said that even though she goes into the flower markets to buy things, when in season she will grow flowers in her own year for the store.
The fresh flowers from the owner’s garden at Petal and Moss
Another store I love to visit, and it is such a whimsical and well decorated place is Little Pickles at 7505 North Broadway. This delightful little toy and clothing store has everything a child could desire from jars of candy and balloons to wooden toy and experiments to clothing and shoes all in a playhouse environment. It is what you would expect a toy store catering to the Lilliputian set to look like.
Some of my other favorites such as Equis Gallery and Village Pizza III were closed that day but I was able to have another snack at Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop at 7501 North Broadway (right next door to Little Pickles-Closed in August 2024) and I had a jelly doughnut that said to me “buy me”! They know how to make a good doughnut. The jelly was so tangy and the doughnut was soft and fresh. The store has that classic bakery look almost like you are visiting an old General Store.
Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop at 7501 North Broadway (Closed August 2024)
Since a lot of the stores and restaurants were closed that Sunday morning, I headed up Route 9 to Tivoli, NY. Tivoli has a very small but quaint downtown in the middle of an area with large farms. Since visiting a few years ago, more restaurants and shops have opened and there is a good arts representation with the Tivoli Artists Gallery at 60 Broadway.
Downtown Tivoli in the summer
In the last three years, I have seen a change in the quality of the restaurants and again they have gotten pricey. Creative but pricey. I ate lunch at a local restaurant, Tivoli Broadway Pizza at 49 Broadway. The pizza and the service were really good and it was nice to sit back and relax and read the local paper.
What I love about Tivoli is the charm of the village. It is such a nice little town to walk around and just admire the farms and the woods. You can walk the downtown quickly but it is fun to take your time and let it all soak in.
After leaving Tivoli, it was time to cross the river at the Kingston Bridge and explore the other side of the river. I have written about Kingston , NY many times over the years so it was time to explore other towns. I headed up Route 9 for my next destination, Catskill, NY.
Catskill, NY on the other side of the Hudson River. I had only driven through Catskill about seven years ago when I explored the towns surrounding Rhinebeck and it was the other side of the river that I visited. Downtown Catskill is pretty amazing when it comes to architecture and I can tell that other people think so as well as all the buildings seemed to being snatched up and renovated.
Downtown Catskill, NY
Most of the businesses in Downtown Catskills were closed on a Sunday with the exception of a few gift stores and a couple of restaurants. Even walking around the downtown after crossing the bridge there were maybe a handful of people.
Walking Downtown Catskill, NY
The downtown is absolutely beautiful and it was interesting that the urban renewal that hit so many of these towns in the late 60’s and early 70’s did not come to Catskill so all the 19th and early 20th century architecture still dominates the main street.
Downtown Catskill, NY
Weaving in and out of a lot of the stores and provision shops I was most impressed by Cat on the Corner, a tiny store dedicated to everything cats at 362 Main Street. I was impressed by the variety of merchandise starting with items for everyone’s favorite feline to gifts and decorative items for the home.
Among all the objects I found was a magnetic with a lot of dirty words on it that I had to get for my mom (who loves cats) and to spend the $10.00 credit card minimum, I also got her a cat cookie by a local baker from the area, which I thought was really cleaver. She ended up loving both. What I also like about the business is that the owner was helping a lot of small women owned cottage businesses with their wares and I found that good business.
The windows are so clever
Another business that stood out to me was a Left Bank Ciders at 150 Water Street. What made me walk into the Tap Room was the sign and location. It was down a alleyway and then tucked into an above ground basement area. The inside of the Tap Room was exposed walls and ceilings. The selection of ciders looked terrific as well.
Left Bank Ciders at 150 Water Street’s Tap Room here is so unique
After walking the entire downtown both sides and the local park plus the entire other side of the creek area, I just relaxed by the car. I can tell they are starting to renovate the other side of the creek as well as some of the homes. It will take time to bring life back to this part of the neighborhood.
My last stop was Saugerties, NY, a quirky little downtown right by the Hudson River and again another downtown with a lot of charm and interesting architecture. It had not changed much since I visited and had lunch here seven years ago. The prices of everything have gone up significantly though over the years.
Downtown Saugerties has an interesting vibe.
The sign welcoming you to Saugerties
I drove through the downtown last when I went up to Cooperstown, NY back in October for my birthday and saw that there had been changes in several of the buildings. After my trip to Catskill, I made this my final stop of the day.
Before I stopped in downtown to walk around, I made a detour to see the Saugerties Lighthouse at 168 Lighthouse Drive, which I had always seen signs for but never stopped to see. It is nice when you have the time on your hands to detour to all these special places.
I have to say it was a drive off the main road of Route 9 down several hills and winding roads. When you come to the small parking lot, there is not a lot of space to park on a busy day but it was the late afternoon when I got here so it was quiet.
The pathway to the lighthouse is surrounded by woods and flowers and a few streams so in the Spring and Summer months, it is very beautiful to walk down the path. Many flowers were in bloom and it was very colorful. You have to stay on the path though as there is water everywhere.
The lighthouse sits on the end of the path with a small dock on one side and a small beach at low tide. I did not realize that it is being used as a B & B and you should check out the Friends website for details if you want to stay there. The lighthouse was built in 1869 and was decommissioned in 1954. It is an elegant old building with the Hudson River in the backdrop which makes it very impressive. (There are tours available by appointment). After my tour around the lighthouse and park, it was back to downtown.
A slice of pizza at Slices at 71 Partition Street went up to almost $4.00 and an ice cream cone at several places will set you back over $5.00. I know these things are gourmet but not when they are more than New York City prices. The rents must have really gone up over the years. Even my favorite restaurant, Miss Lucy’s Kitchen at 90 Partition Street was more than I remember. Their food was mind-blowing the last time I ate there years ago.
Miss Lucy’s Kitchen at 91 Partition Street was a favorite of mine years ago
I was able to walk the entire downtown and it was also slowly changing as well as buildings were being renovated all over the downtown and homes were getting a facelift. I had never seen so many potted plants and wreaths on doors. A younger crowd was moving downtown with many bars opening and an increase in nightlife that I did not remember on my last few visits.
Before I left that evening, I took a walk down by the river to the Saugerties Village Beach Park at 47 South Partition Street and watched all the kids running around the park and some people actually taking a dip in the water (I thought it was too early). It was so nice to watch the sunshine and sit back under a tree and just watch the world go by. It is such a relaxing park.
Saugerties Village Beach Park at 47 South Partition Street is a the bottom the downtown area.
On another trip to the Hudson River Valley, I visited both Downtown Pine Plains and Downtown Millerton to check out their downtown districts. Pine Plains is quaint but has a lot of businesses that are currently closed due to the pandemic. I can see this rebounding in the future with its interesting architecture and picturesque look.
When I revisited Pine Plains in the Summer of 2023, it was like a transformation. The theater in the downtown was open, all the restaurants were open for business that evening and all the store fronts were filled again. I had never seen such a dramatic change in a downtown before. It was like a ghost town when I visited the last time.
Downtown Millerton’s businesses were closing for the evening the afternoon that I arrived but encouraged me to stop by again on the next trip Upstate. Each of these little towns offer so much charm and interesting shopping and eating establishments.
In the Summer of 2023, Downtown Millerton’s business district was also in full swing. The Millerton Inn had people dining outside and music playing, the movie theater was busy with a line twenty deep and the restaurants were all busy as well. There were a lot of people walking around as the stores were closing on this Saturday night at 7:00pm.
Don’t miss taking a trip to any of these small towns lining the Hudson River. COVID has driven people out of the City and it has brought a new vibe and built on improvements made to these once small manufacturing and shipping towns. New restaurants, art galleries and stores have brought not just new customers but new ideas on ways to reach customers. It is so nice the times of good service and a friendly local atmosphere have not given way in the Amazon era.
There is still a relaxed and creative buzz to these towns that was always there but now being added to with new members of the community. COVID did not kill this spirit in the Hudson River Valley.
Visit soon!
*Bloggers Note: In fairness to stores, restaurants and parks I visited on my journey are mentioned below. The others I have added their links so that you all can choose the places you want to go. I will keep adding to this blog with more small towns.
With the weather reaching now into the high 90’s and the humidity has become unbearable, it has been a chance to take a break from walking the streets of Manhattan with the uncomfortable heat (and the equally uncomfortable feel of the City) and head up to our version of “Upstate New York”. People from Ithaca, where I went to graduate school, actually laugh when I say this is “Upstate New York”. “That’s like Westchester!” some will say to me because it is so close to the City instead of in the middle of New York State.
Still Dutchess County is beautiful at anytime of the year and a nice substitute when the weather just gets too hot. The cool breezes of the Hudson River, the foliage full of deep greens and the unique little downtown’s with their ‘mom and pop’ restaurants and stores (which we need to help desperately at this time) make a nice day or weekend visit. I have also gone to college in Hyde Park so I know the area quite well but still there were many towns I had never visited before. One of them being Red Hook, NY.
Gardens in Downtown Red Hook, NY in the Summer of 2024
I had gotten to know Red Hook quite well since 2014 when I thought I was moving to the Hudson River Valley for work and needed to find a place to live. I got acquainted with Downtown Red Hook when meeting with realtors but it was when I came across an advertisement for “Little Pickles”, a children’s store that had just opened that I wanted to visit that I got to really visit the town.
Downtown Red Hook decorations in Fall 2022
The nice part of Downtown Red Hook is that it has not been “Manhattanized” the way Downtown Rhinebeck further south has been. Being further up Route 9, the restaurants and stores are not as expensive, the feel of the restaurants are more local and down to earth and a lot less expensive. The one thing about the stores are that they cater to locals and not tourists so much, they are reasonably priced and their merchants are extremely creative in merchandise purchased for their stores and the way their stores are displayed. The service I have found in the stores here is very personal and friendly and you are mostly dealing with the owner of the store.
Downtown Red Hook was decorated for the Fall
What is also nice about Red Hook is that the parking is still on the street with no meters and you can park right near the stores. At the current time, the town is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic as is the rest of the country, so a lot of the parking directly in the center of the town is for “Grab and Go”. Between the heat of this summer (it was 96 degrees that day) and the COVID-19 pandemic still keeping everything at bay, the town was quiet the afternoon I visited.
Downtown Red Hook in Summer of 2023
I started my day at the Staatsburgh Historical Site of the Mills Mansion in Staatsburg, NY. The mansion was not open for tours yet under Phase 4 of Governor Cuomo’s plan as of yet so the park site opened programs that showcased the outside of the mansion. I started my day with a “Garden Tour” of the grounds of the Mill’s Mansion “Staatsburgh” located at 75 Mills Mansion Drive.
The Mills Mansion “Staatsburgh” (Staatsburgh State Historical Site)
The 90-minute tour took us to the back lawn of the estate where we visited the former icehouse, boat house, stables and storage areas and the location to where the greenhouses were located. The mansion was once a 25-room home that was a working farm but with Ruth Livingston Mills social standing the house was added and expanded to 79 rooms to the current home of today.
The original farms became lawns and Ogden Mills, her husband and a financier himself, became a gentleman farmer and animals were grown and raised for competition and for food for the estate. The greenhouses were used for flowers and fruits and vegetables for the mansion.
The back lawn of the Mills Mansion and the Hudson River in the distance
Most of the buildings have since been knocked down or in disrepair but you have to use your imagination to see how the estate once worked. The whole property was once pretty well self-sufficient.
When I toured the house in February 2022, the mansion had just gone through a deep cleaning after being open for the Christmas holiday season and had been decorated to the hilt for the holidays. We had a small group of three that had the mansion to ourselves, and it was a quiet but informative tour.
By 10:30am, our small group of four was done for the morning and I decided to run up to Red Hook for lunch. I was in the mood for a Chicken Parmesan sandwich from Village Pizza III located in the downtown. Before I left for lunch, I drove through Downtown Rhinebeck which had just closed off all their downtown parking for outdoor cafes and the place was really busy. All the restaurants were busy for the late brunch and early lunch crowds.
The Chicken Parmesan sandwich here is excellent especially the red sauce
This delicious sandwich you should not miss when passing through Red Hook, NY
I drove further north on Route 9 which takes you right into Downtown Red Hook and turns into North and South Broadway which is cut at the intersection of East and West Market Street (which is Route 199). The downtown stretches from this intersection for a few blocks before leading to more homes and farms. The wooden storefronts are a combination of Victorian and multi-level architecture and brick buildings which gives it the classic downtown appearance.
Looking down East Market Street in Downtown Red Hook, NY
I parked on East Market Street and started to walk towards the intersection. I discovered that one of my favorite stores that I just featured a few months ago, Pause at 10 East Market Street had moved to Rhinebeck. It now has an online store and its new expanded location in Rhinebeck at 6423 Montgomery Street Suite 3.
Pause was a great store of handmade food products and whimsical toys for pets (Moved Rhinebeck in 2022)
Pause is now at 6423 Montgomery Street Suite 3 in Rhinebeck, NY
Next to the former Pause store is another unique at 6 East Market Street called Petals & Moss, a fresh and dried flower store, where the owner, Nancy Lee, designs not only the floral arrangements and the dried flower wreaths that line the walls but also cuts most of the fresh flowers in season from her own garden.
The tables are arranged with fresh floral bouquets and dried flowers designed in interesting designs. I like that the store is not overwhelmed with flowers all over the place and the look is a minimalist where you can enjoy the beauty of the flowers and they are showcased in their simplest form.
The beauty of Petals and Moss arrangements
Petals & Moss at Christmas time in 2021
Next to Petals and Moss was this wonderful display for Fall where the Christmas usually stands
The display in the Fall of 2024
When I was visiting Red Hook in October of 2022 for the Sheep and Wool Festival on the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, I stopped up to walk around the town again. I stopped in I2evolve, a small arts and crafts store that also serves as an expressive art school for local children at 18 East Main Street. The where having a ‘Haunted Halloween Village’ event.
The Haunted Halloween Village at I2Evolve was a lot of fun
The ghoulish welcome into the store
The Haunted Halloween Village event was the owner showcasing the children’s art on tables all over the store. It seems that her students in her art school came up with so many creative haunted houses that she created a ‘village’ to display the students work. It was a very clever idea and it was a lot of fun looking at all the students creativity in their work. So many of them were loaded with details and interesting embellishments. The owner of the store, Kim Popolizio, took me on a quick tour of the store before the families arrived with their kids (who were the artists of all of these wonderful pieces).
The main part of the village
More of the ‘village’ homes
The inside of the store and the ghostly village to the side
The kids were so creative!
So much detail and attention into these works
After touring all the villages, I stopped at the concession stand that the owner had set up in the back. She had “Witches Brew” which was a green fruit punch, a cotton candy machine, a popcorn machine, cider doughnuts, candy and coffee and tea all of which was between $1.00 and $2.00. What a good businesswoman not gouging her guests! People loved it and it was really busy (plus the cider doughnuts were delicious!)
The owner insisted I see her patio in the back so I made the trip outside. It was still warm and in the 60’s when I visited so it was pleasant to go outside. What a wonderful place to relax.
The patio section of I2Evolve is a nice place to relax from the crowds of the store
The outside patio
In a small truck stand down the road at 33 East Market Street is the seasonal business and weekends only during the cooler months is Terry’s Country Bakeshop. Terry sets up a small table of reasonably priced baked goods such as cider doughnuts, scones, crumb cake, cinnamon rolls and small pies (prices are seasonal). Don’t miss her cider doughnuts ($1.00). They were excellent. She is also quite the conversationalist. We had a nice chat.
Terry’s Country Bakeshop at 22 East Market Street (no longer there)
Crossing the street at the intersection of Market and Broadway, I like to head north to my favorite restaurant in Red Hook, Village Pizza III at 7514 North Broadway. I cannot tell you how good the food is here in a few sentences. For a small pizzeria, the food is excellent, the service is friendly and the prices are amazingly fair. For a family on a budget, the restaurant is the perfect place to dine. It was unfortunately closed on Sunday.
The food and service at Village Pizza III is excellent!
The many times I have eaten here over the holiday season and on my visits to the area for functions, I really love coming here for lunch and dinner. The red sauce here is just delicious and has a rich tomato flavor that makes every dish wonderful. The Chicken Parmesan dinner with spaghetti could feed two people easily. It is loaded with gooey mozzarella cheese.
The Spaghetti and meatballs are out of this world. Three golf ball sized freshly made meatballs on top of what looked like a half pound of spaghetti. The red sauce here is amazing. The calzones are overstuffed with ingredients and the pizza has the most amazing combination of spices and cheeses. Each bite is like heaven. There is not one thing on the menu that is not delicious.
The pizza here is fantastic and the prices here are extremely fair.
Their Chicken Parmesan with Spaghetti is excellent.
The elusive J & J Gourmet at 1 East Market Street was closed for a third time when I visited there in 2021. Oh well, I will have to wait until another time to have breakfast there. (The restaurant closed in January 2022).
It has now been replaced in 2023 by The Country Corner at the same address. A brand new concept with new products and merchandising with a lot of local purveyors.
The Corner Counter is a neighborhood cheese shop & eatery, offering artisan cheese & charcuterie, craft beer/cider, coffee, specialty foods and grocery staples. Food menu includes a rotating selection of sandwiches, salads, prepared foods and cheese plates. Our goal is to serve as a community gathering space, where customers can enjoy quality food in a warm, welcoming environment. We support local farms & purveyors, and choose organic, fair trade and sustainable products whenever possible (The Country Corner website).
The groceries and specialty items
Their delicious sandwich selection
The assortment of cookies and treats at Christmas time.
The Fall display in Downtown Red Hook, October 2023.
During the times I eat in Red Hook, one of my favorite places for dessert is Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop at 7501 North Broadway. They make the best cinnamon rolls and cookies.
Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop is a nice place to sit and relax (Christmas 2022)
Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop in the summer of 2023
Red Hook in the Fall of 2024
The last visit I made to Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop, I had one of her Fruit Loop Doughnuts that was an over-sized cake doughnut topped with a thick vanilla icing and finished with lots of colorful fruit loops. Their over-sized Cinnamon Rolls on another visit were layered in sweet cinnamon in a buttery dough. I had their jelly doughnuts, and they are filled with the most amazing jelly. Recently, I had one of their cream filled Long John doughnuts. Yum!
The chocolate covered cream filled Long John
The baker herself has waited on me and is extremely engaging and when it is okay to eat inside again, it is a relaxing experience to just sit and talk. For now, there is a tent outside for dining and enjoying your dessert.
The inside of Annabelle’s Bake Shop (Annabelle’s closed in October 2024)
Village Bake Shop decorated for the Christmas holidays in 2021 (closed 2024)
Next door to Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop is one of the most creative, imaginary and interesting toy stores I have ever seen. Little Pickles Children’s General Store at 7505 North Broadway. This colorful little store caters to the Lilliputian crowd and has all the things you need for a small child or creative tween.
Little Pickles Children’s General Store at 7505 North Broadway is out of a fairy tale book.
Little Pickles is one of those stores I wish was around when I was a kid. Even the big kid in me loves visiting the store when I am in Red Hook. One of the stores is dedicated to clothing, shoes and accessories for the small child in need of everyday items. In the room is a castle to explore and wooden trains to play with while your siblings’ shop (these things are currently not available because of COVID-19).
The outside of the store has a whimsical candy and ice cream shop and lots of little ‘stocking stuffers’ for a quick gift. Lining the shelves in the front of the store, there are balloons, magnets, small games and puzzles that are perfect for the creative child’s birthday party.
This is where children come for that special gift
The back of the store has a assortment of games, puzzles, magic tricks, science experiments and board games. During these tough times with all of us having to stay in it has the perfect collection of items for family game night.
The sign of Little Pickles is so welcoming.
Down the street are Red Hook Stationary and The Crow’s Nest, unique gift shops sell specialty items. The Crow’s Nest is a store that supports women artists and craftspeople and specializes in merchandise that is eco-friendly and Free-Trade. Owner Sarah Carlson says that she searches the world to find items that support female artisans who offer handmade one of kind gifts and home products. The shelves and tables are lined with interesting merchandise.
The Red Hook Stationary store at 7 West Market Street
Walking down North Broadway and turning the corner to West Market Street. Another store stands out for its interesting gift items and fascinating artwork Equis Gallery at 15 West Market Street where all things are equestrian.
The Equis Gallery at 15 West Market Street where it’s all-things horses.
The gallery is so unique with the theme with all the artists carried in the store is all things horses. Paintings large and small line the walls and the tables are ladened with jewelry, statuary, small sculptures and gifts for the perfect host present.
The beautiful jewelry at Equis Gallery
The store carries the work of many local and distant artists and is all unique to the store. It is always nice talking to the gallery owner, Juliet Harrison, who always greets you with a smile and makes you feel welcome.
The work here is revolving so there are always new artists to see.
Equis Gallery owner Juliet R. Harrison
A wonderful video on the Equis Gallery
There is a new gourmet grocery store, The Locavore Market at 29 West Main Street, just opened in the downtown which has a nice selection of locally made food items from sodas to cheeses. They also have a prepared food section where you can buy breakfast and lunch sandwiches and pastries. There is inside seating to enjoy your meal as well.
There is a nice assortment of Hudson Valley created products, cookbooks and other items for the household that make nice gifts and souvenirs from the Hudson River Valley. The store has expanded the selection of products from more local farms and baked goods from local bakers and when in season all the produce from local farms. All the products are marked from what local vendors they are from.
The Locavore Market at 29 West Main Street in Downtown Red Hook, NY
The cheerful sign welcoming you to the Locavore Market
The inside of the shop
The wonderful baked goods at the store
Walking back down West Market Street and heading down South Broadway, I headed to Golden Wok Chinese Restaurant at 7479 South Broadway, but the place had no dining area open inside. On a recent trip to Red Hook, I stopped in for dinner.
What was nice is that Downtown Red Hook during the summer months has a little park with tables for outdoor dining. On Friday and Saturday nights from 6:00pm-8:00pm have live entertainment. The woman guitarist that evening was wonderful and attracted a nice crowd on this warm Spring night. It was a nice way to dine with the warm breezes passing by and conversing with other people at the table.
I ordered from their extensive Cantonese menu and had for dinner the Beef and Broccoli combination platter with Fried Rice and Egg Roll ($11.95). It was a nice sized portion and have to say that the Fried Rice here is excellent.
Beef and Broccoli with Fried Rice at Golden Wok at 7479 South Broadway
The Roast Pork Lo Mein with Pork Fried Rice with an Egg Roll is also an excellent choice for lunch and dinner.
The Roast Pork Lo Mein combination platter for dinner Christmas 2022.
When I was here last Summer (Pre-COVID-19), there was another enjoyable concert in the parking lot next to Village Hall that was free for the evening with local musicians. That was a nice night and people really had a nice time listening to the music and talking with their neighbors. It must be a nice place to grow up.
The Memorial Day Parade in Red Hook NY from 2008
After my walk around Downtown Red Hook, it was back to Rhinebeck for lunch. There is another branch of Village Pizza in Downtown Rhinebeck as well but I now wanted something different as it was getting even hotter outside and I wanted something light.
Downtown artworks during the fall of 2022
So, I headed to Pete’s Famous Restaurant at 34 East Market Street, a restaurant I have eaten at many times over the last twenty years of visiting Rhinebeck. The food is always consistent here and the service very friendly. Like the rest of downtown’s all over the nation, the sidewalks and streets of the Main Street have been changed to an outdoor cafe. Pete’s Famous has good number of tables and umbrellas on the sidewalk under the trees and street which made for a nice experience.
Pete’s Famous Restaurant at 34 East Market Street in Rhinebeck, NY
Everything I have ever ordered here has been wonderful. When a friend and I stopped in 2025, we started off with Mozzarella Sticks and Buffalo Chicken Wings. Both were really good and the portion size was really good.
The Mozzarella Sticks for lunch
The Buffalo Chicken Wings are delicious
For the entree, I love getting the Turkey Club sandwich and the restaurant did not disappoint. The sandwich was layered with freshly roasted turkey, juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce and crisp bacon lathered with mayo on toasted white bread. It was a nice combination of flavors and tastes and the fries just came out of the fryer.
The Turkey club with fries here is excellent.
This Turkey Club Sandwich is quite a sandwich
Yum!
It was nice to sit outside on a sunny afternoon and watch people walk by. It made it almost seem like there wasn’t a global pandemic going on. I am not too sure how long all of this will last but for that afternoon everything felt okay.
On a cool February day in 2022, it was a Hot Turkey platter that warmed me up after a tour of the Mills Mansion. Layers of fresh turkey are mounded on top of white bread with a side of mashed potatoes topped with a yellow turkey gravy was like heaven on a cold day. It was served with a side of cranberry sauce and fresh string beans that tasted like Thanksgiving all over again. The meal also started with a small bowl of Chicken and Rice soup which warmed me up. The food at Pete’s Famous Restaurant is always excellent.
The Open Faced Hot Turkey sandwiches here are excellent
I didn’t want to stay for dessert because I has passed an ice cream stand on the way back from Red Hook that I have wanted to try for years but it is closed during the times I usually come up to Rhinebeck, Del’s Dairy Creme at 6780 Route 9 North in Rhinebeck. Do not miss coming here during the warmer months! It’s worth the whole trip.
Del’s Dairy Creme at 6780 Route 9 North is amazing!!
My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:
This little ice cream shop right near the Dutchess County Fairgrounds looks like it had just been renovated and landscaped. The back part of the building has a nice sized lawn with chairs and tables (socially distanced perfectly) that is the perfect place to enjoy your ice cream or lunch items on their listing.
Del’s lunch menu
Del’s menu in the summer of 2025
Del’s summer menu in 2025
The ice cream here is so thick and creamy and has the most unique flavors. On the recommendation of the young lady working there I tried the Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Swirl and the Honey Lavender ice creams. The Lemon Poppyseed is also excellent. I do not say this much but after biting into the Honey Lavender ice cream I thought I saw God. The ice cream was amazing!
The Ice Cream menu at Del’s Dairy Creme
It was just the right combination of flavors of sweetness and tartness. The Blueberry ice cream is made from fresh fruit from the farm, and you could taste the flavors sweetness and creaminess from the fresh milk and cream from the farm.
The Blueberry Lavender Ice Cream here is excellent!
The Ice Cream sampler though is the way to go when wanting to try all the delicious flavors
Del’s is Americana during the summer months. It is the place that people look like they have been coming to since the 1960’s and with a new owner and a modernized building brings it into the twenty-first century. It is the perfect place to stop with the family.
In the Fall months around Halloween, the warm weather was a pleasure in Del’s backyard seating area.
Del’s in the Summer in 2024
Del’s Burgers are the best on a cool day.
The Fried Chicken sandwiches are also excellent on a summer day
After the long and relaxing lunch, I headed back to the Mills Mansion for the “Lecture on the Portico” for a talk on the servants’ role at the mansion when the family was in house for the late Summer and Fall months. I have to admit with such a large lunch and dessert inside me and the weather being so warm (it was about 92 degrees at this point), I was getting sleepy and started to nod off during the lecture.
Mills Mansion “Servants Talk”
It was an interesting lecture on household items that the servants would have used to maintain the mansion during the summer months. They explained how the servants used the hand-cranked ice cream machine to make the summer treat and showed us their ice cream scoop for the perfect serving of the frozen treat.
Other items that were explained to us to run the household were a meat press for creating juices for broths, a bottle closer for opened beverages and a mop wringer for cleanups. It is interesting the amount of time it took to keep the mansion clean and the items needed to do the work at a time when electrical cleaning items did not exist. It took an army of servants to keep the mansion running.
It was so nice to relax and enjoy the breezes on the portico (the front porch) while listening to the lecture. I think this is the reason why on top of digesting a big lunch why I kept falling asleep. The heat did not help either. Still, it was a nice way to see the mansion in a different light by seeing it from the outside looking in. The grounds have so much to offer and the lecture topics are very interesting.
The portico of the mansion is a nice place for meetings.
The views of the Mills Mansion back lawn
It was just nice to be back up in the Hudson River Valley again for Christmas in 2021. I had not been up here since February for the last Tea Lecture (see my review on the mansion above) and since the COVID-19 pandemic, it was an interesting way to still visit the mansion and tour the grounds and have a new sense of scenery.
Red Hook, NY is one of those picturesque little towns at Christmas time with elegant lights on the stores and trees in the downtown area and stores so beautifully merchandised giving the town the look of a Currier & Ives carving.
Downtown Red Hook at dusk at Christmas time
Spending time at the holidays in Red Hook is also special. The merchants do such a nice job decorating their windows for Christmas and all the older buildings in the downtown are decorated with garland, red ribbons and white lights. It looks like a Currier & Ives print especially at night when the whole town is lit up.
Petals & Moss at Christmas time
Petals & Moss at Christmas time in 2021
During the usual holiday season, the town holds the “Snowflake Festival” the second Saturday in December (the first weekend in December is the big “Sinterklaas” festival in Rhinebeck and that gets all the people the first weekend) and that is a nice family event.
Red Hook, NY at Christmas is like a picture out of Currier & Ives
Red Hook is so peaceful on a pre- or post-Christmas night. I visited on New Year’s Day and most of the stores and restaurants were closed but still at twilight, the Christmas holiday with all its hope and dreams is still alive and appreciated at night. The Christmas season in the Hudson River Valley especially in these small towns is really special.
Red Hook is so beautiful at Christmas time
Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop decorated for Christmas in 2021
The Red Hook, NY village Christmas tree in 2021
Downtown Red Hook during the day at Christmas time.
The Downtown Red Hook Christmas tree 2023.
The Christmas Tree during the post Christmas late Winter in March 2025
The church with the Christmas tree competition for best decorated tree.
Christmas is a special time in the Hudson River Valley and you need to travel to these small towns to appreciate how the towns decorate themselves and welcome Santa. Red Hook is now beginning to rival Rhinebeck down the highway for beauty and elegance at the Christmas holidays. The downtown businesses go all out in December and the town is decked in lights and decorations awaiting Santa’s arrival. The church services are in full swing with chorus concerts and beautiful decorations awaiting parishioners. It is magical in Red Hook at Christmas!
Downtown Christmas 2022
Downtown Red Hook Christmas tree 2022
Downtown Red Hook, NY at Christmas time.
Downtown Window displays at Christmas time.
Downtown Red Hook windows at Christmas.
Downtown Red Hook at the corner of Main Street and Route 9 Broadway.
The downtown churches of Red Hook, NY were decked out for the holidays.
The Downtown Red Hook churches are beautiful at the holidays.
Historic homes just off the downtown are decked for the Christmas holidays.
It is such a pleasure to visit the Hudson River Valley. The towns are so quaint during the holiday season from Halloween to Christmas Day. They are special places.
The homes in Downtown Red Hook are pretty amazing during the summer as well (Summer 2023).
The homes during the Fall of 2024 right before Halloween
Red Hook in the Fall of 2024 and the beautiful downtown homes
The new logo of the Red Hook shopping district in the summer of 2023
The Red Hook of Red Hook
The outdoor cafe’s in bloom
It is beautiful in every season up here.
The Town of Red Hook, NY is a magical place any time of the year. You just have to visit and know all this from the people who live here who seem to love it so much! It always seems to come alive though at the holidays both at Halloween and Christmas!
Exploring Red Hook during the summer of 2024
Red Hook in the Fall of 2024
The Town of Red Hook is wonderful to visit anytime of the year!
The Christmas holiday season was a whirlwind of activities for me that took me again away from Manhattan and up to Rhinebeck, New York for the annual ‘Sinterklaas Holiday Festival’ and activities. Sinterklaas is a Dutch holiday tradition that has been recaptured in the Hudson River Valley and is run the first Saturday in December every year. It is to celebrate the coming of ‘Sinterklaas’ or “Santa Claus” as we know it. This was my third year in helping out in the parade.
Sinterklaas at the closing ceremonies
As the literature states, ‘Sinterklaas is the celebration where children are transformed into Kings and Queens and honored as the bringers of the light at the darkest time of the year.
The tradition of Sinterklaas comes all the way from the Netherlands, brought by the Dutch settlers who arrived in Rhinebeck over 300 years ago. Sinterklaas, the patron of children and sailors, finds a welcoming community in the Mid-Hudson Valley as recreated through the lens of modern day America.
The revived tradition is non-denominational and all inclusive, everyone is invited to participate. The young, the old, the in-between, absolutely everyone and anyone who wants to be part of a community of hope for a joyous and peaceful world are all welcome.’
Our coordinator for the parade, Trish, wanted me up by 10:00am and that was a treat taking a two hour drive from Northern New Jersey to Upstate New York, but it ended up being a very nice and very quick trip up as there was no traffic on the road.
Again the weather could not have been nicer as it reached 60 degrees in Rhinebeck at the height of the afternoon and even I could not believe it got that warm. It was such a nice day that when we were putting the floats together, I did not even need a jacket.
I put together the ‘Honey Bee’ puppets as my first project. The artist did a really nice job with them as they were our theme for the parade, honoring one of nature’s creatures, the Honey Bee.
‘Distinct from all other animals with the exception of those that give us milk, the Honey Bee makes more honey than they need for themselves and that’s why there is enough for us. They don’t just give us sweetness but medicine, flowers, fruits, vegetables and meat, natures beauty and bounty. They make our lives beautiful, tasty and nutritious.’
We put the puppets together in record time and later in the parade (see YouTube under ‘Sinterklaas Parade 2015), they made quite a site as it grew dark and they lit up the beginning of the parade. After my partner, Liz and I, put them all together, we worked on the knight horse costumes for the parade and then on the star puppets. We had so many people helping that we got done in record time and got to spend the afternoon enjoying the activities in the afternoon. We did not have to be back until 4:30pm for the startup of the parade.
The festival was chock full of events for all age groups, from puppet shows, to book readings, musical acts on stilts, storytelling and all sorts of musicians from the local colleges from brass bands to a Capella groups to choirs performed at all the churches and at city hall. In the parking lot across from the Beekman Arms Hotel, there were high wire acts, local bands and all over town there were local groups like the Four H and the Boy Scouts selling treats at booths all over the Main Street.
There is a special show at the Church of the Messiah called “Into the Light: A holiday Spectacular”, which has become very popular every year. The lines wrapped around the building. Its the holiday story of a young girl’s journey throughout the world searching for the light. The play features giant puppets and groups of children from the church singing.
‘Into the Light’ show at the Church of the Messiah in Rhinebeck, NY
There was a giant honeycomb in the courtyard by the restaurant that makes thin-crusted pizzas and the kids got to meet the Queen Bee. The line was so long that I could not get in but later that evening I was able to see the inside and I have to say that one of the artists was creative in putting this together.
I also saw a giant polar bear walking around town and you had to sing him. It must have been a long day for the actor who had to do that in that heavy costume but it was fun to watch. Watching the kids to sing to him and watch the bear dance was a lot fun.
There was a Pocket Lady who symbolizes the generosity of Sinterklaas and in her pockets are all secret surprises for children and at the Rhinebeck Fire Department there was a Crowns & Branches workshop where kids could decorate branches and crowns that would be used in the parade and meeting the Wish Lady, who would provide a wish for your branch. Watching the Grumpus do there dance all over town was a lot of fun. They are some of Sinterklaas’s helpers and I swear are probably the same people who have been doing it for years. They dance and bang drums all over town.
The Grumpuses in Downtown Rhinebeck, NY
The best part was visiting the Reformed Church for their bake sale. They had really good frosted cookies and I swear I went back three times much to the thankfulness of the kids running the booth. The Third Evangelical Lutheran Church has a lunch area in the basement and they made a mean grilled cheese for a small donation and the tables off to the side was laden with Christmas cookies, which were part of the cost of the lunch. When I tell you these people can bake at the Church, they can bake. Their frosted cookies and cakes were really good. For a small donation, you can eat like a king for lunch.
At dusk, when it starts getting darker, the lights on the trees come into full form and all the businesses on the Main Street light up their display windows. The town looks like a little Christmas village out of a Currier & Ives portrait. It really puts you in the Christmas mood.
Downtown Rhinebeck, NY at Christmas
Downtown Rhinebeck, NY
I got back to the library at 5:00pm to get ready for the parade. My job like last year was lighting Sinterklaas himself. That is a lot of fun because you are at the beginning of the parade and you get to see the whole parade coming down the hill and that is quite a site.
Like the Macy’s Parade, there is such anticipation at the start of the parade and watching it come down the hill is like being at Mardi Gras. It is so well lit and so colorful with bands playing and people dancing and so full of energy. It looks like a giant party coming down the hill.
The guy who plays Sinterklaas I worked with the year before so I knew him. We did not get to talk much during the rain storm that drenched everyone last year and we just wanted to get off the parade route. This year it was still slightly warm as the parade started so it was fun to spend a lot of time with the kids. He is a naturally born ham and the kids just adored the guy. I had to chase him around the parade route with a lighting pack and a giant candle that lit him. He had all the fun and I had to make sure that he did not go dark the whole time. Work yes but it is so much fun watching how he made each one of these children’s day. Every time he passed a child to talk to them, they were so happy and they cheered.
Sinterklaas leading the parade
That was the power of Sinterklaas. If you are not in the holiday spirit, the Sinterklaas parade will definitely put you in the mood. It was a spectacular night of bands, great costumes, creative puppets and festive cheer.
The Dancing Polar Bear closing the show
It didn’t end a moment too soon as it typical with Rhinebeck this time of the year that the temperature drops like ten degrees in one hour. I handed my lighting wand in and watched all the costume characters from the parade get introduced to the crowd by the parade leaders. It was a nice way to end the parade and collect all the props while keeping everyone engaged.
I spent the night in Rhinebeck and relaxed. This is one event you should not miss while in Upstate New York. The Sinterklaas Celebration is a real treat of holiday activities and good cheer!
Merry Christmas!
The Sinterklaas Parade 2015
Check out my other Christmas Adventures in Rhinebeck, NY:
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