Seven Evans, Benjamin Krevolin and Linda Hubbard

Light Refreshments by Homespun Foods, 232 Main St Beacon, 845-831-5096

Wine and Beverage by Artisan Wine Shop, 180 Main St, Beacon, 845-440-6923 www.artisanwineshop.com

Music by Neil Alexander on the synthesizer and Rachel Evans on the violin www.nailmusic.com

Many came early and saw Dia:Beacon - a world class art museum right here in the Hudson Valley. For information on Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries, visit www.diaart.org.

Art Along the Hudson – 7 Cities, 7 Celebrations kicked off the 2008 summer season with a media reception at Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries on June 12 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.  In its fifth year, Art Along the Hudson announced its expansion from four to seven cities.  In addition to the initial four – Kingston, Beacon, Poughkeepsie and Newburgh - new this year are Hudson, Catskill and Rhinebeck.  Through a cooperative media campaign, this regional collaboration promotes arts and cultural activities in each of these seven Hudson River cities.  The reception included light refreshments and live music. The event provided an opportunity to meet the artists and creators of this regional initiative, along with city officials actively working to revitalize their cities through the arts. 

Sue Valentine, Karen Heroy and Kendall Henry - Newburgh

Art Along the Hudson celebrations are anchored by rotating Saturdays that spotlight each of the cities.  Kingston and Hudson share First Saturdays; Beacon has Second Saturdays; Catskill, Poughkeepsie and Rhinebeck celebrate Third Saturdays; and Newburgh highlights Last Saturdays.  Although activities happen year-round in all of the participating communities, a focus of one Saturday each month helps to strengthen and build awareness of each city’s arts initiatives.  Programs feature a variety of art forms - from gallery and museum exhibits to music, dance, theatre and poetry.  Special events range from sculpture exhibits, street fairs and parades, to art and history tours.

Steve Gold - Beacon Mayor

An eye-catching, four-color brochure lists the participating venues in each city, and is widely distributed to tourism sites throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond.  The new brochure will be available at the kickoff.

In addition, this website, www.artalongthehudson.com, provides more detail about each city’s special events and is updated on a regular basis when new offerings become available.  Through the brochure, the website and an extensive media campaign, promotional information about Art Along the Hudson reaches hundreds of thousands arts consumers and cultural tourists in the greater Hudson Valley, and in parts of Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont and Connecticut.

Art Along the Hudson is made possible with support from Associated Aircraft Group, Inc, Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union and the Dutchess County Arts Council.  A special thanks goes to Carl VanBrunt of VanBrunt Gallery and Gary Gray of Lithography By Design in Highland for creating and printing the brochure.  “The art organizations of the 7 cities have all worked hard to bring our 2008 program together” says Linda Hubbard, chair of Art Along the Hudson.  “We also thank the participating municipalities, businesses, organizations and artists who make our program possible.” 

Carl Van Brunt, Catherine Welshman, Doug
Berlin, Jennifer Mackiewicz - Beacon

To see more photographs and learn more about the 2008 Kickoff Event... click here

All Photographs from the kickoff event are by Mary Ann Glass, Wedding and Event Photographer www.maryannglass.com and co-owner of RiverWinds Gallery www.riverwindsgallery.com.

Copies of the NEW brochure are now available! if you would like copies, please send your request to info@artalongthehudson.com

Thanks go to Homespun Foods for donating the light refreshments. They are located on 232 Main St Beacon, 845-831-5096 - a specialty food store and cafe offering salads, sandwiches, gelato, importaed cheeses and more.

And thanks also to the Artisan Wine Shop, 180 Main St, Beacon 845-440-6923 www.artisanwineshop.com.

They will be serving Hudson Valley Wines from

the White Cliff Vineyard www.whitecliffwine.com

the Warwick Valley Winery www.wvwinery.com

and the Millbrook Winery www.millbrookwine.com

Mary Kay Verba, Hudson Valley Tourism and Julie West, Rhinebeck Chamber of Commerce