Get ready for ski season in the Hudson Valley and Catskills

Temperatures are dropping, and that's getting all us downhill diehards thinking about ski season. Buy your lift tickets now, before Thanksviging, to save money all season long when you ski Hunter Mountain and Plattekill.

Hurry, because these deals are good only through November 15th.

Hunter's Big Lift Card offers season-long savings, and is Hunter's greatest value. You save 25% on weekend and holiday lift tickets, and 50% on mid-week tickets ALL SEASON LONG. The card comes with one unrestricted lift ticket to be used any time during the 2009-2010 ski season. What a bargain! The card costs $39, which means it will pay for itself in just a couple of ski days.

Plattekill is offering an entire season of skiing and snowboarding is just $429 for the first adult, $379 for the second, and $199 for juniors. A season pass for seniors is $349 and kids five and under ski and ride for free.

So get those skis and snowboards waxed and ready. It's going to be a great snow season!

Henry Hudson gets 21-Gun Salute in New York City

Four hundred years ago today, on September 8, 1609, Henry Hudson and his Half Moon crew sailed into a certain harbor. And the rest, as the saying goes, is history. The 400th anniverasary of the discovery of what is now known as the Hudson River and Hudson Valley is being celebrated in New York City as the city goes Dutch for the week.

NY 400 Dutch Week begins at the USS Intrepid, with a 21-gun salute by the Dutch warship HNLMS Tromp, to welcome a fleet of Dutch and U.S. ships. That's just the beginning.

New York City is going Dutch all week. There's a recreation of a colonial Dutch village at Bowling Green, artworks and performances by more than 150 Dutch artists on Governors Island, and more. Lots more. So much more that NY400 has created a 19-page PDF with all the details.

The most fun just might be a Silent Disco -- that's a dance party with no sound. Just dancing. The Dutch love it. Maybe we will, too. After all, we love Dutch chocolate and the artists known as the Dutch Masters, with names like Rembrandt and Vermeer.

There's a special exhibition of Vermeer paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including his iconic The Milkmaid, on loan from Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum. It will be the first time in 70 years this painting will be seen in the United States -- it was last exhibited at the 1939 World's Fair. The special exhibit opens on September 10, through November 29.

Dutch Week in New York City ends on Harbor Day, Sunday, September 13, with festivites along six scenic waterfront sites in lower Manhattan. There are opportunities to board the Half Moon for a tour all week, and more as the Half Moon replica heads back up the Hudson River to its home port in Albany, making stops along the way.

The New York City festivities end when a flotilla of historic and modern Dutch and American vessels head north, following the route Henry Hudson took so long ago. The flotilla is being led by the replica ship the Half Moon, plus Dutch Navy ships, the Onrust, 16 flat-bottom boats, and 56 Flying Dutchman-class sailboats.

It will be quite a parade. And nobody will bother to remember that Henry Hudson failed in his mission to discover a shortcut to the Orient. Hudson was hired by the Dutch East India Company to find the Northwest Passage. Instead, he found the Hudson River and the Hudson Valley.

Thank you, Henry Hudson, for your historic mistake.

Hunter Mountain Festivals Celebrate Food, Drink, Music

It's not too late to enjoy great music, great food, great wine and beer, and the company of several thousand of your closest friends. I'm talking about the famous summer and fall festivals at Hunter Mountain.

September -- The weekend of September 26 & 27 is the Microbrew & Wine Festival. More than three dozen breweries and wineries are offering tastings. Nearby micro-breweries Red Hook Brewery and Brooklyn Brewery, and wineries inlcude Warwick Valley Winery and nearby Windham Vineyard and Winery.

October -- The famous Hunter Mountain Oktoberfest is simply too popular to cram into a single weekend. It needs two, October 3-4 and the following weekend, October 10-11. Admission is free, part of what makes it so popular.

You can keep up with the latest doings at this popular Hudson Valley all-season reasort on the mountain's own blog -- including updates on the upcoming ski season. The temperature is in the 90s today, and I'm talking about skiing!

Commemorating Henry Hudson's Momentous Voyage of Discovery

If you didn't already know, this year marks the 400th anniversary of the discovery by Henry Hudson discovery of a certain river and the valley at its shores. Celebrations throughout the Hudson River and Hudson Valley include replicas of Hudson's Half Moon and another historic Dutch vessel, the Onrust, north from New York City to Albany.

The big kick-off is River Day 2009, in New York City, on Friday, June 5, 2009, but it's really more like several days, as the flotilla sails past some of the most important cities and towns in New York State, including Tarrytown, Yonkers, Peeskill, West Point, Beacon, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie and Kingston -- each which has a historic link to the original Dutch settlers of the Hudson Valley, the Revolutionary War, or both.

Along with a replica of Hudson's Half Moon -- pictured above -- the flotilla includes a a full-scale replica of the very first ship built in this new world, the Onrust, built by the Dutch in Manhattan in 1614 after a fire destroyed their original ship. The replica Onrust was built by volunteers at a historic site along the Mohawk River, just for this Quadracentennial celebration.

River Day 2009 begins with a blessing of the fleet, Friday, June 5 in New York Harbor, and sets sail the next morning from the Statue of Liberty for an eight-day journey north. It's quite a parade of sailing ships.

Besides the Half Moon and the Onrust, the flotilla includes these historic original and recplicas of sailing ships --

• Sloop Clearwater
• Schooner Mystic Whaler
• The Woody Guthrie, a wooden replica of an 18th-19th century Hudson River Ferry Sloop
• The 1890s-style Pilot Schooner Adirondack
• The Manhattan, built originally for the canals of Amsterdam
• The Shearwater, a classic Maine Schooner
• Modern vessels and recreational boats will also escort the historic ships.

Several of the river towns along the route are celebrating with parades (on land), fireworks, and more. Quite a celebration!

Top Hudson Valley Restaurants in the News

Congratulations to chef and restauranteur Peter X. Kelley. Two of his restautants are rated in the top ten in the Hudson Valley and Westchester by the newest Zagat Survey.

Once again, Xaviars at Piermont takes the Number One spot for both food and service. Kelley’s newest restaurant, X20 Xaviars, on the Historic Yonkers Pier, wins for the the area’s most popular.

The elegant Equus at the Castle on the Hudson in Tarrytown, gets the vote for best decor, and the top-rated as a newcomer is 36 Main in New Paltz. Other celebrated arrivals include Tarry Lodge, Spadaro, Chutney Masala and Arielle.

Zagat's reports that -- like everywhere else -- Hudson Valley and Westchester County residents say they are eating out less often, being more attentive to prices when ordering, eating at less-expensive places, and cutting back on alcohol. Not surprising since our home area is among the most expensive in the country -- right in there with New York City and New Jersey -- with an average cost for dinner of $38.99.

So, restaurants are rolling out edible versions of stimulus packages to lure local diners to the table. Some examples:

• X20 Xaviars on the Hudson features two levels of dining: formal New American fare upstairs, and more casual small plates and cocktails downstairs in its Dylan Lounge.


• Special-occasion mainstay Crabtree’s Kittle House in Chappaqua now offers a New American bar bites menu


• Rye’s legendary French La Panetière has loosened its prix fixe only format, adding lower-cost à la carte options.


• Diners seeking an economical celebrity chef experience fill up on pizzas at the Mario Batali backed Italian, Tarry Lodge, in Port Chester.


• The Barn at Bedford Post lures locavores for seasonal American fare priced steps below the inn’s flagship Farmhouse restaurant.


• Blue Hill Café in Pocantico Hills offers wallet-friendly bites from the same farm-fresh ingredients used at its parent, Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

Zagat's does an excellent job of letting you know in just a paragraph about the kind of food, service and price to expect at neighborhood restaurants. I'm a firm believer in longer restaurant reviews, like the ones in my Eating the Hudson Valley book, published by Countryman Press, to give you the full flavor of your dining dollar. And -- unlike newspaper and magazine restaurant reviews and book food and wine guidebooks like mine, Xagat's guides don't have the room for appetizing, enticing photos.

But, as I said, Zagat's does an excellent job of letting you know in just few short sentences what you can expect for your Hudson Valley dining dollars.

Summer Starts in April at Hunter Mountain

The first festival of the summer kicks off this spring weekend at Hunter Mountain. It's TAP New York, one of Hunter's most popular festivals, celebrating the many fine craft brews of New York State.

More than 30 breweries and 100 beers will be available for sample, and many of the brewmasters will be on hand to chat. Plus, of course, great food, plus crafts vendors and lots of live entertainment.

This is a popular event, and in past years tickets have sold out. So don't wait. The weather is supposed to be spectacular -- sunny and wam, more like summer than spring -- so it is a great excuse to get outdoors.

There's plenty of food and drink for everyone! Buy your tickets at Tap New York

Sheep get rid of their winter coats at Philipsburg Manor

It's spring. We are shedding our winter coats, and so are the animals.

The annual shearing of the sheep takes place this weekend, April 18-19, at Philipsburg Manor's Sheep-to-Shawl festival. And it will be done the old fashioned way -- by hand -- the way the 18th century residents of his historic working farm would have done it.

There are 19 newborn lambs to see, as well, including a rare set of triplets born on the farm this spring. They are beyond cute, and the kids will love watching them play like happy puppies. This is a record number of newborns for Philipsburg Manor and its proud poppa, the ram named, “Lucky,” who is truly living up to his name.

Other new additions to the farm this year include Maebell the milk cow’s new heifer calf, Marigold. The site’s four-year-old working oxen, Josh and Jake, will also be part of the day’s events.

“Spring at Philipsburg Manor is a really special time, and this event really gives visitors the full flavor of what we do here,” said Thom Thacker, site director of Philipsburg Manor. Tours and programs reflect the daily lives of the 23 enslaved individuals known to have lived and labored there, including slaves. Philipsburg Manor is the country’s only fully staffed living history museum to focus on the history of northern slavery. The farm includes a working water-powered gristmill and a 'new world' Dutch barn.

Philipsburg Manor’s farmers will be shearing the sheep in the barnyard by hand while costumed interpreters continuously demonstrate wool dyeing, spinning, and weaving, and lead special hands-on activities for children. You can watch the entire process of making woolen cloth and participate several of the steps in the process after the sheep are sheared. That includes picking and carding the wool, spinning and dyeing the yarn, and weaving it into cloth.

Interpreters, wearing costume of the 18th century, also demonstrate the labor-intensive process of making linen from the flax plant. And, popular storyteller Jonathan Kruk will be on hand to share his tales.

The Sheep-to-Shawl is held rain or shine. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $6 for children ages 5-17. Members of Historic Hudson Valley and children under 5 attend for free. Tickets can be purchased online. Philipsburg Manor is at 381 North Broadway (Route 9) in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., two miles north of the Tappan Zee Bridge.

This is a great year to learn about what life was like for the original Dutch settlers of the Hudson Valley. After all, this is the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's discovery of a particular river and river valley. You know the name. Hudson River, Hudson Valley.

More about the Quadracentennial events -- that's the dictionary word for 400th anniversary -- in upcoming postings.

photo courtesy Historic Hudson Valley

Valentine's Day Escapes in the Hudson Valley

Several Hudson Valley hotels and resorts are offering great, romantic Valentine's getaway packages to encourage you to visit and enjoy.

The Ritz Carlton Westchester in White Plains believes 'Love is Here to Stay', which is the name of their getaway. Upon check-in, head for the ninth floor Spa for a choice of treatments, including a couple’s massage or special Valentine’s Day treatments. I like the sound of The Champagne Sugar Scrub. to exfoliates the body and contains antioxidants that provide the appearance of youthful skin, or The Pure Decadence Facial, to help reduce all those fine lines and wrinkles I got by worrying about the economy, the environment, and the election. Now calmed and revitalized, get ready for dinner at BLT Steak, where there's an exclusive chef’s tasting dinner on Sunday, Feb. 15th. Seating is limited and reservations are required.

The historic Thayer Hotel in West Point is offering a special dinner and overnight package for you and that special someone. The dinner is a special four-course extravaganza in the beautiful and elegant Gothic-style main dining room. Afterwards, you and your sweetie can snuggle by the roaring fire in the lobby, after nibbling your way through such decadent desserts as a chocolate heart for two, chocolate tuile with berries and zabaglione or homemade cheesecake with foster sauce. Valentine’s dinner is just $130 per couple. Add an overnight stay with champagne and chocolates for just $329 per couple with breakfast buffet or $369 per couple with Sunday Champagne Brunch.

The Ritz-Carlton and the Thayer are two very different Hudson Valley hotels. The Ritz is brand new and ultra-modern, in the heart of White Plains. The Thayer was built in 1926, on the grounds of legendary West Point and named for Sylvanus Thayer, superintendant of the Academy from 1877 to 1833. It has breathtaking views of the Hudson River, and over the years has hosted a long line of dignitaries and celebrities including General Tommy Franks, General Douglas MacArthur, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, President John F. Kennedy, Her Royal Highness Princess Alsha Bint-Huessen of Jordan, singer Luciano Pavarotti, actors George C. Scott, James Earl Jones and Gregory Peck, the Philadelphia Flyers, and many others.

Whether you choose the Ritz or the Thayer for Valentine's Day, know that you will get four-star and five-star service, even if you aren't wearing those stars on your dress clothes.

Ski Season Packed with Flurry of Fun

The 2008-2009 ski season is off to a successful start, with several big storms pounding the Hudson Valley and making skiers --and ski resort owners -- very happy, indeed.

Belleayre Mountain celebrates the holiday season with $25 lift tickets on Christmas Day, December 25, 2008, and a Hanukkah Candle Lighting Ceremony on Sunday December 28, 2008. The The Holiday Training Camp begins on Monday, December 29, 2008. This camp is a great way for intermediate skiers and riders to get back into shape for the winter.

Reservations are required. Sign up online or by calling 845-254-5600 x2474.

For the second consecutive year, Hunter Mountain and neighboring Windham Mountain are joining forces to offer the Wintercard. The cooperative deal allows for four total days of skiing and riding -- two at each resort -- for $129. That's just over $32 per day. The Wintercard is the result of a partnership with Greene County Tourism. Hunter and Windham are the two largest ski/snowboard resorts in the Hudson Valley and Catskills region, and offer a total of some 100 trails. So there's something to appeal to any levael between them.

And don't forget Plattekill, where there's skiing by day and after the chairlifts close. It's a wonderfully friendly family-owned ski and snowboard resort with some great downhill runs. Such as the double-diamond Freefall, which feels like it ends at the plate glass window of the Plattekill lodge. Slam on the brakes, please! I did.

Photo courtesy Windham Mountain

Hike Under the Stars at Frost Valley

A unique guided after-dark hike at the Frost Valley YMCA in Claryville will give participants the chance for star gazing, and perhaps see some night-time animals such as bats.

The hike is being held on Saturday, November 1st, under the guidance of biologist Reid Bauer, who is not scared of the dark, and wants you not to be. He's an expert on how humans and animals adapt to a nighttime environment. The excursion also will educate participants on how to view planets, stars and constellations with the naked eye and with telescopes that Bauer is bringing along. The hike includes a stop at Frost Valley's Raptor Center to look at and learn more about night predators, including the rescued animals at the center.

It's called a hike, but it's really a walk on easy terrain, suitable for adults and children. Space is limited to 30, so reservations are recommended.

Visit Henry Hudson's Half Moon in Yonkers

Just in case you didn't know -- next year, 2009, is the 400th anniversary of the discovery of a certain river by a Dutch explorer named Henry Hudson. And an important part of the year-long celebrations from New York City to the upper reaches of the Hudson River Valley is the plank-for-plank replica of Hudson's ship, the Half Moon.

The Half Moon is now docked at The Pier in Yonkers, and will stay there for two weeks. Students from schools throughout Westchester take part in educational programs on the boat, to learn what it was like to live and work in the early 1600s, including the life of a sailor aboard Henry Hudson's ship of discovery during the week. And on weekends, the Half Moon is open for public tours. Remember to watch your head when you go below deck -- people were a lot shorter in the 1600s than we are today.

The original ship, called the "Halve Maen," in Dutch, was commissioned in 1609 for the Dutch East India Company, which hired an Englishman, Henry Hudson, to find a passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He thought he had found it when he sailed up the river that was later named for him. His mistake -- our history.

The Half Moon is just one of hundreds of activities, festivities and celebrations for the Quadricentennial of Henry Hudson's discovery. Check the ExploreNY400 website regularly for updates so you can start planning now.

Hudson claimed the area for his Dutch employers, and soon Dutch farmers, cattle ranchers and fur traders began arriving to settle the Hudson Valley. Hudson's voyage here in 1609 was 10 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.

The Half Moon replica was built in Albany, the New York State capital city on the shores of the the Hudson River. It is 85 feet long. Can you imagine sailing across the Atlantic into the unknown today in an 85-foot wooden boat, with no GPS, no iPod, no credit cards, no ice for the afternoon social hour and no balcony to enjoy it on?

Special Occasion Dinner at Xaviar's at Piermont

Taittinger produces some of the world's best French champagne. Peter X. Kelly produces some of the finest meals in the Hudson Valley. Put them together, and it guarantees a memorable dining experience.

It's called L'Instant Taittinger: La Cuisine Xaviar's. Translation -- a one-night-only extravaganza of lobster, Hudson Valley foie gras, Hudson Valley duckling, quail, truffles and more, enhanced by a bounty of Hudson Valley fall produce including squash. Plus , of course, champagne. Lots and lots of champagne. Each cru matched to the dish.

This special dinner is at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 21, 2008, at Xaviar's at Piermont, on the village's main street, Piermont Ave. It's a pricey $200 per person, so you might consider this an early holiday gift to yourself and your significant other. But the price includes the opportunity to discuss champagne with a special guest -- Clovis Taittinger, the newest generation of the Taittinger family to lead the legendary house.

Old World elegance is the rule at Xaviar's. Waterford crystal chandeliers, Rosenthal china, and Riedel champagne glasses, which will be filled from magnums of the finest Champagne Taittinger cuvees from the Côtes des Blancs, Montagne de Reims and the Vallée de la Marne.

So what's on the menu?

Reception --

Coconut Shrimp with Dijon Mustard Sauce, Macadamia Crusted Ahi Tuna with Yuzu Butter, Grilled Quail with Lingonberry, Caramelized Onion Tart with Goat Cheese & Olive,Butternut Squash Veloute with Gingered Shrimp and tiny Crabcake with Gaufrettes Potato & Avocado, all matched with Taittinger, Prestige Blanc Brut NV

Dinner Menu --

Butter Poached Lobster, Creamy Coconut Orzo With Mango & Pineapple are matched with Taittinger, Vintage 1999

Alaskan Halibut cooked “Sous Vide”, Green Onion & Black Truffle Risotto and Sorrel Butter & Volcanic Black Salt are matched with Taittinger, Prestige Rose Brut NV

Breast of Hudson Valley Duckling, Medallion of Foie Gras & Wild Mushroom Spaetzle and Organic Carrots & Sonoma Figs are matched with Taittinger, Comtes des Champagne, Blanc de Blanc 1998

Desserts --
Meyer Lemon Sabayon with Shortbread Crust, Salad of Pink Grapefruit with Acacia Honey and Pistachio & Spearmint are matched with Taittinger, Comtes des Champagne, Rose 2000

Reservations are recommended. Of course, Xaviar's at Piermont and Kelly's other restaurants, Freelance Cafe & Wine Bar, also in Piermont, and his Xaviar's on the Hudson in Yonkers, are included in my food and wine guidebook, Eating the Hudson Valley, published by WWNorton/Countryman Press.

Fall for Westchester Events

Fabulous autumn foilage is the backdrop for events throughout October throughout Westchester County, with something to please everybody -- and all great reasons to visit and enjoy the Hudson Valley.

More than 70 art galleries throughout the county are participating in All Fired Up! A Collection of Clay. There are whimsical ceramics, such as these, at the Pace Univeristy Choate Gallery, and more conventional pottery and ceramics, too. Many of the artists are local, so support them, and the galleries, by doing more than looking. Buy, too.

The annual Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze begins this weekend at Van Cortlandt Manor, Croton-on-Hudson, and every weekend this month. Tickets are required, and they are selling out. No wonder -- it is an annual extravaganza of 3,000+ hand carved jack o'lanterns. Bring your camera. And the kids, since this is a family-friendly spook-tacular.

If you've been waiting to buy tickets to the season opening performances of the Westchester Philharmonic on October 11th and 12th, you blew it. Sold out. And no wonder -- the symphonies -- at the Performing Arts Center, Purchase -- are conducted by Artistic Director Itzhak Perlman, the world-renowned violinist. He'll also be performing during the season.

The last weekend in October, the 24-26, is reserved for Legend Weekend, another annual spook-tacular, held at Washington Irving's Sunnyside in Tarrytown and also at Phillipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow. Halloween activities include storytelling, puppet shows, walks through woods that may or may not be haunted, and an appearance by the Headless Horseman.

Boo!

October is New York Wine Month

New York Wine Month will run the entire month of October, with more than 115 restaurants and 150 wine stores throughout the state participating to showcase New York wines. With the harvest is in full swing, this is a great time to celebrate the bounty of New York as a wine-producing state, especially the wines of the Hudson Valley, which has been growing wine grapes since 1677, when the French Huguenots planted vines they brought with them from Europe.

One of the best places to sample New York State wines -- actually three of the best places -- is Vintage New York, a wine store and tasting room, that carries only New York State wines, from the Finger Lakes and Long Island in addition to Hudson Valley wineries. There are two locations in Manhattan -- in Soho, at Broome Street at the corner of Wooster, the other on the Upper West Side, at 93rd and Broadway.

The third Vintage New York location is in the Hudson Valley at Rivendell Winery in New Paltz. Stop off at the winery for a tour and a tasting either before or after touring the historic Huguenot Stone Houses downtown, some of which date back to the 1600s.

Hudson Valley Wine Industry Pioneer Passes Away

There's been a death in the family.

One of the pioneers of the Hudson Valley wine industry has passed away. Mark Miller was 89, the founder and loving watchman of Benmarl Winery at Slatehill Vineyards in Marlboro, the oldest continuously operating vineyard in America. Miller's vineyard overlooking the Hudson River has been growing grapes since the early 1800s.

Benmarl Vineyards received the New York Farm Winery License #1, in recognition of his work on getting that 1976 law passed. At that time there were only 19 wineries in New York. Today, there are more than twice that number in the Hudson Valley, and more than 250 in the entire state, including the Finger Lakes and Long Island.

Mark Miller was a 'character in the warm and wonderful sense' of the word -- a gentlemen, a gracious host, and a wonderful story teller, even if some of those stories might have been embellished. Ever so slightly. Some of those stories had to do with his previous life as an illustrator for magazines including The Saturday Evening Post.

The wine bug bit him in the 1950s after he lived in France for several years, and it became a permanent passion, along with art. He and his first wife Dene bought the Benmarl property in 1957, but had to wait another decade for the first harvest. He started a “wine club”, called the Societé des Vignerons, whose members could purchase two vines, attend the annual spring tasting, and receive a case of wine labeled with the Societé’s graphic design along with their own signature.

Miller's passions of wine and art meant that after the winery tour and tastings, visitors were encouraged to visit the little art gallery behind the tasting room, mostly his paintings and drawings. I was lucky to get a personal tour a few years ago while I was researching my first Hudson Valley guidebook.

He sold the winery a few years ago. Even though the little art gallery is gone, wisely, the new buyers have kept the vines in production, rather than sell the valuable property to real estate developers.

Mark Miller. He will be missed, but not forgotten.

Celebrate Nelson Rockefeller's 100th Birthday

This weekend, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 20-21, Historic Hudson Valley and the Rockefeller Archive Center are hosting a special Nelson A. Rockefeller Centennial Weekend. It focuses on the four-time New York State governor and U. S. vice president Nelson Rockefeller, and his legacy in the arts, education, and the environment.

The event is being held both at Kykuit, the art-filled Rockefeller Estate in Pocantico Hills, where four generations of the famous family have lived, and at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, which was founded by Nelson's mother, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. The Rockefeller's NYC home was across the street from what would become MOMA.

Kykuit, by the way, is pictured at the right -- it is the image on the cover of my book, Great Destinations: The Hudson Valley.

Here is the schedule of events:

On Saturday, Sept. 20, events are in NYC, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.. with presentations at MOMA by experts including --

• an introduction by Mark F. Rockefeller will begin the program.


• The Keynote Speaker is author, historian, and political commentator Richard Norton Smith, a nationally recognized authority on the American presidency and a familiar face to viewers of C-SPAN, as well as The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,


• Other speakers include Cynthia B. Altman, Kykuit Curator;


• Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, Chair, New York State Council on the Arts;


• Dr. Clifton Wharton, Jr., noted economist, presidential appointee, and former Chancellor, State University of New York;


• Robert R. Douglass, former legal counsel and Secretary for Governor Rockefeller.

The program moves to the Hudson Valley on Sunday, with special tours of Governor Rockefeller's art collection and the work of the Archive Center.

Tickets for this special Nelson A. Rockefeller Centennial Weekend are $125 per person, or $100 per person for members of Historic Hudson Valley or the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Contact Historic Hudson Valley.

Special Wine Dinner at Le Chambord

This 1863 Georgian mansion is on everybody's list of favorites for special occasion dining, for its elegant and romantic decor that includes crystal chandeliers and opulent gilded picture frames, plus gourmet food, and an expansive wine cellar. It makes Le Chambord in Hopewell Junction, a popular and picturesque destination for weddings, of course.

Once again, this tasty reason to visit the Hudson Valley is hosting its special and spectacular Wine Dinners, featuring special pairings of food and wine. The first dinner, on Saturday, August 23 is a five-course extravaganza based on Spanish and Portuguese themes of both food and wine.

The food is under the direction of award-winning chef Lenny Mott, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in nearby Hyde Park. The wine is under the direction of noted wine educator Ron Ross. And everything at Le Chambord is supervised by owner Roy Benich, who seems to be everywhere, all the time, making sure every detail is perfect.

The dinner is $99 per person, plus tax and gratuities. To make it a truly special event, stay overnight in this historic bed and breakfast -- and dinner. The overnight package for you and your significant other is $369, and includes cocktails, the wine dinner, room and breakfast. There's a $10 per person discount coupon on the Le Chambord website.

German Alps Festival at Hunter Mountain This Weekend

Beer, bratwurst and more. So grab your lederhosen and head for the annual German Alps Festival at Hunter Mountain the weekend of August 9-10.

Entertainment includes 16-time Grammy award winner Jimmy Sturr and his Orchestra, plus bands from Bavaria, like the Enzian Band pictured here, plus performers of the famous folk dance Schuhplattler. The festival also features German-American food -- and beer -- and plenty of vendors offering more than just cuckoo clocks, plus activities for the entire familly.

There's also the chance to win two round-trip tickets to Germany courtesy of Air Berlin, and fireworks on Sunday evening. And, of course, you can take the chair lift to the top of the mountain for picture postcard views of the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains.

Okay, I admit it. I have a special fondness for Hunter Mountain, where I learned to ski and have hiked with and without a backpack, and for Bavaria, where my mother was born.

But I also love Scotland and bagpipes and Tartan plaids and single malts. And that's later in August, the weekend of the 16-17 -- for Hunter Mountain's International Celtic Festival.

Summer festivals are a great reason to visit the Hudson Valley!

Wounded Soldiers and Marines go Camping

If there is something that Soldiers and Marines are good at, it is leading from the front and working as a team. These ideals will be put to test when visiting Wounded Warriors are paired up one-on-one basis with STRIDE Youth Athletes for a Wounded Warrior Fall Family Retreat at Moreau State Park in Glens Falls in September.

STRIDE also has Wounded Warrior ski and snowboard programs. The photo you see here is from one of those this past winter.

Glens Falls really is in the Adirondaks, but its water feeds into the Hudson River and therefore the Hudson Valley. More importantly, this is such a worthwhile program that it should be mentioned here -- and supported -- including by Hudson Valley businesses who can contribute money as sponsors, or products such as steaks and sleeping bags that the Wounded Warriors, their spouses and their kids, will need for this weekend.

STRIDE is a unique program, since it unites Soldiers, Marines and other Veterans who have sustained injuries and/or disabilities with some of STRIDE’s youth athletes who also have special needs. So, it's theraputic and supportive for both sides.

It is a first of its kind program nationwide. Each soldier, along with their family members ‘volunteers’ to mentor a STRIDE youth athlete with a similar disability for a weekend of learning together. Soldiers and children are introduced via email and ‘pen-pal’ before camping together, so by the time the event is held, it's more like an extended family than a group of strangers.

STRIDE has been taking youths with special needs into the woods of New York State Parks for more than two decades. The success of that program, plus the growing population of U. S. Military members returning from deployment with permanent injuries, prompted them to add this type of camping event.

Help Clean up The Hudson River

Join Riverkeeper, TEVA Footwear and Keep Rockland Beautiful this Saturday, July 26th, to help get the junk out of the water and away from the beautiful shores of the Hudson River.

There are two ways you can help -- actually three, if you count making a donation to Riverkeeper, the #1 protector of our beautiful Hudson River.

Grab a trash bag or two and meet at the Piermont Pier in Piermont for a 10:30 a.m. start to pick up trash around the pier and nearby, too. To sign up, contact Heartie Look -- what a great name! -- at hlook@riverkeeper.org.

If you have a kayak or a canoe, you can help clean up the river while you paddle from Nyack to Piermont. This mid-river clean-up starts at Nyack's Memorial Park at 9 a.m. Contact Manny Polloni from American Terrain Outdoors Store to sign-up -- manny@americanterrain.com.

The Hudson River is the heart and soul of the Hudson Valley. Help keep it clean. See you there?