The documentary Bar None: Cannabis Redemption will screen at Stissing Center in Pine Plains Saturday, June 27 at 7:30 p.m. Although cannabis is now legal in much of the U.S., hundreds of thousands still carry the weight of past convictions — and tens of thousands remain behind bars. The film follows 13 people caught in the justice system who’ve turned their lives around by entering the legal cannabis industry. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film’s creator. Tickets are available at thestissingcenter.org
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O+ Festival celebrates health and art
D.H. Callahan
Oct 07, 2026
The 2025 O+ Parade.
Peter Kolk
From Oct. 9-11, the O+ Festival will blend health, wellness and all kinds of art throughout the city of Kingston.
The American health care system is not built for artists. Since the bulk of insurance policies in the United States are tied directly to employment, many artists are forced to take day jobs that can stifle and even suffocate their artistic pursuits. Though the Affordable Care Act sought to bring access to millions of Americans, many artists and other self-employed workers continue to face challenges finding affordable coverage.
The O+ Festival wants to help.
O+ (pronounced O Positive) was founded in 2010 when Kingston-based dentist Thomas F. Cingel reached out to Brooklyn-based psychedelic indie-rock band Monogold and asked if they’d be interested in a trade. The band would play a show in Kingston, and Cingel would provide free dental care to its members.
The idea sparked something in Kingston’s medical community, and soon a group emerged to further the mission of exchanging art for medical support. They called themselves O+ after the blood type and went about organizing a three-day festival to bring artists, musicians and the medical community together. Sixteen years later, the idea is as strong as ever, and the festival continues to grow.
This year, the festival will feature an impressive array of musicians, artists, DJs and medical and wellness professionals. Musical highlights include Brooklyn-based rockers SKORTS, clown-punk band first president of japan, indie-country singer Joelton Mayfield, upstate rapper Shiloh The Messenger, queer indie art-rock band Outer Shapes and Hudson Valley-based bands The Schwegs, Couch Surfer and Matt Pond PA.
Of note is the Steve Keene Art Shop. Keene is known for his prolific output of intentionally affordable paintings, as well as iconic album covers and stage designs for bands including Pavement and Silver Jews.
Artistic offerings include exhibitions of works by climate change landscape painter Casey Inch, local object maker Lexa Walsh, installation artist Adriane Colburn and many more. Rocker, venue owner and writer Melissa Auf der Maur will discuss her new memoir about life on the road with Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins. Laughs will be provided by a lineup of comedic acts, including musical duo Greifcat and the “clown-daddy” act of My Boy.
Artistic events such as a parade of crazy creatives, a honky- tonk dance class and a block party will be complemented by wellness events and activities including a 39-mile bike ride, meditation sessions and a whole lot of yoga classes.
For the full lineup and more information about the O+ festival, visit opositivefestival.org.
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Foxtrot Farm & Flowers blossoms into a wedding venue
D.H. Callahan
Oct 07, 2026
A wedding dinner at the farm.
Kate Farrar
Foxtrot Farm and Flowers is a lot more than a farm with flowers. Over the past few years, it’s been an art gallery, a movie theatre, a holiday market venue, a pop-up restaurant, and perhaps most importantly for farmer and owner Kate Farrar, a wedding venue. Farrar hosted her own wedding at the farm in 2024 and is now opening it up for public bookings.
After 10 years of agricultural work in the Hudson Valley, Farrar opened her farm in 2021 in Stanfordville with the express purpose of growing beautiful flowers in a way that worked with the land and the people who live around it. Today, she harvests some of the most vibrant, regeneratively grown flowers in the county.
For years, Foxtrot had been making stunning arrangements for weddings from Brooklyn to the Berkshires, but it was Farrar’s own wedding that changed how she saw the farm’s potential.
In 2023, Farrar got engaged to local filmmaker, Brian Gersten, now her husband. While the couple was still in the early stages of planning, they took a quick trip to Mexico City and came back with a whole suitcase of inspiration. Together, they toiled away to transform a historic barn and some unused outdoor space into a magical place to eat, drink and be merry — or married, as it were.
After the success of their wedding in 2024, the concept had been proven. The farm, the flowers and the visible efforts from the bride and groom had their guests raving that this was something truly special and unique. The event stood out from many of the more standard wedding experiences they’d all attended in the past, delightful though they may have been.
Farrar and Gersten on their wedding day.Autumn Jordan
2025 was a big year for the farm. With help from a New York State arts grant, Gersten screened a series of flower-related films in the barn. Farrar and her team hosted a holiday craft and farm market called Farm & Friends.
This year has seen even more events. In June, Foxtrot housed the “Bugs!” art show as part of Upstate Art Weekend. It hosted a series of outdoor farm dinners with food and drinks provided by Westerly Canteen, Fair Play Hospitality and 10 Mile Table. Foxtrot was also the home base for Dahlia Daze, a multi-farm dahlia tuber festival. The 2026 Farm & Friends preholiday market is already in the works for November.
But now, Farrar is giving couples the opportunity to have their own big days at her farm. She and Gersten built a tiny house on the property, expanded the outdoor gathering areas and designed a honeymoon suite studio just next to the farm. On Oct, 16,17 and 18, Foxtrot is hosting an open house for curious couples, wedding planners and industry professionals to experience the magic of the farm for themselves.
Though Farrar has been planning this shift for some time, pressures from the increased costs of farming in America have fueled her resolve.
“2026,” she said, “felt very different from 2025.”
As videos circulate nationally of farmers on the brink of losing family farms after generations of work, small farms are not immune to those pressures.
Adding to them is the unpredictable nature of climate change. As local residents will no doubt remember, the winter of 2025-26 was a brutal one in the region, with thick snow and deep freezes. Farrar has more than enough experience to adapt to changing and extreme growing conditions, but adopting new business ventures will work to keep the flowers blooming.
Luckily for her, this new path is one she’s passionate and excited about. Using the farm as a venue not only lets Farrar share her special space with large groups of celebrants, but also allows her to keep growing the fabulous flowers the farm is known for.
To learn more about Foxtrot as a farm and a venue, visit foxtrotfarmflowers.com.
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Lessons from another year in the garden
Dee Salomon
Oct 07, 2026
Clearweed in the front (lighter color) and taller jewelweed behind it.
Dee Salomon
As most of us do this time of year, I am taking stock of what worked in the garden and nearby woods and what did not.
Indeed, there was more of the latter than the former, but what did work gave me great satisfaction.
By far the best thing was in the spring, when the many years of work in the wetland yielded stunning beauty. I have written about this area before: how the removal of wall-to-wall barberry, multiflora rose, privet and buckthorn allowed the skunk cabbage to come back to life.
Two years ago, I tackled the remaining half-acre of dense phragmites and sprinkled the area with native wetland grass seed. Last year, one could see progress, but this spring was a transformation: native grasses, including many species that I had not seeded, and flowering plants, including marsh violets and the elegantly tall and arching jumpseed, Persicaria virginiana.
There is still much to do in this area, including a battle with coltsfoot, which I pull out this time of year so I can get the small flower buds just developing at the back of the stem. If I am lucky, the full root comes out, too. It also allows me to better see and pick out the stilt grass growing nearby.
Coltsfoot spreads quickly, and if I had had a plant ID app 10 years ago, I would never have had the issue. It is an attractive plant with an early flower. But go it must.
Trees and branches succumbing to wind, and the attendant damage they caused, might be high on many lists of what went wrong this year in the garden. We had terrible damage to trees and plant beds from two enormous white pines that snapped off behind the house. Many fared far worse.
We cannot stop the trees from falling. Sometimes we also need to preemptively remove trees that overhang our homes. That said, we do need to recognize that a healthy tree canopy provides wind protection to homes and to the ornamental plantings that surround them. The long-term viability of these important wooded areas between properties, along roads and at the borders of yards is not a given.
If the wooded area is infested with barberry, multiflora rose, honeysuckle and burning bush, mature trees will be weakened and new trees will be highly challenged to take their place when mature ones succumb. Many native tree seeds won’t germinate in soil that some invasive plants chemically alter through their dropped leaves and roots. Invasives also block out the light needed for small trees to grow. What you get instead is a wall of invasive shrubs with fewer trees each year. Big fail.
The most important thing you can do this fall and winter is remove invasive plants from these areas. The gratification resulting from the work is almost immediate; I have witnessed tree seedlings germinating within one year after removing the invasives, ultimately resulting in a prolific understory of young trees.
On a far smaller scale, an aesthetic failure came from my inability to keep two native plants from taking over the banks of the stream that line the road to our house. Pilea pulmila, clearweed, and Impatiens capensis, jewelweed, are both self-seeding annuals with thick, watery stems and shaggy countenances.
This year, they have colonized shady areas that used to look tidy in a natural, woodland-y way. I was loath to do anything about the small clumps of these in past years; as natives, they both provide some ecosystem services to needed insects. As the clumps grew into swaths, I put off dealing with them. When I came back from a holiday this summer, they had gone to seed and it was too late to do anything about them.
An attempt to rationalize my mistake followed. Might there be some benefit of these plants, like other annuals that fix nitrogen in the soil? No; the shallow roots are not upcycling nutrients deep in the soil, nor are they helping with erosion. And while there are some insects that enjoy these plants, the insects are generalists and can go elsewhere for what they need.
These two runaway plants test my ambition to prioritize the creation and protection of native habitats over an aesthetically pleasing outcome. Next year, the weed whacker will be employed.
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“A Goodnight Kiss” receives Connecticut League of Museums honor
Natalia Zukerman
Oct 07, 2026
Cast photo from the premiere of “A Goodnight Kiss” in 2025.
Cinzi Lavin
A Goodnight Kiss,” the Civil War-era love story that began with a cache of letters found in a Goshen attic, has received an Award of Merit from the Connecticut League of Museums.
Written by Litchfield County playwright Cinzi Lavin and commissioned and directed by Goshen resident Kathy Kelly, the play tells the true story of Sarah Jane “Jennie” Wadhams and Sgt. Maj. Frederick Lucas, whose courtship unfolded through letters exchanged during the Civil War. The production premiered at Goshen Players Playhouse in June 2025.
The Connecticut League of Museums’ Award of Merit recognizes individuals and organizations for work that advances public understanding of Connecticut history and culture.
Lavin, Kelly and members of the cast will be honored at an awards ceremony and reception later this month at the New Britain Museum of American Art.
“I’m honored that the Connecticut League of Museums has chosen to recognize our dedication to transforming historical archives into a living story,” Lavin said. “Having ‘A Goodnight Kiss’ vetted by the state’s leading heritage professionals in a peer review is truly gratifying.”
The award is the latest chapter in a growing life for the production. In April, “A Goodnight Kiss” became the first drama staged beneath the dome of the Connecticut State Capitol, where it was presented as part of the state’s America250 commemoration. It later returned to Litchfield County for performances at Five Points Arts Center in Torrington. The script has also been accepted into the permanent collection of the Library of Congress.
The production stars David Macharelli and Olivia Wadsworth as Fred and Jennie, with Robert Kwalick, John Fabiani, Joel Osborne, Harmony Tanguay and Susie Hackel.
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Country Living leaps off the page in Rhinebeck
D.H. Callahan
Oct 07, 2026
A barn stall transformed into a cozy cabin at the Country Living Fair.
D.H. Callahan
On the first weekend of October, Country Living leapt off the page and screen and landed at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck for the revitalized Country Living Fair.
Since the 1970s, Country Living has been the gold standard of rural interior and exterior design. The monthly publication, owned by Hearst, has been featuring rustic homes, inns, landscapes and styles for nearly 50 years, with no sign of slowing down.
Though many such publications took drastic hits in the early 2000s with the onset of digital media, Country Living seems to be thriving, with nearly 10 million followers across its social media platforms.. Each month, it brings new inspiration to devoted readers who are quick to like, share and comment on its content from around the rural world.
The Country Living Fair started in 2008 and, in addition to Rhinebeck, has set up camp in Chicago, Nashville, Columbus and Atlanta. The COVID-19 pandemic put the fair on pause after 2019, but now it’s back with a bang.
The fair is a curated blend of flea market, design expo, and, of course, county fair, but the main draw is the vendors. Carefully considered booths packed with rare finds and delightful designs lined several of the covered barns at the Dutchess Country Fairgrounds. The fact that the barns were built to show off prize-winning livestock fit the feeling of the event wonderfully.
Though there was a wide range of wares, everything seemed to fit with the overall vibe of the fair. Some vendors took the time and effort to create unique shopping environments, like one antique seller from Maine who turned his booth into a rustic cabin interior. Another opted not to occupy a barn booth at all, instead setting up shop outside her vintage VW bus.
As part of a unique partnership, Country Living teamed up with Etsy, the online marketplace for handmade and vintage goods, to hand-pick sellers from around the country. This led to more makers and crafters than you might find at a regular antique flea market or county fair. Handmade clothes, jewelry, baskets and art complemented multiple booths offering reclaimed quilt coats, totes and even fanny packs.
Beyond the vendors, the fair’s mains tages saw influencers, brand developers, business owners and even a TV celebrity or two talking about their crafts with Country Living Editor-in-Chief Rachel Hardage Barrett. Barrett led consistently engaging conversations in front of enthusiastic crowds of fair attendees.
A musical stage popped out of a vintage camp trailer and featured an impressive lineup of local and national folk acts. Leaving half her band behind, Hudson Valley-based harpist and singer Mikaela Davis wowed crowds on Saturday afternoon. Davis, whose new album “Graceland Way,” was released earlier this year, has an impressive resume of collaborations, including performances with the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, instrumental indie-groove band Circles Around the Sun, jazz bassist Christian McBride, and Connecticut’s rising-star jam band Goose. Her mastery of the harp paired with her smooth vocals worked as a perfect compliment to a warm autumn day in Rhinebeck.
To learn more about Country Living or plan for a road trip to the next fair, visit countryliving.com.
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Legal Notices - October 6, 2026
Millerton News
Oct 06, 2026
Legal Notice
Ducillo Fine Carpentry LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 5/3/2026. Office located in Dutchess Co. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: LegalZoom USCA, Inc., 45 Main Street, Suite 238, Brooklyn NY 11201. Purpose: any lawful activity.
09-10-26
09-17-26
09-24-26
10-01-26
10-08-26
10-15-26
Legal Notice
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF DISCO PICNIC LLC Articles of Organization filed with the New York Secretary of State on 06/22/2026. Office located in Dutchess County. Principal business location: 59 Yellow City Road, Amenia, NY, 12501. The Secretary of State has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The Secretary of State shall mail a copy of process to: 59 Yellow City Road, Amenia, NY, 12501. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
09-24-26
10-01-26
10-08-26
10-15-26
10-22-26
10-29-26
Legal Notice
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LAUREN WOLFENDEN LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/06/2026. Office location: Dutchess County. Principal business location: 331 Market Lane, Clinton Corners, NY 12514. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to Lauren Wolfenden at the principal business location. Purpose: any lawful purpose.
10-01-26
10-08-26
10-15-26
10-22-26
10-29-26
11-05-26
Legal Notice
Notice is hereby given that a license, number NA-0240-25-215405 for beer, wine and cider has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer, wine and cider at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 130 US-44, Millerton, Town of North East, Dutchess County, New York for on premises consumption. Regen Foods LLC d/b/a Pasture Kitchen.
10-01-26
10-08-26
Legal Notice
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS DUTCHESS COUNTY, NEW YORK NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a public hearing will be held by the Town of Pine Plains Planning Board on the 14th day of October 2026 at 7:35PM at the Town Hall, 3284 Route 199, Pine Plains, New York, for the purpose of hearing all persons for or against an application submitted by Catherine and Michael Dillinger for a special use permit and site plan for a proposed accessory dwelling unit located at 49 Beach Road Town of Pine Plains, Dutchess County, Tax Map ID #134200-6871-00-05994-0000. Any resident of the Town of Pine Plains shall be entitled to be heard regarding said application. The application is available for review during regular business hours at the Pine Plains Town Hall. By order of: Town of Pine Plains Planning Board
10-08-26
Legal Notice
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS DUTCHESS COUNTY, NEW YORK
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a public hearing will be held by the Town of Pine Plains Planning Board on the 14th day of October 2026, at 7:45 PM at the Town Hall, 3284 Route 199, Pine Plains, New York, for the purpose of hearing all persons for or against a minor subdivision application submitted by Andrea MacArthur for property located at 317 Skunks Misery Road, Town of Pine Plains, Dutchess County, State of New York, Tax Map No. 134200-7071-00-950355-0000. Any resident of the Town of Pine Plains shall be entitled to be heard regarding said application. The application is available for review during regular business hours at the Pine Plains Town Hall. By order of: Town of Pine Plains Planning Board
10-08-26
Legal Notice
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a public hearing will be held before the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of North East, Dutchess County, New York, on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 7:00 PM or soon thereafter as possible, in the Town Hall, 19 North Maple Avenue, Millerton, New York, on the application of Scot Dean, owner of tax parcel #7172-00-986006, for a front yard area variance to build a garage. The parcel is located at 6126 Route 22 Millerton, NY 12546, in the A5A Zoning District of the Town of North East. The above application is open for inspection at the Town Hall. Persons wishing to appear at such hearing may do so in person or by other representatives. Communications in writing relating thereto may be filed with the Board at such hearing. Dated: 9/28/2026 Edith Greenwood Chairman Zoning Board of Appeals
10-08-26
Legal Notice
NOTICE TO BIDDERS
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Town of Pine Plains invites bids for furnishing all labor and materials necessary for the reconstruction pedestrian sidewalks serving the Pine Plains Town Center Park, located at the intersection of NYS Routes 199 and 82, Pine Plains, New York. The installation will include all required materials, tools, labor, excavation, and expertise, under the requirements to reconstruct 165 linear feet of 3-foot wide (55 SY) pathway and 15 ft x 20 ft pergola area into stamped asphalt concrete sidewalk. All such sealed proposals must be received by the office of the Town of Pine Plains, Town Clerk, 3284 Route 199, Pine Plains, New York 12567 until 12:30PM on October 14th, 2026, at which time they will be publicly opened and read. Bids shall be in sealed envelopes, clearly marked "Town Center Park Sidewalk". Copies of the request for proposal and the forms of proposals for the contract, are available for pick up and for public inspection at the office of the Town of Pine Plains, Secretary to the Supervisor, 3284 Route 199, Pine Plains, New York 12567, during business hours, Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and become available September 30th, 2026. An electronic document is available upon request by emailing the Secretary of the Supervisor at supervisor.secretary@pineplains-ny.gov . The work shall be substantially completed within 60 calendar days of the date of the Notice to Proceed. All proposals shall be made and received upon the following conditions, which are more fully set forth in the bid documents: 1. Only such proposals as are made and filed upon the forms available in the Bid Documents will be accepted. 2. Proposals are to be enclosed in a sealed envelope. 3. Pursuant to the provisions of GML 105, no bids may be withdrawn unless no contract is awarded for more than 45 days after the opening thereof. 4. All bids shall contain the non-collusion certificate in a form meeting the requirements of GML 103-d. The Town of Pine Plains reserves the right, in its discretion, to waive technical noncompliance or irregularities that are not material or substantial, and to reject all bids and to rebid the project.
10-08-26
Legal Notice
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
TOWN OF AMENIA NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Public Hearing will be held by the Town Board of the Town of Amenia on the 5th day of November, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at Amenia Town Hall, 4988 Route 22, Amenia, New York, regarding the proposed Local Law known as Local Law No. ___ of 2026 entitled "a Local Law of the Town of Amenia to Override the Tax Levy Limit for Fiscal Year 2027 Established in General Municipal Law 3-c." PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that this Local Law would authorize the Town Board to adopt a budget for fiscal year 2027 that requires a real property tax levy, and to levy real property taxes, in excess of the tax levy limit pursuant to General Municipal Law 3-c, if necessary. PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that any resident of the Town of Amenia shall be entitled to be heard upon said proposed Local Law at such Public Hearing. PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that a copy of the proposed Local Law No. ___ of the Year 2026 is available for review and inspection at the Office of the Town Clerk during regular office hours, at Amenia Town Hall, 4988 Route 22, Amenia, New York, and on the Town's website at www.ameniany.gov. Dated: Amenia, New York. October 1, 2026. BY ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD DAWN MARIE KLINGNER TOWN CLERK
10-08-26
Legal Notice
Notice of Budget Hearing
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Amenia Fire District will hold the Annual Fire District Budget Hearing to be conducted with reference to the Annual Fire District Budget for fiscal year 2027 on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 commencing at 7:00 P.M. at the Amenia Fire District located at 36 Mechanic Street, Amenia,, New York. All meetings of the Board of Fire Commissioners are open to the public. This notice is being publicized and posted in accordance with the provisions of Section 104 of the Public Officers Law of the State of New York by order of the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Amenia Fire District. Dated: Amenia, New York, September 14, 2026. Dawn Marie Klingner District Secretary
10-08-26
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