SALISBURY — Jumpfest 2025 attracted thousands of guests to Satre Hill for a weekend of ski jumping, traditional treats, bonfires and brews Feb. 1 and 2.
Typically a three-day event, Friday night’s festivities were canceled due to rainy conditions, which made for slick slopes on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday was bright, clear and on the cold side in the mid-20s, with an irregular wind that the jumpers had to be mindful of. Snowflakes were flying when the action kicked off at about 9 a.m. with the youth competitions on the K20 jump.
Youth ski jumpers gather at the landing zone to recognize the national anthem before the Eastern U.S. Ski Jumping Championship began at Satre Hill.Lans Christensen
“It’s very winterlike here at Satre Hill,” said WZBG Radio’s Dale Jones, who once again assumed announcing duties for the competition. Gusty winds had fortunately mostly abated for the jumpers of smaller stature, with windows of sunshine intermittently breaking through the flurries and illuminating the paint-streaked landing hill.
SWSA’s own Caleb Bodwell, who placed 2nd last year, put down a sizable 10-meter jump. Shortly after, Catherine Chor flew 11.5 meters, the furthest of the day so far.
Henry Loher flew farther than any other competitor at Jumpfest 2025, gliding 71meters on Sunday, Feb. 2.Randy O’Rourke
Larry Stone, a ski jumping coach in winter sports mecca Lake Placid, New York and Chief of Competition for the weekend, said that Catherine’s sister Caroline would be one to watch later in the day in the older age group. The sisters train together at their local jumping facility in Hanover, New Hampshire, Stone explained: “They’re a good twosome.”
Temperatures dropped as the day went on, and in response the two bonfires flanking the landing of the big jump kept growing. Lakeville local Fisher Rydingsword was stoking the flames with scrap wood, a picnic table and seemingly infinite pallets. At 16 years old, this is his eighth year tending to the fires, and he likes the work: “It gives me an excuse to play with fire,” he said as he heaved another pallet atop the blaze.
Youth cross-country skiers depart.Alec Linden
The Cook Shack was busy around mealtime, as was the food truck offering pulled pork and mac and cheese.
To wash it down fans could choose between craft beers or hot toddies made with bourbon or rum as the main ingredient. The action was steady here too.
Some fans coped with the wind with tent-like shelters, but most were content to be bundled up and rely on the sun to stay warm. If that failed, there were the usual two bonfires on either side of the main jumping hill and a number of smaller fires in buckets and portable fire pits.
Hot toddies remain a staple treat at Jumpfest, plus SWSA bratwurst from the Cook Shack.Lans Christensen
Salisbury Central School eighth grade students Bryce Salmon, Quin Sheil and Tommy Downey prowled the crowd selling baked goods and handwarmers. The boys were raising funds for the annual class trip to Washington, D.C.
A little before 1 p.m., a well-prepared group were getting in the mood. Steve and Adrienne Fayette from Newtown and Rich and Amy Ferrari of Brookfield had comfy chairs and were well and warmly clad. They were fortifying themselves with salami, cheese and crackers and a bottle of red wine to start. Rich Ferrari said after that they’d get to the sandwiches.
“We love this event,” he said.
Ski jumpers pack into the shuttle truck for a lift back up to the K65 jump on Sunday, Feb. 2.Randy O’Rourke
At about 2 p.m. fans were still coming into Satre Hill. The parking lot was completely full, and people were sticking their cars wherever they could and hoofing it.
Sunday saw less wind and grayer skies for the Eastern U.S. Ski Jumping Championships with temperatures remaining more solidly in the mid-20s. These were good, fast conditions explained Jones, and the jumpers took advantage, putting on a spectacle of flight for the crowd.
The tone of the afternoon, though still joyous, was less boisterous and more focused than on Saturday. As skiers dropped in from their perch high on the tower, a hush would fall over the crowd, broken by cheers and the clang of more cowbells once the skis returned to snow.
Caleb Bodwell lands a jump on the K20 hill.Tom Brown
Salisbury’s own Islay Sheil surpassed 40-meters on her best Sunday jump. Sheil, who is 14, is the first SWSA youth athlete to have jumped the K65 since SWSA coach Seth Gardner jumped it in his early days, Spencer Taylor said.
Colin Delaney, who described himself as the “official/unofficial” coach of the Eastern Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined team, said that Jumpfest is a vital component to the national circuit. “It’s a really important hill size for training,” he said, emphasizing that the event “brings together athletes with different goals in the sport.”
Bonfires keep guests warm on crisp winter days.Lans Christensen
While the Eastern Championship is a wrap, jumping season is far from over. Loher, who emerged from Jumpfest highly decorated, will be competing at the Junior World Championships on Feb. 11, while other jumpers on the team will travel to Park City, Utah for the Junior National Championships on Feb. 22.
Jumpfest 2025 was well attended with an estimated 1,600 guests on Saturday and 1,500 on Sunday.
See 99th Jumpfest competitors soar to great heights for official Jumpfest results.
The SWSA crew maintains the slope at Satre Hill.Randy O’Rourke
Wassaic Project acquired the property in 2024, when the organization was approached by the property owners. “It wasn’t master planned at all,” said Jeff Barnett-Winsby, who co-founded Wassaic Project in 2008. “But our town and our county have been able to support us, and we haven’t embarrassed them.”
The chapel has quickly been folded into the organization’s larger programming plans. Coming up in 2026, Newburgh-based artist Liz Nielsen and her unique photograms will be the first visual artist to have a long-term installation at the chapel.
Listeners enjoy the acoustics inside Gridley Chapel, Wassaic Project’s latest addition to its campus.Photo by Graham Corrigan
Barnett-Winsby, now the organization’s co-executive director, said they have big ambitions to turn the space into a year-round music and performance venue — once it’s insulated. “That’s essential for us,” said Barnett-Winsby. “For years, it felt like every other festival was a monsoon situation.”
Preserving the chapel’s historic architecture is also a priority. “We’re trying to respectfully utilize these buildings, and also preserve them,” Barnett-Winsby continued.
Meanwhile, the summer exhibit, called “Because, now is the time of monsters,” was thronged with crowds that packed into the nooks and crannies of the Maxon Mills space and spilled out onto the lawn. The exhibit took place across the area.
Curated by Jeff Barnett-Winsby, Bowie Zunino, Eve Biddle and Will Hutnick, the show is aptly described by the organization as “something between a vision and a fever dream.” Climbing through the mill’s seven levels, the viewer is transported to worlds wrought from paint, plaster, paper, ceramic, metal, and more. It is both dreamlike and nightmarish, comforting and uncanny.
These projects are made possible in part by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, which recently approved a grant application sought by the Wassaic Project.
Also returning is Wassaic Project’s Art Nest, an all-ages classroom led by Special Projects Manager Emi Night. On opening weekend, a group of young art lovers were engrossed in projects based on two of the exhibition’s artists: felt tapestries in the style of Saul Chernick, and collaborative sculptures inspired by Samuelle Green. The art nest is open every Saturday from 12-5.
The larger Wassaic Project is open Thursday-Sunday from 12-5. Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $10.
The seventh floor of Wassaic Project was transformed by Clarissa Pezone and her surreal ceramics. Photo by Graham Corrigan
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
Sheila Srere, left, and Cathy Fenn plant flowers in a small island at the Harlem Valley Rail Trail’s intersection with Main Street in Millerton on Thursday, May 21.
Photo by Nathan Miller
Dave Vandebogart, left, and George Kaye plant red and white flowers at the base of the veterans memorial monument in the front yard of the United Methodist Church in downtown Millerton.
Filmmaker Yonah Sadeh on a shoot last year in New York City.
It is an exciting opportunity for Sadeh, who has built his own business, Sadeh Studios, by working with small area businesses and nonprofits, “helping to tell their stories through film,” he said.
Some of his projects have included projects for local affordable housing organizations and area nonprofits such as Berkshire Busk, Berkshares, Naturalis Healing, local after-school programs and the Falls Village Fire Department. Current projects are for Berkshire Mountain Bakery and a documentary about Great Barrington’s revitalization in the 1990s.
Sadeh discovered early in life that he wanted to make films and began to develop his process and distinct style.
“It started with puppet shows and musical performances, and then, when I was around 12, a family friend showed me how to use my family’s computer to record and edit short homemade videos using iMovie. From that point on, it was pretty much all movies. I would set up my mom’s computer on a stack of books and record with the webcam.”
An early influence was Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” which, “inspired my Claymation videos when I was 10 and remains one of my favorite films.”
He said getting his first camera made a big difference in his filmmaking.
“I was no longer stuck filming wherever I could set up the laptop. I could move with the camera and be more intentional about how things looked.”
Finding some of the technical aspects challenging, he watched YouTube to learn.
“I would imagine these big scenes, like fight sequences with lighting and effects, and then have to figure out how to actually make them. That process pushed me to learn. I spent a lot of time watching people like Casey Neistat, Film Riot and Corridor Digital, and just trying things out.”
Knowing the path he wanted to take, he pursued his high school education at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, MA. The school has since relocated to Barrytown, New York.
“Simon’s Rock was not a film school in a traditional sense, but it had incredible faculty that I was able to work with one-on-one throughout my years there,” he said. “It gave me the flexibility and time to make films both in and outside of class, and to start my production business while still in school.”
He was able to take college-level film courses while still in high school.
“It seemed like the perfect opportunity. I loved it so much that I stayed at Simon’s Rock after graduating from the academy for my bachelor’s degree.”
Filmmaker Yonah Sadeh at work. Lisa Volmer
After graduating, he focused full time on his freelance business.
“Most of my professional work is in documentary, where I am a one-man crew overseeing every aspect of the process, from meeting with clients to develop the idea to planning, filming and editing it all together. I love working in this way, with my hands in every part of the project.”
In addition to documentaries, he also works on narrative films.
“The script I am working on now is set over the summer solstice and follows two kids over a short but formative period of time. I feel like this idea of land and place, and the passing of time, is a pretty consistent theme in all of my work, both narrative and documentary.”
Narrative films involve working with a crew, and he said writing and directing have presented different challenges.
“By the time I get to production, I’ve usually been sitting with the story for a while and have a pretty clear picture of how I want each scene to feel. So a lot of directing is about communicating that vision to the actors and crew. It can definitely be stressful, especially with the pressure of being on set. But I’ve been lucky to work with people I really trust and enjoy collaborating with, which makes a big difference.”
The finished film, Sadeh said, “becomes something built by everyone involved.”
Eager to share his love of filmmaking, Sadeh recently took on the role of curator of the VideoWall at the Hunt Library in Falls Village.
“I would love the VideoWall to become a place that showcases the work of local filmmakers, and I hope that other creatives in the area will submit their work to be shown.”
Reflecting on his chosen path, Sadeh said, “I feel really excited and creatively fulfilled to be doing the work I love in the place I grew up.”
Learn more at sadehstudios.com
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
