There is a wonderful earnestness about artisan products made in the Hudson Valley. It’s not just that they’re lovingly handmade and environmentally conscious; it’s also that they tend to promote self-care, which is something we could all use a little bit of after a bruising year.
Because of COVID-19, this year there aren’t the usual artisan fairs preceding the holiday gift season. Although it’s not as much fun to shop for knit goods and handmade elixirs online as it is to wander around an old-timey market space, it is still possible to go to the web and find handmade candles and soaps and fermented foods to gift to your beloved(s).
This is the 10th anniversary of the Hudson, N.Y., Basilica Farm & Flea Virtual Market, which is usually not virtual and which is usually held at this time of year in the cavernous Basilica. The website describes the site as “a spectacular solar-powered reclaimed 1880s industrial factory on the waterfront of the historic City of Hudson.”
It’s a wonderful experience to wander the tight maze of tables in the Basilica, and to touch hand-sewn and hand-knit and hand-mixed little indulgences, but that just can’t happen this year. Shopping online is second best but still not bad.
There are about 65 vendors on the Basilica Farm & Flea Virtual Market website, including well-known Hudson Valley brands such as Hillrock Distillery, Jacuterie (maker of artisanal charcuterie) and Hosta Hill, source of fermented deliciousness and hot sauces in many flavors.
There is quirky sweetness, with toys and clothes for youngsters from Petit Pilou and Petit Felt, the company owned by Jocelyn Krodman, a beloved regional felt artist whose extraordinarily lifelike felt animals have been a draw for shoppers to many artisan fairs in recent years (www.petitpilou.com).
Far more rugged are the gorgeous leather goods from P.M. Reed, whose photos show him to be a cowboy type you’d expect to see more in the vast reaches of Montana than in the relatively tame Southern Berkshires (Reed lives in Windsor, Mass.; his website is www.pmreedcarrygoods.com).
So that’s one advantage of shopping at the virtual flea market: You can read the bios of the vendors. And in Reed’s case, you can follow a link to see his photography work, which is exquisite and sophisticated, with many of his images shot in Italy in the 1970s.
Another advantage: It’s always fairly chilly in Hudson in winter, with cold winds blowing off the river. Shopping at home is warmer.
Best of all, though, is the chance to find enticing little treasures of all shapes, sizes and prices. You have to pay for shipping, but you don’t have to pay for gas or lunch.
Shop through the holiday season for Hudson Valley artisan goods online at the Basilica Farm & Flea Virtual Market, www.basilicahudson.org/farmandflea/vendors.
AMENIA — A number of projects achieved forward momentum at the regular meeting of the Town Board on Thursday, August 1, whether by unanimous vote of approval or by report and discussion.
The project to construct a new town garage saw unanimous approval of a resolution to use the services of Hudson Cultural Services to complete an archeological and environmental study of the intended Lakeville Road garage site. Eight bids were received. The Town Board agreed to award the contract to Hudson Services, the lowest bidder, at $5,620.
The area to be studied measures 5 acres, but the focus will be on the area to be disturbed by the construction of the town garage and salt storage shed to determine environmental impact. The archeological phase of testing will dig test pits to determine presence of artifacts that if found, will be sent for laboratory testing and dating.
Also important to the town garage project was the opening of the six bids received from engineering firms hoping to be selected to complete the design phase. Copies of the bid packets were distributed to board members for their review and future discussion.
Architect Tracy Salladay presented her plans for renovations to improve the function of the Beekman Park Pavilion, under consideration since December 2023. Finding the present covered seating area to be adequate in size, Salladay suggested improved lighting and perhaps enclosing the seating area.
Options that would affect the cost of changes to the food preparation area are driven by whether the kitchen will prepare food on site or offer prepared foods that are pre-packaged.
To gain kitchen space, Salladay suggested closing one of the two concession windows.
The restrooms and equipment storage room would need significant changes. Plumbing does not meet current code requirements, Salladay said.
For the building’s exterior, Salladay recommended replacing the current vinyl siding on the gables with corrugated metal.
To councilwoman Rosanna Hamm’s question about who would be expected to use the renovated pavilion, Recreation Director Katie Sterk-Grassi replied that it would be used by the soccer and baseball programs, with those programs paying fees for use. She pointed out the importance to the community of vital recreation programs.
Summarizing responses to a recent survey he had created to measure residents’ impressions of the town’s official website, finance director Charlie Miller told the Town Board that comments have been coming in over the past two years.
There were 67 responses to the on-line questionnaire, with 45% of respondents indicating that they visit the town website at least once a week. 76% of those responding said that they use the town’s events calendar. 91% of users said that they experience difficulty in using the current site, with 50% finding it hard to navigate. 82% said that they would be likely to sign up if the town offered an alerts/announcements feature.
In general local people want an easy search function, emergency notices, and a simplified menu. Some asked for summaries of current projects and a more detailed calendar of events.
The next step, Miller said, would be for him to create a “scope of work,” an outline of the skeletal framework and then to obtain quotes from vendors.
Miller said that it will be important to select the vendor in the next 60 days before the present contract with Dutchess County, the current provider, expires.
“If we had a better website, we could reach a wider audience,” Town Supervisor Leo Blackman observed.
Presenting a brief report on options for a new Town of Amenia Town Hall sign, Miller reviewed alternative design options for a new LED electronic sign to be placed close to Route 22 just south of the Town Hall driveway near the southern parking lot.
The sign itself with installation would be estimated to cost between $39,000 and $45,000, depending on the size variables and desired resolution. The LED electronic component would allow for messages to be posted on the sign, including upcoming meetings.
Noting that funding is already in place for the needed engineering study, Miller said that funds for the engineering aspect are already in place in the town’s engineering budget.
The 6th annual Harlem Valley flamenco festival visited Millbrook winery Friday, Aug. 2. Peter Basil, left, Ricardo Sanchez, center, and Hector Marquez, right, performed flamenco music on their guitars and drums while visitors drank wine and ate oysters. Creative Director Anna Librada said the Flamenco Fest’s next event is September in Hyde Park.
AMENIA — Families of any size who are seeking to introduce a bit of fun into their summer memories are invited to attend the annual Family Fun Night to be held at Beekman Park on Thursday, August 15, between 5 and 7 p.m.
The event is sponsored by the Amenia Recreation Department and the Amenia Free Library. Admission, as always, is free.
A variety of activities will include face painting, The Bubble Bus, an ice cream truck, bounce houses, fire trucks and a great chance to visit with friends and neighbors while the children are occupied. Food will be available for purchase from Webutuck Little League volunteers.
For more information, phone 845-373-8273 or go to www.ameniany.myrec.com
AMENIA — By an official unanimous vote, the Town Board passed a resolution formally accepting the historic gift of Wassaic’s restored twin charcoal kilns on Deep Hollow Road at their meeting on Thursday, August 1. The gift preserves an important part of Amenia’s history for the benefit of present and future generations.
The beehive wood-fired kilns, located near the intersection of Route 22 and Deep Hollow Road, were built around 1825 to serve the thriving iron industry. The massive stone kilns have been painstakingly restored to their original condition by Bernie Leighton, and once restored, were offered to the town as a gift from the present owner, Alan Shope.
Situated on a fenced parcel measuring slightly less than one-third of an acre, the kilns stand as monument to the dawn of the industrial revolution, creating charcoal to fire the Reed, Gridley and Co. iron works furnaces in operation until the 1920s.
Information about the kilns, published on the town website, indicates that three weeks of slow burning was essential to create Sulphur-free charcoal, Sulphur being harmful to iron.
For more information about the kilns, go to www.ameniany.gov or contact the Amenia Historical Society.
