This is the time of year when, normally, we would head to the Goshen Fair in Connecticut or the Dutchess County Fair in New York and learn the differences between all those types of cows that we see in the fields as we drive around on our country roads.
This year there are no agricultural fairs. But you can still learn about dairy cows — and taste some exquisite handmade chocolates made from the milk of those same cows.
If you’ve lived here for a while, you’ve probably heard of Thorncrest Chocolate Shop and Farm in Goshen, Conn. Almost everyone with a sweet tooth knows this place — and raves about it.
The chocolate itself is silky, creamy, gorgeous, everything that chocolate ought to be.
It’s fresh, so much so that it comes with a warning that these sweets are best eaten within two weeks of purchase (and you should store them in a cool, dark place — but not your refrigerator, where they’re likely to get discolored).
There are pre-made assortments but why bother when there is the temptation of the daily menu, which includes almost 30 different specialty items, including (for example) Madras Curry Dark Chocolate, Lavender Dark Chocolate and Lemon Mint Dark Chocolate — in addition to more traditional favorites such as caramels; chocolate bark with granola or trail mix; chocolate with peanut butter (called Tali’s Delights); or citrus peel, apricots or candied ginger dipped in chocolate.
And then of course there are the cows, who lounge around in their stalls eating hay, steps away from the newly built retail shack.
The chocolate master is Kimberly Thorn. The masters of the cows are her husband, Clint, and sons Garrett and Lyndon, who are generally out and about working on the farm and are happy to answer questions about their “girls,” the dairy cows.
Like the farm they live on, the cows are lovely and clean. The barn is open for visits; often one of the family farmers is there, ready to answer questions and introduce “the ladies” — and explain which cow’s milk produces which chocolates, caramels, yogurts and cheeses.
You can phone in your order (sometimes there is a long line). You can also phone ahead to arrange a more deluxe tour of the barn.
The dairy barn is open for visits from Thursday to Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Private group tours are offered at 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday though Monday from May to October; there is a fee for these group visits, which can accommodate up to 35 people (the fee is between $50 and $85 depending on the size of the group; there is no charge for individual informal visits to the barn).
There are also (in a non-quarantine time) chocolate tastings and talks at $10 per person; and there are cheese-making classes.
The farm’s website warns that sometimes circumstances will arise that will keep visitors out of the barn.
“We are a working dairy farm and occasionally these hours will need to be flexible for the stable, as well as weather dependent,”the website warns. “This is to ensure the safety, health and comfort of our cows.”
The chocolate shop is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
To learn more about Thorncrest Chocolate Shop and Farm, go to www.milkhousechocolates.net, where you can see the daily menu, arrange a group tour and get directions; or call 860-309-2545.
Millerton News
EAST CANAAN — Pauline K. (King) Garfield, 94 of 77 South Canaan Rd. formerly of East Canaan, died Sunday May 24, 2026, at Geer Village.She was the wife of the late Duane Garfield who passed August 14, 2017. Pauline was born April 3, 1932 in North Canaan, CT in the former Geer Hospital. She was the daughter of the late Charles and Rose (Van Vlack) King.
Pauline spent her career at Becton Dickinson in Canaan, after being a stay-at-home mother for many years.She was employed at Becton Dickinson for 23 years. She enjoyed bus trips with her late husband Duane to the Casinos, spending time with her family watching the grandchildren grow up. Recently she made a comment to care givers that was “wait until I see that husband of mine for leaving me here, I am going to read him the riot act.” Over the years she enjoyed many crafts, but her favorite was crocheting gifts for everyone.
Pauline is survived by her daughter Paula Ducharme and husband Tom of York, Pennsylvania. Her son Michael Garfield and wife Joann of Winchester Center, Connecticut. Her granddaughter Koren Garfield and her great grandchildren, Alyssa Jade, Addison Jacob and Brennden Leo of Colebrook, Connecticut.
Pauline is also survived by her sister, Althea Marshall and her husband Corky of North Canaan, Connecticut. She was predeceased by her brothers, Everett and Alan King.
A Celebration of Pauline’s life will be held on Monday June 1, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in the North Canaan Congregational Church 172 Lower Road East Canaan, CT 06024.Burial will follow at Hillside Cemetery in East Canaan, CT. Memorial Donation can be sent to the North Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps P.O. Box 178 North Canaan, CT 06018. Arrangements are under the care of the Newkirk-Palmer Funeral Home 118 Main St. Canaan, CT 06018.
Graham Corrigan
WASSAIC — The Wassaic Project started its 2026 season in style on Saturday, May 16, with an exhibition that featured 39 artists whose work was showcased at its flagship Maxon Mills location and plans for its new space at Gridley Chapel.
The chapel, which was erected in 1873 and is located across the street from Maxon Mills, is a recent addition to the Wassaic Project.
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
Millerton News
Last Week’s Question
What is one change you’d make to your town center to make it more welcoming?
“Town centers that want to be welcoming this day and age should provide free wifi and plug points amongst seating and parks since everyone is on their phones nowadays. Especially in Millerton there is no service for anyone using T-Mobile towers.”
— Andres Vialpando, Millerton
This Week
Bear encounters are being reported with increasing frequency across the region — rummaged trash cans, damaged bird feeders, and face-to-face surprises.
Have you had a run-in with a bear? What happened, and how did you handle it? And what do you think towns and neighbors should be doing to keep both people and bears safer?
Send your responses to publisher@lakevillejournal.com by Monday, June 1, at 10a.m. or comment on Facebook or Instagram.
We’ll publish a selection in next week’s paper.
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Leila Hawken
MILLBROOK — A long-vacant landmark in the center of the village is one step closer to a major transformation after the Planning Board unanimously approved renovation plans for the historic Thorne Building on Monday, May 18.
The project, proposed by the Millbrook Community Foundation, would convert the former school building — vacant for roughly two decades — into the new Thorne Center, a multi-use arts and community hub designed to host performances, educational programming, music instruction and public events.
Conditions attached to the approval were limited, according to board engineer Richard Rennia. They included minor revisions to the site plan to more clearly define the area that will be disturbed during construction and to clarify parking. The plan calls for 56 parking spaces, along with overflow parking on a grassy area. A final condition bars childcare services from being offered in the building.
The Millbrook Community Foundation, led by Millbrook native and building namesake Oakleigh Thorne, submitted a formal application earlier this year. A number of public hearings drew mostly favorable comment.
Plans call for converting the existing auditorium into a full performance space while restoring the building’s exterior and modifying the carriage arch on the east side of the structure in keeping with its historic architectural design. The project also includes accessibility improvements and construction of a room to accommodate a loading platform.
Envisioned as an active community arts center, the Thorne Center will host music, lectures and a variety of programs. The basement level will include an education center with a kitchen that could accommodate cooking classes, along with an arts lab, digital instruction space, music practice rooms and a recording studio.
The Planning Board also unanimously approved plans for a new two-family residence behind Reardon Briggs Hardware despite objections from neighboring residents who said the project would reduce privacy and sunlight near their homes.
The approval marks the second phase of renovations to the property, which fronts Franklin Avenue and Merritt Avenue. The first phase included renovations to the second-floor apartments above the hardware store and updates to the retail sales floor.
Plans presented by engineers from Day Stokosa of Wappingers Falls call for demolition of an existing single-family home on the 0.66-acre lot and construction of a new two-family residence containing two 2-bedroom units. The new building would occupy a footprint of 1,347 square feet, replacing a smaller 630-square-foot home currently on the site.
Before discussing the application, Planning Board Chairman Frank Redl noted the board had received additional written comments following the April 20 public hearing. Four submissions supported the project, while five opposed it.
Neighboring residents argued the new building would sit too close to adjacent homes and reduce privacy, airflow and direct sunlight. Some suggested moving the building farther back on the lot and placing parking spaces closer to the street.
“We understand that they have a right to build,” adjacent property owner Arthur Kascsak said, “but we also have a right to privacy. We’re asking them to allow us to have air and direct sunlight.”
Redl said the proposal complies with village zoning requirements, though parking remained a concern.
“The applicant is proposing something that is perfectly legal, conforming with code,” Redl said. “The parking is the only problem, always an issue in the village.”
Redl also noted the applicant reduced the building footprint by approximately 500 square feet in response to neighbors’ concerns.
“This is a tough one; I feel sorry for the neighbors,” Redl said.
As part of the approval, the board required the applicant to seek review from the Dutchess County Planning Board, define the two permitted rear parking spaces and submit architectural plans for the new building.
Leila Hawken
AMENIA — The Town of Amenia has approved a shared maintenance agreement for the Harlem Valley Rail Trail with Dutchess County and the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association.
Town Board members accepted the agreement by unanimous vote at the regular meeting of the Town Board on Thursday, May 21.
Under the five-year renewable agreement, the county and the town will each engage in monthly inspections. The county will trim trailside vegetation at least twice a year or as needed, and the town will assist with light trimming at trailheads, road crossings and parking lots.
The town agrees to maintain the parking areas and may install and service trash cans at trailheads, as well as winter clearing of the parking lots, including the areas surrounding electric vehicle charging stations.
The annual costs in connection with the EV charging station services are to be borne by the town, including electricity costs, software and hardware maintenance and upgrades.
For its part, the county will mow the trailsides at least four times each year when the trail is open between April and November. The county will also remove any graffiti, but the town would need to report the graffiti to the county. The county will also be fully responsible for portable toilet facilities and their servicing.
During public comment, resident Judy Moran asked the board which entity is to be responsible for trash pickup along the trail, as well as the town’s estimated costs associated with the agreement as they are to be included in the town budget.
The Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association is to provide insurances for the trail including Workers’ Compensation, general liability, commercial liability and commercial umbrella.
In other action, the Town Board voted unanimously to allow the Parks and Recreation Commission to suspend its park rules against alcohol consumption, but only for the hours during the Summer Music Series concerts.
Board members gave Judy Westfall a consulting position to the offices of the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals. Westfall will assist and advise in office duties on an as-needed basis. The move comes after Westfall chose to retire from her position as Planning Board secretary.
Natalia Zukerman
For many pet owners, animals are family. On Saturday, May 30, that bond will be celebrated in a uniquely practical and heartfelt way when the Blessing of the Animals returns to Third Lutheran Evangelical Church in Rhinebeck alongside a free rabies vaccination clinic hosted by Hudson Valley Animal Rescue & Sanctuary.
The event, scheduled from noon to 4 p.m., is free for Dutchess County residents and open to dogs, cats and domestic ferrets three months and older. While the clinic itself provides an important public health service, organizers say the day has become about much more than vaccinations.
“It’s a very simple afternoon of kindness,” said event curator Rosemary Joyce. “I think of it like a gardener — you go someplace, you learn how to plant seeds and then you take those seeds home and grow them in your own community. Except these are the seeds of kindness.”
The annual blessing is now entering its fourth year, with each event honoring a different theme. This year’s celebration pays tribute to renowned primatologist and animal behaviorist Jane Goodall.
“Most people know her from her work with primates,” Joyce said, “but she also taught us to understand that animals are sentient creatures — they feel like we feel.”
Joyce pointed to recent scientific studies that scanned dogs’ brains using MRI technology.
“When dogs are presented with the scent of the people they love, the part of their brain that lights up is the exact same part of our brain that responds to love,” she said. “So not only do they love us — dogs love the way we love.”
Unlike larger ceremonial blessings often held around the feast of St. Francis, Rhinebeck’s blessing is much more personalized.
“This is not where everyone gathers and gets blessed all at once,” Joyce said. “This is individual and hands-on. You walk up to Pastor Jim Miller, and he talks to you and your animal.”
Past participants have brought everything from dogs and cats to chickens, parrots, reptiles and even an iguana “draped around someone like a scarf,” Joyce recalled.
The event also features more than a dozen rescue and animal welfare groups, each bringing “ambassador animals” for visitors to meet.
Among the most anticipated returning guests is Lazarus, a 9-year-old Eurasian eagle owl with a six-foot wingspan.
“He’s the wow factor,” Joyce said. “I watched a father hustling his two boys to leave last year because they had another appointment. I told him, ‘If you haven’t seen what’s over there, you haven’t seen this event.’ He walked over, looked at Lazarus, and his mouth just dropped open. The little boy came out in him.”
Other participants include rescue horses from the Southlands Foundation, adoptable dogs from Animal Farm Foundation, reptiles from Two by Two Animal Haven, small animals from 4-H and rescued farm animals from Hope Farm Animal Sanctuary, including Rosie, a 200-pound potbellied pig.
Joyce said one of her favorite aspects of the event is watching it create unexpected connections.
“I’m always amazed that people who would never talk to each other on the street are suddenly sitting on the lawn talking like old friends,” she said. “Animals are great catalysts for human connection.”
This year’s rabies clinic, provided by HVARS, adds a critical public service component.
Rabies vaccinations are required by New York state law for all dogs, cats and domestic ferrets by four months of age. Owners who fail to comply can face fines of up to $200.
“A lot of people don’t realize that,” Joyce said. “And they also don’t realize how affordable this clinic makes it.”
Vaccinations are free for Dutchess County residents with proof of residency and $15 per pet for non-residents. Vaccines are valid for three years with proof of prior vaccination, or one year without it.
Microchipping will also be available for $45, and one-year distemper vaccines for $25.
“It’s the size of a grain of rice,” Joyce said of the microchips. “It’s tiny, safe, affordable and permanent. If your pet is lost or stolen, all someone has to do is scan it.”
She noted that the service can be especially important as pet thefts have risen in recent years.
The clinic was made possible through a donation from the Estate of Charles Svatek, whom Joyce described as someone “known for true acts of kindness and a loving desire to make the world better for all living creatures.”
For Joyce, the event reflects a larger message about compassion — for animals and for each other.
“If this event does anything,” she said, “I hope it reminds people that kindness ripples outward.”
Pre-registration is strongly encouraged at hvars.org, though walk-ins will be accepted as space permits. Dogs must be leashed; cats and ferrets must be in carriers. The event will be held rain or shine.
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