Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Ancram Opera House becomes Ancram Center for the Arts

Ancram Opera House is becoming Ancram Center for the Arts, announced co-directors Paul Ricciardi and Jeffrey Mousseau and board President Cathy Redlich at a community open house Saturday, Nov. 25.

“Paul and Jeff’s vision was never just about producing theater; it was about creating a space where storytelling in all its forms — from plays to music to personal narratives — could enrich and connect a community,” said Redlich in her remarks.

“As it has grown, Ancram Opera House’s offerings to the public have kept pace, with free workshops, programs, and events. The new name, Ancram Center for the Arts, not only captures the breadth, depth and creativity of its diverse programs but also serves as an umbrella for the Center’s future growth.”

Mousseau said, “The change aligns our identity more closely with our vibrant array of performances and community events.”

He also described the team’s vision for the new Annex building:

“Our new campus will comprise the existing Ancram Opera House building, with accessibility upgrades, and a recently acquired neighboring house, built in the 1780s, that we’re calling The Annex. Once rehabilitated, The Annex will provide much-needed space to house interns and guest artists, as well as space for the community programs that are core to our vision.”

The Annex will provide space for workshops in playwriting and storytelling for local adults. 

The Annex community room will also be put to use for the storytelling workshops that Ricciardi created for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders at Taconic Hills Elementary School, which have been part of the school’s curriculum since 2020. 

Work on improving accessibility has already begun, with the conversion of office space off the theater lobby into an accessible restroom. Next is the construction of permanent ramping to the theater’s entrance, to be followed by parking upgrades and a covered porch between the two buildings. 

“The evolution of Ancram Opera House from when it reopened its doors eight years ago to today has been nothing short of astounding,” Redlich said. 

For more information go to www.ancramcenter.org

Millerton News

Latest News

The Millerton News - September 10, 2026

The Millerton News - September 10, 2026

Download directly

Victor Cella is painting his own path

Victor Cella is painting his own path

Artist Victor Cella with his recent painting “White Dog” in his studio and shop, Little Store Antiques in Great Barrington.

L. Tomaino
If I taught art, I’d teach it in a different way. I could teach it as an awareness — how to free yourself up.
— Victor Cella

Paintings by Victor Cella of a blue dog, a flower still life and a colorful abstract greet visitors as they mount the steps to The Little Store, an antique shop he runs with his husband, John Ortisi, at 88 Main St. in Great Barrington, Mass.

The shop is filled not only with antiques but also with Cella’s paintings. People stop by to see what Cella is currently painting and to talk with him. He is known for his amiability as well as his paintings.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community

Fear and Loathing in the Woodland

Fear and Loathing in the Woodland

Fear and Loathing in the Woodland Japanese barberry, an invasive shrub with thorny branches, provides shelter for mice and can contribute to conditions that allow tick populations to thrive.

Provided

I am tempting tick-bite fate by writing this, even from the safety of my office.

Eight people emailed me with a link to the New York Times article on ticks that ran in the Aug. 20 magazine section.My Instagram algorithm made sure that I saw the same story several times over.The article, “The Summer the Ticks Took Over,” by Benjamin Wallace reads like a horror story, engendering a kind of paranoia that sidewalk-hugging New Yorkers can easily fall prey to.The reader comments enhance the author’s terror and fall into key categories: readers who are living proof of the sometimes harrowing, life-altering consequences of a tick bite; readers’ instructive life hacks against ticks (“permethrin is your friend”); readers’ collective chant to kill the deer; and, finally, readers who question why anyone would ever go in the woods again.

Keep ReadingShow less
the ungardener
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Oldtone brings roots music, dancing and community to Cool Whisper Farm

Oldtone brings roots music, dancing and community to Cool Whisper Farm

The Allum Ridge Boys & Ashlee at Oldtone Music Festival in 2025

Jim Wright

The Oldtone Music Festival returns Sept. 10 through 13, bringing musicians and audiences together for a four-day celebration of roots music at Cool Whisper Farm in Hillsdale.

Founded in 2015 as a one-day show in Wassaic, Oldtone moved the following year to the Schober family’s Cool Whisper Farm, where it grew into a three-stage camping festival. The festival ran annually until the COVID-19 pandemic forced its cancellation in 2020. After limited attempts to bring it back in 2021 and 2022, organizers announced in early 2023 that the festival would end.

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts

“Come From Away,” a story of kindness at Sharon Playhouse

“Come From Away,” a story of kindness at Sharon Playhouse
“Come From Away” cast in rehearsal. (Back Row L to R): Jeffrey Konowitch, Meagan Lewis-Michelson, Max Bennett-Parker, Michael F. McGuirk, Tracy Liz Miller, Ricky Oliver, Cherish Love, Willie Marte (Front Row L to R) Cameron Sirian, Chelsie Nectow, Erin Lindsay Krom, Sophie Nassiri
Lynette Shy

Twenty-five years after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the Sharon Playhouse is staging a musical about what happened in the aftermath — and about an extraordinary act of kindness in a small Newfoundland town.

“Come From Away,” the Tony Award-winning musical by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, runs Sept. 11 through 27 and concludes the Playhouse’s 2026 MainStage season. Directed by Hunter Foster, with choreography by Krystyna Resavy and music direction by Eric Thomas Johnson, the production tells the true story of the thousands of airline passengers who suddenly found themselves stranded in Gander, Newfoundland, after U.S. airspace was closed following the terrorist attacks.

Keep ReadingShow less
performances

A local escape at Cornwall Bridge Coffee

A local escape at Cornwall Bridge Coffee

John Zeiser and Jane Carlen at their Diedrich IR-3 coffee roasting machine.

D.H. Callahn

In the shadows of the historic Cornwall Bridge, something tasty is brewing. It’s the morning pot that roaster John Zeiser is preparing for his wife, Jane Carlen. They’re the owners of Cornwall Bridge Coffee.

Upon first hearing the name, the covered bridge in West Cornwall might spring to mind, but that’s not actually the Cornwall Bridge. Hundreds of people drive over the Cornwall Bridge on Route 7 every day, but few know what lies beneath it. The top of the bridge is so featureless that casual drivers could miss the fact that they’re even driving on a bridge at all. But from the river, there’s a whole other scene. The underside of the bridge is quite remarkable, leading to its addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004

Keep ReadingShow less
business
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.