Copake holds 4th Annual Cupcake Celebration

Winner of the kids’ competition at the 4th Annual Cupcake Celebration was Lyra Cochrane, 9, with Kate Lanphear, a judge.

Janet Mackin

Copake holds 4th Annual Cupcake Celebration

COPAKE — Sugar filled the air at the Fourth Annual Copake Cupcake Celebration on Sunday, June 23 at the Copage Grange Hall.

Starting at 11 a.m. cars began to line Empire Road as the Copake Grange was transformed into the “Cupcake Grange” fundraiser organized by the Friends of the Copake Grange.

One thousand cupcakes!

That’s how many of the hand-sized delights were prepared this year by 46 bakers organized by the Grange’s Paulette Bonano.

“Copake rhymes with cupcake,” said Janet Mackin, “This is my dream come true.”

“It’s always sold out,” Mackin said as she recalled that at last year’s event 716 cupcakes were sold a the going rate: $1 per.

Veronica McTiernan, president of the Friends of the Copake Grange, handled ticket sales and barely had time to answer questions as a steady stream poured into the hall.

Cupcake lovers of all ages crowded up to the tables, exchanging their $1 tickets for the sweets that they placed very carefully into cardboard containers. The confectionary congregants were entertained by Harry Hussey and Lenny Bardham of the House Band.

Children milled, seemingly agog at the display of rows and rows of cupcakes, and parents and grandparents seemed to be mostly in charge of the selection process. Some tried their luck at the Wheel of Fortune supervised by Vicki Sander and Liz Fenamore.

Judges — Caden Cochrane, Kate Lanphear and Seung Suh— stood by in the mix, carefully tasting and examining entries.

Stephanie Rabin was winner of “The Ultimate Copake Cupcake” with a gluten and dairy free “Put the Lime in the Coconut” cupcake, a reference to the Harry Nilsson song. The People’s Choice award went to Madeline Silverman for a “Blueberry Crumb Cupcake.”

Lyra Cochrane, 9, won the Children’s Award. Last year’s winner was Natalia Coleman, 8, of San Diego, California, who was visiting with grandparents Steve and Dana Colman of Copake and making a cameo appearance on the floor, but not competing.

Sylvia McLaughlin of Copake had her arms full with 1 1/2 year old Jackson hoisted on one arm and a fistful of tickets and a cardboard container in the other. It wasn’t clear how she would proceed.

Louise Shelton

The Ultimate Copake Cupcake “Put the Lime in the Coconut.”

Latest News

Luigina A. Dzenutis

CANTON — Luigina A. Dzenutis, 91, of Canton, died peacefully on Jan. 16, 2025, in her home. She was the wife of the late Peter A. Dzenutis Sr.

Luigina was born in Bronx, New York, on May 17, 1933, the daughter of the late Jack and Medie (Tonelli) Grecco.

Keep ReadingShow less
Amenia approves pool at Troutbeck estate hotel

Troutbeck's sign at the intersection of Leedsville Road and Route 343 in Amenia.

Archive photo

AMENIA — Public hearings continued from the previous meeting concluded at the regular meeting of the Amenia Planning Board on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Having considered public comment, the board approved applications from Troutbeck for an indoor pool and from DaVinci Windows for a sign installation.

No public comment was heard in connection with the Troutbeck proposal to construct an outdoor pool as briefly described by project engineer Rich Rennia of Rennia Engineering of Dover Plains. The application is part of Phase 8 of Troutbeck’s adaptive reuse application, revised recently to reduce the environmental impact.

Keep ReadingShow less
Final grant of $675,000 awarded for Eddie Collins Memorial Park pool project
Eddie Collins Memorial Park in Millerton will the the site of a new community pool, with construction expected to begin by Spring 2025.
Archive photo

MILLERTON — Calling the ongoing revitalization of Eddie Collins Memorial Park “the largest project the village has taken on,” Mayor Jenn Najdek has disclosed additional funding has come through in support of its upgrade.

This past December, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation awarded the village a matching grant of up to $675,000 in support of the Eddie Collins Memorial Park Swimming Pool Project. With these monies, funding for Phase II of the project, which stems largely from a NY SWIMS capital grant, is now at $7.56 million.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pine Plains median home prices stay relatively steady at year's end

This 3 bedroom/2 bath renovated raised ranch at 7760 Main St. in Pine Plains sold for $590,000.

Photo by Christine Bates

PINE PLAINS — From August through November there were 14 sales in Pine Plains with only one on Lake Road selling for over a million dollars and two homes for over $500,000 — a midcentury modern in town closing for $590,000 and a historic house on 8.5 acres for $660,000.

Since September 2021 the median price for publicly listed properties in Pine Plains has hovered at around $350,000. Properties listed in mid-January include seven residences ranging in price from $150,000 to $8.95 million, six pieces of land and Harvest Homestead Farm on 343 acres with a fully functioning distillery formerly associated with 1930’s mobster Dutch Schultz.

Keep ReadingShow less