![Copake scores with inaugural pickleball tournament](https://millertonnews.com/media-library/sixty-four-teams-competed-on-all-four-pickleball-courts-at-copake-memorial-park-on-saturday-june-1.jpg?id=52419058&width=1200&height=729)
Sixty-four teams competed on all four pickleball courts at Copake Memorial Park on Saturday, June 1.
John Coston
Sixty-four teams competed on all four pickleball courts at Copake Memorial Park on Saturday, June 1.
COPAKE — Teams of pickleball players converged in this rural hamlet on Saturday, June 1 for a daylong inaugural tournament.
Organized by the Copake Economic Development Advisory Committee (CEDAC), the tournament drew 64 teams that faced off in morning and afternoon play on four town courts in Copake Memorial Park.
Pickleball has been around for decades, starting with ping pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball in the 1960s, and by the 1990s was being played in all 50 states, according to USA Pickleball, its governing body.
Jayne McLaughlin, a USA Pickleball Volunteer Ambassador, was on hand Saturday to answer questions and advise on rules.
Players came from as far away as Lanesville, Massachusettes, north of Boston. Many others drove up to Columbia County from as far south as Poughkeepsie and from across the Hudson in Woodstock.
Pickleball’s popularity continues to grow, and credit is given to communities that support the sport, which also is popular among retirees.
Richard Wolfe, supervisor of the Town of Copake, pointed to the newly installed four courts the town built.
“In the winter we flood the courts and we have ice-skating,” he said.
Watching from the sidelines. Photo by John Coston
CEDAC steering committee spokesperson Vicki Sander said 18 volunteers helped organize and manage Saturday’s tournament, including other steering committee members Signe Adam, Art Boniati and Rob Lazarus, who thanked CEDAC member Bill Boris-Schacter for helping make the event a success. Ten local businesses also sponsored the event: Broadway Plumbing, Copake Boat and Ski, The Greens at Copake Country Club, Herrington’s Hardware, High Voltage, Inc., Hillsdale House, Key Bank, Kneller Insurance, Moore-Bridger Tree Service and Robert Patterson, CPA.
Strong sun and a light breeze made for a summery feel. Players dinked away and drove home some hard winners as family, friends and other players watched from lawn chairs. An Aloha Tacos truck provided a much needed food break in between matches.
Organizers fielded 32 teams in the morning and 32 in the afternoon. Winners announced in three divisions of play were:
- Division One: First Place Todd Proper, Hillsdale; Oliver Correa, Craryville
2nd Place Susan Kaiser, Red Hook; Laurie Vosburgh, Rhinebeck
3rd Place Ivan Taub, Claverack; Bruce Leder,Claverack- Division Two: First Place Matt Jankowski, Olivebridge ;Tom Hubbel, Kingston
2nd Place Jennifer Carpino, Hurley; Ann Lord, Hurley
3rd Place Jesse Feldmus, Rhinebeck; Courtney Hannaford, Rhinebeck- Division Three: First place Brad Quick, Staatsburg; Daniel Berthold,Rhinebeck
2nd Place Tuck Voller, Lee, MA; Norma Comalli, Lee
3rd Place Robert Coco, Pittsfield MA; Carolyn Coco, Pittsfield MA
Catherine Haggarty and Dan Gunn at Geary Contemporary.
Catherine Haggarty and Dan Gunn’s joint exhibition at Geary Contemporary in Millerton opened with a reception on Saturday, June 15. The work offers a compelling exploration of contemporary themes through distinctly personal and artistic lenses. Both artists, each with their unique backgrounds and approaches, create a dialogue that is both introspective and engaging.
Catherine Haggarty, born in 1984 and currently residing in Brooklyn, has had her work on the pages of Bomb Magazine, Artnet, Hyperallergic, and other beacons of cultural resonance. She is a visionary force behind NYC Crit Club and The Canopy Program where she channels her artistry into mentoring the next wave of creative voices. The NYC Crit Club is an alternative, education-based platform that offers inclusive, low-cost courses in critique, connection, and community, fostering growth without financial stress. “We built a program for people who want to be connected to the New York art world while avoiding the system that’s really difficult to gain entry to,” said Haggarty. “The program helps bridge the gap between ageist, classist opportunities for people that are interested in being artists”
Jack and Dolly Geary, the owners of Geary Contemporary, have been working with Haggarty since 2022. “We’d known about Catherine through the Crit Club and then Dolly and I both did a studio visit and we’ve been working with her ever since,” said Jack Geary.
In Haggarty’s pieces entitled “Just Drawing,” abstract and figurative elements dance together, creating narratives that blur the line between reality and dreams. Drawing is at the heart of her practice, and her playful experimentation with light, planes, and textures invites viewers into a world that is both whimsical and deeply introspective. Through the use of repetition, there is an added layer of engagement that creates an immersive experience.
“I think you have to make something for it to teach you something,” said Haggarty. “So, I draw a lot and that’s why this show was really important; to make a show just about drawing as a serious medium, not just something that often is used as a preparatory system for making larger things.” Cost was also a factor in the decision to have a show of drawings on paper. Haggarty explained, “Drawing for me is incredibly important, and philosophical, and also materially diplomatic. The whole show is just about drawing, which is enough.”
In a captivating contrast to Haggarty’s introspective drawings, Dan Gunn unveils his series “The Ungrateful Son,” (which takes its name from a Brother Grimm fairytale) where larger-than-life stoneware toads, which double as functional floor lamps, merge folk art tradition with contemporary resonance. Drawing inspiration from his suburban Kansas roots and weaving in cultural and political reflections, Gunn’s amphibious creations delve into themes of masculinity, myth, and intergenerational tales, prompting viewers to reinterpret familiar symbols through a fresh and thought-provoking lens.
Tara Foley, one of the assistants at the Geary Contemporary shared, “I like the mix of the mundane and the mystical, that pull between almost opposites.”
The show runs through July 28 at Geary Contemporary (34 Main Street, Millerton).
Rosy and the Bros at the Down County Jump, Sept. 30, 2023.
The second Down County Jump Music Festival will take place at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield on June 28 and 29 and promises to be two days of jubilant, spirit-lifting, feet-tapping fun.
Musical worlds will collide, cultures will meet and merge, and roots that are tangled and intertwined will be unearthed in the most beautiful patchwork of sound. Imagine New Orleans Funk dancing cheek-to-cheek with Old Time Crooning, or early jazz forms sharing a secret with traditional Hawaiian music. It’s like finding a letter in a bottle that’s traveled the world before it reached your hands.
“The Jump is a patchwork quilt of musical styles that all have one thing in common; they are forms of culture-based music that are rooted in some kind of blending/evolutionary process,” said artistic programmer, Alex Harvey. “Sure, we call this all roots music, but the roots are all intermingled, often in ways that are shocking and revelatory.”
Racebrook will be partnering with Brooklyn’s historic Jalopy Theatre for this event, a venue known for its authentic approach to music programming. “Jalopy is a performance venue, record label and school that prizes the handmade, the analog, the authentic face to face experience of participatory musical traditions transmitted across generations,” said Harvey.
This year’s highlight includes a Sacred Harp Singing event led by Tim Eriksen, famed for his contributions to the “Cold Mountain” soundtrack. This antique form of open-throated singing, known as shape note singing, will be an open community sound installation under the pavilion on the river from 2 to 4 p.m. on June 29. Guests are invited to witness or participate in this unique musical experience.
The name “Down County Jump” has its own serendipitous story. Dave Rothstein, the original visionary of Racebrook Lodge, coined “Down County” to capture the essence of the area’s vibrant music scene. Matt Downing, Kip Beacco, and Alex Harvey, brought together by a shared love of dance music and a whimsical nod to Mark Twain’s celebrated jumping frog, knew “Jump” was the perfect fit. It’s a name that invites movement, joy, and a bit of whimsy.
So, pack your curiosity and your dancing shoes. Let yourself be swept away by Gypsy Waltz, Swamp-Pop, Son Jarocho, Olde Time Rags, Hawaiian Hapa Haole, post-war New Orleans R&B, and more. The Down County Jump Music Festival is where you’ll find some of the most danceable shuffles, where every beat tells a story, and every step is a leap into the unknown.
For a complete schedule and to purchase tickets, visit: https://www.viewcy.com/e/down_county_jump_2024