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

Housatonic Valley Association Explore-a-thon offers trails and local brews

WASSAIC — The Housatonic Valley Association’s (HVA) inaugural Explore-a-thon kicked off Wednesday,  June 1, and runs through Thursday, June 30, with the goal of getting people outside to appreciate the Housatonic River Watershed and raise awareness about supporting environmental health.

People can register anytime throughout the month and venture out solo or as a team anywhere throughout the 2,000 square-mile, Tri-state watershed. While there is no central gathering location, Explore-a-thon registrants may get together with each other by participating in various hikes, nature walks or outdoor activities offered by other community organizations. All events are listed on the Explore-a-thon website.

There are also several competitions like most miles hiked, run or biked, best selfie or best team name. Prizes include a weekend canoe experience for two on the Housatonic River, Patagonia and REI gear, SingleNest Hammocks, a six-month CSA with organic fruits and vegetables and more.

All proceeds will go toward HVA’s critical work in protecting the waterways, lands and wildlife in the Housatonic River Watershed.

“With so many people hitting the trails or meeting up with a through-hiker on the Appalachian Trail in northwest Connecticut and Berkshires, it’s a great time to double the miles for anyone registered with Explore-a-thon who logs a run, hike or bike trip on a trail,” said HVA’s Executive Director Lynn Werner. “This event is the perfect way to have fun outdoors while lending a hand for clean, cold rivers and the woodlands and wildlife habitat so essential for a climate-ready future here in the Housatonic Valley.”

People can also support Explore-a-thon by making a donation or attending a partner brewery event.

To learn more about Explore-a-thon and register, go to www.hvatoday.org.

About HVA

HVA is uniquely committed to achieving climate resilience and environmental health across the entire Housatonic River Watershed, for this and future generations.

HVA works with key partners to restore and protect lands, waters, and wildlife. Spanning just under 2,000 square miles, the Housatonic watershed stretches from the Berkshires in western Massachusetts and the Taconics in eastern New York, including in Wassaic, through western Connecticut and south to Long Island Sound.

Learn more at www.hvatoday.org.

A hiker joined the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA) to go in search of a local waterfall recently, and learn about some of the local natural resources within the Housatonic River Watershed. Photo submitted
Millerton News

Latest News

Tri-Corner Real Estate - November 2026

Tri-Corner Real Estate - November 2026

Download directly

The Millerton News - October 29, 2026

The Millerton News - October 29, 2026

Download directly

A life reshaped by clay in “Matin”

A life reshaped by clay in “Matin”

Left to right: Hannah Wheeler, Matin Malikzada and Yonah Sadeh.

D.H. Callahan

On Monday, Oct. 26, a group of students, teachers and local residents gathered at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville for a screening of the new short documentary “Matin.” The film tells the story of Matin Malikzada, a seventh-generation Afghani potter making a new life in New Milford, Connecticut. The film was made by local filmmaker Yonah Sadeh, creator of the Video Wall at the David M. Hunt Library, and Berkshires-based potter Hannah Wheeler, who were both present for the screening, along with Malikzada himself.

As a member of the seventh generation of his family to master the art of pottery, Malikzada had done things the way his family had for over a century. Istalif, the village where his family has lived for generations, was known throughout Afghanistan for its pottery, with wares sent across the country for use as everyday cups, bowls, plates and other vessels. The pottery-making families of Istalif gathered clay from the same mountain, about 30 to 45 minutes away by donkey. Every July, they would head north toward the Uzbekistan border to gather ishkar, a plant they processed by hand to make their signature glazes.

Keep ReadingShow less
film
google preferred source

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

Meg Sher finds her calling among the stacks

Meg Sher finds her calling among the stacks

Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.

L. Tomaino

When Meg Sher came to Falls Village in 2006 from Old Lyme, Connecticut, where she grew up, she never imagined she’d someday be the executive director of the David M. Hunt Library.

Although, in hindsight, perhaps it makes sense.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community

Crescendo’s 23rd season speaks to the heart and mind

Crescendo’s 23rd season speaks to the heart and mind

Christine Gevert, founding artistic director of Crescendo, conducts the audience at a performance.

Steve Potter

For Christine Gevert, founding artistic director of Crescendo, music from centuries past is anything but a relic. It is a living, breathing art form, full of drama, emotional complexity and, occasionally, surprises. As the regional choral and period-instrument ensemble launches its 23rd season, Gevert is once again bringing forgotten masterpieces into the present.

“Early Music has been my lifelong passion and the focus of my specialization in Europe and South America,” Gevert said. “Bringing this repertoire to our audiences in a nuanced way that does justice to its incredible depth, intensity, and beauty is deeply important to me.”

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts

Close Encounters with Music celebrates 35 years of musical discovery

Close Encounters with Music celebrates 35 years of musical discovery

Close Encounters with Music’s 35th season opens with “Saluting the Clarinet” featuring clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein.

Provided

For 35 years, cellist Yehuda Hanani has been inviting audiences to experience classical music in unexpected ways. As founder and artistic director of Close Encounters with Music, Hanani has built a concert series that goes beyond the music itself, exploring connections to literature, history, politics and the human experience.

This year, Close Encounters celebrates its 35th season with “Celebration & Discovery,” a seven-concert series that opens Sunday, Nov. 1, at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington.

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts
google preferred source

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