DUTCHESS COUNTY — Artists, nonprofits, libraries and municipalities interested in creating new works of art and instituting new arts and cultural activities in 2021 have been invited by Arts Mid-Hudson to apply for valuable funding through the 2021 Decentralization Grant Program.
A re-grant program of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), the Decentralization Grant Program is designed to support community-based arts activities to make quality arts programming available and support local cultural expression.
“We see these grants as seed funding to try an idea or foster a new program,” Arts Mid-Hudson Grants and Programs Manager Lilia Pérez said, adding that Arts Mid-Hudson offers free technical assistance to applicants, including working one-on-one with applicants to help them develop strong proposals. In turn, she said, many of the applicants who are awarded the grants leverage the funding to seek sponsorships or additional funding opportunities.
Arts Mid-Hudson typically administers three categories of the Decentralization Grant Program, including Community Arts Grants, Individual Artist Commissions and Arts Learning Grants.
Community Arts Grants are designed to provide project support for arts and cultural activities to make quality arts programming available to all residents looking to engage with the arts. This may include exhibitions, workshops, performances, festivals, virtual and public programming and screenings.
Nonprofits, unincorporated groups and individuals located in Dutchess, Orange or Ulster Counties are eligible to apply as are individuals and unincorporated groups fiscally sponsored by a nonprofit located in the aforementioned counties. Grant requests can range from $500 to $5,000 with no cash match required for 2021, and the grant awards will be determined by a peer review panel comprised of community members. All funded activities must be open to the general public for participation and take place between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2021 in the three counties.
The Individual Artist Commission reflects an investment in the region’s local artists by supporting the creation of new work. For this year, up to seven Individual Artist Commissions are available for Dutchess, Orange and Ulster Counties. Individuals artists ages 18 and older who reside in any of the three counties and aren’t enrolled full-time in a degree program are eligible to apply.
Open to visual, performing, written, digital, traditional and experimental art mediums, the artist’s new work requires a public component in the form of either a small-scale public presentation or community involvement in the artist’s creative process. The seven potential commissions are eligible for a grant amount of $1,500 each, with no required cash match. All funded projects must take place between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2021, and the grant awards will be determined by a peer review panel comprised of artists.
The deadline to apply for both grants has been set for Wednesday, Oct. 28.
“We are so grateful to be able to administer these funds on behalf of the New York State Council on the Arts,” Pérez said. “We know there is a great need, especially during this pandemic, which has been particularly hard on artists and arts organizations. Most arts organizations are completely reimagining how they do business and artists are leading, as they often do, in coming up with new ways to create and share their work.”
Pérez added that Arts Mid-Hudson is looking forward to “funding innovative ways of presenting arts and cultural programming in 2021.”
For more information, go to www.artsmidhudson.org.
Long-term town employees were recognized at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, June 12. Honorees pictured with Town Supervisor Leo Blackman, were Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the Town Garage, center, for her 35 years of service to the town and Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent, for 20 years.
AMENIA — Acknowledging the many years of service accumulated by town employees, the Town Board paused to honor that service at its meeting on Thursday, June 12.
“Thank you for making a difference,” said Town Supervisor Leo Blackman in recognizing Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the town garage, for her 35 years of service.
“Megan’s job is not an easy one,” Blackman said, honoring Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent who has served the town for 20 years.
Also among those honored was Town Clerk Dawn Marie Klingner for 20 years of service as Court Clerk.
Maureen Moore, Court Clerk, was also honored in absentia for her 20 years of town service.
In anticipation of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution in 2026, new historic markers are appearing at each of the local cemeteries where Revolutionary War veterans are buried. Unveiling the new marker at Amenia Union Cemetery on Saturday, June 21, were left to right, Town Historian Betsy Strauss, Jim Middlebrook representing the regional chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and Gail Seymour, President of the Union Cemetery Association.
AMENIA — One by one, new historic markers are appearing at local cemeteries where Revolutionary War dead are buried. On Saturday, June 21, community members gathered to see a new marker unveiled at Amenia Union Cemetery on Leedsville Road.
A tent provided welcome shade for the attendees and refreshments as about 30 residents gathered for the unveiling and to share stories of local history with one another.
As with the first historic market installation at the Old Amenia Burying Ground, held in April, Amenia Union Cemetery graves of Revolutionary War veterans had been marked with American flags in advance.
Jim Middlebrook, representing the Columbia Mid-Hudson chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, attended along with other members of his chapter. Speaking before the unveiling, Middlebrook said that the historic marker project had begun in August 2024, and included a detailed process to certify the names on the graves.
Middlebrook described the work of the William C. Pomeroy Foundation of Syracuse whose mission is to promote “pride of place” by providing grants in support of installing historic markers and plaques nationwide to honor patriots for their service. Active now in seven or eight states, Middlebrook said, the foundation will soon add Connecticut and Massachusetts to the list.
The new Amenia Union marker honors “at least five veterans of the American Revolution interred between 1787 and 1810,” although Town Historian Betsy Strauss lists six veterans buried in the cemetery. The sixth, Gerhard Winegar, whose burial had been in 1781 could not fully satisfy the certification standards.
Strauss provided the following listing of six names:
Col. Colbe Chamberlain, 1739-1796
Capt. William Chamberlain, 1745-1810
Lieut. Samuel Snyder, 1712-1808
Gerhard Winegar, 1750-1781
Ensign Henry Winegar, 1723-1787
Capt. William Young, 1747-1806
Bee Bee the clown, face painters and a community wide scavenger hunt are among the activities planned for the Millerton Street Fair in Downtown Millerton on Saturday, June 28.
MILLERTON — The Millerton News, in partnership with the North East Community Center (NECC) and the Millerton Business Alliance, is hosting its first Street Fair on Saturday in a celebration of the town.
Rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m, the fair will bring together local nonprofits and businesses, with live music, entertainment, kids’ activities, local eats, and family fun in Veterans Park, in front of the Millerton Inn, and beyond.
“The Millerton Street Fair will celebrate everything we love about this community — its spirit, its dedication to service and its creative energy,” said James Clark, publisher and CEO of The Millerton News.
Local nonprofits will showcase their work and impact, including Climate Smart Millerton, Eddie Collins Memorial Park, North East Historical Society, Townscape, Tri-Corner FEED, Village of Millerton, and the Webutuck Elementary School.Participating businesses include Bes, Little Red Bird Studio, NBT, The Elephant’s Tusk, and many more.Local retail and dining establishments will be open with special promotions. NECC’s Farmer’s Market will run during the event.
Among the planned festivities are live music from John Stey and the Resilience Brass Band, performances from Bee Bee the Clown, face painting by students from Webutuck High School, and a community-wide scavenger hunt for kids.Other kids’ activities include egg and spoon races, and a “touch-a-truck” open house at the firehouse.The Irondale Schoolhouse will be hosting a special exhibit, and the North East-Millerton Library will be offering signups for the Summer Reading Program, a science show from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., lawn games, and a cookie cook-off.
For more information, go to millertonnews.com/street-fair.
The Nine Partners Road Quaker Meetinghouse, built in 1780, will be the site of two summer lectures sponsored by the Millbrook Historical Society.
MILLBROOK — Long in the planning, the Millbrook Historical Society has announced that it is sponsoring two lectures in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Both lectures relating to Quaker history are to be held in the historic Quaker Meeting House on Nine Partners Road.
For the first talk, scheduled for Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m., the historical society has invited Sarah Gronningsater, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, to talk on “Quakers, Anti-slavery, and the American Revolution.” The topic will explore the role that New York’s Quakers, especially in the Hudson Valley, played in the rise of the anti-slavery movement that followed the American Revolution.
The second talk, scheduled for Sunday, July 27, at 2 p.m., invites Carl Lounsbury of the College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg to speak on the architecture of the Nine Partners Meetinghouse. His talk is titled, “Nine Partners Meetinghouse Plan: A New Form in the Hudson Valley.” Expert in early American architecture, Lounsbury’s talk will compare Nine Partners with other later houses of worship in New York and New England.
Both lecture events will be held at the 1780 brick Nine Partners Quaker Meetinghouse in Millbrook. An earlier meetinghouse on the site had burned. The building has remained largely unchanged since the 18th century.
Given the age of the structure, handicapped access is limited and there are no rest room facilities.
Visitors should enter through the cemetery gate entrance.
The lectures are free and open to all, supported by a grant from the county and offered as part of Dutchess County’s participation in the nation’s 250th anniversary commemoration.
