Pine Plains Community Day draws large crowds

PINE PLAINS — The town of Pine Plains celebrated its first Community Day since 2023 this past Saturday. The event was a day-long party, bringing together residents and visitors alike with games, community markets and free food.

The Pine Plains fire department kicked the day off with a free breakfast at 9 a.m. Then vendors from across the county opened for business at the community market, and booths representing local businesses and non-profits opened along Church Street. Vendors came from around the surrounding area — Poughkeepsie, Elizaville, Germantown, Hyde Park and Red Hook were among the towns represented on the lawn.

Pine Plains’ Beth McLiverty was on the event’s organizing committee. From her perch at the information table, she stressed the importance of moments like Community Day for the town’s overall well-being. “We’re going to make sure this happens every year,” McLiverty said. “Everybody missed it.”

A children’s animation workshop enlivened the Stissing Center on Church Street from 10 to 11 a.m., and a variety of vintage phonographs played wax cylinders on the Graham-Brush House lawn located behind Story Book Cafe on Church Street throughout the morning. Nearby, Bee Bee the Clown twisted balloon animals for a crowd of gleeful onlookers.

Free lunch bites were provided by local restaurants like Champêtre and Guacamole Grill, and the bounce house arrived in the early afternoon to an eager crowd of pint-sized participants. Community Day also doubled as part of the region-wide REV 250 celebrations ahead of America’s 250th birthday. Historic landmarks such as the Graham-Brush House and The Pines opened their doors for the revival, and local actor Thayer Durrell appeared as Revolutionary War soldier Major Ebenezer Husted in full regalia, complete with a powdered wig and musket. Stissing Center director and Air Force veteran Marie Stewart read the Declaration of Independence.

As the sun began to set, children’s activities gave way to more adult programming: live music, corn hole, and a beer garden rounded out the afternoon, and the free raffle drawing ended with gift certificates and fruit trees to some lucky winners.

Graham Corrigan

An animation workshop for kids was part of the free programming on offer at the Stissing Center.

“We really wanted to support the community,” said organizer McLiverty. “We were very determined to make it so that no matter what your situation is, you can come out and enjoy free food, you don’t have to pay for games.” When the crowds finally dispersed, Pine Plains Community Day had made a glorious return.