submitted by Ed Bride
BEHOLD! New Lebanon is a new type of living museum that celebrates and explores contemporary rural American life. Over the course of four weekends between Labor Day and early November, more than 50 country guides invite visitors into their homes and work spaces, where they practice cooking, farming, cattle raising, automobile racing and mechanics, furniture-making, and much more. The guides are not costumed docents recalling old-world skills, they are actual townspeople.
[private]This Saturday
• 10 – 11:30 am – Eating in the Wild. Seasoned foragers Michelle Apland and Devin Franklin of Flying Deer Nature Center identify, collect, prepare and savor delectable edible plants. Their journey through the woods and fields of New Lebanon will make for an unforgettable experience. This is suitable for all ages.
• 10:15 – 11:45 am – Horse Sense. Heather Van Oort, competitive equestrienne, and her horses teach about the ins and outs of caring for horses. She will demonstrate how a trainer turns an unruly colt into a well mannered companion and will share her lifelong passion for horses. All ages are welcome. This is an outdoor activity; dress for walking in woods and fields with heavy shoes or boots and a hat. Sunscreen and bug repellent is advised.
• 12:15 – 1:15 pm – All that Jazz. Professional jazz musician Monte Wasch shares in the joy of creating the distinctive and unique sounds of jazz. The session takes place in his home music studio. This is suitable for all ages.
• 12:15 – 1:15 pm – Building for the divine. Peter Watson, historic preservationist and Shaker Museum trustee, hosts visitors in the 1860s North Family Shaker Great Stone Barn. Peter will share the story of the barn as it was, and will introduce visitors to other magnificent odes to the divine created by the Shakers through their architecture, furniture, invention and social action. This is suitable for all ages.
• 2 – 3:30 pm – Going Once, Going Twice: Auctioneering 101. Dolores Meissner, New Lebanon’s veteran auctioneer, talks about her personal journey, how she learned the auction business and the rise of her fabled auction house. Along the way, she explains how it all works and how to get a bargain at auction. Visitors will also be invited to preview the items up for the auction beginning at 5:30 pm. This is recommended for ages 18 and over.
• 2:15 – 3:45 pm – Working Dogs.
Visitors to the Johnson Family Homestead witness an age old system of family farming, where everything is interconnected. Walk in the family’s garden, pick ripe vegetables and pick weeds to feed to the poultry. Thanks to training that builds on their instincts, the Johnson Family’s Border Collies help keep livestock safe. Visitors learn how herding breeds of farm dogs are trained and worked. Young visitors will be encouraged to participate and everyone who might like to own a farm dog of any breed will be given pointers.
This Sunday
• 10 – 11:15 am – Quince. Are you perplexed with what to do with a quince? Bite into one just off the tree and you’ll be sorry. In this workshop, using her own harvest, chef extraordinaire Deborah Gordon will show you how to turn nasty into tasty. Yum!
• 10:15 – 11:4 am – Speed Demons. The famed Lebanon Valley Speedway owner Howard Commander takes visitors on a walk behind the scenes, where they will learn how the track works, how scores are kept, how cars are built. Visitors can examine the cars and meet some of the drivers. All Behold! ticket holders are entitled to half-price Tower Tickets for the races.
• 12 – 1 pm – Reptile Rescue. Rhonda Leavitt has never met a snake she couldn’t love – or an alligator or turtle for that matter. Queen of the reptile rescuers, Rhonda will bring her animals for visitors to learn to love and handle, too.
• 1:45 – 2:45 pm – Rub a Dub Dub. Whether or not you’ve had a massage, Adriana Szyda, an experienced massage therapist, invites visitors to learn the history of this healing art. She explains how she approaches her work, what distinguishes a good massage and the benefit. Adriana will answer questions, giving visitors the knowledge they need to give themselves a hand massage.
• 3 – 5 pm – Swamped! Naturalist Joel Priest of Darrow School joins visitors in a walk through magnificent woods to the edge of the Shaker Swamp, where they will see mysterious monoliths left by the Mohicans, enjoy sun filtered glades and marvel at the labors of the Shakers and how they harnessed the Swamp for productive use. Visitors will come to appreciate the biodiversity of a seldom-visited corner of New Lebanon.
• 6 – 8 pm – Greek Dinner at Jimmy D’s. A fixed menu of Greek specialties is prepared in the oven and on the grill by Jimmy and Ellen just for Behold! guests. A cost of $24 per person plus tip plus tax, alcohol extra, is to be paid at the site.
This Monday
• 9:30 – 11 am – Homesteading 101. Most people have never made farmer’s cheese. Paul Rix and Anna Duhon invite visitors to join them as they create homemade cheese and attend to their morning chores. Do the goats need feeding? Is it time to preserve the tomatoes? Should they pickle the kimchee? Whatever is happening, it is seasonally driven and fun to learn – especially with this young couple.
• 11:20 – 12:20 pm – Elm Tree Mill Tour. The Elm Tree Mill helped make New Lebanon famous. When President Theodore Roosevelt lived in the White House, he insisted that his pancakes be prepared only from Elm Tree Mill buckwheat. A tour conducted by the family that now lives in the mill offers an unprecedented opportunity to look inside and look back to the 18th century.
• 11:25 am – 12:55 pm – The Way of Pigs. Climbing Tree Farm owners Colby and Schuyler Gail take visitors on a walk. Along the way, they discuss how they became farmers, the decisions they made and why, giving an understanding of the rhythms of a farmer’s life in all seasons. Visitors may even meet some pigs foraging in the woods.[/private]