BEHOLD! New Lebanon Programs For June 18

Living Museum Explores Contemporary
Rural American Life With A Variety
Of Indoor And Outdoor Sessions
Behold! New Lebanon, the living museum of contemporary rural American life, has announced its Rural Guide schedule for Saturday, June 18, the third weekend for its 2016 summer programs. The museum without walls celebrates the rich historical and cultural heritage of New Lebanon. [private]
Unlike any other museum in the country, BEHOLD! New Lebanon offers a variety of tours by locals — not costumed docents but Rural Guides who turn the town itself into a museum. These guides welcome visitors to their places of work, avocation, or enjoyment, introducing museum goers to their own roles in today’s rural America.
The June 18 programs will feature hops farming; glass blowing; tasty jam making; an insider’s look at the speedway; and border collies. Details:
9:30 am: Hops Make the Beer
Tour artist/writer Alex Olchowski’s Spring Hill Hops, the only commercial-scale hops farm in Columbia County. Learn how the hops are grown, and how they’re used (they’re not just for beer). Encounter wildlife as you walk through the hops yard and learn how the ecosystem of the field has been transformed.
10:30 am: Glass Blowing at Hoogs and Crawford
Elizabeth Crawford and Nathan Hoogs have been in business together for 17 years, creating unique glass pieces. Join them at their studio, Hoogs and Crawford Modern Studio Glass in Canaan NY, where you will watch the two glass blowers make a hand crafted, free-form, piece from start to finish.
1 pm: A Jam for all Seasons
What do you do when all your fruit ripens at one time? If you’re Deborah Gordon, you make jam. In this workshop, chef extraordinaire Deborah Gordon will show you how to turn seasonal produce into a delicious treat to enjoy for months after harvesting. She always brings a sense of adventure to her jams, and with combinations like red onion and orange, and strawberry and rosemary, this workshop will stretch your culinary imagination.
1:30: Speed Demons: Howard Commander
Long-time owner Howard Commander leads a behind-the-scenes tour of the famed Lebanon Valley Speedway, including an up-close look at the super-fast high-banked half-mile clay track. Howard explains how the track works, how scores are kept, how cars are built. Visitors can examine the cars and meet some of the drivers of this 63 year-old family attraction.
4 pm: Working Dogs
Visit the Johnson Family Homestead to 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 the poultry. Thanks to training that builds their instincts, the Johnson Family’s Border Collies help keep livestock safe. 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.
With more than 100 different programs over the course of the summer, Rural Guides greet visitors at their farms, studios and workspaces, where they practice cooking, farming, cattle raising, automobile racing and mechanics, wood-working, foraging and much more. These presenters are not costumed actors recalling old-world skills; they are the real townspeople of today, whose lives and work challenge the quaint myths about country life, and who make their presentations “where it’s happening.”
Tour shuttle buses depart from the new Behold! Station and Store, which serves as a gateway and launch spot for museum tours and other activities, in a picturesque Victorian house located at 438 State Rte. 20. The shuttle generally boards a half-hour before the tour starts, check web site or box office for further information.
Advance ticket purchase is recommended for all programs, which are priced at $18 per program, with discounts for multiple programs, and families; ages 12 and under are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. More information, including full descriptions of all programs and the online box office can be found at www.beholdnewlebanon.org, 518-720-7265, or by emailing info@beholdnewlebanon.org.[/private]