The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

New Lebanon

Mountain Road School Sets Open House For February 10

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Families interested in nature-based, out-of-the-box education are invited to an Open House at Mountain Road School on Tuesday, February 10, from 9:30 to 11:30 am. Prospective families (kids are welcome too) can enjoy a cup of tea, learn about the school, tour the classrooms and campus, and meet with teachers and students.

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The Tsatsawassa Protective Fire Co Inc. Breakfast

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The Tsatsawassa Protective Fire Company, serving Brainard and East Nassau and surrounding community, will hold its monthly Breakfast on Sunday, February  15,  from 8 am until 11:30 am at their firehouse on Firehouse Lane behind the post office near the intersection of Routes 20 and 66N, in the hamlet of Brainard.

Breakfast offers your choice of pancakes or french toast, together with bacon or sausage, eggs cooked to your order, applesauce and beverages for your donation of $7 for adults, $4 for children 5 to 12, under age five is free.

Why not bring your loved ones for a Valentine weekend treat and shake away the winter blues while sharing an hour with friends and neighbors and supporting your local fire company.

Events At The New Lebanon Library

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Author Dr. Conrad Vispo To Speak At The New Lebanon Library

Dr. Conrad Vispo will discuss his book “The Nature of the Place — A History of Living with the Land in Columbia County, NY” at the New Lebanon Library on Thursday, February 12, at 7 pm. The reading will be followed by Q & A and signing.

The book, which is a culmination of over five years of hard work, extends an exciting invitation to explore the rich heritage and nature of Columbia County. It describes local forest, field, soil and waters both from the perspective of the diversity and beauty of their inherent nature and also in terms of the way the human head and hand has, for better or worse, left its mark.

Dr. Vispo is a wildlife ecologist with the Farmscape Ecology Project, a research and outreach branch of Hawthorne Valley Association. He received a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology, specializing in nutritional ecology, at the University of Wisconsin. He studied the ecology and management of a tropical freshwater fishery with the Wildlife Conservation Society and Venezuela’s Fundacion La Salle for several years before co-founding Hawthorne Valley’s Farmscape Ecology Program. With that program he has been exploring the role of agriculture in providing habitat for native species and the importance of native (or at least wild) species in providing ecological services to farms. He was born and raised in Canaan.

All are welcome at this free event.

Folk Duo Divinitress Performs At New Lebanon Library’s Valentine Dance

Local acoustic folk duo Divinitress will be performing at the New Lebanon Library on Valentine’s Eve – Friday, February 13, from 7 to 9 pm. The duo will be performing a program of romantic music. Dancing will be encouraged and light refreshments will be served.

Divinitress consists of singer-guitarist Tistrya Grace, who has spent ten years performing at coffee houses and festivals, and versatile Berkshire singer-songwriter Erin Laundry. They play a combination of original songs along with popular covers. Their blend of harmonies and acoustic instruments give the duo a unique and uplifting sound.

This event is free and open to the public, although donations for the performers are welcome.

Father and Son Author Team To Speak At The New Lebanon Library

Local authors Michael and Diego Mongue will appear at the New Lebanon Library on  Monday,  February 16 at  2 pm, to talk about their quarterly comic book series, Awesome Robot Science Fiction Action Comix. The talk will be followed by Q& A and discussion, after which Michael and Diego will sign copies of the book.

Awesome Robot started as letters left in Diego’s school lunches. Messages of encouragement like, “Have a great day at school” or “Eat your lunch and work hard” soon morphed into stranger missives, such as “Don’t eat cake from the cafeteria garbage pail.” These notes were accompanied by illustrations that eventually became the Awesome Robot series, the story of Dennis the Robot and his anthropomorphic misadventures. The story and renderings marry the musings of a prepubescent boy and the satirical commentaries of his outsider artist father.

Michael Mongue is an artist residing in Williamstown, MA. His work has been shown at the Left Bank Gallery in Bennington, the Arts and Crafts Guild in Dalton, the Flatiron Gallery in North Adams, the Amsterdam Whitney Gallery in New York City, the Deborah Davis Fine Art Gallery in Hudson, and the Firehouse Cafe in Adams. He is the author of M.Mongue: Acrylic Paintings from a Berkshire Artist, as well as the Awesome Robot series which he writes with his son. Diego, aged  12, is in the  seventh  grade.

All are welcome at this free event, which is most appropriate for school aged children although interested patrons of all ages are welcome.

New Lebanon Library To Host Tom Abdow Concert

New England folk-rock singer and songwriter Tom Abdow will perform an acoustic concert of folk, country and rock music at 6:30 pm on Friday, February 20, at the New Lebanon Library. All are welcome and the event is free, although donations for the performer are appreciated.

Abdow has performed at various venues throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic areas. He has opened shows for Jonathan Edwards, Steve Forbert, Aztec Two-Step, and the Vassar Clements Band.

The New Lebanon Library is located at 550 State Route 20, New Lebanon, NY, just north of the yellow blinking light. For further information on any of these programs, contact the Library at (518) 794-8844.

A New Exhibit Of Shaker And Other Antique Tools At The Lebanon Valley Heritage Center

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The Lebanon Valley Heritage Center announces a new exhibition, of Shaker and other antique tools, to  run from January 30 through March 31, 2015. The many tools displayed, from private collections, include rare items such as two types of corner drills, an assemblage of jeweler’s tools and a “traveler.” The exhibition will be of interest not only to collectors and aficionados of old tools but also to followers of local history and the general public.

The Heritage Center is a collaboration of the New Lebanon Economic Development Committee, the Lebanon Valley Historical Society and scores of dedicated volunteers. The Center welcomes individual visitors and groups Fridays 2 to 4 pm, Saturdays 10 am to 12 pm, Sundays 11 am to 1 pm and by appointment. It is centrally located in the Valley Plaza Mall on Rts. 20/22. Through evolving displays, maps, books, old magazines and newspapers, photos, furniture and other objects, and multimedia, the Center showcases New Lebanon’s fascinating history of over 250 years; it also serves as a tourist bureau offering current maps (road and trail), guides, listings of events and  lodging and eating places, and other information of interest to visitors.

Darrow Student To Compete In Fencing Junior Olympics

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Catherine “Catt” Gagnon, of Rensselaer, a sophomore at Darrow School in New Lebanon, is now making final preparations to compete in the USA Fencing (USAF) 2015 Junior Olympic Championships to be held in Richmond, VA, February 13 to 16.

Gagnon, who has been fencing since she was 9 years old and is a member of the Beaches Saber Club of Troy, qualified for the Junior Olympics after placing 34th out of 117 competitors in the junior division at the 2014 USAF National Championships in Columbus, Ohio, last summer. She had qualified for the nationals by competing earlier in the year at a tournament held at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie.

“I am very excited. This is a big opportunity for me,” said Gagnon, who has fenced at the college level with students in the RPI Fencing Club in Troy. She has also been invited to compete with the Fencing Club at SUNY Albany. The experience, she said, gave her the confidence to compete in the Olympic qualifier against opponents from across the country at varying skill levels. “I surprised myself,” she said. “I was fencing against opponents with more experience and skill, but I did pretty well.”

Gagnon has also used her fencing experience to complete an independent study program in fencing at Darrow. In addition to the Junior Olympics, she also hopes to compete in the USAF Summer Nationals to be held in San Jose, CA, June 27 to July 6.

Rev Tor To Perform At The New Lebanon Library

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Berkshire musician Tor Krautter will perform at the New Lebanon Library on  Friday, January 30, at 6:30 pm. With the use of a looping unit, Rev Tor creates tasty yet infectious grooves and performs a large repertoire of well crafted original tunes and classic rock/folk covers.  The performance will be  inside the library.  This event is free and open to the public, although donations for the performer are appreciated.

Krautter (aka Rev Tor) is best known as front man for the popular Rev Tor Band. Since the early 90s he has been a powerful presence on the east coast club and festival circuit, performing in venues from Maine to Florida. Rev Tor has worked with members of The Grateful Dead, Phish, The Allman Brothers and New Riders Of The Purple Sage and has performed at concerts with The Jerry Garcia Band, Los Lobos and Leon Russell. He has toured regularly with Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten.

For further information, please call the Library at 518- 794-8844. The Library is located at 550 State Route 20, ¼ mile north of the yellow blinking light at the intersection of Routes 20/22.

Paws To Read

And don’t forget Paws-to-Read on January 24 at 9 am. Therapy dogs come to the Library and children read to their furry friends. And, of course, the dogs listen! Please call to register at 518-794-8844.