This weekend in the Catskills brings fabulous events for writers, classical and opera music lovers, and design aficionados.

Writers in the Mountains presents its annual summer reading event this Sunday, August 17, from 1 to 3 pm at the Erpf Center in Arkville. From the event’s description, “On Sunday August 17^th, come hear what your neighbors have been thinking and writing about. Be prepared to experience the exhilaration of returned affection, the heart wrenching pathos of ordinary life, and triumph over emotional fears. See and hear writers lay bare their innermost thoughts, indulge fantasies, and lash out at a world gone haywire. Come and meet people who, “Dare to Write”. Open mic to follow fearless readers.” For more information, visit http://writersinthemountains.org/

Great weekend for opera lovers in Cooperstown, Otsego County! This weekend’s performances at Glimmerglass Opera Festival include Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini, written in 1903, to be performed tonight, August 15 at 7:30 pm; the musical Carousel by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, written in 1945, will be performed tomorrow August 16 at 1:30 pm; also, An American Tragedy written in 2005 by Tobias Picker, based on Theodore Dreiser’s 1925 novel of the same name, will be performed Saturday evening at 8 pm. In addition, Ariadne in Naxos, an opera by Richard Strauss, written in 1912, will be performed Sunday, August 17 at 1:30 pm. This summer, the festival, which began on July 11, runs through August 24. For more information, visit http://glimmerglass.org

Maverick Concert Hall, which celebrates its 99^th season this summer, is the oldest continuous chamber music hall in the country. The program this weekend includes a “Trio Solisti” concert Sunday, August 17 at 4 pm: Maria Bachmann, violin, Alexis Pia Gerlach, cello, and Adam Neiman, piano, will perform classical and romantic compositions by Beethoven and Brahms, but also contemporary pieces like Lowell Liebermann’s Piano Trio No. 3, Op. 122, written in 2012. For more information, visit http://maverickconcerts.org

Music at the Olana State Historic Site in Hudson: Frederic Edwin Church’s 1872 estate will host “Music from the High Peaks to Olana’s Orchard” tonight at 6 pm: chamber music by Vivaldi, Gershwin and others will be performed in the orchard – an exhilarating experience. For more information, visit http://olana.org.

Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild presents “Art House,” a documentary by Don Freeman about twelve artists designing their own homes, including painter Frederic Edwin Church’s Olana mansion built in 1872, and the Arts and Crafts Byrdcliffe colony, built in 1903. The film will be shown Saturday, August 16 at 2 pm at the Upstate Films in Woodstock. For more information, go to http://www.woodstockguild.org/arthouse.html.

Have a great weekend in the Catskills!