Mother’s Day this Sunday, May 10: it’s going to be gorgeous weather in the Catskills. Our choices for this weekend are: Lady Day’s centennial concert at Fisher Center, a Balkan Dance Party in Staatsburg, and several art opening receptions in Woodstock, Saugerties and Roxbury.

Fisher Center

The Aaron Diehl Trio is paying tribute to Billie Holiday this Friday, May 8 at the Fisher Center in Annandale-on-Hudson, Dutchess County. Cécile McLorin Salvant, a Grammy-nominated vocalist, will be joining the trio in a performance that will honor Holiday’s legacy, and celebrate her centennial. Billie Holiday, also known as Lady Day, was born in Philadelphia in April 1915. The centennial concert, sponsored by the Catskill Jazz Factory, begins at 8 p.m. tonight. For more information, visit http://fishercenter.bard.edu/calendar/event.php?eid=128233.

Wassail Balkan Dance Party

Wassail Balkan Dance Party will celebrate its 19^th anniversary this Saturday, May 9 at 2 p.m. at Breezy Hill Orchard in Staatsburg, Dutchess County. A twelve-piece brass band will perform Macedonian and Bulgarian dance music. Steve Kotansky will also lead a Balkan dance workshop. Balkan cuisine, including lamb roast, will be served, as well as a variety of artisanal products from local farms. Balkan music originated in South-Eastern Europe, and it’s known for the complexity of its rhythms. For more information about this event, visit http://www.hudsonvalleyfarmhousecider.com/.

Woodstock Artists Association and Museum (WAAM)

Woodstock Artists Association and Museum (WAAM) is hosting Far and Wide, the seventh annual juried art exhibition this Saturday, May 9 at 4 p.m. featuring the works of over thirty regional artists. The event will take place in the Main Gallery. In the Founders Gallery, there is an exhibit of small works. Also, artist Lynn Herring is featured in the Solo Gallery. For more information about these events, visit http://www.woodstockart.org/.

Cross Contemporary Art

Cross Contemporary Art Gallery in Saugerties, Ulster County, is also hosting an opening reception this Saturday, May 9 at 6 p.m. featuring the works of artist Portia Munson. The show called Little Suns, Hollow Bones, speaks about Munson’s interest in environmental issues, and includes works whose subjects range from floral arrangements and blossoms to bones and animal corpses. Munson is an accomplished visual artist whose work has been reviewed in numerous publications including Art in America, The New Yorker and The New York Times. For more information about this show, visit http://www.crosscontemporaryart.com/portia-munson-little-sunshollow-bones/.

Roxbury Arts Group

Roxbury Arts Group (RAG) in Roxbury, Delaware County, is hosting an artist talk this Saturday at 2 p.m. Artist Lisbeth Firmin, whose show Working the Light is on view in the Walt Meade Gallery at RAG, will be talking about her work as a painter and printmaker. Firmin is a realist painter whose work explores the relationship between humans and space. Street scenes as well as a more abstract interpretation of light and shadow are visible in her works. For more information, visit http://roxburyartsgroup.org/2014/08/26/may-9-lisbeth-firmin-artist-talk/.  

Also, this Saturday, May 9 Albany will celebrate the 67^th anniversary of its immensely popular Tulip Festival, which speaks about the city’s Dutch heritage. For more details about the Tulip Festival, visit http://www.newyorkupstate.com/albany/2015/04/guide_to_the_2015_albany_tulip_festival_schedule_and_events.html.

Have a fabulous weekend!