Book Release: Silver Dollar Girls by Margaret DiBenedetto

24-year-old Mae McCain flees from New York City at the beginning of the COVID lockdown to her great-grandparents’ abandoned farmhouse in the Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York. In the attic of the old house, Mae finds a family secret and gradually discovers why it was hidden for so long.  Ruth is an aviator of another time, blazing new history as she breaks through old boundaries. Silver Dollar Girls, … Continue reading Book Release: Silver Dollar Girls by Margaret DiBenedetto

TEN REASONS TO LOVE THE CATSKILLS

By Simona David 1. AIR AND WATER QUALITY The Catskill Park, situated a hundred miles north-northwest of New York City, is known as America’s First Wilderness, because of its role in the environmental conservation movement. The New York State Legislature established the park in April 1904 to recognize and protect this magnificent mountainous area, which is part of the Appalachian plateau, and is dated back … Continue reading TEN REASONS TO LOVE THE CATSKILLS

Upstate Art Weekend, July 22 – 24

Over 145 participants will take part this weekend in Upstate Art, an initiative launched in 2020 by Helen Toomer to showcase art projects in the Hudson Valley and the Catskills region of New York State. Some of our favorite organizations, galleries and museums such as Dia:Beacon, The Dorsky Museum, Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Olana, Opus 40, Storm King Art Center, Thomas Cole National Historic … Continue reading Upstate Art Weekend, July 22 – 24

Humans of the Catskills: Rhiannon Radu

Journey to the Catskills: My journey here has been a back-and-forth from the Hudson Valley to the Catskills from the start. In the 1990s, my father would travel every weekend to the mountains for downhill mountain bike races and meets at Plattekill. He met my mother, who was “his mountain flower,” and soon I came along. I was dubbed “The Plattekill Baby” among their friends. … Continue reading Humans of the Catskills: Rhiannon Radu

Humans of the Catskills: Tony Fletcher

Journey to the Catskills: Fate. I somehow always saw myself ending up (somewhere like) here, even whilst growing up in London. First time I saw the mountains in person, I knew it would happen. Eventually it did. Vocation: A communicator of stories; a teacher of music*. Avocation: Runner. It was amazing to discover around the mid-way mark of life that I was actually good at … Continue reading Humans of the Catskills: Tony Fletcher

Jay Gould, Financier and Railroad Magnate, Featured at New York Adventure Club  

New York Adventure Club recently hosted a presentation by architect and historian Gary Lawrence titled “The Gilded Age Mansions of the Jay Gould Family, Railroad Dynasty” which explores the intricacies of the Gould family life and the lavish mansions that they owned as one of the richest and most powerful families in America. Jay (né Jason) Gould was born in Roxbury, NY in 1836. He … Continue reading Jay Gould, Financier and Railroad Magnate, Featured at New York Adventure Club  

When Space Speaks – Creative Writing Workshop with Sarah Blakley-Cartwright 

Writers in the Mountains (WIM) presents When Space Speaks with Sarah Blakley-Cartwright, a three-hour intensive workshop, Tuesday, September 21, 2021 from 1 to 4 p.m. Once they register and pay, participants will be given instructions on how to join the class. In this class, students will explore vignette, ellipses, and space breaks, as we interpret the unsaid and sharpen our ear for silence. We will look at how the elliptical form can provide exhilarating leaps of … Continue reading When Space Speaks – Creative Writing Workshop with Sarah Blakley-Cartwright 

Pandemic Art – Heartfelt Stories from The Catskills

by Simona David “I have a feeling that in art the need to understand and the need to communicate are one,” remarked Hedda Sterne, revered Surrealist painter.  Coming out of a 14-month once in a century pandemic, we take a moment to reflect on this monumental experience and make sense of the changes we have witnessed around us thus far. Artists have extraordinary perceptual abilities, … Continue reading Pandemic Art – Heartfelt Stories from The Catskills