‘The Little Mermaid’ at SCDW

SOUTH FALLSBURG, NY — The Sullivan County Dramatic Workshop (SCDW) will perform Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” a musical based on the movie and Hans Christian Andersen story of the same name.
Show dates begin Friday, August 12 at 8 p.m. All performances are at the Rivoli Theatre, and run through Sunday, August 21.
General admission tickets cost $18; seniors, students and members of the military pay $15.
Purchase advance tickets at www.MyRiverTickets.com.
More details to follow in the August 11 issue of the River Reporter.
For more information, visit www.scdw.net.

‘Something Rotten!’ at Forestburgh Playhouse

FORESTBURGH, NY — Ten-time Tony-nominated Broadway musical “Something Rotten!” will premiere on the mainstage at the Forestburgh Playhouse (FPH) on Tuesday, August 2.
Performances will continue through Sunday, August 14. They take place Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m.; matinees are Wednesdays at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.
The musical features music and lyrics by Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick. The book is by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell.  The musical is directed and choreographed by JR Bruno, with music direction by Spencer Stern. 
The cast features Daniel Hayward (Nick Bottom), Trevor March (Nigel Bottom),  Jonathan Charles Fox (Lord Champlain), Edward Staudenmeyer (William Shakespeare,) Maggie Likcani (Bea), Matthew Curiano (Nostradamus), Caroline Borio (Portia), Christopher Sapienza (Brother Jeremiah), Ira Denmark (Shylock) and Justin Sudderth (The Minstrel).
The ensemble features Kelly Belarmino, Mike Bindemen, Leilani Carr, Collin Hancock, Logan John, Jessi Kirtley, Skyler Sajewski, Anthony Savino, Bella Serrano and Justin Sudderth.

The creative team includes Jacob Brown (scenic designer), Camile Lerner (costume designer), Ethan Newman (lighting designer), Mackenzie Ademick (sound designer), Lorelei Davis (property master. Caroline Jackson (production stage manager) and Rose Tablizo (assistant stage manager). Emily Kay is assistant director.

“This show is one of the funniest original musical comedies to be seen on Broadway in recent years,” said executive producer Franklin Trapp.
Set in the year 1595, it tells the story of brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom, desperate to write a hit play but stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rock star known as “the Bard.” When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theater involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, the Bottom brothers set out to write the world’s very first musical. But in the scandalous excitement of opening night, the Bottoms realize that reaching the top means being true to themselves.
For COVID policies, see www.fbplayhouse.org/policies.
Tickets cost $45, and can be purchased online at tix5.centerstageticketing.com/sites/forestburgh6/ or by calling the box office at 845/794-1194.
Learn more about the Forestburgh Playhouse and its upcoming events at fbplayhouse.org.

Black artists on the pandemic, privilege and patriarchy

HIGHLAND LAKE, NY — Merlixse Ventura and Cindy De La Cruz, resident artists at the ¡OYE! Group, will share their latest project at the North American Cultural Laboratory (NACL) at 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 4.
It’s part of an NACL series that engages with artists at different stages of the creative process.
Ventura and De La Cruz’s work, titled “Vessel of a Woman,” is a poetry cycle that explores the themes of pandemic, privilege and patriarchy from the perspective of Black women.
The August 4 event will be an evening of excerpts and new writings by the two artists, followed by conversation and a light meal.
“Vessel of a Woman” was first presented as a live-streamed event by Tank NYC’s LimeFest in 2020.
Ventura is an Afro-Latina artist, born and raised in Washington Heights. She is currently pursuing her master of fine arts degree in acting at Columbia University.
De La Cruz is a Bronx-bred and Harlem-based, first-generation Dominican American artist and producer. She is most interested in raising the visibility of Black Latinxs and dismantling the anti-Black rhetoric in the Latinx community, a spokesperson for NACL wrote. De La Cruz is an artistic producer of the Dominican Artists Collective, a company of Dominican storytellers based in New York City, and is currently in residence with the New York Theatre Workshop.
The ¡OYE! Group is an incubator for local or immigrant artists in New York City. Based in Bushwick, Brooklyn, ¡OYE! presents an eclectic mix of theater, dance, poetry, music, video installations and film, featuring work that sparks dialogue about political and social issues critical to their local community’s growth, a press release stated.
For more information about the ¡OYE! Group, visit www.oyegroup.org/.
For more information about NACL, visit www.nacl.org.

Tour Sullivan gardens

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — Some people like seeing inside others’ homes. And some people prefer looking at outdoor rooms.
Starting at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 13, you can tour three county gardens: one in Bethel, one in White Sulphur Springs and one in North Branch.
Stephen Lyles’ garden is the first stopping point. It’s a work in progress over 42 years, and the landscape includes a fenced area to keep plants safe from deer, a pergola, a pasture, a pond and more.
Ken Wampler’s garden in White Sulphur Springs is next. It wraps around his home. The garden is the result of 30-plus years of planning and planting and making peace with nature.
The final stop is the garden belonging to Elisabeth Sinsabaugh and Eric de la Cova. They explore gardening methods and food preservation on their homestead. Organic practices such as no-till, sheet mulching and hugelkultur are the foundation of their ongoing work to create an edible landscape. Homemade refreshments will be available for purchase.
The cost of the tour is $50, and that fee, as well as the cost of refreshments at the Sinsabaugh/de la Cova garden, benefit the Sullivan County Democratic Committee.
Learn more and purchase a ticket at scnydc.org/event.

Learn about the Shema at Temple Sholom

MONTICELLO, NY AND ONLINE — Rabbi Bella Bogart will teach about the Shema, the central prayer of Judaism, at her second short summer course at Temple Sholom.
Her course will consist of four sessions on Tuesdays at 1:30 pm; classes will begin on August 9, and will be taught in person at Temple Sholom and on Zoom.
The Shema is ancient, originating in a world in which most societies worshiped multiple deities, a press release stated.
The prayer’s basic tenet, that only one God rules over all peoples, became the basis for not only Judaism, but also for Christianity and Islam—the major monotheistic religions of the Western world.
Rabbi Bogart will explore the relevance of this prayer to spirituality today.
The rabbi spent much of her congregational career as a cantor and rabbi in Florida and California. She recently returned to the East Coast to spend the summer months in Glen Spey, and Temple Sholom recruited her as a teacher.
Temple Sholom is located at 5 E. Dillon Ave.
In-person attendees must show proof of COVID vaccination.
The fee is $20 per course for Temple Sholom members and $40 for nonmembers.
Registration forms can be obtained by emailing the temple at templesholom1954@gmail.com, or by calling the temple at 845/794-8731.

August programs at Fort Delaware

NARROWSBURG, NY — The secret history of Black soldiers. Clearing the frontier of Tories. A Revolutionary War encampment.
Fort Delaware continues its historical presentations in August, part of the Bold Gold Media speaker series.
On Saturday, August 6 at 1 p.m., re-enactor Noah Lewis returns to the fort in the persona of Black Revolutionary War hero Ned Hector. He’ll present a discussion titled “African Americans in Colonial America.”
At 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 13, Rich Jenkins, a descendant of Revolutionary War officer John Jenkins of the 24th Connecticut Regiment of Militia, will discuss his ancestor’s experiences. John Jenkins chronicled the 1779 expedition of Gen. John Sullivan, which was intended to drive the raiding Tories and Iroquois out of New York.
Rich Jenkins will also show the powder horn his ancestor used to etch the route of the expedition.
Re-enactors from the modern 24th Connecticut Militia Regiment will be at the fort that same weekend, holding an encampment and performing various demonstrations.
At 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 20, historian Drew Shuptar-Rayvis will present a program titled “A Disappearing Country.” It details the changes in lifestyle the Algonquins living in the region had to make as the European presence here increased in the early part of the 18th century.
All programs are included in the admission price for the Fort.
The Fort Delaware Museum of Colonial History is located at 6615 Rte. 97 in Narrowsburg. The fort is open Thursday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 Tour the ‘Big Boy’ at Steamtown

SCRANTON, PA — Steamtown National Historic Site (SNHS) will open the cab of the Union Pacific No. 4012, the so-called “Big Boy,” for guided tours on the first weekend of each month. The August dates are Friday, August 5 through Sunday, August 7.
Tours will last through November, and will be available between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The historic site is part of the National Park Service (NPS).
The locomotive returned to static exhibition in the park in May 2021, after an extensive cosmetic restoration.
No. 4012 is among a unique class of 25 articulated steam locomotives with a 4-8-8-4 wheel set, built solely for the Union Pacific Railroad by the American Locomotive Works. Most locomotives of this type—including No. 4012—were constructed in 1941, on the eve of the U.S. entry into World War II.
An engineering marvel that is perhaps the high point to steam locomotion technology, the “Big Boys” nonetheless became obsolete as more efficient, reliable and cost-effective diesel-electric locomotive technology was refined during the 1950s.
Only eight “Big Boys” survived the scrapper’s torch.
The SNHS follows CDC guidance for mitigating transmission of COVID-19. Masking requirements in NPS buildings and on passenger coaches are based on local conditions. Updates are posted weekly, on Fridays, to www.nps.gov/stea.
The historic site is located at 350 Cliff Street.
Learn more by calling 570/340-5200, or by visiting www.nps.gov/stea.

Sullivan County’s outdoor stages

PARKSVILLE, NY — On any given summer day, you can usually find somebody somewhere playing live music in the Sullivan County Catskills. The area is full of music lovers, musicians and the business owners who support them. And though the pandemic took a toll on the industry, many of the local businesses rallied around the music and ramped up their outdoor spaces.
To celebrate the spirit and tenacity of the local music scene, the Sullivan County Historical Society is holding a concert series showcasing some of these new outdoor stages.
The next concert will take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday, August 7 at the Arrowhead Ranch and Retreat, 487 Cooley Rd.
The concerts are free, and will be hosted by the band Little Sparrow. Special guests include Ellen Iovino on congas and harmonica, Jeff Anderson on bass and Rounder Recording artist Van Manakas on guitar and fiddle. The band will play classic rock as well as some old-time country music, including songs by the Grateful Dead, Neal Young, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard.
The concert is part of the Arrowhead Ranch Community Market and Country Fair, which features farm tours, kids’ activities, food and vendors.
For more information, call 888/867-2798 or 845/434-8044.

Tour Bethel Woods with WSPL

BETHEL, NY — The Western Sullivan Public Library (WSPL) is offering a behind-the-scenes tour of Bethel Woods. You have to pre-register by Friday, August 5. See details below.
The tour takes place at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, August 9 and Wednesday, August 10.
Participants can explore the backstage pavilion where the stars stay, and follow the Bindy Bazaar trails on a golf cart ride and walking tour. There will also be a sneak peak at the newly unearthed festival artifacts.
This free program, exclusively for Western Sullivan Public Library patrons, is made possible through a partnership between the library and the Museum at Bethel Woods, plus grant funding.
To register, sign up on the library’s calendar at www.WSPLonline.org for either date.
The tour will run from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on both days. There is a limit of 14 participants each day, and they must be over age five to register.
Visit www.wsplonline.org/ or call 845/887-4040 for additional information.

Did you go to camp?

NARROWSBURG, NY — Ten Mile River Scout Museum co-director Ira Nagel will lead a discussion titled “Remembering Camp Life” on Tuesday, August 9 at 7 p.m.
The talk will be held in the open-air Cayuga/Kotohke cabin. It is open to both scouts and the public.
The camp is located at 1481 Crystal Lake Rd.
For more information, call 845/252-2063 or email info@tmrmuseum.org.

 Art in performance and matter

NARROWSBURG, NY — The Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA) has announced its new exhibitions.
“Watch the Curve,” featuring objects, sculptures and two public performances by Katie Coughlin and “Shifts in Space,” featuring large-scale paintings by Colleen O’Hara, will open on Saturday, August 6 at the DVAA.
A reception will be held beginning at 3 p.m. on August 6, and the shows will be on view through Sunday, September 18.
Coughlin will perform at 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 6 and Saturday, September 10. Both performances will be held on DVAA’s balcony and sidewalk.

Katie Coughlin’s work, “Watch the Curve,” is an investigation of home, vessel, body and clothing through the manipulation of space and material. Although clay is most often the place where Coughlin begins her work, she uses other mediums, specifically cloth and wood, to expand her sculptures. These material-collaborative apparati allow her to incorporate the human body, placing her work between object, sculpture and performance. 

“As a teenager, there were constantly clothes to take off the line,” she wrote. “We had, at one point, three clotheslines reaching out from the windows to the telephone pole tucked away in the left corner of our backyard. The reaching of arms out the window as our legs anchored us inside was a brutal test of our ability to balance and stretch. Our body became a part of this apparatus —as it often does when we complete physical tasks; our joints propel us forward while shoulders and hips and heads bear weight and get worked. When our bodies become mechanisms, where does the boundary lie? Is the edge of our body - the tip of our finger - or is it the ends of the bristles of the broom as we sweep the floor?”

Coughlin received her MFA from Ohio State University in 2018. She has been an artist in residence at Red Lodge Clay Center and Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts. She has received multiple awards, including the Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award from the International Sculpture Center, the Warren Mackenzie Advancement Award from Northern Clay Center, and most recently, a 2020 NYSCA/NYFA artist fellowship. A native New Yorker, Katie returned to the city in 2018 and lives and works in Brooklyn.

Colleen O’Hara’s work is titled “Shifts in Space.” She creates imaginary landscapes inspired by her interactions with real physical space. This body of work is rooted in an exploration of the material nature of paint. Paint contains a vast amount of potential and unpredictability. Working in a space between control and freedom, she responds to the materiality of paint, allowing her the opportunity to investigate the physical world.  Brush marks, drips, and splatters become a documentation of her existence and engagement in the world.  The act of making, doing and experiencing is what gives us information about our surroundings.
O’Hara overlaps layers of transparent paint, creating spaces full of movement and experience that extend beyond the edges of the paper. Significant gestural marks incorporate the movement of her body. These large marks complement areas of intricate detail, spaces where micro and macro perspectives are referenced.  In pairing these contrasting marks, her work oscillates between the intimate and the immeasurable. 
Through the medium of paint, Colleen O’Hara explores process and material. Her work questions our understanding of physical space.
Colleen’s paintings have been exhibited in various group exhibitions throughout the Northeast and in three separate solo exhibitions, one of which was in Brooklyn, NY.  She received her MFA in painting and drawing from the State University Of New York at New Paltz in 2016. In 2013 she received her BFA in painting from Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. Colleen currently lives and works in Otego, NY, and is an adjunct instructor at Mohawk Valley Community College.
DVAA gallery hours are from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday through Sunday.
The gallery is located at 37 Main St.
Exhibits are free of charge. Masks are recommended.
Learn more about the DVAA at delawarevalleyartsalliance.org.

Back to school in Pike County

MILFORD, PA ― The Pike County Office of Children and Youth Services will hold its second annual back-to-school event on Friday, August 5 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., at Ann Street Park.
The first 100 attendees will receive a free backpack filled with school supplies to help prepare for the upcoming school year.
Michele Burrell, Pike County children and youth services administrator, said, “Last year, there was a great response from the community. We are very thankful for all the local organizations who have donated school supplies, allowing us to hold this event once again. We invite community members to attend, meet some of the local providers and earn more about the support services available within the county.”
The event was made possible by numerous community providers including the Pike County commissioners; the Methodist Church of Milford; the Ecumenical Food Pantry; Triversity; Justice Works; the Carbon, Monroe, Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission; Carbon, Monroe, Pike Mental Health; Victims Intervention Program; SAM, Inc.; Angels and
Dragonflies; the Delaware Valley School District; East Stroudsburg School District; the Pregnancy
Resource Center and the Church at Hemlock Farms.
Additional donations of backpacks and other school supplies are welcome.
For more information, call Pike County Children and Youth Services at 570/296-3446.

Neversink-Hackledam project discussed at Crawford Library

MONTICELLO, NY — Gordon MacAdam will talk about the Neversink-Hackledam dam at the E.B. Crawford Public Library on Thursday, August 11 at 6 p.m.
The dam project is a little-known and long-forgotten proposal to build a hydroelectric dam on the Neversink River in Forestburgh.
First presented in 1913, it would have changed the face of Sullivan County. The project entailed a nine-mile-long reservoir stretching upstream from Forestburgh, across the Town of Thompson into the Town of Fallsburg, with a 60-foot depth at Bridgeville.
The massive project would have included a 2 1/2-mile train line with a 5 1/2-mile tunnel through the Shawangunk Mountains. The hamlet of Bridgeville and three cemeteries would have been relocated.
The project was abandoned when funding was diverted to the World War I effort.
The program will be presented in the Robert B. Norris Community Room. Masking and social distancing are strongly encouraged, and registration is required. Go to ebcpl.org and then to Adult Calendars.

Third episode of ‘As the River Turns’ drops 

ONLINE — Once again, you can step back in time to Narrowsburg in the 1930s.
Listeners can catch the next episode of “As the River Turns,” a soap opera chronicling the lives and doings of people in Depression-era Narrowsburg, on the Western Sullivan Public Library website; see below.
The podcast is written and directed by Greg Triggs.
This time, listeners can get to know more of the townsfolk. They’ll learn about Constance’s husband Luxton and a few of the other characters that populated the community.
Sound and graphics are by Alan Kehoe, and the original music produced and performed by Heidi Mollenhauer.
The podcasts are produced by Western Sullivan Public Library’s Dale Blagrove. The performance stars Act Underground Theatre’s podcast players: Warren Anschutz, Janet Burgan, Thomas Cambridge, Tina Gordon, Vanessa Hernandez, Naomi Holoch, Kyoshin Lohr, Wendy Merritt, Heidi Mollenhauer, Greg Triggs and Charlie Trowbridge.
To listen to the third episode of “As the River Turns,” or to catch other podcasts, visit www.WSPLonline.org and click on Podcasts under Adult Programs.

Boutique thrift shop opens in Hurleyville

HURLEYVILLE, NY — All that Glitters is Old (ATGIO), a curated thrift and consignment boutique, was declared the winner of the Hurleyville Entrepreneurial Program.
The store’s grand opening will be held on Saturday, August 6, from 11 a.m. through 7 p.m., and the ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place on Tuesday, August 9, at 11 a.m.
The entrepreneurial program has provided free rent to the new Main Street shop, a new-business loan of up to $50,000, and mentorship.
ATGIO is located at the Main Street MEWS, 234 Main St.
“Owning a thrift shop has been a lifelong dream of mine,” said ATGIO owner Samara Ritzler, “and because of this program, I now get to turn my dream into a reality.”
The shop is described as a “curated thrift and consignment boutique of on-trend and classic wardrobe staples.” It offers custom-made denim rock jackets, band tees, vintage and designer clothing and accessories, vinyl records, handmade jewelry, vintage Moroccan rugs and more.
“We were very pleased by the amount of interest in opening businesses in the downtown area of Hurleyville, “said Jeffrey Stevenson, owner of the MEWS. “ The diversity and number of applicants we had really showed the level of excitement in the larger community in a vibrant offering of services, in a new, thriving Hurleyville.”
For more information about ATGIO, visit www.allthatglittersisold.com or find it on social media at allthatglittersisold.

Fundraiser for Lacawac Sanctuary

LAKE ARIEL, PA — The Lacawac Sanctuary is holding its annual farm-to-plate event at 6 p.m. on Saturday, August 13 at Watres Lodge.
There will be live music, craft cocktails, wine and a locally sourced menu provided by the Mustard Seed Cafe.
Smart casual attire is recommended.
The cost is $90 per person, and all proceeds benefit Lacawac’s work to preserve the environment.
To purchase tickets, visit https://bit.ly/3cSPtWC.
To learn more about Lacawac Sanctuary, visit lacawac.org.

Scout museum hosts 95th anniversary

NARROWSBURG, NY — Boy Scout campers at Ten Mile River, the leaders and the staff are invited to a 95th reunion at the long-time scout camp.
Hike the woods, take a swim and enjoy a night at the museum—complete with a Trade-o-Ree and a cracker barrel.
Register at tenmileriver.org/alumni/.
For more information, visit TMRalumni on Facebook.