No, not the season with jingle bells, but the one that’s filled with arts and leisure springing up throughout the Upper Delaware River region. And because it’s June, theatre, music, art and all things entertainment are busting out all over. The weather has been glorious of late, the dog is gleefully rolling in who-knows-what and I’m racing to and fro in search of artistic fulfillment… and it’s only just begun.

My first stop last week was a visit to the Forestburgh Playhouse, which is already thrumming with activity as an army (and I do mean army) of actors, singers, musicians and technicians prepare to open the barn theatre (and adjoining tavern) for what looks to be an epic season. The Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce, along with a host of dignitaries, joined playhouse producer Franklin Trapp and a legion of ardent fans out to raise a glass and toast the opening of the 80th season of presenting “Broadway in the Catskills” for audiences of all ages.

Before the ribbon was cut, Trapp had a few words to say, telling us how it all came about.

“What began in 1947 as a small summer theatre tucked into the woods of the Sullivan Catskills has grown into one of the longest-running professional summer theatres in New York State,” Trapp said, wielding the giant scissors. “Generations of artists have stepped onto this stage, audiences have gathered beneath the barn roof, and stories have come to life night after night.”

“The Forestburgh Playhouse has always been more than a theatre. It is a place where talent is nurtured, careers are launched, and audiences are delighted.”

“Many who first appeared on this stage as young performers or technicians have gone on to Broadway, television, national tours and major regional theatres across the country. Others discovered here a lifelong love of the arts, returning year after year as part of a community that stretches across decades.”

“For families throughout the Catskills and visitors from around the world, the playhouse has become a tradition. Summers are marked by opening nights, standing ovations and the shared joy of live theatre. Eighty years later,” Trapp said in conclusion, “the mission remains the same: to create unforgettable theatrical experiences while cultivating the next generation of artists and storytellers.”

The upcoming season, loaded with Broadway hits, young performers learning their craft, and an ever-changing roster of boogie nights in the tavern promises to be one for the record books. Curtain up!

June marks another important milestone: Juneteenth—which the Google tells me is “a federal holiday celebrated on June 19 to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday’s name, first used in the 1890s, refers to the day when Major Gen. Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.”

I learned about the history behind Juneteenth and so much more when Gidget and I joined a sold-out audience last Friday to take in a different kind of show—presented by the Farm Arts Collective (FAC). The FAC is widely known for presenting original, thought-provoking theatrical experiences.

This year’s FAC celebration featured “Dawn of a New Century,” a “work-in-progress” written by TR Faronii, and performed by director G. Oliver King, John Neails and Crystal Tweed. Enhanced with music by Dana Bryan-Jones, the short play “illuminates an [imagined] conversation between WEB DuBois and Booker T. Washington, key players in the history of post-Civil War America.

Based on the production, it would seem that the two historical figures had great respect for each other, despite their wildly different opinions about how the future of African Americans would unfold, as a nation healed from a war that still reverberates today.

Additionally it is unknown if the two men ever sat down to discuss the aftermath of the Emancipation Proclamation, an “executive order issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863.”

What is known is that Texas refused to acknowledge the proclamation until two years after it was signed—when Granger rode into town to enforce it. Suddenly Texas’s reputation as “the lone-star state” makes sense.

As always, the collective invited the audience to linger after the production for a lively Q&A, which served (IMHO) to inspire more questions than answers regarding not only American history, but where we stand today on the issue of racism. That, for some ungodly reason, appears to be rearing its ugly head once more, almost as if we’ve learned nothing from our past mistakes.

That said, as far as I’m concerned, it’s not the typical audience that invariably shows up to support the fine work of the Farm Arts Collective that needs to be having this discussion. My fervent wish is to see programming like this make its way into schools, colleges and communities that are apparently unaware of this disturbing, ugly period in American history.

As playwright Faronii addressed the audience, I was horrified to learn that our schools are either glossing over the actual history of slavery in our country, or simply ignoring it altogether, and am completely stymied on how this could be.

In short, my week was filled with the good, the bad and the ugly—and sadly, given the state of the country at present, I’m not surprised. As summer settles in, I’m hopeful for more of the former and less of the last two, but either way, rest assured—I’ll be offering up my less-than-humble opinion about this, that and the other, because in the immortal words of The Carpenters, Paul Williams and Curtis Mayfield… “We’ve only just begun.”

Fun Fact: “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” is a song from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Carousel,” which was adapted as a film in 1956.