Up, Up & Away
The 27th Annual Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival is back, but is in a new location — the Dutchess County Fairgrounds — and has many new features and attractions. In addition to the balloon launches there are tethered balloon rides, live music, helicopter rides, book signings, a meet the pilots session, a craft beer tent, yoga, Pilates, and more than 80 vendors. Daily passes and all-access weekend passes are available. Make sure to book balloon and helicopter rides in advance.
July 6-8, Rhinebeck, www.dcrcoc.org/balloonfesthv.org
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Photo provided by Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Rockin’ Like a Wagon Wheel
Grammy Award winners Lady Antebellum and Darius Rucker bring their latest show, “Summer Plays on Tour,” to Sullivan County. Expect spontaneous collaborations with these long-time country music friends known for hits such as “Need You Now,” “Bartender,” “For the First Time,” and “Wagon Wheel.” They’re joined by special guest Russell Dickerson.
July 26, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, 866.781.2922, www.bethelwoodscenter.org/events
Photo provided by Warwick Valley Gardeners
Natural Wonders in Warwick
The 25th Annual Countryside Garden Tour is a landscaping wonder of botanical designs hosted by the Warwick Valley Gardeners as a fundraiser to benefit the local community. Take this self-guided tour through some of the loveliest gardens in town and find a beautiful selection of floral displays, unique stone paths, and serene waterfalls. Participants will receive badges and a tour booklet with a map at the starting point.
July 7, Warwick, 201.819.6961, www.warwickvalleygardeners.org
Dancing in the Streets
The legendary Rosendale Street Festival celebrates 40 years of incredible live music. This grass-roots festival benefits local school music programs and was originally started to honor the birthday of local resident “Uncle” Willy Guldy, a longtime business owner in Rosendale. The tradition has grown over the years, “shutting down” the town with thousands in attendance to enjoy more than 80 musicians on seven stages, 100 vendors, parades, film screenings, and children’s activities.
July 21–22, Rosendale, www.rosendalestreetfestival.org
Falling For a Princess
Anton Rubinstein’s 1871 Russian opera, The Demon, with its rich choruses and fiery libretto, depicts a fallen angel who falls in love with a mortal princess, trying everything in his power to seduce her. Starring performance by soprano, Olga Tolkmit, opposite baritone Yefim Zavalny with an all-Russian cast.
July 27, 29, Aug 1,3,5, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, 845.758.7900, www.bard.edu
Photo by Travis McGee
Shakespeare Returns
The Taming of the Shrew has graced the screen more times than one can count, but this summer catch the action front and center at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. The production, starring Liz Wisan as Kate and Biko Eisen-Martin as Petruchio, follows the unexpected journey on the road to romance.
June 15–Aug 24, Boscobel House and Gardens, Garrison, 845.265.3638, www.boscobel.org
Photo provided by Camila Meza
Tannersville Jazz
The 5th Annual 23Arts Summer Music & Jazz Festival brings jazz, classical, indie, and blues musicians — from places like New York City, New Orleans, South Africa, and Chile — to perform each weekend from July 13 through Aug 5 at various locations within the village of Tannersville. Musicians include Hildegard, Shilpa Ray, Camila Meza, and Derek Gripper. Check website for times and locations. To kick off the festival there will be a performance by Camille Thurman & the Darrel Green Trio.
Starting July 13, Mountain Top Library, Tannersville, www.23Arts.org
Photo provided by the Orange County Fair
Fun Times at the Fair
Get ready for rides, shows, and other attractions at local county fairs this month. The Orange County Fair runs from July 12–21 at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Middletown. The Putnam County 4-H Fair is a three-day extravaganza of music, dance, animals, and educational fun, from July 27–29 at Putnam Veterans Memorial Park in Carmel. And the Ulster County Fair kicks off on July 31 and runs until August 5 at the Ulster County Fairgrounds in New Paltz, with music headliners like the Charlie Daniels Band and Thunder Ridge.
www.putnam.cce.cornell.edu/putnam-county-fair; www.ulstercountyfair.com; www.orangecountyfair.com
Bard in the Park
Want to introduce your young ones to Elizabethan theater? Try taking them to see The Comedy of Errors, William Shakespeare’s shortest farcical comedy, which features puns, slapstick, and mistaken identity, in a tale of identical twin brothers who were separated at birth (and have identical twin servants, also separated at birth) and later encounter each other in the same town. Rain or shine under the Big Tent in Salesian Park; bring a blanket/lawn chair.
July 21–22, 28–29, Cornerstone Theatre Arts, Goshen, 845.294.4188, www.cornerstonetheatrearts.org
