Hudson River Skywalk to see ribbon-cutting ceremony
Hudson, N.Y. — The Olana State Historic Site and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site have announced that the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Hudson River Skywalk, a new scenic walkway at the place where American landscape painting began, will take place Saturday, June 1. The new experience connects the homes and studios of major Hudson River School artists Thomas Cole and Frederic Church over the Hudson River and across the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, offering sweeping views of the Hudson River Valley and the Catskill Mountains. The walkway connects Columbia and Greene counties at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge across the Hudson River.
The grand opening festivities will kick off with a Parade of Paintings starting at Olana at 10:30 a.m. and Thomas Cole at 10:45 a.m. and coming together at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at noon at the riverfront park next to the Rip Van Winkle Bridge toll plaza in Catskill accompanied by a musical performance by local students of “River of Dreams,” an original song by Frank Cuthbert adapted from Hudson Talbott’s acclaimed children’s book by the same name exploring the history of the Hudson River. The ceremony will be followed by an afternoon of live music and food trucks at the riverfront park.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is requested. For more information or to register, see the Berkshire Edge calendar.
–E.E.
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Music at the Southfield Church to host harpsichordist Mariken Palmboom
Southfield — Music at the Southfield Church will present harpsichordist Mariken Palmboom Saturday, June 1, at 7 p.m. at the Southfield Church, 234 Norfolk Road.
At the age of 16, Palmboom began her harpsichord studies in the early music department at the Royal Conservatoire in the Hague, Netherlands. Her studies and performances have taken her all across Europe. A Berkshire resident since 1997, she has continued bringing her expertise and love for the harpsichord and early music to fans and newcomers alike in many music venues and festivals. The harpsichord she plays was made by Carl Dudash in nearby Norfolk, Connecticut. Palmboom’s program will include works by Johann Froberger, Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre and Johann Sebastian Bach.
The performance is free and open to the public; a retiring collection will be taken in support of the artists. A reception with refreshments will follow the program. For more information, call the Southfield Church at (413) 229-8109.
–E.E.
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Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum to host Bread and Roses Strike talk
Adams — On Saturday, June 1, at 4 p.m., the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum will host the talk “Breadlines and Barricades: Rebellion vs. Authority in the Lawrence Textile Mill Strike of 1912” with Museum of the Veteran Association of the First Corps of Cadets curator Michelle Abrams and Birthplace Museum executive director Cassandra Peltier. Abrams will focus on the First Corps’ involvement as the primary law enforcement during the strike; Peltier will speak from the perspective of female mill workers who led strikes to induce social and political change.
The Lawrence textile strike was a strike of immigrant workers led by the Industrial Workers of the World. Prompted by a two-hour pay cut corresponding to a new law shortening the workweek for women, the strike spread rapidly through the city, growing to more than 20,000 workers and involving nearly every mill in Lawrence. The strike united workers from more than 40 different nationalities and lasted for more than two months during a cold winter.
The talk is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a question-and-answer session and light refreshments. For more information, contact the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum at (413) 743-7121 or info@susanbanthonybirthplace.org.
–E.E.
