HVNY News + Notes (August 21-27, 2023)
While the west coast is battling Hurricane Hilary, NOAA forecasters have increased the likelihood of an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season to 60-percent, an increase from the outlook issued in May, which predicted a 30-percent chance. Forecasters believe that current ocean and atmospheric conditions, such as record-warm Atlantic sea surface temperatures, are likely to counterbalance the usually limiting atmospheric conditions associated with the ongoing El Nino event.” NOAA’s update to the 2023 outlook — which covers the entire six-month hurricane season that ends on November 30 — calls for 14-21 named storms (winds of 39 mph or greater), of which 6-11 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or greater). Of those, 2-5 could become major hurricanes (winds of 111 mph or greater). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is offering a Flood Preparedness webinar on August 24, 2023, 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Learn how to obtain National Weather Service alerts and warnings and what to do before, during, and after a flood. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is offering a Flood Preparedness webinar on Thursday, August 24, 2023, from 1 to 2:30pm. Learn how to obtain National Weather Service alerts and warnings and what to do before, during, and after a flood. Register at NOAA - Flood Preparedness. For hurricane preparedness tips, visit: dhses.ny.gov/hurricane-safety-tips
The Office for the Aging Picnic for City of Poughkeepsie older adults scheduled for Wednesday, August 16 has been postponed. The re-scheduled date is Friday, September 1, 2023. All guest reservations for the picnic will remain valid for the new date.
The Outdoor Discovery Center at the Hudson Highlands Museum will be closed to all visitors from Tuesday, August 22 through Thursday, August 24, and on Friday, September 1 as Muser Drive will be repaved. Offices will be open on those dates, but staff will only be available by phone or email. hhnm.org/ourstaff
Rhinebeck Village Hall will be closed Wednesday August 23rd-Friday August 25th for records inventory.
On the 54th anniversary of the 1969 Woodstock Music and Arts Fair, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, the site of the original festival, announced that the Museum at Bethel Woods has been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to collect stories of the 1960s counterculture experience. The “1960s Oral Histories – New York Community Connectors” project received the funds as part of the NEH’s Cultural and Community Resilience Program. As one of only 11 organizations to receive this grant, the money awarded to Bethel Woods will allow the non-profit to fund the expansion of its Oral History Initiative in 2024 in New York City, with a specific focus on gathering stories from under-recorded voices—particularly those from diverse and disadvantaged communities–within the history of 1960s counterculture.The first phase of the project will center in Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood. It is focused on collecting the stories of people from the African American community and other communities of color. Phase two will then draw from the Upper West Side, the Village and Brooklyn, with a focus on collecting the stories of people who identify as LGBTQ+. “As we get farther from this defining era, we need to get closer to the lost stories of the movement and save their place in history,” said Neal V. Hitch, Museum Director and Senior Curator, The Museum at Bethel Woods. “The decade stood for peace, justice, and resistance, and this collection will support not just one thesis about Woodstock, but innumerable ideas, themes, and the patterns of a decade. These perspectives are critical to understanding the full picture of the time period and its lasting implications and impact.” To submit your story, email: oralhistory@bethelwoodscenter.org or visit bethelwoodscenter.org/woodstock-oral-history-initiative
Some of you may be looking ahead to cozy sweaters and fall fall but keep marching on – Sinterklaas announced it’s annual festival for December 2, 2023 in the Village of Rhinebeck and this year’s honored animal – the ant! “Ants are a group of individuals who work together in a community to make their world a better place!” organizers said.
