Essex County Arts Council Out and About

Essex County Arts Council Arts Administrator Susan Hughes focuses on the Whallonsburg Grange in this edition of Out and About.

Always something going on at the Whallonsburg Grange…

If you live in or near the Champlain Valley, where do you head for year-round entertainment? Why, the Whallonsburg Grange, of course!

The historic Whallonsburg Grange is located in the heart of the Champlain Valley, at the crossroads of NYS Route 22 and Whallons Bay Road in the hamlet of Whallonsburg. The beautifully restored, century-old building is home to concerts, a biweekly film series, plays, lectures, classes and workshops throughout the year. In July and August,

The Depot Theatre Academy children’s summer camp moves in with young actors spending four weeks rehearsing and presenting musical theater on our stage. All kinds of community events, from annual meetings to Election Night Dinners take place here and the Grange is available for birthdays, weddings, anniversary parties, family reunions, meetings, and other gatherings. The certified commercial kitchen is available to rent for community projects.

The Grange also owns Whitcomb’s, the renovated building and greenspace across the street. It is home to a blacksmith, pottery studio, woodworking shop and retail store as well as a Community Room, open for drop-in visitors. The monthly Storytelling Open Mics also take place there along with art exhibitions and music jams. Visit HERE for more about Whitcomb’s.

The Whallonsburg Grange Hall manages the building and oversees Grange-sponsored programs including the Champlain Valley Film Series, Lyceum lectures, music and theater series and much more. Volunteers keep the everything going: staffing shows, cooking for events, carrying out special work projects, maintaining the building, and organizing the programs.

The Grange has applied for 2023 CAP Grant funding from ECAC for a dance-artist performance on Sunday, June 25th, entitled “Four of the Way.” Although 2023 will be a very competitive year in terms of CAP grants, ECAC supports the diversity of programs offered by the Grange. For more information, find and follow the Grange on Facebook or check out their website at: www.thegrangehall.info. It is definitely worth a visit, to visit the shops or hear a lecture or concert!

Deadline approaching for Poem Village 2023!

Deadline: April 1, 2023

You’ve got just ten days left to send us a poem for Poem Village 2023. We’ll publish your poem (or your kid’s poem, your mom’s poem, your friend’s poem, your barber’s poem) on a beautiful broadside poster and install it in a shop window around Saranac Lake this spring. It’s our way of beautifying the town during mudseason. We hope you’ll help us out by sending us your work today.

Learn more and submit your poem HERE.

Whallonsburg Grange Presents

Ethereal: On Ephemeral Photography

Zoom Webinar with Manuel Palacios
Monday, March 27, 2023, 7 pm. This event is free and open to the public.

Presented by the Kelly Adirondack Center at Union College.

The quiet atmosphere of the dawn, the passing storm. They bring along soft and dramatic light that captures ephemeral subjects. For brief periods, these subjects seem to grab all the attention of the landscape. This talk is about those transient moments. Moments suspended on a blade of grass, moments for the convergence of light, atmosphere, and emotion.

Manuel Palacios is a scientist and outdoor photographer based out of Upstate New York in the Mohawk River Valley area. Manuel’s work is a true celebration of the natural world and a testament to the power of photography to connect us to the beauty of nature.

More info and Zoom sign-in HERE.

Piano by Nature presents Quintessential Jazz

With pianist Mark Shilansky and Westport trumpeter Taylor Haskins

Saturday, April 1, 7 pm and Sunday, April 2, 3 pm

Reservations required.

Brilliant jazz pianist Mark Shilansky will return to Piano by Nature flanked by colleagues from Boston’s Berklee School of Music and Westport’s incredible Taylor Haskins. The concerts will be focused on the “classics” that most influenced them, and will also be a poignant reunion for these colleagues and friends sharing a joyous reconnection after the long, pandemic separation. PBN is so fortunate to have Mark return with yet another wonderful synthesis of highly-talented musicians performing first-class and truly original music.

The Hand House parlor in Elizabethtown, NY will open half an hour prior to performance time, and we encourage attendees to arrive early to avoid lines at check-in. Tickets are $20 per person. Reservations are required and may be made through email at pianobynature@gmail.com or by phone at 518-962-8899.
You may leave a message at either and seats will be obtained on a first-come-first-served basis. There will be no walk-ups available as our seating is limited.
PBN encourages the use of masks and sanitizer and we will have both available at the concert. For more information, please go HERE.

Historic Hand House, 8273 River St, Elizabethtown

Whitcomb’s Arts Presents

Music over the Marsh – Steve Langdon

Saturday, March 25, 2 – 4 pm, FREE

Steve Langdon’s music draws from 1920s and 1930s Delta and Piedmont blues, mixing in influences from modern rhythm and blues and bluegrass. Originally from Elizabethtown, he toured Germany in the 1990s as guitarist for the Professor Washboard Band.

Take a break after skiing and enjoy some tunes!

Paul Smith’s VIC, 023 State Route 30 Paul Smiths