Date: April 11 through May 17, 2009
Opening Reception: April 11, 4-6pm
Location: Kaaterskill Fine Arts, Route 23A, Main Street, Hunter, NY
Hours: Friday through Monday 10am-5pm or by appointment.
Information: 518 263 2060
Email: gallery@catskillmtn.org

The Hudson Valley Seed Library (HVSL) is excited to have its first gallery show of original heirloom artwork created for its seed packs. Curated by HVSL co-founder Ken Greene, this colorful collection of artwork celebrates the diversity of New York's heirloom vegetables, flowers, and herbs. The show, which will transform the walls of the Catskill Mountain Foundation into a verdant spring garden, features fourteen works of art by eleven New York artists including Michael Asbill, Nancy Blum, Ryan Cronin, Jenny Lee Fowler, Ayumi Horie, Dani Leventhal, Cassie Quackenbush, Sarah Snow, Michael Truckpile and Cynthia Winika.

The artists featured in the show were commissioned by HVSL to create cover art for the company's seed packaging. Mediums include painting, drawing, collage, paper cutting, ceramics, photography, printmaking, and digital imaging. Two additional pieces accompany each original artwork. One is a framed Art Pack, the shape and layout of which were created by Gardiner-based package design company Treeo Design. The other is a vintage image of the variety taken from HVSL's collection of antique New York seed catalogs. Limited edition prints of the artwork will be for sale.

On Saturday, April 11, at 5pm Ken Greene will give a guided tour of the show. Greene will share the stories behind the seeds and artwork and talk about the mission of the Seed Library.

The Hudson Valley Seed Library, which got its start at the Gardiner Library, is now a small homestead-based seed company in Accord, New York, run by Greene and partner Doug Muller. The HVSL catalog focuses on New York heirlooms and open-pollinated, non-GMO varieties that do well in the Northeast. Some of the seeds are available nowhere else. In addition to an online catalog HVSL offers a Seed Library membership program. The Seed Library's long-term goal is to offer an accessible and affordable source of 100% regionally grown seed.

For more information about the Hudson Valley Seed Library visit www.seedlibrary.org.

with Helen Lord

Date: Saturday, May 2, 2:30pm
Location: Village Square Bookstore & Literary Arts Center, Rte 23A, Main St., Village of Hunter, NY
Information: 518 263 2050
Free admission

Helen Lord, a student in Wildlife Management under the Fisheries and Wildlife Program at SUNY Cobleskill will discuss the environmental status of southern Mexico in relation to that of the United States. Her talk will include mention of rangeland, wildlife, agriculture, and environmental preservation. Come share your ideas and opinions on these topics and what improvements you believe could be accomplished between Mexico and the United States.

In Hi-Def at the Mountain Cinema

Date: Saturday, May 2 at 8pm
Tickets: $20
Location: Mountain Cinema in the Doctorow Center for the Arts, Rte. 23A, Village of Hunter, NY
Information: 518-263-2002 (recorded information) or 518-263-4702 (during hours of operation)

Hector Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini, a French opera written in the 1830s, is so complex, richly detailed and prolifically imaginative that Berlioz's contemporaries often considered it unplayable. However, this is resoundingly proven false in the 2007 Salzburg Festival production of director Philipp Stölzl, conductor Valery Gergiev ("the wild man of music") and a high-caliber cast accompanied by the Vienna Philharmonic and its chorus. Called "the surprise hit of this year's Salzburg festival" (Bloomberg), the production met with rave reviews.

The opera tells the story of Pope Clement VII who requests a statue from the Sculptor Benvenuto Cellini. However, Balducci wants Fieramosca as the sculptor and to marry his daughter Teresa, who is in love with Cellini. When Cellini attempts to escape with Teresa he stabs a man. He is given an offer by the Pope: finish the statue that night or hang. Cellini does finish and him and Teresa marry.