FESTIVALS

The Daffodil Festival (www.townofclinton.com) in Clinton is the place to go to see thousands of beautiful daffodils in bloom in early April. The garden club creates wonderful arrangements to delight the eye. Visitors can anticipate historical exhibits; a tractor pull and a tree-chopping contest; and shopping for high quality crafts or flea market merchandise. In May visitors enjoy another festival highlighting flowers, the Garden Festival (www.hudsonvalley.org) on the grounds of Montgomery Place in Annandale-on-Hudson. Learn expert tips to make your garden look its best at their horticultural workshops, see demos and hear lectures. Beautiful flowers, plants and fresh produce are available for purchase from the vendors. Mansion tours are also available all day.

The Hudson Valley Food and Wine Festival (www.hudsonvalley.org) in mid-June is held on the grounds of Montgomery Place, set on 434 landscaped acres. Sample the bounty of Hudson Valley restaurants, buy specialty and gourmet food products and check out the local harvest at the farmers’ market. Visitors enjoy informal talks, cooking demos and wine tasting from area vineyards. Afterward take a walk through the gardens and past woodland waterfalls, enjoying views of the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains.

The Latin American and International and Caribbean Festivals (www.rmpromotions.net) are cultural celebrations with entertainment, food, arts and crafts and kids’ activitie, served up with a Hispanic flair. They are held in July and August on the banks of the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie.

In July, Pawling Summerfest, at the Holiday Hills Conference Center, invites you to spend a summer evening enjoying great music as well as a brilliant fireworks display to end the night.

The internationally acclaimed Bard Music Festival (www.bard.edu) at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson is a two-week August festival celebrating music. This premier classical music event explores the musical world of a single composer. Immerse yourself in concerts featuring some of the composer’s familiar & lesser-known works, as well as music by the composer’s contemporaries. Add to that panel discussions and world-renowned artists, and it’s a must-see.

The second largest agricultural event in New York State is The Dutchess County Fair (www.dutchessfair.com), held in Rhinebeck each August. The Fair has been delighting children of all ages for more than 150 years. The Fairgrounds are situated on 140 pristine, beautifully landscaped acres of land, just four blocks north of the center of Rhinebeck. Farm animals are the stars of the Dutchess County Fair, with goats, sheep, cows, horses, chicken as well as other farm animals being judged for excellence at the six day event. Vegetables, fruits, home crafts, antiques, flowers, and more are entered in events celebrating Dutchess County’s farming traditions and values. More than 300 commercial exhibitors display a wide variety of products. Continual entertainment is provided, including Reithoffers Midway featuring favorite rides and carnival games, and performances at Freihofers Talent Tent and the Fairgrounds Grandstand.

September brings A Celtic Day in the Park to the Mills Mansion Historic Site in Staatsburg. It’s a celebration of the cultures of Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Brittany, the Isle of Man and Cornwall. Featured are pipe bands, Celtic music and dance presentations, all on the banks of the Hudson River. In addition, there are workshops, sheep dog herding, caber toss, and a Celtic marketplace including ethnic foods. The International Wine Showcase & Auction at the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, is the Northeast’s premier wine showcase, pairing more than 100 American & international wines with fine food grown and produced in the Hudson Valley.

Pumpkin festivals, corn mazes, fresh cider, local honey: all play a part in Dutchess County’s celebration of autumn. During Columbus Day Weekend in October, visitors flock to a three-day Harvest Festival at the Webatuck Craft Village in Wingdale. Set among the spectacular fall foliage is a working 18th century craft village, see crafts being created, hear folk music, and visit a farmers’ market, for pumpkins and cider. Dutchess County is packed with Fall Harvest Festivals at many of the 40 Dutchess County farms. Some of the farms hosting special festivals and celebrations are Keepsake Farm Market (www.keepsakeorchards.com) in Hopewell Junction, Piggott’s Farm in Poughkeepsie, The Greig Farm (www.greigfarm.com) in Red Hook, Barton Orchards (www.bartonorchards.com) in Beekman, and Secor Farm (upick@warwick.net) in Wappingers Falls.

An interesting October tradition at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds (www.dutchessfair.com) is The New York Sheep & Wool Festival. See a NYS bred ewe show and sale, as well as a fleece sale, and colored sheep show. There will be one hundred fifty sheep and wool vendors, plus angora rabbits, llamas and alpacas at the festival. Sheep dog demos are another highlight of the weekend. The Dutchess County Fairgrounds hosts many fairs and festivals, including the nationally renowned juried Crafts at Rhinebeck, held the last weekend in June and again in the fall, October’s Iroquois Indian Festival, and the indoor Rhinebeck Antiques Fair (www.rhinebeckantiquesfair.com), in May July and October. Antique Car Shows in May and September bring thousands of classic autos, trucks and motorcycles to Rhinebeck. The Hudson River Valley Antique Auto Show kicks off the season in early May, and the Good Guys Rod & Custom East Coast Nationals (www.goodguysgoodtimes.com) come to Dutchess in mid-September. You’ll find swap meets, cars for sale, entertainment, food and a Cool Poker Run, all at the 140-acre, beautifully landscaped Dutchess County Fairgrounds.

The Hudson River Arts Festival is held in Beacon, on Main Street in September. Artists and artisans from across the region display fine art and quality crafts for sale. There are demonstrations by well-known artisans as well as music, refreshments and plenty of family fun. Browse in the many antique shops and other boutiques that line Beacon’s downtown thoroughfare. The Poughkeepsie Riverfront Arts Festival also celebrates Hudson Valley arts. It is held in mid-September when the weather is mild and the fall leaves are starting to turn. Entertainment is king, with top names playing blues, folk, jazz & rock n’ roll. There is an expansive juried craft show, and for the kids there are jugglers, magicians, and a petting zoo. A multitude of food vendors and trolley rides. For those that love the water, riverboat cruises are available on the Hudson River. The Beacon Sloop Club holds three festivals a year: June’s Strawberry & August’s Corn Festivals, and the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Flea Market in the fall.