Situated in New York State’s Hudson Valley, the city of Poughkeepsie attracts only a modest number of tourists every year – but those who do make the trip soon discover an array of great things to see and do. Here are 10 of the best events taking place in and around the city this summertime.
A performance at the Poughkeepsie Greek Festival (Photo: Poughkeepsie Greek Festival)
Poughkeepsie Greek Festival
A celebration of the food, music and culture of the Hellenic people, the Poughkeepsie Greek Festival has been a mainstay of the Poughkeepsie events calendar for over four long decades. Taking place at the Kimisis Greek Orthodox Church, the 2021 edition will once again feature a mouth-watering array of Greek delicacies and dishes, including pastries, gyro, souvlaki, lamb moussaka, and Greek coffee. Other highlights include children’s performances of traditional Greek dances and a chance to tour the beautiful church.
LOCATION Kimisis Greek Orthodox Church, 140 South Grand Avenue DATES 15-17 September 2021
Great Estates Garden & Landscape Weekend
Held in the scenic environs of Locus Grove Estate, a National Historic Landmark, the Great Estates Garden & Landscape weekend offers visitors the chance to explore its full expanse while learning about its unique history and features. During the weekend you can join guided tours of the perennial garden, then sip iced-tea on the porch while you enjoy the views. There are also guided walks over the site’s early 20th-century carriage roads, focusing on the historic buildings and structures, as well as the lake & swimming pool.
LOCATION Locus Grove Estate, 2683 South Road DATES 17-18 July 2021
A view of the grounds at Locus Grove Estate (Photo: Locus Grove Estate)
Oktoberfest Poughkeepsie
For over ten years, Germania of Poughkeepsie – a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting German American Heritage throughout the Hudson Valley – has hosted the Oktoberfest Poughkeepsie celebration at their headquarters just outside the city. An authentic, family-friendly occasion, this year the Munich-style celebration will once again feature live music and Bavarian dancers, German food, children’s entertainment, soccer games, raffles, vendors and of course lashings of German beer – with every drop officially approved under the authority of Reinheitsgebot, “the German Beer Purity Law,”
LOCATION Germania Festival Grounds DATES 10-12 September 2021
Brit Floyd World Tour
This summer Poughkeepsie’s historic 19th-century Bardavon Opera House, said to be the oldest continuously operating theatre in New York State, will play host to Brit Floyd – World Tour, an internationally acclaimed tribute to the iconic band Pink Floyd. Performing their brand new production, the show will include highlights from the group’s legendary back-catalogue such as The Wall, The Dark Side of the Moon, and Wish You Were Here, culminating with a faithful recreation of the scale and pomp of the final 1994 Pink Floyd tour, complete with a stunning light show, circle screen, lasers, inflatables and theatrics.
LOCATION Bardavon Opera House, 35 Market Street DATES 29 August 2021
Time Capsule, 1970: Rauschenberg’s Currents
In 1970 avant-garde American painter and graphic artist Robert Rauschenberg superimposed stories, headlines, advertisements, and images clipped from newspapers and tabloids to produce Surface Series from Currents: eighteen large-scale screenprints that reflected the strident social and political change of the period. This exhibition shines a light on the technical feat of modernist printmaking that made it possible, as well as offering a chance to peer inside Rauschenberg’s time capsule and witness the cacophony of violence, warfare, and political backlash that defined world events of the time.
LOCATION Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, 124 Raymond Avenue DATES 26 June-19 September 2021
An exterior view of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center (Photo: Jason Mientkiewicz via Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Outdoor Pop-Up Museum Experience: Mars!
Designed for children aged 5-7, this unique outdoor experience was curated in collaboration with NASA, aimed at inspiring kids to engage and interact with themes around space exploration. Focussing on the planet of Mars, the experience invites you to plan your own mission to Mars at six hands-on activity stations. You can program a model Mars rover, concoct your own Mars habitat, and even assemble a model of NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter. Each activity station will feature digital tablets with resources and educational content gleaned from NASA’s real life missions to Mars.
LOCATION Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum, 75 North Water Street DATES 18 June 2021
The Chain Gang at J. Dominick’s
Acclaimed cover band The Chain Gang have been playing in the Hudson Valley for pushing two decades and this summer they’ll be performing their timeless mix of classic rock, pop and dance tunes at the popular Italian restaurant J. Dominick’s. Focussing on music from the 1960’s through the 1980’s, the 5-piece band will be on stage throughout the evening, giving visitors the chance to enjoy the eatery’s delicious food and drink while tapping their toes to a melodious backdrop.
LOCATION J. Dominick’s Trattoria, 779 Dutchess Turnpike DATES 21 August 2021
By Paul Joseph