Magic, Music, Art and Fun at the Halcottsville Old Grange Arts Festival
What do fine art, magic, country music, train rides and face painting have in common with one another? All will be featured at the Halcottsville Old Grange (H.O.G.) Arts Festival on September 15. This new event, which will be held at the Halcottsville Fire Hall on Main St. (officially known as Halcottsville Rd.), will raise money for the renovation of the Grange Hall as a community center.
In addition to the auction of paintings, photographic prints, comic drawing, and ceramic arts there will be a number of special events and other attractions for folks of all ages. The first of these events will be a one hour Magic Show by one of Halcottsville’s resident magicians, Art Martello, beginning at 11:15 am. A member of the Society of American Magicians for 35 years, Martello has received rave reviews from children and adults for his performances at local events and organizations including Kids in the Catskills, the Andes Roundtable and Camp Shankitunk. A retired educational administrator and Speech Pathologist, and presently Chair of the Committee on Special Education at Margaretville Central School, Martello is a magical partner of Catskill Mountain Magic. Visit www.catskillmagic.com to watch video clips of Martello’s magic. Better yet, come see him perform live at the H.O.G. Arts Festival on September 15.
After being dazzled by Martello’s brilliant magic, you may revel to the sounds of Rose and Gordy Stahl’s country music beginning at 12:30 pm. They will teach some basic line dancing which everyone is welcome to join in and learn. Having grown up in Halcottsville, Gordy says that he is pleased that he and Rose will be taking part in this community event. They are quite popular among the country music and dance crowd. The Stahls have been teaching country line dancing for over 15 years and they have a class that meets every Wednesday at 7 pm in Margaretville. Rose also teaches clogging and they have been involved with the Cherry Valley Cloggers since 1989.
For those who prefer to sit back and take in the lovely autumn scenery, the Delaware and Ulster Rail Ride will be making special stops in Halcottsville to pick up riders for the trip to Roxbury and back. Trains will leave the Halcottsville platform at 11:25 am and 2:25 pm for a one hour round trip ride along some of the most scenic stretches of the railroad line.
Roxbury Girl Scout Troop 490, under the leadership of Becky Hubbell, will supervise activities in the Kids Tent. There will be face painting, pin the tail on the hog, and a piñata full of goodies among other fun activities. Kids may also make a custom T-shirt painting “pigs in clover” using cutouts and fabric paint.
At the conclusion of the art auction, the winning raffle tickets will be drawn. First prize for the raffle is a large basket chock-a-block full of hog items including two large ceramic hog statues for the garden donated by Quarltere’s Garden & Market Place and a gift certificate donated by Now & Then Video.
Halcottsville is located on State Route 30, between Margaretville and Roxbury, in Delaware County. The H.O.G. Arts Festival is produced by the Halcottsville Fire Department Auxiliary in partnership with the M-ARK Project and supported by a grant from The A. Lindsay and Olive B. O”Connor Foundation, as well as Blue Ribbon sponsorship by MTC Cable & Broadband and Susan’s Pleasant Pheasant Farm B&B. Contact Barbara Johnson at 607-326-3735 for more information.