The Beat

Grant from Matt & Kathryn Wilhelm Family Foundation (EKB Kitchens)

Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y. -- When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum to suspend educational programming in late March, the leadership and board looked to play to its strength of nature based outdoor learning and play to support its mission of creating future stakeholders of our shared community environment.

The first opportunity to do that came in July.  By scaling back the overall size and creating individual age group pods, the museum’s Director of Education Jenny Brinker successfully planned and ran a healthy (and infection free) eight week summer camp for children.  The response by their families was overwhelmingly positive with parents thankful their children could safely interact with other children after months of social isolation.

Partnership with Museum Association of New York for Building Capacity, Creating Sustainability, Growing Accessibility

The Museum Association of New York (MANY) is thrilled to announce that 98 museums from across New York State have been selected to participate in “Building Capacity, Creating Sustainability, Growing Accessibility”, an IMLS CARES Act grant project designed to help museums impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic share their collections and reach audiences who cannot physically visit their museums. 200 staff will be trained to use new hardware and software to develop programs that will engage their communities and reach new audiences.

Offering a unique virtual experience with programming, lecture series, social media events, and other activities

Ticonderoga, N.Y. -- Fort Ticonderoga continues its 2020 Digital Campaign - an exciting virtual experience featuring interactive programming, engaging lectures series, and creative at-home educational activities and resources.  

The unique virtual opportunity brings the layers of history and natural beauty into homes across the globe. Fort Ticonderoga staff continue to press forward with their commitment to providing resources and entertaining programs to engage, inspire, and give context to the world around us. …

Tours Highlight Historic and Cultural Sites in “South of Union Square”

Interactive Online Tool Created to Raise Awareness of Urgent Need for Landmarking Protections to Preserve Historic Building

New York, New York—Village Preservation today announced the launch of “Virtual Village,” an interactive online tool that offers free, guided walking tours of the many historic and cultural riches hidden in the “South of Union Square” area, where Greenwich Village meets the East Village, in order highlight the need to preserve these historic sites by granting them landmarking protections.

Virtual Village has nearly 40 tours that invite users to explore the South of Union Square area, which roughly encompasses Third to Fifth Avenues between 9th and 14th Streets, with its unique concentration of rich New York and American history that includes a mashup of commerce, art, architecture, politics, literature, industry, African-American and LGBQT activism, and music, from punk to classical. 

Poughkeepsie, NY– Dutchess Tourism, Inc. (DTI) is proud to announce that the Discover Dutchess Destination Guide has been awarded a Platinum MarCom Award and a Silver Davey Award.

MarCom Awards is an international creative competition that recognizes outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals. Well respected industry-wide, the Awards are administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). In the past, only about 15 percent of entries have earned Platinum awards, a level the Association deems a tremendous achievement.

The annual International Davey Awards honors the achievements of the "Creative Davids," who derive their strength from big ideas rather than big budgets. The Davey Awards is the leading awards competition specifically for smaller entities as they compete with their peers to win the recognition they deserve. The Daveys are judged and overseen by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA).

Serving Sullivan County and Neighboring Communities, Students, and Educators

Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods, the nonprofit cultural center located at the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival, is proud to continue making art accessible to all. In an effort to meet the needs of learners in a time of social distancing and hybrid schooling models, the Center’s E3: Engage. Experience. Explore. program is now being offered to classrooms, homes, and/or learning pods, delivering high-caliber performances through a virtual platform for the 2020-2021 school year.

Annual Halloween Week Observance of Bat Week Raises Awareness to Reduce Human Disturbance to Threatened Bats

In observance of Bat Week, an internationally recognized weeklong focus to raise awareness about the important role bats play in our environment, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today urged outdoor adventurers to avoid visiting caves and mines that may serve as seasonal homes for hibernating bats. Human disturbance is especially harmful to the State's bat populations since the arrival of the disease known as white-nose syndrome, a fungus that has killed more than 90 percent of bats at hibernation sites in New York.

DEC Encourages Anglers to Fish 'SMART' to Protect Resources and Other Anglers

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that the Lower Fly-Fishing Section of the Salmon River will be open for catch-and-release fishing starting Saturday, Oct. 31, marking the success of actions taken by the Salmon River Flow Management Team to mitigate the impacts of low-water flows at the start of the salmon run. Recommendations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 remain in effect to ensure the health and safety of the public.

Customers can bring their bikes for their off-train adventures for only $20

Washington, D.C. – Amtrak has expanded its Carry-on bike program for most Northeast Regional departures, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 8, allowing customers to store their bike inside of the passenger coach in a designated space. In addition, Amtrak has worked with its various Northeast state partners to offer the program on its State-Supported trains. This includes working with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) for Keystone Service, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA) for Downeaster trains and the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) for Amtrak Hartford Line trains beginning Tuesday, Sept. 15.