New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Arts

New History Twins Podcast: This Man’s A Spy!

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History Twins PodcastThis week is the debut of The History Twins podcast, storytelling duo Carla Lynne Hall and Jim Keyes discuss the creative process behind the stories and music of their historical programs.

This episode explores “This Man’s A Spy!,” Carla and Keyes’ musical retelling of the treasonous plot between American General Benedict Arnold and British Major John Andre during the American Revolutionary War. The two met in Haverstraw, New York to hand over the plans to West Point, and their lives were forever changed. The Arnold and André affair is important, because had their plan succeeded, the British could have won the Revolutionary War. [Read more…] about New History Twins Podcast: This Man’s A Spy!

September Concerts at the Arts Center in Blue Mountain Lake

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happily-ever-after-details-pageThe Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts (ALCA) in Blue Mountain Lake, Hamilton County, will present a variety of musical genres throughout September as the Arts Center’s Weekend Series winds up for 2022.

Concerts include singer/songwriter duo Brillhart & Smith on Saturday, September 10th; the musical-theatre ensemble of the Seagle Festival on Friday, September 16th; and the folk/rock band Phil Henry and the News Feed on Saturday, September 24th. [Read more…] about September Concerts at the Arts Center in Blue Mountain Lake

Comic Book Artist Jack Binder & Fort William Henry History

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figures created by Jack BinderWhat might Lake George have looked like 265 years ago, on the eve of the French attack on Fort William Henry?

That’s the focus of the display in the entryway to the Fort museum and historical attraction. It includes three figures – an American provincial, a British regular and a ranger, all created by the late Jack Binder for the reconstructed fort, which opened to the public in 1955. [Read more…] about Comic Book Artist Jack Binder & Fort William Henry History

Granville’s WPA Mural of Working in a Slate Quarry

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Men Working in Slate Quarry Granville Mural“Men Working in Slate Quarry,” the 1939 Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded mural displayed at the Slate Valley Museum in Granville, Washington County, NY is as good an example as you will find of “Art for the People.”

The subject of the museum’s current exhibition “One Painting, Many Stories,” explores many of the artistic, cultural and political contexts within which the mural was created. [Read more…] about Granville’s WPA Mural of Working in a Slate Quarry

Call to Artists for Glens Falls Electrical Boxes

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Leah Hofgesang, on Ridge StreetThe Arts District of Glens Falls (ADGF) has announced a call for a second round of artists to create public art on three more electrical boxes in downtown Glens Falls. The Arts District, launched in 2015, is a group of 14 organizations working with the City of Glens Falls on a public arts trail as part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. [Read more…] about Call to Artists for Glens Falls Electrical Boxes

Swiss Americans, Neuchâtel and the Slave Trade

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The Ida ZieglerThe earliest Swiss immigrants to North America were religious refugees. This group consisted predominantly of German speaking Anabaptists who began settling in eastern Pennsylvania from the mid-seventeenth century onward following a schism among the Brethren in 1693 which led to a division between Mennonites (named after Menno Simons of Friesland) and Amish (named after their leader Jakob Ammann who was born in the canton of Bern). [Read more…] about Swiss Americans, Neuchâtel and the Slave Trade

Peter Quinn’s Cross Bronx: A Writing Life

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cross bronxCross Bronx: A Writing Life (Fordham University Press, 2022) is Peter Quinn’s forthcoming one-of-a-kind account of his adventures as an ad man, archivist, teacher, Wall Street messenger, court officer, political speechwriter, corporate scribe, and award-winning novelist.

Quinn is a New Yorker through and through. His evolution from a childhood in The Bronx, to his exploits in the halls of Albany, to his decision to walk away from it all — is evocative, enlightening, and most of all, entertaining. [Read more…] about Peter Quinn’s Cross Bronx: A Writing Life

Northern Current Music Festival Set for Sept 4

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Northern Current Music FestivalThe Northern Current Music Festival is set to return to Riverside Park in Saranac Lake, NY with a lineup of live music on on Sunday, September 4th. This year’s festival is headlined by TEKE::TEKE with support from The Big Takeover, Ghost Funk Orchestra, Rose & The Bros, The Outcrops and Crackin’ Foxy. The lineup also includes a special performance by Badenyah Drum & Dance. [Read more…] about Northern Current Music Festival Set for Sept 4

Poetry: Lunacy

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Lunacy

Inflation is the whip, greed is its master,
Scheming megalomaniacs creating mass disaster,
For all of those people, psychological slaves,
Caught up in the whirlwind, a shuttle to their graves.

Life too complicated for mankind to enjoy,
Overpopulated, the Land being destroyed,
Hard to find a place alone, with room to wander free,
Now plugged in from dawn to dusk, electronic lunacy.

Wires dangling from the ears, fingers pushing keys,
Prisoners in concrete towers, away from Nature’s breeze,
Glued to screens for endless hours, not outside in the sun,
Better re-evaluate, for time is on the run.

Read More Poems From the New York Almanack HERE.