Things to do / Travel Guide
Despite a world-class entertainment hub nearby in New York City, the Catskills and Hudson Valley region has what to offer on its own when it comes to nightlife. Poughkeepsie (but also Newburgh) has taken it upon itself to become the entertainment center for the region. New Paltz is a college town, some nice bars and pubs, some with live entertainment cater to the 7000-strong student body.
Poughkeepsie Entertainment
You'll find plenty of entertainment venues in the downtown district of Poughkeepsie, near the Hudson River and the railroad station. There are two historic districts in this area, mostly along Main Street and Mill Street, where you can find plenty of pubs, clubs, and restaurants. Two attractions in particular worth your while:
The Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center, comprised of two Italianate-style buildings, dates to the 1880s. While one of the buildings houses an art gallery, the other contains an ornate Victorian auditorium; many of the city's cultural events take place in this auditorium. The center is located on Vassar Street, right off Main. The theater may have a jazz ensemble one night, then a Neil Simon play the next.
The Bardovan 1869 Opera House; once slated for destruction to make room for some urban renewal, it is one of the oldest opera houses in the country. This is the crown jewel of Poughkeepsie, at which a lot of first-class events are presented, restored to its original grandeur. Everything from Lou Reed to the symphonies of Beethoven are billed at this masterpiece. The Bardovan is located east of the city center, on Market Street.
Finally, for a smaller club-atmosphere venue, try The Chance, at 6 Crannel Street. It regularly showcases nationally-known country, R&B, and rock acts. There's also the Mid-Hudson Civic Center, on Main Street. Between these two venues, bands like The Soft Machine, Alice Cooper, and other heavy-metal acts frequent the area.
Catskills Entertainment
We have a lot to thank the old and no-more Catskill resorts for their former hosting of such greats as Jackie Mason, Woody Allen, Milton Berle, Mel Brooks, Lenny Bruce, Sid Caesar, Joan Rivers, Rodney Dangerfield, and others when they were up-and-comers. But nowadays most of the old resorts are boarded up, and just add to the nostalgia of the scenery. In any event, though the Borscht Belt is generally considered to have been in the Catskills, it actually was a bit farther south, more in Sullivan County.
Around Woodstock, there are a bunch of entertainment venues, some seasonal and some year-round. Year-round, Bearsville Theater, located on State Road 212, hosts country-famous acts such as New Riders of the Purple Sage, The Band, The Pretenders, Bela Fleck, and Taj Majal. A café with a distinctive flair is the nearby Bear Café, which boasts one of the greatest wine lists in the world according to “Wine Spectator.”
The Maverick Concerts at Maverick Concert Hall have been going on for over 90 years every late-July through early-September. The feature is chamber-music, the best in the world featuring the genre's best artists; and the hall is located on Maverick Road, off State Road 375.
In downtown Woodstock there are two venues offering regular live music: the Joyous Lake, and the Colony Café. The former is on State Road 212, and the latter is on Rock City Road. They both feature an eclectic mix of bluegrass and jazz, jam-bands and folk-rock. These venues are hot destinations for all the most respected artists of these genres; ultra-jam-band Phish was known to stop by the Joyous Lake back when they were still together.
In nearby Saugerties you'll find New World Home Cooking. It's a restaurant. All the food here is organic and ecologically-harvested, but it is not strictly vegetarian. The café also serves as a stage for some regular, local acts. There are eclectic acts such as Afro-Cuban dance, blues-rock, ‘70s punk, and others.
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