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City hosts a once-in-a-lifetime celebration
| The Hudson Waterfront Park as it appears now. (Robert Ragaini/Hudson-Catskill Newspapers archives) |
Hudson to hold riverfront festival in honor of the Quadricentennial
By Jamie Larson
Next weekend the city of Hudson will celebrate the naming of the Henry Hudson Riverfront Park with two full days of events, live music, fireworks and a visit from the Half Moon replica.
The Namesake Celebration honors the river, its first European explorer and the city, all conveniently named Hudson, as a continuation of the statewide Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial celebration.
The festivities will actually begin Friday night with the official park-naming ceremony at 5:30 p.m. The park on the river’s edge has been in the works for years and has already hosted a number of events this summer from the Quadricentennial Flotilla to an extremely busy Flag Day parade. City officials hope the waterfront will grow into an attraction for tourists and locals alike.
With Henry Hudson’s ship the Half Moon as the centerpiece, festivities will begin early Saturday. Tours of the ship will begin at 9:30 a.m. and go all day for a nominal fee. The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse will also be open for tours and a ferry boat will be running all day shuttling visitors between Hudson and Athens, Greene County.
On shore there will be food vendors and a “community tent” with displays from local nonprofits. There will even be circus arts training classes both days provided by the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus.
A full list of performances will be published in the Register-Star Thursday, and will include Dutch Folk Singers Nanne and Ankie at 11 a.m. each day. Also, Catskill youths will perform the original musical “River of Dreams.” The play is based on a book of the same name written by local author Hudson Talbott, put to music by Frank Cuthbert.
On Sunday the event will host a Henry Hudson look-alike contest.
Chairman of the Quadricentennial Committee, Hudson city Alderman Ellen Thurston said putting the event together has been a lot of work but seeing people down in the soon-to-be-named park is what it’s all about and having the Half Moon visit makes the weekend that much more special.
The city has often worked in fits and starts on its waterfront development plan and Thurston said she sees the activity at the park as not only a good use of the space it has now but a catalyst for progressing the development of the rest of the area.
“I hope this will demonstrate to people the kind of activity that will happen here and lead to further development,” Thurston said. “I hope that people new to Hudson will see what the park can offer, and the concerts will demonstrate that the venue can house high-ticket events.”
Thurston said she hopes that visitors will also stop in at Hudson’s shops and restaurants while in town for the celebration. The city will have its trolleys running all weekend for free just for the event.
Saturday night will be capped off with a fireworks show over the Half Moon, as the Henry Hudson Riverfront Park celebrates its official naming.
To reach reporter Jamie Larson, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2269 or e-mail jlarson@registerstar.com.
The Namesake Celebration honors the river, its first European explorer and the city, all conveniently named Hudson, as a continuation of the statewide Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial celebration.
The festivities will actually begin Friday night with the official park-naming ceremony at 5:30 p.m. The park on the river’s edge has been in the works for years and has already hosted a number of events this summer from the Quadricentennial Flotilla to an extremely busy Flag Day parade. City officials hope the waterfront will grow into an attraction for tourists and locals alike.
With Henry Hudson’s ship the Half Moon as the centerpiece, festivities will begin early Saturday. Tours of the ship will begin at 9:30 a.m. and go all day for a nominal fee. The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse will also be open for tours and a ferry boat will be running all day shuttling visitors between Hudson and Athens, Greene County.
On shore there will be food vendors and a “community tent” with displays from local nonprofits. There will even be circus arts training classes both days provided by the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus.
A full list of performances will be published in the Register-Star Thursday, and will include Dutch Folk Singers Nanne and Ankie at 11 a.m. each day. Also, Catskill youths will perform the original musical “River of Dreams.” The play is based on a book of the same name written by local author Hudson Talbott, put to music by Frank Cuthbert.
On Sunday the event will host a Henry Hudson look-alike contest.
Chairman of the Quadricentennial Committee, Hudson city Alderman Ellen Thurston said putting the event together has been a lot of work but seeing people down in the soon-to-be-named park is what it’s all about and having the Half Moon visit makes the weekend that much more special.
The city has often worked in fits and starts on its waterfront development plan and Thurston said she sees the activity at the park as not only a good use of the space it has now but a catalyst for progressing the development of the rest of the area.
“I hope this will demonstrate to people the kind of activity that will happen here and lead to further development,” Thurston said. “I hope that people new to Hudson will see what the park can offer, and the concerts will demonstrate that the venue can house high-ticket events.”
Thurston said she hopes that visitors will also stop in at Hudson’s shops and restaurants while in town for the celebration. The city will have its trolleys running all weekend for free just for the event.
Saturday night will be capped off with a fireworks show over the Half Moon, as the Henry Hudson Riverfront Park celebrates its official naming.
To reach reporter Jamie Larson, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2269 or e-mail jlarson@registerstar.com.
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