Past Calendar Events

May 23, 2020 – ONLINE Event

PoughEtry Fest 2020 is a one-day online festival, free and open to the public highlighting the art of poetry – both written and spoken, as well as poets of the Hudson Valley and beyond. It will celebrate poetry of both past and present, and visitors will experience the spirit and diverse voices reflected in today’s poetry. PoughETRY Fest 2020 is curated by the 2017 & 2018 Dutchess County Poet Laureate – Poet Gold, in collaboration with the Cunneen Hackett Arts Center. Spelled, PoughETRY, to signify where the Poet Gold resides, Poughkeepsie, NY in the Mid-Hudson Valley. Using the platforms of Facebook, Instagram, and Zoom, the one-day festival will be free and open to the public. PoughETRY Fest will be held May 23rd, 2020, 12 pm to 8 pm EST. The Live Streamed event will be posted on both PoughETRY Fest pages as well as the featured artists pages throughout the day. For more info visit: thttps://artwithnolimits.squarespace.com/poughetry-2020

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/events/802605116888880/ https://www.facebook.com/Poughetry-Fest-574058229644555/

Instagram: @PoughETRY Fest

12 pm – 2:00 pm on ZOOM: Youth Open Mic and Workshop – Hosted by D. Cross – Teaching Artist and Performer. Open to Youth of all ages, the objective is to give students the opportunity to relate to poetry that is relevant to them allowing exploration of the craft through combining words and beatboxing and to discover contemporary poetry in a meaningful way. ZOOM Room Opens at 11 am. Open Mic begins at 12 pm.
Streamed LIVE on Facebook. Pre-registration is required for this event. Click this link to register: https://tinyurl.com/PoughetryFestYouth

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm: The Laureate Room – Dedicated to presenting the works of Mid-Hudson Valley’s Poet Laureate: Peter Ullian – Beacon Poet Laureate, Raphael Kosek – Dutchess County Poet Laureate. Live Streamed.

2 pm – 3 pm: The Langston Hughes Room with Guest speaker, Kate Hymes of Wallkill Valley Writers. Kate Hymes – workshop leader, poet, and writing consultant, lives in New Paltz, New York. The Langston Hughes Room will celebrate the poetry of Langston Hughes through a multi-media short that loops during the day. We chose Langston Hughes because his work promotes equality, condemns racism and injustice, and celebrates the African American culture, humor, and spirituality. The room will be set up to invite visitors to read his poetry live by joining Kate’s Zoom Room or submit a video of you reading his work directly onto the page in real time. Pre-register for the Langston Hughes Room by emailing poughETRYfest@gmail.com

2:00 pm – 4 pm: “The Poet Is In” with Cathy Schmitz, writer/poet residing in Poughkeepsie in the Poetry Booth on ZOOM . Cathy will create and type individual poems LIVE for patrons who stop by the Poetry Booth. Tell her a little about yourself and leave with a custom manually typed poem. Pre-registration is required for this event. Click this link to register: https://tinyurl.com/thepoetisin-poughETRYfest2020

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm: PoughETRY Open Mic on ZOOM & Streamed Live on Facebook and IG – Hosted by Calling All Poets (a 501c3 poetry organization) is designed to give emerging poets the opportunity to share their work in a public forum. In doing so, the community witnesses the diverse voices in the art form, both cultural and in literary styles. Pre-registration is required for this event. Click this link to register: https://tinyurl.com/PoughetryFestCAPS

5 pm – 6 pm: LGBTQ Open Mic on ZOOM & Streamed Live on Facebook and IG hosted by Jen Herman aka “Self-Written Poet” – Poet, Member of the LGBTQ community in the Hudson Valley, and the 2016 Milkweed Poetry Slam winner. Jen is a passionate social justice advocate. Pre-registration is required for this event. Click this link to register: https://tinyurl.com/PoughetryLGBTQ

6 pm – 8 pm: Poelodies (PoughETRY Finale) – Hosted by Poet Gold – BGW (2017 & 2018 NYS Dutchess County Poet Laureate), Opener Imani Thompson – Public Speaker and Poet, and Feature musical performance by Kortnee Simmons – Songwriter. Live Streamed.

February 28 – 29, 2020 & March 1, 2020 @ the VBI Theater – 12 Vassar Street

Join New Deal as they bring this classic novel to the stage. Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, passionately pursues the elusive Daisy Buchanan. Nick Carraway, a young newcomer to Long Island, is drawn into their world of obsession, greed and danger. The breathtaking glamour and decadent excess of the Jazz Age come to the stage in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel.

To purchase tickets visit The New Deal Creative Arts Center Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/596277101187086/

For more information on The New Deal Creative Arts Center visit their website: http://www.newdealarts.org/

February 8 & 9, 2020 @ the VBI Theater – 12 Vassar Street

For more information visit the Standing Room Only Theater Company website: https://www.srotheatercompany.com/home

January 26, 2020 from 2 pm – 4 pm @ 12 Vassar Street (Talk & Discussion in the VBI Theater @ 2 pm / Light Refreshments @ 3 pm in the Reception Gallery / Catherine Morgan Clowes Art Exhibit in the Reception Gallery)

Free and Open To The Public. Pre-registration is encouraged. RSVP to bill.jeffway@dchsny.org or call 845-293-7711.

Join the Dutchess County Historical Society at the Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center for the inaugural presentation in the “Women’s Voices and Talents” series – Within These Walls: Voices & Talents of Local Women on the Path to Equality a Century Ago – in the VBI Theater. On display in the Reception Gallery will be the works of Caroline Morgan Clowes, a LaGrange artist who was featured at the 1876 Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia as a member of the Hudson River School of painting.  For more information visit the Dutchess County Historical Society website: https://dchsny.org/2020-01-26/

January 18 & 19, 2020 @ the VBI Theater – 12 Vassar Street

For more information visit the From Stage to Screen website: https://fsts.ticketleap.com/

January 11 & 12, 2020 @ the VBA Theater – 12 Vassar Street

For more information visit the From Stage to Screen website https://www.fromstagetoscreen.net/

presents 40th Anniversary Concert Sunday 8/25/19 at 2:00 pm

The Sleuth Pro Speaker Series Presents: Toni Blackman, Inspirational Speaker.  A highly respected Howard University-educated artist and social entrepreneur, she is the first Hip-Hop artist to work as a cultural ambassador for the US Dept. of State.  Toni is one of the world’s foremost Hip-Hop activist/consultants working in over 47 countries, touring Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, Canada, and Brasil.  $15 in advance; $20 at the doorwww.eventbrite.com/e/the-sleuth-pro-speaker-series-featuring-toni-ticket-62824985222toniblackmanpresents.com

“More Sinatra Big Band Style” Fri. 7/19 at 8 p.m., Sat. 7/20 at 8 p.m., and Sun. 7/21 at 2 p.m. Cunneen-Hackett Theater, 12 Vassar St., Poughkeepsie. General Admission: $20. Tickets: thebigbandsound.com.
The Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center in Poughkeepsie will be the venue for a swinging “More Sinatra, Big Band Style” show presented by The Big Band Sound 25-piece jazz orchestra to benefit the Sparrow’s Nest local charity. Performances are Friday, July 19th at 8 p.m., Saturday, July 20th at 8 p.m. and Sunday, July 21st at 2 p.m. General Admission is $20 and tickets can be purchased in advance at thebigbandsound.com. 

“More Sinatra, Big Band Style” will feature The Big Band Sound 25-piece jazz orchestra, including six vocalists and swing dance performers, in a show spotlighting the music of Frank Sinatra and his friends. Frank Sinatra recorded nearly a thousand different songs in his lifetime, which spanned the Golden Age of Popular Music. Sinatra started off singing with the big bands of Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, and he then went on to his spectacular solo career where he was often backed by the big bands of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and others. “More Sinatra, Big Band Style” will highlight the best of those thousand songs: the songs at the core of the Great American Songbook that Frank Sinatra and his friends brought into our lives, all in the most exciting setting of a live big band.

“More Sinatra, Big Band Style” will showcase several songs from Frank Sinatra’s early years travelling with the big bands, including “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” and “Marie”, as well as songs from his peak recording years, including “Strangers in the Night” and “Fly Me to the Moon”, and songs from his later years, including “Theme from New York, New York”. Duets, like those on his albums from the 1990s, will include such classics as “For Once in My Life” and “My Kind of Town”. And, the full range of America’s greatest composers will be covered, including Cole Porter’s “At Long Last Love”, Rodgers and Hart’s “Where or When”, Irving Berlin’s “Let’s Face the Music and Dance”, and the Gershwins’ “Someone to Watch Over Me”. 

The Big Band Sound 25-piece jazz orchestra has performed throughout the Hudson Valley for over 40 years and this “More Sinatra” show will continue in the series of “Big Band Style” shows that they have presented the past five summers to great acclaim. This is a follow-up to “Sinatra Sounds, Big Band Style”, which was presented in 2017, and will include more than twenty new selections. 

General Admission is $20 and tickets can be purchased in advance at thebigbandsound.com. Proceeds from this show will benefit the Sparrow’s Nest local charity. At last year’s show, $3000 was raised for the charity. Sparrow’s Nest of the Hudson Valley provides meals to the families of caregivers diagnosed with cancer. More information about Sparrow’s Nest can be found at sparrowsnestcharity.org. 

 Presents “GOD IS ABLE” Musical Breakthrough Experience the heartfelt singing with the Dynamic Gospel Singers Ashbe Barrett, Yvonne Williams, Jasha Woodall…

Call for tickets: (845) 309-2094

12 Vassar Street VBI Theater

June 23, 2019 10:00 Am To 5:00 Pm At The Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center 9 & 12 Vassar Street Poughkeepsie, New York 12601 845-486-4571 https://cunneen-hackett.org You are invited to have your antiques appraised at $10 per item by an experienced appraisal team specializing in fine arts, coins, antiques, religious arts, jewelry, first edition books, newspapers, maps, documents, fine wine, sports memorabilia, comic books, magic cards and other modern games An honoree event from 5:00 PM until 6:30 PM will take place at the Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center for Advertisers, Vendors, Volunteers and Patrons Vendors will be buying and selling at the Antique Fair Food available for purchase This is an event for the whole family We hope to see you there.

FIRST ANNUAL HUDSON VALLEY

Thursday, April 25th, 2019 13th Annual Magnolia Party 5:30-8:30 pm Grand Parlor 9 Vassar St  $50 pp

PoughETRY Fest 2019 is a collaboration made possible with funding from Arts Mid-Hudson.  Visit our Youth Open Mic hosted by Derick Cross, LGBTQ Open Mic hosted by Jen Herman, the Calling All Poets Series hosted by Mike Jurkovic, the Poet Laureate room featuring the newly appointed Hudson Valley & beyond Poet Laureates, and the Audre Lorde room Co-curated by Armando Batista. In whatever you choose to partake throughout the day at the festival, we hope you end the night with us for a special Poelodies opening with Poetyc Visionz with the Funk Junkies featuring Dominic Buccellato aka DOM P. and Poet Gold – BGW at PoughETRY Fest 2019. It’s going to be a full day of diverse poetic expression. #poetry#spokenword#poughtential#artsmidhudson#poetgold#dutchesstourism

Standing Room Only presents Mama Mia on March 2nd & 3rd in the VBI Theater 12 Vassar St.

“New Deal Creative Arts Center” presents Almost, Maine Friday Feb. 15th and Saturday Feb. 16th at 8 pm in the VBI Theater 12 Vassar Street Poughkeepsie, NY.”

Saturday February 9th, 2019 Valentine’s Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Tasting 1:00 – 4:00 pm Grand Parlor 9 Vassar St. $20 pp

Celebrate the weekend before Valentine’s Day, Saturday February 9th in Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center’s Grand Parlor with a fabulous fundraiser that tempts the taste buds with pairings of a variety of wines, cheeses and chocolate desserts, all while listening to love songs. The warmth and ambiance in our historic parlor is the perfect on a chilly winter’s day. Come join us as we cheer to all that we love.

https://adamsfarms.com/; http://www.millbrookwine.com/; http://hettaglogg.com/; htpp://www.ladeliziosany.com

Get tickets online: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/valentines-wine-cheese-chocolate-tasting-party-tickets-54653344625#tickets

Based on one of Roald Dahl’s most poignantly quirky stories, Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach JR. is a brand new take on this “masterpeach” of a tale.  Featuring a wickedly tuneful score and a witty and charming book, this adventurous musical about courage and self-discovery is destined to be a classic.

When James is sent by his conniving aunts to chop down their old fruit tree, he discovers a magic potion that grows a tremendous peach, rolls into the ocean and launches a journey of enormous proportions. James befriends a collection of singing insects that ride the giant piece of fruit across the ocean, facing hunger, sharks and plenty of disagreements along the way.

BUY TICKETS ONLINE