This Month’s Featured Articles…
Dassai Blue is Sake Gold
It was a beautiful day for a scenic drive from Troy to Hyde Park, through Rensselaer and Columbia Counties into Dutchess County. I was traveling with a special friend, sun roof open, soaking up the sunshine and gasping at how green everything was for mid-May. All was right with the world on that sunny Sunday. It was no surprise, then, that the first impression of the Dassai Blue Sake Brewery off Route 9, almost across the street from the venerable Culinary Institute of America, had [...]
A Red Fox’s Guide to Eating In and Around Poughkeepsie, NY
This past May, I graduated from Marist College with a BA in English writing. Despite an unconventional start to my undergraduate career because of the pandemic’s restrictions and fears, it was an extremely rewarding four years. I was able to form an incredibly supportive community and pursue fulfilling academic opportunities that I would not have imagined as a freshman in 2020. In addition to learning valuable writing insights from my professors, peers, and academic experiences, I also figured out one very important thing: where to [...]
Flying Free at Mt. Brace
The yearning to be as free as a bird and to soar on wings in the sky has been with humankind since the dawn of time. One of the best-known legends about that lure – and the danger inherent in its pursuit – is that of the ancient Greek father and son, Daedalus and Icarus. Daedalus, a masterful inventor, was imprisoned on Crete by King Minos for angering him. To escape this wretched condition, Daedalus crafted sets of wings from wood, feathers, and wax. Finally [...]
Flying Cloud Turns 40
This year, Flying Cloud Institute, based in Great Barrington, MA, turns 40. For decades, Flying Cloud has been inspiring young people and educators through dynamic science and art experiences that ignite creativity. Main Street Magazine sat down with executive director Maria Rundle to find out more about the organization’s history and programs. What is Flying Cloud, and how did you find your way to becoming the executive director of the organization? My background in in education and labor rights. My children were going to a local public school, [...]
The Dream That Became a Meme: Jaws at 50
51 years ago very few Americans knew much about sharks, much less about great white sharks. All that changed in early 1974. A first novel from a 33-year-old writer jump-started awareness of sharks to the point that many people refused to go swimming, or, in some cases, even take a bath. The creation The author of the novel, Peter Benchley (my older brother), said many times that he knew the book would never be a big success, but he just wanted to write and publish [...]
