NEW LEBANON — Behold! New Lebanon, the living museum of contemporary rural American life, has announced its schedule for Saturday, Aug. 6, with a combination of five programs for both indoors and outdoors. Conducted by locals, the wide array of programs includes cheese making; behind the scenes at the speedway; reptiles; outdoor sculpture; and theatrical design.
Unlike any other museum, BEHOLD! New Lebanon invites visitors to step into –and experience– today’s rural American life, up close and personal. Rural Guides greet visitors at their own homes, studios, and workspaces, where they practice cooking, farming, cattle raising, automobile racing and mechanics, wood-working, foraging and much more. These presenters are not costumed actors or docents recalling old-world skills; they are the real townspeople of today, whose lives and work challenge the quaint myths about country life.
Advance ticket purchase is recommended for all programs, which are priced at $10 per program; ages 5-16 are $5; ages 4 and under are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. For information, visit beholdnewlebanon.org, or call.
The Aug. 6 programs include the following:
9:00 a.m. Reptile Rescue
The queen of the reptile rescuers Rhonda Leavitt will bring her animals for visitors to learn to love –and maybe even handle, too. The program is suitable for all ages and temperaments — including the squeamish.
9:30 a.m.: Designing for the Theatre
Acclaimed theater designers Sarah Conly and Michael Deegan take visitors on a behind the scenes look at designing for the stage, with an emphasis on their specialty – opera design.
1:00 p.m.: Speed Demons
Long-time owner Howard Commander leads a behind-the-scenes tour of the famed Lebanon Valley Speedway, including an up-close look at the super-fast high-banked half-mile clay tract. Visitors can examine the cars and meet some of the drivers of this 63-year-old family attraction.
1:30 p.m.: Say Cheese! (Cheesemaking)
Learn how to make the finest cheese in the region with Willy Bridgham of Four Fat Fowl in Stephentown.
2:30 p.m.: Movement Is Art, Movement As Art
In a special program, visitors have a chance to tour George Rickey’s rarely opened studio and outside sculpture garden with his artist son, Philip.
Attendees board a shuttle bus from the BEHOLD! Station and Store, 438 State Rte. 20 (US-20), and travel to the program venue. The shuttle generally boards a half-hour before the tour starts.
