Summer fun is heating up here in Dutchess County, and this is a wonderful time to visit the heart of New York’s Hudson Valley!
You’re sure to have a blast at the annual Pride in July festival at Barton Orchards in Poughquag on July 19. This year’s event will include drag performances, lots of fun activities and entertainment, craft vendors, and more. Barton’s famous Amateur Drag Contest returns with a $1,000 cash prize! Kick up your heels at the DJ dance party and the foam party, test your skills on the mechanical bull, and enjoy the “Hey Girl, Hay Ride.”
You’ll also have a blast, literally, at the annual Fireworks Spectacular at the Walkway Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie on July 4. Combine all the beauty and excitement of a fireworks display with the splendor and majesty of the Hudson River at night, and you have one unforgettable Independence Day celebration! Catch all the action with unobstructed views from 212 feet above the Hudson on The World’s Longest Elevated Pedestrian Bridge. Tickets for this event always sell out quickly, so don’t wait!
Head to the Fisher Center at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson for two action-packed months of performances of all types at the annual SummerScape festival June 27–Aug. 17. Enjoy work-in-progress readings of “Jubilee” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, and performances of Bedrich Smetana’s opera “Dalibor,” among others. The adjacent Spiegeltent, meanwhile, keeps the party hopping all summer long with live music performances, drinks and dancing. John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) performs David Bowie Aug. 15 and 16, and Andy Monk of Queer Conspiracy hosts the Spiegeltent After Hours series featuring a rotating lineup of DJs after every Spiegeltent performance. Enjoy a risqué cabaret show featuring nightlife icon Susanne Bartsch on July 25 and 26, and a cabaret show starring drag queen and comedian Juno Birch on Aug. 1 and 2.
If outdoor adventure is your thing, be sure to check out the Destination Dutchess Zen Finder, a mobile passport program featuring some of the best hidden-gem trails, fresh air activities, and captivating views in a curated itinerary that will help you find the kind of nature-inspired rejuvenation that can only be found in the Hudson Valley.
And speaking of the great outdoors, our acres and acres of lush farmland are bursting with ripe fruits and vegetables ready to be picked and included in your favorite summertime recipes. Pick your own berries, stone fruits and vegetables right off the vines at places like Fishkill Farms in Hopewell Junction, Greig Farm in Red Hook, Rose Hill Farm in Red Hook, and Mead Orchards in Tivoli (check with each farm to see what is in-season). Later in the summer, the sunflowers steal the show at places like Hudson Valley Cold Pressed Oils in Pleasant Valley and Barton Orchards.
Also this summer, guided tours are being offered on the third Saturday of each month at Edgewater in Barrytown. Built in 1820, this opulent estate on the Hudson River has been a sanctuary of sorts for several prominent Americans, including Gore Vidal and the "Last Gentleman of Wall Street," Richard Hampton Jenrette.
And speaking of lavish riverfront mansions, be sure to visit the luxurious 79-room Gilded Age country retreat of Ogden Mills and Ruth Livingston Mills at Staatsburgh State Historic Site in the quaint hamlet of Staatsburg. Tour the ornately decorated home and immerse yourself in the "Downton Abbey" lifestyle of turn-of-the-century America. Learn about all the gossip and dirty secrets of the most prominent families of the era on the “Gilded Age Scandals” tour, one of an assortment of fantastic events at the mansion.
After a day of sightseeing and exploring, chill out with a movie under the stars at Four Brothers Drive-In in Amenia, which will be showing double features every night of the week all summer long. Carhops deliver tasty treats from The Grand Shack, and you can play mini-golf and yard games. If time allows, spend the night at the one-of-a-kind Hotel Caravana in one of the vintage Airstream campers right on the property, or pitch a tent and relax under the stars!
Looking for a place to cool down? Look no further than SplashDown Beach in Fishkill, America's Biggest Little Water Park! With water slides of all shapes and sizes and other fun summer attractions, it’s perfect for the kids — and the kids at heart!
These are just a few of the many unforgettable experiences waiting for you here in Dutchess County.
Sometimes called “New York City’s Backyard,” Dutchess is easy to get to by car, train or plane — but oh-so-hard to leave!
