Levon on Woodstock

Come visit us in Woodstock, Ulster County, New York. Home to Levon Helm, the Midnight Rambles and so much more! Check out this new video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77J6pQuxQnI

Woodstock Film Fest Party

WFF Raffle at the 3/1/12 Party

Everyone had a great time at the March 1st Woodstock Chamber mixer, hosted by the Woodstock Film Festival. Chief topic of discussion: welcoming visitors to the 2012 WFF, October 10 to 14, with community-wide special events and offers. No doubt about it . . . with all of Woodstock joining in, the 13th annual WFF will be the best one yet!

Our thanks to the entire Woodstock Film Festival team for their hospitality, and to Judy Steinfeld of Villas in Woodstock for providing the refreshments.

When in Woodstock, be sure to drop by the WFF offices at 13 Rock City Road. Present your Experience Woodstock Card for 10% off all merchandise at the WFF store. 

Happy V-Day from Woodstock

At the Gilded Carriage in Woodstock

Feel the love in Woodstock!

Did you know that you can now purchase the Experience Woodstock Card (EWC) at the Gilded Carriage? While you're there, check out their special Valentine's offer of free, indispensable kitchen tools (or a gourmet chocolate bar) with a $100.00 purchase. Plus, 10% off with your EWC!

The EWC . . . your passport to more than 100 other Valentine's offers at the best restaurants, shops, galleries, spas, performance spaces, lodging and services in the Woodstock/Catskills region . . . is available for sale online or at nine places in the Woodstock area:

Bearsville Theater, 291 Tinker Street, (845) 679-4406
The Gilded Carriage, 95 Tinker Street, (845) 679-2607
The Golden Notebook, 29 Tinker Street, (845) 679-8000
Lily's Boutique, 24 Tinker Street, (845) 679-6470
Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, 40 Mill Hill Road, (845) 336-4444
River Rock Health Spa, 62 Ricks Road, (845) 679-7800
Rondout Savings Bank, 295-4 Route 375, West Hurley, (845) 679-2600
TD Bank, 68 Mill Hill Road, (845) 679-3862
Ulster Savings Bank, 60 Mill Hill Road, (845) 679-8434

Happy Valentine's Day to you and your special someone!

Experience Woodstock Recommends

Looking for something really fun to do on Valentine's Day weekend? Try Bird-On-A-Cliff Theatre's mystery dinner show at the Holiday Inn in Kingston (just off the traffic circle).

BOAC is the wonderful theater company that brings Shakespeare to the Comeau in Woodstock every summer. They put on a great show, so come on out and enjoy yourselves on February 11. Seating is at 6:30 p.m. and reservations are recommended: call (845) 338-0400.

Present your Experience Woodstock Card for 10% savings off dinner and the show.

See you there!

2012 EWCs

The 2012 Experience Woodstock Card (EWC) is now available online and at eight locations in the Woodstock area:

• Bearsville Theater, 291 Tinker Street, (845) 679-4406
• The Golden Notebook, 29 Tinker Street, (845) 679-8000
• Lily's Boutique, 24 Tinker Street, (845) 679-6470
• Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, 40 Mill Hill Road, (845) 336-4444
• River Rock Health Spa, 62 Ricks Road, (845) 679-7800
• Rondout Savings Bank, 295-4 Route 375, West Hurley, (845) 679-2600
• TD Bank, 68 Mill Hill Road, (845) 679-3862
• Ulster Savings Bank, 60 Mill Hill Road, (845) 679-8434

Buy yours today for access to more than 100 offers at the Woodstock area's premier restaurants, shops, galleries, museums, spas, performance spaces and more. The card, at just $25, can be used on an unlimited basis now through December 31, 2012. It easily pays for itself within a day or two of use. Offers are updated every Thursday. Aim your smartphone/device at the QR code on the bottom left front of your card for an up-to-date listing of EWC offers. Enjoy the best of the Woodstock region for le$$!

Holiday Fun in Woodstock

Mrs. Claus (aka Melody Newcombe) on 12/2/11

It's official: with the 30th annual Open House festivities on Friday evening (December 2 from 5 to 9 p.m.), Woodstock launched a season of holiday fun that will last throughout the winter.

You still have the month of December to use your 2011 Experience Woodstock Card (EWC) at close to 100 locations in the Woodstock area, and the 2012 card will be available at select locations on 1/1/2012. As always, check out the latest offers and EWC news at www.experiencewoodstockcard.com.

To purchase 2012 EWCs now and give them as holiday gifts, come out on Tuesday, December 6, to New World Home Cooking, beginning at 5 p.m. The 2012 EWCs will be available—along with a fabulous array of handcrafted goods—at the Ulster County Women's Network annual Holiday Gift Show. You'll find master craftspeople. fine artists, creators of natural beauty products, musicians and writers. Shop for gallery-quality gift items, holiday cards, pottery, jewelry, knitted clothing, hand-painted children's clothing, books, fused glass and much more . . . all at affordable prices.

New World Home Cooking is located at 1411 Route 212 in Saugerties (845-246-0900). For further details about the Holiday Gift Show, contact Melody Newcombe, mnewcombe@hvc.rr.com.

From all of us in Woodstock, happy holidays!

Chamber Info Booth Now Open

Rowan Smith-Spanier of the
Chamber Information Booth

The Woodstock Chamber information booth (10 Rock City Road, Woodstock, NY 12498) opened today for the summer season. Hours of operation, now through Columbus Day, will be Fridays, 12 noon through 6 p.m., and Saturdays/Sundays, 11 a.m. through 5 p.m.

Please drop by to meet the new manager of the booth, Ms. Rowan Smith-Spanier. Rowan is a Woodstock resident and May 13 graduate of Pratt Institute's upstate campus at Utica, where she studied painting. She is pleased to be the new face of Woodstock. "I feel it's very appropriate that an art student will be representing the Colony of the Arts to visitors this summer."

The booth is a wonderful resource for visitors and newcomers to the Woodstock area. Stop by for help with lodging, dining, shopping and activities for the whole family. The booth is one of a dozen places where visitors and residents can purchase the Experience Woodstock Card, which is a passport to 100 or so special offers at select Woodstock-area restaurants, spas, performance spaces, galleries, lodging, professional services and more.

Woodstock Branch Voted TD Bank’s Friendliest

Nick Altomare, Woodstock Manager

TD Bank/Woodstock is located in a converted house at 68 Mill Hill Road. The store manager is Nick Altomare, a friendly and outgoing native of nearby Kingston. A graduate of SUNY Albany, he has been in banking for over ten years. About three years ago a friend suggested that he join TD Bank. He did so, and within six months he arrived here to manage the Woodstock branch.

This bank is the tenth largest financial services company in the nation, and has a triple “A” credit rating from Moody's. The local branch strives to position itself as a community-based bank. Nick is the president of the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce and Arts, and the bank sponsors a slew of local initiatives including the Little League, the Woodstock Farm Festival, the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s Annual  5 x 7 show, the Woodstock Chamber’s Open House and the Experience Woodstock Card.

"Here Comes Summer," sculpture
by artist Ze'ev Willy Neumann

TD Bank styles itself as America’s Most Convenient Bank. It happens that the Woodstock branch is also one of the friendliest. In April their customers voted Woodstock the Number One branch in the company (of 1,250 stores from Maine to Florida), based on service provided by its employees.

One need not be a bank customer to obtain mortgages, home equity, car or personal loans.  TD Bank tries to be sensitive to their customers’ needs in the Hudson Valley, so many of the lending decisions are made locally.

A fun fact: Woodstock is the only TD Bank branch that has a sculpture on its front lawn.

~ Weston Blelock

Woodstock's Sidewalk Sale

Saturday and Sunday, May 14 and 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Woodstock's fabulous shops and boutiques are celebrating the arrival of spring with the twice-annual Sidewalk Sale. Select stores throughout the hamlet are placing racks of clothes on the street with markdowns of 30 to 75 percent. Don't miss out!

Experience Woodstock Corridor

The Experience Woodstock Corridor, stretching from Woodstock's Village Green to Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, is now open for business. Visitors to the Woodstock area are invited to sample the many restaurants, shops, galleries, spas and performance venues that Woodstock has to offer.

To complete their Woodstock experience, visitors are encouraged to enjoy The Museum at Bethel Woods, the performance stages, and the festivals of Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Additional places of interest in Woodstock, Bethel, and points in between are being added to the program.

Powering the Corridor is the Experience Woodstock Card, now in its second year. The 2011 card, priced at $25, is good for unlimited usage throughout the calendar year. It can be purchased online or a nine locations in Woodstock (see listing at upper right).

2011 Experience Woodstock Card

The Woodstock Chamber is committed to a leadership role in working with Woodstock-area businesses, arts organizations, and local/county/state government to foster cultural tourism to the area. Through comprehensive planning and development it is working to support the local economy and arts.

On January 1st the Chamber launched the 2011 Experience Woodstock Card (EWC). Close to 80 Woodstock-area businesses have made offers on the card so far. These special offers include 10% off luncheon entrees at Joshua's Cafe and the Country Kitchen of Woodstock, 15% off tickets at Woodstock Fringe and 10% off all Woodstock Apothecary brand supplements. For a complete listing, click here.

According to studies generated by Civic Economics, an economic-development consultancy with offices in Austin and Chicago, locally-spent dollars stay local and are recycled. Further, $68 out of $100 spent with local merchants stays within the community—as opposed to $43 of every $100 spent at chains or franchises. Another striking finding of their research: Independent businesses produce an average of 70% more local economic activity than chains on comparable revenue.

Visitors and residents are invited to purchase the Experience Woodstock Card for $25. It is good for unlimited usage throughout the 2011 calendar year. Here's your opportunity to truly experience Woodstock!

Experience Woodstock Card: Printable Listing of Offers

For those of you who've requested it, here is an updated listing of offers associated with the Experience Woodstock Card. This two-page document can be printed out on a single sheet (front and back; keep it green!) and carried around as you walk or bike through town, enjoying your Woodstock experience. Click here to download the PDF.

Check back here or to the Woodstock Chamber web site (http://www.woodstockchamber.com/) every Thursday for a revised listing.

~Julia Blelock

The Experience Woodstock Card

What do a lunch at Oriole 9, a dinner at Joshua's Cafe, tickets to a Marc Black concert (at the Kleinert/James Arts Center on June 11), a soil test kit from H. Houst & Son, copies from Catskill Art and Office Supply, and kitty litter from Woofstock have in common? They are all purchases made by a single cardholder in just a few days with the new Experience Woodstock Card (EWC).

Available from the Woodstock Chamber to visitors and locals for just $25, the EWC provides a way to experience Woodstock in depth, with a festival of special offers. It's valid for unlimited use through the end of the year, enabling savings of money, time, gasoline and the environment. Close to 60 offers are currently listed on the Chamber web site: Link to http://www.woodstockchamber.com/ and click on the animated banner at the top of the page. New offers, including weekend performance specials, are posted every Thursday.