Jay Burgess, Director of Communications, Scenic Hudson, 845 473 4440, Ext. 222, jburgess@scenichudson.org
David A. Ross, President, American Center for Folk Music, david.ross.acfm@gmail.com
Oct. 16 concert featuring three music legends to introduce center to area music lovers
HUDSON VALLEY, N.Y.—Scenic Hudson is pleased to announce that the American Center for Folk Music (ACFM) will be located in the River Center at Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park in Beacon. The River Center is a LEED-certified restored barn, part of a 15-acre Hudson Riverfront park that once was a blighted former industrial site. Now the ACFM—a new nonprofit organization—will bring dynamic folk music, performance and education to this outdoor destination in a vibrant city easily accessible from the Hudson Valley, New York City and beyond.
Kickoff concert on Oct. 16 will feature legendary performers
From the River Center, the ACFM will offer education events, outdoor concerts, and informal information and jam sessions. The group is kicking things off with a Sunday, Oct. 16, at 4 p.m., stellar outdoor concert featuring three folk music legends—Tom Chapin, John McCutcheon and Joe Louis Walker. For more information on the concert, contact ACFM President David Ross at david.ross.acfm@gmail.com.
River Center will continue to host Scenic Hudson programming and local uses
The ACFM will fully occupy the River Center’s third floor as office space. The group also will have access to the River Center’s first and second floors, which will continue to host Scenic Hudson activities as well as occasional uses by area community groups.
Scenic Hudson Senior Vice President Steve Rosenberg said, “We’re proud to have created this special place where people enjoy the inspiring beauty that has earned the Hudson River Valley its national reputation. We’re extremely pleased to help sustain the valley’s arts tradition by having the American Center for Folk Music bring top-notch programs to our River Center. This collaboration will enhance Beacon’s thriving arts community and contribute to all that Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park has to offer.”
David A. Ross, president of the ACFM board, noted “The center is grateful to Scenic Hudson, and we are thrilled to be located in this beautifully restored building which has quickly become a landmark on the Beacon waterfront. We look forward to using the River Center as our first headquarters, and will be holding planning meetings, informational get-togethers as well as informal concerts and jam sessions inside and on the grounds adjacent to the building.”
Music center has clear vision
The ACFM promises to bring strong benefits to Beacon and the Hudson Valley. The group’s mission is to celebrate America’s rich legacy of folk music and to deepen public understanding of its contribution to American culture and society. The center also seeks to promote today’s vibrant folk music scene while supporting a city noted as a cultural hub in the Hudson Valley.
Community resource and economic engine
In highlighting broad community benefits that will come from the addition of the ACFM to the River Center, Scenic Hudson cited jobs and economic opportunity. The park and River Center—now with the ACFM—will give people one more reason to come to Beacon and will complement the city’s thriving Main Street business district by bringing more people to shops and restaurants there as well as to Dia:Beacon, the world-class art museum presenting the collection of the Dia Art Foundation. The ACFM is part of BeaconArts (Beacon Arts Community Association/BACA), a collaborative of cultural organizations working together to support Beacon’s creative community.
About American Center for Folk Music
Located in the heart of the beautiful Hudson Valley on the Hudson River’s shoreline, the American Center for Folk Music is just 60 miles north of New York City in Beacon, N.Y. Housed in Scenic Hudson’s River Center, a LEED-certified restored barn in a 15-acre riverfront park, the ACFM offers a range of programs for visitors of all ages and with all levels of familiarity with folk music, from the novice to the professional. It provides opportunities for these musicians and music lovers to engage with the past, present and future of American folk music.
About Scenic Hudson
Scenic Hudson works to protect and restore the Hudson River and its majestic landscape as an irreplaceable national treasure and a vital resource for residents and visitors. A crusader for the valley since 1963, we are credited with saving fabled Storm King Mountain from a destructive industrial project and launching the modern grass-roots environmental movement. Today with more than 25,000 ardent supporters, we are the largest environmental group focused on the Hudson River Valley. Our team of experts combines land acquisition, support for agriculture, citizen-based advocacy and sophisticated planning tools to create environmentally healthy communities, champion smart economic growth, open up riverfronts to the public and preserve the valley’s inspiring beauty and natural resources. To date Scenic Hudson has created or enhanced more than 65 parks, preserves and historic sites up and down the Hudson River and conserved over 35,000 acres.
