I attended a weekend workshop that was an amazing experience. The grounds are peaceful and quiet…read moreand the cabins were nice and clean. The staff are warm, friendly and helpful.

I went back only because I hoped a medium would teach her techniques. It ended up being a meet and…read moregreet. Even though was advertised as a personal class. Had like 1k people in huge room & no real teaching happening. Just personal stories from people not in attendance. Wish I'd stayed away for good but alas I will not go back again. The tree's are pretty though & I met a hedgehog who made the whole drive there more fun. As I got to visit with the little animal for an hour. As left the class after yet another random audience member was allowed to tell a 10 min aimless story. Oh well. Maybe hit up a farm with animals near by. Way more healing.

I attended an informational session at the 14 Abes Way location to learn more about the recently…read morelaunched pilot program for Nesterly. The venue is well run, clean, and has meeting spaces for public events. On this occasion, the center was also providing a complimentary sandwich lunch for all attendees. How lovely. On this occasion, Town Supervisor, Rebecca Edwards and her team with the support of the Senior Center team hosted another informative community resident discussion. I'm impressed by this Town administration's ideas to improve the lives of the residents. My town taxes are a good value under this leadership.

Erin and her staff were lovely with my kiddo - kind, attentive, engaging. And their philosophy of…read morefree play and respectful interaction is perfect. I couldn't recommend Play Haven more to other parents looking for a safe & fun experience for their littles.

We have been going to Play Haven for over a two years and can't recommend it enough. The staff is…read morealways so so gentle, attentive, and really engage with the kids. Erin keeps the activities rotating so there's always something new. A drop in care center is such an amazing resource to have here for families in the Hudson Valley.

Took wilderness 1 a little while back with the family and definitely got a lot less than what I was…read moreexpecting. I liked Shane and the whole "The Elders" mambo Jambo but i was really looking forward to a lot of hands on stuff like fire building, shelter building among other wilderness survival skills but no it was just Shane talking about a lot of you could do it but we won't do it today so please sign up for the other 80 classes where you might learn how to do these things. Yes I know you cannot learn all of this stuff in one class but for the time and money I felt like I could just go on my phone and look these things up. Don't get me wrong I had fun, but Shane please get rid of the classroom like benches and have your students try to do things from the moment they get in and on the cold days please light a fire and keep everyone warm, people will be able to digest the information better when they are not freezing. Yes I know fire is sacred and it has to be earned but don't torture the students for the whole day and only at the end light a fire. Enjoyed the elder stories, didn't like being super cold for super long. I personally will not be taking 79+ classes but I would suggest this to others to see what they have to say about their experience. Teaching is sacred and you don't have to torture your students to get the point across.

As a life-long city person whose always wanted to learn about survival and existing in nature, the…read moreWilderness Weekend was a dream. I highly recommend getting out there over multiple days, if possible. Over the three days I spent there (Friday night, Saturday, Sunday), I felt a slow shift in my mindset and internal clock. It felt good to 'relax' and quiet my usually raucous head. After spending time with Shane, it's obvious he's incredibly knowledgeable, and as he takes you on walks through the woods, he drops a wealth of details about plants, trees, tracking and more. I have pages of sketches I took while on the trail. It's impossible to absorb it all, but I certainly tried haha. I'm definitely coming back. During the weekend, I learned about building shelters, and how to ensure you've set camp in a safe place. I learned about fire structures, attempted to build one and light it with one match (2 out of 6 of us were able to do so, which goes to show that understanding the teachings and being able to execute them are a matter of continuous practice/study). I also got to learn how to make cordage from natural materials, the structure of a basic trap, and practice knife-skills. I'd encourage those interested in attending to think of the school as an academy, rather than a one-off experience. Though you can get a lot of out one class (from information, to a relaxing, cleansing time away from the city), it's clear that the only way to truly learn and absorb the material is to practice and study it the same way one would practice a musical instrument.

This campus is breathtaking and the students were very attentive and just willing to share their…read moreexperience with us. The tour was very well orchestrated and everyone had a great time. We hand an early lunch with a preset menu of beets salad, salmon over rice cake tartare. Dessert was warm chocolate brownie with ice cream and chantilly cream.

Beautiful campus and grounds open to the public to walk around in and amazing restaurants and food…read more Their food court/hang out space in the "egg" is really fun, a big space with lots of seating indoor and some outdoors, tvs and pool. They have a little market store with foodstuffs as well as various options like homemade pizza, noodles, baked goods and smoothies. We really enjoyed the shrimp and chicken quesadillas with Mexican corn and it was reasonably priced for the quality of the food. Staff was so friendly as well.

I have been volunteering at Fareground for a few years now and it's a wonderful community…read moreorganization. They provide food that is locally sourced and always fresh to feed the neighbors in our community. I volunteer on Fridays in the summer distributing food in various locations around Hudson Valley. If you or anyone you know could use some free delicious food, follow Fareground on social media to learn more.

Great art gallery that offers art classes and summer camp, even during Covid. They have virtual…read morelessons and socially distanced plein air. Check the website for classes.

Our son just completed his schooling at Livingston Street, having been one of the "founding" kids…read more He absolutely loved it. We felt completely comfortable with Cheryl and she runs the school in such a nurturing, positive and fun (and funny!) way that we knew we'd made the right choice for him. He has really grown through Cheryl's teaching, coming home with incredible art, stories, tales of adventures and a deep respect for others. We recommend Livingston Street very highly! http://livingstonstreet.org/

Cheryl is the teacher. We visited their temporary space and watched her interacting with our 4 year…read moreold. She's a gifted teacher and extremely knowledgeable about early childhood theory and practice. She's obviously studied and read about what the best thinkers in early childhood are advocating for. Her style is reminiscent of the two leading philosophies in early childhood education -- Waldorf and Reggio Emilia. That is to say, Livingston is child-centered, and human. They let kids be kids in an enlightened and respectful way. This is what we've been looking for but it's difficult to find around here. Please visit and then sign up. Livingston is just getting started and as soon as they get a few more kids, we'll have our son there too. We'll see you there.