A&E digest

The Orange County Chinese Association will host its annual New Year Celebration on Jan. 21 Central Valley — The Orange County Chinese Association will celebration the coming of the Year of the Dragon on Saturday, Jan. 21, at Central Valley Elementary School . Performances filled with traditional Chinese culture from both our children and adult programs will take place from 2 to 6 p.m. Admission for the main performance is free. From 6 to 10 p.m., guests are invited to share in dinner, Karaoke and a dance party. This year’s Chinese New Year dinner will be free to all members of the association. There also will be raffles with a grand prize of 16 GB iPad 2 and a laptop computer. Should weather be an issue, the back-up date is Saturday, Jan. 28, same time and same place. More information about the Orange County Chinese Association is available online at www.occany.com. Board Advisor and Vice President Dongzhou Liu also can be reached at dongzhouliu@yahoo.com. Noble Pies of Warwick will hold its second annual pie-eating contests on Sunday, Jan. 22. Warwick — Noble Pies of Warwick will hold its second annual National Pie Day pie-eating contests for children and adults on Sunday, Jan. 22. The contest will be based on who can eat the most pie in 10 minutes without using any hands. Enter the pie eating contest by e-mail at pielady@noblepies.com or by calling 845-986- 7436. Entries will be accepted on the day of the contest until 11:30 a.m. Pie contests will start at noon; the afternoon also will include drawings for prizes and samples of the store’s products. The contest will be held at the Noble Pie Store, 121 State Route 94S in Warwick. Find out more about Noble Pies and see picture of previous contests on its Web site at noblepies.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/noblepies. Artist meeting at Museum Village on Jan. 24 Monroe — Museum Village in Monroe is interested in meeting and brainstorming with artists in Orange County to talk about ways in which artists and the museum can collaborate on projects in the new year. According to the Orange County Arts Council E-Blast from Jennifer D’Andrea, “Museum Village has some wonderful spaces that might lend themselves to art exhibits, workshops, demonstrations.” The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 6 p.m. at Museum Village. This event is open to the public. For additional information or directions, contact Robert Schmick at rschmick@museumvillage.org. 50 years of 'Love Letters’ can be heard on Feb. 11 and 12 Warwick — The Warwick Historical Society is putting on a production of A.R. Gurney’s “Love Letters” on Feb. 11 and 12 in the A.W. Buckbee Center. The play requires two actors to read notes, letters and cards from more than 50 years of their lives, beginning in second grade - through adolescence, into adulthood;marriages and divorce. They discuss their hopes and ambitions, dreams and disappointments, victories and defeats. The two actors are local: Steve Carras and Shannah Whitney. The director is Jim Boerlin. He directed the historical society’s successful production of “Our Town” last year. Saturday’s performance begins at 8 p.m.; the Sunday matinee at 3. Each performance is $30 per person and refreshments are served. The A.W. Buckbee Center was the old library in the village of Warwick. There is seating for up to 90 people. Call for reservations or order on line. There is no assigned seating. The critical contact information is: 845-986-3236 whs@warwick.net www.warwickhistoricalsociety.org. Museum program to focus on woodpeckers next Saturday Cornwall — On Saturday, Jan. 28, at 10 a.m., the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum presents “Wonderful Woodpeckers,” a special program intended to confirm that woodpeckers are indeed handsome birds with unique adaptations. Environmental Educator Pam Golben will lead the discussion at the Museum’s Outdoor Discovery Center on Muser Drive, across from 174 Angola Road, Cornwall, explaining how to identify different woodpecker species through photos and actual sound recordings. Find out which types of feeders will attract woodpeckers to your yard and learn helpful hints about what to do if woodpeckers become a neighborhood nuisance. After the program make a batch of woodpecker food to take home. Recommended for adults with or without children and for children ages 5 and up. Admission: $5. Members: $3. For information call 845- 534-5506, ext 204. Visit the museum’s Web site at www.hhnaturemuseum.org. Call for canine models Lafayette, N.J. — Does your pooch love to pose for the camera? Does your pooch possess that certain savoir-faire required from all top models? This is his or her chance to show off. On Saturday, Jan. 28, at Olde Lafayette Village, the Fuzzy Fashionistas fashion show will benefit Father John’s Animal House. The organizers hope to raise $500 for Father John’s, located in Lafayette, N.J. The event begins with a model call at 10 a.m., officiated at and by K-Nine Coaching across from the dog run. All potential models are asked to donate $5 to Father John’s and will receive a free gift. Dogs will be selected based on “runway” walking skills, clothing size availability and suitability of fashion (no boys in pink, the organizers say). Selected models will receive an additional gift, which could be the item the dog is modeling. Next, the doggie fashion show, which begins at noon in the Village Hall next to the pond. This segment will last for approximately one hour depending on random events to be expected at a show featuring dogs. All non-participating guests are also asked to donate $5 to Father John’s and will receive a free gift. Some seating will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. As this extravaganza is being held so close to Valentine’s Day, it will close with a (somewhat) silent auction to win a giant heart-shaped dog bed on display at the event. Clothing, gifts, time, energy and space are sponsored by K-Nine Coaching, Fuzzy Nation, The Village Barkery, members of the local 4-H and Lafayette Village Management. In case of rain or snow, the event will be held the following day, Sunday, Jan. 29. The Eitz Chaim Coffee House returns Feb. 4 Monroe — The Eitz Chaim Coffee House returns Saturday evening, Feb. 4, at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Eitz Chaim. An evening of great fun and performance is planned by many very talented people. Cocktail fare and dessert will be served. Tickets are $20 per person. Please contact Melissa Daley or Diane Soss at 783-7424 for further information. Ice harvesting festival set for Feb. 19 Monroe — An ice harvesting festival will take place Sunday, Feb. 19, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Arrow Park located at 1061 Orange County Turnpike in Monroe. This is event is hosted by Museum Village and Arrow Park and will also have representation from the Orange County Council of Arts, local artists, and local farmers, according to the Orange County Arts Council E-Blast from Jennifer D’Andrea, By demonstrating such early technologies, in this case hand tool harvesting and wooden sled transport, Museum Village hopes to demonstrate for young minds and recall to older ones how rural America lived off the land. Storytelling will be integral to the day as will the opportunity to share information about other winter traditions on the farm like cold cellars, root vegetables, jam and jelly making, canning and seed catalogue perusing Participants will gather in the heated pavilion on the grounds. There will be food, hot drink, children’s nature activities and entertainment. Admission is $5 per person to cover the cost of the event. For further information contact: Robert Schmick, Museum Village, at rschmick@museumvillage.org or 845-781-3729.