News digest

Sustainable Warwick to host Compost Fair on Earth Day

WARWICK — To celebrate Earth Day this Sunday, April 21, Sustainable Warwick will host a free compost fair at the Warwick Valley Community Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A wide range of activities for gardeners, families, and anyone interested in promoting composting will be offered:

Mayor Michael Newhard and the new head of the Village DPW, Kirk Williams, will be on hand to announce the new municipal composting initiative that the village has undertaken which will soon make high-quality compost available to all.

Representatives from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Service and local experts Gar Wang and Dave Washburn will offer advice on what to compost, various composting methods, and setting up a problem-free composting system. There will also be a demonstration of vermiculture – composting with the help of “red wriggler” worms.

Elke Noll of The Healthy Gourmet will be whipping up her amazing green smoothies.

Finally, students from Warwick High School will be offering a dramatic tribute to last year’s critically needed Warwick Farm Aid program that raised over $100,000 in the wake of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. This tribute recently took third place in a national competition.

The film “Fresh,” the underground documentary that became a massive grassroots success, also will be shown.

Gardeners to celebrate Arbor Day at Sandfordville Elementary School

WARWICK — The annual Arbor Day tree planting, sponsored by the Warwick Valley Gardeners, will be held at the Sandfordville Elementary School on Friday, April 27, at 2 p.m.

This year the club will be planting a Flowering Cherry tree in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the gift of Cherry trees to the United States from Japan.

Sandfordville School was chosen because the students are in the middle of a one-year project called Operation Conservation which is trying to develop the court yard as a science lab to study and learn about conservation issues.

Jane Hamburger, former Pine Island Elementary principal and member of the club, is a member of Operation Conservation.

Future plans included establishing a similar area at Park Ave and Kings Schools. The PIE classes will attend the ceremony and participate in the planting.

Historian Richard Hull to examine Sugar Loaf’s past and present

SUGAR LOAF — The Sugar Loaf Community Foundation will hold a special event next Friday, April 27, featuring historian and author Dr. Richard Hull, who will speak about the events and activities that contributed to the successful rebirth of the arts and crafts village of Sugar Loaf from the late 1960s to the present.

Hull’s presentation, “Sugar Loaf: Reflections on the Renaissance of a Community,” also will examine some of the unsuccessful ideas and policies of the day, and explain why they failed. Hull is a co-founder and past president of the Sugar Loaf Community Foundation.

The foundation’s Community Vision Committee also will give a slide-show presentation on the foundation’s achievements,and ongoing and future projects, including an update on recent zoning changes, sidewalks through the hamlet and other infrastructure efforts, as well as the foundation’s annual holiday festival, beautification program and award-winning newsletter.

The presentation event will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Lycian Centre Pavilion Theatre, 1351 Kings Highway in Sugar Loaf. Refreshments will be available.

For more information, call President Paul Ellis at 845-469-7563.

For past articles in the Sugar Loaf Times about the foundation go to www.sugarloafnewyork.com/fun/2010/06/sugar-loaf-times.

Chamber distributes new 2012-13 tourism guide

WARWICK — The Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce recently distributed more than 40,000 copies of the 21st annual Warwick Valley Tourism Guide, Events Calendar & Business Directory for the villages of Florida, Greenwood Lake, Warwick and the five hamlets.

The comprehensive guide includes an extensive listing of events occurring in the Warwick Valley during 2012- 2013.

Major highlights, for example, include EXPO, Ladies Night Out, A Taste of Warwick, Applefest, Home for the Holidays and the dates and locations of local farmers markets. Much improved and user -friendly maps, featuring keys to the location of advertisers, also combine town-wide details to help navigate the area.

“Out-of-town visitors have come to rely on this valuable 20-page resource guide as much as area residents do to help find answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about Warwick,” explained Marketing Director Janine Dethmers of Corporate Impressions, the publisher. “The Tourism Guide answers what to do, where to go, and where to dine, shop and stay.”

Michael Johndrow, executive director of the Chamber, noted that tourism is one of the most revenue-producing industries in Orange County and a powerful economic force in the area. The organization is currently working to promote Warwick as a four-season tourist destination.

“Promoting the Town of Warwick’s rich history, countryside, orchards and vital downtown districts is crucial to area businesses,” Johndrow said.

Guides are available to the public at more than 90 local businesses, including banks, restaurants, lodging establishments, retail merchants, town and village halls, the Chamber’s headquarters at the South Street Caboose or by visiting www.warwickcc.org.

- Roger Gavan