ARBORETUM'S AWESOME AUGUST PERFECTA!

An Open Call to Runners, Musicians,Artists, Poets, Performers to Honor Founder Fred Lape; Saturday, August 30

 Our message from the Capital Region’s Arboretum is simple and direct.  Come. Stay. Play for a day.  Save gas – and share a memorable day with family and friends.   
 
THE EVENT: the Awesome August Perfecta at the Landis Arboretum --- a dawn to dusk panoply of outdoor events and an open mic – to honor the renaissance spirit and influence of its peripatetic founder Fred Lape who would have been 109 this year.  A perfect alchemy for family fun, education, and entertainment at the beautiful Landis Arboretum (which straddles both Schoharie and Montgomery Counties).

9 am – Noon    Arboretum’s Perennial 5K Cross Country Forest Run/Walk ‘n’ Tot Trot
Following last year’s successful 5K, the Arboretum again invites Capital Region runners – and those who support them – to enjoy the spectacular views of the Schoharie countryside at the beautiful Landis Arboretum.  All proceeds to benefit the non-profit Landis Arboretum and Wanderland Universally Accessible Garden at Landis.

Course: The 5K run takes you on a tour of the 548-acre public garden. The majority of the race is set among the Arboretum’s trails, ranging from woodlands to fields with rolling hills.
Awards: Male/Female—Top in each age group:
Under 15, 15–19, 20–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, 70+.
For more information – including registration fees and form
Free T-shirts to the first 50 people registered before August 4.
Contact race coordinator Jonathan DiCesare with any questions—518-231-2290.

Noon – 4 pm    Old Stone Fort Militia Encampment at the Arboretum           
The Schoharie area was a dangerous place during the Revolution.  Men joined the militia to protect their families and defend their homes.  Awesome August participants are invited to be part of the action as the Stone Fort Volunteer Militia musters them to Join the Militia.  
·         Learn basic drills and marching maneuvers with wooden muskets.
·         Engage in a mock skirmish – for the adventuresome of any age!  No actual firing, but plenty of fun! 

Individuals, families and visitors of all ages are invited to:
·         Participate in Colonial life at the Militia’s Revolutionary War encampment at Landis
·         Explore Civilian activities for the whole family!
·         Learn spinning and useful household skills of the period
·         Sample 18th century cooking around the campfire!
·         Try basic drills and marching maneuvers 
·         Have fun in the open air of the spectacular Landis Arboretum
 
In the afternoon, Captain Jeff O’Connor and his Old Stone Fort Volunteer Militia — along with local Boy Scout troops, including Arboretum-sponsored Troop 501 under Scoutmaster Chuck Stephens — will present a more advanced demonstration of frontier skirmish tactics.       
            Old Stone Fort Museum.  Eight historic and museum buildings exhibiting 300 years of rural New York history at a Revolutionary War battle site.  Self-guided tours, customized educational and group programs, research and genealogy library, museum store, special events and more. 145 Fort Road, Schoharie, NY  12157, (518) 295-7192, www.schohariehistory.net. Open May through October.

2 pm Walk through Old Growth Forest at the Capital Region’s Arboretum

The Arboretum encourages creative individuals and those who support them to bring their music, poetry, prose, artwork, and crafts to share with others within the rolling hills and plantings of the Arboretum.  “We’ll provide a public address (PA) system and an open mic,” says Fred Breglia, the Arboretum’s ISA Certified Arboretum and event co-chair.  “Participants can make the experience as public or private as they like.”   He suggests that “some artists and performers may prefer to sit quietly and play their music.  Others play better to an audience. 
            Area bands, soloists, and performance artists will be allotted time within the evening’s flexible agenda.  Plans also include a campfire sing-a-long.  The vast dark, starlit sky of the Arboretum, a favorite of area astronomers and star-gazers, will provide a natural closure to the enthusiastic events of the day.  Guests and participants are asked to bring lawn chairs and blankets.  Refreshments will be sold.  No rain date is scheduled. 
 
8:30 pm Nature Tunes and Tales Campfire  
As part of the Lape Birthday Celebration festivities, well-know Amsterdam, NY-based naturalist George Steele will conduct a Nature Tunes and Tales Campfire. 
            Mr. Steele brings this traditional, group participatory activity to new heights as he creates a true theater in the round with a fitting emphasis on ecology, plants, animals, and nature-related movements – replete with a ceremonial lighting of the Magic Campfire. 
            Anyone who has ever experienced the warmth, excitement, and camaraderie of shared time around a dancing fire in the cool night air will want to attend this event at the Fred Lape Birthday Bash celebration.  No one does it better than Mr. Steele, an area resident of the Route 20 Scenic Corridor, who is in demand at schools, nature centers, public gardens, and arboreta across the northeast. 

 Fees
Admission and parking are free to the Arboretum’s Awesome August Celebration.  There is a registration fee for the 5K.  Food and beverages will be available for sale throughout the day.  Suggested donations of $5 person, $15 family are strongly encouraged to support the Capital Region’s Arboretum, a non-profit entity that depends on fundraising, grants, and the generosity of visitors to sustain itself as a public park open to all.  Rain or shine, it’s gonna be fine!