Farmony Garden started back in 2006 when local resident Clare Consiglio broke ground to create a garden that would teach kids about nutrition. Sloatsburg Elementary School kids helped tend garden back then and fresh vegetables were donated to the Sloatsburg Food Pantry. Continue Reading

Bluegrass signs have been popping up around Sloatsburg and the surrounding area. It’s that time of year – when the Friends of Harmony Hall host the annual Highlands Bluegrass Festival on the Great Lawn.

This year marks the 10th year that Harmony Hall has hosted this event that now helps kicks off the fall season for Sloatsburg. The Bluegrass Festival attracts visitors from across the Hudson Valley and surrounding area and is supported by Rockland County Tourism. Continue Reading

Caroling through Sloatsburg goes back nearly 50 years. Many locals look back fondly on evenings spent at the annual December holiday event. Continue Reading

This September’s Highlands Bluegrass Festival in Sloatsburg, NY, features Tony Trischka and his band Territory as the headline act. Sponsored by the Town of Ramapo and Rockland County Tourism, the annual Bluegrass Festival runs from 1-6pm on Sunday, September 9 and is staged by the The Friends of Harmony Hall. The Friends are requesting concertgoers donate $10 toward the event (kids are free) — a much-needed contribution which helps the non-profit group pay for expenses.

The Highlands Bluegrass Festival is an important Sloatsburg event — it’s an opportunity for the Village to welcome hundreds of visitors from across the Hudson Valley and surrounding area. The big event animates the downtown Route 17 corridor, helping the local economy … come rain or shine.

The Friends of Harmony Hall only have so many hands to help stage the event, so members of the Sloatsburg Chamber of Commerce have stepped up to help, both as active vendors and event day volunteers. Continue Reading

Familiar faces: members of the Sloatsburg Chamber of Commerce recently got together at Harmony Hall for a Holiday Party to celebrate the new year and the revitalized chamber effort.

Amid near zero temperatures and fresh snow, members of the Sloatsburg Chamber of Commerce gathered this past week for a belated Holiday Party. Continue Reading

Bring a little blue skies and sunshine with you when you travel to the 8th Annual Highlands Bluegrass Festival at Harmony Hall in Sloatsburg, NY. Also bring a comfortable lawn chair for an afternoon of live bluegrass and Americana music that will feature banjo extraordinaire Tony Trischka.

The free event goes from 1 p.m. through 6 p.m. on Sunday, September 10. Continue Reading

Stop over at Harmony Hall for an afternoon seasonal celebration of summer. The Friends of Harmony Hall and Town of Ramapo sponsor the Saturday, June 17, event — Music for the Summer Solstice. The event is free and open to the public and is set to include a nature walk around the Harmony Hall grounds and peek at the curator’s Blunt Mountain Mint plantings — mountain mint is native to the Highlands with a variety growing in the nearby Ramapo Mountains … there’s even a report of the Hoary Mountain Mint growing wild up on Torne. The Blunt Mountain Mint in the Curator’s garden is on the New York/New Jersey threatened species list. Continue Reading

Harmony Hall in winter, fronted by the Great Lawn. / Photo by Geoff Welch

Spring was about to be sprung early this year, when winter temperatures climbed to record highs. And then, suddenly the thermometer plunged back to below freezing. But no matter. The Vernal Equinox will be right on time and marks the official beginning of spring while also featuring a perfectly balanced day with equal parts day and night.

Harmony Hall Curator Geoff Welch will host an afternoon celebrating the Vernal Equinox on Sunday, March 19, from 2-4 p.m. (The actual Vernal Equinox takes Monday, March 20, at approximately 6:29 a.m.) Continue Reading

Harmony Hall in Sloatsburg has undergone spring renovation that has seen its interior spaces cleaned and painted, thanks to a new partnership with Black Rock Galleries. Photo by Geoff Welch

The last deep overnight freeze had just left Sloatsburg some weeks back when Harmony Hall Curator Geoff Welch discovered a pipe had burst in the second story plumbing of the old Jacob Sloat House, causing sudden water damage in the historical property’s front parlor room. Continue Reading

NY/NJ Trail Conference volunteer crew worked all day recently to build stone steps at Sloatsburg’s Liberty Rock trailhead. Crew members included John Mack, Stephen Zubarik, Richard Lynch, Joan James, Noel Schulz, and Gay Mayer.

In late December, amid a foggy cold mist, a New York/New Jersey Trail Conference crew spent a day building stone steps for a new Sloatsburg trailhead. Continue Reading