Public Spaces Initiative June Board Update
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Ash Bradley‐Rickard, Chair
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Perry Allen
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Linda DiGasper
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Betsy Brauer
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Polina Malikin
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Nicole Rogers
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Trustee Steven Appenzeller, Liaison
Mission To develop and facilitate the creation of public park, art, and community spaces throughout the Village of Red Hook
Public Meetings are held the 4th Saturday of each month at 10 am, in person at the Village Hall unless otherwise noted (email Ash Bradley‐Rickard for the meeting location).
Hello Spring , Native Flower Festival Held at the Red Hook Community Center on Saturday May 21st showcasing the Community Center’s pollinator garden and seed commons area along with other activities.
The PSI Hello Spring event was held at the Community Center inside the auditorium because of the unsettled weather. The auditorium was festively setup with multiple areas including a PSI information table, pollinator plant and insect information table with a free book drawing (provided by member Besty Brauer), our Ask a Master table with 2 master gardener volunteers along with plant take aways, artist station with local artists drawing/painting, and multiple kids areas for decorating seed packets, egg carton planting and creating seedballs. The stage hosted live music performances from Perry Allen and Jim Rogers.
An estimated 40 to 50 people pass through the event, possibly more. Five attendees filled out cards requesting more information about the committee when submitting for the book raffle along with multiple others who filled in the sign in sheet. Out of the 50 plants that were brought as take aways, none were left at the end of the day. We also had help from the Rotary club with three volunteers for set up, running stations and break down during the event.
PSI considers the event a success and will be discussing next year possibilities during its June meeting. Also in discussion is looking at a Fall festival event in October at Abraham’s park in collaboration with local artists and farms for a community Pumpkin Carving event along with a lighting ceremony once done.
On Saturday June 3rd, the PSI team participated in the Historic Red Hook Then and Now event at the Elmendorph Inn. The event went well and the PSI had a table set up next to the Pollinator garden that was installed for the Inn. David Sokol worked on the design and planting and very positive feedback was received from the Historic Society’s board members and event visitors. Linda DiGasper, our master gardener was present during the event and spoke to quite a few people who stopped by the table for information about the garden and local planting.
Currently the PSI does not have any more planned events at this time but will be meeting in June to discuss summer initiatives and reflect back on the first part of the year. Follow up is planned with the interested people who attended We the May Hello Spring event. Ash will also be working on responding to requests through the link on the Village’s website.
Overall it has been a busy spring for the PSI with two successful events.