Highmount

Highmount - Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the band that skyrocketed to international prominence after backing Paul Simon on his “Graceland” album, plays the Belleayre Music Festival on Saturday, Aug. 1 at 8 p.m.

Highmount – One of the greatest comic operettas of all time, “Die Fledermaus,” will be brought to life at the Belleayre Music Festival in Highmount on Saturday, July 25 at 8 p.m.

Highmount – Piano virtuosos John Covelli and Justin Kolb, along with special guests Mikhail Horowitz, Louis Otey and Jacqueline Kerrod, will perform a benefit show at the Belleayre Music Festival on Saturday, July 18 at 8 p.m.

Highmount — Michael Feinstein will bring the cherished songs of the Great American Songbook to life in his mesmerizing style at the Belleayre Music Festival on Saturday, July 11 at 8 p.m.
A six-time Grammy nominee, The New York Times calls Feinstein, “The greatest proponent of the American Songbook since Frank Sinatra.” His new CD on Concord Records, “The Sinatra Project,” is heading up the Billboard charts.

Highmount — More than 100 invited guests gathered at the legendary Galli-Curci Mansion in Highmount to hear the house’s current resident, Idith Meshulam Korman, play a piano recital celebrating the environment in nature-themed works by Schumann, Ravel, Messiaen and Cage.
The recital, held late in the afternoon on May 23, was a benefit for the local environmental community group, the Catskill Heritage Alliance (CHA), a member of the Save The Mountain coalition of groups opposing the private commercial resort proposed for Belleayre Mountain.

By Jay Braman Jr.
The chairman of the Ulster County Legislature has urged Governor Paterson to allocate stimulus money for the expansion of state-owned Belleayre Mountain Ski Center.

It will be party time when the fabulous Blues Maneuver plays at the third annual Dance-a-Thon on Saturday, April 18 at 7 p.m. at Belleayre Mountain’s Upper Lodge in Highmount. The event is a fund-raiser for the Auxiliary of Margaretville Hospital and Mountainside Residential Care Center.

By Jay Braman Jr.
The Boston Culinary Group this week announced the 2009 inductees to the third annual Belleayre Hall of Fame. Judy Shiner, Bill Hornbeck and Carl Lumbaca have been named to have their portraits appear on the wall in Belleayre’s upper lodge alongside inductees from the past two years.

Highmount — Belleayre Mountain Ski Center has announced the launch of the Midweek Local Business BOGO (Buy One, Get One) that will be good from Jan. 20 through the rest of this skiing and riding season.

By Jay Braman Jr.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) officials have begun contacting the leaders in towns and organizations that have a stake in the outcome of the Belleayre Resort review.
The description of those exchanges differ between the supervisors of the two towns most affected by the project, but it appears that both were contacted and interviewed by DEC personnel about the project and how it might affect their respective communities.