The Catskills span six counties in New York state, and are home to more than a few dozen peaks, six major rivers and the state-protected Forest Preserve of 2.6 million acres. Since it is a short distance from New York and other major cities, the area is a very popular mini-vacation destination for urban dwellers. Consequently, city residents arrive in the Catskills in droves on extended holiday weekends like Labor Day.
Blackthorne Resorts hosts an annual Labor Day weekend festival of music and activities in East Durham, New York. The event features a concert stage with musicians playing 30 minute slots throughout the day. Many of the musicians play music in tune with the Celtic theme. There are also taste tests, a haunted house, rides for kids, food stands and more.
Blackthorne Resort
48 Sunside Road
East Durham, New York 12423
518-634-2541
blackthorneresort.com
Create your own educational adventure and attend an outdoor workshop hosted by the New York State Department of Conservation. The Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) workshops are flexible programs that can be scheduled at any time, including the month of September. Women can learn how to kayak, read wildlife signs, acquire backwoods navigation skills, take a nature photography hike and learn many other skills. BOW has an extensive schedule of workshops and activities on its website.
NYSDEC
Becoming an Outdoors-Woman
625 Broadway
Albany, New York 12233-4754
518-402-8883
dec.ny.gov/education/68.html
The town of DeBruce, New York, in Sullivan County hosts an annual Labor Day Parade. Each year proceeds from the parade benefit a local organization. The parade is a celebration of the Autumn harvest. The creator of the parade, Steve Dill, is a well-known local personality and encourages idiosyncratic activities such as show-and-tells and impromptu speeches, as well as traditional parade activities like face painting and games.
DeBruce, New York
The annual Green Corn Festival celebrates the area's Native American history and culture. Traditionally, a green corn festival is an opportunity to show thanks for the season's corn harvest. The Philipsburg Manor event features a wide variety of activities including story-telling, cooking demonstrations, games for kids, Native American dance, medicine making and live music. The site is on the grounds of a 300-year-old manor house, which is a period museum showcasing the lives of its original Anglo-Dutch owners, the Philipses.
Philipsburg Manor
381 North Broadway
Sleepy Hollow, New York
914-631-3992
hudsonvalley.org
The season for tourism and weekenders in the Catskills informally begins on Memorial Day and ends on Labor Day. Many stores in the small villages have sales during the last weekend of the season like the Emerson Country Store in Mt. Tremper, New York. The store houses a vast collection of kaleidoscopes that includes the largest in the world.
Emerson Country Store
5340 Route 28
Mount Tremper, New York 12455
845-688-5800
emersonresort.com
