Arboretum’s Awesome August Perfecta Offers Something for Everyone

Musicians, Artists, Song Birds with Urge to Perform Sign Up

SCHOHARIE REGION (08/06/2008)(readMedia)--

In celebration of founder Fred Lape, the 548-acre Landis Arboretum will be a gathering place for self-expression and networking among region artisans, artists, musicians, photographers, and performance artists on Saturday, August 30. The Open Mic to honor Lape, an outspoken Renaissance man of his time, is part of a full day of family-focused festivities that the Arboretum has named Awesome August Perfecta.

Admission and parking are free. Donations of $5 person and $15 family help 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.

"In the spirit of the Arboretum, we plan to provide an atmosphere that encourages openness and artistic expression indicative of Fred Lape's legacy as a man of the arts. We also hope to introduce the Arboretum to many people who have always wanted to visit but never have," says Arboretum Executive Director Thom O'Connor, who with the Arboretum's ISA Certified Arborist Fred Breglia is co-chairing the Awesome August event. 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 Mr. Breglia. "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.

Setting the Stage: The message from the Capital Region's Arboretum is simple and direct. Come. Stay. Play for a day - and save gas, while having a memorable day with family and friends

9 am - Noon Arboretum's Perennial 5K Cross Country Forest Run/Walk ‘n' Tot Trot.

The 5K Forest Run is the corner stone of a daylong series of events at Landis on August 30. Titled Awesome August Perfecta, the dawn to dusk panoply of outdoor events and an open mic will honor the renaissance spirit and influence of its peripatetic founder Fred Lape who would have been 108 this year.

Kintz Plastic of Howe Cave will be the primary sponsor of the Landis 5K. Members of the Albany Running Exchange will provide the expertise and oversight to insure success for the race.

The Arboretum's Perennial 5K Cross Country Forest Run/Walk ‘n' Tot Trot begins at 10 a.m.

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+.

Race Day Registration: 8:30 - 9:30 am. Refreshments and tee shirts will be available at the Meeting House after the race. Free T-shirts to the first 50 people registered before Race start: 10 a.m. on the Meeting House lawn at Landis. All proceeds to benefit Landis, the Capital Region's Arboretum. For more information - including registration fees and forms - visit http://www.landisarboretum.org.

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 Coloniallifeat the Militia's Revolutionary War encampment
  • 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, http://www.schohariehistory.net. Open May through October.

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

Howard Stoner, Hudson Valley Community College (Troy) and member of the Eastern Native Tree Society (focused on documenting old growth in New York State.) will lead a walking tour of the ancient forests at the Arboretum.

3 - 8:30 pm LAPE DAY OPEN MIC

The Arboretum will provide an Open Mic and atmosphere that encourages openness and artistic expression indicative of Fred Lape's legacy as a man of the arts.

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!

A Legend in His Own Time...and Ours as Well Arboretum founder Fred Lape would have been 108 years old in August. Lape, a musician, poet, English professor, and writer, was a familiar face to residents in the area when he established the Arboretum in 1951.

The Arboretum features cultivated and native trees, shrubs, and perennials on the site of a 19th Century farm in Esperance, the home of the Lape family. The Lape homestead was known as Oak Nose Farm - for a large 400-year old white oak on a point overlooking the Schoharie Valley.

Lape earned two degrees in English at Cornell and started a teaching career at Stanford University, before he returned in 1928 to the farm to pursue a career in freelance writing. Prolific in prose and poetry, Lape also delighted in music, art, and theater. In the late 1930s, he taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

Fred Lape aimed to grow every species of woody plant from temperate regions around the world that would survive in the hills of Schoharie County. To fulfill that desire he started planting trees at Oak Nose Farm. Others came to share his interest and became an integral part of operations at the Arboretum.

George Landis, an academic colleague, plant collector, and friend of Lape, was one of the early enthusiasts who helped bring about the creation of the arboretum. He died in 1950, leaving most of his estate to Lape, enabling him to focus on planting an arboretum. The George Landis Arboretum was established in 1951 and named for the "friend who had made it all possible both in life and in death."

LeVan Loveland, banker, financial advisor, and Lape friend, was responsible for the incorporation of the Arboretum as an educational institution. Loveland is also remembered for his skill and enthusiasm for flower gardening and his original perennial beds continue to attract large numbers of visitors year after year.

At the Arboretum, Lape kept careful records of his plantings, providing valuable historical documentation of his efforts. With assistance from friends and a few small grants, he continued to plant and maintain the grounds. He continued to be devoted to the idea of a "garden of trees and shrubs" until his death in 1985.

The Arboretum's reputation as a place to learn was established well before the first trees were planted. Fred Lape attracted a following of friends and academic colleagues who shared his

Multifaceted Jewel: As the Capital region's Arboretum, Landis is a multifaceted natural jewel. It now encompasses 548 acres of trees, shrubs, old growth forest and, of course, breath-taking vistas and memorable gardens. Long a destination of choice among Capital District gardeners, environmentalists, nature lovers, hikers, bikers, and birders, the Landis Arboretum may be one of the best-kept secrets of the northern Catskills.

The Landis Arboretum includes a nationally recognized collection of oaks and is registered with the North American Plant Collections Consortium (NAPCC). The Arboretum also is included in the New York State Route 20 Bluebird Trail, bringing even more birdwatchers to the site. The Arboretum's vast dark sky and wide horizons attract area astronomers to its meeting house and parking field for sky-watching events


Widening the Door to Natural Wonders for All - Every Day of the Year! As the Capital Region's Arboretum, Landis serves all residents in the extended Capital Region, which includes (Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Ulster). Many regular visitors to Landis hail from Western Massachusetts, the Berkshires, Westchester, and western New York State. A 501 c 3 corporation, the Arboretum depends heavily of donations, grants, and fundraising events.

Ease of access from all points extends the geographic reach of the Arboretum: Central to NYS Wine and Spa Trails; the Arboretum benefits from its proximity to historic Sharon Springs, Old Stone Fort Museums Complex, Howe Caverns, the Iroquois Indian Museum, the refurbished Cave House, SUNY Cobleskill, and the reputed farms of Schoharie County.

Within under two miles travel distance from scenically designated Route 20 and the route I-88 corridor that links Albany with Cooperstown, Finger Lakes Regions and beyond, the Landis Arboretum is an accessible national treasure within easy reach of New York State's Capital Region.

The Landis Arboretum is open to all individuals and conducts all institutional operations in accordance with requirements of Title VI of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1963, as amended which bar discrimination on the basis of race, age, color, nationality, handicap, or place of residence. In the spirit of Landis Founder Fred Lape, the Arboretum also includes affectional preference in an attempt to reflect progressive times and ensure a welcoming environment for all. The Arboretum conducts business in compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity requirements of Article 15A of the Executive Law. Whenever possible, the Arboretum attempts to meet the unique needs and expectations of special populations. .

Run, Walk, Cheer for It
The Landis Arboretum is located 1.5 miles off scenic-designated Route 20 in Esperance, NY, a beautiful and easy drive from throughout the Capital Region.

Individuals and business interested in participating in or sponsoring segments of Awesome August Perfecta can get additional details at http://www.landisarboretum.org, by writing info@landisarboretum.org, or calling 518.875.6935.