2024 General Election Information
Election Day: Tuesday, November 5
Please get out and vote.
Encourage your friends, family, and co-workers to vote too.
For more info, see: https://www.vote411.org

We have federal, state, and county races, and 1 state proposition.
Ulster County has 2 propositions.
For Ulster County sample ballots and propositions, see:
https://elections.ulstercountyny.gov/sample-ballots-2/

Turn Your Ballot Over!
There are some important propositions on the back of the ballot.
There is a proposal to amend the NYS Constitution – the state Equal rRghts Amendment (NY-ERA). More info: https://www.nyequalrights.org/
In addition, there are 2 proposals to amend the Ulster County Charter.

Polls are open in our area from 6 AM to 9 PM.
Call or text me if you or someone you know needs a ride to the polls.
Susan H., 845-389-3961, susan-holland@usa.net

Board of Elections websites
– NYS: http://www.elections.ny.gov/
– Ulster County: https://elections.ulstercountyny.gov/
– Dutchess County: https://elections.dutchessny.gov/

AAUW Kingston Fall Luncheon
Saturday, November 2, 2024
11 AM to 2 PM
Reginato Ristorante
34 Leggs Mills Road
Lake Katrine

Join us for an afternoon with the author Susan Stessin-Cohn as she shares the new website, developed in connection with the Ulster County Truth and Reconciliation Commission. During the presentation, she will reveal stories from her new book, Bearing Witness: Exploring the Legacy of Enslavement in Ulster County, which documents a handful of notable Black residents of Ulster County, from the early days of enslavement under the Dutch and English, to the blossoming of free Black culture in the era following New York’s legal abolition of slavery in 1827.

Susan is a professional genealogist and a former professor of Education at SUNY New Paltz.
She served as Director of Education at Historic Huguenot Street, and chair of the New Paltz Historic Land Commission. Susan co-curated several exhibits focusing on the history of the Hudson Valley on topics such as: slavery, 19th-century women’s needlework, poverty and the poorhouse system, the Civil War, and the Lenape People. She is currently the Historian for the Town of New Paltz, New York and serves as co-chair of the New Paltz Historical Society. Susan is also an award-winning quilter and currently resides in New Paltz with her husband Robert where they raised their four children, Mikael, Evan, Adam and Aliyah.

Menu:
House salad, choice of dressing
Sorbet
Entree – choice of:
Eggplant Rollatini
Chicken Parmesan
Fish Almondine
Chicken Francese
– All come with a side dish of pasta
Cannoli or ice cream
Coffee or tea
Food orders will be taken in the restaurant
Cash bar

50/50 drawing and door prizes

Cost: $40 for members, $45 non-members
This is a fundraiser event for our student scholarships. Donations are welcome.

Please send a check made out to AAUW Kingston by 10/25/24
Dorothy Draper-Silberg
7 Garden Court
Saugerties, NY 12477

For more information or to sponsor a student, contact Lynn Gore
(lynngore54@gmail.com)

Thursday, October 24, 4 PM
Kingston Library Community Room, 61 Crown Street

There will be an important AAUW Kingston Branch Meeting on 10/24 at the Kingston Library to discuss the Equal Rights Amendment, which will be on the ballot in New York State next month.

Dare Thompson, president of the Mid-Hudson League of Women Voters will be joining us to lead a discussion about the NY-ERA. Dare will present an overview of the facts about the NY-ERA, then we’ll have a Q&A, so please come and bring your friends and your questions! The League’s ultimate goal is to get people comfortable with what the NY-ERA is so they will vote for it (Prop. 1) on Tuesday, November 5 and they will encourage others to turn over the ballot and vote for it too.

Directions: Turn off of North Front Street onto Crown Street (one-way). The library entrance is on the right. Park in the front or back of the building. There’s a ramp in front. Once inside: the Community Room is to the left of the circulation desk. To exit afterward, turn left onto Green Street (one-way) at the back of the building.

Speaker bio:
Dare Thompson grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and earned a BA from Swarthmore College and an MAT from Oberlin College. After teaching English and social studies for several years, she spent a quarter century as executive director of three arts organizations: Kirkland Art Center (Clinton, NY), Ohio Citizens for the Arts (Columbus), and The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center (Sleepy Hollow).

Her primary volunteer activity since 1972 has been with the League of Women Voters, including service as the state president in Rhode Island, first VP in Ohio, and NY state president 2015 to 2019. She has lived in Marlboro since 1998 and is currently president of the Mid-Hudson LWV, which serves Ulster, Dutchess, and Orange Counties.

Dare is also an active Quaker and enjoyed learning more about the key role Quakers played in the history of women’s suffrage when she served on the NYS Women’s Suffrage Commission headed by then Lt. Governor Hochul. She is also the treasurer of the Women’s Rights Alliance of NYS.

More Prop. 1 info: https://www.nyequalrights.org/

Check your voter registration: https://voterlookup.elections.ny.gov/

Rosendale Theatre
408 Main Street, Rosendale
Fri., 9/27, 7:30 PM
Sat., 9/28, 2 PM
Sat., 9/27, 7:30 PM
Sun., 9/29, 4 PM

In What the Constitution Means to Me, Heidi Schreck mixes the personal with the political. Fifteen-year-old Heidi earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful and achingly human new play, she resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives. This boundary-breaking play breathes new life into our Constitution and imagines how it will shape the next generation of Americans.

Schreck’s timely and galvanizing play became a sensation off-Broadway before transferring to Broadway where it received two Tony Award nominations among countless other accolades. Peter Marks from the Washington Post writes:” Endearingly funny and deeply affecting…it would be hard to identify a work for the theatre with its finger more on the pulse of America right now.”

The cast includes Ivy Meehan, Rick Meyer, and Lydia Pidlusky. It is directed by Ann Citron. For more information, contact: ann@rosendaletheatre.org

Suffs on Broadway
2 PM matinee on Wed., November 13, 2024
The Music Box Theatre, 239 W 45th Street, NYC

Cost: AAUW Members – $190, Non Members – $200
Our trips help fund scholarships for girls and women to promote equity for all.

To hold your seat, email: lynngore54@gmail.com
Send checks payable to AAUW Kingston by August 30 to:
Lynn Gore, 400 Chestnut Hill Road, Stone Ridge, NY 12484

Suffs is the Tony Award®-winning musical that’s making history on Broadway! Created by Shaina Taub, who is now the first woman to ever independently win Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score in the same season, Suffs has also been named Best Musical (Outer Critics Circle Award), received two Drama Desk Awards including Best Score, and is “unquestionably the most emotionally stirring musical of the season” (Chicago Tribune).

It’s a given that the women of the suffragist movement—who called themselves “Suffs” for short—were brilliant, but as they fought tirelessly for the right to vote, they were also flawed, stubborn, passionate and funny. Suffs tells their story: the remarkable friendships, the heartbreak, and how this movement brought them together—or, in some cases, tore them apart. Boldly exploring a struggle for equality that’s far from over, Suffs is a “theatrical masterpiece that demands to be seen” (Forbes) and a reminder that progress is always possible but never guaranteed.

Lunch is on your own, or you could join the group lunch.
A restaurant and the cost will be announced soon.

Itinerary:
8:30 AM Departs Kingston Plaza
9:00 AM New Paltz Thruway Park & Ride pickup
11:30 AM drop off near Music Box Theatre
2:00 PM Show at 239 West 45th Street NYC
4:45 PM Pick up near the theatre
7:00 PM drop off in New Paltz
7:30 Return to Kingston Plaza
(Return times depend on traffic conditions)

Here’s an event that might interest some of our branch members (info courtesy of member Margaret McDowell)…Susan H.

Five of us fun-loving AAUW Kingston branch members went on our annual outing on
the Solaris, joining a sold-out music cruise on the evening of Thursday, July 18.
The weather had cooled off after one of this summer’s heat waves, so being out on
the water that night was simply delightful.

Rick and Marilyn, a folk rock duo based in Hudson, NY, performed many great tunes —
an awesome array of originals and favorite classic folk/rock/country/blues cover songs.

So ’til we meet again the same time next year, check out our photo below!…Susan H.

L to R: Margaret McDowell, Geraldine Popko, Glory Jasper, Lynn Gore, Susan Holland

AAUW National Webinar:
It’s My Vote! Voter Registration Training
Wed., 7/24, 7 PM ET
Register:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wqhRLVv1SgGzmwUvquUZ6A

Given where we are in this election year, it’s important we prepare for the fights ahead. How do we do that? By registering ourselves and our communities to vote.

Join us to discuss everything you need to know to conduct local voter registration.

We’ll dive into the ins and outs of AAUW’s voter registration portal, provide insights, and share practices for maximizing your voter registration efforts — equipping you with the right tools to make a meaningful impact.

When We All Vote’s Managing Director of National Organizing will share some tips and tricks on holding voter registration events.

The session will be recorded and shared with everyone who registers. And if you can’t make it, join When We All Vote on Thursday, August 1, at 8 PM. for their National Voter Registration Day/Week of Action training.

We, her fellow board and branch members, extend a hearty congratulations to our marvelous newsletter editor Geraldine Popko! At the 2024 AAUW-NYS annual convention held 6/28 and 6/29 at the Hilton Hotel in Poughkeepsie, our branch won a 2024 AAUW-NYS Communication Award for Outstanding Newsletter! (See below.)

And thank you to our branch president Lynn Gore for her participation in a Learning Circle that was part of the Saturday afternoon session on Educational Challenges Today!

Also, thank you so much to our sister branch in Poughkeepsie for hosting this year’s state convention, to all of the organizers, and to the outgoing and incoming state officers!

– Susan Holland, branch webmaster, state delegate, etc….!

Please reserve your seat today!

The 2024 Festival will open with Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance in a vibrant production directed and choreographed by Seán Curran and conducted by Music Director Joseph Colaneri, featuring set and costume designs by James Schuette and lighting by Robert Wierzel. A Gilbert & Sullivan classic, combining soaring vocal lines and slapstick comedy, returns to Glimmerglass for the first time in nearly 20 years. This colorful, family-friendly production features elegant Victorian ladies and an aristocratic band of pirates stuck in perpetual adolescence. Curran’s hit production from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis kicks it up a notch at Glimmerglass with the addition of a corps of professional dancers.

Due to a mistake made by his nurse, Ruth, Frederic is indentured to the Pirates of Penzance until his 21st birthday. When Frederic turns 21, he announces his intention to abandon the Pirates and live an honorable life. The Pirate King is disappointed to lose his apprentice, but he concedes that Frederic is duty-bound to follow his conscience. Ruth asks Frederic to take her with him; as he considers her proposal, a bevy of maidens appears. One of them, Mabel, is deeply moved by Frederic’s situation.

Christian Mark Gibbs is a multifaceted talent of stage and screen, and will bring his “strikingly handsome tenor” (Broadway World) to the role of Dan Leno in Elizabeth Cree and Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance.

Elizabeth Sutphen is an impressive addition to the Glimmerglass Festival’s 2024 season, praised for her “exquisite” (The Guardian) coloratura soprano and “crisp comedic instinct” (Opera News). Sutphen will be performing the role of Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance.

Craig Irvin brings his “well-schooled baritone” (Opera Today) to the roles of the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance.

Reserve your ticket by May 31

email Lynn Gore:

lynngore54@gmail.com

send check after email confirmation.

$170 for members, $180 non-members

all seats are orchestra seats and there are no stairs to climb

Please provide contact information and

pick up location:

Kingston or Saugerties

If you have questions contact Lynn Gore at lynngore54@gmail.com, (845)687-9210
send checks made out to AAUW Kingston to

Lynn Gore
400 Chestnut Hill Road
Stone Ridge, NY 12484

Itinerary for Monday, August 19, 2024

9:00 am Departure Kingston, Herzog plaza
9:15 am Pick up Saugerties Park and Ride Rt 32 across from the southbound entrance to I 87.
11:30 am Arrive at Glimmerglass Opera House
11:30- 12:45 pm Lunch* and Opera Preview
3:30 pm Board bus at Glimmerglass
5:30 pm Saugerties drop off
5:45 Kingston drop off

* Lunch: The grounds and many picnic tables are made available to guests for picnicking before and after productions. Enjoy delicious made-to-order wraps and sandwiches or visit the wine bar to create a special picnic on the grounds. There is also room on the bus for small coolers if you would like to keep a picnic lunch cool.