On September 4th, Mike Murphy of Cornell Cooperative came to our Community Center compost bins to advise new SUNY student interns Aiden and Ben on compost maintenance. SUNY professor Eric Keeling will advise them on a research exercise pertaining to the compost. The interns will also be helping to aerate and maintain the compost system on Thursday afternoons. You are welcome to say hi!

Here is a picture of Mike explaining to Aiden, Ben, Eric, and community volunteer Steven that the compost should reach 130 degrees or more for peak decomposition activity.

Here the decomposing material is laid out on a tarp to search for the organisms that do that work.

Here is an example of one such organism.

Here a participant adds her kitchen scraps while the guys shovel the compost from one bin to another. The larger the pile, the more efficiently it will decompose, the faster it will turn to ready compost.

Here they are adding moisture to the pile with buckets of water. Water is important for keeping the microbial activity alive.

Here is a picture of the ready compost. Please take! Bring your gloves so you can sift out the plastic bits.

We have a beautiful new flower mural in the Community Center hallway, thanks to New Paltz High Piglets Ady, Ella, and Joe, with the assistance of Alex! They will be adding a seed library to the display soon! Thank you, Piglets!

Pictures: The sketch, starting to paint, in progress, and finished!

Hannah Fox, MA, RYT 500, has danced all of her life – it is her love language. She studied and taught dance in NYC for many years as well as at Manhattanville College as a tenured dance and theatre professor for almost two decades. $15-25 sliding scale.

See flyer here.

Monday, December 8th from 5pm to 6pm. (Community Center)

Join San Diego 2025 Western Ultimate Champion Deanna Abrams (and Director of Wayfinder) for a two day clinic for kids and kid's adults of all ages at Duzine Elementary gym.

See flyer here. Sign up here.

Sponsored by https://ultimateforall.com

January 6th and 13th from 5:30 to 7:00pm. (Duzine Elementary)

The New Paltz FireWolves U13 Ultimate Frisbee Travel Team hosted its first middle school tournament at the Field of Dreams on October 12, and it was a great success! First prize was a bushel of apples generously donated by Dressel Farms. The Skytop Showdown hosted Burlington Vermont, Schenectady, NY, Maplewood NJ, Montclair NJ and Tenafly NJ. The FireWolves finished 2-2 while Niskayuna MS (Schenectady) won the tournament and Burlington took second place. The event brought happy visitors to our town and Hudson Valley Ultimate For All hopes to host another great event in the spring.

Peter Blum took participants on a sound journey using his vast range of instruments from around the world. The arrangement of instruments set up next to him was a spectacle in itself. One hand-made percussion panel was given to him by his friend, the late Jack DeJohnette, world renowned jazz drummer, also of Woodstock. At one memorable moment, his singing voice melded into an accompanying instrumental sound for an other worldly effect.

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Join us for an evening soundscape with Peter Blum. He will play a variety of gongs, Himalayan singing bowls, Sabian resonating bells, handpan, tamboura, ngoni, frame drum, and vocals.

Saturday, November 8 from 7:00 to 8:00pm (Community Center)

Thank you to our wonderful student teachers for bringing fun and inspiring art classes to our Center! Participants loved the sessions! We look forward to more Creative Corner Fridays starting in September!

Open to middle school students, SUNY New Paltz Art Education students rotate to provide a new project every week. They will post updates on their Instagram at np.creativecorner.

To register for the new FALL 2025 sessions, click here.

FREE

Fridays from 5:00 to 7:00pm starting mid September. Please keep an eye on their Instagram for starting date. (Community Center)

Bug hotel built and delivered to our Community Center Pollinator Paradise Garden by Girl Scouts troop #60383. Thank you, Girls Scouts!

New Paltz Gardiner Seniors enjoying a game day - in costume - at the Community Center.

Assane Badji Sylla and Momadouba Camara will be leading their African Drumming and Dance classes at the Community Center as they do every Sunday from 3:00 to 5:30pm. This particular Sunday, the classes will be free and sponsored by the Town of New Paltz Office for Community Wellness/Thriving Together.

Read more about their classes in the "Community Classes" section.

Sunday, Sept. 28th from 3:00 to 5:30pm (Community Center)