Andrew Sawtelle, of AmeriCorps*VISTA and Hudson River Housing, Inc. and Matthew Slaats, an artist, are involved with Middle Main and OpenHouse Poughkeepsie. They are part of a group of residents, business owners and operators, and concerned citizens interested in building a stronger Main Street in Poughkeepsie.

Jody Hojin Kimmel is a Dharma Holder at Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, NY and a long-time (life-time) ceramicist and visual artist.

Franc Palaia, director of GAS Gallery and Studio on Main St in Poughkeepsie. Franc is a muralist, community organizer and passionate promoter of the arts.

Christine Owen and Roy Budnik of the Barrett Art Center in Poughkeepsie. Christine coordinates Barrett Presents… An Artist’s Salon – a free public forum for local artists to share their art with the Hudson Valley community, and Roy is a supporter of the arts who came up with the idea of the Artist’s Salon because he wanted to learn more about artists and their work.

Stanley Blum, painter, poet and nonagenarian, talks about poety, art and music.

Tilly Strauss, a local artist, describes the Dutchess ArtEast Studio Tour and her own community art projects.

Eileen McAdam, vice-chair of the World Sound Foundation and the Sound & Story Project of the Hudson Valley.

Choreographer Aynsley Vandenbroucke and photographer Mathew Pokoik, founders and directors of Mount Tremper Arts, discuss the importance of art in building community and community in building the arts.

The one-year anniversary of Be the Change: Voices of Action. Also, Vindora Wixom of the Arts Society of Kingston (ASK) describes her work with that organization.

Diana Hartel of Madrona Arts phones in to update us on her journey around the country for the Over the River project: interviewing river-keepers and others involved in river restoration and preservation. The most recent leg of her trip brought her to the Catskills region and the Bronx River Valley.