Prices at supermarkets and gas stations are hitting wartime highs, but Beacon”™s strawberry festival, sponsored by Beacon”™s Sloop Club and Arts Community Association at the city”™s Riverfront Park on June 15, didn”™t lack for entertainment, education, intellectual enlightenment or just a fun escape from the city.
From environmentalists to entrepreneurs, to the lines that waited patiently for a heaping plate of homemade strawberry shortcake, hundreds of visitors to the festival market made the waterfront come alive on a sweltering Sunday.
Thankfully, the breeze from the Hudson River kept most visitors cool, and everyone ”“ from those opposed to Indian Point to Barack Obama supporters ”“ got their day and their say in the sun without any disagreement. One thing everyone seemed to agree on: A sunny day on the Hudson eating strawberries sure beats sitting in traffic.
The Hudson Valley”™s own Pete Seeger, the mainstay of Beacon”™s arts community, as well as one of its most famous residents, came out and mingled with his neighbors at the event, singing a few songs and meeting with the crowd.
While there were police directing car traffic, the foot traffic on the Beacon train station platform couldn”™t help but be noticed. “It was great to come up here and not have to worry about driving or getting stuck on the Tappan Zee,” said one harried woman with children in tow, climbing the steps to the station. “What happened to train travel, anyway?”
The pro-rail day could be a sign of things to come. Under discussion: A rail line over a replacement for the Tappan Zee bridge and/or a one-seat ride down the west flank of the river to the Path tunnel in New Jersey after the completion of a rail link between Stewart International Airport and the Stuart Mills station.
The hopping scene at the Beacon Metro-North station next to the strawberry festival was a poignant reminder that mass transit is a very handy thing to have around, particularly when gas prices are poised to hit the $5 a gallon mark.
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Residents and attendees said they hoped Beacon”™s Strawberry Festival and its hordes of visitors are an omen of a healthy travel season for the Hudson Valley, which bases a hefty portion of its annual revenue on tourism.
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