CREATIVITY ABOUNDS IN NY HISTORIC DISTRICT

The Garner Arts Center in Garnerville, New York, has announced the second-year return of Hudson Valley Maker Faire to be held throughout the 14-acre Garner Historic District, home of Garner Arts Center and landmark of creative innovation in the Hudson Valley.

Garner Arts Center’s beloved “Arts Festival” has been reimagined as Hudson Valley Maker Faire, a family-friendly festival of creative arts, innovation and S.T.E.A.M. Hudson Valley Maker Faire will be held this year on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19 from noon to 6 p.m. (both days). At the center of the festival will be a variety of interactive demonstrations and creative displays from makers, artists, hobbyists, tinkerers, builders, performers, students and engineers based throughout the greater Hudson Valley region, New York City, the tri-state area, and beyond. Such Arts Festival favorites as open artist studios, live music and performances, gallery exhibitions, large-scale installations, creative activity stations and a variety of local craft food and beverage offerings will be included.

The open call for makers begins Friday, Jan. 19 and tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 16. Both the “Call for Makers” application and advance tickets will be available on the official HVMF website hudsonvalley.makerfaire.com.

“…We encourage artists and creative innovators of all ages to share their projects and creative talents with the community,” said Garner Arts Center’s Programs and Operations Director Jesse Heffler. “This year’s event will hold some new surprises that we’re excited to unveil.

Artists, tinkerers, hobbyists, professionals, amateurs and students alike are encouraged to apply for Participation,” Heffler said.

The Garner Historic District of New York is a collection of landmarked pre-Civil War factory buildings located on 14 acres in the hamlet of Garnerville, village of West Haverstraw, Rockland County, New York. Built between 1838 and the early 20th century as the Garner Print Works, subsequently known as the Rockland Print Works, the complex has been transformed into a flourishing and vibrant district for mixed use. For its first 125 years, this European-like urban industrial environment, characterized by historic 19th-century architecture, including a brick smokestack, alleyways, bridges and a creek, served textile mills exclusively. Today, the complex is home to wood and metal workers, sculptors, painters, design centers, architects, music studios, jewelry makers, training facilities, Apex Performance gym, Stack Street Coffee roaster, Hudson’s Mill Tavern, Round Table Brewery, as well as the nonprofit Garner Arts Center, which offers performance, exhibition and event spaces.

The Garner Historic District is listed on the National and New York State Registers of Historic Places, under the name Rockland Print Works, for its amalgam of industrial-era architecture, its social significance as a company town, and as one of the first industrial cooperatives in America.

Over the past 20 years, through creative thinking and historic preservation, this site has been repurposed into a sprawling complex for art, culture, history and business.