catskill mountain foundation

Arts & Events in the Catskills

Engage in inspiring art workshops and events in the Catskills. From performances to hands-on classes, experience creativity in the mountains!

EXPLORE EVENTS

Upcoming Performances and Films

Ninth Annual Pottery Festival at Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts

Saturday & Sunday, Labor Day Weekend - August 30 & 31
Saturday: 11 AM - 5 PM, Sunday: 11 AM - 4 PM

This invitational festival showcases the exceptional work of local and regional ceramic artists. SMCCA takes pride in fostering connections between talented makers and the Catskills community. The Festival's proceeds support our educational initiatives, scholarships, and arts programing in this beautiful "Mountaintop" region. Sugar Maples Center For Creative Arts at Catskill Mountain Foundation, has witnessed the Festival flourish into a vibrant, welcoming celebration of visual Arts and Crafts. Come join us, we look forward to seeing you!

Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts

Group of people stand at a table with pottery.

Orpheum Dance Program

The Orpheum Dance Program brings together the best of dance training for all levels, exposure to professional dancers and standards and community engagement. Victoria Rinaldi, a former Metropolitan Opera Ballerina, teaches pre-ballet ages 4 to 6; Ballet I for Beginners ages 7 and up; Ballet IIa ages 8 and up, for those students with some dance experience; Ballet IIb for intermediate, pre-pointe, and beginner pointe; Contemporary Dance age 11 and up; and Jazz age 12 and up. The program combines dance classes with two major community performances a year, The Nutcracker and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Rinaldi helps cultivate young dancers to reach their fullest potential while dancing alongside professional and pre-professional dancers from the most renowned dance programs in the country.

Fall Class Sessions Begin September 15

Please fill out the form below and email to Victoria Rinaldi: rinaldi.victoria@gmail.com

Register for Orpheum Dance Program Classes

Call For Auditions: The Nutcracker

Catskill Mountain Foundation’s Orpheum Dance Program is auditioning boys and girls 5-15 for their production of The Nutcracker. Now in its 10th year, this production has become known as one of the finest Nutcrackers in upstate New York.

Participation is FREE! No prior dance or theater training is needed but children with dance experience will be considered for more featured roles.

Auditions for The Nutcracker will be held on Saturday, September 27 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Red Barn, 7970 Main Street, Hunter, NY.

Register to Audition

Drosselmeyer and Kids on stage in Nutcracker

our programs

Our programming spans from the performing arts to film, fine art courses to musical history.

We are proud to bring world-class concerts, events, and entertainment to the mountaintop. A cornerstone of our programming is community outreach through our art workshops. You can help us reach our goals by contributing to the Catskill Mountain Foundation.

View Our Programs

Performances

For over 25 years, we have brought top quality performances in music, dance, and theater to the Catskill Mountains.

Explore our Performances

Films

We show top Hollywood, foreign, and independent films at the Doctorow Center for the Arts in Hunter. With over 70 films a year in high definition and digital surround sound, offerings in 3D, and an Independent film program, we have something for everyone.

Discover the Films

Art Workshops

Year-round studio workshops and classes in ceramics, painting, drawing, and fiber arts led by artists who are nationally known in their field.

Explore the Workshops

Programs for Youth

Give your kids the opportunity to be creative all summer with hands-on and interactive experiences. Scholarships are available for most programs.

Discover our Youth Programs

Group of children dressed in red perform on stage.

Virtual Performances

We offer several virtual programs throughout the year, from our International Fortepiano Salons, to taped versions of performances on our stages. Subscribe to our YouTube page to get notifications when we release new content!

Find Us on YouTube!

Locations

CMF is proud to call much of the Mountaintop home. We are spread over the villages of Hunter and Tannersville, and the hamlet of Maplecrest in the town of Windham. With distinct artistic home bases in each town, there is something for everyone on the mountaintop!

Orpheum Performing Arts Center

Tannersville, NY

The Orpheum Performing Arts Center is a spectacular, 12,500 square foot, 245-seat theater. The stage is 40 feet wide, 35 feet deep, and features a sprung floor, making it perfect for dance. It's also a great venue for other performances that require a larger space.

Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts

Maplecrest, NY

The Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts is located in the heart of the Northern Catskill Region of New York State, in the scenic hamlet of Maplecrest. Its mission is to create a center for the study of studio arts and natural agriculture, and to offer a beautiful mountain setting for artist retreats.

Doctorow Center for the Arts

Hunter, NY

The Doctorow Center contains Evelyn Weisberg Hall, a 165-seat performing arts center; the Mountain Cinema, a three-screen film venue; the Piano Performance Museum; and our administrative offices. Click on "Read More" to see the full technical specifications. Across the street from the Doctorow Center is the Red Barn, which features residency housing.

Testimonials

Hear what some people are saying about the Catskill Mountain Foundation!

“Over the past two years I have been fortunate enough to bring my company, Twyla Tharp Dance, to the Catskill Mountain Foundation’s properties for two residencies. The generosity of the CMF makes serious work possible for the artist. Their unique facilities, the Red Barn and Orpheum Theater, provided an environment for us to get away from the distractions of life and focus on the work, while the beauty of the natural surroundings offered a sense of peace and relaxation outside the dance studio. Buoyed by the extraordinary support of the CMF staff, we were able to accomplish many great things, and we are ever grateful.”

Twyla Tharp

“In late summer 1998 we met an amazing couple with a great vision for bringing the Arts to the Mountaintop. That marked the beginning of a deep friendship and collaboration with Peter and Sarah Finn and the magnificent Catskill Mountain Foundation. It’s been a great pleasure to share in their journey these past 20 years and we are so grateful for their friendship and our ongoing collaborations. Happy 20th Anniversary to the Catskill Mountain Foundation!”

Robert Manno & Magdalena Golczewski, Windham Chamber Music Festival

"One of the most meaningful things we have done as a company – if not THE most meaningful – is come together, in residency (a inseparable part of the history modern dance in America from Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis at Jacob’s Pillow to Martha Graham at Bennington), and make work. And one of the most inspiring places we’ve ever had the opportunity to do that is Catskill Mountain Foundation, where we’ve had two incredible residences – one in 2009, and one in 2017. Away from the pressures of our New York City lives, we listen differently, we breathe together, we create work as an ensemble, we connect with the environment and the community around us. We see, we hear, we reinvent. I cannot fully express our gratitude to Catskill Mountain Foundation – and our tremendous desire to return! Catskill Mountain Foundation is a priceless asset to the arts community, and to the area."

Chase Brock

"My name is Sarah Yarger; I am eleven years old, and live in Lexington. I participate in Miss Victoria’s community ballet class. My experience has been fantastic! Miss Victoria is a wonderful teacher; she has the perfect amount of strictness that we improve every week while having fun. Since the fall I have developed a new appreciation for dance. Miss Victoria has been very inspirational. The workshops that the dancers did were amazing! I was so happy afterward that my mom told me I was glowing! I really wanted to do the Nutcracker, but I had a conflict. My brother was able to do it though! He absolutely loved it. I have made many memories here and look forward to the community ballet class every week."

Sarah Yarger

"...the Catskill Mountain Foundation brings so much pleasure to the Mountain Top, and I’m so grateful for it."

Ellen Schorsch

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