Riverwalk's Growing...

At a meeting of the project's working group last week, Lonnie Gale, President and Curator of the Empire State Railway Museum, formally announced the museum's willingness to make the property available for public use as part of the Riverwalk project. According to Gale, that had always been ESRM's intention from the time the land had been gifted to the not-for-profit group four years ago. owners is continuing to work with the Catskill Center and with participating landowners to develop a preliminary concept and work plan. Once initially conceptualized, the Center will schedule public meetings as needed to present the concept and seek community input prior to any further planning work being undertaken or funding being sought.
As presently conceived, the major elements of the proposed Riverwalk project now include:
-A major expansion of the existing parking lot behind Brios and Ricciardella's restaurants with one or two-way access and egress from Bridge Street and Main Street
-Renovation, including possibly relocation of the 2-story frame building behind that parking lot for use as public bathrooms and possibly a visitor information center
-Creation of a multi-use recreational path along the banks of the Esopus and Stony Clove Creeks, from the Bridge Street Bridge to the western end of the proposed parking areas.
-Development of a new 18-acre park on the south bank of the Esopus, with walking trails and other improvements appropriate to its location in a floodplain.
-Major stream bank improvement measures, to permanently end the danger of flooding in Phoenicia posed by both the Esopus and Stony Clove Creeks.
Work on the Riverwalk project's early development is proceeding under the direction of planner Helen Budrock, Assistant Director of the Arkville-based Catskill Center for Conservation and Development. In July 2002 the Center obtained a grant for $6,485 for preliminary planning of the project from the Catskill Watershed Corporation. These are NYC funds made available under the 1997 Memorandum of Agreement between the City and the watershed towns. Although that award was relatively modest, its use as local matching funds has since proved instrumental in the town's obtaining a $40,000 grant from the NYS Department of Transportation for use by the town's Comprehensive Plan Committee. The Riverwalk project however, is not tied in any way to that committee or its planning work. In addition to the cash value of the CWC grant, all time and services provided by Budrock and The Catskill Center are being donated by them.
"This is a very exciting project" said Budrock "and I am very happy to lend my hand to get it off the ground. In most cases community leaders will come up with an idea for a project, then approach the property owners for their participation once they have a plan together. In Phoenicia, we are lucky in that it is the property owners who have initially conceived the project and are excited about the potential opportunities it represents. I can see this project not only having a positive impact on the downtown from an economic development perspective, but I see the potential for this being a model for other communities in the watershed".
The substantial funding required for the project is expected to be applied for and administered through both the Town and the SHARP Committee from a variety of sources. Some aspects of the
"I think that a day park for families to use, the Riverwalk, and the parking we need are essential." said Gale."It's a wonderful idea and it would be a tremendous asset for a little hamlet like Phoenicia"
Although plans for a project of this type have been discussed since the 1980's, the Riverwalk project originated with the Phoenicia Community Empowerment Initiative, sponsored by CCCD in 1999 and 2000. The leadership of that group consisting of local business

---

Just Call It Wendigo...

The script for Fessenden's latest movie Wendigo, although partly about the innate tension that exists between longtime residents and newcomers, was actually written by Fessenden before he moved up to Olive from New YorkCity. As he explains; "The story came out of the imagination of an urban filmmaker, but it gained life and detail and resonance from the real community (West Shokan, Shokan, Big Indian, Phoenicia) where it was filmed." From the Phoenicia Pharmacy to the Ashokan Reservoir to Synder's Tavern to Buddy Eckert's homestead, Fessenden was inspired by many popular and beloved locations, and featured them in Wendigo. Fessenden is a master of the nuance and visceral texture of fear, able to take a seemingly innocent familial occurrence, (such as the simple act of a mother frying eggs for her family's breakfast in Wendigo), and instill the moment with a primal shudder that somehow not only captures the inexplicable fears of everyday life, but anticipates the deepening, escalating chills to come in later scenes that encompass the film's larger themes of displacement and encroachment.
Wendigo may embody some of the fears an urbanite encounters upon moving to the country, but Fessenden's own experiences were wonderful, and he could not have made his film without the help of his new community. "(Town Clerk) Sylvia Rozelle was incredibly gracious, she helped us get all our driving and road permits," says Fessenden. For the character Otis, Fessenden chose the location of Buddy Eckert's home. "Buddy was amazing. He charmed the crew, he had so many great vehicles in his yard. We even ran over his garden fence while shooting there, and he was incredibly fun and charming through it all." Recalling the process of dressing the location to make it look spooky, Fessenden laughs. "It made me feel so 'Hollywood.' Here we are trying to improve on his reality, but in fact Buddy had the real thing. I remember looking down in his yard and staring right up at me was the head of a pig." (The scene was partly about men returning from a hunt and preparing the caught game.) Stories of how locals helped the film are many. Fessenden points across his yard to the flexible flyer sled that is featured in a critical scene in the film. "That was donated by Bob Faring," (who runs the B & B Ashokan Dreams). While shooting a scene where the monster chases Otis up Every Road, past the church, Fessenden met the local Reverend who delighted the cast and crew with his exotic birds. When the Father asked, "What's the name of your picture?" and Fessenden answered "Wendigo," the Reverend didn't miss a beat before replying "Oh, he lives under the waterfall at the end of Watson Hollow Road." It's stories like these that make the film's location seem fated, even in minor details. "I gave the family the name Stookey," recalls Fessenden. "Then, I ended up finding out there was a Stucky's in Boiceville, and they did the embroidered patches for the film."
Fessenden wanted to cast some locals for a few roles that included a tow truck driver, so held a casting session in Kingston. "This one guy was great, he came up to me and said, 'Wanna come outside and see why I'm right for the role?' I went outside and there was this beautiful tow truck. He got the role. He was perfect, my only regret is he isn't featured enough." The film also features the local acting talent of Maxx Stratton, in one of the film's most stunning cinematic sequences, as snow swirls around the young boy's face in a moment that blends heartbreaking beauty with foreboding and dread, an unsettling combination that has become one of Fessenden's trademarks.
One story has an ironic twist to it. Fessenden decided he wanted the family in his script to drive a Volvo, the quintessential yuppie car, but ending up getting that yuppie car from a local. Fessenden was able to trade his own Honda for a local's Volvo for the duration of the shoot. "We used his Volvo on the shoot, and he drove my car, so I was stranded with no car at night and couldn't go to Phoenicia. The crew lived in Phoenicia, basically took over the town, wreaking havoc and singing karaoke at night. But, they poured a lot of money into that town in the slow month of February." Much of the money to make the movie ended up in local businesses. "We probably kept True Value open for an extra year," jokes Fessenden.
Wendigo explores some natural city folk/country folk tension. "I was always interested in the encroachment issue," says Fessenden. "How throughout history, one group replaces another, like how the Indians were replaced by settlers and the settlers are now encroached on by urbanites. I'm fascinated by the way resentment builds over time." Although Wendigo is about a city family that moves to the country, Wendigo is not based on Fessenden's own experience of moving to Olive, but rather based on early memories. "As a kid in Vermont, I remember having a childhood accident on the road at night, our car skidded backwards into a ditch in the snow. The film is about that kind of early fear, fear of the woods, the fear of being a kid in a mysterious house, standing outside your mother's door at night being scared." That frightening childhood incident evolved into the pivotal moment in the film when the family car hits a deer. A few locals stop to help, but the help they offer has a disconcerting element to it, and it is not clear whether the menace is real or just a projection of the fears and prejudices of the city folk. "The movie is about how imagined fears help you cope with the real horrors in life. A son seeing his father in conflict with an angry man, it's so unsettling. And the horror of the woods is so potent for a child. I just read that for the first four years kids tend to dream about animals." The boy in the film ends up discovering, or perhaps conjuring, the Wendigo.
After finishing his script, Fessenden's search for a location to shoot the film coincided with his search for a country home. His discovery of Olive is ripe with fortuitous perfection. "What happened with the reservoir (the displacement and flooding of eight towns to provide city drinking water) seemed to be exactly about my themes, so once I found this location and saw I could make the film on a low budget here, I tailored the script to this area. I mean, in 1912 New York City phoned the mayor up here and said, 'We want to take over your towns.' The Ashokan deserves more attention than I gave it in the movie. It was incredible. They bought your house, but they gave so little to people for their homes, considering their families may have come over on the Mayflower. And dealing with the New York City politics, how we needed special permission to shoot at the Ashokan, I really understand why there is resentment. This beautiful area is policed by New York City officials. That reservoir is right there but it doesn't belong to us. And there's a lot the imagination can fill in, but there were these guys that had to stay behind in these ghost towns and disinter the graves, dig up the bodies. Also, the American Indian presence and influence in the area was perfect, because of the nature of the Wendigo myth. I had a third grade teacher that told the story of a deer-man running in the woods shrieking 'Wendigooooooo!' It chilled me to the bone. The Wendigo is not necessarily a menacing monster, it's more the anguish of the image that got me. It's funny, this story that so haunted me for life, but years later I tracked down the teacher that told it to me, and he said 'I don't remember a thing about it.'" Fessenden laughs.
Getting to know the people in the area also influenced the film in subtle ways. "My favorite line in the script comes from my beloved neighbor Bob. When I moved up here, he joked, 'I piss in your water once a week,' referring to the city water supply. That went right into the script. Bob taught me other things, he was very generous, plowed our drive for years for no money. We had a tree that fell on our property border, and we were going to cut it up and split the firewood. There's a certain protocol up here that I was learning." Through that tree cutting experience, and the fact that Bob could tell from the bark that the tree was ash, the study of trees became a preoccupation for Fessenden. "Now my son thinks of me as the guy who loves trees."
Fessenden lives in Olive with his wife and frequent collaborator, the artist and art director Beck Underwood, and their son Jack Henry. What's next for the filmmaker? "Next stop, Arctic Circle. I already scouted in Alaska." The script for Fessenden's next film was written with local writer Robert Leaver. Has the location scout changed the script they wrote? "Absolutely. It's one thing to write a scene with guys playing football in the snow. It's another thing to experience 30 below."
Wendigo is part three (along with No Telling and Habit) of Fessenden's "revisionist horror trilogy" and the films can be rented video and DVD. More information is available at www.glasseyepix.com.

---

Mountain Nightlife...

The first-ever Goddess Festival was held at the Full Moon Resort in Oliverea, and brought folks up for a three-day weekend of entertainment, camping, and workshops, as well as offering entrance to us locals. The performance space at Full Moon is a large raftered barn, indirectly lit, making for a warm lodge-type setting. Besides your standardfolding chairs, couches were also available and the room was packed with about 100 very lively guests.
Acts included a one-woman performance by Michelle Matlock following the life of the infamous Aunt Jemima, whose face has decorated boxes of pancake mix for years, offering a commentary on how stereotyped representations of black women as stupid and harmless make whites feel secure and superior while pigeonholing black women. "Mammy makes America feel better about herself," said Matlock. Filled with humor and pathos, one section features a giant pancake box with a cut-out face in which the performer stuck her face, widening her eyes to mimic a slavery-days mammy. "As time goes by, I might even get me one of those TV talk shows," she said, poking fun at Oprah. The performance was met with a standing ovation, cheering, whistling and raucous applause.
Following Matloxk, Alix Strauss read from her collection of stories The Joy of Funerals, in which the protagonist is examining the murdered body of her lover in a funeral parlor, recalling their life and love together. "Even dead, she looks beautiful," the story reads. The protagonist starts hanging out at a diner where she thinks the murderer, who is a serial killer, hangs out. Buy the book to find out the rest.
The Full Moon has been owned by Michael Densmore, Henry Stout and Roger Cooney for three years. Its primary business is weddings, group parties and retreats, but it occasionally offers performances open to the general public.
Just a hop, skip and a jump from Oliverea, is the Lexington Hotel, a sprawling 21-room hotel perched on a hill overlooking the Schoharie Creek. Besides renting rooms, the Lexington also has a kitchen, two bars and a performance space. Saturday night the Five Points Band played, a roots rock quasi-cabaret band that most recently appeared with Shannon McNally at Legends in Woodstock. About 80 turned out for the performance, dancing and visiting the porch outside to gaze at the stars and smoke cigarettes, now that New York State's new smoking ban has gone into effect.
"I came to this area because of the arts and culture that's already going on," said manager Phil Cohen, who also owns The Five Spot in Philadelphia. "We knew we wanted a mountain spot, and in the Poconos there's not nearly as much going on." Cohen said there have been some growing pains due to alarm from the sleepy township of Lexington over noise and what has come to be its most popular event, a burlesque show called the Peek-A-Boo review. "It's an old-fashioned vaudeville variety show," explained Cohen. "There are singers, dancers, comedy, live music, ventriloquists and an emcee who tells jokes and coordinates the whole thing."
The third new star in our mountain galaxy is Evergreen, a B&B/ Performance Space/ Conference Center and soon to be Natural Cafe located in Fleischmanns. On August 9 it will host The Evergreen Energy Fest '03, an all-day event featuring musical performances and workshops on renewable energy sources. Suggested donation is $20. For more information call Evergreen at 845-254-5392 or e-mail evergreenscene@yahoo.com.
Whatwith dwindling crowds at the old haunts because of the non-smoking rules, could further changes to our night life be in order?