Due to the extension of New York on PAUSE, no work on the campus renovation projects were undertaken at Caramoor until the end of May 2020. However, this provides us with an opportunity to let you know about the exciting work that had been taking place off-campus on a key new piece of the Friends Field and Venetian Theater entrance landscape — a signature piece of sound art by Trimpin, in“C”.
2020 has been quite the year – not only for Caramoor, but for the world. During these times, when the Caramoor staff is working from home like so many of you, we are building the Caramoor community in new and exciting ways and taking comfort from the words of our founders Walter and Lucie Rosen.
“We built a home, my husband and I, not to be old or new, just to be beautiful. And we built it for music.” – Lucie Bigelow Rosen
It was inevitable that winter weather was going to catch up with our construction calendar, and, almost like clockwork, on December 1st we had the first appreciable snowfall of the fall/winter season. While the blanket of white makes for some beautiful seasonal shots for our various marketing efforts, the snow and freezing conditions meant that the ongoing campus construction work had an added layer of difficulty. Thanks to the perseverance of our construction partners, a number of projects moved forward throughout December 2019 and January 2020.
The month of November was a race against the calendar and the farmer’s almanac, the 10-day weather forecasts, and the outdoor thermometers—not to mention Thanksgiving! The goal was to stay on schedule and to do all the major digging and concrete pouring before the ground froze and/or the snows fell. (We just barely made it. Thanks, Mother Nature! The first appreciable snowfall was December 1-2!)
Mother Nature has truly been inspiring us this fall. While the leaves may not have been at their peak for as long we would have liked, we were very fortunate to have a relatively mild October. So long as the ground doesn’t freeze and conditions aren’t unbearable, construction can continue to ‘dig in’ and move forward.
September marked Back-to-School and Back-to-Regular Business hours for most of the community — but not for Caramoor. We continue to ‘dig in’ on the work which continues on the visitor experience improvements that are part of Inspire: A Campaign for Caramoor’s Future. You may have seen the messaging in our emails and as a banner on our website that we were closed to the public.
While the music-making (and some of the staff) may have taken a long REST during the month of August, if you visited Caramoor you may have been surprised at how busy things are.
On the Monday following the Summer Season finale — July 29 — work began on the comprehensive campus revitalization plan being undertaken as part of Inspire: A Campaign for Caramoor’s Future. From now through June 2020, Caramoor will transform from (heavy equipment) Caterpillar to beautiful butterfly.
In the spring of 1968, a young college graduate started working at the Box Office to help with Caramoor’s Summer Music Festival. That young man, Hilton Bailey, was to stay at Caramoor for 35 years — what may be the longest employment in Caramoor history — and his devotion matched his long tenure.
As the year draws closer to an end, we find ourselves preparing for this Thursday’s hearty meal and reflecting back on 2018 and the nature, moments, and people that filled our hearts with thanks. The Caramoor staff took a moment to share what they have been thankful for this year in and around Caramoor.
We’d love to hear from you as well! Please feel free to share your reflections below.
Most people know Caramoor for its spectacular theaters but not many people take some time before the concert to explore the landscape that surrounds them. We get it, sometimes it can seem overwhelming with the amount of acreage that Caramoor sits on. So to help you out, we have asked the Caramoor staff a simple question: “Where is your favorite Caramoor spot?” For a lot of us, when we need to take a break from the computer or if we feel that we need to take a breath of air after a long meeting, we tend to go to a favorite spot for a bit of quiet and serenity.
Take a peek at this list for some ideas the next time you visit Caramoor!