Big Sale at Mountain Tops on Clothes, Shoes, Kayaks

I'm a sale junkie.

So when I see a sidewalk sign that says 30-50% off, I take a hard turn to the right and go into that store. Then I become that person in the early Chase commercials when they were advertising their app to make it easy for you to check your balance, and I check my balance to see how creative I can be with a sale at a store I love.

Mountain Tops is having such a sale, but watch out, because the brands you love like Prana are at your fingertips in these last days of summer. But Fall clothing is also coming in on the racks, so you'll see all kinds of must-have sweatpant-style dresses that will make your entrance into Fall that much easier.

These purple shoes pictured here are Keens and are perfect for outdoor parties where you want to wear a cute shoe without the heel or wedge. And yes, select styles are on sale, and yes, this is a picture of my feet returning for a second pair in another color. I don't think I've ever done that before.

The rumors are true, there is a sale on kayaks, so if you were itching to own your first kayak, or upgrade what you have, now might be a good time...

Hoptember! Celebrating the Fall Harvest of Hop Plants aka "Hills" (Partner)

Craft brewers usually start brewing beer in their basements, gathering supplies from their trusted home brewer suppliers. New York is a mecca for craft beer and is soon to be a Napa Valley of Beer. With the farm to table trend, comes the farm to basement trend, or farm to brewer trend, where breweries and craft beer enthusiasts can buy hop plants, aka "hill" straight from the fields.

Enter Dutchess Hops, located on the farm of Eastern View Nursery, the first commercial hop farm in the Hudson Valley. Situated in the heart of Dutchess County’s agricultural region, Dutchess Hops will bring back an industry that the State of New York once flourished in. Spring 2013, Dutchess Hops planted 4000 hills (hop plants) on 4 acres. These will be ready for harvest in fall 2014, which will be celebrated with the second annual festival, Hoptember Harvestfest on September 13, 2014!

Hoptember is also hosted in collaboration with Hudson Valley Hops, which was created in 2013 to act as a cooperative for both Farmers and Brewers. Hudson Valley Hops’ mission is to help build Hop farms, promote the craft beer industry and assist in creating the Freshest, highest quality Hops throughout the Hudson Valley. Hoptember 2013 was able to raise enough money to help further develop 4 additional Hop Farms in 2013, with 4 additional coming online in 2014.

Hoptember showcases Brewer, Distiller, Cider and Wine Artisans from the Hudson Valley, as well as culinary artisans, and is your chance to meet over 20 Brewers and Distillers all from the Hudson Valley. Included in the ticket price are both food and beverage tastings, and all food will have Hops incorporated in it. The Event will run from 1pm-5pm for General Admission ticket holders and run from 11:30am – 5pm for VIP ticket Holders.

• General Admission Tickets: $50 and includes unlimited food and tastings. Admittance begins at 1 p.m.
• VIP Tickets: $75 also in addition to the General admission benefits, there will be a culinary Hop treats along with rare beer tastings, a tour of the Hop Yard, and a commemorative glass and T-shirt. Admittance begins at 11:30 a.m.
• Designated Driver Tickets: Designated Driver ticket is for anyone that won't be drinking but wants to still attend the event 

LOCATION:

Eastern View Farm & Nursery (View)
1167 Noxon Road
Lagrangeville, NY 12540

Click here to learn more about Hoptember  >

Click here to purchase tickets!  >

Great Pandora Music at Encore Coffee House

From the owners of Sukhothai down on the East End of Main Street comes Encore Coffee House. And with free wifi, it really has a nice folky music selection playing for those of us seeking an iced latte in air conditioning, with maybe a fruit smoothie later!

Listing and Advertising Opportunitites for Businesses Listed in Guides

Being included in a Guide is part of an organized experience of living in and around Beacon. What follows are overall requirements for being included in a Guide, how to advertise in one, and how to get listed without advertising. Guides include: Second Saturday Entertainment + Dining, Pop-Up Shops! and the Holiday Shopping Guide.

• Beacon Businesses: For businesses located in Beacon, there is no fee to be in a Guide, but a business must meet certain requirements of a Guide listed with that Guide. 
• Hudson Valley Businesses: Businesses located in the Hudson Valley, such as Peekskill, Cold Spring, Garrison, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, and beyond who want to be featured in a Guide can purchase placement via an ad. 
• Sponsors Outside of Beacon: Sponsors of A Little Beacon Blog who have a prominent banner ad displaying on this website who are in the Hudson Valley or anywhere in New York can be listed in one Category of a relevant Guide.
• A Website or Social Page: You do need a website or online presence for us to link to and for people to get more information. Need one quick? Just fill out your Google Plus page or start a Facebook Business Page.
• Not Listed Yet? If you feel that your business would be a great fit for a Guide, please email your suggestion with details to editorial@alittlebeaconblog.com.

ADVERTISING:
Enhance Your Listing with a Photo

If your business is in a Guide, you can give it some flare with a photo of the interior of your shop or experience. Your photo and mention of your business will also be shared in A Little Beacon's Blog Twitter and Instagram accounts and added to popular hashtag streams like #beaconny, #hudsonvalley and #keepitlocal! If your business is featured more than once in a Guide because you cater to different audiences, you can feature a different photo in each spot. Discounts are available on multiple months. To book a photo, just click on a button below to add it to your cart. We will come to your establishment to take a photo that fits the style of A Little Beacon Blog, if you don't already have a photo on hand that fits the style of this website.

GUIDE ADVERTISING PACKAGE 1
1 Photo in a Guide Category
Duration: 1 month

Additional Photo in Other Categories Your Business Is Listed In
Duration: 1 month

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GUIDE ADVERTISING PACKAGE 2
Photo + Specials and Sales Text
To list specific sale information in addition to the regular editorial used to describe your brand, you can list additional text below your listing. This is useful for if you're running a special sale or have other specifications you'd like to highlight with your listing. This comes with 1 photo.

Additional Photo and Text
If your business is in more than one category and you'd like to add a photo + specific text, you can.

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SPONSOR A GUIDE

If you want to reach people who are reading a certain Guide, you can sponsor that guide with your logo at the top of the Guide. Your logo will also appear with the main logo of the Guide in the right side column of this website. As a sponsor, you can have your own dedicated page on this website that highlights what our readers would love about your business. We design your ad and write your copy on your special page. Please email katie@alittlebeaconblog.com to sponsor a Guide.

EDITS TO LISTINGS:

Please email editorial@alittlebeaconblog.com if you:

• need to change hours or information in a listing
• need to change a photo

New Health Business in the Beacon Building

You've walked by it a bunch, but now you can go inside of the Beacon Building to check out one of Main Street's newest businesses: NuSpecies, a back to health company based in the Hudson Valley that has designed whole food based (herbs and green food) formulas to help the body cleanse and rebuild itself.

This isn't their first location, in fact, the couple who founded NuSpecies live in the Hudson Valley but started their stores closer to New York City. The manager of this Beacon location, and its personal health and nutrition coach, Evey Trautman, is a recent Brooklyn transplant (and southern transplant from NC truth be told), and is rooted in entrepreneurialism herself. If you're familiar with Brooklyn's Plan B bar and restaurant, Evey and her husband are also on the cusp of opening Cooklyn, a foodie's delight.

Inside NuSpecies, you'll find bee pollen, detox cleansing systems, and more formulas designed to help the body rebuild itself. You'll also find sweet Evey, who will talk to you about inflammation, and how it's a root cause of many problems in the body. Happy Learning!

Need a Nap? Squishable Plush Pillows in Dream in Plastic

One Friday evening, the kids and I were strolling down Main Street looking for a little treat present after a great week. We were in Dream in Plastic and I was looking at paper stationery that struck my fancy. I turned around to see my two little ones snuggling with these Squishable pillows! Yum! I've never quite found the perfect "nap pillow" for daycare and school, and these are probably too big, but they certainly are contenders for nap pillows at home, being that naps at home are pretty hard to make happen and how can one not doze off when snuggling with this Squishable Pug on the couch or rug??

Must...Haves...Nella Bellas Boutique is Filled With Goodies!

Fall fashion is blowing into town...and you'll find several little must- have items in Nella Bellas Boutique. If you haven't already stopped in, it's a little boutique in the West End of Main Street that has quietly built a devoted following of shoppers who step in for an easy but super cute dress for work or play, or a piece of statement jewelry or a piece for everyday.

You'll see clothing lines similar to those found in Anthropology, yet for very friendly prices. Need a big plastic circle earring for $15? Or this giant silver leaf ring that dresses up a simple jeans and black t-shirt outfit? Done for $30.

And if you plan to shop for a while, your compadre can lounge in this comfy couch while you try on!

Burlock Interiors PopUp Shop - Last Day for Interior Designer's Finds!

The popup shop trend is in Beacon, with the latest popup shop experience created by Nicole Ashey, founder of Burlock Interiors, a Beacon based interior design firm who set up shop on the West End of Main Street near Clay Wood and Cotton.You'll find fabric, home decor items, eco-friendly pillows designed by Nicole, a bathroom faucet as pictured here in the clearance basket, and more treasures. But it all ends tonight!

This Second Saturday is her last day open, so hurry in as you enjoy strolling Beacon's Main Street, dipping in and out of art galleries and shops and restaurants that are displaying this year's fantastical art from Windows on Main Street (WOMS).

Wine and Beer, So Many Choices, So Many Forms

While out for an afternoon ice cream and quesadilla date with the kids to get them out of the house, we came upon Mercer's wine ice cream at the Beacon Creamery, which comes in pints or scoops, and this "P.B.R. 2 for $5 all day beer special" at Beacon Homebrew. No, we did not have quesadillas at Beacon Homebrew, but being that the owner of Tito Santana, Kamel Jamal, is part owner of Beacon Homebrew, this postcard sign was on the counter at Tito Santana.

For those not familiar with these locations, Beacon Creamery is the first shop on the West End of Main Street and primarily scoops Jane's Ice Cream. Tito Santana is up the sidewalk a bit with the red chairs outside, and Beacon Homebrew is just past the middle of Main Street near the Beacon Theatre.

So, pick your afternoon refreshment! Ice cream a la normal, wine ice cream, or a special on beer!

Quick Dip in River Pool at Beacon in the Hudson River

July and August can mean two things here in Beacon:

- Swimmers are paddling across the Hudson River from Newburgh to Beacon in The Swim, a fundraiser for the River Pool at Beacon, and...

- Swimmers are wading in the floating river pool, supported and surrounded by soft mesh and floating buoys in the Hudson River.

Did you know that river pools were being used by New Yorkers as far back as 1870, but ended in 1930 because of water pollution? And not just one - several pools dotted the river for city folk to enjoy. Thanks to Toshi and Pete Seeger, this pool not only happened, but is part of the environmental changes that Seeger helped lead in this region to clean the water.

Being that July flew by, there are a few weeks of summer left to enjoy the river pool! Open almost daily from 12-6pm except Mondays, and overseen by a lifeguard during pool hours. Put on your bathing suit and bring a towel down to Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park and enjoy floating in the water! Benches line the sides of this circular pool, so you can relax and enjoy the view.

The River Pool at Beacon is free to the public, and does accept donations and has a membership program.

Fresh Flower Cutting & Financial Education in the Morning

Doing bills and bookkeeping on a Saturday actually brings me great joy. As a small business owner, Saturday mornings are usually quiet, devoid of emails and demands of the week. In this digital age of newsletters and tweets, I actually look forward to the monthly, paper newsletter put out by the accounting firm Arthur DeDominics, CPA, based in Wappingers Falls, that contains financial planning guidance of everything from small business needs to college planning to splitting assets in divorce.

Nothing like a little fresh flower cutting and financial education in the morning, right?

The Wiggles and Hairdresser's Disco Ball at Mid-Hudson Civic Center

It's...The...Wiggles everyone!

I can recite the next line because I've listened to the DVD so many times while I'm making dinner or folding laundry, that to now see The Wiggles in a live show would be amazing for kids! Coming in September to the Mid-Hudson Civic Center.

And...if you're into costumes, hair and makeup, the Hairdressers Disco Ball looks truly show stopping. Watch this video from Hudson Valley Hub to see the amazing talent that resides in the Hudson Valley. Amazing costume work and makeup. Not to mention hair!

Plan Bee Farm Brewery - Farm to Bottle Beer

Inspired by the "Barn to Brew" article in the Summer season's issue of edible HUDSON VALLEY, I finally ventured down to Beacon's Farmers' Market to try the beer from Plan Bee Farm Brewery that is mostly all grown and cultivated from one farm: the farm owned and operated by founders and brewers Evan and Emily Watson.

Even more compelling is the component that makes this beer extra special and unique: the Watsons use their own yeast from their farm, using cultures from peaches, apples, and unpasteurized honey from two bee-hives that came with the farm when they bought the property in Fishkill.

The most special thing about cooking, baking or brewing something is using ingredients around you to make the freshest of flavors not easily replicated time and again. Plan Bee Farm Brewery loves this spontaneity of flavor, and embraces and actually seeks out the different flavors their unique yeast method produces. According to Even in the article from edible: "I love the odd and complex flavors you can get from it. These are the backbone of our beers."

Each of their beers have a story which you can read about on their blog. The bottle I tried was their popular Chamomile, developed specifically for and sold at the Cold Spring General Store. Delicious. I took it to a gathering on Mahopac Lake and a friend happily dubbed it a "soft" flavor and immediately texted his parents who were hiking for the day in Cold Spring, to request that they buy a few bottles at the store.

A brew with a notable story behind it is the TechiNiki, which was named after an Indian woman of the Wappingers tribe who picked a peach on a Dutch settler's farm in 1659 and was shot - thus starting the Peach Tree War throughout the entire Hudson Valley. So you're drinking history with these beers, along with flavors and ingredients grown just miles away from you.

Beacon Architect Aryeh Siegel Featured in Upstate House

One of the most exciting aspects of living in Beacon, NY is that we are living during a historical era. When my family moved here, our neighbors across the street had moved here twenty years prior, also from Manhattan, to raise their family. They moved during the height of drug times, when Main Street was boarded up. The first investment they made to their home was installing a giant chain link fence around their entire property to keep people from sitting on the front stoop of their home to do "business".

Today, Beacon is the playground to many architects who are changing the face and experience of this city, while taking delight in "existing structural elements that can be incorporated into new uses." Such statement was spoken by Aryeh Siegel in an interview with Peter Aaron for Upstate House magazine. The article proclaims Siegel to be Beacon's architect laureate thanks in part to the number of game-changing projects he has been involved with crafting and reinventing, including Dia:Beacon, the Roundhouse at Beacon Falls, the Towne Crier Cafe, the Beacon Dog Park, the Beacon Cultural Community Center, and a growing list of other residential and mix-ed use sites.

If you haven't yet, do pick up this issue for the interview and the other great articles in Upstate House to see how this architect views Beacon.

BeaconCitizen Adds A Little Beacon Blog to Media Feed

Hey thanks BeaconCitizen for adding A Little Beacon Blog to its lineup of great media sources in the area! Now when you check in with BeaconCitizen for the latest events, updates, and community conversations, you'll also see latest headlines from A Little Beacon Blog.