24th Annual VonSteuben Germanfest

24th Annual VonSteuben Germanfest

 

Sullivan County of New York is renowned for its spectacular scenic views and brilliant red, yellow, and orange foliage colors. It is the home to a number of great fall events, including (but certainly not limited to) Germanfest.



Despite the nasty weather the Von Steuben Day annual parade and Germanfest began in Yulan as planned on September 13th. Hundreds of folks with children and without showed up for the festival, enjoying never ending pitchers of beer, German food, the music of “Musikverein” and German dancing.


Crafters booths drown the interest of the public and the kids corner was very popular and well attended.

Founded in 1957, the Annual Steuben Parade on Fifth Avenue and an Octoberfest-fest gathering in Central Park have given New Yorkers a chance to celebrate their German-Americanheritage a bit closer to home, the Yulan parade was organazed by volunteer fire companies and sponsored by local businesses to give folks a chance to enjoy German heritage and the colorful change of seasons.

The Fall season just began and we have more events ahead to attend:
Wine Festival at Bethel Woods
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Oct. 4, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

Craft Beer Festival and Chili Cook-Off at Bethel Woods
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Oct. 11, noon-4 p.m., Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

TroutoberFest
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Oct. 11-12, Beaverkill Angler, Roscoe, N.Y.

Story by Lyudmila woolsolution

Some thoughts on art, exhibitions and inspiration

The art exhibits are very powerful source of inspiration for me. I love to see the wonderful works of art and always trying to see as many art shows as possible.

 According to the Art Basel Miami Beach website, the event is known as the most prestigious art show in the Americas.  Over 250 leading galleries from all over the world take part, showcasing works by more than 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.  Since the first exhibition held ten years ago, a greater number of art collectors, artists, dealers, curators, critics and art enthusiasts from around the world participate in Art Basel Miami Beach - the favorite winter meeting place for the international art world.

 The exhibiting galleries are among the world's most respected art dealers, offering exceptional pieces by both renowned artists and cutting-edge newcomers.  Special exhibition sections feature young galleries, performance art, public art projects and video art.  The show is a vital source for art lovers, allowing them to both discover new developments in contemporary art and experience rare museum-caliber artworks.  Top-quality exhibitions in the museums of South Florida and special programs for art collectors and curators also help make the event a special time for encountering art.

 This year's 10th anniversary show marked my 3rd Art Basel experience.  As I walk through the exhibition and view each piece, a handful of pieces inspire my future creations.  

 For instance, after this year's show, I have introduced my used coffee grounds into my paintings. 

 This process have not only given me more recyclable or “green” ideas, but simply adding the coffee grounds and coffee beans to my painting has given them a more unique quality to my creations.

Other exhibits provided inspiration for my latest jewelry designs which I am currently preparing.

 For the people considering whether or not to attend the next Art Basel show in Miami Beach, I would HIGHLY recommend it. This is wonderful and I am sure, you will get inspired, too!

  

Story by Vera (Luxurybyvera) and Mike,

Photography by Katya Gubanova

Giving Thanks

I love Thanksgiving. It is not as commercialized as Halloween or Christmas so it is almost overlooked but it’s such an important holiday!

Traditionally it marked the end of harvest season and the entire community would get together to celebrate it after all the hard work.

 
History books will also tell you the story of the Plymouth colony in New England in early 17th century. It’s the story about how they did not have enough food to feed half of the 102 colonists and how the Wampanoag Native Americans helped the pilgrims by providing seeds and teaching them to fish, thus saving their lives.

Thanksgiving is the day to get together with the family and friends. Everyone gathers around a big festive table. Roasted turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie… Mmm… I’m getting hungry. What are you having on Thanksgiving day?

Thanksgiving is also the day to count your blessings. You should be doing it more than once a year but it’s nice to have a day that encourages you to do so. Think of all the good events, things, and people in your life – and if you don’t get many, try harder :)

Thanksgiving is the day to give thanks and feel grateful. Try this: ask everyone at the Thanksgiving table to list five things that they are grateful for. It’s a good exercise both for children and adults alike. And it’s fun!

The Russian Artists team wishes a Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

By Yana WineCountryLife

3 aspects of a Wine Country Life

 Hi, I’m Yana from WineCountryLife.

I live and create in the beautiful Napa Valley of California. Napa valley is known for its wine industry, thus often referred to as “Wine Country”. Today I would like to share with you what it’s like to live a wine country life. Here are the three aspects that in my opinion define a life in Wine Country.

1. Inspiring vineyard views.
It does not take much to get inspired here. There are gorgeous vineyards everywhere and it’s fascinating to watch grape vines change year round. I often take my camera and go for a walk. I watch leaves change colors in fall making vineyards flare up with red, orange, and yellow.

When winter comes grape vines become bare exposing bright stripes of green grass and yellow mustard flowers between the rows of grape vines. In spring you’ll see vines waking up from winter hibernation with fragile leaf buds coming out. In the beginning of summer I keep a close eye on the vines waiting for them to bloom. Have you ever seen grapes bloom? They bloom so shortly and their flowers are so small and unpretentious that you can easily miss it. The entire season cycle is so beautiful in the vineyards that I decided to create a calendar depicting the life of vines through the 12 months of a year.

Fresh country air, warm California sun, and the beautiful Napa country side always rejuvenate me but there is more that makes Napa Valley such a happy place.

2. Culture of hospitality.
All of these grapes and all the wine would mean nothing if you couldn’t share it with others. Many Napa Valley wineries set a great example of hospitality by hosting wine tastings for their guests, regular parties for their club members, as well as all kinds of charity events. Napa lifestyle is big on hosting and entertaining not only at wineries but on a personal level.

I like inviting friends over for dinner that is always paired with delicious Napa Valley wine. And whenever you visit someone you bring… you guessed it! – a bottle of wine.

3. Napa Valley Style
Going out to dinner or wine tasting is also a big part of a wine country life. Most people get fashionable and dress up when going out in Napa Valley. Even though California fashion style is rather casual and you can wear your flip-flops or tennis shoes almost everywhere, when it comes to Napa Valley, people get extravagant. That’s why luxurious one of a kind jewelry and accessories are another part of a wine country life.

It’s not unusual to see limousines on the roads of Napa Valley. People often hire a limo with a driver to go wine tasting, which is very reasonable - who would want to go to a winery and not try all of that delicious wine? There is a lot of fine dining in Napa Valley, The French Laundry being the most famous. Napa Valley is also home to some modern artists and you will see beautiful art installations walking the streets in Napa or Yountville. So it’s only natural that people want to look chic when they are going out in Napa Valley. Do you think I can pull it off? :)

Gorgeous views, great hospitality, and fabulous style are the three aspects of a Wine Country Life as I see it. I’d say it’s definitely a happy life. I strongly encourage you to come and visit if you have not yet. If you have been to Napa Valley, I don’t have to persuade you for long. I would also suggest that you get yourself a piece of Napa Valley by shopping at WineCountryLife ;-)

The annual fair of Ukrainian culture in Silver Spring, Maryland

On September 17-18 there was an annual fair of Ukrainian culture. As usually it was set up on the property of St Andrey’s Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Silver Spring, Maryland, which is not far from Washington DC.

I attended the fair on Saturday September 17 and I would like to share my experience and pictures with you.

I went to the fair with my friends and family. Although the weather could have been better, the sprinkling rain and cloudy skies did not interfere with the fun. Around 4pm the sun finally came out and made the experience even nicer.

There were concerts and shows non-stop all day long; Ukrainian music was playing everywhere.

  There was an exhibition of folkloric Ukrainian arts and crafts.

  People could buy traditional jewelry and accessories as well as costumes for adults and children.

The most popular part of the fair is Ukrainian cuisine with its famous golubtsy, sautéed cabbage, kolbasy, poppy seed pirogy, and of course varenyky (filled dumplings).

I can talk about varenyky for hours but you have to try them to understand.

As soon as I saw varenyky served with sour cream at the fair I couldn’t help it. As Gogol wrote in his classic tale “Christmas Eve”:
… Patsuk opened his mouth, glanced at varenyky, and opened his mouth wider. At this time one of the varenyky jumped out of the plate, dropped into the sour cream, flopped to the other side, and bounced right into his mouth. Patsuk ate it and opened his mouth again. Another varenyk followed in the same manner. Patsuk only took the responsibility for chewing and swallowing…


Thanks to Gogol for his wonderful tale and perpetuation of national Ukrainian cuisine. Well, I’m going to make some dough for varenyky right now. Do you like varenyky? What is your favorite kind?

Story by Irina Modern101

Trip to Death Valley

Do you like to travel? Do you like to explore new places where you want to go back again and again? If you answer "yes", you would understand me :) One of the places where I want to go again and again is Death Valley National Park. So today I would like a story about my last trip to this gorgeous place. You can click any image to get a little bit bigger size.

In general, Death Valley is the hottest, driest, and the lowest place in Northern America. The lowest point is 282 feet (86 m) below sea level. This white crust on the picture is salt.

Death Valley National Park is huge. To visit all points of interest is almost unreal in one day. To get familiar with all easy to reach points (I mean the points that you can reach on paved roads), you'll need at least 2-3 days. And I'm not mentioning the places that are reachable by high clearance or even 4-wheel-drive vehicles only. :) So can you imagine the size of the park now? :)

Death Vally always have been attracting for me. I'd heard and read a lot of articles and stories even before I visited this place first time. The park always was for me as such a mysterious place with the scary name. But believe me, nothing scary there besides very hot and dry weather. Look at those beautiful landscapes. See how vast are they!

This park is a real pearl on California's map. There are you can find a lot of different formations. There are huge multi-colored mountains, big crust of salt, sand dunes, craters... The only one thing that is not frequently seen is water.

Ubehebe Crater. It appeared as a result of large steam explosions

Zabriskie point is attractive because of the interesting hills shape. Seems like huge water streams washed them out. Well... maybe they did after ice age.

There are at least couple dunes in the valley. When you get there, you really feel you are in a desert. Sand is everywhere.

Also, I think roads in the park are quite interesting. Some of them are straight like a ribbon from ridge to ridge, and they start waving only in mountains.

Death Valley is also famous as historical place. It was quite developed mining place during California Gold Rush. There are a lot of abandoned mines and small ghost towns around.

When you are planning to visit California, make Death Valley as a destination point. You'll never regret... believe me!

Story by Irina (IrinaPhotography)

Happy 4th of July!

We wish you great family fun, good food and fireworks this 4th of July.
Hurray for the Red, White and Blue!

Russian Artists team

A lesson in Patriotism

It’s staggering to think that the USA is a country that is only 235 years old. That’s just a couple of centuries, only a few generations! And yet, ever since the Declaration of Independence was signed that day became the symbol of hope, freedom, and patriotism. Everyone who lives in the USA, no matter where they are from originally, celebrates the Fourth of July.


Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Our Russian Artists on Etsy team is also getting ready for the Independence Day. Our members have prepared wonderful apparel and accessories in the patriotic colors for you.



Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

I know you’ll be outdoors on the Fourth of July watching the parade, barbequing, and waiting for the fireworks. I’ll be doing the same! And to make sure I’m comfortable I might choose to wear something out of these:


Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4


All of these wonderful white, red, and blue items are made by our team members including the ones who don’t live in the USA. The hope for justice and freedom is a universal concept and affects people around the world!

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Have a wonderful Fourth of July, no matter where you are from and where live!

Sincerely,

Yana (WineCountryLife)

A little know secret. Santa Fe, NM

New Mexico, known as a land of enchantment, is a state that is not very high on most vacation destinations lists, and that's too bad.

While one can sweat it out in New York this summer or spend time in traffic jams in LA, let me tell you why I'd rather be in Santa Fe, the oldest capital in the United States (est. 1500). The air of this high desert is dry, the sun is always shining, restaurants work on european style lunch and dinner hours, and jewelry filled art markets are abundant. Ilf and Petrov once said that this town feels fake, but I think they might have been confusing museum dryness with sun parched streets where real free spirits roam.


A Car is essential here and plan on driving far. For a completely grown up get-away one can take the waters at the gorgeous Ojo Caliente Spa, sample a wonderful meal of red chile enchiladas and sparkly margaritas at the Shed, visit art stalls at any of the numerous (there is always one going on) fiestas and talk to the native-american jewelers about their inspiration, or better yet plan on visiting an International Folk Arts Fair (UNESCO designated) to interact to truly staggering number of international artisans.


Nature lovers can head up to the Sangre De Cristo Mountains north of Santa Fe for a lovely walk under the aspen trees, though lack of oxygen might require you to take a few stops along the way to take in the view and reapply the sunblock lotion. Or venture to the Bandelier national monument to see the caves and dwellings of the pueblo people who lived here long before Plymouth rock was named. Time your visit for lavender picking season to gather your own perfume heavy harvest, or simply stop by Santa Fe Farmer's market to buy a lavender bunch and pot of local wild flowers honey.


You wouldn't be alone in appreciating this hidden gem, as you might run into Gene Hackman or Simon Pegg in the local restaurant, but it's a tradition here to leave the stars in peace and let yourself concentrate rather on the meandering cute adobe streets of this town from one of the thousands of galleries to the next and enjoying the warmth of the desert air.

Story by Elena (PeonyForest)