By DIANE VALDEN
COPAKE—Copake wants to be that place you come home to even if you don’t live here.
To endear this “Land of Rural Charm” as that special kind of heartwarming place, the Copake Bicentennial Committee has lined up another “must-go-to” event in the ongoing series of Copake Bicentennial festivities celebrating Copake’s 200th birthday this year (1824-2024). It’s the Come Home To Copake Picnic in the Park, 305 Mountain View Road, Saturday, July 13—jam-packed with events from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Can you bake a cake like nobody’s business? Are you spellbound by the nostalgic beauty of classic cars? Can you eat hot dogs till the cows come home? Have a talent for racing with your legs in a sack? Or do you just want to sit in your lawn chair and enjoy the scenery?
If any of these queries strike your fancy—you probably should come home to Copake for the picnic.
Bring your chairs or a blanket and your own picnic basket or buy food for sale at the park cooked up by Copake area churches and settle in for the day. Also, chicken barbecue dinners prepared by the Copake Fire Department will be available at 5 p.m. in the park building. Dinners must be ordered in advance, and tickets are going fast—better put in your order now before they’re gone. Tickets ($18 each) may be purchased by calling Liana Jensen at 518-755-8833.
Also, among the fun featured events that day is a baking contest open to all Copake’s fine homebakers of any age. The contest will be judged by none other than Copake native, Nancy Fuller, star of her own Food Network show, “Farm House Rules,” and celebrity judge on the Holiday Baking and Spring Baking Championship shows.
Bakers should bring their stunning, delectable entries fully-baked and/or ready to be served to the park building on Saturday between noon and 1 p.m. to register. There is no cooking, refrigeration or set-up area available. No entries will be accepted after 1 p.m.
An entry form must accompany each taste sensation. Forms are available on the town website (townofcopake.org) or at the park building July 13. Entry forms must be legible and must include full name, contact information including email address and phone number, name of recipe and ingredients. Identify recipes from anyone under 18 years old. Local ingredients, such as eggs from the chickens next door, are a plus and the source should be identified.
A copy of the recipe must accompany the entry form.
Present your entry in or on one disposable tray/container with a maximum size of 15” x 15”.
Ms. Fuller will judge entries based on taste, presentation and decoration. First prize is $500; second prize $250 and third prize $100. Winners will be awarded at 3 p.m.
Upon entry to the park that day, visitors are asked to stop at the “Stake Table” where they can pick up a wooden garden stake. They will be given a tag on which to write their family name and the stake bearing the tag will be planted in the ground wherever they have set up their chairs. “We want to see the names that make up Copake,” Copake Bicentennial Committee Chair Kellie Nardin told The Columbia Paper this week. A videographer and drone will comb the park recording the names. “I think it’s a nice touch,” said Ms. Nardin.
Visitors can also tell their Copake stories/memories or just say what they feel about the place in an audio tent by the park building that day. The testimonies will be recorded on CDs and given to the Roe Jan Historical Society for preservation for posterity.
Also onsite, under the pavilion, local artists will showcase their wares/creations and share how they do it. There will be a fly-tier, a painter, a knitter and a candlemaker among others.
The Columbia Cruisers will put on a snazzy car and motorcycle show. Daring contestants with a bunch of belly room will vie to consume the most hot dogs.
Kids are invited to jump to their heart’s content in a bounce house or run through sprinklers to cool off, listen to a storyteller, get their faces painted or savor some ice cream on a summer day. Those who want to expend some energy can participate in old-time three-legged and sack races and Copake Bicentennial t-shirts will be for sale all day.
Musicians will add to the festive atmosphere with tunes filling the air by Dick Staber and the Chasnoff Duo from noon to 2 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.; the Ghent Band takes the band shell spotlight from 2 to 4 p.m. and Night Train tops off the evening from 6 to 8 p.m.
Ginsberg’s Foods sponsors the baking and hot dog-eating contests. The town has also received support from the Rheinstrom Hill Community Foundation, as well as Columbia County Tourism, to fund all the bicentennial celebrations. The picnic is being organized by the Bicentennial Committee, chaired by Ms. Nardin and the Picnic Committee, chaired by Ms. Jensen.
For more information email Copakebicentennial@gmail.com.
The rain date for the event is Sunday, July 14. If the weather for the 13th promises to be bad the decision to postpone will be made the previous day and posted on the sign at the park and on the Copake website.
But either way, Ms. Nardin is optimistic, noting, “I know it’s going to be a great day!”
To contact Diane Valden email dvalden@columbiapaper.com