SAUGERTIES Opus 40 Sculpture Park held its first-ever Fall Foliage Gala on Saturday, October 21, 2023. The event celebrated the peak of fall colors on the Sculpture Park’s gorgeous 63-acre site and the Catskill Mountains beyond, while also raising funds for ongoing restoration work to Harvey Fite’s 6.5-acre bluestone sculpture and his historic studio-home beside it, the latter acquired by the organization in late Winter of this year.
Supported and attended by 170 people, including luminaries such as Kiefer Sutherland, Lili Taylor, Nigel Barker, Johanna Hall, Morgan Spector and Peter Saraf, and political supporters such as State Senator Michelle Hinchey and Lacey Delgado (filmmaker and wife of Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado), the event centered on a tented dinner provided by Blue Mountain Bistro To Go and a spectacular light show on Fite’s sculpture and environs from Studio RRD, founded by Opus 40’s newest board member, Rob Ross.
Attendee Johanna Hall, formerly in the band Orleans, noted, “The Opus 40 gala was the event of the season—elegant, magical, fun. A perfect celebration of the success of the board to achieve a decades-long dream to reunite the creations of the brilliant Harvey Fite, his house and earthwork sculpture. Bravo!”
The President of Opus 40’s Board of Directors, noted architect Alan Wanzenberg and the Board’s Vice President Brigid Walsh spoke warmly at the event about their mission to restore Fite’s incredible stonework and offer programs on site for all the Hudson Valley’s many communities. They also offered warm and deep gratitude to the Board’s former president, in attendance, Jonathan Becker, who is also Executive Vice President of Bard College. Also present was James Cox Chambers, President of Bard’s Board of Trustees.
Joining Wanzenberg, Becker, Ross, and Walsh at the event were Opus 40 board members John Cederquist, Lara Davis, Amarah Sedreddine, Isabel Soffer, and Jennie Swantz — and Fite’s granddaughter India Richards who has become a special advisor to the organization. Brigid Walsh noted “So much wonderful community was celebrated and formed on Saturday! We are thrilled and grateful to all our friends and supporters for making our gala a grand success. It could not have been better”
The organization is planning a second gala for October 19, 2024. Stay tuned for details!
