hudson valley green drinks

saving the world one sip at a time

August 2010

Touché Restaurant in Woodstock, NY was our host restaurant in August. We had about forty attendees come out to enjoy networking - some inside at the bar, others outside on the patio. Beautiful setting for a warm summer night of mixing and mingling.

Thanks to Touché for holding this "private party" style night for us (they were supposed to be on summer vacation) and to volunteer Raina for helping at the door. Thanks also to Aroma Thyme Bistro for donating a gift certificate for a door prize.

July 2010
Mahoney's in Poughkeepsie

Forty people mixed and mingled at Mahoney's in Poughkeepsie this month. Conversations flowed easily and we welcomed several newcomers to HVGD - and to Green Drinks in general.

Thanks go to:

1) Our attendees - without you, there wouldn't be an HVGD!
2) Mahoney's and its staff
3) Mahoney's and Aroma Thyme Bistro for donating gift certificates to their restaurants for door prizes
4) Penny for taking the photos
5) Chronogram and ScheinMedia for their continuing media support

Nice summer turn-out. See you next month!
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June 2010
The Would Restaurant in Highland

The Would Restaurant in Highland, NY was our host restaurant for this month and what a weird month it was for attendance. Bad weather again kept many normal attendees away (we tried The Would in winter but there was a snow storm that night). Though the rain storm only resulted in about 25 attendees (exact count will be updated shortly) the networking with such an intimate count was excellent. Because it was quieter than normal, people were able to enjoy substantial conversations and make good connections, and several people took advance of the restaurant's excellent prixe fixe menu and enjoyed dinner while chatting. Be sure to put them on your calendar for future dinner plans (www.thewould.com).

Thanks to Raina for volunteering at the door and to Carol and Wendie for being on stand-by if more help was needed at the check-in table. Many thanks to The Would Restaurant and to Aroma Thyme Bistro for donating gift certificates to their restaurants for door prizes.

HVGD & Glynwood
a Live Webcast at
The Rhinecliff Hotel
May 12, 2010
The live webcast was sponsored by Glynwood. Glynwood, helping communities in the Northeast keep farming.
This was by far HVGD's most spectacular event!

Please go to the webcast's devoted webpage to view the archived webcast, for links to the speakers and sponsor, to view photos, to see a list of the participating Green Drinks chapters...

It was a fantastic night!

April 2010
Happy 2nd Anniversary HVGD!
Keegan Ales in Kingston

A terrific 2nd anniversary party was enjoyed by all. Marie-Celeste could account for 75 checked-in people plus a few party-crashers, so it's safe to say there were 80 people to celebrate with cake - regular and vegan!

In addition to the always-lively networking, there were two 2-Minute Pitches made at April's event. First, Scott Gibson of ECOPIONEER told us about ECOPIONEER's BETA-SHED project to combine art and industry with local artists and the green technology specialists in our area by connecting inspired artists and with renewable energy and sustainable living specialists & advisors. Learn more at http://ecopioneer.com/

Our second pitch came from Jennifer Kluska of Hudson Valley Solar CoOp. She spoke of the financial benefits of going Solar.  To stay informed of the latest in renewable energy technologies, programs and incentives you can join the HVSC for free by clicking this link: http://www.hudsonvalleysolarcoop.com/join.html Thanks Scott, Jenn!

After the cake was cut, some attendees hung out with Tommy Keegan who talked about their brewery and their beer-making process while others went back to networking.

So how much cake did we enjoy? A half-sheet chocolate vegan cake and half of a full-sheet regular cake ...  the left-over cake was dropped off at The Queen's Galley shelter (thanks Deb for doing that for me!)

Thanks to door-volunteers Jane, Raina and Tanessa, and to Deb, Raina and Evelyn for taking the photos. Thanks Evelyn for being my paid helper at the door for the whole night - it was the first night in two years of HVGD that I was able to step away from the door for more than 30 seconds and actually get to enjoy the event during the event! Many thanks Jaime and Marcus of Aroma Thyme Bistro in Ellenville, for donating a gift certificate as a door prize and congrats to Nina Silverman for winning the "yearly" HVGD membership door prize.

Thank you everyone for making the last two years fly by and here's to a fantastic third year.
Cheers and hugs to all,
Marie-Celeste! 
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March 2010
The River Grill in Newburgh

A light night for attendees this month - only about 45 Green Drinkers attended this event. Location? Moon Phase? A big meeting? The good news is, there were still 45 attendees and the networking was fantastic.

Thanks to volunteers Jill and Joann for taking the photos.

See you in April - and PLEASE NOTE SPECIAL DATE: APRIL 21st.
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February 2010
The Would Restaurant in Highland

Kind of a snowy night but the Snow Policy is: the show must go on! Thirty-one attendees total enjoyed lively networking and a 2-Minute Pitch from Scott Gibson of ECOPIONEERS and from Cynthia Kudren of ScheinMedia, publisher of NY HOUSE magazine.

Thanks to door-volunteer Sophi and to Deb for taking the photos.
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January 2010
CHILL Wine Bar in Beacon

A few photos from the January 2010 Hudson Valley Green Drinks networking session at CHILL Wine Bar in Beacon, NY. There were just over 80 HVGD attendees and the networking went on long into the evening.
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June 2009
SPEED Networking
At Terrapin Catering in Staatsburg

Wanting to mix things up, HVGD hosted a SPEED networking session which was a terrific success. Participants were asked to bring their winter hats (yes, in June!) for one of the role-playing scenarios.

SPEED networking will be a feature about twice a year if we can find the right kind of space to host it.
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January 2009
Locust Tree In New Paltz
with guest speaker from
Huguenot Historical Society

A very, very cold and snowy night did not stop about 60-70 people from coming out to network and hear a guest speaker from Huguenot Historical Society talk about preservation techniques employed today on the many Huguenot homes in New Paltz.
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April 2008
Our Launch Party!
Mahoney's in Poughkeepsie

It was a fantastic first event with at least 63 people in attendance! Our media sponsor, Luminary Publishing, Inc. was represented with Publisher Jason Stern and Editor of Chronogram Brian Mahoney. The black and white photographs are courtesy of their photographer.
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