A Jim Henson Collaborator Built This Five-Story House by Hand
A handmade five-story house, sustainable fashion in an orchard, Oktoberfest on the Ridge, psychedelic mushroom horror and a few Hudson Valley finds worth the detour.
Fall is officially here, and this weekend is making a pretty convincing case for leaving the house.
A five-story house built by hand is opening its doors. An apple orchard is becoming a runway. Rough Cut is throwing its biggest Oktoberfest yet. And at Bard, John Cage’s love of mushrooms is being celebrated with a psychedelic Japanese horror movie.
We also found a good reason to finally see INNESS without turning it into an overnight — plus two October plans worth putting on the calendar now: The Felice Brothers on screen and stage in Kingston, and Neko Case bringing Neon Grey Midnight Green to the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie.
Exactly the kind of range we like around here.
Explore the Hudson Valley
A five-story house built like a sculpture and a destination retreat you can experience without booking a room.
A Jim Henson Collaborator Built This Five-Story House by Hand
John Kahn went into the Saugerties woods intending to build something small. Fifteen years later, he had a five-level house made from stone, timber, slate, copper and reclaimed materials, with curved walls, handmade details and the logic of a sculpture more than a conventional home.
Kahn had worked with Jim Henson and later designed sets for Fraggle Rock. This weekend, the Tower House opens for a rare public ribbon-cutting celebration, with tours, conversations with Kahn and outdoor performances by Carnegie Hall pianist Katya Grineva.
Why we recommend it: It feels less like touring somebody’s house and more like walking inside somebody’s imagination.
Weather note: Saturday currently looks mostly cloudy and breezy with a chance of a little rain or drizzle. Sunday looks cooler and wetter. The piano performances are outdoors, so check conditions before making the drive.
You Don’t Have to Check In to Get a Taste of INNESS
You may have seen INNESS without realizing exactly where it was.
The Accord retreat sits on 220 pastoral acres between the Catskills and Shawangunks, with minimalist cabins, a Dutch-inspired farmhouse, golf, trails and the kind of mountain views that seem engineered for October.
But you don’t have to turn it into a weekend away. Book a table at The Restaurant at INNESS, where the seasonal menu pulls from the Hudson Valley and Mediterranean traditions and the dining rooms look out toward the Catskills.
Go for weekday lunch, weekend brunch or dinner, then let the view do what it does.
Why we recommend it: It has all the visual drama of a destination hotel, but a restaurant reservation gives you a much easier reason to finally see what all those photos are about.
Fall note: INNESS sits between the Catskill and Shawangunk ranges, so the landscape becomes an increasingly good part of the meal as foliage season gets underway.
This Weekend
Sustainable fashion in an apple orchard, Oktoberfest on the Ridge and a free psychedelic mushroom horror movie at Bard.
An Orchard Becomes a Runway for Hudson Valley Sustainable Fashion Week[end]
Hudson Valley Sustainable Fashion Week returns with a brand-new multi-day format known as The Week[end], bringing regional designers, artisans and eco-conscious community members together at Stone Ridge Orchard to celebrate ethical style, circularity and environmental stewardship.
Friday evening kicks things off with Organic Runway IV, showcasing sustainable designs crafted from repurposed textiles and modeled en plein air through the orchard at sunset. Guests can pick apples, sip local cider and watch the show among the trees.
On Saturday, the inaugural Slow Fashion Fair offers an all-ages day of makers, fiber artists, workshops, live music, a clothing swap, mending, sheep, eco kids’ crafts and more.
Why we recommend it: It takes the sustainability conversation out of a conference room and puts it on a working farm — with actual makers, actual clothes and plenty to explore beyond the runway.
Slow Fashion Fair: Saturday, September 26 · 11 AM–5 PM
Stone Ridge Orchard · 3012 NY-213, Stone Ridge · General admission and VIP ticket options available · Weekend information & tickets
Weather note: Friday currently looks like the better outdoor day. Saturday turns cooler and cloudier with a chance of a little rain or drizzle, so check the event page before heading to the orchard.
Rough Cut Is Throwing Its Biggest Oktoberfest Yet
Rough Cut Brewing is pulling out all the stops for its fourth annual Oktoberfest. The Kerhonkson brewery says it is the biggest event they’ve put together yet — and admission is completely free.
GRAMMY-nominated Professor Louie & The Crowmatix take over the backyard stage, with Hudson Valley favorite Live Wire Panic kicking off a full day of live music on the Ridge.
There’s also an expanded German menu, games and activities for kids, stein-holding contests, raffles and the return of Rough Cut’s traditional Märzen-style Oktoberfest lager.
Want to lean all the way in? Limited-edition steins and boots are available to pre-order with a first pour, raffle entries and a commemorative sticker.
Why we recommend it: Live Hudson Valley music, German food, a brewery tucked against the Shawangunk Ridge and no ticket required. This feels like exactly what a September Saturday up here should look like.
Weather note: Saturday currently looks mostly cloudy, breezy and cooler, with a chance of a little rain or drizzle. Much of the action is in Rough Cut’s backyard, so check conditions before heading over.
John Cage, Mushrooms and a Psychedelic Horror Movie
Composer John Cage had another great obsession besides experimental music: mushrooms.
This weekend, the John Cage Trust and Bard are leaning all the way into it with a two-day Mycological Foray — and Friday night may be the strangest entry point.
Weis Cinema is screening the 1963 Japanese cult film Attack of the Mushroom People, in which shipwreck survivors land on an island filled with mysterious fungi. Food runs low, somebody decides eating the mushrooms is a good idea, and things get considerably stranger from there.
The larger weekend continues Saturday with fungi walks, mushroom identification and DNA testing, John Cage performances, a silent walk, historic mushroom drawings and even a mushroom photo booth.
Why we recommend it: A free psychedelic mushroom horror movie presented in honor of John Cage is exactly the kind of Hudson Valley sentence we want to be able to write.
Weather bonus: The Friday night film is indoors, so this one is safe from whatever the weekend forecast decides to do.
Plan Ahead
A Catskills band on screen and stage, and Neko Case bringing a new record into one of the Hudson Valley’s great old rooms.
See The Felice Brothers on Screen — Then Watch Them Take the Stage
This feels especially close to home.
Lunatic Dreamers is an intimate new documentary about The Felice Brothers, tracing the music, creative journey and Catskills roots of Palenville-born brothers Ian and James Felice alongside Jesske Hume and Will Lawrence.
The film gets its world premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival — but the night does not end when the credits roll. After the screening, The Felice Brothers will take the stage at Assembly for a special live performance.
Why we’re circling it: A Hudson Valley band, a film about the place and experiences that shaped them, and then the real thing playing a few feet away. This is exactly the kind of film-festival night that could only happen here.
Neko Case Brings Her New Record to One of the Hudson Valley’s Great Old Rooms
Some shows are about the artist. This one gets a little extra from the room.
On October 22, Neko Case brings her Neon Grey Midnight Green tour to the Bardavon 1869 Opera House, with Destroyer joining the bill.
Case’s ninth album was recorded live with a full band and produced by Case herself, leaving in some of the tiny human details — breaths, movement and the feeling of musicians actually being together in a room.
That seems especially appropriate inside the Bardavon, which opened in 1869 and remains the oldest continuously operating theater in New York State.
Why we’re circling it: Neko Case and Destroyer inside a 19th-century opera house is exactly the kind of artist-and-room pairing that makes a concert feel like more than another night out.
On Our Radar
New places, new experiences and the things we think you’ll be hearing more about.
A former 1950s public school outside Hudson has been turned into one of the more unusual contemporary-art spaces in the region. The Campus uses the old classrooms, hallways, gymnasium and school grounds essentially as they were found, filling them with room-size installations and outdoor works instead of trying to disguise what the building used to be. The 2026 exhibition brings together artists presented by 14 galleries, with work by names including Keith Haring, Sarah Lucas, Tschabalala Self, Tony Oursler and Naama Tsabar.
Why it’s on our radar: There’s something great about seeing serious contemporary art in a place where the lockers, gym and old classrooms are still part of the scenery.
2026 Annual Exhibition through November 1 · 341 NY-217, Claverack · Explore The Campus
You do not need to book a hotel room to disappear into Pocketbook Hudson for a few hours. The new bathhouse inside a restored 1885 textile factory combines communal thermal pools and steam with a spa and lofted studio offering yoga, Pilates, sound, breathwork, movement and other programming. Day guests can book the baths directly, and Tuesdays and Wednesdays come with a 50%-off Community Day rate.
Why it’s on our radar: When the temperature drops, a thermal bath in an old Hudson textile factory sounds like a fairly convincing reason to stop pretending summer isn’t over.
549 Washington Street, Hudson · Day visits available · Ages 18+ · Advance reservations strongly recommended · Book a soak at Pocketbook Hudson
Nonnina’s was designed as a love letter to grandmothers and old-school Italian hospitality — but the room is anything but dated. The intimate restaurant mixes dark wood, blue banquettes, vintage details and low lighting with the kind of food that starts sounding particularly good once fall arrives: handmade pasta, Italian comfort food, cocktails and a table you probably will not be in a hurry to leave.
Why it’s on our radar: Warm room, handmade pasta and enough visual personality that you’ll probably photograph the table before anyone eats.
2703 West Main Street, Wappingers Falls · Dinner Wednesday–Saturday 4–10 PM · Sunday 4–9 PM · Weekend brunch 11 AM–2:30 PM · Nonnina’s House
Curated each week by the Radio Woodstock team.
This weekend: walk through a house built like a sculpture, watch sustainable fashion move through an apple orchard, raise a stein on the Ridge, book a table with a Catskill view — or spend Friday night with John Cage and some extremely questionable mushrooms.
And looking ahead: put The Felice Brothers on screen and stage in Kingston and Neko Case at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie on the calendar before October fills up.
If you find yourself somewhere in the Hudson Valley thinking How did I not know about this?, send it our way.
Those are exactly the places we’re looking for.
We’ll see you next Thursday.