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| May 24, 2025 |
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General News: Beacons Shine Light on 2009
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| Jonathan Dunaief's photo of the beacons of light. |
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| The Continental Army re-enactors greeted folks in Newburgh. |
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| The celebration was full excitement about the history and the promise of the Hudson Valley. |
Late Tuesday evening the rain clouds lifted over Newburgh and Cornwall Bay and shortly after sunset bright lights appeared on the hilltops on both sides of the Hudson River, marking the beginning of a celebration of the area’s history that will go on throughout 2009.
The lighted beacons were Xenon lights but they were meant to recreate the beacons of fire lit by the colonists while the British troops were evacuating the region at the end of the Revolutionary war in 1783.
On Front Street in Newburgh on Tuesday, a small group of re-enacters dressed as soldiers in the Continental army stood guard while General George Washington sat on his horse. Inside a private residence, representatives of many of the groups that had organized the lighting of the beacons – from the Palisades Park Conservancy to the Hudson Valley National Heritage area -- hailed the night’s light show as a way of bringing history to life as the region embarks on a yearlong celebration of the 1609 voyages of Henry Hudson and Samuel de Champlain.
Deke Hazirjian, who directed the technical production of the light shows atop Mount Beacon, Storm King Mountain, Bear Mountain, Snake Hill and at Washington’s Headquarters, said his vision was to unite the two sides of the river in this celebration and in other acts throughout the year ahead.
Lee Murphy, who together with Hazirjian had been appointed two years ago to represent the village of Cornwall-on-Hudson in the 2009 Quadricentennial committee, was excited about the possibilities for promoting the Hudson Highlands and its history. Murphy hung a banner at the reception that posed the challenge to those present: “After tonight… what? 2009!”
And back in the windblown edges of Storm King Mountain, photographer Jonathan Dunaief braved the cold night to take photos of the mountaintops alight. You can see more of his photos in the Our Town section by clicking here.
Comments:
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THe little bit of it that I saw was awesome. I wish I had been better informed and knew about earlier 'cause you know I love a re-enactment!
posted by Kate Benson on 11/29/08 at 2:57 PM
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