Abraham Lincoln (aka John Exter), Gerald Balcar, Ursula Burroughs (aka Patricia Brannen), and New York State Assemblyman Clifford Crouch. Photo by Lissa Harris.
Assemblyman Clifford Crouch (R-107) was the guest of honor Tuesday, at a dinner-theater banquet held at Summerfield's in Margaretville as a fundraiser for the Open Eye Theater. (Also on tap: Music both medieval and modern, as strolling violinists traded off with country and folk tunes from The Andes Gang.)
In a brief address to the assembled nobles, Assemblyman Crouch spoke of the merits of arts and literature in education, making note of a recent story in a London newspaper that described a school making unlikely strides through the use of classic literature.
"I'm a firm believer in the arts, and a firm believer in the fact that reading has to be essential," Crouch said. "We've got a great opportunity to make sure the arts are alive and well in our schools."
The Bard would surely approve. (Too bad he didn't show up. Though we did have Abraham Lincoln and Ursula Burroughs, thanks to an unexplained wrinkle in the space-time continuum.)
Cedric and Curtis Taylor fiddle like it's 1699.
Katie Fairbairn leads a trio of fair maidens in song (Melissa Day, Barbara Morrow, and Rain Stegemoller).
Update, 8/26: This post initially identified Gerald Balcar as Bill Piervincenzi. Post corrected; sorry for the error!
