By DOROTHY HARTZ

“None of them knew the color of the sky.” So begins Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat,” a perennial selection in many Lit 101 courses and an icon by which students of American literature learn interpretative and critical skills. Our Sullivan County skies, alternately blue and gray, reflect the Union and Confederate colors retained in American consciousness partly through the success of Crane’s other great work, “The Red Badge of Courage.” Crane, in all his colors, will be commemorated by the Sullivan County Historical Society at its annual Stephen Crane Festival, held this year on June 9 and 10. A county resident for a short time at his brother’s home in Hartwood, Crane also wrote “Sullivan County Sketches,” making him both regional folklorist and regional folklore. His contribution will be remembered in lectures by Crane biographer Linda H. Davis and Sullivan County historian John Conway, dramatic readings, music and a candlelight walk through a Civil War encampment. For more information, call the Sullivan County Museum at 845/434-8044 or see elsewhere in this issue of TRR. Davis and Conway will also speak on Crane at the Oracle Book Store in Liberty, at 10:30 a.m., on Saturday.

Re-enactors of all sorts and stripes will be a large part of the living theater of Fort Delaware this summer. Four different groups will encamp in July and August. This weekend, the Fort hosts Community Days, during which local historians will meet with the public and local organizations will be promoting community pride. County resdents can visit the Fort for a reduced admission of $2 each weekend in June. More information is available at 845/252-6660.

Community pride of a different strain is tested in June’s CineArt offering, a new comedy by David Mamet. “State and Main” tells of a small Vermont village overrun by a film crew. In maneuvers reminiscent of Narrowsburg’s own recent history, the director of the film within the film, behind schedule and over budget, writes an old mill out of “The Old Mill” to save money. No one in this movie saves face, however, with the exception of Ann Black, local bookstore proprietor and romantic interest for Joe White, naive screenwriter. Black, White and local color will be on screen at the Callicoon Theater, from June 13 through 17, co-sponsored by the Theater and the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA) as part of the CineArt Series. Call the 24-hour MovieLine for details at 845/887-4460.

Continuing a color theme, Felicia Rose headlines the June performers in The Braman Arts Conservatory’s Summer Performance Series. A singer-songwriter who has traveled from Hawaii to South America to India, she ranges in style as widely as she does in geography. She appears at 8:00 p.m., on Saturday, June 9, at the Conservatory at 79 Main Street in Callicoon, an intimate venue which fills up fast. Reserve your spot at 845/887-1901 for “her sonorous voice... reminiscent of the sirens...”

Call the DVAA for information about upcoming events at 845/252-7576 or visit www.artsalliancesite.org

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