Editor's pick: Food for body and soul

NACL holds fundraising farm dinner and show

WHEN: Saturday, July 11. Dinner begins at 7:00 p.m.; the show starts at 8:00 p.m.

WHERE: NACL Theatre, 110 Highland Lake Road, Highland Lake, NY.

COST: Dinner $15, show $10. Children admitted at half price.

CONTACT: nacl@nacl.org or 845/557-0694.

HIGHLAND LAKE, NY — Combining community support with great entertainment seems to be the theme for our “Editor’s Picks” this week. At the Summer Farm Dinner/Bluegrass Night the worthy cause you can make a contribution to is our local first-class experimental theatre troupe, the NACL Theatre, which has suffered from severe funding cuts this year and is holding the event as a fundraiser.

Accenting the local theme, the food for that home-cooked summer dinner—an al fresco affair served in the back yard of Lakewood House (the theatre residence)—will come from Willow Wisp Organic Farm of Abrahamsville, PA. In fact, that’s why we’re printing this now even though the event doesn’t occur until next weekend: dinner guests are asked to register early to give the organizers plenty of notice so they know how much food to pick at the farm.

Following the feast, guests are invited to move inside for an evening of music, drinks and dancing. (There are separate charges for admission to the dinner and the show, for those who only wish to attend one). The benefit performance will be by the Brooklyn Country Caravan, featuring Dock Oscar & The Ambassadors of Love, and Alex Battles and The Whiskey Rebellion, who are donating their talent.

Dock Oscar & The Ambassadors of Love are a down-home string band playing old-time fiddle tunes, bluegrass and old-school country music. Breakdowns, murder ballads and Gospel songs populate their repertoire. While adhering to traditional styles of music, The Ambassadors of Love also reinvent hits of the 1970s from Abba to Air Supply to K. C. and the Sunshine Band. Principal songwriter Oscar is was raised in rural upstate New York, where his uncle had a family dairy farm. ((www.myspace.com/theambassadorsoflove).

Alex Battles is a songwriter from Chesterland, OH. His compositions range from barroom ballads to rock stompers. He sings and plays the songs with his band The Whiskey Rebellion, whose six members are dedicated to making a roof-shaking joyful hodgepodge of honky-tonk, jump blues and rock ‘n’ roll.

“This fun, family-friendly event celebrates our 12 years in Highland Lake and the many friends and supporters who are helping us create innovative live theatre in the Catskills,” said Tannis Kowalchuk, NACL co-artistic director.

Like many arts organizations across New York State, NACL was hit with a 100 percent cut in state funding this year due to the state’s budget shortfall, making the support of individual donors more important than ever.