KINGSTON, NY — “Trekkin’ the Ring of Fire” is a documentary covering a three-month journey that explored the culture, volcanoes and sacred sites of Southeast Asia. A video presentation followed by a Q&A with host Stephen LaMarca will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 25 at the Ulster Performing Arts Center, 601 Broadway. 

It’s sponsored by Bardavon Presents and the O+ Festival.

In spring of 2026, after retiring from a 30-plus-year stint as part of the upper management team of Bardavon Presents, Stephen LaMarca embarked on an expedition focused on visiting a chain of volcanoes along the Pacific Ring of Fire in Southeast Asia. 

As he traveled, LaMarca began creating a series of video journals, all shot, edited and scored on his phone, and which he posted to social media pages as he went.  It did not take long before he had a growing contingent of friends and strangers alike following  along on his solo travels, UPAC said. 

“These travel journals became a connection, a tether for me while I traveled alone in completely unfamiliar places and cultures, and during unpredictable situations that arose along the way. When I entered Sumatra during Ramadan just two days after the U.S. had attacked Iran for example. Or as I donned a gas mask to descend into a sulfur-laden crater to witness the blue flames of the active volcano of Mount ljen in Java,” LaMarca said.

His itinerary included five countries, 10 volcanoes, hundreds of temples and, according to LaMarca, “thousands of incredible people and countless amazing moments along the way.”

His Ring of Fire itinerary included stops in: Japan: Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima and Kyoto; Thailand: Bangkok, Ko Samui, Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands; Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur; Singapore; and Indonesia: Batam Island, Sumatra, Krakatau, Java, Bali, Menjangan Island, Lombok, Gili Islands, Flores and Komodo National Park.

There were many other places along the way, all of which are documented in the film, which is edited from the journals. 

There is no charge to attend, but donations to the theater are encouraged to help cover presenting costs.  

The original recordings, which on their own are considerably longer, can be viewed in their individual form by following his travel page #trekkintheringoffire on Instagram.