Hosting an April episode of Mountain Lake Journal

Asgaard Farm in Au Sable Forks, New York, provides a beautiful backdrop for a mid-April episode pf Mountain Lake Journal.

We're looking at less obviouls choices for entertainment and recreation in the Adirondacks this week, starting with an opera the Adirondacks can call its own.  It's the fourth story in my "Spotlight" series about “Promised Land: an Adirondack Folk Opera.”   Its creators say the plot has relevance across the United States and perhaps even in other countries.  While the work is still in progress, composer Glenn McClure and artistic director Helen Demong have made sure to give key roles to singers from the Adirondacks as well as to performers from elsewhere in New York State and nearby states.  

Then Will Houle shows us why you might enjoy taking yor kids ot meet the new kids at Asgaard Farm. Every spring, people from all over venture to Asgaard for the farm’s annual Kidding Day event. Hundreds of families and visitors stop by the farm to see the baby goats, some only a few days old. Some people even find themselves a new pet. Those who work on the farm use Kidding Day to share their story with the community while promoting high-quality farm products.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those of you who enjoy outdoor recreation, April can be a tricky time of year.  It's too warm to ski anymore but it's still too cold for a day at the beach. Kevin Cooney found a sport that works perfectly this month, and every other time of the year. 

Finally in this episode, a friendly neighborhood visit.  François Clemmons, known to many as the singing neighborhood police officer from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, visited Plattsburgh, New York for a special screening of the documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor? Mountain Lake PBS held the screening in partnership with the Strand Center for the Arts.   

Enjoy this episode of Mountain Lake Journal tonight at 8:00, Saturday at 7pm, and Sunday at 10am, on Mountain Lake PBS.

 

 

 

Friendly "Neighborhood" Screening

Mountain Lake PBS has a friendly neighbor in Middlebury, Vermont, and what a joy it was to welcome him to our special screening of the Mister Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor this week. The Strand Center Theatre in Plattsburgh provided an elegant environment for the occasion. 

Dr. François Clemmons, known to Mister Rogers’ viewers as the singing police agent Officer Clemmons, performed on Mister Rogers Neighborhood over the course of twenty-five years. 

This week he crossed Lake Champlain to share stories about Fred Rogers that only he can tell. I invited the audience to ask him questions, and got in a few myself.

After the superb movie and the question and answer session came the moment that cast a spell on the audience, hearing Dr. Clemmons sing, and not just any song.  Clemmons, who founded the renowned Harlem Spiritual Ensemble, first performed a soulful hymn from the gospel tradition.  He followed it up with a special request I had made, “There Are Many Ways to Say I Love You,” written by Fred Rogers.  Clemmons had sung it the very last time he appeared on camera with Mister Rogers, and a clip of it had appeared in the documentary.  It was the song Clemmons sung while his feet cooled off in a wading pool next to those of Mister Rogers, in a scene that not only spread a subtle message against racism, but one that also contained Biblical overtones when Rogers dried Clemmons’ feet with the same towel he’d been using.  The audience at the event, not expecting the song, gasped and applauded once they recognized the tune.  
https://youtu.be/9sMyrcuDe_8

The talented Vihan Wickramasinghe performed wonders at the grand piano.  It was the first time the physics and music graduate of SUNY Plattsburgh had accompanied Dr. Clemmons.

I was enchanted enough to tell the audience they’d witnessed a genuine “Officer Clemmons magical moment,” one that took a scene from the movie we’d seen, and brought it musically to life for everyone in the auditorium. 

I’d like to thank the audience members who joined us, bringing with them their love of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and their enthusiasm to meet an accomplished cast member from the show.  Also, the Strand Center for the Arts deserves profound thanks from Mountain Lake PBS, for partnering with us to help make this Indie Lens Pop-Up special screening a super special event.

The ever gracious Clemmons called the afternoon program a “superior occasion,” and said “I always tell folks when I travel what a fine job that little station in upstate New York is doing. Truly, with your sensitivity and professionalism, you set the standard!”

Special thanks to our national partners, Independent Lens, ITVS, PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.