Cidiot

Super-short episode today while Cidiot prepares for a big, big, big fall sprint of shows starting September. Very excited and a new sponsor coming too.  Get on the free Cidiot newsletter to not miss a thing!  Cidiot Anthem (Audio only): Apple Music, Spotify, Soundcloud  Cidiot Anthem (Video): YouTube Plan ahead for fall with the Cidiot Guide to 2022 Fall Festivals on the Cidiot.com blog.

Four years since the show debuted! What a good time for a State of the Cidiot. In this special episode, Mat reflects on what Cidiot has accomplished so far along with birthday messages from several listeners, including Mark, Katie, Allison, Irwin, Adam—and of course superfan Leslie, Mat's mom.  Thanks for supporting and enjoying Cidiot, the award-winning podcast about life in the Hudson Valley, Catskills, and Berkshires.  A few things you can do to make this birthday special: Rate and review Cidiot on Apple podcasts or via Cidiot.com. Sign up for the free Cidiot newsletter. Shop for merch and books through Cidiot.com. Other links: Talk to Allison, Radio Free Rhinecliff (Apple link)

Is there an equivalent for cidiots in Maine? Yes there is! In fact, Mainers have their own dictionary of phrases I was excited to learn on our two-week vacation. It got me thinking about doing nothing and doing everything. I'll share my update on our to-do list and Robinson Greig sends in an update from Greig Farm.   Sign up for the Cidiot newsletter for free. Subscribe at Cidiot.com with your email address.  Other links: Discover Upstate Art Weekend July 22-24, 2022. Info here. Thanks to our sponsor Hudson Valley Kitchen and Design Center. Mention Cidiot for $500 off your project $5,000 or more. Info here. Send in a quick birthday message to Cidiot with the microphone at Cidiot.com My favorite Mainer phrases: "From Away" - from somewhere elsewhere than Maine "Flatlander" - someone raised at low altitude "Happier than a clam at high tide" - happy "Tighter than a bark on a tree" - tight "All stove to hell" - in bad shape

Newburgh is one of the oldest towns in New York State and frequently talked about as a city coming around. Cidiot spoke to Diane Parisella, who with her business partner Lisa Morgan, own Designed Grind Cafe at the Newburgh Mall and started The Newburgh Market, held on Sundays from April through the end of October in the mall parking lot 10am-3pm. Hear about the market, their business, what's coming to the mall, her favorite places in the Hudson Valley, and more on Newburgh itself. Stop by Designed Grind Cafe and tell 'em Cidiot sent you and get 10% off a delicious coffee. Thanks for listening to Cidiot and our sponsors Hudson Valley Kitchen Design Center and Taconic Toastmasters Club. Follow Cidiot on Instagram (@cidot.hv) and subscribe to the free newsletter on the home page at Cidiot.com.

I asked our new sponsors at Taconic Toastmasters Club to help me be a better presenter on air for you. They went through a few of my episodes and tell me what I'm doing right—and maybe could be better. I'm a believer in self-improvement and I'll take a few tips wherever I can get them. Including about owls. Want to develop and polish communication and leadership skills in a fun, friendly, supportive environment? Join Taconic Toastmasters Club at their next meeting at the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, 1 North Front St, Hudson, NY (Use rear entrance). The club meets the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 5:30 PM. See their website.  Follow Cidiot on Instagram and please send a birthday message at Cidiot.com. Just click on the microphone in the corner and mention your name and a favorite episode. By July 1 if you can. You can also subscribe for free to the Cidiot newsletter. Thanks.

Let's go further north. Health. History. Horses. And culture. Cidiot has a one-on-one conversation with Elizabeth Sobol, President and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). You’ll hear about Elizabeth’s journey to leading SPAC, her discovery and full on love of Saratoga, what’s on this season, from jazz to the ballet — plus a delicious innovation “Choreographer’s Feast “ — dancers do eat! And in part three, Elizabeth shares her recommended itinerary of where to go for a weekend in Saratoga. Thanks to Elizabeth and SPAC, Cidiot is giving away two tickets to "Voice and the Violin" with Joshua Bell & Larisa Martinez, performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra on Friday, July 29, 2022. What’s your cidiot story? Send it in for your chance to win. Details on how to enter on the episode 69 page at Cidiot.com. Deadline is Friday, June 24th at midnight EST. Thanks for listening to Cidiot and our sponsors Hudson Valley Kitchen Design Center and Taconic Toastmasters Club. Follow Cidiot on Instagram (@cidot.hv) and subscribe to the free newsletter at Cidiot.com.

It's strawberry season! Yes, I can't eat them sadly, but you probably can happily. In this special episode breaking from our usual schedule, hear directly from Robinson Greig at Greig Farm on best practices of what to look for and how to pick them.  Thanks for listening to Cidiot, the award winning podcast about moving to the Hudson Valley, Catskills and Berkshires. Subscribe to the newsletter and follow us on Instagram.  Photo courtesy of Greig Farm.

Pride starts early in June across the Hudson Valley, Catskills and Berkshires. This episode I talk to Osun Zotique, executive director of OutHudson and the co-grand marshal of Hudson Pride. If you’re following the news, you may have also seen that Osun just announced a historic run for congress to represent the new 19th district. To their knowledge, Osun is the first trans non-binary candidate to run for national office. Learn more at OsunforNY.com. Osun and I talk about pride in the Hudson Valley, about Hudson (“the P-town of the Hudson Valley”), about LGBTQ contribution to the upstate’s community, economy and culture. Osun also teaches me about “forest bathing” and how this year’s Pride is an opportunity to take that COVID Stickiness and well, dance it out… Find Pride events mentioned in this episode and many others on the Cidiot.com blog post and follow Cidiot on Instagram. Thank for listening. And special thank you as well to show sponsors Hudson Valley Kitchen Design Center and Taconic Toastmasters Club. Photo credit: JD Urban. Provided by OutHudson.

Is it a chore or a passion? This episode of Cidiot we go through seasonal to-do lists, from Mat, from listeners—and from a special guest Robinson Greig of Greig Farm. No one has a longer—or more daunting list—than a farmer.  If updating your kitchen, bathrooms and pantry is on your to-do list (it's on ours!), then you're in luck since a new sponsor of Cidiot is Hudson Valley Kitchen Design Center. For Cidiot listeners, just mention the podcast to save $500 off a project of $5,000 or more. See recent projects and fun on Instagram @hvkitchendesigncenter, visit their site at hvkitchendesign.com or call 845-615-9410 about a consultation.  Thanks for making Cidiot the best regional podcast in 2021 Chronogrammies. Voting is finishing up for 2022 and Cidiot is a finalist, so excited to see how the show does again. Get on the mailing list at Cidiot.com and follow Cidiot.hv on Instagram to stay current.

Some of the most important news is local. Mat interviews Emily Sachar, publisher and editor of The Daily Catch. She shares her journey from a newspaper reporter (including an internship under Bob Woodward at The Washington Post), to an art historian and then starting The Daily Catch in Red Hook, NY. We hear about the stories of which she's proudest, behind the scenes of the Daily Catch's Ukraine coverage, what it takes to produce a daily paper, about just doing "the next right thing," and more. And when asked the signature question of her favorite place in the Hudson Valley or Berkshires, Emily brings Cidiot an exclusive! Cidiot is up for best regional podcast in the Arts & Entertainment category of the 2022 Chronogrammies. Please vote and get other ideas from Episode 64 "A Cidiot's Ballot," or via the blog post on Cidiot.com. Welcome new sponsors Taconic Toastmasters Club and Hudson Valley Kitchen Design Center. Lucky to have you.