Pride Day in Hurleyville: August 2021

NOT A PARKING SPACE TO BE HAD
Pride Day Draws Big Crowd to Hamlet
by John Conway

HURLEYVILLE, August 2021– The Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre drew a big crowd to the hamlet on Saturday afternoon, July 24, teaming up with the Brooklyn-based House of Yes to host the “Yes Yes Yes Hurleyville Pride” event.
The festivities, which ran from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., featured live music, a live circus performance, vendors, and a parade. Things started slowly, but by mid-afternoon, the crowd of attendees had swelled to an impressive size.
“There wasn’t a parking space to be had anywhere in town,” one longtime resident told The Sentinel. “It was a great turnout and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.”
The unique event was free to the public, although donations were accepted. HPAC Executive Director Erin Dudley, who oversaw the event, was pleased with the turnout, and promised more similar programs in the future.
There was plenty of local representation among the performers, but the star of the show was clearly The House of Yes, which has become internationally recognized over the past few years for, according to publicity, “producing exceptional nightlife parties, cabaret shows, circus spectacles, immersive cinema, and creative experiences that defy categorization and transcend genre.”
The Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre’s website described the venture as being named the “#2 Best Thing to Do in the World” by Time Out New York.
“The House of Yes is a creative collective and theatre-infused nightclub based in Bushwick, Brooklyn founded in 2008 by Kae Burke and Anya Sapozhnikova. The performance-fueled venue has become a destination for creative culture and outrageous dance parties since opening their Bushwick location in 2015.”
The Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre was founded in 2016 with a mission to “celebrate the environmental and social diversity of the Catskill region through performance, film, and visual art. HPAC presents bold programs that create shared experiences to inspire, challenge, and connect audiences.”