The Mid-Hudson Valley is home to many cities along the river that have been revitalizing and trying to breathe new life into forgotten water front area’s. Kingston is no exception. There is a small water front area, referred to as the "Rondout", mainly because it is located on the Rondout creek. Years ago, my Dad had a boat that he docked at the Rondout Marina, and we used to spend July 4th on the boat and watch fireworks, right from the water at night. There is now a thriving little enclave, with about 12 restaurants/cafes, boutiques, a yoga studio, a bookstore and antiques. I will go into more detail of this area in a future post. This weekend, Kingston hosted the first Mardi Gras Celebration and it was held at the Rondout. Yes, we had just had a huge snowstorm, and yes it had been about 10 degrees F for about a week… but the show must go on! Ordinarily, I would not feel compelled to spend time outside to collect some beads. However, I had a reason to go. My sister is the co-founder of the "Hudson Valley Horrors", a local roller derby league, and they were having their first public bout as part of the celebration! What a way to premier… as if roller derby was not challenging enough… try doing it outside… on pavement! As luck would have it, the temperature warmed to above 32 degrees and the sun came out!
Round and round and round they skated, wearing polypropylene and leg warmers, knee pads, helmets, mouth guards and shirts with their very cool logo on it, while the rest of us were sipping hot chocolate and shivering in the crowd. Members include ‘Puffy Bangs’, ‘Rxy Ramalotte’,’Rough Gem’, ‘Aurora Gory Alice’…..and my sister ‘Scarlett Bloodletter’! All went off without a hitch. Lots of falls and elbows, but no serious injuries or blood.
Some of the other events were ice sculpture carving and a parade complete with beads… though sorry to say, the Rollergirls float (shaped like a roller skate), traveled down Broadway sans Rollergirls. Apparently, some sort of timing issue after their skirmish!
The Hudson Valley Horrors will host their first official bout at their home rink, Hyde Park Roller magic, on April 15th. They have even received national press… they were on ABC World News Tonight with Charles Gibson! Check them out if you are in the area.