June is a wonderful time to visit New York’s Hudson Valley, and whether you’re planning a day trip, a weekend getaway or a longer excursion, there is so much to see and do here in Dutchess County.
Relax and recharge as you bask in the natural beauty and splendor of the Hudson River and surrounding mountains. Witness the past come to life at our many historic sites, including Gilded Age mansions and colonial-era homesteads. Let your creative spirit soar at our plenitude of performance venues and art galleries. Indulge in a diverse array of culinary flavors from all over the globe at our world-class restaurants.
There really is something for everyone here in Dutchess County, where there is an adventure waiting around every corner.
Here is a list of the Top 10 Dutchess Events in June — a mere fraction of the county’s many can’t-miss attractions and experiences. Have fun — and be sure to keep that camera handy! Feel free to share your photos here, and tag @DestinationDutchess on social media.
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Sunday, June 1, 2 p.m., in the Henry A. Wallace Center at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum, Hyde Park
The Beatrix Farrand Garden Association's 17th annual Bellefield Design Lecture will feature guest speaker Jonathan Kavalier, who is the Director of Gardens and Grounds at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., Beatrix Farrand's garden design masterpiece. Kavalier will discuss the challenges and opportunities of maintaining historical gardens in the 21st century and share the ongoing efforts to preserve and ensure their relevance for the future. The BFGA will offer to lecture attendees a free screening of the documentary film, "Beatrix Farrand's American Landscapes," in the Wallace Center, which is located next to the historic Beatrix Farrand Garden at Bellefield on the property of the FDR Library and Home. There will also be a book signing with Jonathan and free tours of the Beatrix Farrand Garden. Click here for details.
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Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, June 6–29, at the Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck
CENTERstage Productions presents the Royal Shakespeare Company adaptation of this timeless classic at the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck. Follow Dorothy on her unforgettable journey to the Land of Oz, where she encounters all your favorite characters — the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, Glinda, and the Wicked Witch. With its unforgettable songs and magical moments, this production stays true to the spirit of the original movie while adding a new layer of excitement and wonder. This production is directed by Hannah Corneau, whose knowledge of all things "Oz" can be traced back to her time as Elphaba in "Wicked" on Broadway. Her expertise brings a fresh and captivating new perspective to this beloved classic! Click here to purchase tickets.
Related: Among the musicians scheduled to play outdoor concerts in Dutchess County this summer are New York Yankees legend and jazz icon Bernie Williams, who will perform at Millbrook Vineyards & Winery on June 28. Click here to see this summer's concert lineup.
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Saturday, June 7, 3–7 p.m. on Main Street, Beacon
Celebrate all the best of what Beacon's vibrant and trendy Main Street has to offer. Sample delicious foods and refreshing beverages from many of Beacon's finest restaurants and tap rooms. Check out the unique offerings from some of Beacon's most popular boutiques and businesses. Tickets are selling quickly and last year's event was sold out, so don't wait! Click here to purchase your tickets. Have your tickets ready and check in at one of three checkpoints to receive a wristband and a map: the Beacon Chamber of Commerce (1146 Wolcott Avenue) from 2–4 p.m.; Happy Valley Arcade Bar (296 Main Street) from 2–7 p.m.; or the corner at 498 Main Street (in front of Witch Please) from 2–4 p.m. Main Street is within walking distance of the Beacon train station on the Metro-North Hudson Line, so getting there is a breeze!
Related: Celebrate Pride Month in Dutchess County with a host of fun events, including the Poughkeepsie Pride Parade and Festival on June 14. Click here for a guide to all the Pride celebrations in Dutchess.
Sunday, June 8, 12–5 p.m. at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park, Beacon
The strawberries are ripe for the picking here in the Hudson Valley, and to celebrate, the Beacon Sloop Club is hosting its beloved annual Strawberry Festival. Grab your forks and come on over for a fun, family-friendly event on the shores of the majestic Hudson River. Enjoy all sorts of strawberry treats while you listen to live music performances and shop from local vendors. The Beacon Sloop Club’s boat, the Woody Guthrie, will be taking guests on free sails from the Beacon Harbor. The public may sign up for an afternoon sail to relax and experience the beauty, power and grandeur of the Hudson (weather permitting). Sign up at the Beacon Sloop Club table. To learn more, click here.
Saturday, June 14, 5 p.m., at The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park
Experience all three of the CIA's award-winning, student-run restaurants in one memorable night! Your evening begins with a cocktail reception in Farquharson Hall with food, wine, and more from local purveyors. Then, you’ll head out on your culinary journey through contemporary French, farm-to-table American, and traditional Italian dishes, with one delicious course at each restaurant (The Bocuse, American Bounty, and Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici). Wine pairings are included! Street performers and musicians will entertain you as you move between restaurants. Each guest will also receive a gift to take home with them. Click here to book your reservations.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 12–14, at multiple locations, Beacon
Calling all wordsmiths! Beacon’s annual literary festival will be a three-day collaboration of talented and renowned storytellers. Enjoy readings, performances, workshops, and much more. Come face-to-face with award winning writers and hear some fresh, new literary voices. This year's signature event, "Women in Noir," will be held Friday at the Howland Cultural Center, “The Jewel of Beacon” and a local hub of creative energy. "Women in Noir" is an immersive multimedia program featuring bestselling, award-winning crime and thriller fiction authors Margot Douaihy, Jode Millman and Julia Dahl in conversation with the N.Y. Writers Studio’s Cynthia Weiner, and TownSquare Media’s Jackie Corley. Click here to see the festival schedule and to purchase tickets.
Related: This year's Juneteenth commemoration in Poughkeepsie includes the "Oh, Freedom!" Quilt Exhibit at the Walkway Over the Hudson on June 22. Click here for details on Juneteenth celebrations throughout Dutchess County.
• RevCon 2025 Revolutionary War Reenactment and History Fair (Saturday, June 14, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Hyde Park): Dutchess County continues its multi-year commemoration of America’s semiquincentennial with RevCon 2025, the second-annual Revolutionary War Reenactment and History Fair! Reenactors will be on hand for weapons demonstrations and tactics, exhibitions of military camp life and uniforms, and question-and-answer sessions about life in Revolutionary America. A presentation by historian and author Todd Braisted, titled "They Absolutely Did Not Murmur: The Hudson Valley Takes Up Arms for King George," will examine the region's role in supporting the British war effort. Click here for details.
• Revolutionary Cider Celebration (Saturday, June 28, 11 a.m., at Fishkill Farms, Hopewell Junction): Celebrate the start of summer in the orchards at Fishkill Farms, makers of Treasury Cider. It will be a day filled with Revolutionary War and Colonial-era history, including a presentation by cider historian Mark Turdo, titled "to be found in every house: Cider in 18th Century America." Jonathan Kruk, the Hudson Valley's master storyteller, will regale families with Tales of Revolutionary Dutchess County and a dramatic reading of The Declaration of Independence. There will be hayrides, farm experiences, and, of course, apple cider! Click here to learn more.
Related: Dutchess County is home to a rich tapestry of stories spanning centuries, all waiting to be told. Explore these legends, landmarks and more with the Destination Dutchess Story Finder, a mobile passport program featuring discounts, perks and itineraries for some of the region’s most captivating historic sites.
Saturdays and Sundays, June 14–Oct. 19, 2 p.m., at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, Red Hook
Up, up and away! The Aerodrome is set to begin a new season of high-flying action with antique air shows every Saturday and Sunday! The Saturday "History of Flight" program highlights the Pioneer Era before World War I and the Golden Age of Aviation in the 1920s and 30s. The Sunday air show is the World War I dog-fight spectacular, with a hero or heroine, the villainous Black Baron of Rhinebeck, scenery, pyrotechnics and a World War I tank, along with many antique automobiles. There are usually between 15 and 20 flyable vintage aircraft for each show. Open-cockpit biplane rides — which offer stunning views of the Hudson River and the surrounding highlands — are available before and after the air shows from 10 a.m. until twilight. Gates open at 10 a.m., which gives you plenty of time to check out the Aerodrome’s museum and grab a bite to eat at the snack stand. To purchase tickets, or to book your own biplane ride, click here. Head to the Aerodrome on select Wednesdays this summer for Flight Nights featuring live music, food trucks, biplane rides and family fun.
• Powerhouse Theater (June 20–July 27 at multiple locations at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie): Powerhouse Theater at Vassar College has been an invaluable resource for emerging artists and their groundbreaking works for nearly 40 years. In fact, the 2016 Tony Award winners for Best Play and Best Musical — Stephen Karam’s "The Humans" and Lin Manuel Miranda’s "Hamilton," — both trace their roots to Powerhouse. This upcoming summer season features another superb lineup of imaginative and insightful plays, workshops and works-in-progress. Perhaps one of this year's productions will be the next big smash! Among this summers highlights are a musical adaptation of Ned Vizzini’s young adult novel "It’s Kind of A Funny Story" by two-time Tony Award nominee Alex Brightman and Drew Gasparini, directed by Sarna Lapine. The writing and directing team that recently brought the smash hit "Job" to Broadway — Max Wolf Friedlich (Powerhouse alum ’12) and Michael Herwitz — reunite to present "The Holes." For the first time since 2019, Powerhouse will present a Mainstage production, "A Trojan Woman," by Sara Farrington, directed by Powerhouse alum Meghan Finn and starring international artist Drita Kabashi in a tour-de-force performance of a mother, alone with her child, facing the indiscriminate cruelty of war. To see the season schedule and to purchase tickets, click here.
• SummerScape and Spiegeltent (June 27–Aug. 17 at the Fisher Center, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson): Get ready for two action-packed months of performing arts at Bard’s annual SummerScape! Among the many highlights of this year’s festival are performances of “Pastoral,” the latest world premiere from Fisher Center LAB Choreographer-in-Residence Pam Tanowitz in collaboration with composer Caroline Shaw and visual artist Sarah Crowner; work-in-progress readings of “Jubilee” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks; and performances of Bedrich Smetana’s opera “Dalibor.” The Spiegeltent, meanwhile, keeps the party hopping all summer long with live music performances, drinks and dancing. In the Spiegeltent, catch performances in the “Bluegrass on Hudson” series, as well as shows by Susanne Bartsch, Juno Birch, Stella Cole, Adrienne Truscott, Elisapie, and Martha Redbone, among many others. Click here to see the full lineup of SummerScape and Spiegeltent events and to purchase tickets.
Related: The Destination Dutchess Inspiration Finder Arts & Culture Trail is a free mobile passport program offering discounts at some of the best cultural institutions, exhibition spaces and performance venues in the county.
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Friday and Saturday, June 27 and 28 at the Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds, Millbrook
Host Paula Moore of Orvis Sandanona and a team of internationally esteemed guest instructors will lead this two-day clinic, which offers an opportunity for skilled shooters to refine their technique. Participants will have access to these experts' tips, tricks, and adjustments that will enhance their success both on the clays course and in the field. Also included are five gourmet meals and unlimited clay target shooting. Moore is a nine-time National Sporting Clays Association All-American, a five-time member of NSCA Team USA, a three-time World Side-By-Side champion, and a six-time New York State Sporting Clays champion. In 2020, she became the first female Chief Shooting Instructor at the Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds, the oldest permitted shotgun club in the United States. To see a list of the guest instructors who will be joining Moore, and to register for the clinic, click here.
June 28, 2025–July 7, 2026 at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Hyde Park
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt corresponded with a veritable “who’s who” of 20th century world leaders, history makers and pop culture icons during their extraordinary public careers. This new exhibition at the FDR Presidential Library will showcase the many letters and gifts the Roosevelts received from these influential figures — from Amelia Earhart and Joe Louis to Frank Sinatra and the Dalai Lama, and many more. "Signature Moments" is a part of the Roosevelt Library’s celebration of America250, and the exhibit features selections from FDR’s personal collection of historical documents of America’s Founders, including items signed by George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. Click here to learn more.
