It’s been a busy month here at Chronogram headquarters. March, the fickle beast, came in like a lion and, if we’re being honest, went out like a lion with its tail on fire, tearing through the underbrush and roaring with the kind of unhinged energy usually reserved for a nap-deprived toddler. And honestly? That’s just how we like it. If you think what’s in the pages of this issue is the full extent of our coverage—oh, dear reader, let me disabuse you of that quaint notion.
Because in the vast, ever-churning engine room of Chronogram‘s digital presence, we are cranking out stories at a serious clip. We’re talking about an uninterrupted stream of profiles, investigations, reviews, previews, interviews, and deep-dive local storytelling.
Like so: A tour of the once-grand, now-crumbling $65 million Gilded Age estate in Millbrook. That’s right, the famed Hitchcock Estate—the one where Timothy Leary and his psychedelic brethren once set up shop—is on the market, just waiting for some well-heeled mystic to take up residence and get their transcendental groove on.
We also spent some time this month with two titans of comedy: Patton Oswalt and Colin Quinn. Patton, ever the bard of the bemused and beleaguered, talked about his “Effervescent” tour, the art of crafting the perfect joke, and why we could all stand to laugh a little more. Meanwhile, Colin Quinn waxed sarcastic about America’s inability to get out of its own way.
But it’s not all mansions and chuckles. Some stories hit you in the gut and leave you breathless. Like the one out of Hillsdale, where a grieving family is fighting for justice after the tragic, preventable death of their three-year-old son, Micah. Their battle with state bureaucracy is a reminder that the systems designed to protect us often fail in ways that are both cruel and infuriating. These are the stories we tell not because they’re easy, but because they matter.
And then, of course, there’s art—always art. We highlighted 10 must-see gallery shows, dove into Z Behl’s luminous and provocative exhibition “Stand in My Danger” at Pamela Salisbury Gallery in Hudson, and previewed the stacked summer seasons at Opus 40 and Caramoor, which turns 80 this year.
We got an inside look at the world of master mentalist Vinny DePonto, where sleight of hand meets storytelling and nothing is quite as it seems. DePonto, who honed his craft in the Hudson Valley before taking his mesmerizing performances to the national stage, invites audiences into a realm where reality bends and the impossible feels within reach. It’s magic, but not as you know it—more intimate, more psychological, more a conversation between artist and observer. His work is a reminder that what we perceive is often just a fraction of the truth—much like how a magazine only scratches the surface of the stories we tell.
And let’s not forget the most-clicked story on our website in March: a deep dive into the Hudson Valley restaurants serving up underrepresented cuisines. From Filipino adobo to Ghanaian jollof rice, these culinary gems prove that our region’s food scene is as diverse as it is delicious. While some restaurants lean into tradition, others bring a modern spin to long-standing flavors, but all share one thing in common—they’re introducing locals to something they may have never tried before.
All of this—all of this—happened in just one month. And here’s the kicker: None of it ever made it into print.
Chronogram in 2025 is more than just a magazine. The pages you hold in your hands (or see stacked neatly in your favorite cafe) are only the tip of the storytelling iceberg. Every day, we’re covering the people, places, and pulse of the Hudson Valley in ways that don’t wait for the next print deadline. Our digital-first reporting brings you the latest in arts, culture, food, politics, and the unexpected corners of life in this region that make it endlessly fascinating.
Yet, despite all this, our email newsletters—our direct line to you, dear reader—are still reaching only a fraction of the people who call this place home. Which raises the question: How do I fix this? My first thought was to hire a skywriting plane to draw a massive QR code over the Hudson, but the wind. Alternatively, I could just say: sign up. It’s free, it’s easy, and you won’t have to interpret any smoke signals to get the latest Hudson Valley happenings straight to your inbox. (Subscribe: Chronogram.com/newsletter.)
Consider this your invitation to join the inner circle. Five days a week, we deliver the best of what’s happening in the Hudson Valley directly to your inbox. No algorithms, no guesswork—just the latest and greatest from our newsroom to you. It’s free, it’s easy, and it’s the best way to stay in the loop on everything from the region’s best new restaurants to the biggest stories unfolding in our backyard.
Sign up, stay informed, and get the full picture of what we do. Because March was a lion, and April’s shaping up to be a beast of its own. Oh, I forgot to mention all the stories in this print issue. Take a look for yourself!
Department of Corrections
As part of our profile of Poughkeepsie in the February issue (“Main Street Momentum”), we wrote about The Art Effect. We incorrectly stated that the longstanding children’s arts education nonprofit runs a summer camp in Wappingers. It does not, but it does run camps in New Paltz and Poughkeepsie. We also noted that The Art Effect was moving out of the Trolley Barn, its art education outpost on Main Street for the last four years. In our initial reporting, we wrote that money could not be found to transform the space long term. Nicole Fenichel-Hewitt, executive director of The Art Effect, wrote to clarify that the decision to sell the building was made by its landlord, Hudson River Housing, after being unable to secure funds to complete necessary structural work.
In the March issue, we highlighted regional nonprofit movie theaters (“Hudson Valley Nonprofit Movie Theaters Swim Against the Stream”). We erroneously labeled The Moviehouse in Millerton, which converted to a 501(c)(3) in 2022, as a for-profit. The Moviehouse is a storied cultural institution and eminently worthy of support. We encourage readers to seek out its programming and attend an upcoming fundraiser for the theater, Reel Genius: A Night of Movie Trivia, which will take place at the White Hart Inn in Salisbury, Connecticut, on May 3.
Our apologies for the errors—we strive for accuracy, but sometimes we trip over our own pencils. We’ll always own up to our mistakes, and we appreciate the chance to set the record straight (and to remind ourselves that fact-checking is a lifelong journey).
This article appears in April 2025.
