Culture in the Catskills

The Catskills have many historical landmarks, but its growing culture over the years has been a significant expansion to the region. There are fine arts displayed in galleries and museums, local troupes performing in small theaters, outdoor stages and churches, and the return of film festivals.

When I googled for things to do while visiting The Catskills I found a handful of local sites, but I inevitably ended up on Wikipedia, as they have the market on search these days. Each of the hamlets within the county are listed and provide very basic information on their own pages, with the Sullivan County page providing a bit more on tourism as you can see below:

Sullivan County has been a popular vacation spot since the 19th Century, with mountain climbing, boating, and other outdoor activities, and the Monticello Raceway being among the attractions. The majority of the tourism occurs in the summer months. It was the site of the hundreds of resort complexes of the Borscht Belt (with their golf courses, social events, and entertainers), between the 1920s and 1970s. It was the site of the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
Many famous comedians tested their material and performed regularly at Borscht Belt hotels, including Milton Berle, Mel Brooks and Henny Youngman. Eddie Fisher performed often at Grossinger's, where in 1955 he married Debbie Reynolds.
During the period August 15–18, 1969, some 500,000 people gathered in Sullivan County's Town of Bethel at Max Yasgur's farm to attend the Woodstock Festival. The entertainers included The Who; the Grateful Dead; Jefferson Airplane; The Band; Canned Heat; Joan Baez; Arlo Guthrie; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; Janis Joplin; Santana; Sly and the Family Stone; Blood, Sweat and Tears; Jimi Hendrix; and Richie Havens.
Today the site of the original Woodstock concert is the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, which includes a museum of the sixties and holds many concerts and other events.
Other notable cultural destinations include the CAS Arts Center, a multi-arts exhibit space and education center run by the Catskill Art Society in Livingston Manor, New York, and the NaCl Theatre, a professional regional theatre company focusing on experimental work in Highland Lake, New York.

While accurate, it doesn't include the cultural activity that has sprung up over the years. Knowing there were a couple of important mentions to add, I went ahead and edited the page. Here is my version:

Sullivan County has been a popular vacation spot since the 19th Century, with mountain climbing, boating, and other outdoor activities, and the Monticello Raceway being among the attractions. The majority of the tourism occurs in the summer months. It was the site of the hundreds of resort complexes of the Borscht Belt (with their golf courses, social events, and entertainers), between the 1920s and 1970s. It was the site of the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
Many famous comedians tested their material and performed regularly at Borscht Belt hotels, including Milton Berle, Mel Brooks and Henny Youngman. Eddie Fisher performed often at Grossinger's, where in 1955 he married Debbie Reynolds.
During the period August 15–18, 1969, some 500,000 people gathered in Sullivan County's Town of Bethel at Max Yasgur's farm to attend the Woodstock Festival. The entertainers included The Who; the Grateful Dead; Jefferson Airplane; The Band; Canned Heat; Joan Baez; Arlo Guthrie; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; Janis Joplin; Santana; Sly and the Family Stone; Blood, Sweat and Tears; Jimi Hendrix; and Richie Havens.
Today the site of the original Woodstock concert is the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, which includes a museum of the sixties and holds many concerts and other events.
Other notable cultural destinations include the CAS Arts Center, a multi-arts exhibit space and education center run by the Catskill Art Society in Livingston Manor, New York, and the NaCl Theatre, a professional regional theatre company focusing on experimental work in Highland Lake, New York. 

Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, founded in 1976, serves as Arts Council for Sullivan County, New York. They present programs in the visual, performing, literary, and media arts and service a county-and valley-wide constituency of artists, arts groups and the general public. The staff advocates for advancement of the arts on the local, state, national, international level. As a catalyst for events not generally available, DVAA sponsors an outstanding variety of arts and cultural programs in its facilities, the Delaware Arts Center, on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Tusten Theatre, a fully-renovated 160-seat facility.
Liberty Museum and Arts Center, The Building, built in 1894 as the modern Poellman Hotel, had seen periods of occupation by plumbing and heating retailers, a furniture store and last by Katz Bakery, a famous local institution. Long abandoned, the building was nearly irreparable with a collapsed roof and leaks everywhere. Into this dire challenge came this group of community minded citizens lead by Robert Dadras, Gene Barbanti and Ron Gozza. They organized volunteers to remove tons of debris, repair the roof and begin renovation. With a few grants as seed money and construction help from a Sullivan County BOCES building class, a miracle was underway. With dedication and much hard work a major portion of the building was completed. On Friday, June 25th, 1997 a Grand Opening ribbon cutting was celebrated at 46 South Main Street, which was temporarily closed for the occasion.

 I took the liberty of adding two important art alliances that provide an enormous amount of diversity in expression, whether in fine arts or literary works.  Both of these centers showcase the work of artists in the region along with many who have contributed to supporting art programs, including educational services.  This is yet another wonderful attraction when visiting The Catskills!

A Region Rich in History

As with many regional clusters of towns, Sullivan County has a tremendous history that dates back to the late 17th century.  Once known for lumbering, the lustrous forests were plenty full of pine and hemlock trees, the later providing a superior base for tanning leather.  Both timber and tanning were big industry back in the day until they pretty much pillaged most of the available resources.  Thankfully, today we see much reforesting that has since taken place, despite the ongoing development of new homes being built.

The good news is the third "T", for tourism.  During the late 1940's with the influx of Jewish immigrants, many summer resorts and bungalow communities were built in what we referred to as the Borscht Belt.  If you have seen the film Dirty Dancing, you will know what I am referring to.  These retreats played host to families from all over, especially suburban Long Island and NYC, and were a place where friends and even marriages were made.  It was an annual ritual to visit any one of the many hotels in the area up until the 1990's, when sadly they started to see a major decline.  As the economy and personal tastes shifted, a very special era eventually came to an end.

Fast forward to 2015 and there is new life permeating in the form of second and rental homes along with recreational activities to fill more than just summertime fun.  There is locally made vodka and bourbon at Dancing Cat Saloon & Catskill Distilling Co, hand-crafted beer at Catskill Brewery and a lovely vineyard that produces pretty nice wine, Eminence Road Farm Winery.   Do you love maple syrup?  Then you wouldn't want to miss a visit to Catskill Mountain Sugar House, they will even give you a tour to show you how it's made.

Many people think the area is great for either canoeing or skiing, but the Catskills are full of exciting, interesting happenings and businesses.  I personally think the dynamic mix of local-born and city-transplants, that produce much of the products here, deliver a huge bang for the buck and your time.  The adventures are plenty, as I will continue to share all that there is to do and see!