The Adirondack Center kicks off its inaugural lecture and concert series with "An Evening of Adirondack Songs & Stories with Dan Berggren" Thursday, Sept. 6 at 5:45 p.m.
The concert is free and open to the campus community and the public. Parking at the facility on St. David's Lane in Niskayuna is limited. Shuttles will leave from Old Chapel Circle starting at 5 p.m. and run throughout the event.
An award-winning musician and educator, Berggren has been entertaining audiences for 30 years with his brand of folk music that taps into his experiences being raised in the Adirondacks.
He is the owner of Sleeping Giant Records, which has produced 15 albums. Berggren's most recent solo release is "Fresh Territory," which includes the renewable energy anthem, "Power from Above, " featured in the Fall 2006 issue of the folk magazine SING OUT!
Berggren is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Art and Literary Award from the New York State Outdoor Education Association, the Heritage Award from the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks, the Education Award from the Adirondack Mountain Club and the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching, State University of New York.
A light reception will follow the performance, which is sponsored by the President's Office.
Last spring, Union purchased a building complex from the private conservation group Protect the Adirondacks! (PROTECT) that includes the former home of the noted Adirondack conservationist Paul Schaefer (1908-1996) and a modern addition that houses the Adirondack Research Library.
The decision to acquire the property on St. David's Lane and preserve and expand its use as an educational learning center reaffirms and builds upon the College's long connection to the Adirondacks and is consistent with President Ainlay's major initiative of capitalizing on Union's location.
The property is located on a two-acre parcel of land three miles from campus. It includes a 2,400 square-foot Dutch replica home built by Schaefer in 1934 that is used for offices and meetings. A 3,900 square-foot addition completed in 2005 houses additional offices, conference rooms and the Adirondack Research Library.
The library, which contains more than 15,000 volumes, as well as extensive collections of maps, photographs, documents and the personal papers of some of the region's foremost conservationists, was the creation of Paul Schaefer.
The building is surrounded by award-winning perennial gardens that have been maintained by Garden Explorers of Niskayuna and a bluestone amphitheater used for public lectures and musical events. The property borders the Reist Sanctuary, an 111-acre preserve managed by the Mohawk Bird Club.