The Saturday “Scaries” With Hudson Valley Celebrities
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY- The brisk evening of February 9th was filled with music, readings, celebrities and drinks at Astor’s third annual “Ghost Stories” to benefit its services for children and families in the Hudson Valley and the Bronx. Hosted this year at the Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston, NY(UPAC), the event sat over 1,500 people, paying as little as $41 per ticket and as much as $506 for premium seats. The event was put on entirely by volunteer ushers and stage crew, and was hosted by Rhinebeck residents Jeffrey Dean Martin, of The Walking Dead, and his wife Hilarie Burton, of One Tree Hill. Recruiting big name locals, Martin and Burton were also joined by Mary Stuart Masterson (Fried Green Tomatoes), Paul Rudd (Clueless), Clayne Crawford (24), Michael Raymond-James (True Blood) and fellow One Tree Hill star Tyler Hilton.
Upon entering UPAC, one was immediately immersed in the hustle and excitement of the performance to come. While waiting for the show to start, a slideshow depicting the previous year’s efforts at the Astor House in Rhinebeck played, highlighting the artistic bedroom renovations for the children. At 5:00 p.m. sharp, the show began with Tyler Hilton serenading the crowd acoustically, opening to the first of the ghost stories, read by a boy residing at Astor. His eerie, self-composed scary story was followed by Burton and Masterson’s long form story.
The night was a series of shivers and laughs. Hastings on Hudson resident Kerri Serendinsky attended the event with hopes of scary stories but was pleasantly surprised to encounter so many funny skits and stories, saying “Paul Rudd’s skit about household ghosts was hilarious!” Indeed, Rudd hysterically pretended to be a series of ghosts, not limited to the bobby pin ghost, the dryer sock ghost, and a few other humorous ghosts.
In between the ghost stories and the skits acting out the benefits of ghost boyfriends and a fake funeral, Burton, Martin and the rest of the celebrity guests expressed their gratitude for the crowd’s attendance. All the proceeds from ticket sales, raffles and the gift shop went directly to the Astor Home. Astor Services for Children & Families is “a community based, non-profit organization that provides children’s mental health services, child welfare services and early childhood development programs”.
Attendee Kerri Serendinsky explained that she attended the event because of a post on Hilarie Burton’s Instagram feed, however, she was happy to learn of how the event was helping the Astor house. “I was not familiar with Astor,” she said, “but after this event, I learned quite a bit about it and I am happy I attended”. Serendinsky also admitted that her favorite aspect of the event was how interactive the celebrities were with the audience and how they would poke fun at each other and cause uproars of laughter.
Looking at the clear success of a sold out show for three years running, Ghost Stories will sure to make its come back for its fourth annual show next February.
