Saturday, June 15th of 2024; 5:00pm

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Are you looking for the opportunity to have an extraordinarily wonderful dinner and support the rising professionals of the Woodstock Playhouse 2024 Cast? We present such an opportunity here: A Benefit Dinner Event Sponsored by the celebrated culinary destination right next door to the Woodstock Playhouse: Cucina of Woodstock.

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Be one of a limited number of special guests who will be able to step through the doors of the Cucina Farmhouse Private Event Space and back in time with us to celebrate both the historic roots and the present day high quality productions of the iconic Woodstock Playhouse.

 

In celebration of our shared history and the opening weekend of our season, Cucina of Woodstock will host a dinner at their Private Fireplace Room and you will enjoy:

• Pinot Grigio, Montepulciano, soft drinks, beer

• Passed Hors d'oeuvres:

  • Whipped ricotta, local honey, pistachio gremolata, crostini (Veg)

  • Arancini, arrabbiata sauce (GF) Veg)

  • Panuozzo pizza, sausage, tomato, crushed red pepper, mozzarella

• Plated Salad First Course:

  • Local Sky Farms baby greens, radish, sherry shallot vinaigrette (GF) (Veg)

• Family style Main Course:

  • Ricotta ravioli, brown butter, sage, toasted hazelnuts (Veg)

  • Slow roasted salmon, fregola, wild mushrooms

  • Herb roasted chicken, potato puree, hericot vert, lemon, capers, jus

• Plated Dessert:
  - Flourless Chocolate Torte, whipped cream, seasonal berries-Gluten free 
  - Sorbetti with berries upon request

• American Coffee and Tea

served in the honor of all guests and the opening of the 2024 Season.

 

Join our Gala Chairpersons, Board Member, Carlene Hummell, a leader in Ulster County Business and owner of Aqua Jet Pools, Spas and Patio Furniture - a Community Leader Sponsor of the Woodstock Playhouse, and her husband Steve Hummell, who has proudly served in the United States Military, as a New York State Trooper and is a member of the Indigenous people of this nation. They will be joined by Diane Stein, our President, who is the assistant to the principal in the public school system of the Shenendehowa School District. As we celebrate the 86th Anniversary of the Woodstock Playhouse on its site at the Gateway to Woodstock, and we, too, celebrate our history connected to the recent 50th Anniversary of the Woodstock 1969 Festival and the recognition of the Woodstock Playhouse by the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area, which has deemed the Woodstock Playhouse an official historic site of American Theatre and Music History; one of the first theaters ever to receive the honor.

 
The evening will begin with wine/beverages, hors d'oeuvres, and meet-and-greet beginning at 5:00 pm, followed by dinner until 7:00 pm. The performance of Cole Porter's 'Anything Goes' at the Playhouse begins at 7:30 pm. 

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Would you like to just join us for the Benefit Dinner? You can do that!

 

The Dinner Event is sponsored and donated by the premier culinary destination, Cucina of Woodstock. The evening's performance of 'Anything Goes' and the full season is sponsored by Community Leaders Aqua Jet Pools, Spas & Patio Furniture and Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, Community Sponsors Marshall & Sterling Insurance and High Rocks Charitable Trust, and Community Supporters Rondout Savings Bank, Ulster Savings Bank, Woodstock Infusions and Stewart's Holiday Match.

 

About Your Hosts at Cucina of Woodstock:

 

Chef Giovanni 'Gianni' Scappin is native of Marostica, in the northern Italian region of Veneto, studied at the nearby Recoaro Terme Culinary Institute. He was hired as Corporate and Executive Chef for the Bice Group, opening their restaurants in major cities across the U.S. and abroad. Famed restaurateur Pino Luongo recruited Gianni afterward, where he eventually rose to oversee Luongo’s entire restaurant empire operation throughout the 1990s, including Il Cantinori, Le Madri, Centolire and Coco Pazzo. He was invited to consult on the Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici. Upon its opening he was asked to join the CIA faculty as a lecturing instructor and eventually, Assistant Professor of Culinary Arts.

 

Lois Freedman is a graduate of The French Culinary Institute in New York City hired by acclaimed French Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and worked side by side with him garnering four stars from the New York Times.  Currently serving as President of Jean-Georges Management, she has been responsible for the overall concepts, service and creative decisions for the Mercer Kitchen, 66, Matsugen, V Steakhouse, Spice Market, Perry St., ABC Kitchen, ABC Cocina, Dune in the Bahamas, and Jean-Georges’ latest venture in Pound Ridge, NY, The Inn at Pound Ridge.

 

Cucina of Woodstock is an Open Table Diners' Choice 2016 Award Winner among countless additional accolades.