Knickerboker Ice Festival
Saturday, January 31 and Sunday, February 1, Rockland Lake, 299 Rockland Lake Rd, Valley Cottage
The Knickerbocker Ice Festival triumphantly returns to Rockland Lake in celebration of our country’s 250th birthday and of the Lake’s history as the epicenter of a global ice trade.
Come watch as huge ice sculptures depicting our American heritage are created by some of the best sculptors in the country. Lean how to make igloos from blocks of ice and snow. Take a brisk walk around the lake, or warm yourself with something hot from one of the many food trucks, while you sit near one of the warming fires. Watch as the ice chimney creates an unforgettable bonfire at dusk.
Winter once turned Rockland Lake into the center of one of New York’s most important industries. For one weekend this January, that frozen past returns in vivid form. The Knickerbocker Ice Festival comes back to Rockland Lake on January 31 and February 1, 2026, bringing ice sculpture, fire, food, and hands-on history for all ages.
The festival honors the memory of Rockland Lake’s beloved “Iceman,” Robert Patalano (1964–2025), who founded the event in 2007. Admission is free. Parking at the park costs $10.
The Ice Festival promises to be an exciting, educational and fun event for the whole family. You don’t want to miss it. Admission is free. Parking is $10 per car. Learn more at knickerbockerice.org.
Read more about the ice festival and the history of the ice industry in Rockland in The Ice Festival Cometh: Why You Don’t Want To Miss Rockland Lake’s Knickerbocker Ice Festival.
Elmwood Playhouse Presents: Perfect Arrangement
Friday, January 30, Saturday, January 31, Sunday, February 1, 10 Park St, Nyack
Set in the 1950s, this comedic play follows two gay couples, Bob and Jim, and their respective “wives,” Millie and Norma, who work in the U.S. State Department. To avoid persecution during the Lavender Scare, they maintain a carefully constructed façade of heterosexual marriage. Their charade unravels when they are assigned to identify “sexual deviants” within their ranks, forcing them to confront their identities and the fragility of their so-called perfect arrangement.
Presented by special arrangement with Concord Theatricals. Click here for tickets or more information.
Children’s Shakespeare Theatre Presents Thornton Wilder’s Our Town
Friday & Saturday, January 30 & 31, 7:00pm, Friday, February 6, 7:00pm & Saturday, February 7, 2:00pm, Palisades Presbyterian Church, 117 Washington Springs Rd, Palisades
Thornton Wilder’s 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning play is a timeless portrayal of life in the fictional town of Grover’s Corners set in New Hampshire. It explores themes of daily life, love, marriage, and death. This mixed ages production will be directed by Grey Johnson.
Click here for tickets.
Reading with Michael Swanwick at the Sparkle Bookstore
Saturday, January 31, 3:00pm, Sparkle Bookstore, 642 Main St, Sparkill
Mischling the thief races through time to defeat three trolls before the sun rises for the first time and turns the inhabitants of her city into stone . . . A scientist is on the run from assassins because her research in merging human intelligence with sentient AI is too dangerous . . . An aging veteran obtains a military weapon from his past: a VR robotic leopard, through which he rediscovers the consequences of the hunt . . . In the biggest heist in the history of the universe, a loser Trickster (and the girlfriend who is better than he deserves) sets out to violate every trope and expectation of action possible.
Discover the vast worlds and pocket universes of Michael Swanwick, the only author to win science fiction’s most prestigious award, the Hugo, five times in six years.
Michael Swanwick is one of the most acclaimed science fiction and fantasy short-story writers of his generation. In addition to the serial Hugos, he has won the British Science Fiction and World Fantasy Awards. Swanwick’s stories have appeared in original collections (Gravity’s Angels, Tales of Old Earth, and “Not So Much,” Said the Cat) and in anthologies and magazines including OMNI, Penthouse, Amazing, Asimov’s Science Fiction, and New Dimensions. His work has also been translated into more than ten languages. He lives in Pennsylvania.
Click here to register.
The Dreaming Place: A Transformational Sound Journey
Monday, February 2, 8:00pm (and monthly) The Angel Nyack, 18 S Broadway, Nyack
Join acclaimed vibraphonist Chris Dingman for a dream-like sound journey in the Sanctuary. $25 advance / $30 door.
Click here for tickets.
Mount Moor Cemetery: Neglected Narrative Now Preserved in Perpetuity
Tuesday, February 3, 7:00pm, In person and online, New City Library, 220 N Main St, New City
Bill Batson, artist, historian and activist is the current President of the Friends of Mount Moor Cemetery. He will share some of the stories of the over 300 residents of Mount Moor including some of the extraordinary service of the 32 veterans who served in every American armed conflict since the Civil War. Batson will also reflect on the heroic efforts of former Mount Moor President Hezekiah Easter to save the cemetery from over-development.
Online and in-person registration here.
Sound Meditation with Johnny Scifo
Wednesday, February 4, 6:30pm, Big Red Books, 120 Main St, Nyack
A sound meditation session (beginners welcome) with author, musician, and meditation teacher Johnny Scifo as he plays singing bowls and shares insights from his book, Brain Flowers: 10 Keys to Awakening in the Real World. Tickets: $20, purchase here.
ArtsRock Presents Comedy for a Cause: Lewis Black and Edy Modica
Friday, February 6, doors open: 6:15pm, starts: 7:00pm, Angel Nyack, 18 S Broadway, Nyack
Star of Broadway, The Daily Show and HBO Comedy Specials, Lewis Black
will take the stage to help raise money for The Angel Nyack!
Along with standup, finger pointing and his infamous “rants”, the evening will include an interview between Lewis and Elliott Forrest. Black will read local rants live onstage stage – so get your dander up and write down what you hate and email your rants to info@artsrock.org. Only rants received by tonight, Jan 30 will be considered for the public spleen venting!
Nyack’s own EDY MODICA will join in and add to the antics.
Her outstanding performance on the Emmy nominated breakout comedy of the year, “Jury Duty”, earned her a place in the Hollywood Reporter’s list of “20 Supporting Actors Who Stole the Scene…”.
Plus say hello to Lewis and Edy at the Afterparty!
Light fare and drinks will be included but please note that tickets are limited for this portion of the evening.
Every dollar helps the Angel Nyack preserve a historic building, foster the arts and support Soup Angels to feed our neighbors in need.
Click here for tickets.
Let the Story Warm You, a Rescheduled Evening of Prose Reading
Friday, February 6, 7:00 pm, free, Marydell Faith & Life Center, 640 N Broadway, Upper Nyack
Join All Ways Writing in collaboration with Marydell Faith & Life Center for a cozy afternoon of prose readings, featuring a curated selection of nine local writers. Hosted by Lily Greenberg, the readers include Ellyn Hament, Christina Leaño, Bridget McFadden, Emilya Naymark, Alex Russo, Fredric Sinclair, Collin Stephens, Jessica Wahlstrom, and Zaneta. The readers will present short pieces in groups of three, with brief Q&A’s to punctuate each group. Light refreshments will be served. Free and open to the public, the reading will take place in the Marydell Dining Hall; guests are encouraged to park at Gate 3.
Black History Bazaar, Celebration and Oratory Competition
Saturday, February 7, 6:00pm, Nyack Center, 58 Depew Ave, Nyack
The 2026 honorees for the Nyack Center’s Black History Month celebration are Wilbur Aldridge, Dominique Bourdeau, & Synthia Salomon. Help them in honoring the legacy of Carter G. Woodson
About Carter G. Woodson–Carter G. Woodson’s legacy resonates even more profoundly as we mark the 100‑year anniversary of Negro History Week, the groundbreaking celebration he created and the foundation of what we now honor as Black History Month. Widely known as the Father of Black History, Woodson insisted that the achievements, struggles, and brilliance of African Americans were essential to the nation’s story. His scholarship and advocacy transformed education, challenged institutions to confront historical omissions, and empowered generations to see themselves reflected in history. A century later, his vision remains a guiding force—both a celebration and a call to continue expanding and protecting the truth.
Visit nyackcenter.org for more information.
Storefronts, an exhibit of drawings by Bill Batson
Open thru February 8, Lagstein Gallery, 85 S Broadway, Nyack
Images that chronicle the narratives behind some of the small businesses, religious institutions and organizations that form the economic and civic structures of Nyack, created by the author of the Nyack Sketch Log, Bill Batson. On exhibit through February 8, 2026.
Gallery Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 1:00 – 4:00pm, or by appointment. Learn more at lagsteingallery.com.
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by Wright Bros. Real Estate where Experience meets Excellence at Nyack’s Longest Operating Brokerage.
