Community Spirit Shines Through Dutchess' Tourism Businesses

Date Published: May 4, 2020

We love representing a county that works together, and it's in these difficult times that it matters most! In honor of National Travel & Tourism Week, we wanted to highlight some of our friends demonstrating the #SpiritofTravel and the resilience of our industry. These tourism businesses, and so many others like them, are an incredibly valuable asset to our community - even when they aren’t able to welcome visitors to Dutchess County.

When daycare centers looking after the children of our essential workers told us they were having trouble getting toilet paper and paper towels, our hotels came to the rescue donating cases from their inventory. Our friends from Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County volunteered to send their truck to pick up and deliver these critical supplies from the Poughkeepsie Courtyard Marriott, Holiday Inn Express Fishkill, Hilton Garden Inn, and Extended Stay America. And additional supplies were donated by The Rhinecliff and The Hotel Tivoli.

With a team of fabulous volunteers, Innisfree Garden in Millbrook delivered bouquets totaling upwards of 4,500 of their own freshly cut heirloom daffodils to Vassar Hospital in Poughkeepsie and The Fountains at Millbrook. They said, “It’s not a magic cure but in sharing what we have, we sent sunshine and thanks during this crisis to the many people working so hard to care others and heal themselves.”

To honor those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park was illuminated by more than 1,300 luminaries coming together to spell out “THANK YOU!”, transforming the Hudson Valley’s most iconic landmark into the community’s largest display of gratitude. In total, the display of light spanned more than 200 feet. The project salutes everyone going to exceptional lengths to keep people healthy and society functioning in the Hudson Valley and across the nation.

Moe Schell, the costume supervisor at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard, lead an effort with the costume shop to transform scrap fabric from past shows into masks for healthcare workers in the Hudson Valley.

Unshattered shifted their production from making bags to sewing masks for local healthcare workers. As of May 1, they have provided over 5,374 masks to more than 137 frontline caregiving organizations and businesses in need. As a nonprofit, they are choosing to pay their employees their full wages while donating over 900 masks per week to places like Greystone Programs, Inc., Anderson Center for Autism, Grace Smith House, Wingate at Beacon, and Cardinal Hayes Home for Children.

And speaking of shifting production, both Denning’s Point Distillery and The Vale Fox Distillery have transitioned from making award-winning craft spirits to hand sanitizer. Supplies like hand sanitizer are hard to come by and we are grateful to these local businesses doing their part to provide them. Show them some love back by purchasing a bottle (or more!) of their spirits when you pick up.

No competition here, local businesses helping one another, and we love to see it! The crew at Sloop Brewing Co. lent Zeus Brewing Co. a canning line so they could start to can their beer. Zeus posted on Facebook saying, "We couldn’t have made it this far without you guys. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!" Check out both breweries for more information about how you can purchase beer for pick-up!

Dutchess County is a foodie destination and our restaurants and caterers are not to be outdone. Many, like Farmers & Chefs, Terrapin, Sinapi’s, Mama Musetti’s, Simply Gourmet, and others have donated meals and made a difference to the workers at our three hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Our friends at County Fare have joined the #FeedTheFrontline initiative and Los Hornitos Bakery has partnered with Flores Food Truck to pump out sandwiches to fuel the frontline. Together they’re sending so much more than just a meal - they're sending love, gratitude and encouragement to the brave healthcare heroes working tirelessly to care for those fighting COVID-19.

Despite being one of the many hospitality companies affected by the current pandemic, Bonura Hospitality Group is doing everything they can to help support their employees. They know it's a stressful time as people and families try to navigate through financial hardship, but BHG is making sure no one on their team goes hungry.

Dutchess County’s farms are stepping up to the plate as well. So many are sharing what they have including Dutchess Creamery. For a number of weeks at Del's Roadside gave away FREE milk to people in need. They noted, "During times of crisis it is important to do whatever we can to help our community and as a local business, we aim to give back and support our community as you have all been supporters of us." Common Ground Farm has also gone the extra mile, reaching out to provide groceries to people in need.

We continue to be inspired on a daily basis by all our tourism partners! If you have or see inspiring stories happening throughout Dutchess, please share them with us using hashtag #OurDutchessStory.