Ancram Center for the Arts to Host Second Annual Summer Bash Fundraiser
The Bengsons will perform at The Farm at Pond Lily, with emcees Rena Sofer and Danielle Skraastad.
Ancram Center for the Arts will host its second annual Summer Bash at The Farm at Pond Lily in Elizaville on Saturday, Aug. 1, from 6:00 – 10:00pm. Proceeds from the fundraiser will underwrite the Center's annual programming and its many free educational and enrichment activities, including its community storytelling workshops for area students and adults. The evening, held at a historic Hudson Valley estate nestled among 500 private acres, includes a cocktail reception, buffet dinner, a performance by the acclaimed musical duo The Bengsons, a paddle raise, dessert, and an after party.
This year's Summer Bash emcees are two well-known performers with local roots: Rena Sofer, a resident of Gallatin, gained widespread recognition when she joined General Hospital as the savvy record promoter Lois Cerullo. Her memorable performance earned her a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress and a devoted fan following. She was the enigmatic jewelry designer Quinn Fuller on The Bold and the Beautiful and also had starring and recurring roles on Melrose Place, Just Shoot Me! and Ed. Danielle Skraastad, who grew up in nearby Cairo, NY is a familiar face to Ancram audiences, having performed here in Rupert's Birthday, the first stop in 2025's Plein Air Plays. Also at Ancram Center, she starred in Homebody, earning a 2018 Berkshire Theatre Critics Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, and Still Life. On Broadway she appeared in All My Sons and her numerous Off Broadway credits include The Atlantic, Signature, New York Theater Workshop/Women's Project, The Public, and Playwrights Horizons.
The Bengsons will bring their energetic indie-folk-punk music, autobiographical style and highly personal storytelling to the festivities. The award-winning married composers/performers have captivated audiences and critics alike in works like My Joy is Heavy (NYTW), The Keep Going Song (LCT3, Actors Theatre of Louisville), Hundred Days (NYTW), and The Lucky Ones (Ars Nova). No strangers to the Ancram Center, The Bengsons wrote the music for 2025's production of Where the Mountain Meets the Sea and brought An Evening with The Bengsons to the Center's 2022 season. They received the 2024 Obie Award for Sustained Achievement in Performance and the Jonathan Larson and Richard Rodgers Awards.
The Farm at Pond Lily is a historic Hudson Valley estate with an original 1780 Colonial house and buildings that date back to the late 18th and 19th centuries. The property was originally a working rural farm, with remnants of its agricultural past—like pastoral fields and historic outbuildings—still intact. The grounds are known for their rolling hills, horse pastures, and private pond.
“We hate to say it, but there are a limited number of tickets for the Summer Bash, and last year's event completely sold out,” said Ancram Center Co-Director Paul Ricciardi. “It's such a wonderful evening, the Farm at Pond Lily could not be a more beautiful setting, and with The Bengsons performing and Danielle and Rena hosting, it's going to be an incredible night. Everyone who attended last year said it was the party of the summer! We hope people will get their tickets before they're gone!”
"This is our most important fundraiser of the year,” added Co-Director Jeffrey Mousseau. “Ticket sales alone never cover the costs to Ancram Center of bringing the community a season of performances from exceptional artists, or of offering residencies to theater makers who create and share innovative new work, or of underwriting our free educational offerings."
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