2009 Gala honors Huguenots as founders of New Paltz community

A year of festivities commemorating the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s historic voyage culminates with a premiere event hosted by the State University of New York at New Paltz at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009.

The seventh annual “Gala Celebrating New Paltz” will honor the Huguenots for their accomplishments and contributions as founders of our community and for their enduring commitment to education. Accepting the honor on behalf of the Huguenots is Mary Etta Schneider, board president of Historic Huguenot Street.

“Begin the holiday season by joining us at this wonderful event and by participating in the real meaning of the holidays – contributing a scholarship gift to a very deserving SUNY New Paltz student,” said Linda Delgado, Gala committee chair.

With historic Mohonk Mountain House as a grand backdrop, notable community members and business leaders will dine, dance and mingle throughout the evening. The resort’s famed chefs will create a lavish feast especially for the occasion. In keeping with this year’s theme, the chefs will draw upon the French and Dutch ancestral roots of the Huguenots.

The Huguenots’ commitment to education provides a strong legacy which the college has sought to honor with this event. Now in its seventh year, the Gala Celebrating New Paltz supports a scholarship endowment for students from Ulster, Dutchess and Orange counties to attend SUNY New Paltz. In the past six years, the Gala has raised more than a quarter million dollars to support these scholarship endowments.

The Huguenots were among the earliest immigrants to America, some settling in the Dutch colony of New Netherland, which was later incorporated into New York. As professionals in trade and medicine, and as expert artisans and craftsmen, the Huguenots made significant and lasting contributions to the establishment of the colonies.

In the Mid-Hudson Valley, the Huguenots founded what is today called New Paltz. Higher education has been one of the main concerns of the community since the 1830s, centering first on Huguenot Street and North Front Street, and then moving late in the nineteenth century to the area of Plattekill Avenue and Manheim Boulevard, where the State University of New York at New Paltz now stands.

Tickets are $175 per person, $325 per couple. Tables of 10 are also available. Tickets are available by calling the Special Events Office at SUNY New Paltz at (845) 257-3972. Visit www.newpaltz.edu/gala for more information.