abouttown.us is the joint website of AboutTown of Ulster and AboutTown of northern Dutchess/southern Columbia counties. abouttown.us starts out as an internet equivalent of these two quarterly print publications: accessible and authoritative guides to activities, events, businesses and services in the southern Ulster and northern Dutchess/southern Columbia regions. Our mission is to increase communication across the mid-Hudson and strengthen our common need for rootedness, community, and a "sense of place." On the local level we hope to foster community participation and the growth of small businesses. On the regional level we strive for greater awareness of our shared natural, environment and historic heritage. We hope that eventually we will grow to encompass other important areas of the mid-Hudson in Ulster, Greene, Dutchess and Columbia counties. The first AboutTown guide was founded over twenty years ago in New Paltz, Ulster County, as a practical guide for residents and visitors who wished to know more about New Paltz and its adjacent communities. In 1997, AboutTown of northern Dutchess and southern Columbia counties was created to cover the villages and towns of the Rhinebeck-Red Hook-Hudson-Tivoli-Germantown area. We hope that you, our community of readers and advertisers, will also use it to tell us what you like and don't like and contribute your own memorable experiences of our collective towns. Keep checking in as you explore the Valley, and help us make abouttown.us a useful and inspiring accessory to life in our towns and villages.