Around the Neighborhood - Esperance - 29 March 2026

Welcome to all your Esperance updates conveniently in one place!

Dairy Carnival is located at 3673 US-20, Sloansville, “Spring is here and our outside order window is now open. We are celebrating Maple season with our special soft-serve flavors of the week: Blueberry & Maple Pancake.” Dairy Carnival’s hours are Wednesday through Monday from 12:00 PM - 9:00 AM; closed Tuesdays.

Saturday (3/28), Van-Dale Farms is joining in on Earth Hour from 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM. “Earth Hour is a global movement where lights go off around the world to support awareness of climate change and energy use. “Picture this…Lights off. Beeswax candles glowing. Fresh bread on the table. A quiet, slow hour with the people you love. Pre-order your 100% beeswax candles now so you can be part of it at home. Add fresh baked goods to make it a full cozy night. Pre-order required. Farm pickup before Saturday evening. Let’s make this more than just an hour… let’s make it a moment.” Van-Dale Farms is located at 1391 Grosvenors Corners Road in Central Bridge.

Van-Dale Farms will also be participating in The Central Bridge Farmer’s Market every Wednesday July - October, 4 - 7 PM at The Ball Park (649 NYS Route 30A, Central Bridge) and The Festival Farmers Market at The Gathering Place (127 Kenyon Road, Cobleskill) every Saturday July 11- October 24; 10 AM - 2 PM.

Now available: basketry willow cuttings grown on site at Biscuitwood Farm (2639 State Route 162, Esperance). “Plant your own garden for weaving baskets, wattle fences and more! Grows extremely well in wet soil and now is a great time to plant! Bunches of 10 cuttings for $20. Varieties currently available: Packing Twine, Leicestershire Dicks, Streamco, Purpurea mix (green, dark dicks and dicky meadows), Miyabeana, Rubykins, Golden willow salix vitellina, Ornamental curly scarlet willow also available. I am available to answer questions about growing willow for weaving and hedgework projects; biscuitwoodfarm@gmail.com.”

Have you signed up for Esperance notifications through TextMyGov yet? Text “Esperance” to 91896. This information was provided by Mayor Royce Gage and will allow you to receive important notifications right to your phone.

Maple Weekend in the Catskills continues on March 28th & March 29th at the Two Saps Syrup saphouse (303 Cripplebush Road off Route 30A in Central Bridge). They, “will be open to visitors from 10-3. Besides beautiful views of the Cripplebush Creek and valley, visitors can see how the sap from sugar maple trees is turned into some of the best tasting maple syrup, candy and maple cream using  a wood fired evaporator. Located off the beaten path, the classic sap house was made from lumber milled from the trees on the Slater farm. Visitors may also catch a glimpse of the heritage rare breed animals on the farm including American Milking Devin one of the earliest multipurpose cattle breeds in the U.S.”

Esperance Historical Society Memberships are $9.00 per year and $5.00 per year for Sr. Citizens; small business patron $25.  Anyone looking to support this organization can send a check made out to the Esperance Historical Society to 123 Church St., Esperance, NY 12066.  “Our annual Esperance Historical Society meeting will be April 12th at Two Saps Sap House.The membership business meeting starts at 1:30 with a presentation on the American Flags of the Revolutionary War by Vic DiSanto starting at 2:00 the general public is invited and free pancakes with maple syrup, eggs and sausage will be served. Reservations are not required but appreciated by emailing kjones8@nycap.rr.com. Seating is limited and please dress warmly.”

Get ready, because the Village-wide Garage Sale Day will run all day May 16th! 

Then it will be time to look forward to The Esperance Memorial Day Parade on May 25th, which will be celebrating our country's 250th anniversary of the signing of the Decoration of Independence. 1 PM line up, 1:30 PM parade start.

“Dog walkers, please  pick up after your pets; please don't leave it for someone else to pick up. And nice weather is here for now, please watch out for pedestrians walking in our Village and extra caution for kids at our Village playground.” 

You won’t want to miss the last Esperance Volunteer Fire Department Fish Fry Friday Dinner of this year on April 3rd from 5 PM until sold out at 115 Church Street. Cash, check, or Venmo accepted; $15 per hand-battered fish fry dinner served with mac and cheese, coleslaw, dinner roll & dessert.

Also at 115 Church Street, Village Hall rental is available (donations are appreciated; call the Village Office at 518-875-9044 for more information), and Village meetings are every second Monday of the month at 7 PM (next being April 13), and a Budget Hearing is planned for Saturday, April 4th at 9 AM.

At Town Hall (104 Charleston Street) Town Board meetings are every third Thursday of the month; April’s meeting will be on 4/16.

Landis Arboretum is looking for volunteers! “Coming up May 15, 16, 17 we have our Spring Plant Sale. Tasks include set up on May 14th, working at bake sale, book sale and raffle tables, helping folks get plants to their cars, and shuttle from parking with golf cart. Especially looking for students needing hours toward honors programs. Email landisvolunteering@gmail.com.”

“During the spring of 2026, Landis Arboretum is holding a free Bluebird Lottery with entries accepted from April 1 through May 1 to celebrate birds and birders! The purpose of this lottery event is to have some fun while highlighting the birding opportunities at the Arboretum. Oh ... and there will be prizes! How to Participate - It is easy and free to participate in the Bluebird Lottery. Our nest boxes are placed in pairs; all you have to do is look at our Bluebird Trail map, pick one nest box pair location that you think will produce fledged bluebirds by June 15. All participants who submit correct guesses by the May 1 deadline identifying one of the nest boxes that produces fledglings by June 15 will receive a free one-year Landis Arboretum membership and be entered in a drawing for one of our grand prizes. Existing paid members will receive a one-year free extension to their membership. Only one submission will be accepted from each participant. Grand Prizes will include:

• Five prizes of a free subscription to The Mountain Eagle/The Schoharie News generously donated by the publication.
• A Wildtier Herz Metal Bird Feeding Station valued at $70 (donated by an Arboretum volunteer)
• A Wildtier Herz Bird Feeder House valued at $30 (donated by an Arboretum volunteer)
• A $20 coupon to use at one of our plant sales.
• Free attendance at one of our events or field trips.

More prizes may be added as local business friends of Landis provide them. The Grand Prize drawing will be held in late June and winners will be notified by email.” For more information and to access the online entry form, visit their website events page at landisarboretum.org. Landis Arboretum is located at 174 Lape Road and, “is open dawn to dusk 365 a year to you (and your well-behaved leashed dog; please scoop and remove any poops). No motorized vehicles allowed on the property beyond parking lots.” 

Additional upcoming Landis Arboretum events you can register for through their website include: Houseplant Swap (4/18), Star Party (4/18), and Vox Pop on the Road Gardening Show at Landis (4/22).

S&H Bicycle Store at 3595 Highway 20, Sloansville, is offering tune-ups, repairs, and service to make sure your bicycles are ready for the season. Also ebike-friendly and stocked to provide everything you need for every budget and skill level in their selection of new & used bikes and accessories. Open Tuesdays and Thursdays 5 PM - 9 PM & Saturdays 10 AM - 3 PM. Their Spring Kick Off Sale and Swap Meet will be on May 9th from 9 AM - 3 PM with Witch’s Brew on site offering breakfast sandwiches and coffee, world famous Michael Inserra the juggler, bicycle and E bicycle demos , basic bicycle fitting class presented by William Monaghan Jr at 11 AM, and bicycle flat tire changing class taught by Steve at 1PM.

Esperance-Sloansville United Methodist Church offers confidential food pantry assistance; You can call or text 518-248-2185 to utilize that resource or reach out via phone or email (pastoralisyn@gmail.com) to schedule a food pantry donation drop-off at 175 Main Street.

Esperance-Sloansville United Methodist Church upcoming events:

“Worship – Sunday, March 29th at 11:00 AM; Join us as we celebrate Palm Sunday! 

Faith Adventure Club – Sunday, March 29th at 10:45 AM; FAC meets in the Education Building for age-appropriate faith formation and fun for kids in grades K–8. 

Maundy Thursday Dinner and Worship Service; Join us at ESUMC for a Maundy Thursday

grilled-cheese-and-tomato-soup dinner and worship service led by some of our young people. Dinner starts at 6 PM, with worship beginning at 7 PM.”

Cute & Wicked Candles is reopening their shop in a new location at 152 Main Street, Suite 1, Esperance. “After a year of growth, we are thrilled to welcome the community into our new space and invite everyone to stop in on April 2 from 11 AM – 5 PM for our reopening day. Visitors can explore our handcrafted collections of luxury soy candles, botanical body oils, lip balms, wax melts, herbal blends, and home fragrance products. Everything we offer is handcrafted in small batches right here in Esperance, and we are incredibly grateful for the continued support from our local community.”

Mondays at the Esperance Elks Lodge #2507 (111 Main Street) members and non-members are welcome to attend classes taught by Registered Yoga Teacher, Venus Louise; “5:30 PM Chair Yoga, 6:30 PM Intro to Power Yoga. Classes are free by donation. Contact Venus Louise 518-764-9460.”

Your community involvement and membership support is important to the Esperance Elks Lodge. New members are typically invited by existing members, but if you don’t have a connection to someone at the Elks Lodge, there’s a membership inquiry form available through their website (elks2507.org). You can also call the Lodge at (518) 875-6200 or email join@elks2507.org. The Esperance Elks #2507 Facebook page is regularly updated, follow them at facebook.com/elks2507 where you’ll see photos from the 3/21 Installation of Officers; “Congratulations to David Devall on his installation as the next Exalted Ruler of the Esperance Elks Lodge! Congratulations to Rose Mattas, our Esteemed Lecturing Knight for being named the 2025-2026 Officer of the Year! Rose has been a steady supporter of things at the Lodge, and is well-deserving of this recognition. Congratulations to our ENF Chairman Kyle Tice on being selected the 2025-2026 Elk of the Year! Kyle was able to secure over $10,000 in grant funding for a variety of projects and was key in the execution of our community impact. And last (but certainly not least), the officers of Esperance Lodge put together a thank you gift for Steve and his family after a successful year as Exalted Ruler. TO STEVEN ROBERTSON 2025-2026; IN GRATEFUL APPRECIATION OF YOUR SERVICE TO THE FARMERS LODGE.”

Also shared on their Esperance Elks #2507 Facebook page: “In April, we'll be starting on some phone, TV, and internet upgrades at the Lodge, and wanted to make everyone aware of a temporary phone number set up in case you can't reach us at 875-6200. We intend to be open during this upgrade, so you should still be able to reach us at 875-3558 (875-ELK8) or lodge@elks2507.org in the interim.”

I’d love to include your Esperance, Sloansville, & Central Bridge business & organization updates including events, classes, special offers, and seasonal hours, as well as resident birthday,anniversary, graduation announcements, achievement, holiday, and celebration messages. Email them to me at bookclubhbhs@yahoo.com.