TEDx at the Hudson Opera House

On Saturday night, at the Hudson Opera House Spring Fling Gala, HOH executive director, Gary Schiro announced that the opera house was going to be the setting for a TEDx event. Today, Gossips received the official press release.

TEDxHudson Announces Inaugural Event at the Hudson Opera House

As the newest member of the internationally celebrated TEDx family, TEDxHudson announced today that it will hold its first ever event on September 27, 2014. Taking place at the Hudson Opera House, TEDxHudson's theme of "Crossroads" will bring together the city's people and their diverse interests for a daylong event celebrating our past and our future. Tickets to TEDxHudson will go on sale June 1, 2014.

TEDxHudson will feature national leaders and local thinkers, acclaimed artists now working or living in the area, leading healthcare providers and educators, renowned historians and writers, alongside regional farmers, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, long-time residents, and surprise guests.

"There is no better place than Hudson, with its rich history and diverse creative community, to explore our theme of 'Crossroads,'" said co-organizer Richard Katzman. "The Hudson Opera House has been the city's historical gathering place for nearly 160 years--it's the heart of Hudson and the ideal venue for our very first TEDxHudson."

The Hudson Opera House is New York State's oldest surviving theater and a cultural beacon in New York's Hudson Valley. From its founding in 1855 as Hudson's City Hall through 1962, when the building was abandoned, the Hudson Opera House was a popular stop for traveling performers, authors, and lecturers. Notable speakers included the transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson and the poet Bret Hart; Susan B. Anthony visited at least twice, speaking out against slavery and for suffrage; and, in 1914, Theodore Roosevelt regaled a crowd with his adventures in Africa. TEDxHudson will carry forth this great tradition and bring today's inspiring speakers together to explore our event's theme of "Crossroads."