He will discuss his latest book, These Exalted Acres: Unlocking the Secrets of Albany Rural Cemetery. The book was published by the Times Union with support from the cemetery's board of trustees and its benefactors. It contains a historical overview, photographs, maps and biographies of 50 fascinating people and historic monuments at Albany Rural Cemetery. Following the presentation, books will be available for purchase and signing.
The evening includes a reception at 6:00 p.m. with Light Fare and Cash Bar, and the program begins at 7:00 p.m. with a Book Signing immediately following.
Proceeds from book sales benefit the nonprofit Times Union Hope Fund, which helps underprivileged children attend after-school programs and summer camps.
The event is presented by the University Club of Albany Foundation, a 501c3 corporation, and one need not be a member of the University Club to attend. Tickets for the Pinkster Celebration are $30 per person or $50 per person for Honorary Committee. Reservations are required and may be made by calling the University Club at 518-463-1151 or online with a credit card or PayPal at tinyurl.com/uclub-pinkster-2014.
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In the spring of 1811, the Albany Common Council banned Pinkster Day celebrations because of “rioting and drunkenness.” Two centuries later, in an effort to revive a tradition from Albany’s past, members of the University Club petitioned the Common Council to repeal the prohibition. The Pinkster ban was lifted on May 16, 2011.
On Friday, June 6, the Club will welcome award-winning journalist and author Paul Grondahl to the 4th Annual Pinkster Celebration at the National Register-listed University Club of Albany.
Grondahl has been a staff writer at the Albany Times Union since 1984, where his assignments have taken him from the Arctic to Antarctica; from Northern Ireland to Africa; from New Orleans immediately after Hurricane Katrina and Haiti after its catastrophic earthquake in 2010; and across New York State, from Ground Zero on 9/ 11 to the Adirondack wilderness.
The Club’s first Pinkster Celebration featured readings from four centuries of scholarly and popular publications documenting the people and places of New York’s capital city, including Paul Grondahl reading from his book Mayor Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma. In 2012, the University Club Foundation was delighted to welcome Albany’s own Pulitzer Prize-winning author, William Kennedy. The featured speaker for 2013 was Stefan Bielinski, the director of the Colonial Albany History Project.
The Pinkster Celebration will feature a cocktail reception with light fare and cash bar from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m., followed by a presentation by Grondahl.
Proceeds from the event benefit the University Club of Albany Foundation, Inc., a 501c3 corporation, and one need not be a member of the University Club to attend. The Foundation was formed to recognize and maintain the unique historic and architectural significance of the National Register-listed University Club building, its historic neighborhood and the city of Albany, where it has been located since its inception in 1901.
Support for educational programming presented by the University Club Foundation is provided by AT&T.
