Arts and leisure digest

Self defense seminar for women Warwick — Grand Master Edmund Ciarfella will offer a Women’s Self Defense Seminar at the United Martial Arts Center, on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 12 p.m., to benefit Orange County Safe Homes. This seminar will cover the A-B-C’s of self defense and teach women how to defuse a potential violent situation without any martial arts 9 out of 10 times. The center is located at 153 Route 94, in the ShopRite Plaza in Warwick. For more information call 845-987-1853 or visit www.umacenters.com or www.facebook.com/umacfans. Skate for autism Chester — A skating party is planned for this Sunday to raise money for Parents Run AMOC, a local autism group. The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 20, at The Castle Fun Center & Jesters Restaurant and Pub, located at 109 Brookside Ave. in Chester. The admission price of $10 includes two hours of roller skating to music, a pizza slice, and a soft drink. Rent skates for $3, or blades for $4. Or bring your own. Parents Run AMOC will receive 25 percent of all paid admissions: $9 per person, $6 for children age 6 and under. A minimum of 75 admissions is needed to qualify the group for a return. The event is co-sponsored by the Mental Health Association in Orange County. For more information call 469-2116 or visit www.thecastlefuncenter.com. Trip to NYC quilt show planned Chester — The Friends of the Chester Library has planned a bus trip to the Park Avenue Armory on Saturday, March 26, for the “Infinite Variety” Quilt Show and a lecture/reception/book signing with famous quilters Alex Anderson and Paula Nadelstern. This trip will be leaving Chester at 11 a.m. and leave New York City at 7 p.m. The cost of the trip is $50, which includes bus and lecture. On April 19, the Friends have reservations for a tour and luncheon at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, followed by a stop at the Vanderbilt Mansion, for $75 a person. Landscape design class at arboretum Montgomery — The Friends of the Orange County Arboretum will host a landscape design class over two sessions on Fridays, Feb. 18 and Feb. 25, from 10 a.m. (Snow dates: Feb. 23 and 28.) to noon in the Kosuga Greenhouse classroom at the Orange County Arboretum located in Thomas Bull Memorial Park, on Route 416, in Montgomery. The program will be lead by Peter Patel, Orange County Parks Department Horticulturist and Arborist, who will help gardeners plan for warm weather planting. Landscape design topics will include plant, tree and shrub selection, hardiness zones, soil and drainage, dealing with deer, hardscaping with stone and pavers, and general garden maintenance. Each class will end with an ask-the-expert Q&A session. Attendees are encouraged to bring photos of the areas they are landscaping for Patel’s guidance and suggestions. The cost for the two-part class is $30 per person and will benefit the Friends of the Orange County Arboretum. Advanced registration is required. To reserve a seat, call Patel at 551-9756. For more information, visit www.orangecountynyparks.com. Auditions set for 'Crazy for You’ MIDDLETOWN — SummerStar Theatre has scheduled auditions dates for “Crazy For You” for Sunday, Feb. 20 and Monday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. at Orange Hall Theatre, SUNY Middletown campus. Performances are set for June 17, 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26. Max Schaefer will direct, Jill Carroll will choreograph and Jim Quinlan will serve as musical director. Those auditioning should prepare a song. An up tempo is best. Bring sheet music. An accompanist will be provided. Wear attire suitable for a dance audition (bring tap shoes if you have them, but not required). Cold readings will be heard. Character breakdown and other information is available on Facebook/SummerStar Theatre. For more informaion call Schaefer at 341-4790. Acting Out Playhouse’s 'Footloose’ performance is Feb. 19 Warwick — The Acting Out Playhouse’s performance of the musical “Footloose” will take place Saturday, Feb. 19, at 3 and 8 p.m. at Orange Hall Theatre, SUNY Orange Middletown Campus. Footloose tells the story of a young man from the city living in a puritanical small town where dancing and rock 'n’ roll are forbidden. The show features classic rock songs such as “Footloose,” “Holding Out For a Hero,” “Almost Paradise,” and “Let’s Hear It For The Boy.” Under the direction and choreography of The Acting Out Playhouse owner Terry Odell and vocal direction by Jody Weatherstone, there is a cast of 22 students and eight adults. Tickets are $15 and can be reserved online at: ww.actingouttickets@gmail.com or www.theactingoutplayhouse.com or by calling 986-2629. Continental Army’s final winter event is Feb. 20 and 21 New Windsor — The New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site and the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor will bring to life the Continental Army’s final winter encampment with musket and cannon firings, blacksmithing, medical demonstrations and other aspects of daily life on Sunday, Feb. 20 from 1 to 4 p.m. and Monday, Feb. 21 from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. Additionally, on Sunday at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. and Monday at 11 a.m. 1:30 and 3:30 p.m, muskets and cannon will be fired. Following these firings, children enlist in the Continental Army, drill with wooden muskets and get paid in Continental currency for their service. Call 561-1765 for more information. Middle English love poetry event is Feb. 26 Warwick — The Northeast Poetry Center is offering a free program on Middle English Love Poetry on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. behind the Utopian Directions bookstore in Warwick. William Seaton will present a selection of medieval English love poetry, including both the sublime and the ribald. According to Seaton, the poetry is highly musical, reflecting the fact that most medieval poems were sung or performed. Seaton is the author of Spoor of Desire: Selected Poems. His Dada Poems from the German will be released in March from Nirala. He has spoken on medieval literature before such scholarly gatherings as the International Convention on Medieval Studies, the Medieval and Renaissance Collegium, the Courtly Literature Society, and the Patristic, Medieval, and Renaissance Conference, but this talk is for a general audience and will require no prior knowledge. For more information, contact Seaton at seaton@frontiernet.net.