The Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival is not a quick lap around a few tasting tables. It is a full weekend in Rhinebeck built for people who want to discover what is actually in the glass, meet the people behind it, and leave with a new bottle obsession.

One woman will win a customized $10,000 HEBE Goddess Makeover. Larie Pidgeon writes honestly about lasers, natural-looking results and the pressure women feel to look effortless.

August is summer refusing to slow down. County fairs are filling midway lights, porches are turning into stages, corgis are racing at Saratoga, lumberjacks are climbing greased poles and a festival devoted to Lake Champlain’s legendary monster is taking over the waterfront. This month’s guide reaches from Westchester and the Hudson Valley through the Catskills, Capital Region, Adirondacks and Finger Lakes. You will find major concerts, outdoor theater, food festivals, cultur