I am lucky to live in the Hudson River Valley, near Pete Seeger, one of America's best-loved folksingers and untiring environmentalist and political activist. These photos were taken during the 2007 Strawberry Festival at Riverfront Park in Beacon, NY. Pete has been at the forefront of the labor movement, the struggle for civil rights, the peace and anti-war movements, and the fight for a clean world. He was the driving force to clean up his "beloved Hudson River" and to build the sloop Clearwater.

As a member of the Weavers, he had a string of hits, including a 1949 recording of Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene". He is perhaps best known today for the songs "Where Have All the Flowers Gone", "If I Had a Hammer", and "Turn, Turn, Turn", which have been recorded by many artists including Joan Baez, The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul & Mary. Seeger achieved some notoriety for his song "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy", performed on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and clearly an allegory about Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War.

As a reaction to America's Great Depression and the abuses he saw in the treatment of workers, he was formerly a member of the Communist Party of the United States of America. Once blacklisted from national television for being unafraid to voice his opinions, he was given the nation's highest artistic honors at the Kennedy Center in December 1994.
Pete Seeger is a long time resident of Dutchess County, New York.

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