Today, the farmers, local community leaders and business people we know are some of the most powerful, creative people in the valley. However, local businesses are challenged by many pressures: the economy, real estate values and climate change, just for starters. That's why we're doing the Stick to Local Adventure Map. When you share information about our project, you're helping support the local economy, too.

The winners of the 2018 Grand Prize, a weekend for four at the Pine Ridge Dude Ranch, is 4-year-old Conor Heissenbuttel of Rifton, New York! Photos and info are below.

For immediate release:

Stick to Local Adventure Map announces 2018 grand prize winners!

Accord, NY: Every spring, a treasure hunt takes place across the Rondout Valley area of New York State. In early May a new Stick to Local Adventure Map appears in cardboard map racks all over Ulster County. The colorful, illustrated map includes many local landmarks and has over three dozen mysteriously shaped blank spots. Those spots await fun-shaped art stickers, given away by local farms, cultural sites and places of interest. Families, tourists, millennials, and leisure-age sticker-lovers set out to collect as many as they can. On the way, they discover a myriad of wonderful artisanal and locally owned businesses, as venerable as three-hundred year old Saunderskill Farm and as new as the African Roots Library. Some spots are off-the-beaten-track treasures, like Wightman Fruit Farm, with over one hundred varieties of apples, others are old favorites, like Kelder’s Farm, with its friendly giant garden gnome. Participating restaurants offer sustenance and stickers to hungry travelers and even Ellenville Hospital and Ulster Savings Bank join the fun.

Sticker collectors also win prizes for their efforts, from local food cookbooks to market bags of locally grown and made goodies. Those who collected all 37 stickers in 2018 also received a beautiful silver-bordered completion sticker featuring a portrait of Zephyr, the west wind, and a chance to win a grand prize—a weekend for four at the Pine Ridge Dude Ranch in Kerhonkson.

The winner of that grand prize, chosen by random drawing from all of the qualifying collectors, is 3-year-old Connor Heissenbuttel of Rifton, who spent the summer sticker-hopping with his family. Both Connor and his brother Henry completed maps, with the help of Jessica and Nathan Heissenbuttel, their parents. Connor’s favorite map adventures were visiting the four horse farms, so he’s sure to have a great time at the Pine Ridge Dude Ranch.

Jessica said the whole family enjoyed the sticker search, “One day, we drove the entire western end of the Rondout Valley, hitting the different markets and spots, ending the day with a delicious early dinner at Gaby’s in Ellenville.” Nathan adds, “We had never visited some of the new farmstands like Damn Good Honey, with all their handmade goods; Arrowood, the brewery farm, was wonderful, and we had terrific pizza at Westwind Orchard.”

Pine Ridge Dude Ranch owner Mike Offner said, “We’ve never seen anything like this, it’s cool!”

“The Stick to Local Adventure Map is a part of a grass-roots movement to promote wonderful local agriculture, businesses, cuisine and culture,” says the creator, artist and author Maria Reidelbach. “We’re grateful to be supported by Ulster County Tourism, Mohonk Preserve, Ulster Savings Bank, Ellenville Regional Hospital, and over forty locally owned businesses, all helping make our community the special, unique place it is. We know we live one of the best spots on earth, and it’s just fantastic to be able to shine a light on all the wonderful things happening here!”

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Photo caption: Celebrating at the Pine Ridge Dude Ranch lodge: Stick to Local Adventure Map grand prize winner Connor Heissenbuttel of Rifton, second from right, with his family, Jessica, Noah and Nathan Heissenbuttel, Pine Ridge Dude Ranch owner Mike Offner, Connor’s brother Henry, and Stick to Local Adventure Map creator Maria Reidelbach.

CONTACT: For more information or to schedule an interview with Maria Reidelbach or project participants, email maria@stick2local.com or call 646-242-6464.

Below are links to background information and photographs of the Stick to Local projects. Please don't hesitate to contact us, we love talking local!

Click here to read our 2018 Stick to Local Launch Media Release. Click here to download a Word file.

Click here for a PDF of our Stick to Local Farms Cookbook Media Release.

past media

Here are a few of the many articles published our projects in the past.