Sugar Loaf, N.Y. – May 20, 2015 – The Orange County Citizens Foundation has organized a “Placemaking Tour” of Tuxedo, N.Y. for Saturday, June 13 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The tour will provide Hudson Valley community leaders, activists, interested citizens, and planning and zoning board members a chance to learn more about how to create quality places in their own communities.

Placemaking reimagines public spaces as the heart of every community. It is an approach that inspires people to create and improve their public places. Rooted in community-based participation, placemaking helps citizens transform their public spaces to enhance local assets, spur rejuvenation, and serve common needs. Placemaking is both an overarching idea and a hands-on tool for improving a neighborhood, city, town, village, or region. Placemaking can start small, with do-able improvements that immediately bring benefit to public spaces and the people who use them.

“We hope attendees will find potential in their own communities by connecting with the community we’re visiting for the day – finding ways to improve their own places by learning more about the challenges and successes the places we visit are experiencing,” said Nancy Proyect, president of the Orange County Citizens Foundation. “This event is an incredible opportunity to learn placemaking tools and develop valuable connections with those who are interested in community revitalization or are already effecting change their communities.”

The guided walking tour – which starts and ends at the Tuxedo Train Station, located at 240 Route 17 in Tuxedo – will feature presentations by community, business, and government officials about successes and challenges in the Tuxedo community.

The program includes:

• Pre-tour presentations
• Guided walking tour
• Wrap-up discussion

There is no charge for this event and the public is invited. The Citizens Foundation will offer two hours of continuing education for municipal board members. The excursion will be held rain or shine.

In the past, the Citizens Foundation has held placemaking tours of Montgomery, Middletown, Beacon, Cornwall, Goshen, Monroe, Sugar Loaf, Walden, and Warwick, as well as Ramsey, N.J. and Milford, Pa.

For more information, to sponsor, or to register, contact the Orange County Citizens Foundation at 845.469.9459 or info@occitizensfoundation.org.