THE DARK
2026 Brochure ↗
THE DARK
2026 Brochure ↗
A fearless winter festival of live performance, radiating across Columbia County. The 2026 edition is behind us — the next one is already taking shape.
"This is a radical intervention into the life of the community."— Vallejo Gantner, PS21 Artistic & Executive Director, quoted in "At This Festival, the Dead of Winter Is the Life of the Party" Read the article ↗
"...unequivocally a gift to warm upstaters' hibernating souls."— Susan Yung, on The Dark, in "The Dark Brings Light" Read the article ↗
One week. Twenty locations. A county that usually goes quiet in February — wide awake instead.
"The Dark gives Columbia County a reputation of being an artistic, progressive place, a place where artists and art lovers want to be, a place of beauty and surprise."
Festival pass holder"Attending the festival made me feel like a bear coming out of hibernation looking for the food of art and community."
Festival pass holder"Spectacular... when the audience are not just spectators but part of the experience, then magic happens."
Attendee"It brought a ray of light to what is usually a barren time of year in the area. Bravo, PS21."
Attendee"During the performance I lose the sense that I'm in a rural upstate town — I feel like I must be in a metropolitan area with the quality of the performers."
Attendee"Wonderful to see the streets of Chatham so vibrant and busy during traditionally quiet times. We look forward to seeing this event continue and grow."
Local business owner"The most exciting thing I have ever seen in the area."
Local resident"A little radiance in a dark place."
Local business owner"It lifted folks' hearts in the middle of winter's end."
Local resident"THE DARK takes the doldrums of winter and turns it into an opportunity to gather and participate just when you need it most."
Festival artist"I love doing the show in smaller communities like this. In the city, it's a transaction — is this show worth (literally) my time? In a community like this, where folks are coming from all over, you really see the genuine curiosity in the project — what is this? What does it mean to me? How do I interface with it? How does it make me feel? This is why I became an artist."
Festival artist"It was truly special and I won't ever forget it!"
Festival artist"The hard numbers prove that what PS21 is doing is bringing tangible goods to the commercial sector of our community." — Anthony Irwin
"Having events throughout town and around the county kept the streets busy — we're looking forward to next year's production." — Tom Crowell
"The Dark was amazing! It sparked our business during a slow period of the year." — Brian Minarich
PS21 welcomed 10 local youth for a paid, immersive introduction to the performing arts, in partnership with Mammalian Diving Reflex, Hudson Hall, and Operation Unite. Teens were guided through every aspect of the festival — from artist debriefs to the tech crews building each show from the ground up — and were honored with an award ceremony on the festival's final day.
"By the end of the week, I didn't just feel inspired — I felt empowered."— Xavier, PS21 Teen Ambassador Read Xavier's full story ↗
Every performance, every venue, every day of the week — laid out exactly as it shipped to Columbia County mailboxes last winter.
View the digital brochure ↗
