This month, the CFOC Nonprofit Spotlight features The Telegraph School, a home for performing and healing arts in Cherry Valley—and its beloved winter tradition, Koliada, an annual celebration of light through masks, music, storytelling, and village processions.
Founded in 2020, The Telegraph School creates space for people to reflect and grow through creative practice and community connection. Each winter, that mission comes to life outdoors through Koliada: a roaming, folk-inspired performance where a troupe of local artists and community members—dressed as wild animals, forest spirits, and ancestors—moves through the village, singing and performing to “call back the sun” during the darkest days of the year.
Koliada’s roots reach back to pre-Christian Slavic traditions across Central and Eastern Europe, when neighbors traveled house to house with songs and skits, offering blessings in exchange for simple gifts of food and drinks. Telegraph School founder Angelica Palmer, who has explored her Slavic heritage since childhood, created Cherry Valley Koliada to honor ancestral traditions while reshaping them to meet the needs of community today.
Koliada is free and open to the public, and this year’s expanded programming is made possible in part thanks to the generosity of the Community Foundation of Otsego County, which awarded The Telegraph School a grant in its 2025 Spring Awards Cycle. With that support, Koliada returns with four free community workshops (took place November 2025), new performers, a companion gallery exhibition, and immersive processions that invite the whole village to participate.
Public Performance & Exhibit: February 6, 2026, at 6:00 PM, beginning at 25 Main Collective (21 Main St, Cherry Valley, NY). Dress warmly—this is an outdoor performance featuring wild beasts, old grandmothers, a giant soup pot, and more.
Village Procession: February 7, 2026 — residents can sign up to be a “house stop” on the route or join the songs and procession.
25 Main Collective Companion Exhibit Winter/Animal/Ritual on display February 6th through March 1st.
For more information, contact Angelica Palmer at info@thetelegraphschool.org or 607-264-3785, or visit thetelegraphschool.org/koliada.
Content provided by The Telegraph School.
