After hearing that the Catskill village board might be looking to get away from having Rip Van Winkle as a symbol, at "re-branding" the village, a group has formed to no only keep Rip as a symbol, but freshen him up and expand his reach.
The group is first, hoping to have supporters attend the next village board meeting on April 12th.
Second they want to re-do the sign at the village entrance, off the Rip Van Winkle Bridge (pictured below), and possible have signs at the other village entrances, and maybe even, a Rip Van Winkle statue on Main Street.
All this requires funding, and to help with that, they have set up a Go-Fund-Me page. The link is here: https://www.gofundme.com/awakening-of-rip-van-winkle?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb_co_shareflow_m
Here is their message, on the go-fund-me page:
The Washington Irving story Rip Van Winkle published in 1819 is now 200 years old. The story is set in the Catskill Mountains and has been a part of the area since its beginning. As with anything 200 years old it needs some freshening up. That time has come. We are looking for donations to help us awaken Old Rip! ‼
We are the land of Rip Van Winkle with a rich history, and immense beauty throughout the mountains. Let’s show the world.