The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Grace Bennett

A Dunk Tank and So Much More Anticipated at the Rotary Club’s Community Day in Chappaqua on September 9

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New Castle Community Day is always such a blast with so much warmth, good will, and surprise activities to experience, I didn’t think it could sound any more fun than it has in the past, well, not until the Dunk Tank event caught my attention on Facebook. I thought I’d inquire for more info about the event taking place on Saturday September 9th which begins 10 a.m. and wraps up about 5 p.m.  Because who doesn’t want to watch a Town Supervisor get dunked?  A mystery School District representative? The Police Chief ? Or the Rotary President, herself?  Or, or.. well, a local publisher?  In my exchange with Holly McCall, the Rotary Club of Chappaqua President, I ended up volunteering too!   Full Dunkin’ schedule of volunteers below.

With that spirit of community, I asked Holly McCall, President of the Rotary Club of Chappaqua, what residents can expect this Saturday at the Rotary’s signature event, Community Day!  More from Holly and the Rotary’s schedule below:

Holly McCall: “Community Day is an annual tradition in New Castle. It’s an opportunity to explore everything that makes New Castle a great community. For over 40 years, we have enjoyed bringing community groups together along with opportunities for fun and games. This year will be no different – With local bands providing music, a magic show for the kids, slides and rides, ice cream, face painters and more – there is something for everyone this year. We are thrilled to partner with the Farmer’s Market and a food truck event to make this a day full of food, fun and community!”

“We are grateful to all of our sponsors and community groups for their support in making this event possible. Please stop by, celebrate New Castle and support the service work of the Rotary Club of Chappaqua. For more information on Community Day and the Rotary Club of Chappaqua, visit our website at rotaryofchappqua.com  Very importantly, consider donating a non-perishable to the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry. 

 

Along with an opportunity to meet dozens upon dozens of the sponsors at their assigned booths, Community Day visitors can expect the following: 

  • Stage Schedule (music times approximate)
    • 10 a.m. Magic Show Presented by Sari Shaw of Compass
    • 11 a.m. Music by the Mike Risko Band 
    • Noon Music by Music in Chappaqua
    • 1 p.m. Music by Bourbon & Britches
  • Community Tables open 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
  • Dunk Tank Schedule – huge thanks to those who have volunteered!!
10-10:30 a.m. TBD
10:30-11 a.m. CCSD
11-11:30 a.m. Lisa Katz
11:30-Noon Ally Chemtob
12-12:30 p.m. Jeremy Saland
12:30-1 p.m. Jim Carroll
1-1:30 p.m. Grace Bennett
1:30-2 p.m. Holly McCall

 

  • Rotary hot dogs will be available for purchase during the event.
  • From Noon-5 p.m. a Food Truck event will be held adjacent to Community Day.
  • We will be hosting the County’s Passport Truck
  • We will be assisting with a collection of non-perishable goods to support Mt. Kisco Interfaith Pantry.
    • cereal
    • oatmeal
    • cans of red and black beans
    • bags of dried beans
    • low sodium soups
    • pasta
    • peanut butter
    • jelly

Back to Calm & Peace

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Grace Bennett Photo   by Donna Mueller

While it may seem counterintuitive, ‘back to school,’ with its flurry of activities and family fun events, can also bring a renewed sense of calm and peace. Maybe that involves setting some new goals for yourself… a class, a job search, a new exercise (pickleball anyone?), eating more healthfully, joining a book club, taking in a hot new movie (or two, or three!), a live arts performance, or just browsing anew inside one of the independently owned bookstores, we are so lucky to have in abundance in northern Westchester. If this time of year brings you calm, if it brings you peace, then it’s also likely bringing you joy. Hey, run with that and accept your good fortune with a healthy dose of gratitude.

If you are dealing with hardship in any arena, and I can relate, it might also be a good time to study the art and science of resilience. At a workshop I attended on Navigating Change at Kripalu, a popular yoga and spiritual retreat in the Berkshires, we were advised to face and respect that which is difficult. The challenge, a wise instructor offered, is to shift even slightly to imagining a more positive story than the one you’re living, to eliminate obstacles (she called them ‘goblins’), and slowly take steps, even baby ones, so that the change you are seeking can become your new reality.

So with a greater sense of calm and peace, I had a great time getting these editions ready, from visiting the Miller House to help celebrate a new grant to playing pickleball in Armonk’s Lombardi Park with “the pickleball ladies.”  Kudos to Dawn Greenberg and her team for a 10th year of the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival, and to the Greeley Boys Swim & Dive Team who are aiming for a third NYS win (which would be unprecedented)!  More notes of congrats: to the Pleasantville Children’s Center on 50 years of excellence, and to Megan Stopera, a Curling champ in Briarcliff Manor, who could be a contender for an Olympic medal! 

As for the Inside Press, well into a 20th year, we have already shared a variety of testimonials and will continue doing so.

In fact, following dinner with a very special neighbor and friend in town – who so many know and admire as a paragon of resilience and perseverance – I asked if she’d be open to writing a testimonial about this press. And voila! I’m very proud and grateful to include Hillary Clinton’s kind words during this publishing period, with only one more ‘cycle’ to go! (Our holiday/winter 2023 editions mail November 10.)

Please enjoy all our contributors’ fine work here. Wishing you all calm and peaceful days this fall season and year round.  –  Grace

A Barbie World Goes Local

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The Barbie Block party outside the Jacob Burns Film Center Media Arts Lab in July will be one for the memory books – with residents and visitors of all ages decked out in their best Barbie (and Ken!) pink and other eye-popping attire – enjoying a photo with the event’s very own Barbie or imbibing on ‘Barbie Beer’ offered by Soul Food.

Any ‘eye rolling’ over a movie about Barbie came to a quick halt as the word hit the streets in Pleasantville and beyond that “THIS” Barbie was no superficial plastic experience, but a living testament to how a doll and society can evolve. The #Barbie movie succeeded at being both a fabulous feast for the eyes and a deep dive into the soul.

Yes, gorgeous Margot Robbie plays a Sensitive, Soulful Barbie! I also didn’t expect to see a movie that offers our best answer to the patriarchy to date – helping men get in touch with their emotions. It’s actually very empathetic to men in case anyone is hearing the opposite. In a sidebar, Barbie’s travails also softened a tense mother/daughter relationship that would strike a chord for anyone in that boat. I laughed a lot but also cried a couple times during this delightful, smart movie. Whether you agree or not, I know so many who feel grateful to the Burns for also always making movie night feel special!

What Happened to Jackson Avenue Articulates the Facts & Consequences of ‘Urban Renewal’ in Nyack 

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What Happened to Jackson Avenue was downright courageous, carefully researched, altogether tragic — and, with so few films exploring this phenomenon in any depth, groundbreaking. The phrase ‘Urban Renewal’ to those impacted became despised words by those who experienced it more as “urban replacement’ as 120 or more families, subject to ‘eminent domain’ and with little recourse, were basically forced out, a decades old phenomenon, still happening and impacting largely black communities not only in Nyack, but throughout the U.S.. The experience in Nyack was amply documented by Rockland County historians and resident witnesses.
 
In Nyack, the predominantly black community (79 percent) suffered not only humiliation, gross disruptions to their schooling and livelihoods in severed ties to their community–but ultimately lost homes and businesses, collectively in the film, the film’s experts and sources cited state that the wealth lost is estimated at $30-$50 million via lost equity. Initially, a 15-minute interview with those in the film bearing witness evolved into a full fledged project to document What Happened to Jackson Avenue.
 
At its conclusion, the film received a hearty applause, and during a panel discussion with the director and several individuals–all deeply knowledgeable about the history of urban renewal in Nyack–interviewed in the film, audience suggestions touched on everything from the need for free screenings at local schools and churches for wider viewing (urging the filmmakers to get the word out to a larger African American community audience in particular) as to how to begin to seek reparations.
 
The documentary film was produced by Phoenix Theater Ensemble, in collaboration with the Rivertown Film Society. 
 
“We made some good new friends and advocates,” said Craig Stone, founder of the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble on behalf of himself and his spouse and co-partner, creative director Elise Stone. “We admire the people of Nyack who are not afraid to tackle the idea of community acknowledgement and even concrete suggestions on reparation options.” 
 
What Happened to Jackson Avenue will be holding a second public screening on July 7 at the historic Nyack Center which stands in the heart of the neighborhood most impacted.
 
 

Audra McDonald at Caramoor: Class Act Performance & Messages About Love

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I arrived with one of my oldest and dearest friends from high school, over the moon excited to see the Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award-winning singer and actor Audra McDonald as the featured artist in Caramoor’s opening Saturday night concert on June 17 inside the packed Venetian Theater. Many were dressed to the nines, as a formal gala followed to celebrate and kick off Caramoor’s jam-packed 2023 summer season.

I had missed Audra’s Caramoor performance pre-pandemic, and had made a mental note: that’s not happening again! 

Photo by Gabe Palacio for Caramoor

At the very moment McDonald – in a stunning gown adorned by her long ringlets – stepped onto the stage smiling broadly to her musical director, Andy Einhorn, who smiled just as broadly right back, I could sense we were all in for a treat, a magical one, at that! 

This was the first time I had heard Audra McDonald sing. 

Aside from having a gorgeous voice, described aptly as a ‘luminous soprano’, I so enjoyed Audra’s wonderfully playful, utterly comfortable in her own skin quality, as she relayed humorous stories surrounding both the now 52-year-old mom’s very impressive childhood achievements and also (which I as a fellow mom especially enjoyed) stories about her four children and stepchildren (two 22 year olds, a 19 year old, and a six year old!), who were not all always as entranced by mom’s singing. Oh well… kids!

She was so thoughtful and inclusive in her song choices at the outset, opening the evening’s performance with I Am What I Am, and also generous in engaging the audience at so many turns, including with I Could Have Danced All Night, and at the show’s conclusion, Life is a Cabaret, which rather brought down the house. 

Audra McDonald is truly a star’s star, who graciously and gratefully acknowledged Einhorn a couple times during the evening along with offering warm words for all the members of the stellar Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Audra, I took note, also had the rapt front rows attention from the likes of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nita Lowey and Martha Stewart.

“Love, live, dream… and then love bigger,” Audra offered at the show’s conclusion. Noted.

P.S. It was a grand event at Caramoor, which amply set the stage for another summer to remember. It’s not too late to make this a Caramoor summer. Please visit www.caramoor.org for more that’s in store!