The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

The Inside Press

Armonk Summer Concert Series

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The Swingaroos perform at Whippoorwill Hall Theatre on July 9, 2016 as part of the Armonk Summer Concert series. Front row from left: Kimberly Hawkey (vocals), Dan Glaude (clarinet), Nat Ranson (trombone), Ray Cetta (upright bass) seen in rear. Marianne Campolongo Photo.
The Swingaroos perform at Whippoorwill Hall Theatre on July 9, 2016 as part of the Armonk Summer Concert series. Front row from left: Kimberly Hawkey (vocals), Dan Glaude (clarinet), Nat Ranson (trombone), Ray Cetta (upright bass) seen in rear. Marianne Campolongo Photo.

By Marianne A. Campolongo

Stormy weather did nothing to hamper the opening night of the Armonk Summer Concert Series. Although they had to postpone their plans for a picnic under the stars at Wampus Brook Park’s gazebo until the following weekend, a near-capacity crowd turned out at Whippoorwill Hall Theatre to see The Swingaroos, a spirited young band who cover jazz, blues, and pop standards from 1930 to 1945, as well as performing original tunes penned by the band’s vocalist Kimberly Hawkey and pianist Assaf Gleizner. The other band members are Dan Glaude on the saxophone and clarinet, Nat Ranson on trombone, Ray Cetta on bass and Uri Zelig on drums.

Kimberly Hawkey of the Swingaroos performs at Whippoorwill Hall Theatre on July 9, 2016 as part of the Armonk Summer Concert series. Marianne Campolongo Photo.
Kimberly Hawkey of the Swingaroos performs at Whippoorwill Hall Theatre on July 9, 2016 as part of the Armonk Summer Concert series. Marianne Campolongo Photo.

Hawkey said she and the band actually preferred the indoor space. “It felt like an old 1940’s theatre and the sound was great. The audience was really receptive. Some of them were grooving in their seats. You need inspiration, especially when you’re playing jazz because much of it is improvised. It was a fun group to play for, a great audience.”

The free Summer Concert Series, held twice a month in July and August, is produced by Sam Morell, a semi-retired chemical engineer, who volunteers for many town activities, under the aegis of The Small Town Theatre Company.

“We have very gracious sponsors,” said Morell. The Town of North Castle and several local businesses lent financial support, and raffles were held during intermission. The summer’s line-up included Charlie Lagond (jazz), the New Rochelle Opera, and Hager, Ibarra, Schulman, Spielman, and Johnson singing Broadway show tunes.

“The best social media are people getting together not virtually but bringing a picnic basket, a lawn chair and sharing some food together with friends and listening to a concert,” said Morell. “Saturday evening under the stars and the moon.”

Marianne Campolongo is a professional photographer and writer from Chappaqua. Visit www.campyphotos.com.

The Small Town Theatre Company Summer Concert. Sam Morell Photo.
The Small Town Theatre Company Summer Concert. Sam Morell Photo.

Cider, Donuts and Racing Mark Chamber’s Fall Festival

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By Justin Ellick

The 5th Annual Cider and Donuts Festival, previously called the Armonk Fall Festival, is coming to Wampus Brook Park. The event, sponsored by the Armonk Chamber of Commerce, will be held Sept. 18 and gathers residents and merchants of Armonk to welcome the changing of seasons and to reflect on yet another spectacular summer.

Cider & Donut 5

The festival, which brings together the town’s residents for a day of activities each year, focuses on Armonk’s long history as a cider and donut hotbed. Over the years, the festival has grown rapidly, with more events and more guests showing up every year. Last year was the first year the Cider and Donut Festival partnered up with Jamie’s 5K Run for Love, and the Chamber of Commerce is confident that the race’s popularity and participants will skyrocket this year as a result of the great success of last year’s festival. This year, the Chamber decided to add on another wing to the festivities, as the Byram Hills Pre-School Association and its annual carnival will join the fun. With so many activities to get through in so little time, people are excited to see what kind of impact the festival has on the small hamlet of Armonk.

“Ideally we’d like the festival to serve as a way of getting Armonk values and the people who display them out in the open a little more,” said Neal Schwartz, president of the Chamber of Commerce. “Armonk is filled with many small businesses trying to expose themselves to a wider range of consumers. The festival offers a great opportunity for these small-business owners to increase business as well.”

Mike Dardano Photos
Mike Dardano Photos

The festival, running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., is the largest it’s ever been. The fun will start with some races, as the kids will get a chance to test their speed with the Donut Dash (ages 2-8) at 10 a.m., followed by the McIntosh Mile at 10:10 a.m. After the children have had their fun, Jamie’s 5K Run for Love is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. This portion of the festival is a continuation of a popular annual event, with runners coming from all over to honor the late Jamie Love, who was a track and field star at both Byram Hills High School and the University of Vermont. This year, net proceeds from the run will benefit the North Castle Public Library’s children’s programs along with the Armonk Chamber of Commerce, so that the town can continue to run popular programs and events.

Once the festival and races start at 10 a.m., non-racing attendees can jump right into the Cider and Donut Festival games and activities. These will include donut fishing, as well as pie-eating contests and dunk tanks. The donuts, from Beascakes Bakery, will be freshly out of the oven, practically melting in festivalgoers’ mouths. To accompany the donuts, there will be plenty of apple cider to go around.

This year, the festival is merging with another popular Armonk event in the Pre-School Association Fall Carnival. This will also get underway at around 10 a.m., with rides and activities for children, as well as pizza and ice cream. The festival has become an Armonk tradition, and one that continues to grow.

Cider and Donut Kids pie eating 2014

“Our first year, all we had was a couple of booths and limited activities, along with the fact that not many people attended the festival,” continued Schwartz. “In under five years we’ve been able to grow significantly the festival and the events it offers, and in turn have attracted more and more people every year.”

The Cider and Donuts Festival has quickly become one of Armonk’s biggest events of the year, as local merchants and residents of Armonk look forward to coming together as a community.

For more information, visit http://www.armonkchamberofcommerce.com/

Greeley grad Justin Ellick, a sophomore Media and Communications Major at Ursinus College in Philadelphia, is an intern for Inside Chappaqua and Inside Armonk Magazines this summer.

A Local Perspective

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Andrew Vitelli
Andrew Vitelli

As readers of the Inside Press know, summer marks the longest break between issues of both Inside Armonk and Inside Chappaqua, making this our first issue since June.

The theme of the issue is “fun,” and most of our stories go along with this theme. The cover story is on the Armonk Outdoor Art Show, describing how a village of art will arise in the hamlet later this September.

We also feature a preview of the Cider and Donuts Festival, another exciting local event to which we can look forward. For nature lovers, we have a feature on where Armonk residents can go to see the leaves change colors, and we’ll also take a look back at some of the fun Armonk had in the summer that just passed, including the Summer Concert Series.

Along with these event previews and look backs, we give readers a look at the North Castle Public Library, a dynamic institution of which every Armonk resident should take advantage. And we feature Armonk Dance, one of the many local businesses that make the hamlet unique.

Don’t forget to visit this year’s Cider & Donut Festival, sponsored by the Armonk Chamber of Commerce.
Don’t forget to visit this year’s Cider & Donut Festival, sponsored by the Armonk Chamber of Commerce.

Finally, I take a look at how a housing settlement signed between the county and the federal government is impacting North Castle as well as neighboring New Castle. Admittedly, this doesn’t really go along with the whole “fun” theme for the issue.

As both a reporter in and resident of Westchester, I’ve covered and followed the county’s battles over the housing settlement for years. After learning this spring that North Castle faced the threat of litigation under the settlement, I began thinking about how I could tell the story of the settlement from a local perspective.

It’s impossible to tell the full story of the settlement in one magazine article–it would probably be impossible to tell it in a book. My hope for this article is that it will give readers a look beyond some of the slogans coming from those for or against the settlement and a sense of what the settlement has meant for them and their neighbors.

Division One — Bringing Fun & Positivity into Every Workout

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Division oneEvery summer time seems to slow down just a bit only to pick back up at record speed the morning after Labor Day. Everyone has their own sources of stress during this frenetic time but for our high school athletes it’s often fueled by the worry of another year balancing the pressures of schoolwork and athletic training. Indeed, most parents and administrators would agree that this pressure has only increased over the years as the college recruiting process now begins earlier than ever. Some might even argue that the demands of this process have reached a level that has taken the ‘fun’ out of high school athletics.

Division One gym owner and Armonk-based father Karl Pfistner understands the unique worries high school athletes face year-round. As a former athlete at the high school, collegiate and Arena Football levels, Pfistner was inspired to open a gym specializing in the type of training that enhances both a student’s athletic skills and their quality of life. He envisioned Division One as a gym which would bring fun with training back into the workout, for students and adults alike.

“Good time management is such a vital part of a well-rounded life for these student athletes so we focus on teaching them how to be more effective in their training sessions to better maximize their time,” Karl explains. “When a training routine is done properly a client is achieving the absolute best results as quickly as possible, leaving more time for other areas of daily life.”

To that end, Division One’s staff includes a Nutritionist and Life Coach to better serve his high school and adult clients with a true 360-degree approach to their health and well-being. As a trainer, Pfistner believes training methods for student athletes need to go beyond the physical workouts to address the mental toughness necessary for competition. He balances this focus with providing 40-yards of indoor field turf and creative, cutting-edge and workouts which promote positivity. He attributes the success of many of his former clients, who have gone on to compete at the collegiate level, to his unique approach.

High school athletes are certainly at the prime age to push their bodies during training to discover new levels of potential but it should never come at the cost of happiness and balance during these key developmental years. As Pfistner watches his own children grow up within today’s competitive athletic climate, Karl continues to help athletes achieve this elusive balance–maximizing physical success and fun during their high school sports career.

Aug. 19 Showing for “Movies in Millwood”

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Looking for a fun family event tomorrow night? A movie enjoyed in the great outdoors may be just the ticket. And it’s free too! So pack the popcorn, gather the clan or a friend for this August movie screening this season under the stars at Millwood Park. The local Chappaqua Millwood Chamber of Commerce working together with the Town of New Castle Parks & Recreation Dept. and the generous sponsors mentioned here have made Movies in Millwood possible.

Movies in Millwood 20160819