Armonk Archives - Inside Chappaqua and Inside Armonk: The Magazines for New and North Castle

Visitors to Armonk’s Fol de Rol Found a Myriad of Activities to Enjoy

June 13, 2017 by Inside Press

By Amanda Kraus

The distant thumping of music can be heard from the parking lot of beautiful Wampus Brook Park. As you approach, the constant beat gives way to the familiar melody of a popular song flowing from the fair’s DJ booth. As you make your way towards the lights, fun, and people, the comforting smell of buttery popcorn fills your nose, drawing you in even further. It is at the 43rd annual Armonk Lions Club Fol de Rol that I find myself walking through crowds of people: babies, children, adults, and grandparents, all enjoying the myriad of activities that you can find at the fair.

While parking, admission, and many activities are free, the Fol de Rol is the Armonk Lions Club sole fundraiser for community service projects and charitable causes; it’s motto is “we serve,” as Linda Trummer-Napolitano, the fair organizer, writes, “All Lions Clubs belong to the International Lions and all raise funds for various community organizations to meet the needs of others in times of hardship or disaster.” The fair features over nine carnival rides, which require tickets or rides bracelets that can be purchased at the ticket booth.

There are also different events, such as “the ‘Clydsedale’ type horses on Friday night, antique cars on view for Saturday morning; there are racing pings in the rides area that will be performing on Saturday and Sunday; on Saturday, the DYNAMO Dogs from Maryland are performing–these rescue dogs have been trained to do an amazing variety of tricks and have performed all over the country,” says Trummer-Napolitano. The fair has over 60 craft and food vendors, ranging from Greek cuisine to your typical carnival hot dogs; there is also a face painter, a henna tattoo artist, and a body glitter artist. Other than a DJ, the fair hosts many local artists performing in a wide variety of genres: jazz, 80s rock, pop, and acoustic folk–on Sunday the middle school band performed at noon.

I asked Trummer-Napolitano what her favorite activity at the fair is, to which she replied, “I love to go watch the crowds and shop at the various craft vendors booths; we have a lot of local food vendors from the Hudson Valley, such as an olive oil vendor and a maple syrup vendor, and there are some really creative jewelry vendors coming this year.”

There is something for everyone every year at the Fol de Rol. Regardless of age, you are guaranteed to have a good time. Admission was free too! Best of all, you can make a difference and support your community by enjoying the rides and local vendors. See you next year!

Inside Press summer intern Amanda Kraus is a rising junior at Tulane University studying English, Philosophy, and Psychology.

A Catering Option, too, at Armonk’s La Mer Seafood

June 3, 2017 by Stacey Pfeffer

Ed Wechsler, owner, La Mer Seafood, also actively caters for diffferent events.

Almost three decades ago, Ed Wechsler opened La Mer Seafood on Main Street in Armonk. At the time he was 22-years-old, already armed with a wealth of experience from working in top epicurean stores in surrounding towns. Back then, he focused mostly on fish but as lifestyles changed and consumer demand for organic foods skyrocketed, La Mer Seafood evolved and today it offers full service catering and mostly wild caught organic, locally-sourced fish.

Being in business for so long, Wechsler knows his customers and his fish. While Inside Armonk was in the Cape Cod nautically-inspired store, a customer walked in for lunch and asked for “the usual.” A few minutes later, he walked out with a homemade soup and lobster roll featuring fresh Maine lobster caught daily.

The store focuses on offering healthful and wholesomely prepared dishes. Wechsler believes fish works best with herbs and he avoids using butter, salt, flour and wheat. He can offer suggestions on how to prepare the fish and if you are a reluctant chef, his team can provide a homemade rub, marinade or dipping sauce to ensure a succulent dinner. “As in any five star establishment, our recipes are our own. We’ve been perfecting them for almost 30 years!”

With summer approaching, Wechsler and his team are at the ready preparing clambakes, lobster bakes and elegant hors d’ouvres, buffets and barbeques for pool parties, graduation celebrations and even weddings. Wechsler prides himself on choosing only the most friendly and courteous staff for set up, serving and preparing the food and clean up. In the past few years, La Mer Seafood has expanded its catering services and he now is busy year round with holiday parties and corporate catering events.

“We do a lot of cocktail parties, office parties communions and Bar Mitzvahs mostly in people’s homes. We supply the staff, the rentals, bartenders and everything is prepared from scratch and as healthful as possible.” La Mer Seafood also has partnerships with area caterers by providing seafood for En Vious Events and Culinary Angels, among other endeavors.

In addition to lunch and dinner specials, the “take and bake” option is also very popular with customers these days who are short on time. The staff will season the fish for you, place it in a small tin and then all the customer has to do is bake it in the oven. Wechsler is all about making the customer’s life easy and provides one-stop shopping with breads and other produce available at the store to round out a complete dinner.

It’s no coincidence that Wechsler is known as a “fishmonger extraordinaire.” He has intimate knowledge of every fish that is sold in his store. The fish is bought at the Fulton Fish Market (now located at Hunts Point in the Bronx) and his buyers get there early to get the very best selection. He is also a veritable wealth of nutrition information on virtually every fish in his store.

Wechsler prides himself on knowing where it was caught and how it was caught (wild versus farmed). He knows about fish farming techniques, mercury counts and use of pesticides in farmed products. Fish that is farmed outside of the US, Canada or Central America has different safety regulations and is often laden with pesticides and antibiotics. That’s why Wechsler prefers wild caught, and if he is going to purchase farmed fish, he prefers to buy organic.

Besides knowing his fish backwards and forwards, he knows his customers very well too. Being a mainstay of downtown Armonk for almost 30 years, he has a good rapport with many of his customers. “It’s not uncommon for someone to walk in and say I’ll have the same thing I had last week or my son wants to try something new what would you suggest and I already know her son doesn’t like salmon so I can come up with suggestions. I’m like the local bartender.”

Visit www.lamerseafood.net

Keeping Your Pearly Whites Healthy

June 3, 2017 by Stacey Pfeffer

The waiting room of Dr. Aki Shirakura’s dental office in a historic home in Armonk is warm and welcoming with cozy armchairs and sunlight peeking through the windows. On top of the coffee table is a binder with patient testimonials and as you peruse through it, you’ll see many comments on his friendliness, professionalism, patience and gentle touch.

Dr. Shirakura has been practicing in Armonk since 2008 and is currently a faculty member at NYU Lutheran in Brooklyn.

He attended dental school in Buffalo, New York, and also completed three additional intense years in Prosthodontics at Eastman Dental Center at the University of Rochester. He has extensive experience in restoring and replacing teeth through the fabrication of veneers, implants and dentures and has performed full mouth reconstruction. He refers to his dentistry work as an “art”–the teeth must be functional and also improve the patient’s smile. Prior to moving to the United States, he was a dental technician in Tokyo for more than two decades which gives him a unique perspective on what he does and how he helps his patients achieve truly beautiful, healthy smiles.

As a prosthodontist he has worked to restore or replace teeth on patients that have been in accidents, had oral cancer or cleft palates. He also does cosmetic dentistry to help those patients who may have damaged teeth due to age, poor dental maintenance or those who just want to enhance their smiles.

Shirakura and his staff of nine employees provide regular dental check-ups and take care of many Northern Westchester-based patients from young children (even babies) to senior citizens. He recommends that patients follow the American Dental Association guidelines that now suggest that babies be seen as soon as their upper and lower baby teeth erupt so that they are on a good track for preventative care.

Recent scientific research is starting to show a link between oral health and general health. Shirakura urges patients to maintain their oral health with regular check-ups every six months.

Being in the dental field for more than three decades, Shirakura is pleased to see that “implants are becoming more of the gold standard in dental care with some good dental insurances now covering it.”

An implant’s success rate is very high compared to older procedures like a bridge, which can cause tooth decay over time. He also uses a 3-D CT scan on patients, which is safer and more multi-dimensional than traditional X-rays. Shirakura’s office contains an in-house lab, which is a huge bonus if teeth need to be quickly repaired. The practice also offers Invisalign and teeth whitening services. Shirakura is proud to utilize his background in geriatric dentistry to conduct dental check-ups as a volunteer on residents at the Bristal, an assisted living facility in Armonk.

In addition, his practice is an active member of the Armonk Chamber of Commerce. This spring he hopes to teach local Byram Hills kindergarteners and first grade students about the importance of oral health.

18 Years of Innovative Theater at Hudson Stage

June 3, 2017 by Matt Smith

(L-R) Joe Delafield, Matt Ban & Denis Lambert in The Hound of the Baskervilles. PHOTO BY RANA FAURE

Now in its 18th season, The Hudson Stage Company of Armonk, founded and run by producers Denise Bessette, Olivia Sklar and Dan Foster, and operating as a professional non-profit since its inception, has been dedicated to presenting fresh, dynamic, original works since 1999.

With such a packed list of past heavy-hitters as Amy Herzog’s 4000 Miles, John Patrick Shanley’s Outside Mullingar, and Animals Out of Paper, by Rajiv Joseph, there’s no doubt they’ve got that goal well covered.

And they continued to play the field and open new doors with their latest smash, The Hound of the Baskervilles, which played Whippoorwill Hall Theater from April 28th to May 13th. “It was a complete departure from anything we’ve ever done,” says Bessette, with a laugh, citing the show’s specific aspects of quirky, physical comedy, as well as its aura of sheer and silly fun that differs greater from their previously darker work. “But in that way, it’s keeping with our mission, too. We’re all about trying new things, shaking things up, and presenting new works you’ll not see anywhere else.”

While it may have indeed been a new venture for the company, it hit all the right notes in keeping with the company’s mission. The show chronicled the renowned detective and his ragtag group of friends and colleagues as they collected clues to unveil the killer of Sir Charles Baskerville, and determine the true identity of the hound who lay beside him. But, as mentioned, with a dark plot, rooted mostly in that from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel of the same name, the brilliant presentation, helmed by Mark Shanahan, comes with an added (heaping) helping of sight gags, slapstick bits, and rapid-fire quick changes that make the stage show so thoroughly enjoyable and memorable.

To boot, it was all expertly executed by three actors of the highest Broadway caliber: Matt Ban, Joe Delafield, and Denis Lambert. Ban (who plays Watson, among others) effortlessly exhibits a mastery in physical comedy, down on the floor at the drop of a hat, exaggerating otherwise minuscule movement, and playing with props to humorous effect. Delafield, who portrays nearly all members of the Baskerville brood, revels in his cavalcade of facial expressions, while Lambert’s knack for accents (especially when portraying Latina bombshell, Cecile), is simply unmatched.

Again, a departure to say the least, but their decision to produce it–among all the other wildly exciting new works they’ve put out past and present–is what makes Hudson Stage Company such an enticing entity.

While their full slate of programming for the upcoming season is still in the works, Bessette advises those eager theatergoers to rest assured that “We’re narrowing down our selection [and] we’ve got a bunch of terrific new plays coming–all of which are new to Westchester County.”

It’s all in keeping with their aforementioned goal: to provide easy, local access to fantastic theatre productions (sans the expensive Broadway prices). Of note, their Armonk location is close enough to attract visitors from Fairfield, Putnam, and Rockland counties in addition to the devoted group of Westchester County regulars.

“We love our audiences, and we’re very proud of our fantastically diverse program,” Bessette concludes. “I mean, 18 years going strong in the county… we’ve got to be doing something right, right?!”

Hudson Stage Company holds its performances regularly at Whippoorwill Hall Theatre within North Castle Public Library at 19 Whippoorwill Road East in Armonk. For more information on upcoming performances, visit www.hudsonstage.com.