The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Chappaqua

All About the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival on October 14!

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Notes from the Festival’s Founder!

For one glorious day each fall, authors, readers and their families flock to downtown Chappaqua for the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival (CCBF). Founded by a group of volunteers in 2013, the festival is now considered the preeminent children’s book festival in the tri-state area.

More than 90 children’s book authors and illustrators from as far away as Maryland fill the daylong festival with laughter, excitement and fun for children of all ages. Authors take the time for conversation and inspiration, to demonstrate the art of illustration and to read aloud favorite books in the adjacent St. Mary the Virgin’s garden. Attendees can expect festival favorites such as Rosemary Wells and Jane Yolen to return plus new authors such as Betsy and Ted Lewin and Roxie Munro.

Illustration by Sujean Rim

Families can find additional activities from book making to balloon animals to a Gaga pit in the family fun area. Food trucks and the Great Chappaqua Bake Sale provide many lunch options and scrumptious dessert and treats.

Since it’s inception The Great Chappaqua Bake Sale has raised more than $130,000 for Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign and has connected children with more than 1.3 million meals. “It’s hard to believe this will be our eighth year working to raise monies to fund school and summer meals programs for kids in New York State. The Great Chappaqua Bake Sale community of supporters and volunteers make this event successful each year and we are particularly inspired by the many children who devote their time and passion to helping children in need,” noted Alison Spiegel, one of the Bake Sale founders.

A portion of the proceeds from the CCBF go to JCY-WCP literacy programs in schools throughout Westchester. The fifth annual CCBF is on Saturday, October 14th, from 10-4 pm. Admission is free. Cash and credit cards are accepted for book and food purchases. Free parking all day available at the nearby Chappaqua Metro-North train station.

For information on sponsorship and volunteering, visit www.ccbfestival.org or visit us on Facebook at Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival.

This Just In…New Not to Be Missed Authors


Betsy and Ted Lewin – Author and/or Illustrator of almost 200 children’s books plus recipients of numerous awards including the Caldecott Honor Book Medal and the NY Times Best Illustrated Award


Julie Fogliano – Author of beloved books including When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons and Old Dog Baby Baby


Roxie Munro – Author/Illustrator of more than 40 nonfiction and concept books for children using “gamification” to encourage reading, learning and engagement; NY Times Best Illustrated Award recipient


Stephen Savage – Author and Illustrator of 9 books for children, including the NY Times bestselling picture book Polar Bear Night, written by Lauren Thompson and creator of the Where’s Walrus? books, Supertruck and Little Tug

Musical Duo: The Kennedys Set to Grace the Stage at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center

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For more than two decades, husband and wife team Pete and Maura Kennedy have performed on stages in the U.S. and the U.K., as a folk/pop duo and as members of Nanci Griffith’s Blue Moon Orchestra. Now for the first time ever the show will be one of the inaugural events in a special benefit concert at the new Chappaqua Performing Arts Center (ChappPAC), formerly known as the Wallace Auditorium on the Reader’s Digest campus. The benefit concert titled “Life is Large” at 8 p.m. on Friday, September 22 will raise funds for the Axial Theater, a professional theater company founded in 1999 that is a member of the Westchester Arts Organization. Axial Theater presents contemporary theatrical hits, timeless stage classics and original works in addition to hosting a bi-monthly Sunday Writers Series for play development.

The Kennedys have released over a dozen CDs, are longtime core artists on metropolitan New York’s jazz radio station WFUV and were named Artists-in-Residence at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Their original music has been described as uplifting, encouraging and empowering, and their choice of covers is emblematic of their love for the classic songwriting of Buddy Holly, The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Long time New York City residents, they are regulars at the Clearwater Festival in Croton-on Hudson and have played legendary venues including Carnegie Hall, the Beacon Theater and the now defunct Bottom Line.

Tickets for The Kennedys’ Axial Theater benefit are $45 and can be purchased online by searching for “Axial Theater” at brownpapertickets.com. ChappPAC will play host to a variety of cultural events in its inaugural season through December including children’s concerts, jazz performances and family movies.

The Chappaqua Performing Arts Center is located at 480 North Bedford Road. Ample free parking is available.

Back to College

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By Scott M. Kahan CFP®

It’s that time of year when summer draws to a close and your children are going back to or starting college for the first time. Often, families have figured out how to pay for the current year and put off planning how to pay for the next year. Well, if you are like most families you probably have not saved enough to afford that $65,000 per year price tag that comes along with a private school education. Now is the time to get a jump start on planning how to pay for the next few years’ college tuition for your child.

When thinking about funding sources for your children’s college education, you may assume your family earns too much to qualify for Federal grants, loans, and work-study job assistance. However, families with higher incomes are frequently eligible to receive some form of financial aid from the Federal government.

Start with the FAFSA

For most financial aid and loan programs, it is required for you to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as the initial part of the process. In addition to determining your family’s eligibility for Federal assistance, the FAFSA is the primary qualifying form used by many college, state, local, and private financial assistance programs. The first step in applying for financial aid is filling out the FAFSA. The simplest way to complete the FAFSA is by applying online at fafsa.ed.gov.

The start date to file is October 1st and there is no reason to delay the filing. When completing the FAFSA, you will use your financial information from 2016. This is called prior-prior year since you are filing forms for funds for the 2018-2019 school year.

There are numerous programs available to assist you in paying for college. Stafford Loans, which are student loans and PLUS Loans, which are in the name of the parents are a few of the most popular loan programs offered. Pell Grants, unlike loans, do not have to be repaid.

It can be confusing, but the sooner you get started in planning and preparing, the easier it will be!

Scott M. Kahan, is a Certified Financial Planner® professional and President of Financial Asset Management Corporation, a fee-only wealth management firm located at 26 South Greeley Avenue in Chappaqua. Call Scott Kahan at 914-238-8900.

Facing the Gender Gap

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Reflections from Greeley’s First Female Student Body President in Nearly Two Decades

By Hannah Fenlon

Forty six American Presidents have been elected since our country was founded in 1776–and all of them have been men. Horace Greeley High School was founded in 1928–and only two student body Presidents prior to my election have been women.

I’ve been a member of Greeley’s Student Council since my freshman year. While the unequal male to female ratio was apparent, it had never held me back during meetings, or from taking initiative. I organized events, brought in school speakers, and was elected Vice President last year. Sure, this disproportion was evident–but it was not until this year, when I wanted to run for President, that I finally felt what many women in leadership endure–discouragement and disappointment due to the lack of past female leaders to look up to, and supportively engage with. Although I knew the ropes, and had confidence in my qualifications for the position, I struggled to find the inner strength to put myself in an arena where only two females had ever succeeded.

In those moments of self-doubt and apprehension, I especially admired the perseverance of Chappaqua’s own Hillary Clinton –and the many other women taking risks in leadership. The lack of female examples to follow in this field can pose a disadvantage to women leaning in, on local and global scales. According to the Pew Research Center, “There are 15 female world leaders currently in office, eight of whom are their country’s first woman in power…these women still represent fewer than 10% of 193 United Nations’ member states.”

At Greeley, many girls have campaigned in the past–fulfilling aspects of the election process including interviewing for the position, making posters, and giving a school wide speech. While it’s certainly an imperfect process, I was still shocked when Assistant Principal Mr. Hosier informed me that despite the efforts and qualifications of so many girls, the last female President was elected in 1999.

With a greater sense of unity, I have faith that Greeley can cultivate a stronger community going forward…ready to make change.

Having experienced what it’s like to be a female in the leadership arena, I possess a greater sense of urgency to advocate and highlight girls pursuing fields where they too are the minority. In particular, I’d like to focus on the promotion of girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, women fill almost half of all jobs in the U.S. economy, yet hold less than 25% of STEM jobs. This underrepresentation and untapped opportunity for girls passionate about STEM is tangible unfortunately here in Chappaqua–and it’s a reality I’ve seen and experienced firsthand.

I’ve pursued my passion for STEM in classes at Greeley–and have faced this gender disproportion each time. As a sophomore,

I walked into my Robotics and Java Programming classes to find myself only one out of three female students. This year, in Tech and Design, I was the only girl–and in my engineering class, the lack of female students was also prominent. Until those moments, when I was singled out as a girl before I even began to participate, I had never viewed the classroom as a place that demanded personal courage. I thought twice about raising my hand, even when I knew I was right. Self-doubt crept into my mind, as I began to question my skills and abilities even through success. In STEM and in leadership, I have faced the uncomfortable reality of the gender gap–but these experiences have ultimately left me determined to act. I think it’d be inspiring and informative to raise awareness of the apparent gender gap here in Chappaqua, and to have a component of the annual STEM Fest at Bell to promote girls’ participation and interest in the field.

While modern day politics can sometimes seem anything but respectful, encouraging, or engaging, the level of professionalism that this year’s Student Council election possessed left me with a great sense of hope. In fact, more than 600 students voted, Greeley’s highest voter turnout in years. This sense of student engagement is something I hope to expand–not just in the sphere of elections, but throughout Greeley’s hallways, classrooms, and spirit. While school is where it begins, spirit, strength, and connection shouldn’t disappear when the bell rings at 2:35 p.m. With a greater sense of unity, I have faith that Greeley can cultivate a stronger community going forward–a community of engaged students and active leaders, unafraid to break glass ceilings, and ready to make change.

Hannah Fenlon is a senior at Horace Greeley High School and only the third female student body President.

Play Care Early Learning Center Aims to Ready Kids for Kindergarten and Beyond

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The Director of the Play Care Center, Xann Palmer
Ask any working parent with young children what their number one concern is and most will say finding quality childcare. As someone who attended a daycare center in Chapapaqua as a young child, I can attest how important it was for my parents to find a day care for me that allowed them both to relax on the job and not have to worry about my safety and wellbeing. They wanted to find a place that would also inspire a love of learning in my formative years. Luckily, there is a great option here in town for Chappaqua parents called the Play Care Early Learning Center.

Play Care on Orchard Ridge Road in Chappaqua was established in 1971 as a cooperative and a mission of the First Congregational Church, allowing mothers the opportunity to participate in various community events and activities. The Director of the Play Care Center, Xann Palmer, who’s had more than 20 years of experience in the field of Early Childhood Education, views this origin as a big reason why Play Care has evolved into what it is today.

“The church, in 1971, started a co-op here, church members helping each other, where the moms took on shifts, so to speak”, said Palmer. “One person maybe watched kids on Monday and Tuesday and the other person did Thursday, Friday, in that kind of capacity. And we’ve grown into a licensed program by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.”

Since that time, Play Care has developed into a fully-equipped day care facility and preschool with a large experienced staff of teachers, aides and of course the Director of Play Care, Xann Palmer. While the center isn’t affiliated with the church in any way, the center has maintained a close relationship with families by continuing the robust volunteering program that birthed the program in the first place.

“We’re not affiliated in any way with the church, there is no faith-based learning.

We serve everyone. We have all kinds of cultures and people from diverse backgrounds in our program and we honor them all. But, we have held on to where the parents play a part in the program in a volunteer component”, said Ms. Palmer. “We like having the parents present and a lot of them can be present in the morning and some can’t, so we find other ways for them to participate as well.”

The center has two levels of classroom spaces, both of which are above grade so the classrooms are actually filled with natural light. Over the past two years they have updated the spaces by putting in new tile flooring and renovating parts of the main level.

Additionally, Play Care provides a high level of security with a centrally wired alarm system and locked security doors at the program’s entrance. Only staff members and enrolled families are assigned access keys eliminating the entry of unauthorized visitors. The center also has a spacious and gated outdoor playground area that children use for outdoor activities and games.

The Play Care Early Learning Center’s goal is to be the program that families turn to in the Northern Westchester community to provide their children a quality early childhood experience. The employees recognize that these early learning years are crucial in laying the foundation for all future learning environments and they take pride in providing the resources to families in a nurturing and respectful manner, especially Director Xann Palmer.

“Our goals are just to help children have that first school experience be a positive one,” said Palmer. We want them to want to come to school. We want them to enjoy learning. And we want to offer them as many good experiences as they can while they’re with us,” she continued. “Most of all, we want to ensure that every child leaves the program ready for kindergarten and all other future endeavors.”