The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Chappaqua

The Wonderful Wally Peterkin: Golf Pro, Picture Framer

by

wally golfingIn a lovely summertime visit to the home of Chappaqua-based Wally Peterkin, I discovered that the long time golf pro is as adept at framing as he is at swinging.  His garage off Hardscrabble Road is a converted full service frame shop and  “word of mouth” continues to keep him in business.  He had approached Inside Chappaqua, however, not with picture framing in mind, but rather to advertise his “no gimmicks lesson” to help anyone “shoot Par golf.”

Not being a golfer, I can only imagine that it’s a swing so fine, his technique effortlessly guides the ball to its rightful destination.  So whether you are looking to “explode to the 90% range” or to beautifully frame your baby blowing out her first candle,  Peterkin can help you with either.  Just tell him you heard about him in Inside Chappaqua or soon, also in Inside Armonk.  Visits with Wally are by appointment only. Call 914-224-4049.

– Grace Bennett

wally framing

Second Annual Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival

by

Peter Sis
Children’s Book Author Peter Sis with fans appreciating his books and autograph.

Over 80 Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators to Participate

September 27

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Authors Covering Multiple Genres and Reading Levels, Author Readings, Illustrator Demos, Book Signings, Hudson Valley Llamas, Local Food Vendors and The Great Chappaqua Bake Sale

More than 80 renowned children’s book authors and illustrators will be participating in the second annual Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival (CCBF), recently voted “Best Bookworm Event” by Westchester Magazine. The Festival will take place on Saturday, September 27, at Robert Bell Middle School in Chappaqua, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Books will be available for sale, local food vendors from around the region will offer great eats, and the 5th Annual Great Chappaqua Bake Sale will be selling baked treats and raffle tickets to benefit Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign to end childhood hunger. Admission and parking are free, and the event is rain or shine.

“At our inaugural Festival last year, more than 4,000 visitors had the chance to talk to and have their books signed by their favorite children’s authors and illustrators,” said Dawn Greenberg, executive director of the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival.   “We hope even more visitors discover us this year.  Reading is the number one predictor of a child’s success–our goal is to get Westchester reading, and to have fun doing it!”

This year’s authors and illustrators include many who participated last year, such as Alyssa Capucilli (Biscuit), Bruce Degen (Magic School Bus series illustrator), Dan Greenburg (The Zack Files) J.C. Greenburg (Andrew Lost series), Victoria Kann (Pinkalicious), Gail Carson Levine (Ella Enchanted), Wendell Minor (Galapagos George illustrator), Jerry Pinkney (The Tortoise and the Hare illustrator), Jean Van Leeuwen (Oliver and Amanda Pig series) and Bernard Most (How Big Were the Dinosaurs? ).  New authors/illustrators this year include Christopher Healy (Hero’s Guide trilogy), Doreen Rappaport (Helen’s Big World), Steve Sheinkin (The Notorious Benedict Arnold), Carol Weston (Ava and Pip) and Jacqueline Weitzman (You Can’t Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum), among others.  A complete list of CCBF authors/illustrators can be found at http://www.ccbfestival.org/authors/.

Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival 2013, Helen Perelman. Photo Grace Bennett
Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival 2013, Helen Perelman. Photo Grace Bennett

In addition to book signings, author readings and illustrator demonstrations, families will have the chance to participate in a variety of activities such as gymnastics with Jodi’s Gym. Here are more examples of additional sponsors and the activities they have planned:

 

o   GaGa, life-size games and airbrush tattoos courtesy of Kiwi Country Day Camp

o   a collage activity with internationally-acclaimed mixed media collage artist Michael Albert, courtesy of the Chappaqua Learning Center

o   science activities with science author Vicki Cobb

o   music with children’s entertainer Miss Rhea

o   sensory play with WeeZee – The Science of Play

o   soap making with Kensico Soap Bar in Thornwood

o   costumed character appearances sponsored by Breeze

o   live llamas from Hudson Valley Llamas

Food available for purchase will include BBQ from Chappaqua’s Le Jardin du Roi, pizza, popcorn and hot dogs from Bellizzi in Mt. Kisco and wraps, sandwiches and salads from Village Social in Mt. Kisco.

CCBF is a not-for-profit volunteer organization dedicated to promoting literacy and community.  Major sponsors of this year’s Festival include Kiwi Country Day Camp, Chappaqua Learning Center, Regeneron, Breeze Gifts, Cartwright and Daughters Tent and Party and Booktopia Fairs, with in-kind donations from DDR Public Relations and Inside Chappaqua.

Local sweets shop Hall of Scoops crafted two new flavors to benefit CCBF – Pinkalicious (created with the permission of and guidance from Pinkalicious author Victoria Kann) and Rocky Read, to be sold at Hall of Scoops in the month of September, with a portion of the proceeds going to the CCBF.   Those who visit Hall of Scoops should also check out the full-wall mural on the south side of the building, generously painted by Chappaqua artist Sophie Mendelson.  The mural is dedicated to CCBF, and depicts scenes from the Book Festival and around Chappaqua.

Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival 2013, Bruce Degen. Photo Lauren Sabol
Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival 2013, Bruce Degen. Photo Lauren Sabol

CCBF is sponsoring JCY-Westchester Community Partners, which develops intergenerational programs to meet the literacy needs of children in Westchester communities such as Yonkers, Mount Vernon and Elmsford. CCBF Executive Director Greenberg said, “We wanted to be able to support and promote literacy for families that don’t have the resources of a town like Chappaqua.”  JCY-WCP will have a booth at the festival with Clifford the Dog, where visitors can learn about JCY-WCP’s various literacy programs.  “We will also be supporting JCY-WCP year-round, including sending a group to their Summer Reading Program at Yonkers Riverfront Library,” said Greenberg.

This year’s Book Festival poster was designed by award-winning author/illustrator Peter Sís, a resident of Hastings-on-Hudson.  Sís’s design depicts a child being taken on a journey with the help of a book-shaped flying machine.

Vicki Cobb, author of science books for children, said of last year’s Festival, “On beautiful autumn afternoons, when the sun is shining and the leaves are glowing with color, people crave gatherings like this – an excuse to connect with people, ideas, beauty…All these events embody the individual’s need to know that, yes, there is a person behind a creative work, someone who has touched me or touched his/her pen to a beautiful book.”

2014 poster 150KBCCBF is the only children’s book festival in Westchester County and was inspired by Book Day at Sunnyside, which was discontinued in 2012 after 15 years.  CCBF will take place at the Robert Bell Middle School, directly across the street from the Chappaqua train station (a 50-minute train ride from Grand Central Terminal).  Event parking is free at the Chappaqua train station. The Festival is rain or shine.  For more information, (and for the most up to date list of participating sponsors), visit www.ccbfestival.org or follow the CCBF at www.facebook.com/chappaquachildrensbookfestival.

You Can’t Spell Chappaqua without “Q”

by

ManBarbequeBy Stephen Barron

There is nothing like a perfectly cooked spare or baby back rib.   Smoky meat, perfectly seasoned and combined with the right sauce makes our mouths water. Winter is behind us, and it’s time to start firing up your BBQ grill.

I’m an East Coast native, but developed a passion for BBQ after moving to Texas in the mid 90’s. In Texas, brisket is king, but ribs were always my favorite. I became obsessed with learning how to cook them so the meat easily falls from the bone without being dry or fatty. And with the right mix of seasoning applied before cooking (Rub), you can enjoy them even without sauce.

For me, picking out a good rack of ribs involves going to a good local butcher, or believe it or not, Costco. Look for whole racks that are meaty. Both baby back and spare ribs have a membrane on the bone side that should be removed. This can be a tricky process, and I suggest watching an online video to learn the proper technique.

“Chappaqua is a long way from the South, but did you know we have BBQ royalty in our midst? Christiaan Lorson from Le Jardin du Roi, heads up a well-respected team called “Q Haven” on the 
BBQ circuit.”

After the membrane has been removed, begin layering your flavors. Start with a light slather to hold the rub (see recipe below, but the fun is in the experimenting). Apply your rub immediately before cooking so the salt does not pull moisture from the meat. I’ve made rubs that have Asian, Indian, spicy, and sweet flavor profiles. The key to great rubs is keeping your spice blends even. Experiment and have fun.

Cooking a perfect rib starts with a little knowledge, passion and perseverance. Whether you use chips, chunks, or logs, it is important to only use hard woods. Oak, apple, and maple are local woods that provide great flavor for ribs. When grilling with charcoal or gas, tossing a simple aluminum foil pack containing soaked wood chips or chunks will give you smoke to enhance the flavor.

Without a doubt, proper temperature is critical to a successful outcome. Ideally, I will cook on an indirect 225-250 degree heat for around four hours. Offset your heat source from where the ribs are positioned to help even out the cooking temperature. Covering your charcoal or gas grill racks with sheets of aluminum foil will aid in dispersing heat. You can also place a small aluminum pan filled with apple juice over the heat source to create steam for keeping your ribs moist.

To avoid losing a constant grill temperature, check on how your ribs are cooking only once per hour. Do not peek! Optimal internal rib temperature is 170-175 degrees. Move the ribs around to even out hot spots. If your rib meat is shrinking slightly where the rib bone becomes exposed, immediately test internal temperature.

Chappaqua is a long way from the South, but did you know we have BBQ royalty in our midst? Christiaan Lorson from Le Jardin du Roi, heads up a well-respected team called “Q Haven” on the BBQ circuit.

Christiaan taught me a new twist on infusing more flavor into our ribs. After reaching 175 degrees internal temperature, wrap your ribs in foil, meat side down. He likes to line the foil with brown sugar, honey, rib rub, and maybe a little chipotle for added heat. When the ribs are wrapped tightly in foil, the heat molecules will turn your spices into a braising liquid. Forty five minutes of meat side down cooking should be more than enough to reach a final internal temperature of 195-200 degrees.

Christiaan says “Rest your meat!” Just like a good steak, your ribs should be out of the foil for a few minutes before cutting into your masterpiece. Spraying on a little apple juice to the rib will help stop the cooking process. I slice my ribs with the meat side facing down. Just cut between the bones. If you like, add sauce on top, or to the side (sauce suggestions below). 
Dig in!

When not conquering the world of finance, Stephen Barron can be found smoking his own ribs and spending quality time with his wife, Michelle, and sons, Max and Jack.

Christiann’s Slather Recipe
Even parts mustard, agave syrup, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.
Maybe a tad less vinegar.
Sauce Suggestions: Stubbs, Austin Texas, Arthur Bryant’s, a spicy Kansas City classic, McClards, Hot Springs AK (a former favorite of President Clinton when he ate BBQ), Sweet Baby Rays for the kids, The Shed, (all flavors).

The Chappaqua Gauntlet

by

gauntlet-2By Dan Levitz

The house is quiet. The only sound is a pleasing “whoosh, whoosh” from the little device that whips & heats the milk for the coffee. The kids have left for school and my wife for work. I’ll be the last one out the door and this…this is good. It’s a short ride to my job and, if all goes smoothly, it should be pleasant on this beautiful spring day.

Not long ago, I would have been the first of my family out the door and I’d be rushing to get an early express train to the City. When we moved here from Manhattan, my intention was a daily walk to and from the Chappaqua train station where I could clear my head and get a little exercise while keeping my Big Apple pedestrian mojo intact. I would reject the car-culture and remain true to my downtown urban roots.

“…if things go smoothly, it’s a great little drive. Our town is scenic, quaint, historic and 
bucolic.”

In my early days in Chappaqua, you might have found me on a Saturday walking to town to buy milk with my little daughter in a Baby Bjorn as cars flew by on 120.

I mean, this is how I carried my older son when he was a baby in the City, and I’d be damned if I would deny my daughter the same nurturing and effective mode of transport. I think we did that walk maybe two times in total. My naive idealism about relying on my own two feet proved to be fleeting.

We moved here in autumn and by winter I was driving everywhere including to the train in the morning. My vision of the daily walk to the station gone, I rationalized that the distance from my spot at the edge of the train parking lot, essentially located in Pleasantville, was roughly equivalent to my now dormant walk from home.

My daily train commute into the city has since been replaced by a short drive to my office in a neighboring town. I joke with my wife that the 1.3 miles of the commute that takes me through Chappaqua can only be referred to as…The Gauntlet! She says I can be overly dramatic, but I think as a term of action, it is spot on. As I mentioned, if things go smoothly, it’s a great little drive. Our town is scenic, quaint, historic and bucolic. These are highly appealing adjectives. However, if I’m to best The Gauntlet, a number of challenges must be overcome with honor and determination (I have no idea why she says I over dramatize things)!

My journey begins with The Audacious Left Turn of Departure! All that’s involved here is gently navigating the car past the children at the bus stop in front of my house and making the left onto Quaker towards town safely. I’ve mastered the repetitive left/right, right/left head-turn and, both directions clear, I make the turn and head towards town and The Infamous Bridge of Sighs!

Pausing at the red light by Hunts Place, I sip my coffee and feel the caffeine begin to percolate just a little in my brain. The newly renovated bridge can be challenging in a myriad of ways. Too many times, I’ve found myself sitting there unsure if it was my right of way or the giant Escalade’s coming from town. My awkwardness in these moments is punctuated by indecision: Brake…gas…lurch…peer…gas… brake!

Today however, the sun is shining on me as I traverse the bridge effortlessly and in good rhythm. As I pull up, about to turn left onto S. Greeley, I get the bluetooth going and start digging on a good driving song (Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things”). I sip my coffee and breathe deeply as I look ahead towards The Great Intersection of Indecision! It may be a confusing traffic pattern with the two-way stop, but folks here can be quite neighborly, and most drivers seem to approach it as cautiously as do I on this gorgeous Chappaqua morn.

As I continue forward, surrounded by picturesque Chappaqua in full spring bloom, it does feel natural to wax a bit poetic with my daily driving challenges happily in my rear view. I must admit that I feel privileged to be conducting my commute through such a lovely setting.

The ride up King is sweet. I turn the music up and reach for my faded Café Du Monde coffee mug. I make the right turn past Lange’s and the quick left by the Mobil station. I drive respectfully slow past Grafflin Elementary, now confident that the challenging part of the commute is over. As I bring the mug to my lips, I violently hit a pothole the size of Rhode Island. The hot coffee splashes all over my chest, and as I shriek, I notice the “check engine” light pop on. Sometimes you ride The Gauntlet, sometimes The Gauntlet rides you.

Dan Levitz is an art dealer & writer who has lived in Chappaqua for 10 years.

Hollywood in Chappaqua?

by

Mark on set with Director Matt Reeves.
Mark on set with Director Matt Reeves.
David James Photo

by Mark Bomback

In the summer of 2004, my wife and I made the riskiest move imaginable. We moved to Chappaqua.

Some context. I grew up in New Rochelle, studied film at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, then moved out to Los Angeles in 1993 to pursue a career as a screenwriter. In L.A. I met my wife, Tema (a fellow transplant, but from Chicago), and three years later we were married. Our son Miles was born in 2000, followed by Caroline in 2003; by 2004, Tema and I were talking about having another child–a conversation that forced us to acknowledge that we would soon outgrow our Santa Monica townhouse.

As we started house-hunting, it occurred to us that we should consider living in New York instead. We were both becoming increasingly uneasy with the notion that raising our kids in L.A. meant having no family within driving distance. My three brothers were all living in the New York area, and the prospect of raising our children near their uncles, aunts, cousins and grandparents was feeling like more and more of a priority.

However, my burgeoning screenwriting career was at a critical juncture. My first produced credit–a half-baked cloning thriller called Godsend–hadn’t exactly set any box office records. I’d managed to get myself hired by 20th Century Fox to write a fourth “Die Hard” film, however there was no guarantee the studio would actually make it. I certainly was in no position to uproot our lives and move 3,000 miles from the undisputed epicenter of my chosen profession.

Tema and I decided we’d give ourselves a year to think about it. Yet on a trip to New York that May, an exploratory outing with a Chappaqua-based realtor ended with us making an offer on a house.

Caesar (Andy Serkis) ponders his next move as he faces a threat posed by a colony of humans.WETA Photo
Caesar (Andy Serkis) ponders his next move as he faces a threat posed by a colony of humans.
WETA Photo

When we returned to L.A. and announced we were moving to Chappaqua, the nearly universal reaction from both friends and colleagues was “Why?!”

We tried impressing them with photos of our very-East-Coast-looking new house as we explained our reasons. Most of our friends understood, however some of them questioned our wisdom. And more than a few have subsequently admitted to me that they were all but sure the move would mean the end of my writing career.

When you write movies for a living, there’s a tendency to view your life through the prism of a narrative–to see yourself as a character in a story. And I admit, during the first year of our living in Chappaqua, I was constantly asking myself if this abrupt shift in the plot that was my life felt natural.What was I doing on the sidelines of an AYSO game only 20 miles from where I’d grown up? Had I botched the story? Tema, a city girl born and bred, was still coping with an acute case of suburban culture shock, so I hesitated to add to her reservations with any of my own. True, we did see a whole lot more of our extended family. We just didn’t expect to miss our old lives in L.A. quite as much as we did.

In time, however, we made new, and soon, very close friends. Equally important, we learned how best to stay in touch with our old ones, and gained an assurance that we hadn’t lost them in the move. Of course there were (still are!) winter days when Tema pined for El Matador Beach, but a morning spent sledding at Gedney has its own undeniable charms, and the small town we’d impulsively decided to call home has turned out to be an even more wonderful community than we’d anticipated.

Malcolm (Jason Clarke) tries to make peace with Caesar (Andy Serkis), Koba (Toby Kebbell) and Maurice (Karin Konoval).WETA Photo
Malcolm (Jason Clarke) tries to make peace with Caesar (Andy Serkis), Koba (Toby Kebbell) and Maurice (Karin Konoval).
WETA Photo

Less expected, but even more rewarding, is what Chappaqua has come to mean to me as a father. Before I had children, it never occurred to me to put down roots in Westchester–after all, I was going to be a happening screenwriter! So I hadn’t really considered what it would be like to raise my children in an environment that was in some ways markedly similar to that of my own childhood. For example, we sent our three daughters (we wound up having two more children since moving here) to the same day camp I attended.

My son and I devour buffalo wings at the Candlelight Inn, where I don’t think they’ve changed so much as a lightbulb since I was a kid. And the mere smell of the grass at those AYSO games brings me right back to the New Rochelle soccer fields that I played on when I was their age (with far less skill than my offspring). In short, there is a very unique pleasure to be had in watching my kids forge memories in settings that feel just a little familiar, although I get as much joy from seeing how our experiences diverge as I do from recognizing where they intersect.

 “When you write movies for a living, there’s a tendency to view your life through the prism of a narrative…”

Working from home in Chappaqua also means that I see my kids a lot more than I might have if we’d stayed in L.A., where meetings, lunches and dinners are always welcome opportunities to procrastinate. Of course I do have to travel to L.A. quite a bit, but when I’m home I’m home. As for my career, thankfully things broke the right way for me, and I would attribute at least part of my success to living here, as the distance from L.A. requires me to stay even more focused than I might have otherwise, and to maximize every opportunity that comes along.

There’s a screenwriting adage that I always do my best to adhere to: the ending of a story should feel at once surprising and inevitable. I never thought I’d live in a town like Chappaqua until that fateful summer when Tema and I decided to just take a chance and go for it. Now, as we approach the 10-year anniversary of our big move, it feels like it was always meant to be.

Mark Bomback is a screenwriter whose credits include Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (opens July 11), The Wolverine, Unstoppable, Live Free or Die Hard and Race to Witch Mountain, among others. A TV series, Legends, co-developed with Howard Gordon (Homeland) is scheduled to premiere August 20th on TNT.