festival

Upcoming Cider & Donut Festival: September 23

August 29, 2018 by The Inside Press

The Armonk Chamber’s winning formula for a fun-filled day: Jamie’s Run for Love, Byram HillsPreschool Association Children’s Carnival, and an old fashioned Cider and Donut festival. Based in Wampus Brook Park, the annual festival is a perfect setting for all of the activities. Making fresh cider and donuts in the park brings back parent’s memories and has already begun creating new memories for generations. “But after the band, the food, the run, the most fun still goes to those brave kids and parents who will throw away their inhibitions and diets and go full throttle into the pie eating contest,” said the Chamber’s Schwartz. For more information, visit www.armonkchamberofcommerce.com

Diversity: A Key Focus at the 2018 Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival

August 29, 2018 by The Inside Press

The sixth annual Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival comes to town on Saturday, September 29th with more of everything–new authors, food trucks, activities and special attractions like the Bubble Bus.

Food trucks will include Mobile Pie, Walter’s Hot Dogs, The Melt Mobile and Three Little Pigs. Dessert will be available at the Great Chappaqua Bake Sale and also at Penny Lick Ice Cream’s cart which will feature a custom CCBF flavor in homage to author Bernard Most: If the Dinosaurs Came Back for Ice Cream. The Mike Risko Band and the Random Farms Kids’ Theater will provide entertainment.

Ninety-four authors including favorites like Victoria Kann, Rosemary Wells, Nick Bruel, Jane Yolen and Mark Teague will sign books and chat with their fans. Books are available through Best Book Fairs (cash or credit cards accepted). The festival, an all-volunteer effort, will also feature 18 new authors. A focus for the festival’s organizers was bringing books to a more diverse audience in 2018.

Dawn Greenberg, founder and executive director of the festival, noted: “Each year the author selection committee attempts to find books that will offer our visiting families the opportunity to be transported by our authors to different and diverse worlds, giving them a window on all kinds of characters and experiences–real and fictional. We are thrilled to bring in a wide selection of authors and genres this year who are getting great buzz in the children’s publishing world for their riveting stories and fresh voices.”

Snapshots from 2017

Tony Abbott with kids
PHOTO BY BO ZAUNDERS

Add These Local Music Festivals to Your Summer To-Do List

June 1, 2018 by Ella Ilan

Hudson stage at Clearwater Music Festival
PHOTO BY ECONOSMITH.COM

Couldn’t get to Coachella? Westchester has two great festivals coming your way this summer. The Clearwater Festival and the Pleasantville Music Festival are both top-notch events right in your backyard.

The Clearwater Festival

The Clearwater Festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday, June 16 and 17 on the banks of the Hudson River at Croton Point Park in Croton-on-Hudson. Performers will include Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, The Mavericks, Ani DiFranco, They Might Be Giants, Rhiannon Giddens, and hundreds more.

An Environmental Twist

This two-day event, founded by the late folk legend Pete Seeger and his wife Toshi, combines musical performances and green activism. In 1966, recognizing that the Hudson River had been devastated due to years of pollution, Seeger decided “to build a boat to save the river.” He hosted small local concerts where he opened his banjo case to collect donations to build the Clearwater, a tall ship that would be a symbol of environmental advocacy.

The festival’s parent organization, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater (“Clearwater”), pursues Seeger’s mission to protect the river. Clearwater’s grassroots efforts have resulted in the passing of landmark legislation including The Clean Water Act. Funds raised at the festival will go directly to Clearwater.

“My hope is if you’re coming for the music because you love the lineup, you check out the Clearwater information and discover that because of Clearwater’s efforts, you could swim in the Hudson now,” says festival director Steve Lurie. “Maybe you even become a member and maybe you sign a petition and maybe you also walk away as a supporter.”

Blues Traveler plays at last year’s Pleasantville Music Festival
PHOTO BY JONATHAN CUNNINGHAM

Fun for the Whole family

Catering to families, a special stage will host performances for kids, juggling and roving artists, storytelling, and more. Festival-goers can visit the “Working Waterfront” and take free rides on small boats or purchase sail tickets for the tall ships.

Guests can explore the Handcrafter’s Village, the Green Living Expo, and visit the many tents and exhibitors. An Artisanal Food and Farm Market will sell food sourced from the Hudson Valley.

About twenty thousand people are expected over the course of the weekend. Ticket prices through June 15 are $68-$280 depending on whether they are day passes or weekend plus camping passes. Prices are higher at the gate. Clearwater Members receive a 20% discount off the non-member prices. Kids 11 & under are free.

The Pleasantville Music Festival is New York’s Backyard Jam

Less than a month after the Clearwater Festival, the Pleasantville Music Festival will take place on Saturday July 14th at Parkway Field in Pleasantville. Artists will include The Psychedelic Furs, The Lone Bellow, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Cracker, John Hall, Lizzie and the Makers, and many more.

This event has grown considerably since it began fourteen years ago as a small folk festival attracting about five hundred people. Upwards of 5,000 people are expected to descend upon Parkway field, setting up chairs, blankets and tents for the day.

Winners of the Battle of the Bands, a competition amongst Westchester residents 26 or younger, will perform original songs on stage and open the festival. Last year, Byram Hills High School graduate Ari Perakis and his band Riiza won and opened atthe festival.

Who is in the Crowd

“We are a music festival for people who like the idea of a music festival more so than the actual reality of a music festival,” says Pleasantville Music Festival director Bruce Figler. Mr. Figler is referring to the manageability of the festival for a family. “It’s just one day, you can park at Pace University, take the shuttle over, enjoy the music, bring your kids, and then go home. You don’t even need a babysitter.”

This contemporary rock music festival aims to appeal to the average Westchester homeowner, likely in their forties or fifties. Festival organizers strive to satisfy different elements within that demographic, whether it be people who like jam bands, acoustic music, top 40 hits, or hard rock.

“We try to arrange the lineup in such a way that everyone who comes will be able to see someone they know and like,” says Mr. Figler.

To entertain the children, there will be a kid zone with face-painting, rides and amusements. There will also be a vendor village with various merchants and a food court. Beer garden sponsor Captain Lawrence Brewing Company will serve beer to adults.

Tickets are $45; $30 for students or seniors; free for children 12 and under.

Both festivals are zero-waste events, using sustainable practices to reduce waste and protect the environment.

For more information, to volunteer or to order tickets, go to www.clearwaterfestival.org for the Clearwater Festival and to www.pleasantvillemusicfestival.com for the Pleasantville Music Festival.

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

August 30, 2017 by Dawn Evans Greenberg

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.

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

Donuts for Everyone

October 21, 2016 by The Inside Press

Photos by Andrew Vitelli

Nice weather, live music, and fresh-baked donuts brought hundreds of local residents and visitors to the 5th Annual Cider and Donuts Festival on Sept. 18 at Wampus Brook Park in Armonk.

The festival included games and rides for children and plenty of food (including warm donuts from Beascakes Bakery in the hamlet) for kids and parents alike. For the second year, the festival partnered with Jamie’s 5K Run for Love, with proceeds benefiting the North Castle Public Library’s children’s programs as well as the Armonk Chamber of Commerce. The festival merged this year with the Pre-School Association Fall Carnival.

festival

Upcoming Cider & Donut Festival: September 23