The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Michele Gregson

Holiday Hijinks at Elf, The Interactive Movie

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Are you looking for something a little out of the ordinary to do with your kids this upcoming holiday season? Then the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center interactive version of the movie Elf would be the perfect event for you and your family.

Four years ago, Michele Gregson, Chair of The Friends of ChappPAC started what was soon to become a beloved holiday tradition – an interactive way to view the cherished movie, Elf. It went on to capture the hearts of local families, as well as fostering a sense of community among Westchester residents.

This interactive adaptation of ­Elf transforms a classic film into something that can be enjoyed even more than it already has been. This creative and immersive experience will stay with children of all ages for years to come. For those who do not know what an interactive movie is, it’s a film that the viewers can watch and also participate in. Utilizing a script of well-known lines and plot points along with some simple props, you can bring a movie to life making it fun for both children and adults.

So, what makes this version of Elf interactive? “I looked at the film and I looked at what other people did for interactive movies, and then made decisions about how we would do it,” Gregson, explained. “It’s like Rocky Horror Meets Elf and that’s how we mirrored it.” The parents and children receive marked scripts with cues. The scripts help the parents to guide their kids and be prepared to assist at the right moments throughout the movie. Each child receives a bag of goodies that help them participate in the interactive parts.

For example, during the snowball fight, all of the participants get big, white, cotton balls to interact with the scene as it happens in the movie. “The kids go crazy for that part,” Gregson said. “They just throw the snowballs and go running around trying to get the ones that fall. They even go on the stage. It’s really hilarious.”

A Season’s Highlight

There are also cue cards for certain lines for the children to say. “Parents can assist younger children who are emerging readers and there is an elf on stage who helps the kids participate by letting them know what’s coming! It’s really something to watch,” Gregson shared. Even though Interactive Elf is a relatively new tradition in Chappaqua, it continues to be a highlight in the holiday season for many. This version of Elf is also an inclusive event that children of all ages and abilities can participate in.

If you would like to see Elf, visit the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center on Sunday, December 15th. Below is the link to visit their website. chappaquapac.org

Strong Show of Support to Westchester Jewish Council Honorees & to the Larger Community

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Michele Gregson with William Schrag, WJC President, Arlene Kleinberg (to left of Michele), Executive Board member, and Karen Everett, Gala Chair
PHOTOS BY DARREN PEISTER

On Saturday, January 27, the Westchester Jewish Council held their 48th Gala at Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains. The theme was ‘Standing Strong, Standing Together.’ The honorees for the evening were Board members Michele Gregson, Sarene Shanus and Harold Treiber, and Jeremy A. Abramson of the Premier Collection. The Council connects, convenes and safeguards Westchester’s Jewish communities and strengthens relationships among Jews, the over 130+ member organizations, Westchester to Israel, our elected officials and other ethnic and faith-based individuals and organizations, and the community at large.

The evening, attended by over 500 people, included a wide-range of politicians, including Chris Burdick, Vedat Gashi, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Mike Lawler and George Latimer. Several spoke including Latimer who made a point of reminding attendees: “You are not alone.” Entertainment was provided by Ben Nemzer, magician and mentalist, who astounded everyone with his performance.

WJC Honorees Michele Gregson, Sarene Shanus and Harold Treiber, and Jeremy A. Abramson (right) of the Premier Collection.
PHOTOS BY DARREN PEISTER

Among the honorees, Chappaqua’s Michele Gregson was recognized for her activities informing, gathering, leading and speaking out about issues of importance to both the Jewish community and her hometown. Gregson has served as Chair of UJA’s Westchester Women’s campaign, created and still chairs UJA’s Women’s Symposium. She is also the founder of Jewish Women of Westchester on Facebook, and the Chair of Friends of Chappaqua Performing Arts Center (ChappPAC).

“The Gala felt different this year because of recent events in Israel since October 7th and the rise in antisemitism in both our county and our country,” said Gregson. “But, the coming together as a community by both those who attended and the speeches given by our politicians, made everyone feel supported and united.”

Sharing the Sweetness of the Holidays

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Having moved to Chappaqua just a few years earlier, I wanted to find a different way to throw a holiday party. So, I came up with the idea of throwing a Cookie Exchange. I looked at every magazine to research how to throw a Cookie Exchange party, and then devised my rules, which included, at that time, each person having to bake six dozen cookies, and sent out invites to 20 friends.

That first year, the ice gods of the Northeast decided to visit us during the party and my long, uphill driveway became a hazardous, sliding terror. My husband walked everyone down to their cars, holding the traded cookies in addition to our guests arms, to make sure there were no accidents–with cookies or appendages.

That first Cookie Exchange took place 18 years ago and it has grown into a party of between 60-70 guests. My dining room table has every leaf in it and the cookies barely fit, especially when bakers, like Cindy Greenstein, make an amazing yet giant cookie quilt. Prizes are awarded to the best tasting, most creative looking, best presentation and Michele’s choice, usually given to a newbie. Lisa Avramovitz and Georgia Frasch have won the most times, as both their decorative cookies and presentation astound everyone.

We have had our excitement over the years. There was the year that someone said their butter looked weird when they were baking and the cookies they brought were green, when no food coloring was used. Another year, one of the guests somehow took someone else’s white minivan home and, after an hour of phone calls, she embarrassingly brought back the car and took her own white minivan home. And, yet another year, my son and his teenage friends ate so many cookies as judges, that we had to banish them to our basement so that there would actually be enough cookies to be exchanged.

And what about my friends who are just horrible bakers? They attend but are encouraged not to bake because it is in the best interest of attendees not to eat anything they would attempt to make. So, they bring wine.

This year’s bakers will only make four dozen cookies. Still, there will be no slice and bake cookies, no cookies from a mix or ones that have been purchased. My son will be home from college to do the judging along with several others. And, many families in town will enjoy a cornucopia of cookies, at least for the weekend.