The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Ossining

Ossining Jazz Festival: The Improvisor’s Art

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The third annual Ossining Jazz Festival will take place on the evenings of Friday and Saturday June 8 and June 9. The event, which will feature four different musical acts performing at the Ossining Elks Lodge, is an excellent opportunity for audiences to enjoy a range of top-notch practitioners of jazz, a.k.a. America’s Great Musical Idiom and the Improvisor’s Art, in an intimate setting.

This year’s Ossining Jazz Festival features a night each of Contemporary and Latin jazz, two crowd-pleasing styles.

Ted Daniel, a renowned jazz trumpeter, Ossining native and Artistic Director of the OJF comments “Ossining has a rich musical heritage, and so it is only fitting that we showcase a spectrum of the artists and sounds that have inspired us. The only way we keep this wonderful musical art alive is by giving audiences a chance to experience it right as often as possible.” Michelle Concha Herko, Executive Director of the OJF adds “Our festival is one way of accomplishing this, and we’re pleased to back for our third year.”

The double bill on Friday, June 7 at the Elks Club, dedicated to hard bop or straight-ahead jazz, will feature the Rory Stuart Quartet at 7:30 PM and drummer Abe Speller and his band at 9 PM. The lineup on Saturday, June 8 includes Michael Tate and 3D Rhythm of Life at 7:30 PM and Nelson Riveros at 9 PM. Tickets are $20 for one band only, $35 for a one-night festival pass and $60 for a two-day festival pass.

The Friday night performances of the Ossining Jazz Festival are sponsored by the Cortlandt School of Performing Arts in Croton-on-Hudson, NY.

More information can be found at the festival’s website, ossiningjazzfestival.com

Taking Responsibility for our Planet at Ossining’s 9th Annual Earth Day Festival

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Ossining High School’s Environmental Club advocates to clean up Ossining Beach at this year’s Earth Day Festival. Photo by Hannah Rosenberg

Participating in environmental causes has become more important than ever.

Ossining resident Kathy Puffer adjusted the lid of a solar cooker, preparing the device to transform kale leaves into chips. Even on a cloudy afternoon at Louis Engel Waterfront Park, Puffer said her solar-fueled device offers a more sustainable cooking method.

“These are simple things anyone can do,” Puffer said, a co-founder of Solar CITIES, a non-profit. “Anybody can get a solar cooker and use it to bake a cake, or you could start dinner in it.”

Puffer represented one of more than 100 vendors who promoted sustainability at Green Ossining’s ninth annual Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 27. Guitar strums and drumming from the festival’s live performers mixed with the chatter of thousands of visitors who

interacted with environmental advocacy groups, local organizations and food vendors. The festival also offered drum and ukulele circles, kid’s activities, and goods from arts and artisan vendors for those who attended this event by the Hudson River.

Suzie Ross, a chairperson and founding member of Green Ossining, said the event’s riverside location, combined with its easy access to Metro-North, is the reason it attracts people from as far as Brooklyn and from neighboring counties.

Photo by Hannah Rosenberg

“Being with community [is people’s favorite part of the event],” Ross said. “It’s a day outside, on the river, and that is the beauty. If we had this at a park, it wouldn’t feel the same way.”

While the Earth Day Festival serves as a community gathering, Ross said the event organizers also try to “sprinkle in educational opportunities” to inform visitors about the environment and sustainable practices. Signs along the waterfront poked through blades of grass that contained facts about the impact of current environmental practices, and organizations also hoped to educate visitors who passed by their stands.

Groups including an Ossining Cub Scouts pack encouraged visitors to develop “zero waste” practices. Mike Pavelchek, a cubmaster of Pack 83 Ossining, displayed trash, recycling and compost bins that he and the cub scouts filled with various types of waste, informing visitors how to properly dispose of items to encourage the reuse of materials.

“We’re here educating people that not everything is garbage,” he said. “Over the last year or two, there has been a real uptick in compostable materials. Things can either be turned into dirt or soil, or they can at least be recycled.”

Teaching attendees that not every item should be thrown away, this group of cub scouts also spreads the same message at the annual Ossining Village Fair in June.

Other organizations also encouraged visitors to adopt more sustainable practices and become more environmentally conscious. Several students from Ossining High School’s Environmental Club attended the festival, advocating to clean up Ossining Beach and to “spread good word about the earth,” sophomore Andrea Doble said.

Representatives from larger organizations also attended the festival, including second-time attendee Donna Sharrett, a Master Gardener Volunteer for Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), which trains volunteers and brings information to communities in each New York county. She displayed handouts at her stand, including information on pesticide-free lawn care and the destructive impact of invasive plants.

“I came because Green Ossining does such great work,” she said. “I want to be a part of helping environmental issues—like creating better habitats and [providing] the best science information to the public.”

And, participating in environmental causes has become more important than ever, so much so that Ross said the event coordinators decided not to include a theme for this year’s festival. While a previous Earth Day Festival celebrated solar, and water became the theme another year, she acknowledged that there are many pressing environmental concerns.

“It’s not just about showing up for Earth Day, being with each other, having food and hanging out with your friends,” Ross said. “It’s really got to be taken seriously. It’s a moral imperative that we all step up and take responsibility for every action, because everything we do affects the planet.”

Seeking a Committed Relationship

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Publishing in any new town is a little like dating. I’m courting an entire community and it’s impossible to tell exactly how things will turn out…

I can just put my best foot forward and hope for the best. But please know I’m looking for a long term, committed (publishing!) relationship right now!

Speaking of dating, about a dozen years ago, I had a first date in a quaint trattoria in beautiful Briarcliff Manor, just far away enough from Chappaqua, my hometown, for my comfort level. I’ve always been aware of all the great shops, eateries and amenities just a stone’s throw from where I live. There have been many workouts at the beloved Club Fit, and quite a few pieces of my wardrobe are from March Boutique, a perfect place to choose an outfit for date, and a local gem spotlighted as a first ‘lifestyles’ feature for this magazine.

Without a doubt too, Briarcliff Manor is also a vibrant community of families deeply committed to their schools, ‘the joy of school theater’ (see our end page ‘etcetera’ essay!), to a healthy and bucolic natural environment (as anyone who has ever visited the Edith Macy Conference Center can attest!), fascinating people (like “The Points Kid”) and as I’ll continue to communicate… to so much more!

I have been successfully publishing for 16 years. I’ve always been fortunate to work with a stellar team, talented contributors and continuous merchant support. I decided being empty nest, that it was time to introduce the Inside Press brand a little more widely. So, after launching first Inside Chappaqua, then Inside Armonk, then Inside Pleasantville, this shiny new edition of Inside Briarcliff & Ossining was born.

While I was conceiving it, I met with the head of the Briarcliff Manor Chamber of Commerce, Mike Milano, and we talked about the businesses along North State Road, ‘on the main drag’ on Pleasantville Road, and the challenges small businesses face in a digital age. I’m right in the thick of those challenges myself, and I look forward to working together to help small and medium size business thrive with both our print and online options at theinsidepress.com, and in social media! We aim to keep if fun and interesting, too.

I’m not a stranger to Ossining either. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed several wonderful dining experiences there, whether authentic Spanish fare, or at Ossining’s famous river restaurant, the Boathouse, and most recently, I’ve checked out the newest entry to waterfront dining, the 3 Westerly. I also consumed much coffee at First Village Coffee, taking breaks from my footsteps in pulling this first issue together! One time, I even discussed the possibility of running a pub together with a friend, who happens to be a karaoke dj. Ossining immediately came to mind. We’d call it Sing Sing, of course. We never pursued it. When I heard that the Sing Sing Kill Brewery had opened, I thought: great minds think alike and trust me that I’m ‘in’ for a night of enjoying karaoke or open mics as soon as I can create more down time!

Inside Tappan Hill Mansion to support the Ossining Children’s Center Gala

Ossining, I must say, is a barrel of Earthy fun, from its fabulous Earth Day festival to its festive and bountiful Farmers Market. I’m also very proud this debut issue spotlights the Ossining Children’s Center, its mission and fundraising goals to create a much needed new home. I also had fun meeting and listening to so many inspiring people at the OCC’s spring gala.

Please also note our ‘Gotta Have Arts’ coverage highlighting the cutting edge Westchester Collaborative Theatre, sharing news of the upcoming Ossining Jazz Festival at the Elks Lodge, and highlighting an upcoming June exhibit at the Bethany Arts Center–a place I’m looking forward to exploring further, too.

In short, I tried my very best to capture various happenings, slices of life– touch of the flavor, if you will–in each of your engaging towns. Feel free to tell me how we did! Let’s solidify our relationship! Please feel free to write to grace@insidepress.com.

 

P.S. June is my favorite month! It’s my ‘down time’ between late spring and back to school publishing and with all the great weather, I make the most of it!  Happy Graduations to all the new graduates; have two fairly recent ones of my own (they are 22 and 27, and I’ll think of them that way ‘till they turn 30!)  Happy Father’s Day to all the dads! My own amazing ‘Poppy’ recently passed away at age 96, so it is a first for me without him. I’m going to spend it honoring his memory on a long walk whether in a beautiful preserve, or perhaps now, along the river. Enjoy the edition, and June, too.

What’s New This Season at Local Farmers Markets

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A cocoa/cauliflower brownie from the SweetHearth Bake Shop, a new gluten-free vendor at the Chappaqua Farmers Market

Now that the weather is finally more like a velvet glove than an iron fist, many residents of the Castles and beyond truly look forward to enjoying nature’s benevolence at one of our area’s farmers markets.

At press time, local market directors spoke to us about a variety of new offerings planned to expand and improve upon what’s available this year.

Chappaqua Farmers Market, Saturdays 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the train station. Pascale Le Draoule, market director, said there will be even more of a focus on certified organic growers this year. “We actually had five produce vendors and one of our conventional produce vendors was not doing very well and decided to leave. We saw that as a very strong message,” La Draoule said. New vendors include Sun Sprout Farm, a certified organic grower from New York’s black dirt country and Caradonna Farms, an orchard with “a dizzying array of fruits.”

Shoppers can also look forward to Dacha Fermented Veggies and SweetHearth Bake Shop, “a new gluten-free baker who does very interesting things, using cauliflower and local fruits and vegetables. She’s very creative and everything she makes is beautiful.” The Carbon Chocolate Workshop will also be new to the market, offering organic chocolate, and Temima’s Bakery from Pound Ridge also. “There will be a lot more gluten-free at the market this year, a lot more fruit, more certified organic,” Rosseau said. “We always have cool activities for kids.” Also expect cooking demos on-site.

Children watch an entertainer perform at the Pleasantville Farmers Market
PHOTO BY CHAD DAVID KRAUS PHOTOGRAPHY

Ossining Farmers Market, Saturdays 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., the parking lot at Spring and Main. Community members will have more prepared food options this year at Ossining’s market, Dacotah Rosseau, marketing and communications manager, said, and more space to enjoy them too in an expanded, umbrella-shaded seating area. “People can buy a meal to take home or eat right here,” Rosseau said.

Sunset View Farm, a nose-to-tail operation, will offer grilled meats and rotisserie chickens.  “We’ve got a really neat bakery out of New York City,” Rosseau added. Called Kouklet, the microbakery will offer sweet and savory Brazilian pastries. There will also be a new olive oil company, BulI, that sells estate-grown unfiltered extra virgin olive oil from Italy. The market also usually features music and occasionally hosts kids’ activities.

Produce sold at Muscoot Farms Sunday market

Pleasantville Farmers Market, Saturdays 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Memorial Plaza next to the train station (closed for Pleasantville Day, Saturday, May 19). New this year in early June is Morgiewicz Produce, a fourth-generation family farm from Goshen that will offer Asian greens, calaloo, kohlrabi, lettuces and more. There are more than 65 events planned, from music to magic to talks and a book signing. Stuart Vance, vice-chair of Foodchester, which runs the market, said: “Shoppers appreciate the market’s entertaining, positive vibe.”

If Saturday slips away without an uplifting morning trip to the market, the Muscoot Farmers Market at 51 Route 100 in Katonah, located on the Albert B. Delbello Muscoot Farm, is open on Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. starting May 14. Any kids in tow will love the chance to see the historic farm’s many animals, and currently 30 vendors are showcased on the market’s website.

Shoppers at the Ossining Famers Market

Two Great Volunteer Ambulance Corps

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chapp ambulanceFor more than 75 years, the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps has provided emergency care to those who visit, live, or work in New Castle. Today’s volunteers are your neighbors–teachers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, parents, and grandparents. CVAC responds to more than 500 calls annually attending to medical emergencies that include everything from falls and illness to motor vehicle accidents. Volunteers respond to a wide variety of 911 calls, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Calls include at home accidents or illnesses, motor vehicle accidents, and any form of medical emergency in our district. Sometimes the patient may decline the ambulance but most times we transport the patient to an emergency room for further medical care. On some calls, paramedics arrive to assume patient care, and we assist them. To volunteer, no experience or background in emergency care is necessary or required; training is free and provided by CVAC.

chappaquaambulance.org

ossining vol ambulanceThe Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corps volunteer and career members provide care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Members come from diverse backgrounds and walks of life. EMT classes are offered in neighboring communities in conjunction with the Phelps Pre-Hospital Training Department. First Aid and CPR courses are also taught by our members as needed for anyone interested. Volunteers participate in community events such as parades, standbys at church bazaars and street fairs, make presentations in our schools in addition to the primary responsibility of answering emergency medical care calls.

ossiningvac.org