The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Pleasantville

Pleasantville Day: An Annual Celebration of Fun, Friendship, and Community

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Story and Photos by Charlotte Harter

The town of Pleasantville was awash with smiles and laughter, the sounds of live music, and the unmistakable scent of funnel cake and popcorn as the community celebrated yet another successful Pleasantville Day festival on Saturday, May 18th. A tradition lasting over thirty years, Pleasantville Day is not only a day of fun and games for the children, but also an important reminder to their parents of the joys of living in a small, close-knit community.

The Pleasantville Day fair is an annual celebration of the wonderful and lively town and its people as school winds down and the weather finally begins to warm up. Filled with colorful booths, carnival rides, dance showcases, and an impressive selection of food, there truly is something for everyone. This year, the festival boasted a juggling stilt-walker, human statue, and giant inflatable slide in addition to its usual activities to keep it feeling new and exciting despite its long run in the town.

Upon arriving at Memorial Plaza at the festival’s beginning around ten o’clock on Saturday morning, children of all ages were gleefully laughing and clutching onto their cotton candy as they played games and won prizes. But Pleasantville Day isn’t just a day for the children- it wasn’t difficult to spot parents enjoying themselves equally as much, chatting, enjoying the live jazz music, and entering raffles to win gifts provided by local businesses. Even the pets of Pleasantville seemed to be having a good time, as there was no shortage of furry faces wagging their tails and enjoying the attention of excited children and adults alike. Besides the expected endless stands filled with games and crafts, Pleasantville Day also hosted a diverse number of tables this year, including a sports equipment swap, town conservation awareness booth, and a variety of fundraising tables for Pleasantville High School clubs.

Pleasantville Day is truly a cherished day in the community which provides a unique opportunity for townspeople of all ages to come together and enjoy a day of fun and celebration. This event has become somewhat of an institution in the village, a powerful reminder of the beauty of living in a tight-knit, small town in which every face is a familiar and friendly one. In essence, Pleasantville Day is an embodiment of all the values Pleasantville aims to encapsulate: friendship, fun, and most importantly, community.

 

Charlotte Harter is a high school senior interested in writing and journalism. She plans to continue her studies next year at Vassar College in the fall and hopes to eventually gain a career in the writing and publishing world.

Spinning for the Win – Against Rare Cancers

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Team Sit & Spin 2018

Chances are, you know someone affected by cancer. Maybe a parent, a sibling, child, cousin, best friend. Maybe you, yourself. If so, you deeply understand that it’s a battle against a cunning and deadly foe. That said, through a combination of early detection and new and better treatment options, these days it’s a battle people are winning.

But new and better treatment options don’t just happen; they’re based on years of research and development, followed by clinical trials with carefully selected patients. And, yes, all this science comes at a price. While government spending and grants provide some of the necessary funding*, a huge piece of the funding pie comes from individual donations and fundraising. What’s more, government dollars aren’t allocated equally and rare cancers**, in particular, rely heavily on private fund-raising and donations.

Enter Pleasantville resident Justine Fontinell. Together with her husband Tom Becker and their ten-year-old son Hank, she moved to Pleasantville nearly nine years ago and, though a born-and-bred Manhattan girl, Justine shares that she could not be happier.

Among the reasons? “Pleasantville is an amazingly generous town filled with people who go out of their way to help each other.”

Justine first became aware of Cycle for Survival about six years ago. Both her parents are rare cancer survivors, and Cycle for Survival’s founders’ story, mission, and collaboration with top-tier cancer research center Memorial Sloane Kettering (MSK) – along with their commitment to use every dollar for research and allocate every one of those dollars within six months of every event – spoke to Justine’s desire to support others in their respective fights. Coincidentally, Justine discovered that co-founder Jennifer Goodman Linn suffered from the same rare sarcoma as her father. Feeling compelled to join and contribute to this worthy cause, Justine quickly put together her first Sit and Spin team and, in 2013, raised over $8k. Since that first year, Sit and Spin has grown in membership and, importantly, grown exponentially in funds raised. To date, they have raised over $260k, and this year’s goal of at least $40k would bring the grand total to over $300k! As a former non-profit Director of Development, Justine knows that asking for money isn’t something that comes naturally to most people. She further acknowledges that a ‘personal ask’ feels and is different from a ‘corporate ask.’ That said, she points out that the common principle is a simple one: “people won’t give if you don’t ask.” And, in keeping with this philosophy, she asks every team member to remember that they are “giving people an opportunity to invest in lifesaving research, a donation that will have a direct impact on cancer treatments.” Sit and Spin’s success has been recognized for the last three years with a 10K grant from the Crimson Lion Lavine Family Foundation, as a bonus for achievement in recruiting new donors and increased gifts.

However cliché it may sound, giving to others truly does empower the giver. Justine describes every four-hour fundraising spin relay event as nothing short of extraordinary. A simple look at her accompanying photos leaves no doubt that there is fun and laughter, but, as she also shared, then too there are tears. It’s an emotional as well as physical experience; every gym is tightly packed with bikes and riders, riders write and proudly “wear” on their bodies the names of those they’re honoring, speakers share their personal stories between each leg of the ride, and the collective energy of working together for a cause is an overwhelmingly positive experience.

However cliché it may sound, giving to others truly does empower the giver. Justine describes every four-hour fundraising spin relay event as nothing short of extraordinary. “It’s an overwhelmingly positive experience.”

Justine counts old friends (from as far back as High School) as well as many Pleasantville mom friends as regular participants of her annual teams. Karen McCarthy has lived in Pleasantville and known Justine since their two boys were in preschool together. This will be her fourth year with Cycle for Survival. “I ran into Justine and another team member on my Metro North train ride from NYC to P’ville; they were coming back from a pre-event and I had just seen my doctor at MSK for my six month visit. I always donated to the team, but thought my way of giving back would be to join them. In 2015, I had part of my thyroid removed at MSK due to Thyroid Cancer. Thyroid Cancer is a rare cancer without a lot of funding, but, when discovered early, has a very high cure rate. I now get checked once a year to make sure there is no recurrence.”

Adds P’ville teammate and survivor Vanessa Catalano, “I joined Justine’s team three years ago as a way to celebrate the end of my fight with Stage III Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Throughout my operations and treatments I continued to go to my step and spin classes at the gym.  It was my part in keeping myself as healthy and strong as possible. When I heard about Cycle for Survival I knew it would be a great match for me.” Thrilled to have celebrated two years in remission this past December, Vanessa, noting that she and her family received tremendous love and support throughout her battle, adds, “part of my survival is remembering that and paying it forward through this event.” To date, Vanessa’s brother is the only male to have joined team Sit and Spin. However, Justine welcomes all who are willing to work hard to join her!

For further Cycle for Survival information, please visit: cycleforsurvival.org

*Current Fiscal Year (FY 2019) Budget: The FY 2019 Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act included $5.74 billion for NCI, a $79 million increase over FY 2018. Source NIH/NCI website
**Described by Cycle for Survival as: brain, pancreatic, ovarian, thyroid, and stomach cancers; leukemia and lymphoma; all pediatric cancers; and many others.

The Making of the Pleasantville Music Festival

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Managing ‘a zillion moving parts’ to create an all-day music extravaganza

Save the Date: July 13, 2019

When longtime Pleasantville resident Bruce Figler attended his first ever Pleasantville Music Festival, it was in 2005. That happened to be the inaugural year for the event, and Figler, who has been in the radio business, helped the original founders hook in a music station to be part of the all-day affair.

“I was perfectly happy sitting backstage with a beer hanging out with the radio station people, with the bands, going on stage introducing an act, hanging out with my family in the field for awhile,” Figler said.

“That was my life, it was a pretty easy life.”

Fast-forward more than a decade later, and Figler, who owns Creative Sound Works on Wheeler Avenue, is now the executive director of the yearly music festival that brings about 4,000 people to Parkway Field to hear a jam packed lineup of musical talent perform. His life is a little busier now than back in 2005 with months of planning going into the creation of the festival.

Figler works with an executive staff of about ten people and a volunteer base of more than 100 that live in the region (mostly Pleasantville and Chappaqua). Each year, he and staff members discuss what worked and what didn’t work that year with the desire to be more efficient the following year. A survey is also sent to attendees so Figler can receive feedback.

Once a review of the previous year is over, finding a new set of bands gets underway as early as December. Figler said he and the other staff members try to nail down different musicians that will please a wide range of demographics with Figler compiling a “wish list” of about 30 bands and musicians he’d love to go after.

ALL PHOTOS BY LYNDA SHENKMAN

But because the festival is a municipally run–rather than private–event, there are limitations Figler has to grapple with. Other festivals can offer more money to performers and some festivals have exclusivity rights, which means a band can’t perform within a certain radius within a certain time frame. He estimated that for every ten more prominent bands/musicians he reaches out to, seven reject him.

For the bigger bands, Figler said he tells them if they come to Pleasantville, it would be “an easier festival, it’s very manageable, you can be in and out pretty quickly.”

Additionally, because the festival is involved with a radio station (107.1 The Peak), that station supports the booked musicians which result in airtime for them leading up to the festival. A band could find a new base of fans in the suburbs, Figler said.

While the pursuit of big acts can be an arduous task, the festival also needs to find smaller bands and musicians, which begins two or three months before the festival.

Up and coming bands can submit through the festival’s website with staff members taking trips to hear different contending bands. “We’re becoming very diverse musically so I try to find something for everyone,” Figler said.

Pleasantville resident Jim Zimmerman, who founded the music festival in 2005 with Bernie Gordon and the late Lisa Wenzel, said the first year he helped put it together, it was like a second full-time job. Part of his motivation to start the festival was to give smaller bands and musicians a larger stage to perform. Some bands have gone on to bigger and better things, he pointed out.

“I had to develop all the systems and recruit so it was quite a project nevertheless,” Zimmerman said. “Everything had to be done by scratch.” Figler joked he doesn’t have to create the wheel like Zimmerman did, only keep it spinning.

While the music lineup is the most significant set to put together, Figler has to secure sponsors and vendors, many of which are eateries from Pleasantville and surrounding towns. There is also a push by a recycling group to ensure it is a zero waste event. Law enforcement and the department of public works are conferred with considering this is the largest public gathering in the small village each year.

The day of the event, Figler said weather is always an uncontrolled variable that has to be monitored. The last three years there has either been rain or a threat of a storm so the village recreational offices become a makeshift weather station. Said Figler: “There’s a zillion moving parts to this thing.”

Arc Stages – A Magical Place

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Teens during last year’s SummerStage production of Woody Guthrie’s American Song photo by Liza Margulies

As a theatre lover, I could not have dreamed up a more perfect place for arts enrichment for the community. Arc Stages, whose tagline is “theatre for every stage,” hits the mark in providing theatre education and opportunities for every stage of life and all stages of development. Arc Stages, located in Pleasantville, runs three theatre companies that currently share the same stage; the educational stage, the community theatre, and the professional theatre. It is a place where you can learn about theatre, be in theatre, or see theatre.

The Educational Stage

The educational stage produces youth productions and conducts workshops for kids ages 3-18 all year round, in addition to adult classes like the adult improv comedy class. In the theatre workshop program, kids register for workshops by age group and are invited to audition. What differentiates Arc Stages from other children’s theatre groups is that the show is not chosen until after the students audition. No students are cut from the program. When students return for callbacks, the director tries different shows out on the students before selecting the most appropriate show for the group.

“It is about the students first. It’s not about vying for parts,” explains Adam Cohen, Artistic Director. “We usually have a list of shows and we try different songs and sides out on the kids and see what show fits this particular group of kids because our goal is to teach them something through theatre and challenge them.”

“We do theatre games and work different types of workshops into the rehearsal process so that it’s not only about the show but about building self-confidence through theatre,” says Galit Sperling, the Director of Education. “We focus on positivity and let our students know that this is a safe space and an artistically and educationally fulfilling sanctuary.”

As auditioning can be nerve-wracking for some younger first time students, no one is forced to audition. “They can sing happy birthday if they want. It’s about us getting to know them,” says Sperling.

All theatre workshops culminate in two or three productions with elaborate costumes and sets at the end of the session.

Arc Stages also runs an in-school playwriting educational outreach program, Visions and Voices, in which they work with local schools teaching kids how to write plays and then produce them. A festival of plays is presented at the conclusion of the program. Visions and Voices is in its fourth year and Arc Stages would love to add more schools to its program.

SummerStage Camp

If you are looking for something for your kids to do this summer, Arc Stages holds a full day summer camp in which different age groups work on different shows. Besides rehearsals for a show, classes during the camp day include Acting Technique, Choreography, Improv & Theater Games, Stage Combat, Music and Vocal Technique, master classes and more.

Campers can choose to enroll in a six-week session or a three-week session. There is also a one-week intensive course. Early registration discounts are available if you register before April 1st.

The Community Stage

The community stage is geared towards adults in the community, whether you are brand new to theatre, returning to theatre after many years, or are professional non-union actors who want to do something in the community. They put on three productions every year. Auditions are open to anyone who wants to participate.

“It’s a mix between people who are accountants, lawyers, dentists, and everyday people that want to get into acting. Some participants are incredibly talented but just happen to do other things for a living. We try to produce a professional looking show but we’re looking for all walks of life in it so it really is the community,” says Cohen.

There are also plenty of volunteer opportunities for community members to assist backstage, design sets, work on costumes or help with technical services.

Rehearsals are currently underway for their next show, Avenue Q, which promises to be a great performance. Avenue Q will run the first two weekends of April. The community stage will also perform You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown July 19th-21st. Tickets for all shows can be purchased at arcstages.org.

The Next Stage

The Next Stage is the professional theatre company, which operates under a Small Professional Theatre Contract with Actor’s Equity Association, an actors’ union. They produce two high quality productions a year. The actors in a Next Stage show are generally all union members. Auditions are held at an open call in the city.

The next show has yet to be announced for the professional theatre company. Traditionally, Arc Stages announces their upcoming shows for both the community and professional stage at their fundraising gala in April. The gala, scheduled for April 27th, is always a fun evening where a show written especially for that night is performed for the guests by a mix of community and professional actors. Students from the educational stage also perform a number in the show.

Working Towards a Dream

Arc Stages’ facility has plenty of rehearsal spaces and its own dedicated 74-seat theatre. While having its own theatre has been incredible, a capital campaign is underway to raise money to build a bigger 175-seat proscenium theatre. They are probably a few years away from fulfilling this goal but it will surely add to the magnificence of all that their students, actors and community members accomplish at this magical place.

Enjoy Our Debut Edition

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Grace’s cut and blow dry by Lisa Koebbe Bevan, owner and Master colorist at BELIEVE Beauty Lounge, a full service salon on 95 Manville Road in Pleasantville, believebeautysalon.com Makeup (and photo!) by Kara Delfino, karadelfino.com.

Please know that a lot of heart and soul went into producing this first issue of Inside Pleasantville! If you have lived in the area long enough, many of you may already have seen an Inside Press publication in a neighbor’s home, or perhaps at a real estate office–where the magazines make a giant impression (I’m told!) with area visitors considering a move here.

I’ve been publishing for 16 years after launching the first edition of Inside Chappaqua, The Magazine for New Castle and Beyond in April 2003. Five years ago, following that success, I decided to get two Castle pubs underway and produced our first Inside Armonk. And now here we are delighted to be covering your vibrant Mount Pleasant communities too with this first edition of an Inside Pleasantville!

I’m always grateful to my Inside Press team, including Caroline Rosengarden who lives ‘Inside Pleasantville’ with her beautiful family. She is positively a most enthusiastic proponent for the community.

Also, enjoy the work here by Lisa Samkoff, our consummate professional designer who brings a special flair to every page. Wonderful Stacey Pfeffer edits our Chappaqua and Armonk editions from which you may see some relevant articles appearing here too. First and foremost, as a publisher, I understand no community’s residents live in a bubble, so I do share from other communities, and will continue to as much as I can.

I also so appreciate Ryan Smith and Rick Waters, who designed and maintain our site theinsidepress.com. You can find all the stories here online too, a downloadable edition, along with other ‘in between postings,’ all as much as time and energy permit! Behind the scenes, we have Analia Boltuch, our invaluable account manager, and always a rotating group of talented ‘regular’ freelance writers and photographers. This issue’s cover work plus the photos for the Pleasantville Music Festival, for example, are from Pleasantville’s very own Lynda Shenkman, who shot many of my first Inside editions too.

Ultimately, this pub comes to you after 22 years of happy Westchester living, having raised two terrific children: my daughter, Anna, 26, and son Ari, 22, both living in the city. I also visit my dad a lot in Yonkers. He’s going on 97 and still in good health at a senior residence. Being empty nest, and having this amazing Inside Press team in place, I’m expanding our publishing efforts.

Chappaqua’s also is just a hop, skip and jump to Pleasantville. In fact, when I think of ‘fun times’ in Westchester, Pleasantville elicits those feelings enormously, whether it’s at gorgeous Rockefeller Preserve, or enjoying countless movies at the incomparable Jacob Burns Film Center, or even acting classes I discovered with Rachel Jones at the Howard Meyer Acting Studio/Axial Theater! In the meantime I can live vicariously enjoying others performing in stellar shows such as those at Arc Stages, or setting aside a day to dance or sing along with the mega talented musicians at the Pleasantville Music Festival.

All these places and institutions and more – don’t miss a terrific story on Cycle for Survival! – are covered in this debut edition, which I hope you will treasure and keep as a collector’s item. We will be ‘back again’ with a back to school September/October 2019 edition arriving in your home by late August too. Remember, you can read us online too at theinsidepress.com and follow our assorted musings primarily on Facebook and Instagram.

I am aiming for at least four editions in 2020, so stay tuned for more fun and meaningful coverage in which we will keep on ‘Sharing the Heart of Your Community.” And I’d be remiss if I didn’t also communicate a resounding THANK YOU to all the generous sponsors and contributors who made this edition and future ones possible. ENJOY!


Grace Bennett
Inside Press Publisher & Editor-in-Chief