The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Wine Around Town

Wine Around Town is Friday, December 3 in Chappaqua, NY

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Explore Special Promotions at Desires by Mikolay

 

Another week has gone by and you still haven’t checked off how many people on your list? There’s an easy solution to that!

You’re Invited to the 5th Annual Wine Around Town, sponsored by the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce. A festive evening to ‘Eat, Drink & Be Merry’ while seeing what your local shops have to offer for your Holiday gift giving needs! Customers of Desires by Mikolay will enjoy special promotions while they shop, and enjoy complimentary fine foods, wine & spirits! This event is open to the public and takes place throughout Chappaqua proper on Friday, December 3rd 5-8pm.

Shop Small this Holiday Season!

#chappaquawinearoundtown

Inclement weather date of Saturday, December 4th.

 

Get into the Holiday Spirit at the 5th Annual WINE AROUND TOWN Slated for December 3

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A Festive Event Sponsored by the Chappaqua Millwood Chamber of Commerce

The 5TH Annual Wine Around Town, sponsored by the Chappaqua Millwood Chamber of Commerce will be on Friday, December 3, 2021 from 5-8 PM, it was announced today. 

This popular town-wide event allows attendees to visit stores and shop local, while enjoying free spirits, yummy snacks, and special promotions at participating merchants.  Given supply chain issues this year, it is an especially good idea to shop early and get a jump on your holiday list

You can eat, drink, and have lots of fun while checking out the special goodies at local shops for your holiday gift-giving.  Each store has its own “menu” of offerings and the town comes alive as it buzzes with excitement.

The event is free.  A map is provided so everyone knows which stores are participating.  If there is a weather issue, the event will be on December 4, 2021.

For a map and further information, log onto info@chappaquamillwood.org. or email Tara@desiresbymikolay.com .

 

Making Holiday Memories: Inspiring Ideas for Families

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The holiday season is upon us and it’s time to shop, plan celebrations and also enjoy all our communities have to offer at this special time. Here are a few ideas to help celebrate and enjoy the season all while having fun locally:

1. From Friday, Dec. 13, to Sunday, Dec. 15, in Chappaqua, shop artists’ special pop-ups between the King Street Studio and The Art Closet Gallery in the loft at Family Britches. The kickoff will take place in conjunction with the downtown Chappaqua Wine Around Town event on Dec. 13 from 5-8 p.m.

2. For a break from all the preparations the holidays entail, check out the Jane Condon Holiday Comedy Show at Armonk’s Whippoorwill Theater on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. Rabbi Josh Strom of Congregation B’nai Yisrael will emcee the evening, which will also include a performance by Boston-based comic Kathe Farris. Tickets are available at eventbrite.com.

3. Westchester’s Winter Wonderland returns this year to Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla. Hours and days vary now through Jan. 4, winterwonderland.com for more info. There’s a circus, ice skating, rides and more. Tickets are $20 for ages 3 and up.

4. While the menorah lighting as well as a tree lighting already took place in Armonk on Frosty Day, before this issue went to press, the details of Chappaqua’s menorah lighting ceremony had not yet been firmed up. Ike Kuzio, superintendent of New Castle Recreation and Parks, said residents can keep abreast of this important annual event at Chappaqua’s community center by checking in on the town’s website.

5. Enjoy a screening of a Big Band Holiday program from Jazz at Lincoln Center in the New Castle Town Hall Assembly Room. The program runs from 6:30-9, p.m. Friday, Dec. 6 starting with refreshments provided by the Friends of the Chappaqua Library and will feature songs both “sacred and secular.”

6. Or attend The Movies’ Greatest Christmas Songs on Sunday Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. at the New Castle Community Center on Senter Street. Jon Reichman will use film clips, photos and piano performance to explore the history of famous holiday tunes White Christmas, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and Silver Bells.

7. Have yourself a historic Christmas. Visit the Horace Greeley House on Saturday Dec. 7, where a crafts workshop will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. and a tree lighting at 5 p.m. will be accompanied by the Horace Greeley High School Madrigal Choir leading carols, and a visit from Santa.

8. Why not spend some time in early December learning about the traditions of various cultures, communities and religions? Besides boasting many resources for learning about Christmas and Chanukah, the North Castle Public Library has several books about Kwanzaa (Dec. 26-Jan. 1) and a CD of Kwanzaa music for loan. The Chappaqua Library also offers a book about the Hindu festival of Diwali (this year, celebrated already in October), titles about Chinese New Year, and more.

9. To offset the effects of kugel and cookies, give snowshoeing a try. Skip Beitzel, owner of Hickory & Tweed in Armonk, said “Snowshoeing is great. My adage for snowshoeing is, ‘snow and they will go.’” Beitzel, whose shop sells snowshoes for all ages, said his customers snowshoe on local golf courses or on the bike path that runs through Millwood. Those seeking a more arduous experience may even take their snowshoes to ski areas to use them when climbing uphill. “Why not snowshoe as a family?” Beitzel said, since after all many families ski together, and snowshoeing can be done easily and locally–providing there’s snow.

10. Or plan a family hike to The Eugene and Agnes Meyer Preserve, a 247-acre spot with more than six miles of color-coded trails. Spanning New Castle and North Castle, the preserve has kiosks at each entrance to help visitors plan their hikes. For more outdoor appreciation, make the Christmas Bird Count a part of your family’s December traditions (find dates and locations on audubon.org) – or even closer to home, join Cornell’s Project Feeder Watch (join.birds.cornell.edu) and find out how families can contribute meaningfully to important statistics on birds and migration patterns. It’s not too late to join this information-collecting effort, which will get you through the winter and into spring.

‘Holidays Around Town,’ December 1-3, to Celebrate Art, Music…and Community!

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The Traditional New Castle Festivities will also include a New ‘Salon Style’ Artist Showcase

By Grace Bennett

What happens when three wonderful organizations in town team up to help New Castle residents and merchants alike enjoy the holiday season with artist appreciation and good cheer? You receive ‘Holidays Around Town’… and its priceless gift of community bonding.  Sprinkle in some joy to the world, Chappaqua style, and it will be a weekend to cherish and remember forever.

The Chappaqua Orchestra Concert and Tree Lighting at the Greeley House are a time-honored tradition in New Castle that take place the first weekend in December. This year, however: “We’re kicking things up a notch,” confirmed Leslie Weissman, co-founder with Peg Kafka-Sackler of The Northern Westchester Artists Guild (NWAG), a not for profit consortium of some 75 area artists. NWAG took the initiative to spearhead Holidays Around Town and the plans are as follows:

  • The festivities begin Friday, December 1, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m at the New Castle Historical Society (aka Horace Greeley House) concurrent with the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce’s annual Wine Around Town. Merchants up and down King Street and Greeley Avenue will open their doors and graciously greet guests offering wine and spirits and assorted bites and treats.  
  • On Saturday, December 2, from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m, NWAG will again be hosting the art show at the Greeley House. Enjoy holiday selections and classical music performed by the celebrated Chappaqua Orchestra at the Bell School. Following the concert, join neighbors and friends on a stroll over to the town’s beloved annual tree lighting at the Greeley House, where you will be greeted with libations an fine art inside!
  • Finally, on Sunday, December 3, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., and the newest offering during this traditional New Castle weekend, is a ‘salon style’ event showcasing 18 NWAG artists plus a holiday party with snacks inside the Greeley House hosted by the staff and volunteers of the New Castle Historical Society. Each artist of NWAG will be ‘taking over a room,’ offering visitors a chance to meet  with the artist, ask questions, and of course view his/her works ranging from large scale paintings, photographic prints, sculpture to watercolor and wearable art. Art will be for sale too. “We love when our artists sell a work,” said Weissman. “It’s very satisfying for all of us.” “We have so many talented artists, and some have never shown their work,” added Kafka-Sackler. “It’s a great feeling of accomplishment to show and, in particular, when someone wants to make a purchase.”

Weissman and Kafka-Sackler said their motivation for producing the weekend go well beyond any dollar sales. They emphasized the unique role art can play in bringing a community together. Kafka-Sackler described a universal  “feeling of civility” art creates. “It creates a wonderful environment for neighbors and friends to mingle,” she said.  Weissman described a “calming effect” too. “It’s Art for Good.”

To keep abreast of the plans for Holidays Around Town and for news of other NWAG events, please visit www.nwartistsguild.org.

 Grace Bennett is the Publisher and Editor of the Inside Press, and hopes to partake in the festivities.

 

“Wine Around Town” — a ‘Wine Tasting Bonanza’ on December 2

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Event Kicks Off the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber’s Biggest Holiday Weekend of the Year

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The biggest holiday weekend of the year: the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce’s Wine Around Town event, Friday, December 2nd at 5:30-8:30pm (Happy Hour at 175 King Street to 423 King Street).  The Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce’s second annual Wine Around Town event is a wine-tasting bonanza event in downtown Chappaqua featuring participating shops and businesses hosting free wine tastings, along with light snacks (cheese, crackers, fruit, etc.).  The hamlet will transform into different wine regions… Champagne on King Street… a California Chardonnay on Greeley…Italian Pinot Grigio at the top of King Street.  The event is free of charge and the public is invited to attend. 

Other sponsors include: Breeze, Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Cathy’s Hair Salon, Family Britches and Hilltop Wine & Spirits.

For updates about any of these events, please Like our Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/chappchamber/?fref=ts