local summer activities

If you are ever at a loss as to how to fill a summer afternoon or evening, it’s Caramoor to the rescue.  From Afternoon Tea in their Music Room, opera in their Venetian Theater, concerts on the lawn or a July Pops & Patriots celebration (July 2), the list of events and performances is extensive and appealing.

You might even consider introducing a grandchild to the world of music and movement—watch them sing, wiggle and dance to a variety of music at one of Caramoor’s programs for ages 2 to 6.
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Visit Caramoor.org/Events for the full roster of offerings and to purchase tickets.

Please join us at the October 1, 2023 Booming BETTER Expo in Purchase, NY for a day of fun, learning and engagement.  Pre-register for a chance to win!

CSN&Y TRIBUTE

Performing at The Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck, on Friday, June 23, Laurel Canyon is an acoustic tribute to the music of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
The group consists of Grammy Award winning writer/producer Mark Hudson, Hall of Fame Songwriter Gary Burr, and singer/songwriter Mark Mirando. These three talented, true fans of all things CSN&Y take you back to the days of the palm trees and sunshine of Laurel Canyon, California, where some of the greatest music in history was born.

For the Emelin’s full event calendar, visit Emelin.org

UP UP AND AWAY

Live music, arts and crafts, and great food. The 12th annual Putnam County Wine & Food Festival in Brewster, NY takes place on August 5 and 6. Event organizers encourage you to bring a blanket and/or lawn chairs to enjoy savory foods while rocking to the rhythmic sounds of live music. To learn more: 845-842-0575, info@putnamcountywinefest.com or PutnamCountyWineFest.com

The Dutchess Fair, on August 22 to 27, has everything: from milking demonstrations, sheep shearing and two horse show rings to koi-filled ponds, and dozens of themed gardens. Turn-of-the-Century Treasures includes a blacksmith shop, sugar house and cider mill. Find hundreds of handmade quilts and crafts—from the finest crocheting, needlepoint and crewel—in the Arts & Crafts building. Visit DutchessFair.com, call 845-876-400 or email info@DutchessFair for more information.

The 32nd Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival returns September 1 to 3, at Tymor Park in Union Vale, NY—roughly an hour north of White Plains. If it’s on your bucket list, consider a tethered balloon flight which ascends 50 to 75 feet in the air for $25. Full (untethered) flights are also available for $350. Of course, you can opt to spend your time at their Craft Beer and Wine Tent or participate in Sunrise Yoga with Balloons. Visit dcrcoc.org/balloonfesthv.org

THE ARTIST WITHIN

If not now… then when?

Take advantage of adult class offerings right here in our Westchester backyard. Scarsdale Adult School has a robust schedule of summer programming: single-session online art appreciation classes; a June 22 walking tour of historic Chelsea (NYC); several online book discussion groups in June, July and August; in-person crafting classes (make a basket!), along with many more courses.

Go to Scarsdale.augosoft.net for the full brochure and to register.

The Rye Arts Center (photo here) will be offering two eight-session painting classes, with your choice of medium to work in (acrylic, oil, pastel, charcoal, pencil, etc.), starting late June. Open to all levels, the Monday Figure Painting class will feature a model, while the Tuesday Painting & More class will focus on still life, painting from photographs, mixed media and other methods. In the Thursday Drawing with Ismael Checo class, which begins on June 29, students will be exposed to concepts of tone, form, shape, shading, composition, perspective and texture.

Visit their website, RyeArtsCenter.org, for pricing or call 914-967-0700.

If you’re not quite ready to pick up a paint brush, take inspiration at Pelham Art Center’s Community Art Day on August 26, when you can enjoy an afternoon of artmaking, music, and dance.

Learn more at PelhamArtCenter.org or call 914-738-2525

JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION

On Monday, June 19, from 10AM to 4PM at Saint Paul’s Church, a re-enactment and living history program will commemorate the Juneteenth celebration of the end of slavery in Texas in 1865. It will feature a reading of the actual declaration, issued in Galveston, Texas on that day in 1865. Re-enactments, performances and demonstrations will bring to life the era of the Civil War.

Saint Paul’s Church National Historic site, which dates back to 1665, is located at 897 South Columbus Avenue in Mount Vernon. Learn more about this program and others at nps.gov/sapa/sapaprogsched.htm or call 914-667-4116.

LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST

The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival has kicked off its new season with some fan favorites—sure to deliver a summer of love, laughter, and adventure.
Shakespeare’s “Henry V” will run through August 31 and “Love’s Labor’s Lost,” from July 12 through August 27. The world premiere of “Penelope,” a re-imagining of the story of “The Odyssey,” takes the stage September 2 through 17.

For ticket info, email boxoffice@hvshakespeare.org or call 845-265-9575. Ages 65 and over receive a 15% discount.

BICYCLE SUNDAYS

Take advantage of zero traffic! Walk, bike, and jog during Westchester Parks Foundation’s Bicyle Sundays—in operation for over 40 years. Dates for 2023 are June 4, 11, 18, 25, and September 10, 17 and 24, from 10AM to 2PM.

AFTERNOON CINEMA

Following a refurbishment which added lighting on theater stairs, plush new seats, increased legroom, new handrails, updated hearing loop technology, and air purification units, among other improvements, the Jacob Burns Film Center is again hosting its Senior Afternoon Cinema.

The film series will feature three Ernst Lubitsch films. The German-American director’s films that will be shown include: the romantic comedy Trouble in Paradise, on July 6; Carole Lombard’s last film To Be or Not To Be, on August 10; and the Oscar-nominated Heaven Can Wait, with Gene Tierney and Don Ameche, on September 12.

Tickets are $11 for members; $16 for nonmembers; and $13 for senior non-members. Senior Afternoon Cinema is sponsored by The Knolls—A Bethel Community and ArtsWestchester. For info, visit BurnsFilmCenter.org

SUN AND MOON

Storm King, home to large-scale sculptures and situated on an expansive landscape, has reopened for the season and now boasts several new installations—in place through November 13.

New York-based Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone’s twin sculptures—the sun (2018) and the moon (2021), pictured here, are formed with delicate circles fashioned from cast-bronze tree branches: one silver-leafed, the other gilded. Each sculpture is over 16 feet tall and are installed parallel to one another. Other new exhibitions include Outlooks: RA Walden and Beatriz: The Volcano That Left.

Storm King (StormKing.org) is located in New Windsor, NY, and is open daily except for Tuesdays.

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