In many ways, it’s been all about the people – five decades of forward-thinking arts advocates, civic and business leaders, arts patrons, individual artists, volunteers and arts professionals – coming together to create a one-of-a-kind organization: ArtsWestchester. It began as a conversation among volunteers in a living room in 1965. Now it is a nationally recognized private arts council, the […]
The opportunity to get a good bowl of Matzoh Ball soup in Westchester is diminishing. Pastrami and corn beef mavins like the Mt. Kisco Deli have disappeared. Thank heaven there’s still two Epstein’s Delis and a Rye Ridge Deli in the county where the menu includes such Yiddish favorites as brisket with stuffed derma and […]
Frank Ronnenberg was a burly, no nonsense corporate executive who deeply cherished the arts for its societal values. With a touch of his unique Irish charm, he offered me the opportunity to become Executive Director of the then Council for the Arts in Westchester. (That was too long ago to remember the date.) I had […]
I used to think September was a breeze – the kind of mellow month when all one had to do was inhale the colorful palette that nature creates every autumn. But now it seems that September has become a challenge with a daunting schedule of occasions. National Arts Education Week and Hispanic Heritage Month have arrived […]
Next week, starting on September 13, ArtsWestchester will be celebrating National Arts in Education week along with arts groups from around the country. The Congressional Resolution creating this important celebration contains a lot of meaningful words about the importance of the arts in our children’s future. It states that “Arts education, comprising a rich array […]
It wasn’t just the whole ham wrapped in gorgeous pastry every Christmas that endeared me to Patricia Sheridan Paone. But to be sure, we Jewish girls longed for safe places to taste a bite of the forbidden flesh. It wasn’t even her “to die for” gnocchi although I deeply admired how Pat trained herself to […]
I always admire people who remember where they came from. Take Farooq Kathwari: ArtsWestchester board member, 50th Anniversary Gala Chair, and chair and CEO of Ethan Allen Interiors. He never hesitates to acknowledge his roots. He came here from Kashmir in 1965 and while studying for an NYU degree, began importing native basketry from his homeland. […]
To me, words are quite wonderful. Some are even paintings in the sense that you look at the words and get an immediate visual. So the sadness and unintended consequences conveyed by the words “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) are quite visceral to me. Now Congress is transforming this NCLB legislation into the inspirational “Every […]
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