Westchester is Open for Fun
Westchester is bursting with arts and culture that residents and visitors alike can enjoy. Arts groups throughout the County have been working hard to #restartthearts with in-person and virtual exhibitions, workshops and performances.
Westchester Philharmonic to Perform at Untermyer Park
Westchester Philharmonic began performing in-person again last month. It continues its performance lineup when the Philharmonic’s string quartet plays at Untermyer Park and Gardens in Yonkers on July 24. The program will include Dvorak’s String Quartet No. 12 in F Major (“American”) and Haydn’s String Quartet No. 32 in C major (“The Bird”), Op. 33, No. 3. The concert will feature violinists Robert Chausow and Michael Roth, as well as violist Jessica Troy and cellist Eugene Moye.
Hudson Valley MOCA’s Peekskill Film Festival is Back
The Hudson Valley Museum of Contemporary Art is hosting the 2021 Peekskill Film Festival this year, a series of outdoor screenings on August 20 -21. The festival, which screens feature length projects, short films, documentaries and animated films created by local filmmakers, is back after postponing last summer’s series of screenings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Live music, dinner options and group discussions will accompany the films.
Take a Walk Along the Rye Poetry Path
Local poets Amy Vijayanagar and Iain Haley Pollock will present a public art installation that combines language with visual elements in Westchester. The concept will place 20-30 poems from a wide range of voices in three key public spaces: Rye Town Park, the Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Rye Nature Center. The poems and project, which the poets hope to launch this summer, will focus on themes of community, conservation and social justice.
Jersey Boys Star to Take the Stage at White Plains Performing Arts Center
Grammy- and Tony Award-winning actor John Lloyd Young, known for playing Frankie Valli in Broadway’s Jersey Boys as well as its film adaptation, will perform a selection of his favorite songs from the 1950s and 1960s at the White Plains Performing Arts Center on August 28. Along with some original tunes, Young will cover a smattering of nostalgic and cinematic favorites from Roy Orbison, Paul McCartney, Adele, Elvis and more.
Learn Latin Dancing in Ossining
The Ossining Library will host a weekly dance workshop led by dancer/choreographer Addie Diaz. “Let’s Dance! A Celebration of Latin Dance” ranges across traditional Latin styles like salsa, bachata, merengue and cumbia, and leaves guests ready to boogie anywhere from the ballroom to the bar. The workshop will meet on Thursdays for five weeks from in the Ossining Library. Start date TBD.
Songcatchers by the Sound
Songcatchers, a New Rochelle-based nonprofit, will host “Songcatchers by the Sound,” a fundraiser at VIP Country Club, located on the shore of the Long Island Sound. Songcatchers provides children and families with music education, training and instruments in order to instill a lifelong appreciation of the arts. The July 22 event will feature cocktails, light fare and an auction. Acclaimed jazz pianist and New Rochelle native Joey Calderazzo will perform, accompanied by special guests.
JazzFest White Plains Returns to White Plains
JazzFest is back in downtown White Plains with a four-day in-person celebration of jazz from September 9-12. For its tenth year, the festival remains true to its roots, presenting jazz from a roster of established and emerging Westchester and New York City musicians that represent all styles of jazz. The festival culminates in the White Plains Jazz & Food Festival, held this year on Court Street.
Writers Center Presents First Post-Pandemic In-Person Reading
On September 26, Hudson Valley Writers Center will hold its first in-person reading since the pandemic. “A Celebration of Local Authors” will include three writers who will read selections from their work: Alan Winikoff (The Weekend), Lori Toppel (The Word Next to the One I Want) and Ira Rosen (Ticking Clock: Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes).
Socially-Conscious Dance Opportunities for Teens
New Era Creative Space in Peekskill will offer a series of weekly dance workshops for preteens and teens. “Dance as Activism” will focus on hip-hop, step and modern dance styles, encouraging students to collaborate with one another, telling personal stories through dance. Two workshops meet every Tuesday and Thursday from July 6 to 29.
Katonah Museum of Art Presents Summer Socials
The Katonah Museum of Art will host its “Summer Socials” outdoor concert series this summer, held annually in the museum’s sculpture garden. There, guests can listen to live music while having dinner and drinks. On July 31, The Shaves will perform unique covers of songs in their extensive lineup. The band is known for covering and combining everyone from Beethoven to the Beastie Boys. On August 21, Blonde Ambition will perform a mix of classic rock, Motown and other modern favorites.
Bedford Playhouse Tackles Big Issues
The Bedford Playhouse will continue hosting its Community Impact Series this summer, a slate of monthly events aimed at engaging the Westchester community in conversations about mental wellness, social justice and environmental issues. The series includes group discussions based on the Playhouse’s screenings of documentary films, as well fiction and non-fiction literary selections. A screening of “Planet of the Humans,” a documentary about the last half-century of the environmental movement, will take place on July 6.
Emelin Theatre’s Concerts in the Park
The Emelin Theatre and the Village of Mamaroneck Arts Council will present two performances in their “Rise & Shine Concerts in the Park” series, held in Harbor Island Park. The first event, “Broadway on the Sound,” features Westchester resident Melanie Kraut and Broadway veterans Ryan K. Bailer (Evita, Les Miserables) and Arbender Robinson (The Lion King, Book of Mormon). The trio will cover their favorite classic Broadway hits and more. On August 18, all-female Mariachi band Flor de Toloache, will play music inspired by the diverse cultural backgrounds of Cuba, Australia, Colombia, Germany, Italy, the United States and more.
The Parking Lot Becomes the Stage
The Irvington Theater, in co-production with River’s Edge Theatre Company, will premiere The Parking Lot, a new play by Adam Symkowicz. Written during the pandemic, the play was intended to be performed outside for socially distanced audiences. The play, about a married couple that takes stock of their relationship during a long conversation in a parking lot, will be performed in the parking lot of Main Street School on July 17, 18, and 24.
The Sounds of Summer in Hudson Park
New Rochelle Council on the Arts will present its “Summer Sounds” concert series at the Hudson Park bandshell on four Wednesdays this August. The series features local bands who will play a variety of music, from soul and jazz to R&B and Mambo. “Summer Sounds” begins with the Gentlemen of Soul on August 4, Ladies Day Jazz Ensemble (August 11), the Carlos Jimenez Mambo Dulcet (August 18), and rock band Sway (August 25).
Rush to the Neuberger Museum of Art
The Neuberger Museum of Art will present artist Lesley Dill’s “Rush,” a large-scale site-responsive work that originally premiered at the museum in 2007 before entering its permanent collection. The installation, which extends almost sixty feet wide and twenty feet high, is an enormous collage of hundreds of interconnected animal and human figures representing themes like meditation, death, love and transcendence. Throughout the piece are hand-cut letters, spelling out a quote by Franz Kafka. It will remain on view through the end of the year.
Taconic Opera Students Perform the Classics
This summer, the Taconic Opera and the New York Opera Conservatory will present two fully-staged operas performed by Conservatory students. Both shows will be performed in the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco’s Great Hall. Four performances of Gaetano Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” will be presented on July 6 and July 8-10. “Lucia” is known for its famed “mad scene.” As the heroine loses her mind, she sings an iconic coloratura solo. Four performances of Georges Bizet’s “Pearl Fishers” will also be offered, on August 10 and August 12-14. “Pearl Fishers” is known for its famed tenor/baritone duet.
Follow #RestartTheArts for updates on new and upcoming events!
A version of this article first appeared in the July-August issue of ArtsNews, ArtsWestchester’s monthly publication. ArtsNews is distributed throughout Westchester County. A digital copy is also available at artsw.org/artsnews.
About ArtsWestchester
For more than 50 years, ArtsWestchester has been the community’s connection to the arts. Founded in 1965, it is the largest private not-for-profit arts council in New York State. Its mission is to create an equitable, inclusive, vibrant and sustainable Westchester County in which the arts are integral to and integrated into every facet of life. ArtsWestchester provides programs and services that enrich the lives of everyone in Westchester County. ArtsWestchester helps fund concerts, exhibitions and plays through grants; brings artists into schools and community centers; advocates for the arts; and builds audiences through diverse marketing initiatives. In 1998, ArtsWestchester purchased the nine-story neo-classical bank building at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue which has since been transformed into a multi-use resource for artists, cultural organizations and the community. A two-story gallery is located on the first floor of ArtsWestchester’s historic building on Mamaroneck Avenue. artsw.org
