ANDREA MITCHELL & ANNE THOMPSON FIGHTING CANCER: Journalists united
NORTH COURT BLOOMS in Greenwich
DAWN HENDRICKS
and her Larchmont gems
PHILIP P. TAH’S priestly mission
HELEN LEBRECHT:
Pachyderms are her passion
BUFFALO SPIRIT:
Audrey connects with Amelia
ALSO INSIDE:
Lists – Breast cancer physicians and top automobiles
celebrating the singular spirit JUDGED
BEST MAGAZINE IN NEW YORK STATE
WESTCHESTER & FAIRFIELD LIFE OCTOBER 2016 | WAGMAG.COM
SECOND YEAR IN A ROW
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CROWD New Art by Women from Our Neighbors’ Private Collections
Nancy Dwyer (b. 1954) Food, 2012 Reconfigured galvanized metal trash cans 30 x105 x 21 in. Edition of 2 Collection of Emily Fisher Landau, AMART LLC, FL 1290 Image courtesy the artist and Sandra Gering Inc. Karin Davie (b. 1965) Interior Ghosts #12, 2001 Oil on linen 72 x 60 in. Collection of Ann and Argyris Vassiliou
Now open! Supported by
Ellen Gallagher (b. 1965) Glister, 2010 Oil, pencil and paper on canvas 24 × 24 in. Private Collection, Greenwich, CT Photo by Tom Powel Imaging Alessandra Expósito (b. 1970) Trixie, 2006 Mixed media on chicken skull 3 x 1 x 2 1/4 in. Collection of David and Sandra Joys Photo by PaulMutino
BRUCE MUSEUM
| Greenwich, CT | www.brucemuseum.org
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CONTENTS
12 ‘I’ of the storm 14 Saving their species 18 A Larchmont gem 22 State of play 26 Space pioneer 28 Out of Africa 32 Looking into Amelia's eye 36 Mother knows best 38 Greenwich manor reborn 42 Savoring a brew with your book 44 Melendez’s mission 46 Quirky cool 50 Botanical wonders 54 Dar Williams returns to ‘Mortal City’ 56 Sound Beach vibe 60 Face time 74 ‘Fall’-ing for Hudson Valley haunts
64
COVER STORY
ANDREA MITCHELL AND ANNE THOMPSON, SINGULAR VISION THIS PAGE Audrey Ronning Topping with a buffalo named Amelia. Photograph courtesty Audrey and Seymour Topping.
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WAGVERTISERS
FEATURES: 251 Lex - 31 251lex.com
68 WAY Giving lie to John Donne
AFTD- 35 theaftd.org/learnmore
70 WEAR Collective sole 72 WISH LIST New products and gift ideas 76 WANDERS Lives interrupted
80 WANDERS The Stockholm Syndrome – in a good way 82 WANDERS Divine hospitality at The Shangri-La 84 THE WAG LIST Top autos
96 WHETTING THE APPETITE Jackie Ruby’s ‘Angel’ chicken soup
100 WELL Choosing a fitness program that is right for you 102 WELL An individual tale of courage and hope 104 WAG LIST Doctors of distinction 110 PET OF THE MONTH Yo, Sal from Miami 111 PET PORTRAITS Cher 112 WHEN & WHERE Upcoming events 116 WATCH We’re out and about 128 WIT What makes you an individual?
NORTH COURT BLOOMS in Greenwich
DAWN HENDRICKS
and her Larchmont gems
PHILIP P. TAH’S
BUFFALO SPIRIT: ALSO INSIDE:
Lists – Breast cancer physicians and top automobiles
celebrating
the singular spirit JUDGED
BEST MAGAZINE IN NEW YORK STATE
WESTCHESTER & FAIRFIELD LIFE OCTOBER 2016 | WAGMAG.COM
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Custom Candle Company - 43 customcandleco.com
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Royal Regency Hotel – 11 royalregencyhotelny.com
Lily Shoes and Accessories - 59 lilyoldgreenwich.com LOL Kids Armonk - 20 littleragsandriches.com
School of the Holy Child – 45 holychildrye.org Skin Center – Advanced Medical Aesthetics – Back Cover, 101 bestskincenter.com
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Sothebys International Realty – 17, 53 sothebyshomes.com/greenwich
Michael’s Limousines - 99 michaelslimo.com
Soundview Preparatory School – 37 soundviewprep.org
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Stepping Stones Museum for Children - 111 steppingstonesmuseum.org
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Twish - 75 instagram: @twishrye
ONS – 107 onsmd.com
Euphoria Kitchen & Bath - 37 euphoriakitchens.com Fred – 58 ogfred.com
Ridgefield Playhouse - 113 ridgefieldplayhouse.org
Ursuline School – 52 ursulinenewrochelle.org
Pamela Robbins – 121 Phone: (914)-472-4033 The Performing Arts Center - 115 artscenter.org Penny Pincher - 62 pennypincherboutique.com
Val's Putnam Wines and Liquors - 121 valsputnamwines.com Vincent and Whittemore - 103 vinwhit.com Westchester Philharmonic – 117 westchesterphil.org
Pepe Infiniti – 85 pepeinfiniti.com
Westchester Medical Center- 3 westchestermedicalcenter.com/heart
Phelps Hospital / Northwell Health - 109 phelpshospital.org
White Plains Hospital – 9, 105, 116, 118, 120, 122 wphospital.org
Hilton Westchester - 119 westchester.hilton.com
Prutting & Company Custom Builders – 49 prutting.com
House Warmings – 63 facebook.com/housewarmings
R&M Woodrow Jewelers - 1 woodrowjewelers.com
Hudson Havens- 21 hudsonhavens.com
Rainforest Action Network - 125 Inpepsishands.com
Whitby School – 48 whitbyschool.org/bluesky World Class Parking – 88 wcparking.com
COVER:
Journalists united
Audrey connects with Amelia
Claudette - 59 claudettestyle.com
Eager Beaver Tree Service - 127 eagerbeavertreeservice.com
98 WEAR Remembering Jackie
HELEN LEBRECHT:
Neil S. Berman - 24 bermanbuyscollectables.com
Rhone Apperal - 106 rhone.com
Kaeyer, Garment + Davidson Architects - 30 kgdarchitects.com
Danbury Porsche - 87 danburyporsche.com
Club Fit - 27 clubfit.com
94 WINE & DINE Sake to me
ANDREA MITCHELL & ANNE THOMPSON FIGHTING CANCER:
Audi Danbury - 89 danburyaudi.com
Bruce Museum – inside back cover brucemuseum.org
92 WONDERFUL DINING Veggin’ out
Pachyderms are her passion
All of Me, Medispa & Gynecology - 16 allofmegyn.com Angela’s – 71 angelasinrye.com
78 WANDERS Hainan Island
priestly mission
Acura of Westchester - 86 acuraofwestchester.com
Hyatt Regency Greenwich – Inside Front Cover greenwich.regency.hyatt.com
SECOND YEAR IN A ROW
WAGMAG.COM
Andrea Mitchell, left, and Anne Thompson See story on page 64. Photograph by John Rizzo.
OCTOBER 2016
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HEADQUARTERS A division of Westfair Communications Inc., 3 Westchester Park Drive, White Plains, NY 10604 Telephone: 914-358-0746 | Facsimile: 914-694-3699 Website: wagmag.com | Email: ggouveia@westfairinc.com All news, comments, opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations in WAG are those of the authors and do not constitute opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations of the publication, its publisher and its editorial staff. No portion of WAG may be reproduced without permission.WAG is distributed at select locations, mailed directly and is available at $24 a year for home or office delivery. To subscribe, call 914-694-3600, ext. 3020. All advertising inquiries should be directed to Anne Jordan at 914694-3600, ext. 3032 or email anne@westfairinc.com. Advertisements are subject to review by the publisher and acceptance for WAG does not constitute an endorsement of the product or service. WAG (Issn: 1931-6364) is published monthly and is owned and published by Westfair Communications Inc. Dee DelBello, CEO, dee@westfairinc.com
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A world of shoes in one shoe store, but we have two!
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THE TALENT BEHIND THIS ISSUE
WAGGERS
DANIELLE BRODY
RYAN DEFFENBAUGH
JOHN RIZZO
ALEESIA FORNI
GIOVANNI ROSELLI
ANTHONY CARBONI
ROBIN COSTELLO
BILL HELTZEL
DOUG PAULDING
BOB ROZYCKI
MARY SHUSTACK
DANIELLE K. RENDA
BRIAN TOOHEY
NEW WAGGER
SEYMOUR TOPPING Photograph by Sukie de la Croix.
School of the Holy Child, Rye. WAGMAG.COM
SEPTEMBER 2016
JEREMY WAYNE
OOPS! This photo is being reprinted because a caption did not appear with it last month.
GREGG SHAPIRO is the author of “Fifty Degrees” (Seven Kitchens, 2016), selected by Ching-In Chen as co-winner of the Robin Becker Chapbook Prize. Other books by Shapiro include “How to Whistle” (Lethe Press, 2016), “Lincoln Avenue” (Squares and Rebels Press, 2014), “GREGG SHAPIRO: 77” (Souvenir Spoon Press, 2012) and “Protection” (Gival Press, 2008). An entertainment journalist, Shapiro lives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. with his husband Rick and their dog, k.d.
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AUDREY TOPPING
In September WAG’s Wine & Dine column, we inadvertently dropped the opening paragraph, identifying Kevin Zraly, who conceived and taught the Windows on the World Wine Course that escorted 20,000 students into oenology, either for personal awareness or professional ambition. Zraly also wrote the companion book, “Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World Complete Wine Course.” This comprehensive textbook, originally published in 1985, has been updated annually and republished regularly, selling more than 3 million copies. Apologies to Zraly and columnist Doug Paulding.
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EDITOR'S LETTER
SOME LOVE FROM OUR READERS Over the years, we’ve received warm responses from our subjects and other readers about our stories, photographs and design elements. Indeed, so many that we thought we’d begin sharing them with you. Want to be part of the conversation? Send your thoughts to me — subject line “Letters to the Editor” — at ggouveia@westfairinc.com. — Georgette Gouveia
“WE LOVED THE (AUGUST) EDITION OF WAG, GREAT POLO COVERAGE. IT IS FANTASTIC TO SEE SO MANY ASPECTS AND PERSONALITIES OF THE SPORT COVERED FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE SUBJECTS. IT’S A GREAT SUMMER READ WE ARE PROUD TO SHARE IT WITH OUR FANS.” — Mariana Castro, marketing director, Greenwich Polo Club
“I JUST RECEIVED A CALL FROM MY GIRLFRIEND, WHO JUST HAPPENED TO BE SITTING IN A VET'S OFFICE SOMEWHERE IN WESTCHESTER AND WAS READING YOUR MAGAZINE AND SAW THE VERY NICE ARTICLE YOU WROTE ABOUT THE RESTAURANT (IN AUGUST). THANK YOU SO MUCH.” – David Cooper, owner of Dere Street restaurant
“(PUBLISHER-CREATIVE DIRECTOR) DEE DELBELLO HAS CERTAINLY PUT HER MARK ON THIS NEW AND MUCH IMPROVED VERSION OF THE MAGAZINE. THE LOOK IS PROFESSIONAL; THE ARTICLES, WELL-WRITTEN, SUCCINCT AND INTERESTING; AND THE 'WHO'S WHO' COVERAGE, JUST ENOUGH. NO WONDER WAG WAS JUDGED BEST MAGAZINE IN NEW YORK STATE.” – Joan Gilbert, retired executive, Texaco Inc., Ossining resident
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WAGMAG.COM
OCTOBER 2016
GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
My father, John Gouveia, called me the most independent-minded woman he ever knew. He did not mean it as a compliment. Once when we were dining with family in Peekskill, he tried to set me up with a young stockbroker (and golf buddy). I refused to meet him. “He’s handsome,” my father fumed. “He’s rich. He’s intelligent. He’s a great guy.” “If he’s so great,” I retorted, “why don’t you marry him yourself?” My Aunt Mary, my stepmother, Laurel, and her aunt, Emma Ruth, exploded with laughter. My father just exploded. Poor Papá — destined to have an eldest daughter determined to do her own thing. I have a photo of myself age 3 in my summer whites and Cleopatra haircut, staring down the camera as I set up my beach chair on the deck of Aunt Mary’s summer home. My uncles, I’m told, offered to help. I wanted to do it myself. So is it any surprise that when we were casting about for October themes that I would suggest an issue devoted to the singular spirit of the individual? In this issue, you’ll meet an array of compelling individuals, like cover duo Andrea Mitchell and Anne Thompson — local girls made good, star correspondents and pals at NBC and breast cancer survivors who’ve been staunch supporters of the Breast Cancer Alliance in Greenwich. In this the age of women, many of our subjects were and are self-possessed women like Helen LeBrecht, working to alleviate the plight of orphan elephants in Africa (Danielle’s story); cosmonaut and Russian pol Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space (Audrey’s piece); Bunny Mellon, whose legacy of art and horticulture survives in a botanical collection on display at the New York Botanical Garden (Mary’s article); and her confidante Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis — whom Brian remembers as both style icon and architectural preservationist. We are, of course, all individuals. That premise is the backbone of America and world human rights. We are individual in our talents (Bob’s reflections on pho-
At the top of the MetLife building – and the world – for a recent Tiffany & Co. party.
tographer Marco Grob; new Wagger Gregg’s interview with singer-songwriter Dar Williams; Mary’s look at jewelry retailer Dawn Hendricks). In our creations (the new Barnes and Noble bookstore/ restaurant in Eastchester; Saks Fifth Avenue Greenwich’s 10022-SHOE; the vegan Rosemary and Vine in Rye; and the appropriately named Quirkshop in Peekskill). And in the places that form, shelter and delight us, from off-the-beaten Sound Beach Avenue and the luxe Thimble Islands in Connecticut to rugged Nova Scotia, the ooh-la-la Shangri-La Hotel Paris, Stockholm’s picturesque archipelago and China’s paradisal Hainan Island. But sometimes circumstances thrust our individuality into the spotlight. A mother’s dying wish spurred Angela Guitard to follow her bliss and open Angela’s clothing store in Rye. A journalist and father’s concern led Kostya Kennedy to write the new book “Lasting Impact: One Team, One Season. What Happens When Our Sons Play Football.” And a priest’s love for his strife-torn native land moved the Rev. Philip P. Tah to serve both Africa and America. That is the wondrous paradox of individuality: It takes a secure individual to use that individuality in service of others. Georgette Gouveia is the author of “Water Music” and “The Penalty for Holding,” which will be published next year by Less Than Three Press.
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BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
What does it mean to be an individual in the age of Selfie Nation amid the new culture of narcissism? It Is a paradox, no?
In Sophocles’ tragedy “Antigone,” the title character buries a beloved slain brother, an enemy of the state, in violation of civil law. But Antigone argues before the king, her uncle, that the laws of the gods are greater than those of man and so goes off to be buried alive. Here, Aenne Schwarz in a 2015 production at the Burgtheater in Vienna. Photograph by Christian Michelides
What, after all, could be more individual than the digital age, with everyone tweeting, Facebooking, Instagramming, posting, blogging and being LinkedIn – expressing and, thus, seemingly validating every millisecond of his unique, singular existence with words, if not exactly cogent sentences, acronyms (LOL) and, above all, the ubiquitous selfie? Except that the more individual means of expression we have, the less individual we seem. We don’t know the often faceless posters with their colorful nicknames that would’ve been once worthy of CB radio handles, now do we? They have an identity, which is not the same as individuality — the idea of an indivisible person who has a right to his separate integrity, which came into focus in the 17th century and has haunted philosophers and the American mythic landscape ever since. An identity is a part of an individual meant to stand for the whole. It’s an aspect — usually a public aspect – the person allows us to see. Whereas very few individuals are so completely in sync with their inner lives that they are the same with everyone everywhere at every time. These people have usually attained a certain spiritual grace. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, whom I covered when he came to Carmel to dedicate the Great Buddha Hall at the Chuang Yen Monastery/Buddhist Association of the United States in 1997, was the same addressing the throng and greeting his Tibetan countrymen in exile as he was chatting with us English-speaking journalists. The Dalai Lama is, even online, entirely himself, while the anonymity of many posters enables them to function oftentimes like a snarky, even brutal Greek chorus that gangs up on the subject who strays from their idea of appropriate behavior. This can be a good thing when someone does something offensive. But it doesn’t exactly celebrate individuality. Nor does their chosen vehicle for expression – typing. In her new book “The History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting,” Anne Trubek writes off cursive writing as irrelevant in the digital age. Yet cursive gives you a signature as distinctive as your voice or fingerprints. Are you going to print your signature on every legal document? The demise of cursive is another signpost of an individuality that’s under siege. But the greater assault may come from its evil twin, narcissism. It’s a buzzword on the campaign trail thanks to the presence of a certain presidential candidate – and in the zeitgeist. Jane E. Brody wrote about “How to Recognize a Narcissist”
in her “Well” column for the July 19th edition of The New York Times. And it’s the subject of Kristin Dombek’s new book, “The Selfishness of Others: An Essay on the Fear of Narcissism.” There is much if not to fear than at least to give us pause. Narcissism — which takes its name from the Greek myth about Narcissus, the proud hunter who fell in love with his own reflection — is a psychological disorder way beyond selfishness. The narcissist, crystallized by Gloria Swanson in Billy Wilder’s excoriating “Sunset Boulevard,” is the star in everyone’s life, not merely his own. It may be your story, but he will spin it so that it becomes about his needs and desires. (The use of the male pronoun here is deliberate: Narcissists are usually men.) Perhaps the greatest irony of narcissism is that the narcissist has no self-awareness. If he did, he would understand the corrosive effect he has on others and absent it. This is the opposite of the true individual, who is self-aware, self-possessed, self-reliant and self-motivated. The true individual is Antigone — daughter of Oedipus — defying the state to bury the beloved brother who was its enemy. It’s Private Robert E. Lee “Prew” Prewitt in “From Here to Eternity” refusing to box for his Army unit’s team after blinding his sparring partner, despite the sadistic treatment he receives from his commander as a result. “A man don't go his own way, he's nothing,” he tells the wilier Sgt. Milt Warden. “Maybe back in the days of the pioneers, a man could go his own way,” Warden responds. “But today you got to play ball.” The individual plays on his own terms, like Jacqueline Kennedy carving out a life for her family in the White House, Marlon Brando thumbing his nose at the Hollywood status quo and Muhammad Ali rejecting the Vietnam War draft on religious grounds. One man’s self-possession is, of course, another’s selfishness. But without that self-centeredness, there would be no restored White House and Eternal Flame, no “Godfather” and political activism, no “Thrilla in Manila” and charity work. While the coach, the preacher and the statesman may exhort the individual to subjugate himself to the common good, there can be no love for others without first self-love. The individual heeds the works of Renaissance essayist Michel de Montaigne, who advised: “Lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself.” He goes his way, owning the rewards of that choice — and the consequences.
WAGMAG.COM
OCTOBER 2016
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Saving 14
WAGMAG.COM
OCTOBER 2016
BY DANIELLE RENDA
African elephants should be thriving as a species. They are the largest land mammals to inhabit the earth today, sometimes weighing up to 14 tons and, as apex predators, they have no natural enemies — except man. That’s why they’re endangered. And every year, 30,000 more lose their lives to ivory-seeking poachers. Sickened by this state of affairs, organizations like Bloody Ivory, Save the Elephants and Elephant Highway are advocating for change. The media has also taken up the issue, airing documentaries that expose the harsh realities of the situation, like “Gardener of Eden” and “Ivory Trade,” along with PBS’ “Battle for the Elephants” and “My Wild Affair: The Elephant Who Found a Mom,” about The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT). Meanwhile, actress Elizabeth Hurley, NBA player Yao Ming and designer Diane von Furstenburg, are among the celebrities advocating to protect elephants — which face particular challenges in forest environments. Enter Helen LeBrecht of Waccabuc, founder of Passion for Pachyderms. A LONG TIME COMIN’ About five years ago, LeBrecht founded Passion for Pachyderms, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing the extinction of African elephants in the wild. The organization lobbies against the selling of ivory and the importation of elephant “trophies” in America and hosts benefits to raise funds for DSWT, an organization based in Nairobi, Kenya, that works to protect African animals, specifically endangered species, and their natural habitats. So far, two benefits have been held, with plans underway for a third in October 2017. “Everything I do is for The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust,” LeBrecht says. As she talks, it’s clear that LeBrecht’s passion has permeated all areas of her life.
Photograph courtesy dreamstime.com
LeBrecht’s children, Alexandre and Sabrina, with orphan elephant Baraka, approximately 21 years ago. Photograph courtesy Helen LeBrecht.
LeBrecht — who’s been vegan for years — wears a flattering, knee-length, white dress with an allover pattern of pink elephants, complemented by a delicate, gold elephant necklace. Her cell phone case design is an elephant amid paisley in shades of cerulean, teal and sky blues. And her home is a montage of animal figurines, paintings, woodcarvings, rugs and even handmade pillows, stitched by LeBrecht herself. But her passion is most conveyed through her eyes. As LeBrecht shares a short video about an orphan elephant, she begins tearing, a silent testament to the compassion in her work. LeBrecht is particularly devoted to the Orphan’s Project, one of DSWT’s many initiatives. The program rescues and rehabilitates infant elephants and rhinoceroses that have been or-
WAGMAG.COM
OCTOBER 2016
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phaned, usually as a result of poaching, conflict, deforestation and drought. LeBrecht’s connection to the cause began years ago, when she and her two children met Baraka, a 3-month-old orphan elephant (whose name means “blessing” in Swahili) at a friend’s ranch in Kenya. This made a big impression on the family. “They had two elephants at the ranch that they rescued from zoos, and then they had this orphan elephant,” LeBrecht says. “The kids gave him bottles every day. But we inadvertently found out that Baraka had died shortly after we left…It sort of captured my fantasy that these babies should have a life, even if they’ve lost their mothers.” According to DSWT, orphan elephants grieve and pine for their mothers, often for several months, and not all of them survive this critical period. Then, too, it’s difficult to recreate the mother’s milk, which has a high fat content. In “My Wild Affair: The Elephant Who Found a Mom” — which tells the heartbreaking story of Aisha, the first orphan baby Daphne Sheldrick tried to save — viewers see the trials and errors of early orphan “parenting.” “For elephants that are rescued, they must be
nursed a certain way, so as to mimic the attachment to the mother,” she says. “If an elephant recognizes that this attachment is absent, it could severely impact their health.” Today, the orphans at the Sheldrick Trust are given bottles of specialist formula, with a blanket covering their heads to imitate the maternal bond, and live with a group of minders so they don’t get too attached to one person. LeBrecht herself was given the chance to help an orphan elephant years after Baraka, which ultimately inspired her to found Passion for Pachyderms. “My daughter has always been passionate about elephants since she was young,” LeBrecht says. “For my birthday, she gave me the fostering of an animal with David Sheldrick.” DSWT’s fostering program allows a “parent” to foster an animal for a minimum annual fee of $50. The parent can select from a list of animals that need fostering, which includes photographs and personal stories. Throughout the year, the parent then receives monthly updates and photographs of his animal, as well as a newsletter and additional material. “That was really the beginning,” LeBrecht says.
HER HEART ON HER SLEEVE With a life spent alongside animals, it’s no surprise that LeBrecht chose this path. When she was a young girl, LeBrecht’s father — who she describes as an “environmentalist before the word existed” — brought home an adopted half dog-half wolf from Alaska, where he was stationed in World War II. Shortly after, she adopted a dog, named Blazer, followed by Onyx, a rescue cat who accompanied her to Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences, where she studied geology; Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where she studied mineralogy; and to Cornell Law School, where she studied environmental law. She currently has a dog, Rembrandt; a cat, Baby Cat; a rabbit, Winslow; and a 21-year-old parrot, Zucci. “I don’t believe that human beings should ever ‘own’ an animal,” LeBrecht says. “I think they ‘share’ their lives with us and we’re very fortunate to have their compassionate and unqualified love.” More information about Passion for Pachyderms will soon be available at passionforpachyderms.org. For more about The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, visit sheldrickwildlifetrust.org.
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a Larchmon
Dawn Hendricks. Photograph by Peter Chin. Dawn Hendricks. Photograph by Peter Chin 18
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nt gem BY MARY SHUSTACK PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY PERIDOT FINE JEWELRY
There’s an easygoing elegance to Dawn Hendricks.
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Among the designs featured at Peridot Fine Jewelry are: 1. Necklace by Caroline Ellen. 2. Rings by Cathy Waterman. 3. Rings by Anne Sportun. 4. Earrings by Caroline Ellen. 5. Earrings by Annie Fensterstock. Photographs by Maryellen Hendricks.
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It’s introduced in her casual-yet-sophisticated (and often black) wardrobe. It’s echoed in her focused-yet-friendly demeanor. And, perhaps most tellingly, it’s brought home through the distinctive-yet-understated jewelry she’s wearing on a recent morning. Together, these elements combine, we notice right away, to form an impression that extends to her boutique, Peridot Fine Jewelry in Larchmont. Within the airy, gallery-like space nestled into Palmer Avenue, Peridot offers a warm welcome that’s anything but a screaming, “Look at me.” Instead, the curated collection — a selection of often one-of-a-kind creations by designers handpicked by Hendricks — awaits discovery. Customers are encouraged to try things on, to ask questions and to learn about the artists and their stories. It is, in short, all about the personal touch. And that’s just the way Hendricks envisioned things when she launched the business nearly 15 years ago at another space within the village. “The design has always been very clean and really hasn’t changed since 2002,” Hendricks says of the gallery atmosphere created by sleek cases devoted to single designers. It was back in 2014 that Hendricks settled into this spot, larger than the original and after operating a second space for a time in Greenwich. No matter the location, it’s always been about creating an environment that “allowed the jewelry to speak,” she says. And speak it does. “My background is display. It’s visual. You can have the most beautiful jewelry in the world but if you don’t display it right, it becomes a jungle.” A JEWELRY JOURNEY Hendricks starts an impromptu tour — one that introduces a visitor to each of the designers on hand — with the work of Caroline Ellen, “one of our
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premier designers.” It is, she shares, “completely handmade in New York,” with a sophisticated — definitely “not crafty” — appeal. Then, there’s the work of Anne Sportun: “We’ve sold her rings since the day we opened.” A personal, often longstanding, relationship with the designers allows Hendricks to present the jewelry in a unique way. “You tell the story of someone in a very different way once you’ve met them.” As she walks from case to case, Hendricks shares points of interest, introducing Kothari Design (“an Indian designer out of Oakland,” Calif., known for “rustic” diamonds) and describing Brooklyn-based Yasuko Azuma’s approach to a particular piece (“The ring is basically made around the stone.”). She touches on London-based Ruth Tomlinson’s lost-wax process, the lapidary work featured in Jamie Joseph’s line and the unique vision Brooklyn’s Rosanne Pugliese brings to a most traditional jewelry element. (“It’s definitely a reinterpretation of how you wear a pearl.”). There are, also, names that have more widespread recognition. Hendricks is one of the few independent retailers carrying Cathy Waterman, who joined the mix some two years ago.
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“She’s someone who has been exclusive nationally at Barneys. We were really attracted to her work. She has a really long history of iconic design.” Shoppers will also see pieces from Temple St Clair. “All her work is made in Italy,” Hendricks says. And with motherly pride, Hendricks points to another best-selling line, The Brave Collection, founded by her daughter, Jessica Hendricks Yee. Handmade in Cambodia and designed to celebrate bravery and empower women across the globe, the symbolic jewelry provides job opportunities to artisans, with a portion of the profits donated to fight human trafficking in that country. NOW TRENDING Hendricks, a longtime Larchmont resident, was born in Miami, schooled in Boston and lived in Paris for a time. She hit a pivotal moment when living in Rhinebeck, N.Y. It was in that Hudson Valley community that she remembers being so impressed by the way a local shop, Hummingbird Jewelers, worked with one of its designers on a special request. “We were just so fascinated that he had that oneto-one connection with the artist,” she says. And she wanted to cultivate that same connec-
tion when she opened — a way of doing business that definitely was in place long before today’s de rigueur obsession with all things made by hand. As Hendricks says with a laugh, “It was ‘Etsy,’ the maker. It was really ‘farm-to-table.’ We were doing it.” And Hendricks has never wavered from those early days, while still keeping an eye on trends. That is, she says, “part of the challenge, having something fresh and new but will age well.” To that end, Hendricks remains aware but selective. “Trends are so powerful. The wave comes no matter what,” she says. “We follow the trends to the extent we do. We want to be current, but on the other hand, we remain true to who we are.” Peridot’s savvy clients — “It’s a customer who understands luxury but is also very practical” — appreciate what rounds the boutique out, from trunk shows to wish lists, bridal selections to modest options for more casual gifts. Hendricks, who has forged her own path, has certainly created a niche with Peridot. “People, especially in this community, like the idea it’s unique — everybody not walking around in the same thing — and that’s not always true.” Peridot Fine Jewelry is at 1903 Palmer Ave. in Larchmont. For more, visit peridotfinejewelry.com.
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Kostya Kennedy
State of play BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH
With news of longlasting impact of concussions, a series of domestic violence arrests, a high school bullying scandal and young players dying on the field, football experienced what may prove to be one of its most consequential seasons in the fall of 2014.
That’s according to Kostya Kennedy, a former Sports Illustrated senior writer and editor who is now editorial director for Time Inc. Books. “In some ways if we look back at football and what its future will be, the tipping point may well be that fall of 2014,” Kennedy says. The Larchmont resident’s new book, “Lasting Impact: One Team, One Season. What Happens When Our Sons Play Football" (Liberty Street), documents that tumultuous fall through an unlikely source: New Rochelle high school football. Kennedy followed the Huguenots throughout its 2014 season, observing training camp, practices and games and interviewing players, coaches and parents. Kennedy has written best-selling books about Joe DiMaggio and Pete Rose. With this new book, Kennedy says covering the high school level allowed him to view the everyday decisions parents and students are grappling with when it comes to football. “The big issue with football right now is its place in society,” Kennedy says. “Do we want our sons playing the sport, given what we now know about its nature? So much of that conversation takes place at the NFL level. I wanted to look at this more at the ground level.” While Kennedy describes the decision for each parent on whether their child should play as deeply personal, he dives into the different risks and benefits of the game.
The game helps young men develop a work ethic, commitment and time away from iPhones and video games, he says. “The positives of football were really on display throughout,” Kennedy says. “You really see what football can do to bridge gaps and bring people together.” The type of bonding the sport provides can be especially valuable to a community like New Rochelle, which Kennedy described as having a “gulf between the haves and have-nots.” The game brings people of both backgrounds together, in part because of how much players rely on each other. “If you’re playing baseball and you’re in left field and miss a ball, it hurts the team, but the right fielder isn’t going to get hit in the face,” Kennedy said. “If I’m playing football and I’m supposed to be blocking for you and I miss, you’re going to get flattened.” That’s part of what brings a team together, but it’s also a part of the risk football poses to the young men who play it. As awareness of the prevalence and long-term impacts of concussions has grown in the NFL, high school teams have taken notice as well. Kennedy’s book details how schools are attempting to deal with the danger. “There is a tremendous awareness of it, which is on the good side,” he says. “But what you can really do about concussions is not a whole lot. There’s no helmet that can prevent or even se-
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riously diminish the risk. You’re going to have these accidents.” The string of domestic violence arrests that severely damaged the NFL’s reputation in the 2014 season had an impact on New Rochelle. The most prominent domestic violence arrest that year was of Ray Rice, who was seen on video released by TMZ knocking his then-fiance Janay Palmer unconscious in a hotel elevator. Rice grew up in a housing project in New Rochelle. His father was murdered when he was a year old. He led the football team to a state championship in 2003 and had since donated money and equipment to the school. Following his arrest, he was invited by New Rochelle coach Lou DiRienzo to a game. DiRienzo had coached Rice a decade earlier and was a major figure in his life, Kennedy says. “DiRienzo was right on top of Ray as far as, ‘This is what you need to do, you can come to our game, but you’re also going to be getting counseling, you’re gonna be working on it, making sure you fix this and it doesn’t happen again,'” Kennedy said. The decision to have Rice on the sidelines drew attention to the school, prompting cover-
age on national TV and in The New York Times. “Nobody is apologizing for the behavior and no one was acting as if it was OK,” Kennedy says. “But the response was ‘Hey, he was part of this football family.’” Rice later completed the terms of a pretrial intervention and a judge dismissed the domestic violence charges. Rice married Janay the day after he was indicted. Kennedy says that in many communities, participation in football, along with many youth sports, has started to show signs of decline. And while part of that is competition with social media, another part of the problem for football has been concerns about its safety and reputation. “I think it’s the No. 1 most important issue, period, for (the NFL),” Kennedy says. “‘How do we continue to have people play our game?’ There was a time when boxing and horse racing were the top sports. These things change. I think it is of the utmost importance for the NFL to pay attention to these issues with as much as dedication and creativity as they can.” For more, visit kostyakennedy.com.
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Space pioneer BY AUDREY RONNING TOPPING
When Hillary Clinton cracked the glass ceiling, becoming the first woman to be nominated for president of the United States, she joined the ranks of other pioneer women, including the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova. While Tereshkova was orbiting Earth as pilot of the Russian space ship Vostok 6, a 10-year-old Russian friend of my daughters rushed into our apartment in Moscow — where my husband and I were living while covering the Soviet Union for The New York Times — with her exciting news of the birth of a new baby sister named Valentina in honor of the cosmonaut. “All the baby girls in the hospital except one are being called Valentina,” she enthused. This was more than a half-century ago, on June 16, 1963. For millions of women in the Soviet Union and worldwide, Tereshkova, then aged 26, became a promise of the future. Tereshkova was not only physically beautiful, but also a great athlete — a superb skier and expert skydiver who had made her first parachute jump at age 22. She had been selected for the Soviet space program from 400 applicants. Her
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training included weightless flights, rocket theory, 120 parachute jumps and pilot training in MiG jet fighters. She had been confirmed by Premier Nikita Khrushchev himself. Her call name was “Chaika,” meaning “seagull.” For a generation and a half, since the Communist Revolution, Russian women had been torn between a drive for equality with men — a compulsion to prove their worth in building the glory of the state, and a desire to be feminine. “Valya,” as she was called in Russia, represented Soviet women as the Kremlin pictured them in an ideal Communist society, which was far from reality. She clipped her braids and wore her hair in a short fluffy “kitten cut” to show her femininity, but to Soviet propagandists it verified that Tereshkova’s space feat was proof of their ultra-modern society: “Soviet women are on an equal footing as men in work that calls for great courage, physical endurance and much knowledge.”
During the three days that Valentina was circling in outer space, small airplanes were flying over Moscow’s streets, dropping pamphlets proclaiming that Russia possessed the highest technology in the world and that Valentina, like Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, had seen heaven but not found God. The pamphlets, printed in large black print, were picked up on the streets below by the women waiting in line to pay high prices for potatoes, cabbage, eggs, bread and carrots, which was the only food readily available. No fresh fruit, tomatoes or greens. I was one of those women standing in a queue with my four daughters, (ages 8, 6, 4 and 2), trying to survive in the Russian economy. The babushkas in line began to tear up the pamphlets, while others complained that they had been ordered to appear at another “spontaneous demonstration” for cosmonauts. When we returned to our high rise on Prospect Mira carrying a shopping bag full of cabbage, we trudged up to the eight floor. The usual sign hung on the rickety lift — Nyet rebotat. Not Working. When I later brought a copy of The New York Times to show my friendly babushkas in the food line that John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth, said “I saw God,” they nodded and burst into applause. They knew it all the time. No number of high-tech space flights could change their basic beliefs or free the average woman in the Soviet Union from household
Cosmonauts Pavel Popovich, Valentina Tereshkova and Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev.
drudgery as could a clothes dryer, dishwasher or diaper service, which were not available then. Valentina’s father was a war hero, killed in the Finnish Winter War when she was 2 years old. In 1963, there were 10 million more women than men in a population of 219 million. The imbalance was due to drastic losses of young men during World War II. Lack of manpower resulted in womanpower being a potent factor in the Soviet scheme of things. Women began doing manual labor, building roads and bridges, but, like the rest of the world, were not predominant in political life. Shortly after landing back on earth, Tereshkova married a fellow cosmonaut, Andriyan Nikolayev, at the Moscow Wedding Palace with Krushchev presiding. They had a daughter who became a doctor. To this day Tereshkova is revered as a hero ranking with Gagarin in space history. She has won numerous awards, including The Order of Lenin. In 2011, she was elected to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian legislature, where at the age of 79 she still serves. In 2014, she helped carry the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony of the Winter Games in Sochi. A year earlier, she had volunteered to go on a oneway trip to Mars. She’s still reaching for the stars.
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BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY THE REV. PHILP P. TAH
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To serve Africa and America
The Rev. Philip P. Tah among the villagers of his native Kakwagom, Nigeria.
As a young priest in his native Nigeria, the Rev. Philip P. Tah buried two uncles, both suicides. While the Roman Catholic Church in the United States no longer denies funeral services to suicides, such was not the case in his West African homeland. Summoned before his bishop, Tah made a most original argument: His uncles did not hate life but rather, loved it so much that they died rather than live it less than fully. The bishop did not censure him. Tah — whom I first met as a congregant of Sacred Heart Church in Hartsdale where he was parochial vicar — is like that, a man of charisma, courage and compassion. “The best way to lead is to live by the advice you give to others,” says this U.S. Army captain, now on active duty ministering to soldiers and their families as a chaplain at Fort Stewart in Savannah, Ga. “I talk to myself. I inspire myself.” With a master’s degree in philosophy from Catholic University Leuven in Belgium, Tah is a big believer in the Nietzschean concept of fine-tuning your inner motor from time to time.
“Sometimes you have to redefine yourself to keep loving what you do,” he says. That inner directedness has led him to found Fountains of Compassion to help his strife-torn native village of Kakwagom, about 137 miles from the capital, Abuja, in southern Nigeria. Having been in the United States for 11 years, Tah is a confirmed Westchesterite. “Hartsdale is my home. New York is my state,” he says with a characteristic gleaming smile. But when he saw
the suffering in the land of his birth, he knew he could not deny it. He always knew he would minister to the needy, he says. He didn’t think it would be in the place where he started. In October of 2010, tribal factionalism and land disputes led to the burning of 496 homes in Kakwagom, 94 percent of its housing. Among the affected were Tah’s parents, teachers who had raised him and his siblings (four brothers and a sister) to walk the talk of their Roman Catholic faith. “I always wanted to serve and I think that had to do with my education and the orientation given me by my father,” Tah remembers. “I wanted to go to college and study political science.” Then one day, his mother said to her second child (and second son): “Have you ever considered becoming a priest?” He was ordained on Oct. 13, 1996 by Carlo Maria Viganò, then the apostolic nuncio to Nigeria (and until recently the apostolic nuncio to the United States). Now 14 years later, he was staring at the devastation that politics had wrought. “When I got there, looking at the destruction, I couldn’t believe it.” Tah had arrived with two tons of clothes and $17,000 in donations. “If you saw the people scrambling for the clothes: They had lost everything.” A former high school principal in the Nigerian town of Obubra, Tah used the money to buy textbooks and pots, pay vocational training and to keep the students in the local coed boarding school, which had been looted but was otherwise unscathed. As pensioners, his parents were relatively well off. But Tah was determined they would have their own home again. So while he was parochial vicar at Sacred Heart, he took a second job as a chaplain at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla — going without sleep four nights a week for three years. Even today, 40 percent of what he earns goes back to Kakwagom, he says over lunch at Sapori, up the street from Sacred Heart. Tah eats sparingly, which would seem impossible in such an Italian restaurant. But Tah, a slight, ascetic man, lives life close to the bone. It is, nevertheless, a life rich in ideas. Not content to give a man a fish, when he could teach him how to fish, Tah hit upon the idea of providing the villagers with tools and machinery to rebuild their homes. One machine in particular can turn out 3,000 brick blocks in a day, he says, enabling the villagers to build three houses in a week.
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The Rev. Philip P. Tah (center) with the men of his village.
Working with the newly formed Sacred Heart Planning Team for Fountains of Compassion, Tah thought to raise $50,000 with three events. So far, $45,000 has been raised. Such, he says, is the generosity of the Sacred Heart parishioners and the support of former pastor, Msgr. Robert Larkin. (Tah also expresses gratitude to the United Nations Women’s Guild/ Westchester Group, which gives his organization $2,000 every year.) Having seen Tah in action — preaching sermons, offering counsel, comforting the grieving — I would say their generosity is a measure of the great love he has shown others. “When he came to Sacred Heart Church, he was like a breath of fresh air,” says parishioner Helen O’Shea, an assistant teacher at the Hitchcock School in Scarsdale. Because Tah was always preaching about love, often in the face of tragedy, O’Shea thought at first that maybe he didn’t have much life experience. “Come to find out, though, he had had many hardships. But he kept expressing hope. That’s Father Philip — love and hope.” To reach the Rev. Philip P. Tah, call 516-6904949 or email him at paulphilipsbe@yahoo.com.
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF BUFFALO CONSERVATION
Symbol of American individualism
On May 9, President Obama signed the National Bison Legacy Act, officially making the bison the new national mammal. Even more remarkable is that this legendary animal inspired both Democrats and Republicans in rare bipartisan action to give wholehearted support to the president’s legislation. The American bison, long revered by Native Americans, has made a dramatic comeback from near extinction and, like the bald eagle, has become a wildlife symbol of the United States. Bison, immortalized on the “buffalo nickel” in 1913, were commonly recognized as buffalo by North Amer-
We can be proud that New York helped save the bison. In 1907, the Bronx Zoo bred buffalo and sent a group to Oklahoma to help restore the population. Today the Bronx Zoo has 24, and the Queens Zoo has six. About 500,000 roam public parks and private ranches. A dedicated conservation effort nurtured this revival and buffalo now range in parts of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado. In Montana, thousands roam on Ted Turner’s Flying D Ranch. Buffalo are migratory and play an important role in the environment. Unlike cattle, who disturb the earth by overgrazing in one area, buffalo are ecological engineers similar to yaks in Tibet and elephants in Africa. Their nomadic grazing helps create habitats for other animals and assists in cross-pollination. In Yellowstone National Park, the buffalo have renewed the migration that characterized their pattern of existence for thousands of years. The first thoroughfares of North America were the traces made by buffalo in seasonal migration. These routes, like the Vincennes or Buffalo Trace founded by explorer John Filson in 1731, had been hammered out by countless hoofs instinctively tracking along upland ridges and low valleys. The trails, followed by Indians to hunting grounds and warrior paths, later became invaluable to explorers, pioneers and armies. For millennia, American Indians were reliant on the buffalo for survival. This interdependence is epitomized by the writer, and Lakota holy man, John Fire Lame Deer: “The buffalo gave us everything we needed. Without it we were nothing. Our tipis were made of his skin. His hide was our bed, our blanket, our winter coat. It was our drum, throbbing through the night, alive, holy. Out of his skin we made our water bags. His flesh strengthened us, became flesh of our flesh. Not the smallest part of it was wasted. His horns were our spoon, the bones our knives. His ribs were fashioned into sleds for our children, his hoofs became rattles.”
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ican Indians and Westerners like me. (Technically, American buffalo are bison, the two main species of buffalo being found in Africa and Asia. The similar but distinct bison is native only to North America. Still, the word “buffalo” has stuck with Americans.) Whatever you call them, massive herds once roamed the continent’s Great Plains, but in the 1800s they were tragically hunted for their hides and for sport by Western settlers. An estimated 25 to 60 million were slaughtered. By the start of the 20th century, only 541 remained in North America. For me, the legislation to honor the buffalo was profoundly significant for I once had a life-changing personal encounter with one, an amazing bison named Amelia. While vacationing with my family in our ski lodge on the slopes of Kit Carson Mountain in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, I chanced upon a friend, Hisa Ota, a Japanese-American architect on a mission. He had recently left his lucrative position with the Walt Disney Co. to help save the buffalo. Hisa acquired the valley’s Zapata Ranch with a large herd of buffalo. He sported all the trappings of a Western rancher — wide-brimmed black hat, worn jeans and fancy cowboy boots but he rode the range on a motorcycle. He had just rescued an abandoned newborn buffalo and asked my help. We nursed
Sounds almost human and yet otherworldly, no? But to look into the eyes of a wild buffalo is a mystical experience. Her hypnotic eyes, like mysterious black holes, seemed filled with deep secrets. No wonder the Indians revere buffalo. For some inexplicable reason, Amelia was and is still the most spiritual entity I have ever encountered.
the hungry calf with human baby formula in cow’s milk. She sucked the rubber nipple in great gulps and responded warmly to our caresses. We fell madly in love with her. Hisa named her Amelia. Soon she was grazing on her own, growing fast and following us around like a dog. We found she was very intelligent and had a capacity for memory similar to elephants’. Whenever I visited the ranch, she ran to meet me and nuzzled my jacket. I felt honored and thrilled. Eight years later, Amelia weighed a ton, and while she had joined the herd of wild buffalo, she never forgot her human parents. Every time I returned, sometimes after a year from my home in Scarsdale, she recognized my call and ran out of the herd to greet me. The life expectancy of a wild buffalo is about 15 years. Amelia is now 26. Although she is free to roam with the herd, she often hangs out in Hisa’s backyard where, he says, she sometimes watches television through the ranch house window. Sounds almost human and yet otherworldly, no? But to look into the eyes of a wild buffalo is a mystical experience. Her hypnotic eyes, like mysterious black holes, seemed filled with deep secrets. No wonder the Indians revere buffalo. For some inexplicable reason, Amelia was and is still the most spiritual entity I have ever encountered.
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THE FIRST DOCTOR SAID DEPRESSION. THE SECOND SAID STROKE. THE THIRD SAID ALZHEIMER’S. NO ONE SAID FTD. Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) is the most common cause of dementia for people under 60, affecting more than 50,000 in the U.S. alone. Onset strikes earlier in life—when few anticipate dementia—and accurate diagnosis can take years. Families lose active parents and breadwinners without knowing what’s stealing away the person they love. And when a diagnosis is made, there are no effective treatments. Help to change that reality today. www.theAFTD.org/learnmore
Mother knows best BY ALEESIA FORNI PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB ROZYCKI
“Make me a promise that you will open that store, Angela.” During the weeks before her passing, Aida Rotondo put this deathbed request before her daughter, Angela Guitard. While owning an upscale fashion boutique was something Rotondo knew her daughter had always hoped for, it was something she never truly encouraged. “She was always like, ‘You have a great job. You have four kids. It’s not the right time,’” Guitard recalls of her mother. But in those few weeks that preceded Rotondo’s death from pancreatic cancer, she had a change of heart, urging Guitard to take a leap of faith. “She wanted to make sure that I followed my dreams,” Guitard says with a smile. “So I was really determined after that.” It was that motherly encouragement that prompted Guitard to leave her job in retail and open up her own women’s clothing store, Angela’s, in her hometown of Rye just 18 months later. Her eponymous store offers designer attire, shoes, bags, jewelry and accessories, with pieces handpicked by Guitard and crafted by high-end brands Owner Angela Guitard in her Rye boutique, Angela’s.
from Chloé to Barbara Bui to Rag & Bone. These designs hang from racks that line the sleek white walls of her boutique at 24 Purchase St., amid a chic interior that is decorated with plush, inviting couches, a large plasma TV and dozens of blackand-white photos of iconic stars like Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. The 3,500-square-foot storefront also includes an expanded menswear department, Fred’s, opened in November 2015 in the adjacent retail space at 22 Purchase St. “This is, I consider it, my home,” Guitard says of her store, “because I’m here a lot, so it’s almost like I want to welcome customers into my home.” Guitard’s fascination with fashion began at an early age, when she would beg her mother to buy her pair after pair of various footwear and dream of having a store of her very own. That passion for style only grew as Guitard matured, leading her to pursue a professional career in the field, working first for Nordstrom and later rising to become one of the top sales associates during her 10-year tenure at Richards in Greenwich. “I always wanted to look and feel good about what I wore every day,” Guitard says. “I just want my customers to feel the same way, to love what
they have on, because personally I think when you love what you have on, you have a better day.” That is the inspiration behind Angela’s philosophy, “love what you wear,” a motto inscribed both across the front glass of the store and inside each of its merchandise bags. “If you don’t love it, I don’t want you to buy it,” Guitard says. With her long history in the industry, Guitard knows a thing or two about helping customers find the perfect piece. Her unique brand of customer service includes anything from personal styling and shopping trips to organizing a customer’s closet. “We do everything,” Guitard says. “We buy them undergarments, give their dogs treats, open up a bottle of wine, buy them lunch, give them coffee. Anything that makes them feel comfortable.” Guitard has also been known to eye designs that are perfect for a specific customer during family vacations to Europe — sometimes to the dismay of her husband, Frederick. But it’s that attention, Guitard says, that drives her store’s success. That passion for her store and its patrons has
Dream Kitchens and Baths
been passed down to her daughter, Samantha, who also works at Angela’s as her mother’s “righthand woman.” During the course of my visit to Angela’s, both Guitard and her daughter offered honest and detailed advice on color choices to a female shopper, responded to a customer who called in asking about a sizing choice for an online purchase — Guitard knew what size she needed without giving pause — and answered a question about the amount of stretch a specific fabric offered. “It’s all about going above and beyond,” Guitard says. Along with a focused attention on customer experience, Guitard also assembles curated look books to give customers a first look at upcoming collections and an opportunity to pre-order specific pieces. She frequently travels to Paris and Milan, scouring stores and meeting directly with designers themselves. Angela’s also offers complimentary in-house tailoring services. “It’s really a one-stop shop,” Guitard says. “I think that customers constantly come back because it’s fun, it’s an experience.” For more, visit angelasinrye.com.
A transformative academic environment
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Soundview Prep School offers a transformative academic environment (grades 6-12) that is designed for college bound students with multi-disciplinary interests who desire a more individualized and self-directed educational experience.
Soundview Preparatory School
370 Underhill Avenue, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 (914) 962-2780 • soundviewprep.org WAGMAG.COM
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Greenwich manor
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reborn
BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB ROZYCKI
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WAG readers know Valerio Morano Sagliocco from articles on his Lago restaurant in the Silver Lake section of Harrison — where patrons quickly become part of a big Italian family, enveloped in good food, good wine and good conversation (June 2015 and January 2016 WAG). But Sagliocco is a landscaper by trade. As the director and principal designer of Morano Landscape Garden Design in Mamaroneck and president/managing partner of Ridgeway Garden Center in White Plains, he’s been working on a challenging project in Greenwich’s undulating backcountry for the past two years. Now his efforts have paid off, as the estate, North Court, was featured in the July issue of Architectural Digest magazine. It’s the home of paper magnate/entrepreneur Drew M. Aaron and his wife, model Hana Soukupová. The couple are also notable collectors of such contemporary artists as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst and Andy Warhol, and the intimate interiors by Mark Cunningham — the main focus of the Architectural Digest article — have a Modernist quality with midcentury furnishings by Jean Royère and Charlotte Perriand. But the exterior of 100-year-old North Court is a decidedly traditional brick-and-limestone affair with an English country feel. (The manse is said to be a replica of the north court of a great English country house that was the home of the original owner’s wife.) And it was to that exterior that Sagliocco deferred in implementing the plan of landscape architect Robin Kramer, featured in WAG back in 2012. “She gave us some base maps, with myself and the
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homeowner tweaking and fine-tuning them,” says Sagliocco, who met Aaron through a mutual friend and Sotheby’s auction house. “The thing was to be true to the historical nature of the house but at the same time, we kicked it up a notch.” The result is a series of exterior spaces that juxtapose the lush, casual and colorful with the formal and verdant — just as in an English country estate. And it’s all delineated by English and American boxwood, columnar hornbeams, taxus hedges and hollies, while English ivy and wisteria caress the brick façade. The eight to 10 acres embrace roses, peonies, verbena, Russian sage and nepeta. But there’s also a vegetable garden, with tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, blueberries and such herbs as mint and basil. It’s the special passion of Soukupová, with blueberries being a favorite, Sagliocco says over a leisurely lunch at Lago. The overall landscaping took eight months, with Sagliocco on site every day to oversee the construction and restoration of the pool patio, terraces and some brickwork as well. Recently, Sagliocco planted shielding arborvitaes at North Court where a back retaining wall has deteriorated. In the landscaping business, maintenance is forever. It’s how a garden grows. For more, visit moranolandscape.com.
Valerio Morano Sagliocco kept true to the historical nature of the house.
OPEN HOUSE DATES: Saturday, November 5, 2016, 10am Saturday, January 21, 2017, 10am
French-American School of New York Growing Global Citizens
Accepting non-French speakers: • In Nursery, Pre-K and Kindergarten: Bilingual immersion • In High school: IB Diploma Programme taught in English Bilingual Co-ed School • Nursery (3 years old) through Grade 12 Campuses in Scarsdale, Larchmont, Mamaroneck
www.fasny.org • (914) 250-0401 WAGMAG.COM
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Savoring a brew with your book BY ALEESIA FORNI
There are few greater pleasures in life than a good meal and a good book. 42
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For years, Barnes & Noble customers have enjoyed a latte, a slice of cheesecake or a spinach and feta-filled pretzel with their books and Nooks. But now they’ll be able to sip a beer or relax with a glass of wine in a full-service restaurant offering breakfast, lunch and dinner. Later this month, the New York-based retailer and nation’s largest bookstore chain, will open this first “concept store” in Eastchester’s Vernon Hills Shopping Center on the site of the now-defunct Borders Books and Music. So there’s a precedent for a bookstore there — and for a restaurant, too. Patrons of a certain vintage will remember it was once the site of Alex & Henry’s. “Adding wine and beer is almost kind of essential to rounding out (the dining) experience,” Jaime Carey, the recently appointed president of Barnes & Noble’s development and restaurant group, says. (Previously, he had served as the company’s chief operating officer.) The new Eastchester concept store will also feature an expanded offering of books, additional seating, open spaces for store events and an outdoor space complete with a bocce court and fire pit. While the total footprint of the new stores will decrease about 20 to 25 percent compared to existing ones, dining spaces will account for a greater percentage of in-store real estate and contribute to a larger portion of overall sales, Barnes & Noble officials have said. The Eastchester location will be one of four concept stores nationwide, with the others set to open in Edina, Minn.; Folsom, Calif.; and Loudoun, Va., in the coming year. The new B&N concept store arrives in WAG country at a moment when book chains and mom-and-pop shops are looking for ways not
Renderings of the concept bar and dining room. Courtesy Barnes & Noble.
just to survive but to thrive. The bookstore eatery is not exactly new. Kramerbooks & Afterwords is a bookstore with unusual titles and a café in Washington, D.C.’s Dupont Circle that feature live music and special events. During a recent visit, both hummed with activity. The B&N concept stores, Carey said, are about strengthening that kind of in-store experience for customers. “It wasn’t just about making it more transactional,” Carey said of the new stores’ designs, but about “making your time in the store more enjoyable.” Among the company’s other initiatives are a plan to take advantage of the booming adult coloring book trend by opening “For the Artist” shops in 200 stores that will provide artist supplies; a wider selection of graphic novels; and an expanded membership program. “It’s about coming and enjoying the space,” Carey says. “That’s really what we’re kind of trying to do here.” For more, visit barnesandnoble.com. Georgette Gouveia contributed reporting to this story.
Come in and shop at Custom Candle Co. for all of your Halloween Decorative Candles, Soaps, & Gifts
Hurry in today and choose from our limited Fall and Halloween Scents such as Pumpkin Pie 25 Depot Plaza, Bedford Hills, NY 10507
www.CustomCandleCo.com 914-218-8357
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Melendez’s mission STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY DANIELLE RENDA
Mark Melendez is a busy man, but especially come October. According to the National Cancer Institute, Connecticut has among the highest incidence of breast cancer in the country. And it is here that he practices plastic and reconstructive surgery and is on the board of Susan G. Komen Southern New England, the local arm of an international breast cancer charity. With offices in Shelton and Fairfield — the latter of which celebrated its one-year anniversary in
September — Melendez performs a spectrum of procedures for the face, hand, body and breast, including the DIEP Flap procedure, which uses a patient’s own tissue, as well as facial rejuvenation like Botox and fillers. “It’s very satisfying to see a patient going through a transformation, whether it’s for cosmetic or reconstructive reasons,” Melendez says. “The reconstructive side is where we’re shaping or providing tissue to a defect, whereas with cosmesis, we’re enhancing someone’s well-being aesthetically, which impacts their state of mind, their self-confidence and their outlook on life.” For the past three years, since finishing his fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Melendez has been particularly interested in — and inspired by — helping men and women with breast cancer. Philanthropically, much of his efforts are focused on improving patient access to quality breast care. “Breast cancer is multifactorial,” Melendez says. “Age is a factor. Family history is a factor. Gene mutation is a factor. But I think that since
the implementation of Obama Care, the Affordable Health Care Act, we’ve seen more patients, the uninsured medical patients, being diagnosed and treated with breast cancer.” And, of equal importance, emphasizing the importance of knowing your options. “The challenge that I’ve seen is that all patients don’t know the options of breast reconstruction,” he says. “I think that, in itself, is a challenge for patients, because patients want to see all of their options and know that there are many ways that we can reconstruct the breast.” For nearly two years, Melendez has been a board member of Susan G. Komen Southern New England, an organization based in Farmington that works to improve access to quality breast cancer care and raise funds for research. The organization has funded more than $889 million in research and more than $1.95 billon in medical care, education and support since its inception in 1982. And every year, during the months of September and October, Melendez donates a percentage of his proceeds from breast reconstruction cases
to the organization. “It’s been equally inspirational and humbling to see the survivors of breast cancer, of both men and women,” he says. “For me, as a practice, we definitely provide a great service to breast cancer patients.” Melendez offers some suggestions to remaining alert for cancer: get a yearly physical, conduct self-breast exams, know your physician, know a plastic surgeon that can provide several options for breast reconstruction and seek second options. But aside from making his mark on breast cancer, he has some additional plans in store. “I have an interest in possibly starting my own organization in Nicaragua, where my cousin has purchased some land and is building homes in a nature preserve that’s close proximity to a hospital,” says Melendez, who has participated in mission trips to Ecuador and Vietnam. “So, I’m hoping to provide a medical preserve in a few years.” For more, visit markmelendezmd.com. For more about Susan G. Komen Southern New England, visit komenct.org.
School of the Holy Child An all-girls, Catholic, independent school for grades 5 through 12
Open House: Saturday, October 1 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Learn how Holy Child students find joy in learning, attain academic excellence and are prepared to attend the nation’s most selective universities, including Columbia University, Georgetown University , Harvard, MIT, and more. www.holychildrye.org | (914) 967-5622 WAGMAG.COM
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Jeorjia Shea models a pair of her cashmere fingerless gloves. 46 WAGMAG.COM
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Quirky cool BY MARY SHUSTACK PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB ROZYCKI
In Peekskill, a city noted for its wealth of artistic talent, Jeorjia Shea manages to stand out.
And that says quite a bit about the artist, designer and entrepreneur. Shea is the personable personality behind Quirkshop, which, as its Division Street sign proclaims, is an artisan boutique and workshop. Walk into the slip of a space for a unique retail experience. Its bleached wood floors and exposed-brick walls serve as the understated backdrop to a mix of one-of-akind work. There are dresses and coats, scarves and hats, bags and jewelry, artwork and organic skin care products. A theme runs through what’s on display — a clear devotion to handcrafted goods, along with a side order of vintage — that ties it all together in a most artful way. Shea, who grew up in Bergen County, N.J., traveled to the West Coast — where she lived for a time in a converted school bus — before eventually returning East and landing in Peekskill. A longtime artist who transitioned into clothing design, she was selling her work at craft fairs, markets and online but wanted something more, which she found in her first brick-and-mortar venture. “I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew I had to do it,” she says of the effort that celebrated its first anniversary in August. That earlier work had led Shea to meet and build relationships with fellow artists, many of whom she called on to join her at Quirkshop. And like Shea, many of the artists at Quirkshop are self-taught creators who use alternative and up-cycled materials to craft one-of-a-kind work. For Shea, it’s always been her way. “I always felt like I had to create,” she says. “I don’t
feel right if I’m not doing something every day.” Having a mother who was really into antiques, Shea says, “There were always interesting, odd things around.” And Shea began to paint on vintage boxes, which eventually bloomed into so much more. At Quirkshop, Shea’s own work is integral to the mix. She began sewing in her early 20s and is now known for her one-of-a-kind repurposed cashmere coats, hoodies, dresses and skirts, along with her ever-popular cashmere fingerless gloves (“You know, hands-free for texting,” she says. “They’re super soft.”). Some designs, which are also crafted in cotton and other natural materials, feature her painting on fabric as well. Using recycled materials keeps the process challenging and the results unique. And Shea relishes the fact that her customers are also those of individual spirit — and taste. “It’s really not very young girls,” she says. Her customers are “past the point where they need to look like everyone else.” There’s little chance of that happening at Quirkshop, where artists are selected for their unique visions. Shea, almost reluctantly, will point to a few key players from among the 50 she features. Her best-selling artists include Jay Girl Designs from Elizabeth Jay. Shea says Jay creates “everything from intricate beaded jewelry to really funky clothes and bags for the artsy mature woman. Kind of Eileen Fisher meets Bjork.” Shea also points to Adrienne Butvinik of Catmaid, who creates hand-dyed organic cotton tops, dresses and scarves. She also credits Mary Helen Davis of Fugitive
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Quirkshop owner Jeorjia Shea repurposed cashmere into new fashions.
Threads, who Shea says “specializes in masterful knitting. She also does up-cycled work, is kind of my right-hand woman and often is the one I turn to when there is a super technical sewing issue.” As she glances around the shop’s selections, Shea notes that supporting local artists is also important. “Pretty much everything is made by someone who’s in New York.” For Shea, days are a busy mix of creative and
more business-oriented duties. One moment she might be working at her industrial sewing machine set right within the store — a workshop space that keeps the creative process in plain view — but the next will have to deal with more mundane business decisions. “That’s the hardest part, running the business and making all the stuff,” she says, but notes she wants to always be changing, exploring and moving forward. Shea says she plans to expand her offerings for men and her online shopping options and also conduct more workshops for those interested in sewing — or creating in general. “My purpose here is definitely to sell things,
Jeorjia Shea, wearing clothing of her own design.
but it’s more than that. I really want to inspire people, make them feel they can always do something… Part of my mission is just to help people create the life they really want, doing what they love is really important.” Quirkshop is at 23 N. Division St. in Peekskill. For more, visit quirkshoppeekskill.com.
Blue Sky Thinking
OPEN HOUSE: NOV 6 • JAN 22 International Baccalaureate • Montessori (early years) | 18 months – Grade 8 | whitbyschool.org/bluesky 48
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The ‘singular vision’ of Bunny Mellon
Botanical wonders
BY MARY SHUSTACK
Cristofaro Munari, attrib. (Italian, 1667– 1720) A quince, an apple, two lemons, and three blue and white cups], ca. 1700 Oil on canvas. Courtesy Oak Spring Garden Library.
The legacy of Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon continues to grow. An American philanthropist best remembered as a significant garden designer and art collector, Mellon assembled an array of botanical artwork along with a library of more than 10,000 volumes on botanical subjects. The collection, housed in the Oak Spring Garden Library that Mellon (1910-2014) founded on her estate in Upperville, Va., not only fueled her professional work but also served to reflect her personal interests in Oak Spring’s greenhouses and gardens. And now, nearly 80 works from the collection — ranging from the 14th through 20th centuries with many never before exhibited publicly — will be spotlighted in “Redouté to Warhol: Bunny Mellon’s Botanical Art.” The showcase, a virtual primer on botanical works of art, opens Oct. 8 at the New York Botanical Garden. It will continue through Feb. 12, 2017 in the Art Gallery of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library on the garden’s Bronx grounds. It is co-curated by Lucia Tongiorgi Tomasi, an expert on herbals and botanical art and author of two publications documenting the Oak Spring Garden Library collection; Susan Fraser, vice president and director of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library at the NYBG; and Tony Willis, librarian of the Oak Spring Garden Library.
Showcasing Mellon was far from a random choice, says Fraser. “Mrs. Mellon was on the New York Botanical Garden’s board in 1967. She was associated with the Garden for quite a while.” And, she adds, the NYBG has an ongoing relationship with both the Oak Spring Garden Library and the Oak Spring Garden Foundation that maintains the library and promotes scholarship and public education in the fields of botany, horticulture and landscape design. The curators, Fraser says, were all more than familiar with the library’s holdings through their work. “She has an amazing collection. It rivals any private library in the world.” And visitors to the NYBG should expect to be not only dazzled but also surprised. After all, Mellon, whose notable efforts included designing the White House Rose Garden during the John F. Kennedy administration, both collected — and displayed her collection — in a distinctive fashion that the exhibition will strive to echo. “We’re really trying to evoke Mrs. Mellon’s style,” Fraser says. “She had this sort of singular vision.” And that vision, Fraser adds, extended to her library and her gardens. “It’s unbelievable,” she says. “I was there four times now. It’s like a little piece of heaven on earth. I don’t even know how to say it. It’s just idyllic.”
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There was, it seems, an adventurous and daring spirit at work. “On the walls she had Dutch still lifes next to giant Mark Rothkos,” Fraser adds. The curators, Fraser says, were invited to shape the NYBG show themselves and so drew inspiration from Mellon’s individual approach. “We really had carte blanche.” That meant discovering and choosing from often-rare masterpieces from noted botanical artists such as 16th-century master Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues and Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–1840) to more modern artists, including Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol. What will surprise people the most? “I think probably the breadth of her collection,” Fraser says, with Mellon's interests reflected in her gathering. “She collected a lot of botanical works from the French courts,” she adds, and was also fascinated with the 17th-century craze for tulips — and tulip-themed art — in Holland. This exhibit is very large in scale for the library, with rare illustrated manuscripts, works on paper, paintings and three-dimensional objects creating what Fraser described as a “dense” examination.
Sophie Grandval-Justice (French, b. 1936) Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), 1990. Oil on canvas. Courtesy Oak Spring Garden Library.
“We had a hard time taking things away,” Fraser says. In fact, there was one instance in which that just wasn’t possible. “She has 17 of the most remarkable works by Jan van Kessel. They’re phenomenal. They’re just phenomenal,” Fraser says. These works by the Dutch artist (1626-79) will be displayed in a manner that pays homage to a cabinet of curiosities. Fraser says that Mellon was part of a small group of devoted collectors, also mentioning women such as Mildred Barnes Bliss and Rachel Hunt, whose efforts secured them a place in botanical history. “I think it’s sort of an era gone by, where people were able to collect and have libraries like that,” Fraser says. And in recognizing the work of a collector such as Mellon, the exhibition seems to encourage contemporary eyes to look at botanical works in a new light — something Mellon was doing all along. As Fraser says, “This sort of breaks boundaries in a sense.” For more on the exhibition, visit nybg.org. For more on Mellon, visit oakspring.org.
THE URSULINE SCHOOL 1354 North Avenue | New Rochelle, New York | 914.636.3950 | www.ursulinenewrochelle.org
Educate Inspire Empower
OPEN HOUSE | Saturday, October 29, 2016 | 12:30pm - 3:30pm 52
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LAKEFRONT ESTATE WITH AMENITIES | $8,695,000 | WEB ID: 0067737 Exceptional Georgian, beautifully renovated. The ultimate home for living & entertaining. Features a sparkling pool with spa, tennis courts & private dock. Shelly Tretter Lynch 203.618.3103 | Steven G. Magnuson
SPECTACULAR BACK-COUNTRY ESTATE | $7,995,000 | WEB ID: 0068093 Private & quiet 4-acre, 12,000sf estate offers 7 en-suite bedrooms plus elegant master suite. Visit 204oldmillroad.com for video tour & info. John Graves | 203.618.3129
SPECTACULAR MID-COUNTRY ESTATE | $6,500,000 | Web ID: 0067912 Like new, approx. 8,100-sq.ft. stone and clapboard Georgian Colonial on a quiet lane 5 minutes from town. Visit 40sawmilllane.com for a video tour of the home. John Graves | 203.618.3129
HAWKWOOD LANE | $4,375,000 | WEB ID: 0067967 On a quiet cul-de-sac in the heart of Mid-Country, this Colonial has a gracious formal living & dining room, paneled library, spectacular family room & a pool. Michele Klosson | 203.618.3131
NEW CONSTRUCTION - RIDGEBROOK RD | $3,975,000 | WEB ID: 0067797 New 5,000 sq. ft. home close to downtown & private schools. Transitional open plan, dramatic 10’-20’ ceilings, great room, 4 bedrooms, & a first floor master wing. Patte Nusbaum | 203.249.0078
RENOVATION OF 1930’S CLASSIC | $3,250,000 | WEB ID: 0068030 Situated on 1.5 acres this fabulous renovation of a classic 1930’s Colonial with 5 fireplaces features an open floor plan while maintaining its pre-war charm. Michele Klosson | 203.618.3131
GREENWICH BROKERAGE | 203.869.4343 One Pickwick Plaza | Greenwich, CT 06830
sothebyshomes.com/greenwich
Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks used with permission. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Dar Williams RETURNS TO ‘MORTAL CITY’ BY GREGG SHAPIRO PHOTOGRAPH BY TOM MOORE
Her 1993 debut album, “The Honesty Room,” was a folkie delight and included the irresistible song “The Babysitter’s Here.” Just a few years later, Williams delivered the near-perfect “Mortal City” (1996), followed by the fantastic “End of Summer” (1997). To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the release of “Mortal City,” Williams is giving a series of concerts in which she performs the album live in its entirety (along with other songs). When WAG caught up with Williams prior to her Oct. 6 gig at The Ridgefield Playhouse, she talked about her singular songwriting voice, women’s — and men’s — individual voices and how solitude refuels her for life on the road:
Something magical happened to Mount Kisco native Dar Williams in the mid-1990s. 54
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From the opening song, “As Cool as I Am,” and its resonant chorus, “I will not be afraid of women,” “Mortal City” sounds like an attempt to put some distance between the Dar of that album and the Dar of “The Honesty Room.” Does that sound like a fair reading? “Yes and no. There was a lot of distance between the Dar of ‘The Honesty Room’ and the Dar of ‘Mortal City,’ so there was no attempt. What happened on ‘As Cool as I Am’ was, you know how
in the ’90s, ‘the personal is political, the political is personal’? A lot of the songs are pretty unmasked. If you listen to ‘As Cool as I Am,’ it’s not all that different from what you were hearing from Ani DiFranco and some of the other indie women artists of the time. It was still in that context, still seen as folk music.” You didn’t (and never really have) abandoned your acoustic folk sensibility, as “Mortal City” songs such as “February,” “The Ocean” and others demonstrate. When the album was released in the mid-1990s, it was an especially creative time in the folk scene for women, including artists such as Ani DiFranco, Jewel and others. Do you think we’ll see another moment like that for folk music any time soon? “They say that everything takes a 30-year cycle. What was nice about the ’90s is that it was an example of music that responded to a desire of the times. It spoke to the social conditions of the times. Women were saying, ‘My voice counts.’ A lot of men were also becoming more attuned and less afraid of women (big laugh). I really lucked out with that
song (‘As Cool as I Am’). Women were showing up with the range of ways of being female in the world and men were showing up with the range of being male in the world. I think the music was speaking to that opening up of whose voice gets heard and how multidimensional that voice can be.”
album is this anthropomorphized landscape (laughs) where the metaphors live in this geography. At this point, I feel like I have roots in a lot of places. I have friends who have put down roots in Seattle and San Francisco and Portland, and I feel very close to them. The only thing I would say is a little different is when I know my parents are in the audience (big laugh). That’s never going to be the same as another concert.
You perform “Mortal City” in its entirety on the 20th-anniversary tour. How do you keep that interesting for you as a performer, night after night? “Oh, there’s no problem there. Just like my career, I’ve sung the same songs night after night in so many ways. It’s always different because every space is different. It’s about engagement. It’s not about the lyrics. It’s the engagement of a show.”
Finally, we began with an anniversary and to end with one, have you started thinking about how you will celebrate your 50th birthday next year? “(Laughs) You know how people say they’re either like a cat or a dog? I feel like a cat. I just want to be alone. Isn’t that weird? It’s a lot to take in. I think ‘Mortal City’ reflects that. There are a lot of people out there who are exactly half extrovert and half introvert, and they love to be extroverts as long as they have enough time to go off and figure it all out (laughs). For my 50th birthday, I just want to make it all make sense and then a couple of weeks later do the blowout with all my friends. For more, visit ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
When you perform in a region where you have roots and history, does it feel different than performing in another city? “Yes and no. This is the thing about doing ‘Mortal City’ now. ‘Mortal City’ was really influenced by geography. (The song) ‘The Ocean’ is the Pacific Northwest and ‘February’ is very much about New England. ‘Mortal City’ is Philadelphia. The whole
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Oriental Gourmet
Sam’s Wine & Liquors
Bennett Jewelers of Old Greenwich
CM Almy
J&S Cleaners & Tailors
Chase Bank
Back 40 Mercantile
RéNapoli Pizza Restaurant
The Village Ewe
Housewarmings
Fred
Feinsod Hardware Co.
Sound Beach Sportswear
Villa East
Sound Beach Sweet Pea’s Baking Company Village Barbers
Rosie’s Frozen Yogurt
Action Art School
The Funhouse
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Something Special
Wheelock Design
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Snip Doggy Dog
Originals Lifestyle
Lily
Old Greenwich Tailors & Cleaners
Higgins Group Real Estate
Kang Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido
Anna Banana
The Haircut Place
If you’re looking for the laid-back yin to Greenwich Avenue’s high-powered yang, you need look no farther than Sound Beach Avenue in Old Greenwich
vibe
BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB ROZYCKI
Nestled between the stately Perrot Memorial Library and the glittering sands of Tod’s Point is a collection of shops that are as unusual as their merchants and clientele. Merchants such as the vibrant Claudette Rothman, whose eponymous clothing store welcomes you with a mannequin in the courtyard garden. This is Rothman’s third Claudette and third year of living in Old Greenwich after some 20 in the backcountry. “I debated going to Greenwich Avenue,” said Rothman, who’s had a long career in fashion and retail since graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. “But it’s hard to be unique there when everything else is a chain store.” Of Sound Beach — which was the name of Old Greenwich in the 19th century — she says, “I like the neighborhood feel, the European feel. You know your customers, their children. You get to know people.” At Claudette (177 Sound Beach), the seasons pass gently, with diaphanous hats picture-perfect for Greenwich Polo and Pucci and Lily Pulitzer-style prints giving way to wools and dark solids. But some things never change, like clothes by Julie Brown, Jude Connally and Barbara Gerwit — all customer faves — and the charming boudoir-style dressing room in which you can try them on at your leisure. Up and down the avenue it is like that, with people walking by as they pace their errands or stop to congregate at the firehouse or on park benches. On one such bench, a black Prada purse sits open — its keys and Louis Vuitton
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wallet exposed — and no one thinks anything of it until a boy comes to collect it for his mother. Strolling along the thoroughfare, you’ll recognize WAG alums. Halfway down Arcadia Road, a major side street, sits Le Fat Poodle, the Gallic-infused bistro that Jeremy Wayne wrote about in March 2015 WAG. Back on Sound Beach, we run into Audrey Aguilar, the warm, can-do owner of Lily (250 Sound Beach), the stylish women’s shoe and accessories store featured in September WAG. At the time, Aguilar told us she always wanted a small-town shop that filled a certain niche. It’s a story you hear again and again from people like Estelle Hall of The Village Ewe: A Needlepoint Studio, an Old Greenwich fixture. “The store has been here over 50 years,” she says as a group needlepoints at a table. “I love to needlepoint, and when it became available, I bought it. I’ve owned it seven years.” While The Village Ewe was marking half a century at 244 Sound Beach, the Caiati family was making a name for itself with Caiati Drexel Heritage furniture in Westchester and Fairfield counties. Though Joe Caiati retired in 2000, he never left furnishings, purchasing Housewarmings, an accessories and gift store, two years later. He and his family ran it for 10
years — on the other side of Sound Beach Avenue. When they moved Housewarmings to its current location (264), they broadened its appeal. “We come from furniture,” Caiati says, “and we’ve introduced a lot of furnishings here, because we saw a need.” Today it’s an exquisite blue and white shop run by Caiati daughters Lauren E. Lufkin, an interior designer, and Jennifer Groves, with the scent of the sea in every giclée of the shore, every gentle Felicity Kostakis canvas of a beach or sailboat, every blue or white Buddha head or Mariposa soy candle. Sound Beach, Caiati says, is “hometown people who are very glad to patronize the hometown shops. They’re very loyal. …They’re happy the merchants are here.” With the array of piquant stores, it’s not surprising. Sharing an address with Housewarmings is the intriguing Back 40 Mercantile, a modern twist on sophisticated sustainability, with clothing, accessories and foodstuffs like Red Bee Honey ( July WAG). (The shop is part of the Back 40 Farm Group that includes the organic, 85-acre Back 40 Farm in Washington, Conn. and two Greenwich restaurants — Back 40 Kitchen and Mill Street Bar & Table.) Across from Back 40 Mercantile is Paper + Stitch
(259 Sound Beach), a small store with a big personality, featuring an array of monogrammed gifts. Other businesses have a more spiritual bent. The Rummage Room (191 Sound Beach) — run by the Women’s Fellowship of the First Congregational Church of Greenwich — has contributed $4 million-plus to local, national and international charities over more than half a century. CM Almy (228 Sound Beach) makes vestments and carries church supplies. In need of sustenance with all this shopping? Though there are several fine offerings, we choose a flavorful, generously portioned grilled chicken salad at Sweet Pea’s Co. (212 Sound Beach) that makes us feel so virtuous, we purchase a morning glory muffin and a cinnamon-sugared roll as well (OK, three cinnamon-sugared rolls). Speaking of sweets, we can’t resist a Coney Island vanilla custard cone from Darlene’s Heavenly Desires (185 Sound Beach), which we enjoy on one of those equally inviting park benches. No wonder everyone on Sound Beach is so happy. Well, maybe not everyone. “I’m reading,” a man says, scrunching his tiny face at us when we approach with our reporter’s notebook. Perhaps he is Diogenes and we are in his light.
236 SOUND BEACH AVE, OLD GREENWICH, CT 06870 MON – SAT: 10 am – 6 pm SUNDAY: 12 pm – 5 pm DESIGNERS Trina Turk Ramy Brook Rebecca Taylor AG Jeans DL 1961 Black Halo And many more...
203-344-9533 ogfred.com
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177 SOUND BEACH AVE. OLD GREENWICH, CT 06870 Customer parking in rear of store
203-990-0600 claudettestyle.com Potis and Verso exclusively at CLAUDETTE
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Mundari man, at a cattle camp near Juba, South Sudan, 2013.
Photograph Š 2016 Marco Grob. All rights reserved.
Face time BY BOB ROZYCKI
“Money People Politics.” How apropos a title for a new photography book in this, the meanest and most absurd presidential election season.
In this latest book (teNeues Publishing Group, $125) by photographer Marco Grob, actors, politicians, musicians, former astronauts, warriors and victims of war all go under the harsh all-telling light that Grob has trained on their faces. A camera never blinks. Its inability to look away lets a camera — and the photographer — capture the wrinkles, the twinkles, the smiles, the tears, the beauty, the deformities, the eyes and those whose eyes disintegrated on a battlefield. The results often lead us to the very souls of people. For Grob’s photographs, it is up to us as observers to take in all that he has captured. The pride (Mike Tyson), the heartbreak (Gold Star Mother and antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan), the religiosity (Harry Belafonte), the vacuousness (Dick Cheney), the silliness (Alice Cooper), the wariness (Condoleezza Rice) and the ecstasy (Yo-Yo Ma.) Grob’s photos are reminiscent of those by George Hurrell, who helped create the glamour look of Hollywood in the 1930s and ’40s with portraits of Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard, Dorothy Lamour and Errol Flynn. Take a look at the shot of George Clooney on page 24 and see if it doesn’t remind you of Hurrell's photo of Lon Chaney Jr. in Wolf Man make-up. Grob’s lighting techniques are also reminiscent of Yousuf Karsh and his portraits of Albert Einstein, Albert Schweitzer, Ernest Hemingway, Jessye Norman and George Bernard Shaw. But while the lighting techniques may be similar, Grob’s photos are much more grittier. But as with everything, there are exceptions. In his photo of Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the color and light take on a chiaroscuro effect, similar to a Vermeer. A surreal effect overtakes his photo of a Mundari man at a
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Hillary Rodham Clinton, politician, former Secretary of State and First Lady, candidate for President of the United States in 2016, at the U.S. State Department, Washington, D.C., 2011. Photograph © 2016 Marco Grob. All rights reserved.
cattle camp near Juba, South Sudan. I think his strengths are his straightforward portraits. The ones where he blurs or double exposes seem gimmicky. The one exception is when he blurs Stephen Hawking, giving motion to a man who hasn’t experienced true unbridled movement in decades.
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In reading the book, I would’ve liked to have found out more about his craft. The only bit of insight comes from the director of photography at Time magazine, whom Grob in the book’s acknowledgments states: “I am grateful to Kira Pollack … for changing my life.” Pollack writes in a section titled “Anatomy of a Portrait Sitting”: “In an age when photographs are ephemeral, when a picture can be shot and shared in seconds, Marco’s signature is a lasting portrait of someone who for better or worse impacted the modern era. When he meets his subjects he plays off them. He harnesses their energy, transforms timidity into confidence and vulnerability into strength. He makes us see them as we hadn’t — couldn’t — before. He prides himself on efficiency and precision to make it happen. “One of the great privileges of working with Marco is watching him on set. He choreographs his team to execute the perfect stage for each photo shoot; everyone has a role and no one is expendable. Organized cases of equipment have been hauled across the country or around the world, unloaded and set up in a hallway or conference room inside an office or a palace, for a shoot that may last all of five minutes and involve three different backdrops. He knows when he
Donald Trump, businessman and TV personality, candidate for President of the United States in 2016, at his office, New York City, 2013. Photograph © 2016 Marco Grob. All rights reserved.
gets the picture.” U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is more succinct. Before his second sitting with Grob on the campaign trail in 2012, he said: “You know why I like you? You are the quickest son of a bitch, ahh — son of a gun I have ever dealt with!” For more, visit teneues.com.
264 Sound Beach Avenue Old Greenwich, CT 06870 (203)637-5106
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Andrea Mitchell, left, and Anne Thompson.
NBC colleagues face challenges together
Work saved them. NBC correspondents Anne Thompson and Andrea Mitchell have been coping for years with breast cancer. Yet despite the debilitating disease, they have maintained grueling schedules and performed at the top of their profession. By work, they don’t just mean employment. They are talking about life — how to engage the world on and off the job and how to put one foot in front of the other and press on. Theirs is a story of a commitment to craft that has informed their struggles, a devotion to friends and family that strengthens everyone and a deep friendship that has sustained them through adversity. “Work saved me,” Thompson says in a recent interview. “It’s that sense of confronting your own mortality that makes everything more precious,” Mitchell says in the same interview. Thompson was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2006, and she was diagnosed with cancer again last year. “30 Rock,” NBC headquarters, “became my cancer-free zone,” she says. “It made me freer to work.” Last year she scheduled treatments and surgery around two major assignments — her coverage of Pope Francis’ visit to the United States and the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. “Honestly, if I didn’t have that to look forward to, I would have lost my mind,” she says. “Work helps tremendously.” Mitchell was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in 2007, shortly before she was to begin cov-
Singular
ering the 2008 presidential campaign. She feared that she would be taken off the coveted assignment, but NBC backed her. “If I had been sidelined,” she says, “it would have been much harder.” “Both are inspirational women,” says Yonni Wattenmaker, executive director of the Breast Cancer Alliance in Greenwich. “They are clear examples of not letting the disease get the better of you.” For a lot of women, Wattenmaker says, having something to do the next day is important, whether it is taking care of children or working at a meaningful job. “There is less time to sit around and think about your illness.” Mitchell joined NBC as a national correspondent in 1978. She has covered foreign affairs, politics, Congress and the White House. She has developed a bit of a specialty, covering Bill and Hillary Clinton from Whitewater to impeachment and through presidential campaigns. (Her coverage of Hillary Clinton’s Benghazi testimony on Capitol Hill prevented her from addressing the Alliance last year. Thompson, a previous keynote speaker, was more than happy to pinch-hit and introduce her friend via video.) While Mitchell is adept at anchoring a weekday political show on MSNBC and appearing as a frequent guest on other programs, her true nature is revealed outside the comforts of a studio. On the road, she is known for tenacious, nuts-and-bolts reporting. Politico described her last year as Hillary’s “rope-line antagonist,” for her relentless attempts to break through stage-managed campaign events and cornering the candidate on questions she has avoided for months. Clinton tacitly acknowledged Mitchell’s pit-dog demeanor during a Sept. 8 stop at Westchester County Airport, not far from New Rochelle, where Mitchell was raised. Mitchell positioned herself on the tarmac so as not to be ignored. “I love you, Andrea,” Clinton laughed. “You are indefatigable. You are my kind of woman.” When the candidate gives up a mere morsel of information, Mitchell taps into her deep knowl-
BY BILL HELTZEL PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN RIZZO
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edge of the Clintons, politics and government to establish context with a pithy summary. Thompson joined NBC as a national correspondent in 1997. She is chief environmental affairs correspondent and has covered presidential campaigns, finance, the Pope beat and the Olympics, sorting through the recent Ryan Lochte scandal. Her work on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill got her on the air more than any other reporter at NBC in 2010. Her reporting on the economic impact of Hurricane Katrina won prestigious journalism honors, including an Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award and an Emmy. “She has covered a lot of stories around the world while dealing with this stupid illness and without betraying any hint of anything slowing her down,” Mitchell says. Thompson applied her journalistic savvy to “attacking cancer like a story,” learning everything she could about the disease, finding the best experts, choosing options. She endured the cancer trifecta — surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. The disease took her long blonde hair, her eyebrows and her eyelashes. “But what it couldn’t take,” she says, “was my desire to report and my desire to live.” More than 800 women a year are diagnosed with breast cancer in Westchester and in Fairfield counties. Connecticut has the third highest incidence of breast cancer nationally, and New York is above the national average. Their mortality rates, however, are lower than the national average, indicating, perhaps, better access to health care or better support services. The Breast Cancer Alliance is doing its part. It has awarded more than $22 million in grants since 1997 for research, breast surgery fellowships, screening programs for underserved populations and education. BCA’s annual October luncheon attracts supporters from throughout the Northeast. Celebrity appearances like those of Thompson and Mitchell are helpful, Wattenmaker says. “It is important to see high-profile women who want to give back to a cause that is clearly personal to them. And they ask for nothing in return. They do it, because they want to do it. It speaks to their humanity and generosity.” Mitchell and Thompson also find purpose outside of work. “We see ourselves as being part of a larger community,” Mitchell says, “whether it is a faith community, our universities or the sisterhood of unwilling participants in the breast cancer community.”
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They serve as trustees for their alma maters, Mitchell at the University of Pennsylvania and Thompson at the University of Notre Dame. They are Type A personalities, yet they are uncharacteristically noncompetitive with one another. During a conference call interview, neither one tried to dominate the conversation. They listened respectfully as the other answered questions and then riffed on each other’s responses as if chatting over coffee. “There is something about being a woman in this profession,” Mitchell says, “and having a woman friend who understands everything that you are going through wordlessly.” “There are times you get tired,” Thompson says, “and it’s good to know she’s there. I can pick up the phone and ask what she thinks about what I’m feeling.” They are mindful of many colleagues at NBC who have helped them, of colleagues battling cancer and of family members who give them strength. Cancer is an enormous test of relationships, Mitchell says. “What would we do without our sisters, Anne?” Mitchell asks. “We’d be lost,” Thompson answers. “I don’t know what I would have done without my husband,” Mitchell says about Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve chairman, who accompanied her to medical appointments. “It deepened our connection. It’s a bond that can never be broken.” “My rock is my sister,” Thompson says, “and my two brothers were extraordinary.” Last summer while she was undergoing chemotherapy, Thompson came downstairs for dinner with her family. Her sister, Mary, burst into tears. “I realized how hard it is for her to watch.” Mitchell and Thompson say cancer has made them more sensitive to people who are challenged, less tolerant of foolishness, more aware of how precious their time is. When Thompson meets someone struggling with a cancer diagnosis she wants to grab them and tell them, “It’s going to be OK. There is a path you can walk.” “Cancer,” she says, “isn’t about dying. “It’s about living.” The Breast Cancer Alliance annual luncheon and fashion show will be held at 11 a.m. Oct. 27 at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich. Tickets range from $350 to $2,000 and tables from $5,000 to $100,000. For more, call 203-861-0014 or visit breastcanceralliance.org/annual-benefit-luncheon-fashion-show/.
“We see ourselves as being part of a larger community, whether it is a faith community, our universities or the sisterhood of unwilling participants in the breast cancer community.” — Andrea Mitchell
67 WAGMAG.COM OCTOBER 2016Thompson. Andrea Mitchell, left, and Anne
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Giving lie to John Donne PHOTOGRAPH BY DEVIN GROODY. COURTESY SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY.
“No man is an island, entire of itself,” the 17th-century poet John Donne wrote. “Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”
Yet on Branford's Thimble Islands, the temptation to give lie to Donne’s sentiment is irresistible. Rugged outcroppings that suggest Maine. Stone paths that evoke Japanese gardens. Gabled pool-houses, potted palms, patio parasols and pastel porches reminiscent of Key West. Turreted Victorians with wraparound porches awash in soft colors. Thimble Islands beckon you to stay forever. The properties on the eight islands that make up the tranquil, protected archipelago have been completely restored, updated and expanded over 20 years by the current owners. Offerings include eight separate residences and multiple guesthouses, outbuildings and amenities. At the heart of the group is storied Rogers Island, 8 acres of bedrock covered in towering specimen trees and plantings, rolling lawns, rocky shoreline and formal gardens. An impeccably restored turn-of-the-century manor house sits on the island’s highest point overlooking three-quarters of a mile of coastline and the Long Island Sound. The 10-bedroom manor is complemented by a state-of-the-art pool complex, tennis courts, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf hole, guesthouses and a commercial-scale greenhouse. The island estate also offers a private cove with two granite piers along with floating docks that can accommodate larger yachts. Each of the other islands has its own unique character and offers an array of homes and cottages with complementing landscaped grounds, accessed by private docks. The islands are also ideally suited for corporate use. There is a separate waterfront property with a historic Victorian manse and guest and staff quarters, along with a private commercial-grade dock and landing service for the islands’ guests and commercial traffic. The Thimble Islands, which list for $78 million, are within five to 10 minutes of shore from either private or town launch, while access by helicopter is just 20 minutes from Manhattan or 10 minutes from Tweed National Airport in New Haven for both commercial and private aviation. For more, contact Shelly Tretter Lynch (WAG’s December 2014 cover subject) at 203550-8508 or 203-618-3103 or email her at Shelly.Tretter@sothebyshomes.com.
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WEAR
collective sole It is a retail department so individual that it is said to have its own zip code. Now Saks Fifth Avenue Greenwich is set to open its own 10022SHOE store Oct. 20 as part of a major expansion and renovation. The 14,000-square-foot space — around the corner from Saks at 20 Elm St. — will feature such new-to-Saks designers as Alaïa, Aquazzura, Balenciaga, Alexandre Birman, Fendi, Givenchy, Nicholas Kirkwood, Stella McCartney, Gianvito Rossi and Dries van Noten. They join Manolo Blahnik, Chanel, Chloé, Jimmy Choo, Céline, Gucci, Christian Louboutin, Prada, Saint Laurent Paris and Valentino. Look for all the fall trends to be on display, with velvet, loafers, ballerina flats, embroidery and embellishment front and center. But 10022-SHOE is just the beginning. The Collective will open in February 2017, reflecting a modern, advanced fashion assortment. The first Saks shop for fine jewelry, The Vault, will open in May 2017. Both will be housed in the same building at 200 Greenwich Ave. with separate entrances. The existing Saks Fifth Avenue women’s designer store, at 205 Greenwich Ave., will undergo a renovation beginning in November 2017. For more, visit saksfifthavenue.com/greenwich. — Georgette Gouveia
Renderings courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue Greenwich.
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ANGELA’S 24 Purchase Street Rye, NY 914.481.5894 www.angelasinrye.com
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WISH LIST PROCLAIM YOUR INDEPENDENCE The fashions and home accessories from Lexington Clothing Co. — the Swedish-based company with a store in Greenwich — seem to always have that clean, crisp and classic sensibility. Its Photo Spirit Sham ($59) adds a decidedly contemporary twist, allowing you to express your individuality with flair. The 100-percent cotton twill sham features embroidered text — ideal for you or any free spirit you know — and a zipper closure at the bottom. For more, visit lexingtoncompany.com. Photograph courtesy Lexington Clothing Co.
GIFTS AND NEW PRODUCTS IDEAL FOR ANY OCCASION COMPILED BY MARY SHUSTACK
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TABLE TALK When WAG turned the spotlight on Ralph Pucci for our September 2015 cover story, we focused on his groundbreaking mannequins and their place in fashion history. We mentioned, though, the furniture and interior-design arm of the company. As he told us, “Everything shown at Pucci is exclusively with me.” And we happily report that now includes a pair of contemporary gems from the Skye Collection by Chris Lehrecke for Ralph Pucci. The Serpentine table, left, ($21,600) features a light cement base and bleached white oak top, while the Spiral table, below, ($19,200) offers an acid-ebonized white oak top over a dark cement base. Which to choose? For more, visit ralphpucci.net or call 212-633-0452. Photographs courtesy Ralph Pucci International.
MAKING HER OWN WAY Stella McCartney, a daughter of Paul McCartney and onetime Scarsdale resident Linda Eastman McCartney, has certainly made a name for herself in the world of fashion. A singular approach – based on an unwavering commitment to humane and eco-minded practices – has brought her worldwide fame. Now, she introduces POP by Stella McCartney. The modern scent ($92 for 3.3 ounces) features tuberose and sandalwood with tomato leaves, violet leaves, plumeria and cedar in all-in-one packaging. (The design forgoes a cap.) Some ingredients have been extracted using bio-mimicry, a process that saves thousands of trees and flowers. Oh, and it smells just lovely. For more, visit sephora.com. Photograph by Bob Rozycki.
COMPACT STYLE, BIG STATEMENT Angela Roi, the handbag company equally noted for its luxury vegan designs as its philanthropic efforts, has introduced its popular Sunday Tote in Mini. This compact version ($165) is made with high-quality, animal-friendly materials handcrafted by artisans. Choose Bordeaux, periwinkle (shown) or black. And as always, through the company’s partnership with The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a portion of sales will be donated, as it says, “to help mistreated animals and to convey that fashion doesn’t depend on cruelty.” For more, visit angelaroi.com. Photograph courtesy Angela Roi. WAGMAG.COM
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‘Fall’ing for Hudson Valley haunts BY DANIELLE RENDA
Historic Hudson Valley commemorates the return of fall with a series of family-friendly events. Photograph courtesy Historic Hudson Valley.
Autumn is always welcomed in the Hudson Valley. Every year, as the landscape turns myriad shades of crimson and gold, the riparian towns stir with activity, celebrating the region’s majestic scenery and unique history, in light of All Hallow’s Eve. The festivities begin with “Horseman’s Hollow” at Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow and “The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze” at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson. Presented by Historic Hudson Valley, a nonprofit dedicated to commemorating the region’s culture, these are among the area’s most popular fall attractions, drawing more than 150,000 visitors last year. The family-friendly “Blaze,” as locals refer to it, features more than 7,000 illuminated, handcarved Jack O’lanterns and pumpkin sculptures that adorn the grounds of the manor. A pumpkin promenade leads patrons to enchanting displays, including 8-foot-tall Jack O’lanterns-in-the-box, life-size dinosaurs, a color-changing star show and an 80-foot-long Pumpkin Zee bridge (think an orange Tappan Zee Bridge), with a sea serpent lurking nearby. “The Blaze” — a kind of Christo experience for kids — continues through Nov. 13 on 32 selected evenings. The cinematic “Horseman’s Hollow,” dubbed the “spookiest” of the organization’s fall attrac-
tions, is an edgy experience that embodies Washington Irving’s classic short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Guests explore the grounds of Philipsburg Manor, which has stepped back in time to reproduce an eerie mid-1700s setting, with creatures — including the story’s Headless Horseman — bursting from the shadows. Irving’s characters are brought to life by a 40-member cast of professional actors in custom makeup and costumes. “Horseman’s Hollow” continues through Oct. 31 on 14 select dates and is recommended for ages 10 and up. Those intrigued by “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” can explore it further in “Irving’s ‘Legend,’” a dramatic reading by storyteller Jonathan Kruk, held in Sleepy Hollows’ circa-1685 Old Dutch Church for 14 evenings through Oct. 31. It’s also recommended for ages 10 and up. Lovers of the outdoors can appreciate the panoramic views, challenging trails and serenity of the Harriman-Bear Mountain State Parks, spanning 52,000 acres, as well as the breathtaking scenery of the 1.28-mile Walkway Over the Hudson between Poughkeepsie and Highland Through Oct. 30, Bear Mountain is hosting its annual Oktoberfest (at Anthony Wayne Recreation Area), an outdoor event featuring live music, ven-
dors and German and American cuisine and beer offered in a traditional German beer stein. Foodies can check out the seasonal produce by visiting local farmers’ markets, including the Bronxville Farmers’ Market, open Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Nov. 19; the Dobbs Ferry Farmers’ Market, open Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., through Nov. 24; and the Peekskill Farmers’ Market, held Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., through Nov. 19. Or, for apple and pumpkin picking, visit Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard in North Salem, Stuart’s Fruit Farm in Granite Springs or Wilkens Fruit & Fir Farm in Yorktown Heights. But if you venture outside of the Hudson Valley, we suggest one hotspot that’s perfect for fans of Halloween, horror movies and director Tim Burton, whose films include a riff on “Sleepy Hollow” with Johnny Depp. Beetle House NYC in the East Village, is a bar and restaurant opened by super fans, featuring comfort food, such as wings, chili, burgers and potpie, and, of course, the most glamorously ghoulish décor. For more about the Historic Hudson Valley events, visit hudsonvalley.org. For more about Oktoberfest, visit nysparks.com. And for more about the Beetle House NYC, visit beetlehousenyc.com.
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WAGMAG.COM
OCTOBER 2016
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WANDERS
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB ROZYCKI
Despite all we’re told, life doesn’t have to be a circle. Sometimes it’s a semicircle.
A mystical night entering Yarmouth’s port.
Once you pass the age of 50 and keep growing, you hesitate about passing 60. You want to hover around that number. Make my age 59-point-95, like an item in a store — you know what its real price is but knocking off a nickel makes it more inviting. Life can stop anywhere, and sometimes even time stands still. We’re all individuals unique unto ourselves, but barring any misfiring of our synapses, we are more than willing to help our fellow inhabitants on this place called Earth. And so it was on a recent trip with millennial family members on board a large, boxy rented Nissan with the appropriate model name of Quest that we headed to Nova Scotia. Locked in a curse-filled, horn-blaring interminable stretch of I-95 in Maine, we made the Portland-to-Yarmouth ferry with just minutes to spare. (We were the last vehicle to board The Cat, a highspeed catamaran that ferries passengers and vehicles to and from Nova Scotia in under six hours.) The passage was relatively quick with views of the great expanse of the Atlantic Ocean and a few seabirds resting on waves. Evening was nearly past as the ferry slowed on entering Yarmouth’s port. Fog floated like candy floss on the fingerlike stretches of land. It was a zen moment. Drop anchor, let’s all breathe in this beauty. Nova Scotia is the way coastal Maine, hell, the East Coast, used to be before the chain hotels, burger joints and high-rise condos began eating up the views. After a night in Yarmouth we were literally in our Quest to do a semicircle of lower Nova Scotia going along its east coast up to (the dichotomous, New World-Old World, hipster-loving provincial capital) Halifax and then down to Digby (The Scallop Capital of the World). One requested stop along the way was to Peggy’s Cove, renown for its white-washed circa 1915 lighthouse set atop massive, ocean kissed boulders and the guiding light to the hard-working lobstermen and fishermen that call the village home.
Visitors come to the cove to take photos of the lighthouse, the colorfully painted wooden homes, eat lobster and walk dangerously close to the unforgiving ocean. Overlooked by most visiting Peggy’s Cove is a memorial about a mile and a half north that stands as testament to an air tragedy and the unselfishness of those who ply the waters of St. Margaret’s Bay. Along Route 333, it’s easy to miss the turn for the site. There’s just a small blue metal sign with white lettering: Swissair Flight 111 Entrance. No one in our car remembered anything about the flight that took off on the night of Sept. 2, 1998, from John F. Kennedy International Airport heading to Geneva, Switzerland. After walking the winding path to the memorial, what we read took our breaths away: “In memory of the 229 men, women and children aboard Swissair Flight 111 who perished off these shores September 2, 1998. They have been joined to the sea and the sky. May they rest in peace.” There are three notches in the granite memorial to represent the flight number. But the notches also can be used as a rangefinder when looking out to sea to pinpoint the location of the crash. It was that night, knowing only that a passenger jet had crashed seven miles away that the men of Peggy’s Cove, as well as their counterparts on the opposite side of the bay in Bayswater, sprung out of bed to their boats to search for survivors. Unknown to these men was the fact that the plane — whose cockpit had filled with smoke due to faulty wiring — had hit the water at 345 mph, causing it to disintegrate. According to news articles at that time, after the fishermen searched for debris and the government took over operations, the residents welcomed the victims families into their homes. An adjoining memorial in the same shape and size honors the men and women: “In grateful recognition of those who worked tirelessly to provide assistance in the recovery operations and comfort to the families and friends during a time of distress.” After going to Halifax and Digby, we never returned to Yarmouth and that moment of zen, but perhaps we reached another level of consciousness thinking of the unselfish acts of those who searched the black sea that fateful night.
WAGMAG.COM
OCTOBER 2016
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WANDERS
Hainan Island China’s controversial tropical resort
BY SEYMOUR TOPPING
This view of Wanning on the southeast coast reflects the Hainan landscape. Photograph by Anna Frodesiak.
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China is developing Hainan Island, its tropical jewel in the South China Sea, into what its officials describe as an international resort to rival Hawaii. At present, the island draws more than 30 million visitors each year, with perhaps 90 percent being Chinese seeking a refuge from the congestion and pollution of the mainland. Hainan is a popular Chinese resort for weddings and honeymooners. So far, the foreign influx is mainly from Russia and neighboring Asian countries. Still, the island has begun to attract more American tourists, who savor the golden surfing beaches and hot springs at luxury hotels set amid the lushness of forest greenery. The island has a large golf complex and a freetrade zone with a large duty-free shopping complex. Plus, the Chinese are developing other facilities to accommodate medical tourism. Getting there is not as hard as you might think. Hainan Airlines offers flights from New York and other U.S. cities to resort centers near Haikou, the capital on the northern coast, and Sanya in the south. The high tourist season is from October to December, with fog rolling in during the winter months. It was during the foggy season in 1950 that I had my own encounter with the island. I was then the sole foreign correspondent on Hainan covering the struggle for control of the island between the Nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Ze-
dong’s Liberation Army. Standing on the flat roof of the French Jesuit Mission in Haikou, I looked out across the narrow Hainan Strait to the mainland coast where Communist troops were massed making ready for an invasion of the island. Overhead, bombers of the Nationalist air force based on the island were whipping low to strike at the Communist
positions. There was no telling when the Communist divisions would cross the strait and swarm into the city. Haikou itself was a dirty, sprawling home to 250,000 people, most of whom lived in old buildings made of mud and white plaster. Factories built by the Japanese during their occupation in World War II stood abandoned. Touring the city, I visited Catholic and Presbyterian missionaries. They administered a leprosarium where about 175 lepers lived. There were about 3,000 lepers on the island, evidently discarded by the mainland. I flew out of Haikou on one of American military aviator Claire Chennault’s CAT (Civil Air Transport) airliners before the Communists overran the island in April. They stormed ashore from motorized junks at various parts of the island, operating in tandem with their guerrillas, who had for some time been in control of the isle’s green, mountainous spine. The Hainan invasion was the last major battle of the civil war, leaving only Taiwan under Nationalist control. While Chinese officials put public emphasis on their current impressive transformation of Hainan Island, they make little reference to the fact that the island is a key military base and strategically vital in China’s struggle with the United States for influence in East Asia. A nuclear submarine base is on the island with its naval harbor large enough to accommodate aircraft carriers. Beijing has denied reports of the existence of cyber war and intelligence apparatus there as well to hack targets in the United States and elsewhere. Hainan lies north of the island groups and waterways in the South China Sea whose sovereignty is in dispute between China and five neighboring nations. To reinforce its claims, China has put in place military structures on some of the adjacent rock formations jutting up from the sea and conducted air force maneuvers overhead. To defend the United States commitment to freedom of navigation through the vital waterways bordering the disputed lands, the Obama administration has sent warships close to the disputed lands. China’s aggressive persistence in its South China Sea claims, which risks conflict with the United States, is motivated to a large extent by its determination to control access and exploit the rich resources of the South China Sea. The Chinese press reported on Aug. 9 that China intends to open a laboratory in Hainan Province, of which the island is part, in November that will focus on the use of the marine resources of the South China Sea. Beijing deems those resources essential to the future development of its economy. It sees no conflict with its serene aspirations for the Hainan tourist industry.
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WANDERS
The Stockholm Syndrome
in a good way BY JEREMY WAYNE
The Royal Palace, Stockholm 80 WAGMAG.COM OCTOBER 2016
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Värmdõ, Värddõ and Västan are lined up on the quay, bang outside my window. Not brawny Swedish youths as you might think or hope, but sleek, white ferries, waiting to take passengers to the islands.
There are a staggering 24,000 islets in the Stockholm archipelago, although only a thousand or so are inhabited. From the moment we fly in, almost skimming forests of fir and pine, I find this handsome northern city to be delightfully easy on the eye. It's also a one-off. The chain stores that can make other European high streets seem depressingly familiar have bypassed Stockholm. Civic buildings thrust upward with pride. Turrets, domes and spires punctuate the skyline, and everywhere you turn there's water. Across from the Grand Hôtel, where everyone who's anyone has stayed, the Royal Palace beckons. I cross the Strömbron — Stockholm's unloveliest bridge — and climb the hill. St Peter's in miniature, Stockholmers call the crescented court in front of the palace. The royal family no longer lives there, but it is where the king works — driving himself every day in true, democratic style. The Old Town, Gamla Stan, starts here. It's a tangle of cobbled streets and gabled roofs, dating from the 13th century, untouched by war or even mild, civil dissent. Sure, there are shops selling the usual tourist tat. But there are also stores with cutting-edge Swedish design. And then there are the coffeehouses, with their cramped seats and steamy windows, sending out their siren call. Tonight we dine at The Veranda in the Grand Hôtel and very grand it is, too, with its traditional smorgasbord of soup, herrings, warm potatoes, gravlax and other fish, followed by salads, cold meats, meatballs, beef and chicken, all washed down with Aquavit and beer. You don't go far in Stockholm without Aquavit and smorgasbord cropping up. Or the name "Nobel.” The old Stock Exchange in Gamla Stan is now the home of the Nobel Museum, one of nearly 100 museums in the city. But the annual prize-giving ceremony is held across the water at City Hall. Built between 1911 and 1923 in the National Romantic style, City Hall, of all Stockholm's must-sees, comes top of the list. Its first-floor Golden Hall is decorated with around 17 pounds of gold leaf and 18 million pieces of mosaic. Lunchtime rolls around and sightseeing has made me hungry. At Östermalms Saluhall, the beautiful, 19th-century, wood-built market, my eyes are out on stalks, taking in the reindeer fillets, elk sausage and 20 kinds of herring. The hot-ticket Saturday lunch reservation however is at Lisa Elmqvist's gingham tableclothed
restaurant, where at midday people are already tucking into vast platters of turbot, speckled plaice, halibut and Arctic char. But I stupidly haven't booked and, damn, they've no room for me. So I head instead to the Djurgården, Stockholm's pleasure garden island, where fingers of sea dip between scalloped bays. At Rosendals Trädgård, a commercial organic garden and plant nursery, you collect your food — pingingly fresh egg-and-anchovy sandwiches, or oversized salads of flageolet beans and new-season girolles — in one of the greenhouses, and eat it at wooden tables dotted around the nursery, or sur l'herbe, under the trees. Instead of cabbing it back to town, I catch a ferry. Ten minutes from the Djurgården and I'm on the Strandvägen, built in 19th-century French style, where restored three-bedroom apartments go for $2 million or more. I'm keen to check out the Svenskt Tenn design store. Established in the 1920s by Estrid Ericson, this Swedish household name was for years thought to be too old-hat and bourgeois to be interesting, but now, suddenly, Svenskt Tenn is very in again. I love the psychedelic fabrics and wallpapers and I'm crazy for the furniture — but you can't fit a sideboard in a weekend tote. On Saturday night, I head out of town. About 40 minutes by taxi, followed by a five-minute ferry ride across the water at sunset, brings us to Marcus Ek's restaurant, located in the quarry master's house on the tiny island of Oaxen. The style is clapboard New England and Swedish Modern rolled into one. Ek is now one of Europe's hottest chefs, with vast numbers of gastro-pilgrims making the complicated journey out to Oaxen. Whether or not you rate his food, you will never forget his ineffably romantic, waterside restaurant. On Sunday, someone suggests a RIB boat ride. RIB stands for rigid inflatable boat — so far so good — except that you straddle the seats like Jet Skis. Then these beasts fly across the water at 50 mph. Yes, you get to see quite a bit of the archipelago in a short space of time, but at a high cost to your inner peace — and your spine. Next time I'll cruise the archipelago by sailboat, or maybe under steam, which is easily done, now that many of the old steamboats that used to ply their passage through the islands have been reclaimed and restored. And there will be a next time. I'm utterly smitten with Stockholm — and the smiling Stockolmers. They're as gracious as they are fair of face.
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Divine hospitality at the Shangri-La BY DEBBI K. KICKHAM
The pool at The Shangri-La Hotel Paris. Photographs courtesy 82 WAGMAG.COM OCTOBER The Shangri-La Hotel Paris.
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If you and your family have ever dreamed of enjoying the ultimate Paris hotel – even if only for one night – you must, must, must consider the Shangri-La Hotel Paris. The former residence of Prince Roland Bonaparte (the grand-nephew of Napoleon) the palatial property features a Louis XIV façade and an interior resembling Versailles. It’s nestled in the refined, residential 16th arrondissement, just a short walk from the famed Champs-Élysées and a wealth of museums. The hotel will enchant you with its we-will-wow-you world of marble (and more marble), silk, crystal, Murano glass, gold accents, oil portraits in gilded frames and bouquets of fresh flowers. Ooo la la! With such gorgeousness everywhere, it’s no surprise that at least three times a week, sophisticated boyfriends bring their girlfriends to the hotel for the singlehanded purpose of proposing marriage in such a magical and magnificent setting — typically with a rose-petal turndown service and special heart-shaped pastries. My 98-year-old mom, my sister Chris and myself were happily ensconced — in a glorious suite here, with outdoor terrace — where you could practically reach out and touch the Eiffel Tower. Fully equipped with every modern luxury known to man — including a TV screen inset into the bathroom mirror, a desk filled with business necessities and (thankfully) a European converter and the hotel’s signature Bulgari White Tea ame-
nities — The Shangri-La Paris is the type of place syrup would have been superfluous. that will fulfill your headiest dreams of traveling The hotel also features a gourmet wellness first-class. Or better yet, like a millionaire. breakfast called B-Green, following the sucThe Shangri-La ensures a flawless stay, based cess of its “100-percent green dinners” and on its core Asian principles of humility, respect, the “100-percent vegan afternoon tea” that it courteousness, generosity and sincerity. launched in mid-2015. This delicious specialty The architectural treasure — which dates from breakfast (68 Euros or $77) is without gluten or 1896 and is a registered historic monument — now lactose. It starts with cold-pressed green juice offers 101 rooms, including 36 suites. One of the of cucumber, green apples, lemon and peppergrandest, the Chaillot (10,000 Euros per night or mint, followed by organic chestnut, quinoa or approximately $11,250) resembles a posh apartbuckwheat crispbread. Other goodies include ment more than a hotel room. Then there’s the superfood jams (such as black bean with carob), Suite Shangri-La on the seventh floor, featuring a buckwheat muesli with macadamia nuts and an huge balcony with stunning views from bohemiavocado and crispy vegetable carpaccio. an Montmartre to historic Trocadéro. And if its health you’re after, let yourself be There are many factors in The Shangri-La Paris’ inspired by the hotel’s magnificent Chi, The claim to fame, but in my humble opinion, it’s the Spa, which recently partnered with The Organunbelievable 58-Euro ($65) breakfast that always ic Pharmacy, a well-being brand from England. leaves my jaw dropping with awe and delight. The spa is an oasis of relaxation and harmony in First, you’re seated in La Bauhinia, so named the heart of Paris, with a refined ambiance that is for the iconic flower that graces the Hong Kong flag. (Part of the orchid family, the five-petal flower is also a reference to Prince Roland Bonaparte’s passion for botany as illustrated by his herbarium, the world’s largest, which included more than 2.5 million specimens. ) A stunningly beautiful restaurant, La Bauhinia features an Eiffel-inspired steel-andglass cupola that lets in natural light. The Grand Salon at The Shangri-La Hotel Paris. All the better to see and savor breakfast. It starts with an amuse bouche. (When was the last a combination of subtle Asian calm and French time you had one of those for breakfast?) Ours elegance. The 49-foot-long pool is a haven of was a bircher muesli made with cream and feahealth and bathed in natural light. turing a berry topping. In a word, scrumptious. It still amazes me that as much as this hotel I ordered dry-scrambled eggs (no oil or butis impressive, it’s just as unpretentious. The staffter, as I was saving my calories for a chocolate ers are more than friendly and professional and croissant). Our menu also included a basket of always eager to please and meet every request. pastries and fresh-made ginger-and-carrot juice. (Their smiles are as big as France itself.) I can’t All were divine. What really takes the cake is the wait to return to such an opulent atmosphere, “crown” of berries — I never before in my life have and I’m not the only one. Upon leaving the hotel, seen strawberries, raspberries and blueberries my mother remarked to me, “Next time we’re in sculpted in such a special manner. The Ciflorette Paris, we’re not staying anywhere else.” strawberries were like eating perfume. Maitre’ For more, visit shangri-la.com/paris/shangrila./ d Julian also recommended that we try the pain Debbi K. Kickham is author of the travel bestperdu, French toast, and it was amazing. Light, seller, “The Globetrotter’s Get-Gorgeous Guide,” fluffy, delicious, this mix of mere milk, egg, butand is former editor of Robb Report Magazine. ter and stale bread was so yummy to add maple For more, visit GorgeousGlobetrotter.com.
WAGMAG.COM
OCTOBER 2016
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cruisin IN STyle
Navigate safely through the region with one of the season’s top cars. WAG provides a select list of autos noted for their excellence in technology, comfort, safety and security, performance, design, convenience, style and price.
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WAG 2016 TOP PICKS
AUDI Q5
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©2016 Porsche Cars North America, Inc. Porsche recommends seat belt usage and observance of all traffic laws at all times.
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ACURA OF WESTCHESTER
• MSRP: $50,380 • Nine-speed automatic transition, 19.5 gallon fuel tank, gas-pressurized shock absorbers and automatic, full-time all-wheel drive • Vehicle Stability Assist Electronic Stability Control (ESC), lane keeping assist, lane departure warning and blind spot sensor • Seven-person seating capacity with Acrulink real-time traffic display
BMW DARIEN
• MSRP: $62,295 • Speed-sensitive wipers and steering and speed control option • Power front seats, door mirrors, moonroof, steering and windows • Occupant-sensing airbag, automatic temperature control, four-wheel disc brakes
DANBURY PORSCHE
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MSRP: $69,205 Lane departure warning and tire pressure monitoring system Four 12-volt outlets, heated side mirrors, front wiper system with rain sensor Anti-locking brake system, electronic parking brake and multi-collision brake
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OCTOBER 2016
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MSRP: $22,595 26 MPG city, 32 MPH highway Blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, reverse automatic breaking Heated steering wheel, memory seating and sport-tuned suspension
WONDERFUL DINING
Veggin’ out
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEESIA FORNI
With large, street-side windows and a chic-yetcasual decor, Rosemary and Vine exudes an inviting, approachable air from the moment you walk in the door. 92
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The freshly fried falafel is served with hummus and a Lebanese pita.
Serving vegetarian fare inspired by dishes from across the Mediterranean, the restaurant is the product of Lebanese owners Berj Yeretzian and Tania Rahal. The vegetarian couple opened their Rye restaurant with the hope of delivering delicious, meatless meals that don’t skimp on flavor. My guest and I head to an early Thursday evening dinner and choose a seat by the window, giving us a view of the quaint shops that line bustling Purchase Street. I begin with a glass of green apple iced tea, while my guest selects a steaming cup of coffee sourced from Tarrytown-based
Coffee Labs Roasters, a small-batch independent roaster. While serving us our selections, Rahal tells us that aside from a few drinks and the pasta noodles, which we sample later, nearly everything served at Rosemary and Vine is created in house, even the ketchup. We begin our meal with a bowl of gazpacho blanco, a pureed mixture of cucumbers, grapes, garlic and almonds served chilled that is a perfect summer dish. The refreshing soup is garnished with creamy labneh, a Lebanese cream cheese, and fresh mint for just the right amount of
The Ella flatbread plate, topped with ricotta, baby arugula, Parmesan and toasted pine nuts.
sweetness. We also select a bowl of homemade hummus, a family recipe,that provides a perfect kick for the crispy pita. An avocado crostini features avocado, feta and a delicious Moroccan pesto called charmoula all atop a grilled slice of campagna bread that is sprinkled with peas and mint. Though many of the dishes incorporate similar ingredients, nothing feels repetitive. Each is able to transform those same ingredients into something new and unexpected, while still giving a sense of continuity to our entire meal. The restaurant, which recently switched its model from counter- to table-service, will also change its menu seasonally. Letting Rahal take the reins and select our flatbread plate, we are served the Ella. The crisp crust is slathered with creamy ricotta cheese, which provides a perfect balance to the topping of baby arugula. The dish is also garnished with caramel-
An array of appetizers includes gazpacho blanco, hummus, pita and an avocado crustini.
ized onions, Parmesan and toasted pine nuts. While Rosemary and Vine is a vegetarian restaurant, Yeretzian and Rahal don’t brand it as such for a reason. Rather, Rahal says the eatery is “vegetarian food for omnivores,” a sentiment with which I wholeheartedly agree. My guest and I remarked multiple times during the meal that neither of us felt like any dish was lacking an added source of animal protein. We’re then served a chilled lentil salad that is topped with an assortment of vegetables, from carrots to zucchini, sprinkled with sunflower seeds and drizzled in a house-made apple cider vinegar. “I’m a fan of flavor,” Rahal says. “I like to chew my food and feel it and smell it and touch it.” When discussing the food she serves, you can feel Rahal’s passion for the cuisine, a passion she shared with consulting chef Erica Wides when designing Rosemary and Vine’s menu. That passion seems to resonate in the food itself as every dish we sample is a welcomed wake-up call to our taste buds. For our entrées, we select a plate of truffled summer garden fettuccini, a true standout for me. The thick strands of fresh pasta are paired with grilled asparagus, corn, sliced radicchio and pine nuts, tossed in a scrumptious truffle butter and garnished with Parmesan and basil. When we’re presented with the falafel, a recipe passed down from Rahal’s mother and one of the restaurant’s most popular options, we’re treated with a lesson on how to construct the perfect pita-wrapped dish. Rahal instructs us to stuff the fresh Lebanese pita with the fried fritters – made of dried chickpeas, fava beans and cilantro — throw in some turnip pickles, tomatoes and cucumbers and drizzle on the tahini. If there’s still tahini left in your dish when you’ve finished your falafel, Rahal says, you’ve done something wrong. “You need to use all of it,” she exclaims. For dessert, we select a creamy almondo-arborio rice pudding that combines almond milk, bourbon vanilla beans and cinnamon. A second dessert, a chocolate banana filo, is rich and smooth, with subtle hints of pistachio and maple mixing well with the dark Valrhona chocolate. Though we have both eaten our fill, neither my guest nor I feel as though we overindulged. Rosemary and Vine offers feel-good food that actually makes you feel good. For more, visit rosemaryandvine.com.
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WINE & DINE
Sake to me STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY DOUG PAULDING
Toshio Ueno, master sake sommelier and educator, at a sake presentation in Manhattan recently.
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I’ve never felt the effects of sake because, quite honestly, I have never finished the small porcelain cup it was offered in and I’ve never requested another. I only tried it as a house pour usually served warm in Japanese restaurants and, in retrospect, I now realize it was a poorly made sake. I recently had the great honor and pleasure of participating in a premium sake master class and tasting, hosted by Toshio Ueno, a master sake sommelier and vice president of the Sake School of America. Although the production of sake goes back thousands of years, premium sake is a relatively new concept, taking hold in just the last 50 years or so. I had always thought of sake as a rice wine, but Ueno was adamant that it isn’t a wine. Indeed, even the sake production houses are known as breweries. Sake is relatively easy to make. Certain rice is grown specifically for sake production and not for food. This sake rice has higher starch concentration, less protein and fewer lipids (fats and fat-like material), making it far less nutritious and less tasty for human consumption. The rice is then milled or polished until the tougher and bitter outer parts are ground away, leaving the shinpaku, or the “white heart.” Many bottles of premium sake will tell you the percentage to which each grain of rice is polished. The higher the seimaibuai, or polishing number ratio, the smaller the resultant white heart and the purer the sake. Look for numbers approaching or exceeding 50 percent. The temperatures of the mash will be tweaked both up and down throughout the fermentation process to keep the fungi, the yeasts and the transformation in sync. Wine is made by encouraging the sugars in the fruit with the presence of yeast to become ethanol, or consumable alcohol. Simply add yeast to soaked sake rice
and nothing will happen. This rice is loaded with starch that has almost no sugar. Koji, a fungus unique to Japan, has to be added to the rice mash first to convert the starch to sugar. Those sugars, now introduced to yeast, are then converted to alcohol. The flavor profile of premium sakes can be all over the sweetness/dryness continuum. Many premium sakes today have a sweetness scale on the back of the bottle, making choosing a style much easier. Usually, the bottles representing a wine production area are similar by local law or by habit. Bordeaux uses a shouldered bottle for trapping sediment. Burgundy employs a graceful and sloping neck. Alsatian wines are delivered in tall and narrow flute bottles. But sake bottles come in various shapes and many colors — brown, green, light blue, dark blue and pink. Some come in clear and translucent colors. Some bottles are frosted. Some are tall; some squat. Some come in baskets similar to certain Chiantis. So how do you choose? Premium sakes are quite affordable, most retailing in the $15 to $35 range. Look for highly milled sakes and find your sweetness/dryness comfort zone. Then find your alcohol zone, because sakes can have the highest alcohol content of any solely fermented product. Wine alcohol percentage is usually between 10 and 15.5 percent. Sakes can be anywhere between 5 and 20 percent. Many of the higher alcohol sakes are diluted toward the end of the process but some come in full strength. Our first taste of sake was educational for me, very unlike any white wines I’ve had recently. Sauvignon blanc, Vermentino, Albariño and even Grüner Veltliner are big citrus fruit bombs by comparison. The lemony notes of these wines will reach out and grab you. No mistaking it. But sakes are subtle and soft with fresh and clean apple, pear, melon or citrus flavors, sometimes with a hint of finely ground white pepper or other soft spice for structure. And they are very food friendly, taking you way beyond Japanese cuisine. Sakes will pair with any type of seafood, lightly dressed pasta dishes, raw bar selections or vegetable platters. Ceviche would be a perfect pairing. None of the sakes we tasted come with any vintage date on the label. Sake is meant for drinking fresh and young, with only a few producers experimenting with aging them in the bottle. So make sure you purchase from a purveyor with some stock. A small retailer might have the bottle on the shelf for years. Pick up some sake and retrain and retune your palate. There is a place in everyone’s wine cellar and at many wine dinners for a variety of sakes. Just don’t call them wine. Write me at doug@dougpaulding.com.
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Voted!
TAVERN
One of New York States Top 15
Best Hole In The Wall “ Restaurants That Will Blow Your Taste Buds Away
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Lea Monroe-onlyinyourstate.com
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| SEAFOOD & RAW BAR
Stop in and experience the charm of this historic eatery, a neighborhood favorite since the Roaring ‘20s! Enjoy our cozy tavern where it’s always lively and cheerful or relax on our patio overlooking our horseshoe and bocce ball courts. Live music on Saturdays and some Fridays On Sundays, enjoy outdoor live music from 4 to 8:30 Happy Hour Daily from 4-6 and again from 9-11 on Thurs, Fri and Saturday nights.
105 Somerstown Turnpike, Katonah, NY (Corner of Rt. 100 and Rt. 35) www.muscoottavern.com 914 • 232 • 2800
'Angel' Chicken Soup BY JACQUELINE RUBY PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB ROZYCKI
I have been in the real estate business for more than 20 years. I meet all kinds of people. My client Dawn was selling her home and downsizing to a co-op. Her mom was gravely ill and could not really eat anything. I told Dawn I would make her my famous chicken soup. I sent over a large pot of soup and her mom loved it. As a matter of fact, I made it for the last six weeks of her life. Dawn was so thankful that her mom could eat something that she named my soup “Angel soup.” I always prepare soup for anyone who is ill. Chicken Soup definitely heals the soul. Try this recipe and “pay it forward” to anyone you know who is sick. It will make a world of difference.
Ingredients:
DIRECTIONS:
• • • • • • • • • •
• Heat oil in pot and sauté onion, fennel and celery, cooking until translucent. • Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place skin side down in pot, browning 3 to 4 minutes. • Add carrots, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper, lemon juice, water and chicken broth and cover with a lid. • Simmer 1 to 1 and ½ hours. When the chicken falls of the bone, it is done. Let the soup cool. • Take out the chicken and shred it into small pieces. Put the chicken back into the pot and add parsley and rice or noodles.
• • • • •
2 chicken breasts and 2 thighs ½ cup diced onion ½ cup diced fennel ¾ cup diced carrots ¼ cup diced celery 1 clove garlic ¼ cup chopped parsley ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese ¼ teaspoon fresh lemon juice 3 cups water 6 cups chicken broth 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup cooked rice or noodles
For more, contact the Saucy Realtor at jacquelineruby@hotmail.com. Tableware courtesy Casafina.
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Option: You can add cooked chicken meatballs the last 20 minutes and simmer.
2 Dingle Ridge Rd, North Salem, NY 10560 914.669.0121 http://www.121restaurant.com Private Functions Communal Tables, Ridge Room (up to 48 people) and Main Dining Room (up to 50 People). Hunt Breakfasts, Private Dinner Parties, Brunches, Holiday Events and group get togethers
WEAR
remembering Jackie BY BRIAN TOOHEY
Jacqueline Kennedy after State Dinner, 22 May 1962 White House, Cross Hall
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When I learned that the October issue would be about the individual and the editor suggested perhaps I could share my memories of seeing Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis at the Kenneth Salon, I realized it could open something interesting. The idea that it ultimately inspired came as a complete surprise, which is often the case. The Kenneth Salon was a five-story townhouse on 54th Street and Madison Avenue. Jackie was a frequent guest. The salon had an atmosphere of serenity and elegance. A warm light flowed from the carefully thought out spaces into a large open reception area. There was a formal staircase and I would often stand at the top, in rapt attention as I watched Jackie ascend the stairs. She moved with a quiet certainty in her signature oversized sunglasses, scarf and jeans, while her thoughts were held close to her heart. Jackie had an indelible impact on American style. Originally, all of her clothes were of French design. After entering the political scene, she had them created by American designer Oleg Cassini. But Jackie was her own muse and a consummate stylist. The whole world waited to see what she was wearing and all the stores hurried to have her look recreated. Yet despite all the adulation she received, she never made a fuss about herself. I noticed that when I saw her in the salon, there was an aura of authenticity. I felt she wanted you to feel equal, as I know she believed we all are. Kenneth would often remind us that he thought of himself as a servant — and yes we were, in the best possible sense. We were in the service of creating style that would have a great effect on the total image of our clients. Jackie’s hairstyle changed many times yet seamlessly from short to long, from bouffant to a casual mid-length bob. It’s interesting that today’s hairstyle is all about the individual. The only look that matters is the one that works for you. Go ahead, be your own muse, just as Jackie was. Stylists today have the benefit of advances made in technology. These advances build on the experience of the past. Then, the Kenneth Salon was the ultimate in fashion and service. I can say with all sincerity that where I find myself today — at Warren Tricomi, the tradition of service and careful thought for the client in an elegant
environment still exists. I knew Jackie believed an appreciation of the past must be present to ensure a better future. It was with that understanding — and a firm sense of loyalty — that she worked tirelessly with the Municipal Art Society to save Grand Central Terminal from being torn down in order to erect a high-rise building. In 1978, she took her fight all the way to the Supreme Court. Thus Grand Central became a designated landmark building. Its renovation is truly a work of art and one of the great public spaces in the world. And all that happened because of the heart of Jackie O. When she died in 1994 — too soon — people stood in long lines in the terminal to write in a condolence book. Today Grand Central’s main entry is known as the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Foyer, marked by a plaque bearing her image and an inscription. It is a love story I share. You see, my dad was a conductor for the New York Central Railroad and an immigrant from Ireland. I remember him carrying me in his arms as we walked through that wonderful old building and whispering of all the nooks and crannies and passageways hidden behind its walls. I still spend a fair amount of time in Grand Central and I always appreciate its majesty and splendor. The pineapple-shaped chandeliers — whose exposed bulbs proclaimed the early 20th century’s newfangled electricity — cast a radiance along with the light that still streams from the tall arched windows. I love the solid, old information booth, which is a meeting place for many. Recently, I had the beautiful experience of seeing a large group from Germany gather there as they formed a circle and spontaneously burst into a chorus of Mendelssohn’s 100th Psalm. Their voices, soft and sweet, echoed through the great hall and filled the space with a joyful energy. I found a quiet perch on one of the stairways to sit and observe the commuters to put the finishing touches on this piece. There were people from every ethnicity, every race, every station in life, yet a curious sense of equality, an energy permeated the room. My attention was suddenly drawn to a family from South America standing on the other side of the brass-railed staircase. Suddenly, their 3-year old son slipped under the rail and came to me with his hand outstretched. As our hands touched, he smiled as I looked into his eyes. It felt like it was an affirmation of all my thoughts at that moment. I now wonder if perhaps this was a nod and a smile from my dad and maybe even Jackie O. Visit Brian at Warren Tricomi Salon, 1 E. Putnam Ave., Greenwich. To book an appointment with him, call 212-262-8899.
55 LEWIS STREET, GREENWICH, CT. 06830 | 203.629.2500 www.Michaelslimo.com / info@michaelslimo.com
WELL
Choosing a fitness program that is right for you BY KEVIN PLANCHER, MD
Millions of people are hurt every year on the playing field and in the gym. In our orthopedic practice, we see people at every age and skill level, from top-flight professionals to dedicated weekend warriors to rank beginners. They have acute injuries resulting from sudden trauma — fractures, sprains, strains — and chronic overuse injuries to bones, tendons and joints that develop over time from repetitive micro-trauma. We treat shoulders, knees, wrists, ankles and more with conservative therapies like rest, ice, anti-inflammatory pain relief and physical therapy and with more direct intervention, including surgery and rehab. We send our patients back to the playing field, the court, and the gym with instructions to start slowly and to train diligently to avoid re-injury. And we — and they — hope for the best. But many of these athletes will be re-injured. Maybe they’ll go at their chosen sport too fast or too hard or maybe they now have a weakness that increases their risk of further injury. Maybe they should consider a different activity. Or maybe they should have chosen a different sport or fitness program in the first place — one that’s better suited to their bodies. What’s right for you? Your best friend swears by kick-boxing. Your local gym just started offering yoga-spinning. Your college buddies play basketball every Saturday. Water aerobics at the Y sounds appealing. Cycling? Tennis? Bodybuilding? What’s best for building endurance? Strength? Flexibility? Maybe you should just get out there and jog around the neighborhood. Navigating the fitness landscape can be overwhelming. The best program is the one that works for you. What fits your body type, fitness level, personality, schedule? What will keep you healthy and injury-free? Most important, what will you love and stick with? Let’s start with your goals. Not how many pounds you want to lose or how many pounds you want to bench press but more basic goals. I suggest just two: You want your fitness program to make you happy and healthy. You want to enjoy what you’re doing and look forward to it, not view it as penance for last night’s dessert, not count the minutes or the miles until it’s over. And you want to feel good during and after your workout. Tired is OK; pain isn’t. Over time, you want to feel stronger, stand straighter, run for the bus more easily, lower your blood pressure, buy clothes in a smaller size... Where to begin? Assess yourself honestly and realistically. Ask yourself these questions:
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Are you new to exercising? If you’ve never exercised actively or if it’s been years since you did more than chase the dog around the yard, don’t start with an ambitious program. Look for a basic fitness class at a local gym or community center. If you prefer privacy, you can find beginning workout videos online or at the library. Or get moving with low-impact activities like walking, hiking, swimming, beginning yoga and tai chi. Are you ready to challenge yourself? If you’re a veteran exerciser, know your body and its limits well and welcome competition, you might think about triathlon training or a high-intensity strength and conditioning program that incorporates multiple disciplines. Beware overdoing it and injuring yourself, however. Do you like company? Many people do their best work as part of a group. The relationships that develop and the mutual encouragement that results make team sports like softball and volleyball appealing. You can look also for clubs that support running, cycling and rowing. Do you want to lose weight? Exercise on its own is not an effective weightloss strategy. But along with a reduced-calorie diet, exercise can help you achieve the caloric deficit you need to drop pounds. Your best bet to burn a lot of calories is high-intensity exercise like running, spinning or power lifting. Do you hate the gym? Can you exercise outdoors for at least part of the year? You don’t need a gym to walk, run, jog, hike, cycle or row. Whatever your choice of fitness program, remember to listen to your body. Don’t do too much. Don’t ignore pain. If you have a previous knee injury, avoid the soccer field until you have recovered. If you’re coming off a shoulder injury, ease back on your tennis serve. If you’re getting over the flu, run fewer miles. Make exercise part of your life in a way that works for you — in a way that makes you happy and keeps you healthy. And if you do get injured, seek professional help so that you get back safely and quickly to resume the exercise and fitness program you love. Kevin D. Plancher, MD, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and the founder of Plancher Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, a general orthopaedics and sports medicine practice with offices in Greenwich and New York City. For more, visit plancherortho.com.
WELL
courage and hope BY GIOVANNI ROSELLI
As someone who immerses himself in the health, wellness and fitness industry every waking moment, I come across many different types of individuals with fascinating stories. For this month, I want to share with you the story of one of my fitness colleagues, Liz Corah, group fitness manager for Equinox. Liz remains a beacon of light and inspiration, embracing struggle and inspiring every person who crosses her path. Earlier this year, Liz was teaching a special event group fitness class for Equinox in Washington, D.C., to a large number of members. Shortly after the class, she had a grand mal seizure, including a loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions. This type of seizure is caused by abnormal electrical activity throughout the brain. After being rushed to the emergency room, tests revealed a nonmalignant meningioma brain tumor the size of a softball. Meninges are the three membranes that line the skull and vertebral canal and enclose the brain and spinal cord. Sometimes, the body produces too many cells and the excessive amount of meninges forms a tumor. Liz’s large tumor was attached to the major artery that runs through the skull, so that her brain was actually being pushed aside and couldn’t take it anymore, resulting in the seizure. When asked to describe the timeline of recent events, Liz recalls, “The tumor was discovered on May 22, 2016. I interviewed six surgeons. Surgery took place at Georgetown Hospital on Friday, June 17. I lost 25 pounds pre-surgery to make sure I was in optimal condition to not only survive but also be able to get up after and heal as quickly as possible. I spent the summer recovering both physically and mentally. There was an internal struggle happening. My body wanted to move, but the drying cement in my skull, 8-inch incision and recovering brain thought otherwise. Ten weeks post-op, I am back to work, starting slow and acclimating to life again.”
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As if this wasn’t enough to deal with, the surgeons had to leave part of the tumor in because it was attached to an artery. In another 10 years she will have to go through this again and have it removed a second time. “At first, I went to a negative place with this info,” Corah explains. “But eventually, I chose to shift my focus and turn it into a positive thing. I have 10 years to kick butt, reach goals, live dreams, fall in love and do everything that I want to do.” What exactly keeps her this inspired, motivated, and upbeat? Her three children ages 13, 11 and 7, who look up to her and whom she wants to lead by example. “Sure, things get hard,” she adds, “but you can choose to react any way you want. If I’m feeling unmotivated or tired, I try to remind myself of these things: That you can do anything you want to do in life. I have goals to reach and sitting around isn’t going to get me closer to them. There are so many possibilities in the future, and that I’m here to help inspire others to reach their goals.” Life is truly a mystery. One day you can be teaching a fitness class with plans for the rest of the day and then next thing you know you completely lose control and end up in a Liz Corah with her neurosurgeon, Walter Jean. hospital in another state. Liz is currently writing a book with the intention to remind the world that each day is a gift and not guaranteed. It really has put life in perspective for her. I think it’s safe to say it has for all of us as well. Reach Giovanni on twitter @GiovanniRoselli and his website, GiovanniRoselli.com.
Bedford, NY Spectacular 5 bedroom, 6.1 bath 10,000 sq. ft. clapboard colonial overlooking the Mianus Gorge conservation land. The ideal house for entertaining or enjoying an incredible lifestyle. Large rooms with coiffered and vaulted ceilings, 13 inch moldings. Gourmet kitchen with eat in breakfast room. Beautiful bedrooms with ensuite baths. Extraordinary lower level with professional bar, 12 seat theatre, exercise room, sauna, and recreational space. Balconies, decks, and patios overlook the magnificent backyard with infinity pool, two fire pits, built in barbecue, raised vegetable garden and open space. Premier house! MLS#4639945 Price: $2,249,000
Threshing Rock, Pound Ridge, NY
Indian Hill, Bedford, NY
This private Colonial is set on over 8 acres adjacent to the Pound Ridge Conservacy. The meticulously maintained home offers 5,861 square feet of living with an additional 1,700 square feet of finished walk out basement space. Featured is a bright c enter entrance, formal living room, formal dining room, music/office and a gourmet eat in kitchen with butler’s pantry. The luxurious master suite includes a fireplace, his & her’s walk in closets and a beautiful master bathroom. There are an additional five bedrooms with four full baths and one 1/2 bath. The outdoor living space boasts a gunite pool and spa with a truly breathtaking landscape creating a private and serene setting to raise a family, entertain and to enjoy for years to come in prestigious Pound Ridge. Price: $1,695,000
A private horse farm on 5.4 acres in the heart of Bedford. This lovely property includes a charming 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath cape, 6 stall barn, run in shed, multiple paddocks and access to the renown Bedford Riding trails. Distant views of the countryside and your private pond creates a serene and bucolic setting close to town and convenient to train station. MLS#4622458 Price:$1,440,750
North Salem, NY Historic stone bridge leads to circa 1900 former mill transformed to magical home. Living Room with Fireplace leads to Sitting Room that adjoins screened porch positioned over the Titicus River. Lower Level serving as dining room has River Views and door opening to flagstone terrace with perennial garden. Lovely flat lawn leads to the river with open views of fields. 38 Acres of conservation land across the road.3 bedrooms & two full baths. Gar-den Shed. Kennel. 2 car garage. MLS#4627888 Price $850,000
The Farms, Bedford, NY Located in the highly sought after family friendly neighborhood, The Farms. With easy access to the town park which has tennis courts, playground, pool and ball fields. Walking distance to town restaurants, shops and grocery store. Short distance to 684 and train stations. Outdoor deck. 4 bedrooms in spectacular condition. Bathrooms recently renovated. Kitchen with adjoining family room recently renovated. MLS#4635155 Price:$799,999
Breast cancer specialistS in our region
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, WAG rounds up a selection of the region’s top doctors and facilities for breast care, providing a variety of options for all spectrums of treatment, from diagnosis to surgery, aftercare and support services for patients and their loved ones.
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2 Longview Ave White Plains, NY 10601 (914) 849-7500 wphospital.org/cancer
W H ITE P L A I N S HOS P ITAL CE NTE R FOR CANCE R CAR E Healthy mind, body, and spirit – that’s essential to helping patients heal.
The team at the new White Plains Hospital
Center for Cancer Care is here for patients from diagnosis through treatment and on to survivorship. Providing access to the latest clinical trials, expert physicians and advanced technology in partnership with the Montefiore Health System - all close to home. The new center offers additional holistic and complementary services to help those impacted by a cancer diagnosis, working to improve quality of life by managing symptoms and assist patients in coping with their illness.
THE INTEGRATIVE CARE PROGRAM: Holistic Nursing: Including Energy Healing, Gentle Massage, Aromatherapy, Meditation, and Relaxation techniques Healing Touch: Specially trained volunteers provide relaxing, nurturing energy therapy for patients and family members Yoga Classes: Weekly classes are designed to enhance and support mobility, strength and well-being Oncology Nutrition: Specialists guide patients and families to help maintain a good nutritional status Monthly Cancer Care Orientation and Weekly Support Sessions: For newly diagnosed patients to understand the process of care, and guide patients through services and treatment To sign up for one of these integrative care programs and others, or to learn more call 914-849-7500. Visit us online at wphospital.org/cancer.
White Plains Hospital offers support to patients even after they go home. Survivorship Care Plans provide a comprehensive treatment summary and follow-up plan of care to improve health and quality of life. A monthly series specific to Breast Cancer Survivorship covers a range of topics related to traditional and holistic cancer care. W H IT E
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WAG 2016 TOP PICKS DOCTORS
FEATURED DOCTORS CAREMOUNT MEDICAL Dr. Beth C. Freedman, breast surgery; Dr. Diana Silverman, breast surgical oncologist; and Dr. Lyda Rojas Carroll, breast disease and breast surgery GREENWICH HOSPITAL Dr. Barbara Ward, breast surgery; Dr. Lisa Wiechmann, breast surgery; Dr. Dickerman Hollister, medical director; Dr. Barry Boyd, medical oncology and hematology; Dr. Beverly Drucker, medical oncology; Dr. M. Sung Lee, medical oncology; Dr. Ashwatha Narayana,
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radiation oncology; Dr. Daniela Addeo, radiation oncology; Dr. Linda LaTrenta, diagnostic radiology; Dr. Sarah Stewart, diagnostic radiology; Dr. Laura Hodges, diagnostic radiology; Dr. David Greenspun, plastic surgeon; Dr. Keith Attkiss, plastic surgeon; and Dr. Dana Jaggessarsingh, pathologist PHELPS HOSPITAL BREAST CENTER Dr. Norman Lee, radiology STAMFORD HEALTH Dr. David Richard Gruen, breast imaging and diagnostic radiology; and Dr. Helen A. Pass, breast surgery and surgical oncology WHITE PLAINS HOSPITAL Dr. Randy Stevens, radiation oncology; Dr. Preya Ananthakrishnan, breast surgery; Anney Mannancheril, hematology and oncology; Dr. Joshua Raff, hematology and oncology; Dr. Sara
Sadan, hematology and oncology; Dr. Yael Sadan Zack, hematology and oncology; Dr. Mark S. Gordon, breast surgery and surgical oncologist; Dr. Elizabeth Glass, radiology/breast imaging; Dr. Caren Greenstein, radiology; Dr. Kristan Dale Zimmerman, radiology; Dr. Marjorie Rosenblatt, radiology; Dr. Rosalyn Kutcher, radiology; Dr. Stephanie Sims, radiology; Dr. Pamela Weber, radiology; and Dr. Dan Costin, co-medical director, cancer program
FEATURED FACILITIES CAREMOUNT MEDICAL BREAST SURGERY 111 Bedford Road Katonah, N.Y. 10536 914-232-3135 caremountmedical.com Note: surgeries provided include breast conservation, mastectomy and lymph node surgeries
MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING WESTCHESTER IN WEST HARRISON 500 Westchester Ave. West Harrison, N.Y. 10604 914-367-7000 mskcc.org Note: specialists from all area of breast care to provide areas of expertise, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, rehabilitation and quality-of-life issues NEWYORK-PRESBYTERIAN/ LAWRENCE HOSPITAL THE CAROL H. TAYLOR BREAST HEALTH CENTER 55 Palmer Ave. Bronxville, N.Y. 10708 Radiology: 914-666-1371 Women’s Imaging Center: 914-666-1445 nyplawrence.org Note: services include 3D breast tomosynthesis, digital mammography with computer-assisted
INTRODUCES MATTHEW B. CANTLON, MD Orthopedic Surgeon Hand & Upper Extremity Specialist MEDICAL SCHOOL Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons New York, NY RESIDENCY & INTERNSHIP NYU Langone Medical Center Hospital for Joint Diseases New York, NY FELLOWSHIP Hand and Upper Extremity Thomas Jefferson University Rothman Institute Philadelphia, PA
THE ONS HAND & UPPER EXTREMITY CENTER Orthopaedic Neurosurgery Specialists GREENWICH
STAMFORD
ONSMD.COM
203.869.1145
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he ONS Hand & Upper Extremity Center includes fellowship-trained specialists and certified hand therapists who diagnose and treat conditions in children and adults such as arthritis and fractures of the hand, wrist and elbow, sports injuries, nerve compression syndromes and masses. Our surgeons are also experts in microsurgical reconstruction of nerve and tendon injuries and the breakthrough wide-awake hand surgery, WALANT.
device, breast ultrasound, breast MRI, MRI-guided breast biopsies, bone density testing and digital stereotactic biopsy NORTHERN WESTCHESTER HOSPITAL THE BREAST INSTITUTE 400 E. Main St. Mount Kisco, N.Y. 10549 914-666-1200 nwbreastinstitute.org Note: team of experts include geneticists, radiologists, oncologists, cancer and reconstructive surgeons, integrative medicine practitioners and oncology nurses PHELPS HOSPITAL BREAST CENTER 701 North Broadway Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. 10591 914-366-3440 phelpshospital.org Note: services include 2D and 3D
mammography, breast ultrasound and breast MRI STAMFORD HEALTH THE BREAST CENTER 1 Hospital Plaza Stamford, Conn. 06904 203-276-7465 stamfordhealth.org Note: breast MRI, digital breast tomosynthesis mammography, advanced computer-assisted detection software, high-resolution 3D ultrasound, equipment and technology to perform complex minimally invasive biopsies STAMFORD HEALTH BREAST CENTER THE TULLY HEALTH CENTER 32 Strawberry Hill Court, Second floor Stamford, Conn. 0690 203-276-7465 Note: imaging and diagnostics testing is available at these
locations. Services include digital breast tomosynthesis mammography, advanced computer-assisted detection software, high-resolution 3D ultrasound and equipment and technology to perform minimally invasive biopsies WESTCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER ADVANCED IMAGING 100 Woods Road Valhalla, N.Y. 10595 914-493-2599 westchestermedicalcenter.com Note: services include digital mammography, ultrasound breast imaging, ultrasound-guided breast biopsy, stereotactic breast biopsy, 1.5 Tesla MRI with dedicated breast coil/able and MRI guided biopsy WHITE PLAINS HOSPITAL PHYSICIANS ASSOCIATES BREAST SURGERY White Plains Hospital Center for Cancer Care
2 Longview Ave., White Plains, N.Y. 10601 914-849-7580 wphphysiciansassociates.org Note: services include digital mammogram, 3D mammogram, breast MRI, breast and pelvic ultrasound and breast and thyroid biopsies YALE NEW HAVEN-GREENWICH HOSPITAL THE BREAST CENTER AT SMILOW CANCER HOSPITAL 77 Lafeyette Place Greenwich, Conn., 06830 203-863-3031 greenwichhospital.org Note: breast center includes The Bendheim Cancer Center, located in the Sherman and Gloria H. Cohen Pavilion; services include radiation therapy, medical therapies and laboratory services
Join Us to Raise Awareness of Breast Caner ‘Go Pink’ Block Party in the Square
Paint the Town Pink Kick-Off Event at Harbor Point Saturday, October 1
Paint the Town Pink Golf Tournament at Sterling Farms
Thursday, October 6
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Fashion Show
Style, Singing and Champagne with Frank Mastrone at Lord & Taylor Wednesday, October 19
For event details and more information, please visit www.PaintTheTownPinkStamford.org or call 203.276.6143.
ASK THE DOCTOR
Q. What is mammography? A. Mammography is an X-ray of the breast used to detect breast cancer at an early stage, when it is easier to treat. Q. Who should have a mammography? A. The American Cancer Society suggests women consider starting annual screening sometime between the ages of 40-44 to get a “baseline” mammogram and continue being screened every year until age 54. Women age 55 and above can reduce the screening frequency to every other year or continue annual screening if they prefer. Q. What is the difference between 2D and 3D mammography? A. If you have had a mammography in the past, it was probably the traditional
u
What is 3D Mammography?
method, also called “2D mammography,” which produces digital images of your breasts for viewing by a radiologist. The brightness and contrast of the image can be adjusted and the radiologist can zoom in on specific areas to help detect small calcifications (deposits of calcium), masses or other possible early signs of cancer.
Q. Are there other types of breast screening exams? A. If a mammogram shows you have dense breast tissue, an ultrasound screening is recommended for a complete evaluation. Screening breast MRI is another effective modality for breast cancer detection that may supplement your mammography.
The breast is three-dimensional, made up of blood vessels, milk ducts, fat and ligaments. To better view your breasts, 2D mammography can be supplemented with a revolutionary method called 3D mammography (also known as breast tomosynthesis). With 3D mammography, digital images of thin slices of the breast are taken from different angles. Computer software is used to reconstruct the slices into what is essentially a 3-dimensional mammogram that can be examined one layer at a time.
Q. If I have dense breasts, do I only need an ultrasound? A. No, mammograms are still the primary, most sensitive imaging method for finding breast cancer. Also, comparing your mammogram with a previous year’s exam allows small changes to be noticed. Mammogram is the only approved stand-alone screening imaging study for the breast. All others are considered adjunct or supplemental studies only.
Q. What are the benefits of 3D mammography? A. Screening for breast cancer with 2D mammography together with 3D mammography has been shown to increase detection of cancer, especially for patients with dense breasts.
Find breast cancer early when the chances of survival are highest Phelps Radiology offers services at the forefront of today’s diagnostic technology, including: Mammography (2D & 3D) Breast Ultrasound Breast MRI
Phelps Radiology locations 440 South Riverside Avenue Croton, NY 10520
701 North Broadway Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591
11 Ashford Avenue Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522
Call to schedule an appointment today!
(914) 366-3440
Q. Does insurance cover 3D mammography? A. Some but not all insurance companies currently cover 3D mammography. If your insurance does not cover it, Phelps Hospital will charge for an out-of-pocket cost. Breast screening services provided by Phelps Hospital Both 2D and 3D mammography, as well as breast MRI and breast ultrasound, are available at the hospital (914-366-3440). Mammography (2D and 3D) and breast ultrasound are also available at Phelps Radiology in Croton-on-Hudson (914269-1701) and in Dobbs Ferry (914-2691991). Norman Lee, MD Dr. Lee is a board-certified radiologist with subspecialty fellowship training in breast imaging. He is the medical director of the Phelps Breast Imaging Center, which is designated as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology. WAGMAG.COM
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Yo, Sal from Miami
PET OF THE MONTH
PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB ROZYCKI
Meet our pal Sal. This 3-year-old German Shepherd — rescued from a high-kill shelter in Miami — is a cool, goofy, fun-loving dude, who does well with other dogs. He is a little nervous around children, most likely because he’s never been around any, so a home with older children would be ideal. But oh, what adventures they would have, as Sal would make a great hiking partner or companion for someone who’s active. To meet Sal, visit the SPCA of Westchester at 590 N. State Road in Briarcliff Manor. Founded in 1883, the SPCA is a no-kill shelter and is not affiliated with the ASPCA. The SPCA is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. To learn more, call 914-941-2896 or visit spca914.org.
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PET PORTRAITS
Brewster resident Kim Papa wrote us recently about Cher (no, not the singer, actress and political activist but her 7-year-old rescue Poodle/Pomeranian mix): “Cher is from Adopt-a-Dog in Armonk. She was rescued from a puppy mill in Nebraska. Cher had multiple sores on her body and hair missing from her tail. I was told the hair would never grow back. She was unable to climb stairs or climb up on a couch. She was apparently locked and stacked in a crate for a few years. Now she does everything, including swim. “We had a Labrador Retriever at the time and she learned how to be a dog by copying him, hence she is a great Frisbie retriever. She is a joy.”
H
H
Monster Mash
arties Cafe and Store
H
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22
New Exhibit NOW OPEN!
Motoko: Stories from Korea
hday P ties Birt
H
Hands-On Exhibits Daily Activi
HH
Prescho
ol
Stepping Stones Museum for Children
Norwalk, CT
October Calendar Highlights MONDAY, OCTOBER 3 OPEN Rosh Hashanah THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6 ELLI Lab School Open House Onsite Preschool Get Into It! FREE An Open Arms program. Energy Awareness Night with SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8 Accessibility Day An Open Arms program. MONDAY, OCTOBER 10 OPEN Columbus Day SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15 Around the World: Performance Series Motoko: Stories from Korea SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22 H Magical Monster Mash H Join us for a BOO-tiful night of TRICKS and treats, family fun and a magic show! Our mystifying Monster Mash promises to be SPOOK-tacular. This event sells out fast, register early.
10:00 am – 5:00 pm 5:00 – 6:00 pm 5:00 – 8:00 pm 9:00 am – 5:00 pm 10:00 am – 5:00 pm 2:00 pm 6:00 – 8:30 pm
See website.
steppingstonesmuseum.org
Mathews Park, 303 West Avenue • Norwalk, Connecticut • Exit 14N or 15S off I-95 • 203 899 0606
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WHEN & WHERE
THROUGH OCT. 22 “CUBA: From the Rooftops to the Streets,” a solo exhibition of photographic works by JoAnn Cancro on her journey to Cuba. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays thru Fridays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays, Rye Arts Center, 51 Milton Road; 914-967-0700, ryeartscenter.org
“Body and Soul,” a presentation of prints, paintings,
TROMBONE SHORTY AND ORLEANS AVENUE OCT. 1, THE WAREHOUSE AT THE FAIRFIELD THEATRE
photographs and sculpture from the Ben Ortiz and Victor P. Torchia Collection. Housatonic Museum of Art’s
that explores the many ways humankind attempts
OCT. 2 THROUGH NOV. 12
Bert Chernow Galleries, 900 Lafayette Blvd, Bridgeport;
to ameliorate society’s modern ailments (mental,
“Faces and Identities,” a solo exhibition by sculptor
203-332-5052, hcc.commnet.edu/artmuseum
physical and beyond) through art. Noon to 5 p.m.
Esther Lo, highlights Westchester’s cultural diversity
Tuesdays through Fridays, Noon to 6 p.m. Saturdays,
with six terra cotta bust portraits of individuals resid-
ArtsWestchester Gallery, 31 Mamaroneck Ave., White
ing in the county. A reception is scheduled for Oct. 18.
Plains; 914-428-4220, artsw.org/remedyart
Gallery hours vary. Greenburgh Public Library, 300
THROUGH OCT. 29 “YANGYANG PAN: East Meets West in Contemporary Abstraction,” a solo exhibition of paintings by the
Tarrytown Road, Elmsford; 914-721-8200, greenburghlibrary.org
Chinese/Canadian artist. The exhibition includes 17 oil
OCT. 1
paintings on raw linen, created in the past two years
Tarrytown Music Hall presents Ballet des Amériques,
which embody the artist’s signature spontaneous, cel-
expanding on established categories of classical, mod-
OCT. 4 THROUGH 22
ebratory and sensitive style. 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tues-
ern and contemporary dance. 2 p.m., Tarrytown Music
Be transported to “Camelot” in this totally reimag-
days through Saturdays, Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, 37
Hall, 13 Main St.; 914-631-3390, tarrytownmusichall.org
ined version of the classic by Lerner and Loewe (“My
Popham Road, Scarsdale; 914-723-8738, madelynjor-
Fair Lady”). Filled with youth and energy, the iconic
Music on the Hill presents a new work of African-Amer-
love story of King Arthur, Queen Guinevere and Sir
ican spirituals by artistic director Ellen Dickinson.
Lancelot comes to life with a ravishing score that will
The Farm Project 2016 - Sculpture installations by
“Threads of Light” weaves together more than 30
surprise you in its depth and breadth. Times vary by
more than 50 artists, plus music, performance art,
spirituals in three movements — “Hope, Journey and
day, Westport Country Playhouse, 5 Powers Court;
dance, puppets and more, sponsored by Collabora-
Glory” — connected by African-American poetry read
203-227-4177, westportplayhouse.org
tive Concepts, which invited local and national artists
by special guests. 7:30 p.m., Norwalk Concert Hall, 125
to place sculptures throughout 140 acres of a working
East Ave.; 203-529-3133, musiconthehill.org
danfineart.com
historic farm in Garrison. Located across the Hudson
OCT. 5
River from West Point, the rolling hills and wooded
They have performed with the Foo Fighters and Eric
“Greenwich Makes History: An Evening with Lesley
glens of Saunders Farm cascade to panoramic views
Clapton and been in the house with B.B. King, Jeff Beck
Stahl”– The celebrated television reporter and recent
of the Hudson Highlands. Dawn to dusk daily, 853
and Mick Jagger. Now Trombone Shorty and Orleans
New York Times bestselling author, will be speaking
Old Albany Post Road, Garrison; 845-528-1797, col-
Avenue kick off the month by performing at 7:45 p.m.,
at the Greenwich Country Club. Proceeds from the
laborative concepts.org
The Warehouse at the Fairfield Theatre, 70 Sanford St.;
event will benefit the Greenwich Historical Society’s
203-259-1036, fairfieldtheatre.org
Fund for Program Enrichment, which supports new
THROUGH JAN. 7
program initiatives in education, exhibitions, public
AmeriCares supporters will take flight during the annu-
programs, digital collections and preservation. 6:30
The Westport Historical Society presents “Art to the
al AmeriCares Airlift Benefit at Westchester County
p.m., Greenwich Country Club, 19 Doubling Road;
Max,” a tribute and celebration of Max’s Art Supplies, an
Airport. The evening, which celebrates AmeriCares
203-869-6899, greenwichhistory.org
art store on Main Street in Westport for more than 50
global health and emergency response work, culmi-
years, and all the artists it embraced as customers and
nates with a group of guests departing on a 24-hour
friends. More than 40 artists will be included in this cu-
journey to El Salvador to see AmeriCares programs in
OCT. 8
rated show. There’s a reception on Oct. 7. Hours are 10
action. Award-winning anchor and journalist Erica Hill
“Red Grooms: The Blue and the Gray” — The Civil
a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Fridays and noon to 4 p.m.
will serve as master of ceremonies. Cocktails begin at
War is retold in this exhibit of paintings and illustra-
Saturdays. Westport Historical Society, 25 Avery Place;
6 p.m., followed by dinner and dancing. Westchester
tions that features a parade of personalities, including
203-222-1424, westporthistory.org
County Airport, 240 Airport Road, Harrison; 203-658-
steely-eyed generals, femme-fatale Southern belles,
9558, mrauscher@americares.org.
Union spies and soldiers on both sides of this defining
THROUGH JAN. 14 ArtsWestchester presents “Remedy,” an exhibition
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OCTOBER 2016
moment. Hudson River Museum, 511 Warburton Ave., Yonkers; 914-963-4550, hrm.org
80 East Ridge • Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877 THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE for movies and the performing arts
october 7
Non-profit 501 (c) (3)
Blue Öyster Cult
203.438.5795 • RIDGEFIELDPLAYHOUSE.ORG november 7
Passion and Warfare 25th Anniversary Tour
Special Guest The Apocalypse Blues Revue
8
Comedian Nick DiPaolo
9
The Original Wailers featuring Al Anderson
11 An Intimate Night with Allen Stone Special Guests Moorea Masa and King Charles
12 Take 6 Meets The Manhattan Transfer
Steve Vai
10 Comedian Jim Breuer
Special Guest Rich Aronovitch
12 The Official Blues Brothers Revue 13 Jake Shimabukuro 17 Dave Mason
“Alone Together Again” Featuring Bekka Bramlett
14 The Yardbirds
18 David Feherty Off Tour!
16 RENT's Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp
19 Comedian JB Smoove
18 Chris Botti 19 Boney James 20 Art Garfunkel: In Close-up 21 Patrizio Buanne 22 Comedian Paul Reiser 23 The Austrailian Bee Gees
Wandering Around on His Own
20 Chita Rivera:
A Legendary Celebration
28 Inside F1: 2016 Year in Review with Leigh Diffey, David Hobbs & Steve Matchett
december 3
Band of Merrymakers
4
The Doo Wop Project
5
Melissa Etheridge Holiday Trio
7
Tiempo Libre
9
Christmas with the Celts
A Tribute to the Bee Gees
november 1
Cheap Trick
4
A Night of Comedy ft. Judy Gold & Friends
5
Paul Barrere & Fred Tackett
6
Little Feat Guitarists
Godsmack’s Sully Erna
Ft. Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray), Lisa Loeb, Sam Hollander & Kevin Griffin (Better than Ezra) and Tyler Glenn (Neon Trees)
A Cuban Holiday
OCT. 9
OCT. 15 THROUGH NOV. 6
OCT. 22
“Tap” into your wild side and enjoy craft beers, live
“Mindscapes” an exhibit of romantic and experien-
Historic District Walking Tour — Discover facts
music and fare at the annual Brew at the Zoo event
tial landscape paintings by Ira Barkoff. Noon to 5 p.m.
about such historic sites as National Hall and the
at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo. Guests are invited to
daily, Canfin Gallery, 39 Main St., Tarrytown; 914 332
former Westport Bank & Trust Co. building. Both are
an exclusive preview of the zoo’s “Haunted Howl-O-
4554, canfingallery.com
listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 3 to
Ween.” This is an event for ages 21 and up. 3 to 7 p.m., Beardsley Zoo, 1875 Noble Ave., Bridgeport; 203-3946574, beardsleyzoo.com
4 p.m., Westport Historical Society, 25 Avery Place;
OCT 16 THROUGH 23
203-222-1424, westporthistory.org
The Yonkers Film Festival (YoFi Fest) is curated by
Grab a cocktail and a canape and enjoy a Soundwa-
award-winning film and television professionals. It will
OCT. 23
ters Sunset Sail aboard an 80-foot schooner. Held
showcase more than 100 films, as well as networking
The Westchester Philharmonic opens a new season
in conjunction with the Fairfield Museum and History
events, educational workshops, receptions and parties.
with conductor Jaime Laredo, violinist Bella Hristova
Center’s exhibition, “Rising Tides,“ it will feature a talk
Dates, times and locations vary; yofifest.org
and composer David Ludwig. Featured is a commis-
with Adam Whelchel, director of science with the Na-
sioned composition by Ludwig for his bride, Hristova.
ture Conservancy. Meet at 12:45 p.m., Captain’s Cove,
OCT. 16
1 Botswick Ave., Bridgeport; 203-259-1598, fairfieldhistory.org
OCT. 9 THROUGH NOV.30
Also included are works by Weber and Brahms. 3 p.m., The Concert Hall at The Performing Arts Center,
Pianists Frederic Chiu and Orin Grossman present an
Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road; 914-682-
afternoon of music for “one piano, four hands.” The
3707, ext. 10, westchesterphil.org
program will include Franz Schubert’s Fantasy in F minor for four hands, Claude Debussy’s “En Blanc et
“In Form: Contemporary Sculptural Ceramics” —
Noir,” and George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris.”
OCT. 27
The Rockland Center for the Arts looks at its legacy
3 p.m., Quick Center for the Arts, North Benson Road,
Breast Cancer Alliance 21st Annual Luncheon &
in this exhibit featuring past and present artists who
Fairfield; 203-254-4010, quickcenter.fairfield.edu
Fashion Show features silent and live auctions, lun-
have continued to experiment with forms, surface
cheon with invited guest speaker, William (Billy)
and structure. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fri-
Baldwin, guest emcee Carson Kressley, and two run-
days, 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Rockland
OCT. 17
Center for the Arts/ ROCA, 27 S Greenbush Road,
Publisher’s Weekly contributing editor Sybil Stein-
and the Survivor Celebration Fashion Show. 11 a.m.,
West Nyack; 845-358-0877, rocklandartcenter.org
berg interviews Roni Beth Tower about her new
Hyatt Regency Greenwich, 1800 W. Putnam Ave., Old
memoir, “Miracle at Midlife, A Transatlantic Ro-
Greenwich; 203-861-0014, breatcanceralliance.org
OCT. 10
way shows—the Oscar de la Renta collection preview
mance.” 7 p.m., Westport Public Library, 20 Jesup Road; 203-291-4800, westportlibrary.org
The Chamber Players of the Greenwich Symphony
OCT. 28
present a concert tribute to “The Blue Danube,” with
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts presents
performances of Haydn’s Piano Trio No. 41 in E-flat
OCT. 20
minor, Bartók’s String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7 and Gold-
Play With Your Food presents “SHORT CUTS: Selected
loween weekend performance with storyteller Lu-
mark’s Piano Quintet No.2 in C-sharp minor, Op 54.
Films from the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival,” with cof-
Ann Adams for children ages 3 to 8. Spooky (but not
7:30 p.m., Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Drive, Green-
fee, refreshments and a post-film Q&A with one of the
too scary) folktales of ghosts, witches, goblins and
wich; 203-637-4725, greenwichsymphony.org
directors. 7 p.m., Norwalk Garden Cinemas, 22 Isaac St.;
pumpkins will come to life with puppets, sound and
203-293-8729, JibProductions.org
audience participation. 3:30 p.m., 149 Girdle Ridge
“Spooky Tales: Stories to Tickle Your Spine,” a Hal-
Road, Katonah; 914-232-1252, caramoor.org
OCT. 14 THROUGH 23
Rose to Runway Fashion Show is an evening filled with
Clocktower Players presents the Broadway musical
fashion, signature cocktails, cuisine and designer shop-
comedy “Sister Act,” based on the 1992 movie, this
ping experiences. All proceeds will benefit the Cystic
OCT. 29
play features original music by Tony-, Oscar- and
Fibrosis Foundation. The fun starts at 6:30 p.m., Abigail
Opening night for the 77th season of the Norwalk
Grammy Award-winning composer Alan Menken. Ir-
Kirsch’s The Loading Dock, 375 Fairfield Ave., Stamford;
Symphony features cellist Matt Haimovitz playing
vington Town Hall Theater, 85 Main St.; 914-591-6602,
212-986-8783, cff.org
Shostakovich’ Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op.
clocktowerplayers.com
OCT. 14 THROUGH 29
107. The orchestra will also perform Rossini’s Over-
Ninth annual Hand-In-Hand Gala Fundraiser —
ture to “II Signore Bruschino” and Brahms Symphony
Proceeds benefit Clay Art Center’s programs, youth
No. 4, Op. 98. Norwalk Concert Hall, 125 East Ave.;
scholarships and artists-in-residence. The evening will
203-956-9771, norwalksymphony.org
Hudson Stage Company presents “You Will Remem-
feature tastings from local restaurants and live music
ber Me.” As the aging patriarch of a modern family
as well as a silent and live auctions of one-of-a-kind ce-
suffers from dementia, the people who love him strug-
ramic artwork from nationally recognized artists (with
gle to make room in their lives for his care. Dates and
guest auctioneer and state Sen. George Latimer. 6 to
times vary. Whippoorwill Theatre at the North Castle
9:30 p.m., Willow Ridge Country Club, 123 North St.,
Library, 19 Whippoorwill Road East, Armonk; 914-271-
Harrison; 914-937-2047, clay art.org
2811, hudsonstage.org
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OCTOBER 2016
Presented by ArtsWestchester and the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County. For more, visit artswestchester.org and culturalalliancefc.org.
EXPERIENCE. SOMETHING. REAL.
JOANNA GLEASON OCTOBER 6 BLACK VIOLIN OCTOBER 14
2016 -2017 OCTOBER 1 6 8 14 16 21 22 30
NTL: One Man, Two Guvnors Joanna Gleason: From Campfire to Cabaret Jazz: Piano Spectacular Black Violin NTL: The Deep Blue Sea Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Joshua Bell
NOVEMBER 5 13 19 19
Doug Varone and Dancers NTL: Frankenstein Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center L.A. Theatre Works: Judgment at Nuremberg
DECEMBER BILL CHARLAP IN PIANO SPECTACULAR OCTOBER 8 WARSAW PHILHARMONIC - OCTOBER 21
4 Orpheus Chamber Orchestra 15 The Hip Hop Nutcracker 16 &17 The Rob Mathes Holiday Concert
JANUARY 28 Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center 28 Paul Taylor Dance Company
FEBRUARY 1 Joanna Gleason: From Campfire to Cabaret 2 & 3 Into the Woods 5 Orpheus Chamber Orchestra 11 Venice Baroque Orchestra 12 Kronos Quartet 18 Spectrum Dance Theater + Donald Byrd 25 Jazz: Ann Hampton Callaway 26 Matt Haimovitz
MARCH 5 12 18 19 25 26 30
Decoda Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood LIVE! Danú Ignacio Berroa Quartet Shen Wei Dance Arts The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey Joanna Gleason: From Campfire to Cabaret
APRIL 1 2 7 8 23 27 29
The Orchestra Now Hypnotic Brass Ensemble Rosanne Cash David Sedaris Fei-Fei Dong Joanna Gleason: From Campfire to Cabaret Jazz: Sonny Rollins Tribute
MAY 6 Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center 13 Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Company
CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER OCTOBER 22
JOSHUA BELL OCTOBER 30
DOUG VARONE AND DANCERS - NOVEMBER 5
For event details and tickets call 914-251-6200 or visit PAC_WAG_Oct2016.indd 1
WWW.ARTSCENTER.ORG 9/16/2016 2:12:05 PM
AN ‘A’ FOR COMMITMENT WATCH
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‘FORE’-WARD TO RESEARCH CANCER
NewYork-Presbyterian/Lawrence Hospital recently participated in the fourth annual T.J. Martell Foundation Golf Tournament, which was held at the Hudson National Golf Club in Croton-on-Hudson. Singer Gavin DeGraw performed at the event, which raised funds for prostate cancer awareness and prevention and the foundation’s prostate cancer research program at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.
It was luncheon with a purpose once again as the 4Cs and Friends gathered in support of nonprofits. Founded in 1978, the Corporate Community Contributions Committee (hence the 4Cs) originally consisted of representatives from corporations that had a broad reach in the county, participating in and funding local projects. Today’s members, 4Cs and friends, continue that mission by serving on the boards of nonprofits and using their fundraising skills and other talents on the organizations’ behalf. 1. Phillip Holt 2. Joan Gilbert and David Hochberg 3. Brenda and Andy Spano 4. Mike Dandry, Peggy Lichtenstein and Bram Lewis 5. Jensina Olson and Karl Lueder 6. Susan Aubry, Carrie Rattle, Dennis McDermott and Betsey Davis
7
7. Ronda Bixon, Mitchell C. Benson, Michael J. Fosina, Gavin DeGraw and Ann Marie and John C. Evanko
8
PAPER PURGE BENEFITS PUPS
Rey Insurance and Legal Shred of the Hudson Valley recently teamed up to provide a free shredding event to encourage community residents to destroy their old documents properly to prevent identity fraud. Dozens of residents came out to participate in the shredding event, including Miss Westchester 2016, Morgan Modugno. Rey’s Insurance donated $5 for each box received to the Humane Society of Westchester in New Rochelle. 8. Morgan Modugno, John Pierce, Laura Rey Iannarelli and Linda Rey
E XC E PT I O N A L 116
WAGMAG.COM
OCTOBER 2016
IS
Westchester Philharmonic October 23 at 3pm Jaime Laredo, conducing Bella Hristova, violin Weber, Brahms & David Ludwig (premiere).
December 18 at 3pm Sperling Ashley Brown, vocals Ji, piano
Winter Pops! with Ted
Broadway hits, Bernstein, Tchaikovsky and more.
February 12 at 3pm Ted Sperling, conducting Julia Bullock, soprano
Glinka, Mozart, Bernstein, Gershwin & Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.
April 9 at 3pm Jaime Laredo, violin soloist-leader Joseph Kalichstein, piano Sharon Robinson, cello
PRINCE WILLIAM HAS PRINCE HARRY, SNOOPY HAS SPIKE – YOU KNOW, THE BAD-BOY BABY BRO WHO’S A CHUNK OF CHARM AND A TON OF TROUBLE. That’s what WAG Weekly is to WAG. In our e-newsletter, we let down our hair (and occasionally, our grammar) to take you behind behind-the-scenes of the hottest parties and events, offer our thoughts on the most controversial issues of the day, share what couldn’t be contained in our glossy pages and tell you what to do and where to go this weekend – all while whetting your appetite for the next issue.
Mozart, Bach, Beethoven.
June 18 at 3pm Andrew Litton, conducting Conrad Tao, piano Weber, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak.
If you can’t get enough of WAG — or you just want to get WAG unplugged — then you won’t want to miss WAG Weekly, coming to your tablet.
Bella Hristova
Subscriptions and Tickets: (914) 682-3707 or westchesterphil.org
Concerts are presented at: Performing Arts Center, Purchase College 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY. Programs, artists, dates and times subject to change. ©2016 Westchester Philharmonic, Inc.
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WATCH
BARD IN THE YARD
The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival kicked off its 2016 season with its annual gala on the grounds of Boscobel House and Gardens in Garrison. The event began with cocktails on the great lawn and included performance highlights that reflected on past seasons. Other moments included a special anniversary tribute by Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney; a live auction with Nicholas D. Lowry, president and principal auctioneer at New York’s Swann Galleries; and an elegant dinner. The evening ended with dancing under the stars with the Alex Donner Orchestra. Proceeds from the gala support HVSF’s programming, which brings live theater to nearly 90,000 in and around the Hudson Valley each year. Photographs by T. Charles Erickson.
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1. Melissa Meyer and Wilbur Foster 2. The HVSF 2016 Acting Company 3. Caitlin Flynn, Molly Lieber, Pepper Evans, Bob Lieber and Christian Oth 4. Steve and Jane Miller 5. Joanne Cahill, Mark Bedard, Emily Knapp and Nicholas D. Lowery 6. Davis McCallum, Sean Patrick Maloney, Randy Florke and Kate Liberman 7. Guests dining next to the HVSF theater tent
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CARING FOR OUR
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Greenwich’s White Birch polo team defeated team Audi in the final championship match of the East Coast Open, the biggest polo tournament of the summer in the United States. The taut match saw White Birch prevail 1211, with the team’s 15-year-old whiz kid, Santino Magrini, scoring the winning goal in overtime. It was sweet revenge for team White Birch, which had lost to Audi in the 2015 East Coast Open championship match. Eight of polo’s top teams competed in the three-week 20-goal tournament. Photographs by ChiChi Ubiña. 1. White Birch celebrates winning the East Coast Open. 2. Hilario Ulloa of White Birch in pursuit of Audi’s Nic Roldan. 3. Jeff O’Geary 4. Brad Walker and Erica Riccardi 5. Aleks Rubin and Kris Kampsen
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SMASHING SUCCESS
This year, it’s safe to say that the biggest star of the US Open was the new roof that cocoons Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was hardly needed. For two glorious weeks, the players played on with only an occasional drizzle. Still, it was like having an umbrella on hand on a partly cloudy day. Photographs by Darren Carroll/USTA. 6. Novak Djokovic and Katrina Adams 7. Stan Wawrinka 8. Angelique Kerber
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THE PRICE WAS RIGHT
Neiman Marcus Westchester had the air of a game show filled with giveaways as the store welcomed guests to “NM Project Beauty.” Chuck Steelman – special events manager, corporate public relations for The Neiman Marcus Group Services – took a page from the Bob Barkers and Monty Halls, giving away raffle baskets filled with cosmetics as well as individual products to Instagrammers and those of us who could produce brand names from our handbags. Patrons enjoyed tarot readings by Julie Reed; the artistry of Abigail V. Abrams, who inscribed and painted bottles of perfume for purchasers; plus nibbles, sweets and sips. 1. Kalyane Tea 2. Abigail V. Abrams 3. Chuck Steelman with models at “NM Project Beauty.”
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PARTYING AT PLAYLAND
The Westchester Parks Foundation, formerly known as Friends of Westchester County Parks, held a “Summer Party on the Pier” at Playland in Rye. The gathering was a way for the organization to greet the community and enjoy the summer season — helping people to revive their memories of Playland, a county-owned amusement park, while also supporting the organization that helps preserve more than 18,000 acres of parkland throughout the county.
WARM WISHES
Cancer patients at NewYorkPresbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital received much needed support and “warmth” from Subaru of America and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The two groups delivered 100 blankets and personalized care cards to cancer patients and their families as part of Subaru Loves to Care month. By the end of June, Subaru retailers donated more than 30,000 blankets and thousands of messages of hope to patients fighting cancer across the country. 4. A. Bonnie Corbett, Namrata Patel, Martin Oster, Elizabeth Tapen, Stacey Petrower, Brad R. Candullo, Courtney Rinaldi and Antonella Leone-Giamei
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5. Peter Tartaglia, Larry Wilson and John Sullivan 6. Brian Jackson, Ellen Mellyn, Nanette Bourne, Jane Solnick, Chris Cawley and Linda Carrington
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PLAYING FOR THE HOUSE
The Bedford Playhouse recently held a benefit show at The Harvey School in Katonah called “Playing for the Playhouse.” Directed by Playhouse board Chairman Sarah Long and hosted by President John Farr, the show featured varied talents involved in making the new Bedford Playhouse happen. Stars on hand that evening included Glenn Close, Paul Shaffer, Terre Blair, Robert Klein, Marissa McGowan, Chazz Palminteri and Jeffrey Tambor.
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Photographs by ChiChi Ubiña.
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1. Jeffrey Tambor 2. Laura, Alan and Cathryn Mantell 3. Joe Berlinger and Sarah Long 4. Terre Blair 5. Don Weeden and Vanessa Smith 6. Ira and Paula Resnick 7. Gregg and Kate Lemkau 8. Henry and Jack Farr 9. Kim Speegle and Loriann Low 10. Melissa and Gerardo Mendez 11. Fred Hill 12. Deborah French and Steve and Vickie Morris 13. John Farr 14. Valerie Lemon 15. Joni Evans and Bob Perkins 16. Glenn Close
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The causes of Orangutan extinction are crystal clear.
Did you know that palm oil, found in half of all packaged goods in your local grocery store, is driving the last stands of orangutans, elephants, tigers, and rhinos to extinction? Global snack food giant PepsiCo uses hundreds of thousands of tons of Conflict Palm Oil every year as critically important ecosystems like the Leuser Ecosystem in Sumatra, Indonesia are being destroyed right before our eyes to produce the stuff. For the past 50 years, PepsiCo has worked to build a legacy centered on innovation, leadership and care for communities and the environment. The company is now positioned at a crossroads and as a member of PepsiCo’s community, or perhaps an employee of the company, you play a crucial role in making a difference on this issue.
Will Pepsico take this historic opportunity and use its global influence in the palm oil industry to end Conflict Palm Oil? For our community here in and around Westchester and Fairfield Counties, and for the communities impacted by the spread of conflict palm oil, we must demand better. If we lead, PepsiCo’s executives will follow. PepsiCo must take responsibility for its impact on the global climate, on the future of endangered species, on our last remaining rainforests, and for the families who live and work there.
Find out more at:
InPepsisHands.com O R A N GUTA N PH OTO : THOMAS MA RENT / MIND EN PICTU RES
WOMAN POWER ON DISPLAY
It was a no-holds-barred discussion of women in the workforce and on the homefront as Professional Women of Westchester hosted the organization’s first “She-She” Success Symposium moderated by Lisa Kaslyn, president of Prosper Communications. WAG was happy to be a participant and sister publication, the Westchester County Business Journal, a sponsor for the panel. The panel included Leslie Lampert, owner of Love Hospitality, and Mecca E. Santana, vice president of diversity and community relations for Westchester Medical Center Health Network, along with WAG editor-in-chief Georgette Gouveia. There was good synergy and good eats at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown. All in all, good show. Photographs by Mike Dardano.
WATCH
1. Georgette Gouveia and Leslie Lampert 2. Susan Dardano, Kara Schwartz, Justine Koch and Karen Herrero 3. Colleen Braithwaite, Evelyn Mertens, Laura Ramsey and Lauren Mauro 4. Robin Costello, Dana Boulanger and Patrice Sullivan 5. Jess Barletta and Penni Waldman 6. Nicole D’ Amico and Jamie Imperati 7. Stacey Tompkins and Lisa Kaslyn 8. Gayle Smith, Kristin Price, Terri Roman and Kecia Palmer-Cousins 9. Helaine Brick, Sue Lara and Patty Henderson 10. Mecca E. Santana
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WHAT MAKES YOU AN INDIVIDUAL?*
WIT WONDERS
Abigail V. Abrams
Gillian Chen
Drude Garmann
Belinda Lasky
Jennifer Malinchak
Julia Malinchak
Kate Roselyn
Claudette Rothman
Dee Schneidman
Corinne Wait
“NOT JUST SETTLING FOR ONE THING BUT USING OTHER OUTLETS TO EXPRESS CREATIVITY AND INDIVIDUALISM.” — Abigail V. Abrams,
fine arts and graphic web designer, Fairfield resident
“I AM ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT HOW TO COMBINE ORIENTAL ELEMENTS WITH A WESTERN MENTALITY, TO BE A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE EASTERN AND WESTERN WORLDS.”
— Gillian Chen,
journalist, Manhattan resident
“I WOULD SAY I’M A GOOD STITCHER AND A GOOD KNITTER.”
— Drude Garmann, Greenwich resident
“MY ADVENTUROUS SPIRIT AND WILLINGNESS TO TRY ANYTHING IS DEFINITELY THE MOST UNIQUE THING ABOUT ME.” — Belinda Lasky,
director of community engagement, National Council of Jewish Women, Stamford resident
“I FEEL THE MOST SPECIAL AND UNIQUE THING ABOUT ME IS THE WAY I DO MY JOB. I AM A NURSE AND STRIVE TO GIVE ALL MY PATIENTS THE HIGHEST, MOST EXCELLENT, COMPASSIONATE CARE I CAN.” — Jennifer Malinchak, nurse, Goshen resident
“I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT I AM VERY INSIGHTFUL WHEN IT COMES TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY. I THINK I HAVE PUT THIS TO GREAT USE IN MY HOBBY OF DOG TRAINING. SO I THINK THE ABILITY TO SEE INTO TO THE HEARTS OF OTHERS IS SOMETHING UNIQUE THAT DEFINES MY INDIVIDUALITY.”
— Julia Malinchak,
student, Goshen resident
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writer, philanthropist and artist, Manhattan resident
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*Asked at Greenwich Polo Club and on Sound Beach Avenue in Old Greenwich 128
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“MY INDIVIDUALITY SHOWS THROUGH MY UNIQUE, ARTSY AESTHETIC AND ECLECTIC TASTES.” — Dee Schneidman,
research manager, New England Foundation for the Arts, Somerville, Mass. resident
“WHEN SOMEONE NEEDS ANYTHING, I AM THERE. THAT IS MY ROLE, TO TAKE CARE OF OTHERS. IT’S A BLESSING.” — Corinne Wait,
Old Greenwich resident