Wag April

Sylvie Chantecaille’s passions Family, philanthropy, animals

Furry and feathered

inspirations

JUDGED A

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MAGAZINE

IN NEW YORK STATE 2014, 2015, 2016

WESTCHESTER & FAIRFIELD LIFE

APRIL 2018 | WAGMAG.COM

GALLOPING INTO HORSE COUNTRY From Wellington to North Salem

DOWN ON THE FARM WITH Pound Ridge Organics

PARTY ANIMALS

Pink Martini & Sky Casper Events

FEATHERS FLY AT NY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

THE LEGACY OF MARK HIGGINS

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200 OLD MILL ROAD | $5,695,000 | 200OLDMILLRD.COM Private drive leads to stone & shingle 6 bedroom home w/ pool & spa.Large entrance courtyard has a separate parking area for additional cars & a sports court.

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16 JOHN STREET | $4,495,000 | ROUNDHILLFARMCT.COM Classic 1932 five bedroom colonial with pool, 7.57 acres of rolling lawn and inviting one bedroom Guest House.

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17 WELWYN ROAD | $4,100,000 | 17WELWYNROAD.COM Located on a quiet cul-de-sac in the heart of Riverside, this light filled home boasts 6300 +/- sq ft of living on 3 full levels and was built to the highest standards.

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78 BURNING TREE | $3,595,000 | 78BURNINGTREEROAD.COM Luxury and sophistication reign in this 2008 shingle-style home. Sited on 2.15 scenic mid-country acres. 9-11’ceilings, elevator, custom millwork, elegant finishes.

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sothebyshomes.com/greenwich

Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo areregistered (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 notemployees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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43 RICHMOND HILL ROAD | $3,495,000 | 43RICHMONDHILLRD.COM Offered below replacement cost, this dynamic Shingle-style home is one of a kind. It features four finished level of high quality, newly improved living space.

Leslie McElwreath | 917.539.3654

746 RIVERBANK ROAD | $2,750,000 | 746RIVERBANKROAD.COM Great opportunity to own 10.22 acres abutting the Greenwich Horse Trails. Guest cottage w/ full kitchen, bath, loft; barn w/ 2 horse stalls, and dramatic pool house.

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7 CHERRY TREE LANE | $2,150,000 | CHERRYTREELN.COM A wonderful opportunity to live in Harbor Point, a coastal waterfront gated, private association with a beach and marina.

Bill Andruss | 203.912.8990

SPACIOUS WEST LYON FARM | $1,900,000 | 518WLYONFARM.COM One of the largest units at Lyon Farm with 3 finished levels. Sunny with multiple skylights. Very private with fabulous views of conservation area beyond.

Alice Duff | 203.618.3132

BIG SKY IN GREENWICH | $1,799,000 | 93CUTLERRD.COM Perfectly flat wide open acreage. This quiet oasis provides privacy in the country on 4 acres with an appearance of double the size!

Heather Platt | 203.983.3802

ENCHANTING IN COS COB | $1,289,000 | 23CROSSLANE.COM There’s no place like home! This 4 bedroom story book Cape in the heart of Cos Cob overlooks Loughlin Park and is only minutes to schools, shops and train.

Amy Whitlaw | 203.915.9100

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 areregistered (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 notemployees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Jewels Jungle of the

The thirty-first

BRUCE MUSEUM GALA

Saturday, May 12, 2018 Greenwich Country Club Gala Co-Chairs Katie Fong Biglin Kim Kassin Shelly Tretter Lynch

Honorary Chair Avril Graham, Executive Fashion & Beauty Editor, Harper’s Bazaar

For more information or to attend, please visit BruceMuseum.org or call 203-413-6761

The future of surgical face lifts is hanging by a thread.

Introducing the Greenwich Thread Lift.

There’s a less invasive solution than face lift surgery for mildly sagging eye brows, jowls and cheeks. It’s the Greenwich Thread Lift, a non-surgical, in-office procedure that requires only local anesthesia. Recovery time is shorter than with surgery and there’s less bruising and swelling. The procedure takes only about an hour. In most cases you can resume normal activities the next day. And there’s no scarring.

That’s why the future of surgical face lifts for mild facial sagging is hanging by a thread. The Greenwich Thread Lift.

Call us for more details.

1285 E. Putnam Avenue • Greenwich, CT 06878 645 Post Road E. • Westport, CT 06880 203.637.0662 • greenwichmedicalspa.com

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Medical Director: Mitchell Ross, MD, Board Certified Dermatologist Catherine Curtin, APRN Amanda Pucci, APRN Shilpa Desai, PA

CONTENTS APRIL 201 8

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The mermaid’s complex lure

In the Pink

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Showcasing South African art

Fight for flight

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The iron panda: Xi Jinping

A humane approach

A haven for all creatures

Gems of the animal kingdom

Jewelry rooted in nature’s richness

Into Africa and memory

Wave Hill, garden of (aviary) delights

Galloping into horse country

Center of equestrian America

Party animals

Social time at Greenwich Polo

Not just for the birds

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The mating game at the Beardsley Zoo

One cool equestrian

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108

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Going to the dogs in the best possible way

Into the woods of enchantment

Winding down (or up) with wine

Cats in the Year of the Dog

COVER STORY

SYLVIE CHANTECAILLE

Nurturing nature

From Lalique’s Hirondelles collection, a clear and gold stamped grand size vase. This limited edition of 130 pieces celebrates Lalique’s 130th anniversary. The vase, directly inspired by a creation of René Lalique, depicts the beauty of swallows taking flight.

Courtesy Lalique.

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Pampering man’s best friend

Come home to spectacular

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FEATURES H I G H LI G HTS

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WARES Croc on

60

WARES A world of ‘leathers’ for animal lovers

62

WARES Crystal creatures

68

WAY Old-style glamour in a modern home

80

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Madame Butterfly

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WEAR Waiting for nature to speak

96

WANDERS My old Kentucky visit

98

WANDERS A Kenyan dream of Africa

104

WANDERS It's a dog's life at the Hyatt

106

WONDERFUL DINING A brunch at Blue Dog

110

WINE & DINE A journal for wine lovers and newbies

112

WELL Providing a more personal touch

114

WELL More than skin deep

116

WELL Put your injured rotator cuff back in rotation

118

WELL Blue offers a cure for the blues

126

PET OF THE MONTH One smart…

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PET PORTRAITS The horse whisperer

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WHEN & WHERE Upcoming events

132

WATCH We’re out and about

144

WIT Are you a party animal?

COVER: Sylvie Chantecaille’s passions Family, philanthropy, animals

Furry and feathered

inspirations

JUDGED A

TOP

MAGAZINE

IN NEW YORK STATE 2014, 2015, 2016

WESTCHESTER & FAIRFIELD LIFE

APRIL 2018 | WAGMAG.COM

GALLOPING INTO HORSE COUNTRY From Wellington to North Salem

DOWN ON THE FARM WITH Pound Ridge Organics

PARTY ANIMALS

Pink Martini & Sky Casper Events

FEATHERS FLY AT NY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

THE LEGACY OF MARK HIGGINS

Sylvie Chantecaille of Chantecaille cosmetics uses her creations to support a number of animal philanthropies.

See story on page 72.

Photographs courtesy Chantecaille.

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COVER STORY

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Home. Improvement.

Salem Sofa | Pacific Heights Chair | Elm Street Chairs | 7000 Series Ottoman Set the stage for your makeover. Custom tailored in North Carolina to your specifications—in fabric or leather.

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PUBLISHER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR Dee DelBello

Dan Viteri

PUBLISHER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR dee@westfairinc.com

CO-CREATIVE DIRECTOR dviteri@westfairinc.com

EDITORIAL Georgette Gouveia EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ggouveia@westfairinc.com Mary Shustack SENIOR WRITER/EDITOR

Audrey Ronning Topping FEATURES WRITER

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Our state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities enable us to keep our quality high and our prices low.

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Kelsie Mania ART DIRECTOR kmania@westfairinc.com

Sebastián Flores ART DIRECTOR sflores@westfairinc.com

PHOTOGRAPHY Anthony Carboni, Sebastián Flores, John Rizzo, Bob Rozycki

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jena A. Butterfield, Alexandra DelBello, Ryan Deffenbaugh, Aleesia Forni, Gina Gouveia, Phil Hall, Debbi K. Kickham, Laura Joseph Mogil, Jane Morgan, Doug Paulding, Jennifer Pitman, Danielle Renda, Giovanni Roselli, Bob Rozycki, Gregg Shapiro, Barbara Barton Sloane, Brian Toohey, Seymour Topping, Jeremy Wayne

Peter Katz COPY EDITOR

Billy Losapio ADVISER

ADVERTISING SALES Anne Jordan Duffy SALES MANAGER / ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER anne@westfairinc.com

Lisa Cash, Barbara Hanlon, Cindy Pagnotta, Marcia Pflug, Patrice Sullivan ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

Featured in This Old House Magazine!

Factory Direct!

Josephine Biondi EVENTS MANAGER jbiondi@westfarinc.com

Danielle Renda DIGITAL CONTENT DIRECTOR drenda@westfarinc.com

Robin Costello ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER rcostello@westfairinc.com

Marcia Pflug DIRECTOR, PROMOTIONS AND SPONSORS mpflug@wfpromote.com

Marcia Rudy CIRCULATION SALES marcia@westfairinc.com

Sylvia Sikoutris CIRCULATION SALES sylvia@westfairinc.com

WHAT IS WAG?

Some readers think WAG stands for “Westchester and Greenwich.”

We certainly cover both. But mostly, a WAG is a wit and that’s how we think of ourselves, serving up piquant stories and photos to set your own tongues wagging.

HEADQUARTERS A division of Westfair Communications Inc., 3 Westchester Park Drive, White Plains, NY 10604 Telephone: 914-694-3600 | 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

VIVIAN Her search for world-class spine surgery brought her back home.

When even the smallest tasks caused her severe pain, Vivian Scrocca went to see her doctor who told her she would need back surgery. Fortunately Dr. Andrew Casden, a top spine surgeon from New York City, had just joined the White Plains Hospital Center for Orthopedic & Spine Surgery. Dr. Casden and his partner Dr. Jared Brandoff performed a minimally invasive procedure that eliminated Vivian’s pain and got her back on her feet the same day.

Now, Vivian can enjoy gardening and vacations with the grandkids once again.

Find your pain relief at exceptionaleveryday.org/spine or call (914) 849-MyMD A M E M B E R O F T H E M O N T E F I O R E H E A LT H S Y S T E M

WAGGERS

TH E TALENT B EH I N D O U R PAG E S

JENA A. BUTTERFIELD

ROBIN COSTELLO

RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

ALEXANDRA DELBELLO

ALEESIA FORNI

GINA GOUVEIA

PHIL HALL

DEBBI K. KICKHAM

LAURA JOSEPH MOGIL

DOUG PAULDING

DANIELLE RENDA

JOHN RIZZO

GIOVANNI ROSELLI

MARY SHUSTACK

BARBARA BARTON SLOANE

AUDREY TOPPING

SEYMOUR TOPPING

JEREMY WAYNE

COVER STORY, PG.72 GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

Oops!

Reports of Iris Sampliner’s death — in WAG’s March story on the Community Synagogue of Rye’s Senior Activities in a Jewish Environment initiative (SAJE), Page 82 — have been greatly exaggerated. The co-founder of SAJE is very much alive, we’re happy to report. Apologies to Mrs. Sampliner — and to Mark Twain.

WAG update We’ve updated our story on Rye dermatologist Jeremy A. Brauer, MD, which originally appeared on Page 120 in March WAG. So once more with feeling. See Jeremy Brauer on Page 114 of this month’s issue.

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JULIA Expert orthopedic surgery helped this teen dance competitor get back on her toes.

At fifteen, Julia suffered a painful knee injury while dancing. After surgery and a year of physical therapy, she still couldn’t dance. That’s when she went for a second opinion with a surgeon at the White Plains Hospital Center for Orthopedic & Spine Surgery. Dr. Rick Weinstein performed minimally invasive knee surgery. In just two months, Julia was back in the dance studio.

Find your pain relief at exceptionaleveryday.org/dancer or call (914) 849-MyMD A M E M B E R O F T H E M O N T E F I O R E H E A LT H S Y S T E M

EDITOR'S LETTER GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

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Chantecaille’s Cheek Shade Joy, benefiting the American Wild Horse Campaign. Photograph by Sebastián Flores.

April brings our annual animal extravaganza, which finds us touching on all creatures great and small from pandas and Sudan, the late, lamented, greatly loved male Northern white rhinoceros, to butterflies (Gina’s piece on New Canaan artist Olga Sweet, who raises them). We travel back to ancient Egypt with Audrey — a time and place where cats were worshiped as gods — and visit the up-to-the-minute Spot On Veterinary Hospital & Hotel in Stamford with Danielle. And, as always, we have some fun with our theme at Manhattan’s Blue Dog Cookhouse & Drinkery with Aleesia and The Red Pony, a new wine bar in Rye, with Danielle. We also consider a pair of “party animals” — Pink Martini (Gregg’s story) and Sky Casper Events (Phil’s take).

But this time we’re also tweaking the issue with not one but three subthemes.

First among equals is always the horse — of course — with which we began our animal themed issue seven years ago. This year, we’ve not only rounded up “the usual suspects” — Greenwich Polo Club and

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the Spring Horse Shows at Old Salem Farm in North Salem — but we’ve added a feature on Wellington, Florida, the capital of equestrian America, which has strong ties to WAG country.

You’ll encounter Thoroughbreds in Barbara’s sentimental journey to the bluegrass of Kentucky, which anticipates the May 5 Kentucky Derby, and wild horses in Danielle’s piece on nature photographer and jewelry re-designer Julie Betts Testwuide.

The horse also figures in Robin’s tender Pet Portrait of Dawn Longworth, who rescued two horses, and our cover story on the glamorous Sylvie Chantecaille, whose eponymous cosmetics company combines her love of family and natural beauty products with philanthropy for some of our most endangered species through such organizations as the American Wild Horse Campaign and The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya.

It’s there that you’ll find Jeremy as he considers Nairobi’s British colonial past and high-tech, conservationist present and future. It’s one of the stories

that make up our second subtheme, a salute to Africa.

Danielle introduces us to Jim Byrd, whose work for a telecommunications company in South Africa forged bonds with artisans there and led to a second career importing their works, showcased recently in the Harlem Fine Arts Show. And we bring you the moving story of Mark Higgins, whose brief life of service with Dr. Albert Schweitzer in Gabon prefigured the Peace Corps, as told by Westport authors Clarinda Higgins and William G. Armstrong Jr. Preservation is a motif in many of these stories.

And so it is with our third subtheme, on our fine, feathered friends. Mary’s at the New-York Historical Society for “Feathers: Fashion and the Fight for Wildife” and at Wave Hill, the public garden and cultural center, for avian programming related to National Geographic’s “Year of the Bird.” Ryan and Jena are down on the farm with chickens respectively at Pound Ridge Organics and St. Christopher Inc.’s Animal-Assisted Therapy Program in Valhalla. Laura’s at Audubon Greenwich. And Phil meets a condor named Desmond at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport.

Phil’s also at the Woodcock Nature Center in Wilton, which has a host of raptors and reptiles. This was to be one of Jane K. Dove’s stories. Sadly, she passed away suddenly March 8 at her home in northern Westchester. It’s fitting we should remember Jane in this edition. She was instrumental in our early horse issues and also in reporting on the House of the Month (WAG’s Way column). More recently, she had focused on medical stories, drawing on her background working for New York Medical College in Valhalla.

A person of empathy and plainspoken wit, Jane was the quintessence of reliability, not even missing a deadline when her beloved husband, Sylvan, died a few months ago. The last time we spoke, she told me how grief had given way to a joy in family, friends and home. And I realized that Jane had attained the profound meaning of life that we all seek.

That’s how I’ll remember her — as a person who had come full circle, a woman in full.

Georgette Gouveia is the author of the new “The Penalty for Holding” (Less Than Three Press), a Lambda Literary Awards finalists, and “Water Music” (Greenleaf Book Group). They’re part of her series of novels, “The Games Men Play,” also the name of the sports/culture blog she writes at thegamesmenplay.com. Readers may find her novel “Seamless Sky” and weekly installments of her “Daimon: A Novel of Alexander the Great” on wattpad.com.

Complex hand surgery put this golf pro back on course.

When Dana Bates suffered a devastating hand injury, she knew her career as a golf professional was on the line. At her friend Jean’s insistence, she opted for a complex surgical procedure with an experienced hand specialist.

Dr. Paul Fragner and the team at theWhite Plains Hospital Center for Orthopedic & Spine Surgery provided Dana with advanced surgical care and one-on-one support to help her regain full mobility of her hand. Now, Dana has returned to the sport she loves.

Find your pain relief at exceptionaleveryday.org/ortho or call (914) 849-MyMD A M E M B E R O F T H E M O N T E F I O R E H E A LT H S Y S T E M

m

the mermaid’s complex lure

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

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For creatures that are inextricably bound to what novelist Henry James called “the tideless deep,” mermaids — and mermen — are having another moment on terra firma.

Pair of gold armbands with Triton and tritoness holding a putto. Greek, circa 200 B.C. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Images courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro’s film about an isolated young woman’s affair with a merman destined for lab experiments, took home four Oscars at the Academy Awards last month, including Best Picture and Best Director for del Toro.

“Siren” — the eco-thriller about the proverbial mystery girl who arrives in a coastal town and is, of course, anything but an everyday woman — has just started streaming on the site Freeform.

On a lighter note, the 36th annual Mermaid Parade is set for June 16 in Brooklyn, with mermaids and mermen of all shapes and sizes — not to mention states of dress and undress — shimmying down Surf Avenue, around Luna Park and onto the Coney Island boardwalk in an event that is at once family-friendly and erotic.

These are reminders that mermaids and mermen capture a fear of and longing for the other that reflects not only our own misfit, hybrid status but our very humanity. For it is the conceit of many stories of otherworldly creatures that they wish to join the human race and are in some ways more human than ourselves.

This ambiguity has been the mermaid’s siren call across cultures since she first appeared in ancient Assyria in the Middle East around 1,000 B.C. in the guise of Atargatis, mother of the queen Semiramis, who accidentally killed her lover and, out of shame, jumped in a lake to transform herself into a fish. But nothing could conceal her human beauty and so the enticing hybrid emerged — half-fish, half-woman. (Sometimes, the aquatic half was a fish head, which was less than enticing — as a gruff sea captain discovers in “Lindemann’s Catch,” an episode of the 1970s TV series “Night Gallery” in which he wishes for a captive mermaid to have legs and gets his wish in the worst way.)

Mermaids are sometimes conflated with the sirens of Greek mythology — bird-women who beckoned sailors to their deaths with their irresistible singing. So powerful was it that in Homer’s “The Odyssey,” Odysseus had himself lashed to the mast of his ship so he could revel in it without succumbing to its lethal lure. It’s a scene depicted by artists like the 19th-century Pre-Raphaelite painter J.W. Waterhouse, a man in love with fatalistic images of women and water. (To complicate matters further, there is a rare, usually fatal congenital disorder called sirenomelia, or “mermaid syndrome,” in which a child is born with the legs fused together. It is named for the order of mammals, sirenia, that includes manatees.)

When it comes to mermaids, we, like Odysseus, want to have our siren song and preserve our sanity, too. The mermaid is that enchanting but, early on in lore, not so nice. Alexander the Great’s half-sister, Thessalonike, for whom the Greek city is named, was said to have been a mermaid.

When she asked sailors the question, “Does Alexander live?” their answer better have been “Alexander lives and reigns” or she’d stir up the Aegean Sea against them.

It wasn’t until the 19th century that the mermaid really became a creature of compassion. In Hans Christian Andersen’s tale “The Little Mermaid” (1837), the title character saves her beloved human prince not once but twice, doubly renouncing her marine identity as well to become a spirit of the air doing good on earth.

This being an Andersen fairy tale, it’s something of a downer. The 1989 Walt Disney version, featuring a score by North Salem composer Alan

Pendant in the form of a mermaid, probably based on a design by Reinhold Vasters.

(German, Erkelenz 1827–1909 Aachen.)

Menken and the late lyricist Howard Ashman, eliminated the religious aspects of the story, gave it a shot of girl empowerment and added a happily-ever-after on land (unlike the happily-ever-after under the sea that takes place in “Splash,” the 1984 film by director Ron Howard, formerly of Greenwich.)

Mermen haven’t been quite so lucky. From the earliest times, they have appeared as old, bearded, unattractive and decidedly unpleasant, with little of the tantalizing ambiguity and ambivalence toward humanity of their female counterparts. (What a surprise: They, like mermaids, were created by heterosexual men.)

There have been exceptions: Triton — the messenger son of the Greek sea god Poseidon and his consort, Amphitrite — may be bearded, but he has washboard abs. Aquaman, who first appeared in 1941, is hunky in the manner of other DC Comics heroes (Superman, Batman). In the 1977-78 TV series “Man From Atlantis,” the title character was played by Patrick Duffy in his pre-“Dallas”/Bobby Ewing days. And in the post-apocalyptic “Waterworld” (1995), Kevin Costner is an amphibious antihero known as The Mariner.

But the Creature in “Creature From the Black Lagoon” (1954)? Eew

— forget it (although he was played in a scaly suit underwater by the handsome stuntman Ricou Browning).

In our post-feminist, LGBTQ era, the merman has been transformed.

He’s the lonely Raef, whose love for the dashing Lord Haverford leads him to a rakish pirate and an experience he could not have imagined in Kay Berrisford’s “The Merman and the Barbarian Pirate” (Less Than Three Press).

And in “The Shape of Water,” which director del Toro says was inspired in part by “Creature From the Black Lagoon,” he is even more vulnerable, a creature (Doug Jones) destined for vivisection in a Cold War-era American government lab where he is rescued by Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins), a mute janitor with scars on her neck who has fallen in love with him.

Like her equally voiceless soul sister, The Little Mermaid, Elisa, too, exchanges her identity for a greater, perhaps truer one to save her beloved.

Or does she? Might those scars on her neck merely be the remnants of gills?

Perhaps Elisa doesn’t so much bring the mermaid full circle as she does herself in a timely fish tale about taking the plunge to embrace the Other.

❤

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f fight for flight

BY MARY SHUSTACK

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An exhibition opening April 6 at the NewYork Historical Society Museum & Library in Manhattan will offer a heady combination of fashion, activism and history, along with plenty of feathers.

“Feathers: Fashion and the Fight for Wildlife” is designed to explore feathered fashions and the rise of animal rights activism in honor of the centennial of the landmark Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The show will also share the stories of these early environmental activists, many women and many from New York, who championed the protection of endangered birds.

The show, a sweeping study in mixed media, will showcase not only bird- and plumage-embellished clothing and accessories but also feature original watercolors by John James Audubon. These depictions of birds endangered before the passage of the statute, drawn from the Society’s own celebrated collection, served as models for Audubon’s seminal “Birds of America.”

In addition, recordings of bird songs from The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and numerous objects on loan from other institutions — books, ephemera and photographs — will help bring this story to life.

THE HISTORY

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was one of the first federal laws to address the environment. It prohibited the hunting, killing, trading and shipping of migratory birds, while also regulating the nation’s commercial plume trade. (At the time, that endeavor had brought many American bird species to the brink of extinction.)

“Feathers” is presented as part of the Year of the Bird, a centennial celebration of the treaty act organized by National Geographic, the National Audubon Society, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and BirdLife International.

In advance materials, Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New-York Historical Society, says, “‘Feathers: Fashion and the Fight for Wildlife’ commemorates the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by delving into history and examining the economic and social circumstances that inspired the early environmentalists and activists who lobbied for this consequential legislation. As New York was the center of the nation’s feather trade, the exhibition also investigates how the act impacted the city’s feather importers, hat manufacturers, retailers and fashion consumers — as well as how New York women played an important role in pushing for the legislation.”

WALKING THROUGH

The first gallery of the exhibition, “A Fancy for Feathers,” will include late 19th- and early 20th-century fashion, from feathered hats to boas to fans, jewelry and clothing. Among the highlights is a gold and diamond Aigrette hair ornament (1894) featuring the wispy feathers of a Snowy or Great Egret.

Advance materials share these, “were scornfully called the ‘white badge of cruelty’ by activists.” Also included will be an

Unidentified maker, Accessory set, including muff and tippet, 1880–99, United States, Herring Gulls, feathers, silk; Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection, 2009.300.2050a-c. Image: Art Resource, NY. Images courtesy New-York Historical Society.

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Unidentified French or Swiss artist, Greater Bird-of-Paradise (Paradisaea apoda) skin, ca. 1550, Watercolor, black ink and gouache, with touches of white lead pigment on ivory paper, laid on paper, formerly laid on an album page; Gift of Nathaniel H. Bishop, 1889.10.2.55.

1885 R.H. White & Co. evening dress with swans’ down accents and — not for the faint of heart — circa-1865 Red-Legged Honeycreeper hummingbird earrings (it was in vogue to feature insects and animal parts in late 19th-century jewelry). The gallery will also contain painted miniatures depicting women adorned with bird plumes.

“Activists Take Flight,” the second gallery, will share the stories of some of the activists who fought for legislation to protect the birds. As advance materials also share, “As the center of the nation’s feather and millinery trades, New York played an important role in influencing the Act.

New York City activists included George Bird Grinnell, a prominent conservation polymath and protégé of Lucy Bakewell Audubon, who was inspired by her husband to found the first Audubon society in New York in 1886; Mabel Osgood Wright, an influential author and founder of the Birdcraft Museum and Sanctuary in Fairfield, Connecticut; Florence Merriam Bailey, an ornithologist whose bird books became important field guides; and Lilli Lehmann, a German opera singer and animal lover, who campaigned passionately against wearing feathers while in residence with the Metropolitan Opera.”

The exhibition will wrap up with 14 Audubon watercolors. These life-size interpretations of species saved by these conservation efforts are drawn from the Society’s famed collection, one that remains the largest repository of Auduboniana in the world. Among the featured works will be a scene featuring the Roseate Spoonbill, a wading bird whose dramatic pink wings and feathers were used in fans designed for the tourist trade in Florida. Also of note will be the depiction of the Great Egret, one of the birds most affected by the turn-of-the-century plume hunters but also the species that would become the symbol of the Audubon Society.

Roberta J.M. Olson, curator of drawings, and Debra Schmidt Bach, curator of decorative arts, have organized the exhibition. Related programming, which includes a curator-led tour April 16 and activities such as walking tours in Central Park, is also planned.

“Feathers: Fashion and the Fight for Wildlife” will be on view April 6 through July 15 at the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library in Manhattan. For more, visit nyhistory.org.

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The original high ceilings, soaring windows and classic architecture provided the perfect canvas to transform the iconic “Cupola Building” into 64 spacious, bright and beautiful apartments. Amenities include two handsome interior courtyards, a gym, a club room and an elegant reading room in the restored Readers Digest paneled library. Stroll the trails that traverse the property. Walk to Greeley High School. Shop in your own neighborhood.

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h

A humane approacH

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

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The diverse shades of eggs sold by Pound Ridge Organics — a bright mix of beige, olive green, blue and pink — don’t just make for a pretty picture.

They’re the product of a philosophy of raising and caring for rare breeds of chickens that has made the farm the first in Westchester County to be certified humane.

The farm and co-op, started in 2012 by Donna Simons, is recognized for its commitment to ethical and environmental standards for its animals and is both Animal Welfare Approved and Certified Humane by the two eponymous nonprofits.

Pound Ridge Organics has also been recognized by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, received the Slow Food “Snail of Approval” and is “A” rated by the consumer group BuyingPoultry.com.

From an 18th-century Pound Ridge homestead near the state line in Scotts Corners, Simons grows herbs, taps maples, keeps honeybees, bakes goods and creates jams and preserves. But the farm may be best known for its heritage-breed chickens, usually about 50 in total (plus one duck), that produce eggs.

The heritage title is given to breeds of chicken that are rare or even endangered — some of which trace their lineage back more than 200 years. Unlike industrial chickens designed to grow and produce quickly, the birds come in all shapes and sizes.

“These birds are lean; they’re spry, thin and tall,” Simons says. “Not all of them, some are even really huge. I have a Jersey Giant you would think is a turkey, she is so big. “ Simons feeds the birds a healthy diet that includes locally sourced feed and fruit and veggies.

They’re also allowed to forage for their own grub — ticks, bugs, worms, frogs, even snakes and mice.

The nutrient heavy diet helps produce a richer yoke in the eggs.

The chickens are not slaughtered when they stop laying eggs, allowing them to live a full life and raise younger birds.

Pound Ridge Organics also includes a small hatchery. Chicks hatched on the farm are hand-delivered to local farmers, allowing the farmers to keep heritage birds without subjecting them to the stressful and sometime fatal shipping process.

The co-op business has grown to include hundreds of customers mostly in Westchester and Fairfield counties. Simons describes herself as a

Pound Ridge Organics is home to several heritage breeds of chicken — rare animals that trace their lineage back hundreds of years. Photograph by Elaine Lloyd. Courtesy Pound Ridge Organics.

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“Following this project, I had a deep understanding of the history and current state of the food system and felt a responsibility to be directly involved in helping make change. While doing my thesis research, I began sourcing local meat, poultry, produce and eggs from local farms for my family and friends.

By 2012, Pound Ridge Organics began to take form.”

As an artist and a farmer, do you find there are similarities in the two pursuits?

“I feel that there is a similarity in the temperaments of artists and farmers, so in that sense it was natural for me. While vegetable farming is more science-based, animal farming relies on a deep understanding of behavior — more akin to the sciences of sociology and psychology.

“A farmer has to be sensitive to the behavior and dynamic of the flock in order to understand their needs. Artists use observation and our senses to create art. We watch, observe and get impressions so we can create imagery, music, dance, even comedy and drama, and believe me there is a lot of comedy and drama in a chicken flock. There’s certainly a connection between art and food as well. Aesthetics are aesthetics, whether olfactory, taste or visual. I use color theory, composition and texture any time I plate a dish.”

Why did you decide to pursue the humane certifications?

“High welfare buzz words have been used to manipulate consumers to believe that the food they are buying meets certain perceived standards. When you research the actual legal Donna Simons founded Pound Ridge Organics in 2012 after completing an art exhibit exploring alternatives to definitions of many of these terms, you find that the actual factory farms. Photograph by Brown Dog Fancy for Pound Ridge Organics. standards are far beneath your expectations. Some claims are actually inhumane such as ‘fed a vegetarian diet,’ while others make claims that make no sense at all like ‘natural.’ Additionally without audits “clean authentic food curator,” as her co-op draws produce and other prodand accountability, producers can claim anything they want, until of course ucts from farms that she ensures follow the same environmental and welfare they get caught. Animal Welfare Approved standards are in alignment with standards. my husbandry practices and I am happy to go through the effort to continually Through her farm and working with local farmers, Simons’ co-op offers a verify that through the audit process.” range of products, including Pound Ridge Organics label jams, maple syrup and honey; organic produce; local cheese and dairy products; breads and What did your farm need to do to become certified humane? baked goods; and high welfare, certified organic meats.

“It requires an annual audit, which includes a farm visit every 11 months, WAG caught up with Simons for a few questions by phone and email just review of records, showing the auditor feed and supplements and copies of after much of Westchester County was digging out and assessing the damage labels, sharing health records and egg-laying records, etc. from several nor’easters.

“I always enjoy the audits. They enable me to chat about my birds (without being perceived as a Crazy Chicken Lady).”

Can you tell me the history of the farm?

“We had egg-laying hens and a vegetable garden for many years while my Where can people buy your products? three daughters were growing up. I worked professionally in the food business “Right here at the farm market in our carriage house. The co-op initiation as a chef garde manger, baker, artisan producer and private chef. fee is only $50, which provides access to our meticulously curated local food; “Due to my buying preferences and my ability to produce food from scratch, delicious seasonally based recipes; tasting and first dibs on our events. The I was a bit naïve about the quality, welfare and ethical issues happening in the public is welcome to come on co-op pick-up day to shop for any surplus. We commercial food system. suggest calling ahead since the schedule changes due to factors beyond our “I returned to college in 2009 (for graphic design) and attended a residency control (like nor’easters). We plan to expand our hours of operation — so stay about food and the environment, followed by a lecture about antibiotic use on connected with us.” factory farms and its deleterious effect on the planet, farm animals and huA list of the exact standards for the Animal Welfare Approved designamans. I decided to choose this topic for my thesis and spent the next two years tion is available at animalwelfareapproved.us. Certified Humane’s stancollecting data and sketching concepts. The culmination of my research was dards are available at certifiedhumane.org. For more, visit facebook.com/ an art exhibition entitled ‘Bon freakin’ Appétit,’” a visual narrative and call to PoundRidgeOrganics. action to seek alternatives to factory farming.

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gems of the animal kingdom

BY MARY SHUSTACK

Georges Braque (1882-1963), Heger de Löwenfeld (1919-2000), jeweler. Asteria clip, Paris, c.

1960-62. Gold, navette-cut diamond. H. 8 cm; W. 8 cm. Deposited by the Centre National des Arts Plastiques, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, 1987. Inv. FNAC 1164. All images © Thames & Hudson LTD, London. Photographs by Jean-Marie del Moral.

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A brilliantly hued peacock takes center stage on an enameled brooch created by the iconic designer René Lalique in Paris, circa 1899.

Complete with a removable fitting that allows it to be displayed as an objet d’art, the creation is so exquisite it graces the cover of “Fauna: The Art of Jewelry.”

The compact volume (128 pages, $24.95) continues the series inaugurated by Thames & Hudson with “Flora: The Art of Jewelry,” featured in our May 2017 issue.

While that first entry was a love letter to floral-themed jewelry, celebrating keepsake works forever in bloom, this newer title takes a playful romp through the animal kingdom.

And it’s a bold journey filled with grasshoppers and butterflies, cranes and turtles, bumble bees, dogs, cats, lions, rabbits, fish, snakes … most all the proverbial creatures great and small.

In a fast-paced survey touching on animals most readily encountered, such as

xxx

Clockwise from top: Top, Dog tie pin. France, early 19th century (?).

Gilded silver, gold, old-style brilliant-cut diamonds. H. 4 cm; W. 2.5 cm. Gift of M. Merlin, 1892. Inv. 7088; Louis Aucoc (1850-1932), jeweler.

Poodle tie pin. Gold, opal, matrix opal. L. 9.5 cm; head H. 1.5 cm; W. 1.5 cm. Gift of Count Moïse de Camondo in memory of his father Count Nissim de Camondo, 1933. Inv. 28874 D; Dog’s Head tie pin.

England, late 19th century. Painting under glass, gold, silver, rose-cut diamonds. L. 9 cm; W. 1.6 cm. Bequest of Jean-Jacques Reubell, 1934.

Inv. 30736 D; and Frédéric Boucheron (1830-1902), Jean Menu (born 1830) and Burdy (born 1833), jewelers. Dog’s Head tie pin. Gold, sard, L. 10.5 cm; head H. 1.9 cm; W. 2 cm. Gift of Count Moïse de Camondo in memory of his father Count Nissim de Camondo, 1933. Inv. 28874 B.

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sleeping dogs, playful cats and charming bunnies, to the more exotic, including camels, leopards and bats, there’s even a scenic side trip to the mythical — think griffin, sphinx and dragon, for example.

In total, some 130 creations are explored, as selected from the renowned jewelry collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. There are necklaces and rings, bracelets, brooches and earrings created by legendary designers ranging from Lalique to Frédéric Boucheron, Alphonse Fouquet to Jean Schlumberger and many more.

There are finds from Italian antiquity to the Renaissance Revival of the 19th century, pieces following the fanciful lines of the Art Nouveau period through more Modernist work.

In addition to detailing the materials that form these dazzling works — brought to life in vivid photographs by Jean-Marie del Moral — authors and jewelry experts Patrick Mauriès, a writer and publisher specializing in fashion and design, and Évelyne Possémé, chief curator at the Parisian institution, have teamed up again to explore the featured work by touching on everything from symbolism to trends.

As Possémé shares in an essay at the start of the book, “The human race has always been part of the animal kingdom, and, from the very start, our lives have depended on our relationships with other animals.”

Sometimes, though, it’s just about the look — when you simply want to adorn yourself with a graceful butterfly that seems to have a life of its own.

For more, visit thamesandhudsonusa.com.

From top, René Lalique (1860-1945). Swallows pendant brooch. Paris, c. 1906-8. Gold, ronde-bosse enamel and counter enamel, old-style brilliant-cut diamonds. H. 6.2 cm; W. 10.8 cm. Gift of Madame Stéphane Desmarais, 1983. Inv. 54422 A; and Frédéric Boucheron (1830-1902). Louis Rault (1847-1903), sculptor. Turtle tie pin. Paris, 1879.

Gold and pierced steel. L. 9 cm; head H. 3.5 cm; W. 2.1 cm. Gift of Count Moïse de Camondo in memory of his father Count Nissim de Camondo, 1933. Inv. 28876 C.

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Into Africa and memory

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

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Clarinda Higgins and William G. Armstrong Jr. on a tour stop in Boston for their book “Against the Current: How Albert Schweitzer Inspired a Young Man’s Journey” (Oakham Press). Photographs courtesy Clarinda Higgins and William G. Armstrong Jr.

“…the New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises — it is a set of challenges.

It sums up not what I intend to offer to the American people, but what I intend to ask of them. It appeals to their pride, not to their pocketbook — it holds out the promise of more sacrifice instead of more security. But I tell you the New Frontier is here whether we seek it or not.” – John F. Kennedy accepting the Democratic Party nomination for president of the United States, 1960 On May 27, 1959, a young American anticipated John F. Kennedy’s call to action, arriving at The Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon, to begin a life of sacrifice and service. The 18-yearold from North Brookfield, Massachusetts, learned how to wield a machete to prune the encroaching jungle, particularly along the path to the leper village. He helped plant a 15-acre riverside garden filled with eggplants, beans, peppers, beets, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, turnips, cabbages and kohlrabies, cousins to the cabbage. He forged bonds with creatures of the two- and four-legged variety, marveling at the goats, sheep, wild pigs, chickens, ducks and pigeons that had the run of the complex, along with the butterflies, blue fish catchers, African red parrots and toucans in the jungle skies beyond.

In time, he would conduct a cardiology field study that would save lives among the Fang people, who suffered from a correctible condition called mitral stenosis. A little more than a year later, however, he set off across Africa toward his ultimate goal of living in Israel.

He never made it, meeting a grisly fate in the newly independent, strife-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. That is where Mark Higgins’ life ended.

But, in a sense, it’s where his story begins.

“It’s a sad ending, but the consequence is an inspirational legacy,” says William G. “Bill” Armstrong Jr. He and his wife, educator Clarinda Higgins, Westport residents, are seated in l’escale restaurant bar at the Delamar Greenwich Harbor, discussing their haunting book about Mark’s brief but transformative life, “Against the Current: How Albert Schweitzer Inspired a Young Man’s Journey” (Oakham Press, 2014). Mark and Clarinda, nicknamed Rindy, were first cousins and Rindy, a warm, enthusiastic woman who teaches in Weston and Westport, recalls a tall (6-foot, 5-inch), grave young man with whom she shared a special connection.

Shaking his hand when his family came to visit in the manner of a child who wants to be grown up, 9-year-old Rindy looked up at him — and to him.

“There was some recognition in his eyes,” she

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Clarinda Higgins searches for villagers in Azo, Gabon who knew her cousin Mark.

recalls. “And I would always say, ‘When I grow up, I want to have large hands like cousin Mark. And I have big hands,” she adds, splaying her fingers.

That wasn’t all Rindy noticed. “Mark was always very morose, gloomy,” she says. Of the three siblings, “he was the most affected by his parents splitting up.”

His depression, however, went beyond that. The Higgins’ name in Worcester, Massachusetts, was synonymous with achievement. Mark and Rindy’s grandfather, John Woodman Higgins, possessed a playfulness that delighted his grandchildren but belied a shrewd business brain that built Worcester Pressed Steel and amassed the nation’s finest collection of arms and armor, which became the now-defunct Higgins Armory Museum. Mark’s father, Carter, inherited his father’s drive but not the playfulness. Mark’s older brother, Dick, took himself off to Greenwich Village where he became an avant-garde poet and artist and co-founder of the interdisciplinary Fluxus movement, working with composer John Cage and artist Yoko Ono. It looked, then, as if the steely Higgins’ mantle would fall on the lanky Mark’s shoulders. But who we are is in part what we are not. Mark had no interest in becoming a third-generation industrialist. The crushing pressure he felt to conform led him to attempt suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills while he was a senior at Milton Academy and endure a horrific stint at The Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut, where the patients undergoing the standard electroshock therapy had included the actress Gene Tierney.

Salvation came in the form of Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) — theologian, organist, medical missionary and Nobel laureate, whose “reverence for life” credo would galvanize members of the Higgins’ family.

“His reverence for life extended to every living thing,” Rindy says. “He’d even stop the truck for ants…. I really adopted it for myself. Schweitzer was my hero.

I read everything I could about him.”

Adds Bill: “We can apply that philosophy to everything we do and it really changes people.”

In offering his services to Schweitzer, however, Mark had traded one exacting father figure for another, Rindy says. Was that perhaps why he was eager to push on to the Congo, despite Schweitzer’s admonition not to? The young man was determined to fulfill his dream of communal life in a kibbutz. But

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in the Congo, where resentful locals squared off with Belgian forces intent on protecting their nationals, Mark was mistaken for a European colonial and shot to death on July 25, 1960, his remains then mutilated.

News of the “missing” American made headlines back home, reaching the attention of a man embarked on a bid for the nation’s highest office. How many, John F. Kennedy asked at a University of Michigan rally that October, were willing to serve at home and abroad?

While no one knows where Kennedy got the idea for the Peace Corps, Bill says, it seems reasonable to conclude that it came in part from Mark’s example.

When Kennedy established the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961, he named his brother-in-law Sargent Shriver as its first director. In a notso-quirk of fate, Shriver had been a fraternity brother of Mark’s father at Yale University.

“Those kind of coincidences kept us going,” Bill says about researching and writing the book, as did an encounter in Redding with medium Roland M. AS FOR MARK’S Comtois, who kept coming back to LEGACY, RINDY SAYS Rindy in the audience, saying he had a message for her from beyond. FinalIT’S ABOUT “NOT ly, he revealed it: “You must finish the book.”

BEING AFRAID OF She and Bill had met in 2004, married in 2007 and worked on the book YOUR INNER SELF. for a year and a half, from 2012 to ’14.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE “Bill’s research skills were a great help,” Rindy says of her husband, who JOURNEY OF SELFhas had a long career in journalism, public relations and academia.

DISCOVERY.” Working on the book together and traveling to Gabon, where The Schweitzer Hospital has become a museum, brought them closer together.

Schweitzer’s legacy also embraces The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, of which Bill is a director, and The Albert Schweitzer Institute at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.

As for Mark’s legacy, Rindy says it’s about “not being afraid of your inner self.

It’s all about the journey of self-discovery.”

“He lived a life that’s remembered by so many people,” Bill says. “He made such an impact….In part, he was the inspiration for the Peace Corps and, if that’s not a fitting legacy, I don’t know what is.”

For more, visit Schweitzerfellowship.org, qu.edu/on-campus/institutescenters/albert-schweitzer-institute.html and oakhampress-againstthecurrent.com.

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BY MARY SHUSTACK

GARDEN OF (AVIARY) DELIGHTS

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Wave Hill’s Flower Garden, top, and Paisley Bed, inset. Courtesy Wave Hill.

says, “this big bowl of blue sky. That’s the sort of ‘fill my lungs’ moment.”

It speaks, as well, to the very heart of Wave Hill, where it’s all about reconnecting with nature, whether that means a walk through a formal garden or simply sitting on a chair and taking in the surroundings, something much needed in today’s world.

“It’s a place of great healing for many people,” Gellens adds. “This is a place where you can pull out the plug.”

But there are certainly, she notes, an abundance of “opportunities for those who want a more curated experience.”

Have you been to Wave Hill, the 28-acre public garden and cultural center in the Bronx?

FOR THE BIRDS Wave Hill, as a flyway for migrating birds, witnesses more than 120 species who make its ecosystem their home. Where birds thrive, the site’s spring brochure notes, people prosper and, in an uncanny coincidence with our issue’s animal-kingdom theme, Wave Hill is “going to the birds” this spring.

With the National Geographic announcement that 2018 is the Year of the Bird, Wave Hill is celebrating the vital role birds play in not only maintaining a healthy ecosystem but also adding pleasure to the landscape.

Programming will include an exhibition, “Avifauna: Interplay of Birds + Habitat,” that opens April 7 in the Glyndor Gallery, which also hosts the popular Winter Workspace program and Sunroom Project Space.

In addition, art workshops, family programming and a “Feathers and Flora Weekend” May 19 and 20 are planned.

No matter the season, Wave Hill’s calendar is full. There are the perhaps expected programs such as garden walks, hands-on gardening workshops and nature offerings. But programming also touches on woodworking, wellness, cooking and food, with numerous lectures, talks and even off-site excursions.

On the arts side, there are exhibitions, gallery tours, performing arts events and art workshops. Wave Hill’s noted family programming is led by its signature Family Art Project, while school groups are among the site’s regular visitors.

Its mission “is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscapes, to preserve its magnificent views and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.”

What those words don’t share is how you’ll feel when you first step onto the stunning property in the Riverdale section of the borough.

Emerging from the parking lot to pass through a virtual wall of tall trees, you immediately relax as your first glance encompasses the Great Lawn and the majestic Pergola Overlook in the forefront of a dramatic scene anchored by the Hudson River and Palisades just beyond.

A recent morning found WAG savoring it all, as Martha Gellens, Wave Hill’s assistant director of marketing and communications, took us on an informal overview tour of all that Wave Hill offers.

She never tires of that first view, where the parking lot yields to, she

A BRIEF HISTORY Wave Hill’s roots date from the mid-19th century, when jurist William Lewis Morris built Wave Hill House in 1843 as his country home. It would go on to be owned by publisher William Henry Appleton, who enlarged the house twice in the late 19th century. During that time, Appleton brought pioneering natural scientists such as Thomas Henry Huxley to the site. Over time, the house would have connections with other historical figures. A young Theodore Roosevelt spent summers there in the early 1870s when his family rented the property, while Mark Twain leased the estate from 1901 to ’03, creating a “tree house parlor” in the branches of a chestnut tree on the lawn.

In 1903, financier George W. Perkins, a partner of J.P. Morgan who would be instrumental in the creation of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, purchased the house as part of an effort to accu-

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mulate properties that would create a grand estate along the river. Acquisitions included Oliver Harriman’s adjacent villa on the site of what is now Wave Hill’s Glyndor House. During Perkins’ ownership, he added greenhouses, a swimming pool, terraces and the recreational facility that today is the site’s Ecology Building.

The Perkins family would live in Glyndor House while leasing Wave Hill House to Bashford Dean, a noted zoologist with a hobby of collecting medieval armor. Dean built the Armor Hall to house his collection, part of which was subsequently donated to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Other famous residents of Wave Hill House include conductor Arturo Toscanini in the 1940s, as well as chief members of the British Delegation to the United Nations in the 1950s.

In 1960, the Perkins-Freeman family deeded Wave Hill to the city of New York, and Wave Hill Inc. was formed in 1965 as a nonprofit corporation.

A BREADTH OF BEAUTY A glimpse at the visitor map offers an overview of Wave Hill, dotted with mini-destinations such as the Aquatic Garden, Conifer Slope, Abrons Woodland, Kerlin Overlook, Marco Polo Stufano Conservatory and more.

As Gellens continues our tour, we reach Wave Hill House, a landmark property that now houses The Café at Wave Hill and also hosts the Family Art Project and concerts in Armor Hall. With a lower-level theater, the House is also a popular rental venue for weddings or corporate events and retreats.

The Shop at Wave Hill is found within the Perkins Visitor Center, a bright space complete with a whimsical mural/map created by artist Maira Kalman.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS During our tour, we learn that the Marco Polo Stufano Conservatory

HOT ART IN A COLD WAR Intersections of Art and Science in the Soviet Era January 27–May 20, 2018

BRUCE MUSEUM www.brucemuseum.org

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is named after its former director of horticulture (1967-2001), a pivotal figure in the field of gardening.

“Many of our gardeners who work here have a fine-arts background,” Gellens says. “That artistic touch, to me, is what gives the garden its character.”

Wave Hill is full of opportunities for discovery.

The Herb and Dry gardens are terraced gardens that have been created within the stone foundations of former greenhouses.

When it comes to the herbs and those visiting, Gellens says, “We want them to lean down and run their fingers over a mint plant.” Not to take, of course, but to connect with something you might have only seen in a supermarket.

Steps away, the Kerlin Overlook is, she adds, “just a nice place to sit on a warm afternoon and catch the breezes.”

At times, we wander pathways which, she says, are deliberately narrow, “so you have to slow down.”

When Wave Hill kicked off its 50th anniversary festivities in the fall of 2014, it wasn’t only a time to look back but also a time for renewed consideration of its future. Gellens says plans continue to evolve, including those that take advantage of technology, from blogs to social media and beyond.

“We’re looking for more ways to tell the story of what’s happening in the garden,” Gellens says.

And no doubt offer further inspirations for all those who visit, many whom no doubt end up finding a favorite spot or two.

We know we look forward to seeing the Aquatic Garden surrounded by the Upper Pergolas in their full seasonal splendor, while also hoping to take in a sunset concert or wander the grounds during expanded hours on select summer evenings.

A gentle warning: Once you visit the year-round destination that is Wave Hill, you can’t help but dream of coming back again and again.

For more, visit wavehill.org.

Boris Mikhailov (Ukrainian, b. 1938) Untitled from the series Sots Art, 1975–1990 Gelatin silver print handcolored with aniline dyes on paper Collection Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University.

Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union, 2000.1131/01773 Photo by Peter Jacobs © 2017 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

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Party animals

BY PHIL HALL

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When you mention “Connecticut,” most people might think about hedge funds, insurance companies and multimilliondollar estates along its Gold Coast. Few people associate “Connecticut” with dragqueen revues. But Sky Casper wants to change that.

“I had always said that Connecticut was missing some fun things that other places had, so I decided to bring it myself,” says the West Hartford-based founder of the eponymous Sky Casper Events, which produces drag revues for the Connecticut market. Casper set himself up as an impresario of fabulous theatrical divas six years ago, following an earlier half-dozen year stretch in a less than glamorous job with a finance company. The boyishly handsome Casper serves as host and talent coordinator for his weekly shows around the state.

“I knew a lot of people that believed in me, so I started a Saturday event called ‘Hartford’s Gay Social Saturday,’ to give LGBT individuals a place to hang out, be social and play games,” he continues. “We had different themes each week, which made it really fun and different from other places.

Then I started my live singing and comedy ‘Pink Eggs & Glam Drag Brunch,’ where I bring in some of the most amazing drag performers in the world, and they put on an hour show during brunch. There are bottomless mimosas and such available.”

But the mimosas are hardly the only intoxicating aspect of a Sky Casper Events show. With all inhibitions happily parked at the coat checkroom, Casper’s talent lineup follows his one performance rule: There are no rules.

“I tell them to go wild, because I think people going to a drag show expect it,” he adds. “My drag performers are very good at reading the crowd, so if they’re doing something the audience doesn’t like, they will most likely cut that out of the performance and change it up. They’re professional.”

And no two shows are alike. “We rotate performers every month at each location, but each one includes live singing and comedy,” Casper says. “I try to pick performers that I think anyone would enjoy seeing. Sometimes I have ‘boylesque’ performers who are amazing dancers and singers as guests; sometimes I have bearded drag queens; sometimes I have biological women that do drag, but they are all entertaining and everyone always enjoys themselves.”

Bella Daleahdo, one of the drag queens spotlighted in Casper’s shows, generates an industrial level of power for audiences expecting a high-energy experience. “If it's your first time at the rodeo with Bella, expect splits, dips, death drops and a whole lot of sass,” Deleahdo insists. “Come with an open mind and ready to have a ball, because life is her party.”

Indeed, this isn’t Milton Berle doing Borscht Belt shtick in a tacky dress and ill-fitting wig. Then it was about laughing at men as ugly women. Now it’s about performance art.

“Drag takes lots and lots of time, even more if you try to

Bella Daleahdo and, inset, Sky Casper.

Photographs courtesy Sky Casper Events.

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rush,” says Angela Saxon, another member of Casper’s lineup. “Makeup takes two hours, but three hours is ideal. Getting dressed takes another 10 to 30 minutes. I will use every second available to me to get ready though. If I had 20 hours, I'm sure I would still feel rushed with my makeup.”

Saxon believes the essential element for a successful drag show is quality, adding, “I do look for hard work and elbow grease on every queen,” he continues. “Most people can tell the difference between the result of actual hard work and a performance that was just thrown together five minutes before the show. I want to see some thought behind a performance.”

Sawyer Hurst, another Casper regular who performs under the persona Lotus, observes, “It sounds cliché, but passion is the cornerstone of any form of drag. There are so many types of queens — ones who dance, sing live, do comedy, recreate film or theater references. But regardless of what you do, you have to be passionate about what you are trying to convey. You are the product you're selling to an audience, and how can you expect them to buy you if you don't believe in what you're doing?”

Still, Hurst notes that too much intensity is not part of the act. “Oh, we also don't take things too seriously,” he adds. “We are essentially clowns, after all, just with better wardrobes.”

Casper’s “Pink Eggs & Glam Drag Brunch” rotates among Crave in Fairfield, Casa Mia at the Hawthorne in Berlin and Social in New London. Another production, “Tuck & Strut,” offers a “drag battle” among competitors. Casper has also booked talent for private parties and for nonprofit events, including Pride in the Park by the Triangles Community Center in Norwalk and a gala by the Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in Hartford.

And in what is clearly a sign of the times, Casper’s shows are becoming favorites with Connecticut audiences of all persuasions. “Lately we have been getting a much larger straight crowd,” he says. “But for the past two years, it’s been a really great mixed crowd. I’m really proud.”

For more, visit skycasper.com.

Angela Saxon.

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Notjust for the birds

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BY LAURA JOSEPH MOGIL

With birds, wildlife and plants bursting onto the scene, Audubon Greenwich is springing to life this April and offering a variety of public programs and activities for people of all ages to enjoy.

Funded by Eleanor and Hall Clovis, the center first opened in 1943, and its main sanctuary, off of Riversville Road, is recognized as the first educational nature center of the National Audubon Society.

“Audubon Greenwich has now grown to include seven sanctuaries and other private parcels with 15 miles of trails crossing over 686 acres of protected wildlife habitat,” says Eli Schaffer, the center’s public programs manager.

According to Schaffer, “April visitors can expect to see everything from robins, cardinals, blue jays and goldfinches, to frogs, groundhogs, woodchucks, skunks and migrating salamanders.” He says spring wildflowers will also be sprouting up from the forest beds of oak, beech and maple trees.

Schaffer notes that one of the most exciting birds to look out for this spring is the American woodcock.

“With its long pointed beak and muted beige coloring, the bird is known for its eccentric display in meadows, exhibiting a fantastic dance that involves mid-air somersaults and exuberant feather rustling.”

While visitors are often found walking around the main sanctuary’s popular Mead Lake, Schaffer points out that there are many surprises that people might not know about. “On boardwalks off the Lake Trail, we have two-story high ‘bird blinds’ that people can walk up and view the abundant wildlife without being noticed by the birds and animals,” he says.

He also notes that the northeast corner of the property has some wonderful trails, including Dogwood Lane, which passes by a babbling brook and connects to a wooded swamp that feeds into Mead Lake.

“Sitting on a bench there and listening to the water go under the trail is so serene and feels like a place without time,” he adds. “Some of the property’s further points are where you get away from the road and really immerse yourself in the forest. By just sitting for a few minutes, you can see all the birds and animals that have been hiding start coming out and experience the landscape come to life.”

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In addition to walking the center’s trails on your own, there are a number of special events planned for April, which Schaffer says focus on “building a bird- and plant-friendly world.” Programs include “Birding by Ear,” in which Ted Gilman, the Audubon’s senior naturalist, leads a class on how to identify birds by their calls and songs on April 21 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. ($12 for members; $15 for nonmembers, free to children. It’s appropriate for ages 10 and up.)

Families with younger children won’t want to miss the second year of “Animal Tale on a Trail,” which is an interactive storytelling experience along sanctuary trails. Intended for children ages 2 to 8, the April 22 program runs from 1 to 2:30 p.m. ($5 for members and $8 for nonmembers.)

On April 28 there is a free film screening of “Deeply Rooted,” a story about master gardener and heirloom seed saver John Coykendall, who has “preserved nearly extinct seeds and saved numerous rare and heirloom vegetable varieties,” Schaffer says. It’s scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m., with a reception before the screening and a question and answer session afterward. The event is co-sponsored by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut and Slow Food USA: Ark of Taste.

For those who want to get more involved with Audubon Greenwich, the center has an active volunteer program. Hundreds of “Citizen Scientists” help Audubon Greenwich with everything from its annual “Hawk Watch” in the fall — when there can be tens of thousands of hawks migrating through the center on their way south in a single day — to the “Great Backyard Bird Count,” held every February. Schaffer says that what’s great about the latter is that “absolutely anyone can participate in it from their own house. Just by looking out the window and counting the birds they see, they are contributing to meaningful science.”

Other volunteers are “Teacher Naturalists,” who help educate the more than 3,000 students who come to Audubon Greenwich every year. The cen-

ter provides all the teaching and training to the volunteers so they can work with naturalists in leading school groups that come to the center. “No teacher background is necessary, just an interest in ecology and the natural world and a desire to share what they’ve learned about it,” Schaffer says.

There are many other volunteer opportunities at the center for individuals, corporations, garden clubs, scouts and other groups. “They include cleaning up the trails, removing invasive species from the grounds, propagating and planting native species and helping out at special events,” he adds.

Another way to get involved with the Audubon Greenwich is to host your own special event there, whether it’s a child’s birthday party, corporate outing or wedding.

According to Schaffer, the Kimberlin Nature Education Center, which was built in 2003, is a magical yet flexible space. In addition to the spacious two-story lobby, opening up to a deck overlooking the wildlife sanctuary, there is also Kiernan Hall, which can handle up to 125 people and boasts the beautiful Melissa Groo Wildlife Gallery. The Hilfiger Children’s Learning Center can accommodate 125 people and features a large bird-viewing window overlooking the center’s wildflower garden, a demonstration honey bee hive abuzz with activity and live animal displays that surround an open area.

The center also has a spacious event lawn and a recently renovated, 1,380-square-foot barn, which is made from the wood of several 19th-century, upstate Connecticut barns and exudes a rustic elegance. The barn and adjacent patio can handle up to 225 people.

“When people rent here, they’re actively supporting our education, conservation, outreach advocacy and everything that we do that benefits the wildlife and habitats they rely on,” Schaffer says. “Beyond the beauty of the backdrop, I think it’s special that people are able to contribute to an organization that preserves the environment they are looking out on.”

For more, visit greenwich.audubon.org.

A Swallowtail butterfly at Greenwich Audubon. Courtesy Greenwich Audubon.

The mating game at the Beardsley Zoo

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BY PHIL HALL

Upon entering Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, the first resident that the visitor encounters is Desmond, an Andean condor. Admittedly, this fearsome-looking avian scavenger may not be the cutest animal in the zoo — unless, of course, you’re a female Andean condor. And that’s where things get interesting.

“Being an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), one of the main goals and objectives of our facility is conservation,” says Gregg Dancho, director of the zoo. “We work with endangered species as much as we can. When we look at species like the Andean condor, we are working within the Special Survival Plan (SSP) program to coordinate captive management through breeding or holding. Desmond is our male Andean condor — he is just going into breeding age — and we’ve had him since he was fledged out. More than likely, he’ll be leaving us to go into a breeding position with a female condor somewhere in the United States.”

Indeed, many of the feathered and furry denizens at the Beardsley Zoo may only be enjoying a time-limited Connecticut residence. “If there’s an SSP species in our facility, it doesn’t belong to us,” Dancho adds. “It belongs to the zoo collective.”

Dancho’s commitment to global conservation and the preservation of endangered species is eons removed from how zoologists viewed their job back in 1922, when the site was strictly viewed as a happy distraction for Jazz Age visitors. Initially, the 22-acre zoo hosted a hodgepodge of exotic animals, but over time its focus became more geographically focused.

“The zoo works mostly off North and South American animals and cold-weather Asian species,” Dancho explains. “That is done on purpose, due to our climate and our size and our resources.

We cannot do African species like giraffes or elephants or rhinos.”

The zoo, which is run by the nonprofit Connecticut Zoological Society, concentrates on giving shelter to species that are either threatened or

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endangered in the wild. These range from the playful golden lion tamarin (a South American monkey whose wild population is roughly 1,000) to the mysterious Mexican wolf (with less than 150 left in the wild) to the majestic Amur leopard (an East Asian feline whose wild population is unMeri the Red Panda. Photograph by Shannon Calvert. der 100). The Amur leopard’s survival is especially precarious, because its wildlife range includes North Korea, enclosure is being planned for construction later which lately seems more interested in nuclear misthis year. Other new exhibits for the spider monkeys siles than species preservation. But Dancho offers and Andean bears are also in the works. assurance that conservation efforts are underway The zoo averages about 300,000 visitors per in that country. year, and it has become increasingly popular as a “There are still scientific groups that work there,” location for birthday parties and weddings. While he says. “Our fraternity is a little tighter than politipromoting itself as Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo, the cal fraternities. We get information from North Kozoo often gets overshadowed by a larger and more rea on the wild population. We want these animals famous institution about an hour’s drive away. to survive. In North Korea, there are ways to have “The Bronx Zoo has been the quintessential zoo researchers…work around the political process, betrip,” Dancho says, acknowledging that many Concause it is not a political issue for us.” necticut residents drive past his site to visit the New In December, the zoo saw the stork arrive — so York landmark. “I went to the Bronx Zoo when I was to speak — with new bundles of joy. Amur tiger cub in grammar school when I grew up in Stratford.” twins Reka and Zeya have become social media faHowever, one significant trend is working in the vorites thanks to their camera-friendly, kitten-cute Beardsley Zoo’s favor — the new education focus demeanors. Sadly, their mother, Changbai, rejecton STEM (science, technology, engineering and ed them at birth, forcing the zoo staff to step in and mathematics) studies. play surrogate mom. Bonita the maned wolf has “We are seeing more and more school trips proved more the maternal type, showing saintly coming here,” Dancho continues. “And the stucare for her three still-unnamed pups. Webcams dents are getting to see the things they need to keep the public updated on the pups’ progress. see and learn the things you need to learn. School The zoo is hoping that more babies are on the trips are not just the end-of-the-year, get-the-kidsway via its matchmaking efforts. Jabba the two-toed out-of-the-classroom mini-vacation. Now they are sloth has a new gal-pal in Hope, a recent arrival based in STEM programs.” from the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, Michigan, And who knows? Today’s grade school student while Roshan the red panda is sharing his enclosure visitor could be tomorrow’s leader in ensuring the with Meri from the Brandywine Zoo in Wilmington, protection of the world’s most endangered species.

Delaware. The red pandas will soon be receiving a The Beardsley Zoo is at 1875 Noble Ave. in new exhibit space all to themselves. These Nepalese Bridgeport. For more, visit beardsleyzoo.org or natives are now incongruously housed at the zoo’s call 203-394-6565.

Rainforest Exhibit, but a new standalone red panda

Book an appointment today!

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Into the woods of enchantment

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BY PHIL HALL

Chubbs, an African bullfrog at the Woodcock Nature Center. Courtesy the Woodcock Nature Center.

The great naturalist John Muir once observed, “The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.” Within Fairfield County, an arboreal portal to a greater world quietly exists on the 149 acres of the Woodcock Nature Center, a wooded preserve straddling Wilton and Ridgefield.

Well, maybe this oasis of nature isn’t entirely quiet.

It is not uncommon to hear squeals of excitement and a happy skein of questions and observations offered by grade schoolers who find endless wonder in this small slice of paradise. (Not to mention in Hooty the great horned owl, Monty the African ball python and Bonnie and Clyde, a pair of gray tree frogs, to name a few.) And that’s no mean feat for a generation that is more familiar with emojis than eagles.

“Kids that come here don’t think twice about not being with their devices,” says Lenore Eggleston Herbst, the center’s executive director. “They are ready to come and explore.”

Those entering the Woodcock Nature Center can take advantage of three miles of hiking trails, a wildlife center that is home to 30 animals native to the area and vernal pools — defined basins of standing water in the woods that are not connected to a permanent stream — that provide residence to a wider selection of delightful residents. The vernal pools have found their way into a program that began last year with the cooperation of the Ridgefield School District.

“Every fourth grade student participates in the program,” Herbst says. “It is conducted in a field triptype setting that allows students to study wildlife in a vernal pool. We have a curriculum for teachers to utilize at school, which helps the students learn about the environment, habitats and the purpose of the vernal pool in nature.”

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Outside of the school setting, youngsters also take advantage of the center’s riches through the summer camp programs for preschoolers through eighth graders. For these campers, the forest becomes their classroom and their gym.

“We do hiking, rain or shine,” Herbst continues.

“They just dress for the weather. Kids have a lot of fun — and they get really dirty.”

The older children also get a hands-on lesson in fire safety in the woods, with fire-building and campfire cooking lessons. “It’s something different, something they can’t get in schools,” Herbst says, adding that rave reviews from the campers have created some good-natured jealousy for adults. “Parents tell us that they wish summer camp came for adult ages.”

However, the grown-ups aren’t excluded from the center’s fun. Family programs scheduled for the spring include a pollinator garden planting event for Earth Day and a guided bird walk with Audubon bird guide Joe Baer. A birdhouse building seminar in March quickly sold out after it was announced. A new program being introduced this spring is called “Mommy, Me & the Natural World,” in which youngsters between the ages of 1 and 3 and their caregivers explore the center’s grounds through nature walks, animal encounters, stories and art projects.

Last year, Connecticut experienced an abnormally high tick infestation that became national news.

Herbst reports that while that was not a concern at the center, all participants are briefed on the dangers from ticks and are advised to prepare against them while on the hiking trails.

“We tell everyone to dress appropriately, with long pants and high socks, to use bug spray if they

feel comfortable with it and to do a tick check every day,” she says.

The Woodcock Nature Center has been part of Fairfield County since 1972, but its operations are not backed with any government funding. Herbst notes that private philanthropic generosity and support from the community helps to finance the organization’s $400,000 annual budget. Fundraising endeavors held through the year include the “adoption” of one of the animals within the wildlife center and events such as the “Where the Wild Things Run” 5K, the kids’ mini-marathon and the yuletide Family Wreath Making Day and Wreath Festival.

One of the newest additions to the center is, ironically, Herbst herself. She took on the executive director position in February after serving on the board of directors for two years. Although not a naturalist, Herbst brings 20 years of nonprofit management experience to the center. Before this, she served for 12 years as director of marketing and development for the Westchester Philharmonic.

Herbst was aware of the center through trips she conducted with her children, who are now 9 and 5½, and she recalled how her kids always requested to keep going back on hikes.

In her new role, Herbst acknowledges the responsibility of bringing the joy of nature to tomorrow’s environmental protectors while reminding the current generation about the beauty and importance of the ecosystem. “It is very rewarding to have a direct impact on people and the community around us,” she says.

The Woodcock Nature Center is at 56 Deer Run Road, Wilton. For more, visit woodcocknaturecenter.org or call 203-203-762-7280.

Cats in the Year of the Dog

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BY AUDREY RONNING TOPPING

Cat people may feel neglected in the Year of the Dog, but in the long debate that has divided animal lovers, scientists have recently confirmed that, at least from an evolutionary point of view, members of the “felid” cat clan have historically been better hunters, and thus survivors, than their “canid” dog clan counterparts. Indeed, as “The Story of Cats,” a fascinating 2016 two-parter on PBS’ “Nature,” demonstrated, feline adaptability has enabled cats to “dominate human culture since the dawn of civilization.”

Cats were domesticated by the ancient Egyptians. These cats worked for their living by hunting rodents and snakes and protecting the grains.

In return, humans fed and, eventually, welcomed cats into their homes.

Although dog lovers like to point out that dog spelled backwards is god, history indicates that cats were once actually worshiped as gods.

I found evidence of this while doing a story in Egypt for The New York Times Magazine about the first All Women’s Archeological Research Expedition (AWARE).

Amel Samuel, a noted Egyptologist with the AWARE group, and I were exploring an ancient necropolis near Saqqara in the Sahara Desert, when a sand storm forced us to take refuge in what looked like a deserted tomb. When my eyes adjusted to the dark, I found myself in a cat lover's nightmare surrounded by stacks of mummified cats in a “cat”-acomb.

Amel said some 10,000 mummified cats had been stored there in the tomb of the Vizier Abia, adviser to a pharaoh. In Dynasty 26 (664-525 B.C.) the Egyptians noticed the feline’s striking resemblance to the statues of the Goddess Bast, or Bastet, who was a protector of Lower Egypt and defender of the pharaoh.

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Egyptian cat statuette intended to hold a mummified cat, from the age of Alexander the Great (332-30 B.C.), leaded bronze.

Cats eventually became sacred and, thus, the practice of mummification was extended to them.

The respect that cats received after THE RESPECT THAT CATS RECEIVED death mirrored the respect with AFTER DEATH MIRRORED THE which they were treated in everyday life. The Greek historian HeroRESPECT WITH WHICH THEY WERE dotus wrote that in the event of a TREATED IN EVERYDAY LIFE. fire, men would make certain that no cats ran into the flame. When a cat died, the household would go into mourning as if for a human relative and would often shave their eyebrows to signify their loss. Herowith provisions for the afterlife such as pots of milk dotus noted that when cats died anywhere in and even mummified mice.

Egypt, they were often taken to the great BubasAdvancing deeper into the spooky catacombs, tis Cemetery to be mummified and buried. we came upon two men pulling rocks out of a deep In her book “The Cult of the Cat,” Patricia Dalehole. Suddenly a slim woman, resembling a Nubian Green writes that, "The cat's body was placed in queen — with black curly hair, chocolate skin and a linen sheet and carried amidst bitter lamengolden eyes that glowed in the dark — emerged tations by the bereaved to a sacred house where from the top rung of a ladder. I was struck by her it was treated with drugs and spices by an emresemblance to a cat. She introduced herself as Inbalmer." She added that cats would be carefully spector Amal Ahmed Hilal and said she worked in prepared and the embalming carried out with the the catacombs five hours a day. same conscientiousness as for a human body, often

When I asked if she liked working with all these mummies, she smiled sweetly and said, “Every morning I say, ‘Hello everybody, here I am again. It is nice to see all of you.’” She picked up various mummies and presented them by name. One reminded me of Kvetch, my tabby cat in Scarsdale, and another resembled my husband’s calico, Chutzpah. I said I was delighted to meet them. Amel noted that some cats had broken necks indicating they may had been ceremoniously sacrificed.

The stunning inspector worked for a Frenchman, Alain Zivie, who spent his life restoring cat catacombs and researching various theories of the cat cult that existed 4,000 years ago. He claimed mummification and preservation of the cat’s body was intended to make it possible for the deceased's “ka” — the Egyptian soul — to locate its host and subsequently be reborn into the afterlife.

The worship of all pagan gods, including cats, was officially banned by Roman Egyptian imperial decree in the year 392, but cats are still kept as revered pets. At the airport I was amazed to see cats, no dogs, riding around on the baggage claim and noticed people feeding them.

So maybe we should have a Year of the Cat, too.

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In the pinK

BY GREGG SHAPRIO

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There is one and only one Pink Martini. Under the direction of Thomas Lauderdale, Pink Martini has released 11 albums, including a holiday recording and one compilation disc, over the course of almost 25 years. Based in Portland, Oregon, the intoxicating Pink Martini has been entertaining lovers of world music around the globe, offering a mélange of styles, and will be on an international tour for most of 2018.

WAG spoke with founding member Lauderdale about the band and its trademark sound in anticipation of its Tarrytown Music Hall gig: Next year, 2019, is the 25th anniversary of Pink Martini. Are there big plans to commemorate the occasion?

“Not yet. This year, we are concentrating on the 20th anniversary of the release of our first album ‘Sympathique.’ We’re doing a remastered release version of that as well as an album with some of that same material with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra. We’re also going to include different versions (of songs). For example, a version in Russian, possibly a version in Greek and maybe Romanian.”

There was a seven-year period between the release of 1997’s “Sympathique,” and its 2004 follow-up, “Hang on Little Tomato.” What was happening during those intervening years?

“I was having a nervous breakdown from the pressure of trying to figure out what to do with

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the second album. When we put out the first album, no one was expecting anything. I was just making an album of music that I loved.

Up until that point, we had never really played outside of the city limits of Portland. We weren’t a traveling band or anything like that. We were mostly playing political fundraisers and parties in Portland, Oregon.

“China Forbes, our singer, was in an independent film that was playing at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997. I begged to go as her accompanist. I flew myself over. We ended up going to a couple of parties at the film festival. I thought to myself, the band would do really well (in France) because our music is global. The next year, we brought the entire band over to play at the Cannes Film Festival. Out of that developed a partnership with a record company and launched an accidental career in Europe. We went from Portland, Oregon, to France and then, after that, we started touring in the United States.”

You mentioned China Forbes, which made me wonder: Of the members of the core group in Pink Martini, how many have been there since the beginning?

“I’m the only one left from the very first performance. China joined in 1995, so did Gavin (Bondy) our trumpet player, and Robert (Taylor), our

trombonist, Brian Davis, our percussionist, and Dan Faehnle, our guitarist. Most of the people in the band have been members for more than 20 years.”

What is involved in the process of selecting guest performers, including Rufus Wainwright, Ari Shapiro, Wayne Newton, as well as the late Phyllis Diller and Chavela Vargas, for Pink Martini albums?

“It’s sort of like whoever we meet along the way. Rufus I’ve known since 1995 when he first came to Portland during his first concert tour.

I’ve known him for years prior to ever recording anything with him. In the case of Phyllis Diller, we happened to be playing in Los Angeles one New Year’s Eve. My friend Kim Hastreiter, who was the editor-in-chief and founder of Paper magazine in New York, knew Phyllis.

“We went over to Phyllis Diller’s house in Brentwood. She made us chili. In the last decade of her life, she really became a painter. There were hundreds of paintings on the walls of her home. Each painting had a price tag. You would take them off

Pink Martini. Photographs by Chris Horbecker.

THE GOAL FROM THE BEGINNING WAS TO MAKE MUSIC THAT WOULD APPEAL TO CONSERVATIVE PEOPLE AND LIBERAL PEOPLE AND EVERYBODY IN BETWEEN, PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT AGES AND PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD. — Thomas Lauderdale

the wall, be tallied up, write a check and off you went. I bought a whole suitcase full of Phyllis Diller paintings. We had several albums that she had made in the ’60s and early ’70s that we wanted her to sign. She was a pianist as well.

“When I went to her house that night, it wasn’t on my mind to ask her to record a song. At the end of the night it occurred to me to do so, not thinking she would say yes. She did say yes — at age 94. The following month, we flew down to Brentwood, set up an impromptu recording studio in her living room and she recorded ‘Smile.’

That made a lot of sense on a lot of different levels.

She was a friend of Charlie Chaplin, who wrote the song. It’s a perfect song for Phyllis Diller to sing. I think it’s her best recording that she ever did.”

In addition to the wide variety of cover tunes that can be found on Pink Martini releases, there are always original compositions, such as "Joli Garçon,” "The Butterfly Song,” "Souvenir" and "Segundo" on 2016’s “Je dis oui!” album. What can you tell me about your collaborative songwriting process?

“Each song is different. The three French songs on ‘Je dis oui!’ were written for the actress Isabelle Huppert to sing in a (2016) film called ‘Souvenir,’ which tells the story of a forgotten singer who lost to ABBA during the Eurovision music competition during the mid-70s. She’s faded into such obscurity that she’s working in a pâté factory. One day a boxer comes to work at the factory, they have a mad, passionate affair and she’s inspired to make a comeback. ‘Joli Garçon’ is the comeback song for her. We were working on the songs independently and I realized these should be the basis for the foundation of the next album. “‘Segundo’ is a melody that we’ve been working with for years and years. At some point we’ll release a version with lyrics because I think there should be words to that, but we ran out of time.

Each song has a different genesis. ‘The Butterfly Song’ was inspired a bit by Robert Schumann’s ‘Papillons’ solo piece for piano. It was a collaboration with Alex Marashian, my friend from college who helped produce the fourth album (“Splendor in the Grass”). Most of the Pink Martini songs that are the most beloved are the ones that China and

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I wrote together. We haven’t written one together in a long time. I think it’s probably time.”

Finally, when I told my editor at WAG magazine that I was interviewing you, she told me a story about how during the final encore at the Ridgefield Playhouse, members of the audience formed a conga line for the song “Brazil.” Would you say that this is a common occurrence at a Pink Martini concert?

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“Our audiences are completely diverse. Full of people who would normally not be sitting together. The goal from the beginning was to make music that would appeal to conservative people and liberal people and everybody in between, people of different ages and people from different parts of the world. The audience runs the gamut, which is unusual because there aren’t that many places, in America especially, where people who are not at all alike find themselves

sitting next to each other. Our goal, at the end of the night is to have everybody, with all of their differences, up and at ’em in a gigantic conga line. People leave being surprised that they were part of a conga line with people with whom they would not ordinarily speak.”

Pink Martini performs May 23 at Tarrytown Music Hall. For more, visit tarrytownmusichall. org.

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showcasing South African art

BY DANIELLE RENDA

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Nkosi Imported Crafts LLC features handcrafted pottery made by artists in two studios, one in the province of KwaZulu-Natal and one in Pretoria, both in South Africa. Photographs by Howard Zoubek.

A ceramic pot is decorated with serpentine designs that entwine brilliant flora, fauna and natural scenery.

Little do the viewers know, but this work is the product of two minds — a sculptor and a painter, who do not communicate with each other.

“The sculptor steps aside and the painter expresses his vision,” says Jim Byrd, owner of Nkosi Imported Crafts LLC. “There is significant trust between the artists for the sculptor to give the work over to the artist. They do this incredible work.”

It’s just one of the unusual, nature-inspired pieces you’ll find through his business, which is dedicated to importing and selling the work of South African artisans. Recently, he showcased the earthenware of Owen Maseko — a Zimbabwean visual and installation artist — at the Harlem Fine Arts Show in Manhattan, a traveling exhibit and sale focusing on the African Diaspora. Maseko’s use of vivid colors and attention to detail mirrors South Africa’s geography and the wildlife that inhabits it.

Byrd has been selling art through his Plainsboro, New Jersey, company since 2007. Before that, he worked for Telcordia Technologies Inc., a telecommunications company that brought him to South Africa for five years. There he helped upgrade the nation’s telecommunications, form new local businesses, provide a reliable source of electricity for these businesses and build a new library in KwaZulu Natal, a coastal province. And there in South Africa, he formed connections with artisans. Eventually, he started seeking ways to help them gain recognition for their work.

“I started to look at developing international market channels

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A three-legged piece.

for these gifted, talented craftspeople,” Byrd says. “It was an amazing experience for them and for me.”

With more than a decade of experience, Byrd continues to rely on these personal connections, which form the basis of his business. At art shows and on his website, he offers a selection of works that often have an interesting history.

The Zulu Nala Clay pots, for instance, are made using an exclusive tech-

nique developed by the Nala family more than 75 years ago in Eshowe, a town in a remote part of Zululand. Ntombi Khumalo developed the skills, which she passed on to her daughter, Siphiwe; granddaughter, Nesta Nala; and great-granddaughters, Jabu, Thembi and Zanele. Nesta, who has since died, adorned her pottery with distinct designs, which garnered global recognition at the Cairo International Biennial for Ceramics in 1994 and the National Ceramics Biennial in 1996.

Byrd also sells Zulu baskets, which were traditionally used in ceremonies and for household chores. The baskets vary in size and include Isichumo baskets, which stored water; large Ukhamba baskets, beer; Isilulu baskets, grains; Isisquabetho and Imbenge baskets, food to be served; and Iquutu baskets, herbs.

Also available are Oumi dolls, which are traditional African dolls made in Senegal, in West Africa, as well as ceramic pottery, beaded ceramic vases and African cards. The cards are made by a women’s group in South Africa’s Western Cape Province. They are crafted using mixed media — including wood, feathers, beads, cloth, metal and bone — and inscribed with notes to be given as gifts or displayed as art.

Now stateside and retired, Byrd still strives to make a difference in the lives of the artisans he works with by donating a portion of the proceeds from each sale to help support the people in that particular artisan’s village. He plans to work with museums to showcase the works and eventually have the items — which retail from $70 to $8,500 — represented in luxury department stores.

As he says, “They’re one-of-a-kind, museum quality, amazing pieces.”

For more, visit nkosiimportedcrafts.com or call 908-578-9816.

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c Croc on

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

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Twelve-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic is the new “crocodile,” the new brand ambassador for Lacoste.

xxx

Lacoste — the luxe sportswear company — is celebrating the 85th anniversary of its polo shirt with a new “crocodile” (alias, brand ambassador) and new bedding inspired by the iconic shirt.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic, WAG’s August 2013 cover guy, is the new croc and looks, with his spiky hair worn a bit longer, every bit as elegant and sophisticated as René Lacoste (1904-96), the French-born founder of the eponymous brand who helped galvanize men’s tennis in the 1920s and early ’30s with his sparkling baseline game. From 1925 to ’29, he won Grand Slam titles at the American, French and British championships. He and countrymen Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon and Henri Cochet were known as the Four Musketeers of the court. Together, they brought the Davis Cup home to France in 1927 and ’28 (and were immortalized with a new stadium, Roland-Garros in Paris, in the process).

But Lacoste also had the spirit of an entrepreneur.

“Inventor should be on my business cards,”

IT WAS DURING A TRIP TO BOSTON WITH THE 1923 DAVIS CUP TEAM THAT LACOSTE NOTICED A CROCODILE SUITCASE. 'IF YOU WIN, I’LL BUY IT FOR YOU,' COACH ALAN MUHR JOKED BEFORE THE MATCH. René Lacoste.

Photographs courtesy Lacoste.

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the Lacoste website quotes him as saying. “I’ve been inventing all my life.” And indeed, he invented the first tennis ball machine, the first metal racket and a new polyurethane driver for golf.

(Wife Simone Thion de la Chaume and daughter Catherine were championship golfers.)

It was during a trip to Boston with the 1923 Davis Cup team that Lacoste noticed a crocodile suitcase. “If you win, I’ll buy it for you,” coach Alan Muhr joked before the match. A journalist for the Boston Evening Transcript got wind of the bet and dubbed Lacoste “the Alligator” — for the way he preyed on opponents — even though their snouts and those of crocs are differently shaped and crocs have the toothier grins.

Artist Robert George would create Lacoste’s now-famous logo in 1927. But the brand would not launch until six years later. Colored and striped versions of the white shirt — with its short sleeves and buttoned neckline — debuted The three-piece cotton full/queen comforter set is available in chili pepper (red), gray and navy. ($315). in 1951, with an American launch a year later. In 1958, the children’s collection was born.

Now the company has added bedding to its portfolio. The collection Perfume and leather goods would follow in the ’60s; sunglasses and has the look and feel of the timeless polo shirt in a soft cotton piqué knit tennis shoes in the ’80s. and is available in gray, navy and chili pepper (red).

The company keeps growing. The Lacoste Foundation is dedicated It may not turn you into a tennis champion, but at least you’ll to helping vulnerable youngsters while Lacoste Live! — launched in sleep like one.

2011 — is a line targeting millennials with edgier designs that reflect the For more on the bedding, visit macys.com and for more on influence of creative head Felipe Oliveira Baptista, appointed in 2010.

Lacoste, visit lacoste.com.

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A world of ‘leathers’ for animal lovers

i

BY JANE MORGAN

I would kill for a burger right now. That was my thought as I spoke to a cardiologist last year about his heart-healthy, vegan agenda. He was young and super earnest and made me watch a movie about how the meat industry is ruining the planet. Dubious, I decided to try to reserve judgment and give it a shot. After all, it’s trendy and hipster and maybe I could end up looking as good as Natalie Portman, one of many famous vegans. So I dug into my Portobello “steak” seasoned with nutritional yeast and sesame seeds and hoped for the best. I am impressed that I actually lasted two

months when driven by weakness and despair, I drove to the nearest rib joint and threw it all away.

I didn’t even lose much weight for all of that excruciating effort because, as it turns out, Oreos and potato chips are also vegan.

This experience got me thinking about what exactly vegan means when it comes to other products, like vegan leather and other vegan fabrics. What does that mean exactly? Veganism is a relatively new term referring to a lifestyle that avoids the consumption of food and clothing that use animals or contain animal products. It’s all in the interest of protecting animal rights, which, by extension, works to the greater good. This would include the use of any material that uses animal fibers or animal skin.

Vegan leather or faux leather is essentially a fake “leather” product. Bonding together a usually petroleum-based plastic coating (like PVC and polyurethane) to a fabric backing is the most common way to make faux leather,

thus the term “pleather.” Believe it or not, although this product is friendly to animals, it is not so friendly to the environment, which seems counterintuitive to the ecology and ethics movements. Indeed, the types of plastic used in these coatings can vary from somewhat toxic to positively earth-scorching, which just proves that it is always wise to look beyond the hype.

Here are some truly earth-friendly, natural alternatives: CORK LEATHER Cork leather is made from the bark of the cork tree. Cork bark can be collected without the need to kill the tree, making it an easily recyclable and sustainable resource.

PINEAPPLE LEATHER Pineapple leather, known as Pinatex, is made from the fibers of pineapple leaves and PLA (a bioplastic made from renewable sources such as sugar cane, cornstarch or tapioca roots). It makes use of a natural waste product and also gives farmers an additional source of income.

MUSHROOM LEATHER Mushroom leather, known as MuSkin, is an avant-garde material from Italy made from mushrooms and is completely biodegradable.

TREE BARK LEATHER Tree bark leather, known as Barkcloth, is similar to cork but made from sustainable timber. Its production is eco-friendly, as the bark is extracted from the trees and boiled. No chemicals are used in the process.

WAXED-COTTON LEATHER Better known as Glazed Canvas, waxed-cotton is a very common eco-friendly material. I swear this looks just like patent leather.

FLEXIBLE STONE LEATHER Flexible stone leather is made from a stone that can be cut so thin, it becomes flexible and sewable. What will they think of next?

Leather upholstery samples.

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So, should you use real leather or vegan? Well one vegan interior designer (yes, it’s a thing) whose mission it is to design a cruelty-free home, claims that you don’t have to give up plush luxury.

As for whether you should amend your diet, I am siding with a comic I heard recently who thought the word vegan was short for “vegetables again.”

It’s a work in progress.

For more, visit janemorganinteriors.com.

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Crystal creatures

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BY MARY SHUSTACK

When it comes to the animal kingdom, Lalique is all in.

Founded by René Lalique in 1888 and noted for its exquisite crystal creations, the luxury decorative arts company has more recently been busy cementing a broader reputation as a lifestyle brand.

But as Lalique marks its 130th anniversary this year, three collections in its signature crystal carry the legacy forward, each paying homage to different elements — and sensibilities — of the animal kingdom.

Nature is an enduring source of inspiration for Lalique, ideally exemplified by the creations of the Nature Sauvage collection.

The brand shares that these diverse pieces address, “wild jungle versus urban jungle: The satin-finished crystal bestiary matches the poetry of a dreamlike vision of Parisian flora. The power of the lion, rhinoceros, gorilla, crocodile or hippopotamus contrasts with the lightness of a whirlwind of leaves that defy gravity. Designed by Marc Lalique in 1951, the Champs-Élysées bowl, homage to ‘the most beautiful avenue in the world,’ is transformed through new sizes, colors and uses.”

Focusing on the animal elements of the collection, we look first to the Lions sculpture, which features a powerful male lion that, we’re told, is “standing proud. Both intimidating and protective, the king of animals watches over his family.”

Created in clear or black, this dramatic piece comes to life through the traditional lost-wax technique. This symbol of family unity is issued in a limited edition of 12 pieces of each color.

In addition, with a nod to modern technology, the collection also includes crocodile and hippopotamus

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The Hirondelles carafe, a clear and gold stamped decanter, 2018 Vintage edition, from Lalique. All images courtesy Lalique.

Above, the Bulldog sculpture, clear and gold stamped, from Lalique’s Zodiac 2018 collection, created to honor the Year of the Dog; and, right, the Rhinoceros sculpture in black, from Lalique’s Nature Sauvage collection.

sculptures that serve as smartphone holders, their jaws wide open and ready to hold that always-misplaced, modern-day necessity.

For a more “airy” sensibility, Lalique offers Hirondelles. To mark the brand’s milestone anniversary, the Spring/Summer 2018 crystal collection showcases the motif of the swallow, a recurring theme in the work of René Lalique. This symbol of spring is filled with sentiments of happiness and freedom, reinterpreted for this grouping in several sizes, colors and functions by Lalique master craftsmen in both the signature satinand clear-crystal finishes. From the medium-sized vases in sapphire blue or clear to the wall sculptures, from the carafe topped with a swallow stopper to the swallow-festooned desk clock, the Hirondelles creations take décor to new and fanciful heights.

Finally, Lalique continues its zodiac-themed collection with its 2018 introductions designed in honor of the Chinese Year of the Dog. Lovers of their canine companions will no doubt delight in the satin-finished and polished clear, gold luster or gold-stamped sculptures that offer playful interpretations of Golden Retrievers and Bulldogs.

Who knows, with these varied forays into the animal kingdom, perhaps Lalique is poised to become the new “man’s best friend”?

For more, visit Lalique.com or Lalique boutiques including the flagship at 609 Madison Ave. in Manhattan.

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The iron panda: Xi Jinping

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

D

Xi Jinping and wife, folk singer Peng Liyuan, arriving at Nikola Tesla International Airport in Belgrade, Serbia, for a state visit on June 17, 2016. She has described the couple as living a laid-back life in Jade Spring Hill, a private enclave run by the Central Military Commission in northwestern Beijing.

During the closing ceremonies of any Olympics, the next host city/country is given a chance to shine. At the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, Beijing, China — host of the 2022 Winter Games — took the opportunity literally with performers dressed as illuminated giant pandas roller skating and flying. The dazzling tour de force lit up the Twitterati and had commentator Johnny Weir, WAG’s January 2014 cover guy, squealing with delight.

But what followed, though more subtle, was more significant. Xi Jinping — general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and China’s president — came on the screen like a latter-day Wizard of Oz to welcome everyone to Beijing’s winter wonderland four years from now.

Two weeks later, China’s annual National People’s Congress in Beijing moved to rubber-stamp Xi’s bid to remain president for life — a move that has sent shock waves through the geopolitical landscape and would raise Xi to Mao-like status.

In the age of the “strongmen” — Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, North Korea’s Kim Jongun, The Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and, of course, the United States’ Donald J. Trump — Xi may out-tough the other tough guys. If he does so, however, it will be without any Trump-et blast. Indeed, he’s the proverbial iron fist in the velvet glove or, more appropriately, the iron panda.

Xi speaks of socialism as the path to happiness, cloaks his smackdowns as an anti-corrup-

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tion crackdown and spreads money — and thus Chinese influence — in Africa.

He’s creating a New Silk Road — a subject explored in WAG by our Sino expert Audrey Ronning Topping — that seeks to establish a Pax Sina in the way that people once spoke of a Pax Americana. It’s all part of the “Chinese Dream,” which might be summed up with the acronym MCGA — Make China Great Again.

Born in Beijing in 1953, Xi came by his Chinese Dream the hard way. His family benefited from Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution until it didn’t. His father, a high-ranking party official, was imprisoned and one of his sisters murdered. Xi himself was denounced by his own mother as an enemy of the revolution in a walk of shame. He wound up working on a farm and, escaping back to Beijing, digging ditches in a camp for deserters.

Xi went on to study chemical engineering at Beijing’s Tsinghua University — whose program included more farm work and Communist philosophy — later earning a doctor of law degree there. Along the way, he observed U.S. agriculture firsthand, staying with an Iowa family — a visit that left a considerable impression. Back home, he acquired a military patina by working for one of his father’s former subordinates on the Central Military Commission.

This seems to encapsulate his approach to life.

Rather than be embittered by this experience, Xi — who was described by some who know him in a 2011 Washington Post article as “pragmatic, serious, cautious, hard-working, down to earth and low-key"

— seems to have heeded the words of the Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu: “Yield and overcome.”

After many attempts, he became a member of the Communist Party, cheerleading for it as he rose through its ranks and earning a reputation as tough on government corruption. Among his career highlights was orchestrating the dramatic 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing when he was China’s vice president.

Now he stands on the top of the heap and many worry about what that will mean.

“Clear rules putting limits on the power of any one individual are critical for the success of any political system, democratic or not, because no one individual is ever wise or benevolent enough to rule indefinitely,” Francis Fukuyama, a senior fellow at Stanford University, wrote in The Washington Post. “Succession is therefore a point of weakness of all dictatorships. The lack of rules necessitates a damaging power struggle upon the death of the supreme leader.”

Reacting to Xi’s power grab, Trump said: “He’s now president for life. President for life. No, he’s great. And look, he was able to do that. I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot someday.”

He said this jokingly — we think.

Trump might think instead about whether Xi’s not necessarily benevolent dictatorship might lead China to eclipse America as sole superpower and whether making China great again will come at the expense of American weakness.

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BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

We begin with dead bug pose — or, to be exact, halfdead bug pose. (It’s also known in yoga as happy baby.) You lie on your back with both legs raised, knees bent and your hands on the balls of your feet, drawing your knees toward your chest in a great stretch for the quads. (In half dead bug, you do one leg at a time.)

As instructor Laurie Jordan talks, sometimes joking about yogis’ inability to tell right from left, we move through a series of asanas that feature variations on the sun salutation and include downward dog, a powerful pose in which the body is in an inverted V. Yoga is about being in the moment, and the moment occurs in the Wainwright House’s Breath of Spring Room. You notice the burnished wood floor, the diaphanous white curtains that grace the large windows, never impeding the moody view of skeletal trees, Milton Harbor and a misty Manhattan skyline beyond. And you think, What would it be like to be as straight and still as those trees, as calm as that bay?

Such thoughts are natural at Wainwright House, a Rye center dedicated to mind, body and spirit and “all creatures great and small” in a 17th century-style stone château on Milton Point. It was once the home of Fonrose Wainwright Condict, whose Wainwright forebears — direct descendants of Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch director general of New Netherland, which became New York — built summer homes 66

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along Stuyvesant Avenue that include Wainwright House, La Panetière restaurant and Coveleigh Club.

“She wrote a book called ‘Those Who Went Before,’” says Annie Gaillard, a board member and Pelham-based landscaper who did the center’s grounds. “That should tell you a lot about Fonrose. She was interested in family and tradition, and the church fell into that interest.”

Indeed, Condict was a member of Christ Church in Rye and a friend of the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, author of “The Power of Positive Thinking,” who once stayed at Wainwright House. (A room is dedicated to him on the second floor.) In 1951, she donated the 5-acre site, including the sculpture gardens, to be a center for her humanitarian goals. In the early years, the Laymen’s Movement — which included such leaders as John D. Rockefeller Jr. and President Dwight D. Eisenhower — hosted United Nations’ conferences at Wainwright House. (Former U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, whose marvelous book “Markings” can be summed up with his credo “Not I, but God in me,” donated the furnishings to Wainwright House’s Meditation Room.)

The center was incorporated in 1981.

Today, it is the oldest nonprofit, nonsectarian holistic learning center in the United States. “We have become inspired by our legacy, a milieu of service and a celebration of different faiths,” says Lexy Tomaino, a board member and Rye resident.

“We look to go back to our roots.”

The center does so with a five-prong focus on: 1. Physical health. There are classes in yoga, tai chi, qigong and ballroom dancing, including Jordan’s introductory yoga class and a monthly “Vino and Vinyasa” series for yogis who want to socialize afterward.

2. Emotional health. This includes a continuing series of discussions with parents and experts on Thursday evenings and/or Friday mornings on “Raising Boys,” a timely subject given the number of school shootings by young men.

3. Connecting to the arts. There are music brunches slated for April 15 (with Stamford-born drummer Joe Corsello) and Mother’s Day and a fiveweek “Creativity and Mindfulness” workshop with Michelle Levy (April 14 through May 19).

4. Environmental appreciation. The organic landscaping is home to a variety of animals, including birds of prey, foxes and possums, as well as

Yoga instructor Laurie Jordan at Wainwright House.

Photograph by Sebastián Flores.

the Meditation Garden, the Rose Garden and the Labyrinth, a seven-cycle creation that is the only green, blooming labyrinth in Westchester County. There’s also a biannual “Paws on Pillows” project, creating toys for animals in shelters.

5. Spiritualism. Wainwright House welcomes people of all faiths.

And all persuasions and walks of life, Tomaino says. The center is looking to start an Encircle program for LGBTQ youth similar to the one begun in Utah. Wainwright House is also hoping to find an underwriter for a community garden, because, in the end, it is a community place.

“I’ve taught yoga in a lot of places, but this is one place where people say, ‘Why haven’t I come here before?’” Jordan says. “It’s called Wainwright House, and they feel they’ve come home.”

Wainwright House also hosts weddings and retreats. For more, visit wainwright.org.

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WAY

Old-style glamour in a modern home PRESENTED BY SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

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The glamour of the 1930s meets contemporary amenities in this 12,078-square-foot Vineyard Lane property in Greenwich.

The house — which was actually built in 1930 but renovated in 2014 — boasts sleek, modern, elegant new interiors by architect Grandberg & Associates. Contemporary overtones, a neutral palette, smooth stone finishes, art lighting and an open flow give the rooms — which are graced with barrel ceilings and seven fireplaces — a radiant feel. They include an up-to-date kitchen with a soaring 11-foot ceiling, Waterworks tiles and two chef’s islands; a clerestory stair hall; a walnut library; and a five-room master suite. (There are six bedrooms, with balconies, and eight full and three partial bathrooms in all.)

The extensive lower level has a pool cabana/bathroom, media room, nanny’s suite and a two-story wine cellar.

One of the great selling points of the house for the money — $11 million — is the 4.47 acres, which feature an illuminated driveway and courtyard with boxwood parterre, bluestone terraces, bucolic views, sweeping lawns, gardens, a serene pond and a pool, of course. (Got to have a pool if you have the cabana, after all.)

Can’t you just imagine a latter-day Jean Harlow swanning through the place?

For more, call Steve Archino at 203-618-3144 or 203-869-4343.

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A Day Program where they’re always in good company.

Waveny’s Adult Day Program in New Canaan offers meaningful camaraderie and care in a secure daytime setting. With ever-changing choices of recreational activities, hands-on personal care, managed medication, shower services, access to on-site therapies, and even overnight respite care, we serve the varied needs of seniors and their families.

Free door-to-door transportation is provided throughout most of lower Fairfield County. Learn how to enjoy a free trial day by calling 203.594.5429 or visiting waveny.org.

Daytime Caregiver Relief with Free Transportation

When you need Home Care, choose the team you already trust.

Waveny Home Healthcare and Waveny at Home bring the expertise, quality and local resources of a community-based healthcare system into the home.

If you live in Fairfield County, Waveny’s visiting therapists, nurses, home health aides, CNAs, companions and even live-in aides can come to you.

Our trusted team makes rehabilitation at home, and staying at home for the long term, a realistic choice.

Learn how Waveny can come to you by calling 203.594.5249 or visiting waveny.org.

A nonprofit continuum of care that’s planning ahead for you.

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The nature of beauty

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

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Sylvie Chantecaille, right, with a friend at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Images courtesy Chantecaille.

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When did you first become involved with animals?

“I’ve adored animals since I was a tiny child — since I was born, really. My mother was once utterly terrified when she discovered me sitting in her garden, gently petting a giant tarantula. I couldn’t believe how magnificent its fur was and how beautifully he crawled and climbed around. I have always loved all creatures, big and small, and have always had a fascination and respect for animals rather than a fear.”

Did you have a pet or a favorite kind of animal growing up in Paris?

“I had an Irish Setter named Ajax, and he was my best friend growing up. There is a certain bond formed between a child and their first pet, something magical that I will never forget. Growing up with pets forged my adoration of and dedication to animals.”

Sylvie Chantecaille

Sylvie Chantecaille has combined her passions for family, philanthropy, cosmetics and the natural world into Chantecaille, a cosmetics company celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Growing up in Paris — the only child of aristocratic, art collecting parents — the former Sylvie de Bois de Soheit was an early fan of creatures real (dogs, spiders) and imagined (mermaids). Her mother’s love of gardening at the family’s country home and devotion to cosmetic rituals also gave young Sylvie a respect for beauty in all its forms.

Her 1963 society debut underscored what she called “the magic of makeup.”

“We used to wear those big gowns to balls, with our hair up, and so we needed good makeup to carry off the look,” she told The Telegraph’s Justine Picardie in 2011. “I wore pale Chanel lipstick to match a pale embroidered evening dress by Patou, and I borrowed a coat made of swans’ feathers to go over it.”

That unerring sense played well in Manhattan in the 1970s, where she met her husband, Olivier Chantecaille — a Bordeaux native working in the wine business — and founded a cosmetics company with Diane von Fürstenberg. That led Sylvie Chantecaille to develop the Prescriptives line for Esteé Lauder.

But Chantecaille wanted to establish a brand that would reflect all her passions, including the natural world and philanthropy. Enter Chantecaille the company, which not only makes use of botanicals but supports a number of wildlife charities. (No wonder Sharon Stone, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston and March WAG cover guy David Beckham are such fans.)

Chantecaille the woman — who works with her husband, son Philippe and daughters Alex and Olivia in the business — has the timeless elegance that defines Frenchwomen. (Think Brigitte Macron.) There’s also a soupçon of Helen Mirren about her.

We might not all achieve the glamorous effect of a Sylvie Chantecaille.

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How does the Philanthropy Collection of Cheek Shades benefit animals? Are there several charities involved?

“Our new Philanthropy Cheek Shade Collection is permanent to the line — not just seasonal as many philanthropy items of ours are. It benefits six charities that Chantecaille has been honored to support in the past. The launch is a reissue of six best-selling cheek shades ranging from soft pink to vibrant coral. Each cheek shade benefits a unique conservation effort and is embossed with the animal it supports. We’re so pleased to have more opportunities to support the American Wild Horse Campaign, The Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation, The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Marine Conservation Institute, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and Widecast (Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network Inc.).”

Tell us about your work with The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

“The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is a world-renowned wildlife haven in Kenya known for their work rescuing orphaned baby elephants and caring for them until they are sound in body and spirit. Angela Sheldrick has committed her life to elephants, continuing the legacy her parents built by becoming a tenacious anti-poaching advocate. She and her swift team are dedicated to preserving the elephants’ natural habitat in Tsavo by monitoring the area via aerial surveillance and on the ground, dismantling snares and arresting wildlife offenders. Her strength and natural leadership in such a critical arena of the wild is a huge inspiration to us.

“Throughout the years, we have supported them with The Elephant Palette in 2012, our 15th Anniversary Palette in 2014 and our Spring 2017 Mermaid Matte Trio. I am delighted to launch the limited-edition 20 Year Anniversary Palette this spring. It continues our support for Angela’s efforts.

Smitten, one of our best-selling cheek shades, is also part of the Philanthropy Cheek Shade Collection. It is embossed with an elephant and was created to give evergreen support to The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.”

Twenty years is a remarkable achievement. Why did you found Chantecaille?

“After working on Prescriptives at Estée Lauder, I was ready to do something with my name on it, something that represented my passions, background and beauty ideals. Launching my own brand was the perfect vehicle to combine my spiritual and holistic philosophy and interest in flowers, botanicals, aromatherapy and traditional Chinese medicine with my dedication to animals and conservation.

In 1997, I launched Chantecaille as a small fragrance house with four scents based on natural essential oils. My niche fragrances didn’t remain

WHAT SETS CHANTECAILLE APART IS OUR TRUE, PURE PASSION, OUR PASSION FOR PRODUCTS, ANIMALS, THE EARTH AND OUR CLIENTS. — Sylvie Chantecaille

small for long. Quickly, I discovered my desire to create more — to be the first skincare company based on florals, botanicals and luxury. If I was going to do it first, I had to commit to doing it best, which is why all of our ingredients are scientifically proven to not only be tremendously effective but also pure and healthy for women.

Is that what makes Chantecaille special?

“What sets Chantecaille apart is our true, pure passion, our passion for products, animals, the earth and our clients.”

Chantetecaille’s Philanthropy Cheek Color Bee (Emotion) supports The Xerces Society, protecting invertebrates and their habitats.

Before Chantecaille, you had a cosmetics company with Diane von Fürstenberg and then, as you’ve said, Prescriptives. Why did you choose cosmetics as a profession?

“Cosmetics chose me.”

What one skincare or makeup principle do you think everyone should adhere to?

“Everyone should use naturals and botanicals. They work in harmony with your skin. Use products that help you feel beautiful while also being healthy for you. Our bodies are most at ease with nature because there is an understanding between our bodies and cells and the cells of plants.

We proudly fuse pure, luxurious quality, scientifically-forward technology and botanical ingredients in all we do. We think of it as wellness, not just beauty.”

Your family shares not only your passion for the environment but your work at Chantecaille. How does that dynamic play out at the office and at home?

“Chantecaille is truly a family business — committed to the same vision for the brand and dedicated to philanthropy and conservation. We are passionate about our work and a very close family unit. We are in the (Manhattan) office five days a week together, then spend weekends together at my home in East Hampton. As a mother, it’s marvelous to see my children flourish in their unique ways. Everyone has their own strengths and talents, and everyone works so differently. Something about being related must mean we can read each other's mind. I notice we can predict each other’s opinion or next move. I find it incredibly efficient.”

Chantecaille’s 20 Year Anniversary Eye Palette helps support The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Finally, our opening essay for April is all about mermaids, and you mentioned Chantecaille’s Mermaid Matte Eye Trio. Do you share any qualities with a mermaid?

“The first time I ever dressed up in a costume as a child in France, I was a mermaid. My mother hand-painted each scale on my long turquoise and purple tail, I wore a net over my shoulders, and I had long blonde hair.

I loved mermaids. Like a mermaid, I am always moving, always swimming, going forward.”

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Jewelry rooted in nature’s richness

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BY DANIELLE RENDA

Travel is Silvia Furmanovich’s gateway into another world — a cultured world that encompasses the natural one.

One of her recent collections looks to the colorful wildlife that inhabits the Amazon rainforest, as the brand is based in São Paolo, Brazil. But other collections are odes to the sensuous Ukiyo-e prints created during Japan’s Edo period (1600-1867) known as “Pictures of the Floating World,” which represent fleeting, everyday pleasures; the arts of India, which first captivated Furmanovich during The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Divine Pleasures: Painting from India’s Rajput Courts,” an exhibit that led her to visit that country; Venice’s multicolored mosaics and Murano glass; and pharaonic Egypt’s use of the scarab (beetle), symbolizing the renewal of life.

Furmanovich believes that jewelry has had deeper meanings throughout history. And she looks to preserve these meanings by integrating various cultures into her designs. This is why Furmanovich’s collections are named for the countries that inspired them.

The natural world also comes into play in her choice of materials, including 18-karat gold, diamonds, rubies, opals, mother of pearl, tourmalines, citrines, amethysts, topazes, moonstones and turquoise. She also uses coral, seashells, Rudraksha (a large seed), salvaged wood, copper, porcelain, Murano glass and rock crystal, which she sets on glass or gold for a trompe l’oeil effect. Sometimes, she hand paints landscapes onto her jewelry as well as lily pads and leaves or lines her peacock earrings with diamonds.

Some of her designs are created with coconut fiber while others include small orchid petals, which are preserved in lacquer and framed with rows of pavé diamonds.

During Furmanovich’s recent trip to the state of Acre in Brazil —

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A.

B.

C.

D. A) Marquetry pink butterfly earrings.

B) 18-karat gold marquetry red butterfly drop ball earrings.

C) Ring set in 18k yellow gold with ruby, diamond and opal.

D) Dragonfly bracelet set in 18k white gold with diamond and rock crystal.

E) (Next page) Marquetry earrings set in 18k yellow gold, diamond and pearl.

Prices available upon request.

Photographs courtesy Silvia Furmanovich.

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which inspired one of her latest collections — she began experimenting more with marquetry, a 16th-century European technique that uses slivers of veneers to create patterns, pictures or designs. Using wood that was salvaged from fallen branches or bark — instead of being cut from trees — Furmanovich teamed with a group of local craftsmen who brought her vision to reality. Some of the recovered Brazilian wood had fallen near water, which changed its coloration.

This color variation was taken into consideration when designing, providing pieces with multihued, natural finishes.

The results are like puzzles, with pieces of wood perfectly placed to create an intricate scene, whether it’s a flower or moonlight on water. Recently, Furmanovich began using marquetry to create a line of clutch handbags.

Furmanovich came from a line of jewelers. She spent her childhood observing the work of her father Salvador Longobardi, a renowned goldsmith in São Paolo, who built an atelier in their home. Furmanovich’s Italian great-grandfather had worked in design, having been a jeweler for the Vatican.

In 2000, after exploring other endeavors, Furmanovich chose to reconnect with her family’s trade — adding her own personal twist, of course — and officially founded her company in 2003.

She now designs her pieces in her own at-home atelier — where the natural world can be framed and contained.

Silvia Furmanovich’s jewelry is featured at Bergdorf Goodman stores. For more, visit bergdorfgoodman.com or silviafurmanovich.com.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Madame Butterfly

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BY GINA GOUVEIA

Signs of nature, life and art inhabit every corner of Olga Sweet's light-filled New Canaan condo.

During a recent visit on an unseasonably mild February day, she tells me that this is a "temporary" home for the family, and yet, it appears anything but transitory. The open space exudes the lived-in vibe of its inhabitants — Olga, husband Robert, sons James, 19, away at college, and William, 11. Two fish, two parakeets (Dom and Perignon), a cat (Octavia) and lastly, three chrysalises not in plain sight — future butterflies protected in their hard-shelled pupas — round out the mix. These three have been in occupancy over the winter (two attached to a piece of bark and one under the frame of a sliding door), awaiting the opportunity to emerge this spring as beautiful Swallowtail butterflies. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Back in November of last year, WAG first visited Olga to view her paintings and discuss her artistic talents and success in creating many commissioned and noncommissioned works of art — for clients and nonprofits, to which she has donated dozens of works for charity auctions. This month, she will contribute a portrait to the American Red Cross Metro NY North Red & White Ball — marking the third year in a row she has done so.

More portraits are scheduled to be auctioned this spring, summer and fall at the Princess Grace Foundation-USA gala, the Chicago Heart Ball, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in Washington,

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Butterflies raised by artist Olga Sweet of New Canaan include the Monarch and Swallowtail varieites. Photograph by Olga Sweet.

D.C.’s gala, the UNICEF Gala, the CTREE (Center for Therapeutic Riding of the East End) gala in the Hamptons and other benefits.

Today, Olga proudly produces an original letter she received in late November on Buckingham Palace stationery. It is signed by a social secretary of Queen Elizabeth II, acknowledging the receipt of a letter sent by Olga together with a photograph of a painting she had done of the monarch. Her Majesty has suggested that Olga consider donating the piece to the British Red Cross. This recognition and her own brush with royalty is humbling to her.

As to the Monarchs of the butterfly variety, there is a “sweet” story Olga relates of how she

and her younger son came to raise them. Last summer the family lost its beloved pet rabbit, Lord Marmaduke Chumwell, or Chuffy, after 11½ years, longer than the entirety of William's young life. Together they found solace on the grounds of the New Canaan Nature Center, a special place they often visited and where both have volunteered. Staff members there pointed out some varieties of caterpillars, resting and munching on milkweed leaves and suggested they may want to experience raising these creatures in their own home environment.

Extensive research quickly ensued, and, over the course of months, they raised nearly 50 butterflies, the majority set free to live their lives

outdoors. Including the time spent eating, mating and laying the eggs of the next generation, their lifespan is just seven to 10 days on average. There are scores, however, of late-season bloomers who follow the wind, scent and warm temperatures, traveling thousands of miles to migrate to softer climates in Southern California or Mexico's famed Oyamel Fir Forest, a high-elevation mountain range, home to millions of the monarch variety every winter. My own research leads to a children's book of poems about butterflies. The author, Avis Harley, writes "There are no borders for the migrating monarch. It is all one land."

Olga has a dog-eared copy of the book “Monarchs and Milkweed” by Anurag Agrawal (Princeton University Press, 2017) perched on her living room sofa. Clearly, it's been referenced frequently as she and William strove to raise these butterflies to exacting standards. Diet, habitat and managing the household cat (she's fine with them, by the way) were all carefully considered.

Olga and William supplied the vital milkweed plant, but daily runs to Whole Foods became necessary for other life-sustaining, nectar-rich floral stems, particularly as the weather started turning toward fall and outdoor nutrients were

BUTTERFLIES EXERT TREMENDOUS EFFORT AS THEY PASS THROUGH THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE BEFORE BECOMING THE BEAUTIES WE ADMIRE.

diminishing. After their successes with the colorful Monarchs, they moved on to the stunning swallowtail variety.

Butterflies exert tremendous effort as they pass through the four stages of life before becoming the beauties we admire — from an egg to a larva (caterpillar) to a hard-shelled pupa from which they emerge finally as adults, most often early on a warm, sunny morning. The molting process, or the metamorphosis, witnessed and captured on film and video by Olga and William over and over, has carried with it important life lessons for her son, she tells me.

According to Olga, this story is about "trying to create a good citizen." She wanted William to see nature as a force to be respected, much like a woman, especially "in this culture of male dominance." In this case, by raising a species that comes in second only to bees as the leading pollinators on our planet, Olga says, "I don't think my son could ever hurt a living creature. If you have instilled an empathy for a living thing, if you have taught the life lessons of patience, caring and the fragility of life, then the world truly will be a better place for others."

For more, visit olgasweet.com and newcanaannature.org.

The Schoolhouse Theater & Arts Center

April 12th – 29th

FDR has died. Truman is calling and Eleanor isn't responding. A study in the psychology of what we do after the ball is over…

This story uncovers Mrs. Roosevelt’s private travail of political and personal heartache and her strength to survive and overcome…

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT:

HER SECRET JOURNEY

by Rhoda Lerman

THE SCHOOLHOUSE

THEATER

Theater. Art. Music. Film. Comedy.

TIX: www.SchoolhouseTheater.org | (914) 277-8477 | Croton Falls, NY | SchoolhouseTheater@gmail.com

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Waiting for nature to speak

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BY DANIELLE RENDA

Julie Betts Testwuide sees magic in the moment. But she’s also willing to wait for it.

The versatile Katonah artist — who is from Wisconsin — built her career on the virtue of patience. As a nature photographer for 30 years, she’s often waiting, whether it’s for animal activity or the right lighting. And as a budding vintage jewelry designer, she first has to locate her preferred pieces before redesigning and refinishing their looks.

But once that moment comes, whether in photography or in jewelry-making, it’s worth the wait.

“For me, it’s about capturing a moment that was fleeting and gone the next minute,” Testwuide says.

A lifelong horse lover — her property includes a horse barn, which houses her Icelandic horses, Fila and Fidla — Testwuide has become known for her ethereal images of wild horses. And she’s willing to go to great lengths to get them, having traveled all over the world in all sorts of conditions, for the right shot.

Her adventures have led her from Assateague Island, off Maryland, and Chincoteague Island in Virginia to the Camargue in the South of France, Iceland and numerous places in between, including knee-deep swamps, barren beaches and mysterious forests. But one experience she’ll never forget was a recent trip to Sable Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia in Canada.

The crescent-shaped island, which is 26 miles long and less than one mile across at its widest point, is called the Graveyard of the Atlantic, by some, because it’s constantly shifting and challenged by thick fog and rough currents. For these reasons, the island is vacant, with the exception of a few researchers and Canadian government personnel, along with wildlife like gray seals and horses. The only way to access Sable Island is by plane, she says, and the conditions must be near perfect, though there’s always a level of danger involved.

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Julie Betts Testwuide uses fobs – chains originally attached to watches – as links for her necklaces. Pictured here is a Belgian horse medal and a Champagne-colored rhodolite pendant. Photograph by Julie Betts Testwuide.

After waiting years to visit, Testwuide finally had her chance, and the result was a photographic collection of feral horses, freely grazing the bleak land.

“Once you get there, you land and walk for miles, looking for horses,” she says. “You have no idea when you’re going to find them.”

One shot that Testwuide is particularly fond of depicts a lost foal in search of its mother, an image that took hours to capture.

It seems that with Testwuide’s photography, it’s all a game of chance. But with her jewelry, she uses a different tactic, beginning with a visit to the Brimfield Antique Show in Brimfield, Massachusetts.

“It’s a feast for any antique lover,” she says.

It was at this show, which Testwuide describes as one of the highlights of her year, that she began finding vintage pieces — including old necklace chains and fobs (chains attached to watches), lockets and antique medals. After collecting her pieces, she refinishes them with an 18-karat gold coating and adds rhodonite, a pink-red mineral, as an accent. Her collection, which includes layered chains of different styles and textures, is an eclectic, vintage celebration. Testwuide also creates custom work, including transforming a pin that belonged to a client’s grandmother into a necklace.

Finding just the right piece is something that Testwuide has been doing since age 10, when she

Testwuide’s eclectic chains – a signature of her work – are created by mixing and matching the different styles and textures of existing chains. Photograph by Danielle Renda.

visited her first tag sale.

“I’ve always been a scavenger,” she says. “I’ve been really good at finding things and recreating other things with them.”

Testwuide, who started experimenting with photography as a child and jewelry-making in high school, removes a few objects from a cabinet in her at-home studio. In her hands sit two ceramic bowls, which, she says, are the first two items she’s ever bought at a tag sale, along with her first camera.

“I think I might have been born in the wrong era,” she says. “I’ve always loved the patina of antiques and the worn feel of old jewelry and furniture. I like the fact that they have a past.”

Testwuide’s creativity is not restricted to photography and jewelry. She’s left her mark throughout her home. A majority of her furniture consists of antique finds that have been refinished, including a living room bar and kitchen cabinets. She’s experimented with creating lamp shades, and she frequently makes custom wooden frames for her photographs using refinished barn wood. She also plans to publish a photography book — in its own good time.

Julie Betts Testwuide’s artwork and jewelry is available through Oak & Oil in Katonah, Hickory & Tweed in Armonk and The Avenue Gallery in Norwalk. For more, visit juliearts.com.

WORLD CLASS PARKING PROUDLY SERVING WESTCHESTER, ROCKLAND, AND FAIRFIELD COUNTIES FOR OVER 20 YEARS.

wcparking.com dcheitel@aol.com 914-683-1992

“PRIVATE HOME PARTY SPECIALISTS” Call us for your next home event. We provide valet parking services to Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, memorial services, private home parties and more.

“We make your parking issues a non-issue.”

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Ox Ridge leaps into a new era.

Ox Ridge Riding & Racquet Club embarks on it’s second century with a new equestrian center, and world-class trainers.

Ox Ridge, Fairfield County’s premier equestrian club, has a storied history — and an exciting future. After 104 years, Ox Ridge is expanding with a new 18,000 sq ft Clubhouse, a new state-of-the-art Indoor Riding Ring, 2 Outdoor Riding Rings with high performance footing, as well as fully renovated stables and paddocks.

Our training staff has also expanded with two of the equestrian world’s best-known and respected trainers, Chance Arakelian and Walter “Timmy” Kees — making equestrian lessons and programs at Ox Ridge some of the finest

Chance Arakelian

available on the East Coast.

Noted equestrian and trainer, Chance Arakelian, comes to Ox Ridge from California where he has helped countless equitation riders improve skills and win medals at shows like Ariat Medal Finals, North American Adult Equitation Championship and PCHA finals. W.T. ‘Timmy’

Walter “Timmy” Kees

Kees is one of the country’s most prominent hunter/equitation trainers, and his riders have won the ASPCA Maclay, AHSA Medal AHSA Medal and USET Equitation Finals a total of seven times. Timmy has trained numerous hunters to championships, and was recently inducted into the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame.

More exciting changes. Our new 18,000 sqft Clubhouse will feature 8 Squash Courts — 6 singles and 2 doubles courts — and will rank among the top squash facilities in Fairfield and Westchester Counties. Members can enjoy access to four lighted courts for Platform Tennis, a fully equipped Fitness Center with classes for yoga and pilates, men’s and ladies locker rooms, and a Members’ Pub Room among other amenities.

To inquire about Membership: contact: info@oxridge.com, call 203.655.2559 or visit oxridge.com Ox Ridge Riding & Racquet Club, 512 Middlesex Road, Darien CT 06820 84

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Galloping into horse country

April WAG has a soft spot for all of our furry and feathered friends but the horse may be first among equals. We began our excellent animal adventures with a horse issue in May 2011 when we didn’t know a paddock from a pasture. Since then, we’ve broadened our horizons to range over the animal kingdom each April.

This year, we’ve added some new twists, including subthemes on birds and Africa.

But our love for the magnificently muscled creature known as the horse remains. Welcome to our equine section, which begins with Wellington, Florida, center of all things equestrian in the United States, followed by a look at new social happenings at Greenwich Polo Club and a profile of Olympic silver medalist Lucy Davis, the new trainer at Old Salem Farm in North Salem.

Readers and riders, up!

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Center of equestrian America

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

j

Just west of West Palm Beach, Florida, is a village that is not technically a village at all but an area that is the center of the American equestrian world.

Wellington — named for aviator Charles Oliver Wellington, who founded it after purchasing 18,000 of its swampy, strawberry-dotted acres in the 1950s — was a traditional suburb for much of its life. Since the 1970s, however, it has become the place to be for equestrian sports in the United States, particularly in the winter.

“It’s the epicenter for polo in the U.S.,” says Mariana Castro, marketing director for Greenwich Polo Club. From January to April, the White Birch team, whose patrón is Greenwich Polo Club founder Peter Brant, plays at the International Polo Club Palm Beach against other high-goal teams with equally vivid names like Mōdere, Postage Stamp, Tonkawa, Travieso and Valiente. (Their Sunday matches are open to the public, but if you haven’t had a chance to get down there this season, some of the same teams and players will be in action this spring and summer at Greenwich Polo. See related story.)

Players and patróns own or rent lavish properties on hundreds of fields of flatlands in Wellington, Castro says. Properties like Windsome Farms on Indian Mound Road, whose $25 million price

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Matias Magrini, Joao Ganon and Mariano Aguerre (top) and Ezequiel Ferrario are among the players in action in Wellington. Photographs by Juan Lamarca. Courtesy Greenwich Polo Club.

IT’S THE WINTER EQUESTRIAN CAPITAL OF THE U.S., YES, BUT REALLY OF THE WORLD. EVERY YEAR (WELLINGTON) GETS BIGGER AND BETTER. — Lucy Davis

tag buys 80 acres of lush landscaping and placid lakes along with an H-shaped “barn” that has everything from 26 stalls to owners’ and players’ lounges to two apartments with balcony views.

But Wellington is about more than polo. “It’s the winter equestrian capital of the U.S., yes, but really of the world,” says Olympic silver medalist Lucy Davis, the new trainer at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, home of the Spring Horse Shows and September’s American Gold Cup. (See related story.) “Every year (Wellington) gets bigger and better,” she says, referring not only to the Winter Equestrian Festival, a 12-week event that is billed as the largest, longest-running equestrian competition in the world with dozens of horse shows and competitions at the 160-acre Palm Beach International Equestrian Center; but also to the two-year-old Palm Beach Masters series of competitions at Deeridge Farms.

For Davis — who took silver in the team jumping competition at the Summer Games in Rio de Janiero — Wellington is a time to “compete in international classes with young horses.

“It’s also a nice opportunity to stay in one place for as many as three months as we’re always moving around,” she adds.

And that means lots of socializing. Brunches, cocktail parties and corporate events often benefit local and international charities. Among them is the annual Sunset Polo & White Party, hosted at The Wanderers Club last month by polo star Nic Roldan, WAG’s January 2017 cover guy. Last year, the event drew more than 1,000 guests and raised more than $500,000 to benefit Brooke USA, which helps working equines and the people who rely on them in disadvantaged countries.

Meanwhile, a benefit for the Equus Foundation — which serves more than 1,000 equine charities and works to strengthen the bond between horses and people with special needs — drew the likes of equestrians Georgina Bloomberg (former WAG cover subject) and Jessica Springsteen as well as TV “Bachelors” Prince Lorenzo Borghese and Ryan Beckett to the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in February for a night of cocktails, buffet, a silent auction and a grand prix competition.

But then, Wellington is the kind of feel-good place that let’s you do good as well.

For more, check out our list of resources on Page 94.

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OWN THE EXTRAORDINARY June Hill Farm

A Rare Equestrian Family Estate of 23.4 acres… Beyond all expectations.

The Land: Nearly 24 acres of picturesque fantasy…A truly prominent horse property of elegance and grandeur with a world-class barn of nine stalls, paddocks and 150 miles of riding trails directly across the road! A little touch of Ireland in southwest Connecticut. The land has spectacular views of an expanse of lush meadowlands, gentle hills and dales, two ponds and 17th century stone walls. This type of breathtaking beauty is seldom found.

Linda Sentementes • lsentementes@wpsir.com • 203-940-0275 88

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The House: This 12 year young custom designed home has stunning curb appeal with its elegant approach and Greenwich address. The residence has open airy living spaces with incredible detailed millwork, stonewalled fireplaces and high ceilings, a deluxe cook’s kitchen opening to an impressive family room and gracious dining room. The master suite, replete with an office/lounging room, fireplace, two huge closets, luxury bath and double balconies for stunning views. Also included are four additional en suite sleeping quarters. French doors everywhere, and an exquisite wraparound porch that overlooks the exquisite grounds. Add to this a lower level walkout entertainment area. Another enhancement is the handsome gunite in-ground pool.

Estate Extras: A second home…Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired glass contemporary with its own in ground pool and views beyond compare.

There is even a tennis court and an orchard of fruit trees.

COUNTRY QUIET CITY CLOSE $9,950,000 June Rosenthal • jrosenthal@wpsir.com • 203-536-7470 APRIL 2018

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Social time at Greenwich Polo

t

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

“There is no down time in polo,” says Mariana Castro, marketing director for Greenwich Polo Club.

As the players gallop from Wellington, Florida, in the winter to the Northeast and England in spring/summer and to Argentina in the fall, they are the center of their adoring fans’ attention.

Trouble is they don’t always get to share as much time with those fans as everyone would like in what is nevertheless one of the most social of sports.

No longer. Welcome to the Players’ Lounge, new this year to Greenwich Polo Club. From 2 to 5 p.m. on Sundays during the season, sponsors and VIP guests will have a chance to mingle with players who are not on the field that day in a space that features live music and a bar, The Cup Bearer, whose offerings include The Macallan single malt Scotch whisky and Veuve Clicquot Champagne.

But what about those players who are on the field? They’ll have an opportunity to relax after the match at The Public Bar, which will now remain open until 8 p.m. Here players and fans alike will enjoy Argentine barbecue and music spun by DJs in a setting sponsored by Veuve Clicquot. On opening day, June 10, the special guest DJ will be Calu Rivero, an Argentine actress, model and designer.

There will be more action on the field as well, Castro says, in response to the sellout crowds that throng the emerald expanse in Greenwich’s backcountry. A new tournament sponsored by Shreve, Crump & Lowe — the Greenwich Avenue jeweler — will kick off the season June 10 and 17. Then it’s

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A fan enjoys a Barbados cocktail at Greenwich Polo Club. Photograph

by ChiChi Ubiña.

the return of the Monty Waterbury Cup June 24.

On July 1, the Cup concludes with a private charity event for which the public can buy advance tickets only. Then it’s the Silver Cup once more on July 8, 15 and 22. The action then shifts to Long Island before returning to Greenwich for the East Coast Open Aug. 26 and Sept. 2 and 9 to round out the season there.

Once again there will be a race between machine and animal, this time involving a Filipacchi bike and a polo pony. There will also be a Cars & Coffee event June 17 — sponsored by longtime Greenwich Polo partner Tesla — with a luxe car rally from Greenwich Avenue to the field.

Indeed, there is nothing quite so tantalizing as Greenwich Polo’s blend of horse power and powerful horses.

Matches take place from 3 to 5 p.m. at 1 Hurlingham Drive, with the gates opening at 1. Tickets start at $40 per car for open-lawn seating and shade tents on a first-come, first-served basis.

Dress is described on the website as “summer picnic chic.” (Don’t forget your hats, sunglasses and sunscreen.) Leashed pets are welcome.

For advance tickets (recommended), ticket categories and corporate opportunities, visit greenwichpoloclub.com.

Victorino Torito Ruiz in action at Greenwich Polo Club. Photograph by Marcelo Bianchi.

Lawton Adams-

Visit law for our tonadams.co comp m price lirsehensive t

serving communities throughout the tri-state region region for over 75 years Equestrian Projects: Design and installation of both commercial and private indoor and outdoor arenas, grass or dry paddocks, grand prix and derby fields, tracks, ring maintenance, dust control, and a variety of quality footing (visit fooingfirst.com for more details).

Recycling: We accept clean concrete, blacktop, rock, stumps, logs, brush, and leaves at our yard for recycling. Go green by keeping your recyclable construction debris out of landfills and by purchasing inexpensive, high quality, and approved recycled materials!

Construction Materials: Sand, gravel, Item #4, Portland cement, re-bar, wire mesh, concrete block, filter fabric, silt fence, drainage pipe & fittings, plastic drywells, precast boxes & basins, and much more! Delivered or picked up at our yard.

Winter Ice Control Products: Bulk & bagged rock salt, sand & salt mix, traction sand, bagged calcium chloride, bagged magnesium chloride and a variety of snow shovels & ice scrapers. Delivered or picked up at our yard.

Landscape Materials: Topsoil, compost, subsoil, clean dirt fill, hardwood mulch, Nutri-Peat®, flagstone, wallstone, boulders, steppers & garden path stones, Jonathan Green® grass seed, fertilizer, hand tools, and much more! Delivered or picked up at our yard.

References upon request

260 Route 100 • Somers, New York 10589 • 914 232-3275 • LawtonAdams.com • lic WC2139-H89

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One cool equestrian

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

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Equestrian fans will find a new yet familiar face at Old Salem Farm’s Spring Horse Shows next month.

Olympic silver medalist Lucy Davis has joined the staff of the elite North Salem facility as its trainer even as she continues her competitive career.

“I’m focused on people who want to move on to the bigger jumper division,” Davis says of the equestrian category that is judged on time and faults as horse and rider surmount an obstacle course. (As opposed to hunter, which is about the form of the horse, and equitation, the form of the rider.)

Not to mix our animal metaphors here, but riders sometimes leapfrog from place to place for training at different stages in their progress. No need to do that at Old Salem Farm.

“You can start at ponies here and continue on to the top of the sport,” Davis says of the farm, rated a top venue by the North American Riders Group for five years and host to more than 30 weeks of competition, including September’s prestigious American Gold Cup and the Fall Classic.

At Old Salem — where Davis is boarding her 14-year-old Belgian Sport Horse gelding, Barron, her mount as the American team took home silver at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro — she’ll be working with riders to match them to the right horses and improve their ease in the saddle. But perhaps nothing will be more important than what she can bring to the mental aspect of their rides. This is a young woman who is not only an Olympic cham-

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Lucy Davis aboard Barron during her silver medal-winning run at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Photograph

by Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil.

pion but a bronze medalist from the 2014 World Championships in Normandy, France, and she has a refreshing, insightful take on what it means to be cool under pressure.

“Everyone deals with it differently,” she says, “but I focus on living in the present moment and not on the externals….There’s nothing to lose, only to win.”

Indeed, unlike performers and athletes who play not to fail, and then become tight and self-conscious, Davis doesn’t assume a defensive, pessimistic posture. Rather, she says, “I ride to go clean.”

And she sees victory and failure as part of an overarching career.

“I look back at the Olympics as two of the most important weeks in my life, but it was just two weeks and the (silver medal-winning ride) was just two minutes,” she says with perspective. “I accept that the process of getting there is as important as being there.”

Preparation is another key in steadying nerves, Davis adds. “Honestly, I’ve been preparing my whole life.”

She started riding as a 5-year-old who would accompany her mother, an amateur rider, to the stables in her native California, then throw a tantrum when it was time to leave. (Davis’ grandfather Robert Barron Frieze was a jockey agent.) Early on,

she showed promise in the equitation and hunter divisions before switching to jumper as a teenager.

Shortly after, she dropped soccer to concentrate on show jumping full-time but still managed to earn a bachelor’s degree in architectural design from Stanford University. (She is the co-founder of PonyApp, a one-year-old stable management and horse care application.)

At Old Salem Farm, she can build out PonyApp, work with riders, compete and continue to train herself with an eye to the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020 — and beyond. The beauty of equestrian sports is that because much of it — OK, maybe most of it — is about the horse, the sports themselves transcend age and gender. Show jumping is an endeavor in which she can keep learning and growing for many years to come — a career must for Davis.

“I’ve never been in a job where I was not learning and growing all the time,” she says.

The horses keep her on her toes, she says with a laugh — when she’s not on her butt.

The Spring Horse Shows at Old Salem Farm begin with Welcome Horse Show Day May 6 and then run May 8 through 13 and 15 through 20. There will be hunter-jumper competitions in all age groups, amateur and professional.

For more, visit oldsalemfarm.net.

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Take the trail to live and breath the ultimate Florida equestrian lifestyle in Wellington Western properties available in upscale Wellington filled with the ultimate equestrian experience, including private farms, finest horses, golf courses, private helicopter pads.

ENGELS & VÖLKERS

10602 W. Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 40, Wellington, Fla. 33414 561-791-2220 wellington.evusa.com “Engel & Völkers is one of the world’s leading service companies specializing in the brokerage of premium residential property, commercial real estate, yachts and aircrafts. With more than 800 locations in total, Engel & Völkers provides both private and institutional clients with a professionally tailored range of services. Consultancies, sales and leasing form the core competences of the staff of more than 10,000 employees. The company is currently operating in more than 30 countries on four continents.”

EQUESTRIAN SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY 12180 S. Shore Blvd., Suite 102, Wellington, Fla. 33414 561-771-2626 equestriansothebysrealty.com “Equestrian Sotheby’s International Realty utilizes local expertise in the equestrian, luxury and golf communities of Wellington and Western Palm Beach County to assist our clients in selling and buying premium real estate.”

EQUINE HOMES REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS

P.O. Box 6008, Amherst, N.H. 03031 800-859-2745 equinehomes.com “Since 1995, Equine Homes has been a familiar name in the equestrian world. We are recognized locally (in New England), nationally and internationally through our participation in equestrian-related associations, events and activities. With our visibility in various horse show programs, class sponsorships, trade shows, publications of various disciplines and our powerful website, Equine Homes sets the standard for equestrian and country real estate.”

DOUGLAS ELLIMAN WELLINGTON

11199 Polo Club Road, Wellington, Fla. 33314 561-655-8600 elliman.com/florida/wellington “Douglas Elliman’s outstanding track record, unique brand promise and exceptional agent support system attract top talent, ensuring that our team of experts represents the very best in the industry.”

THE OVERMAN TEAM ILLUSTRATATED PROPERTIES LUXURY DIVISION 11924 W. Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 18, Wellington, Fla. 33414 561-793-2300 marleygoodman.ipre.com “With our combined resources, Illustrated Properties and The Keyes Company is now the No. 1 brokerage firm in Florida and is the 25th nationally ranked brokerage firm in the United States by dollar volume and number of transactions.”

PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL REALTY

12773 Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 1201, Wellington, Fla. 33414 561-543-5711 pbirealty.com “Whether you are new to the market or an experienced investor, we have the expertise and resources to help you achieve your objectives. Our outstanding sales associates are highly familiar with the area, market trends and lifestyle options available throughout your area of interest.”

UNITED REALTY GROUP

1035 S. State Road 7, Suite 121, Wellington, Fla. 33414 561-469-8706 unitedrealtygroupwellington.com “United Realty Group is one of the largest, independently owned brokerages in the state of Florida. The United Realty Group Wellington location opened in 2014 and has grown to one of Wellington’s largest offices, with more than 200 real estate professionals. Our team is very diverse and includes many real estate agents that are also active equestrian professionals. Our agents truly understand the needs of equestrians when it comes to buying a farm.”

WATERFRONT PROPERTIES AND CLUB COMMUNITIES

825 Parkway St., Suite 8, Juniper, Fla. 33477 516-746-7272 waterfront-properties.com “Over the past 30 years, Waterfront Properties has grown to be the northern Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast’s dominant luxury real estate company, single-handedly accounting for more waterfront real estate transactions than any other brokerages in the local area.”

WELLINGTON EQUESTRIAN REALTY

13501 S. Shore Blvd., Wellington, Fla. 33414 561-818-429 wellingtonequestrianrealty.com “As Wellington horse farm owners and equestrian competitors, we know the Wellington horse farm market intimately.

We don’t want you to buy just any farm; we want you to buy the right farm, for your lifestyle, your business and your investment.”

Founded in 1975, Pegasus Therapeutic Riding is a PATH Intl. Premier Accredited Center providing equine-assisted activities and therapies to people with special needs and individuals at risk at three local chapters.

Pegasus Therapeutic Riding | 310 Peach Lake Road | Brewster, NY 10509

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pegasustr.org

Wellington, Florida • MattJohnson.evusa.com

Aspen Glen - Private 15 acre custom designed home with top equestrian facilities. Riding arena with underground watering system, hot walker and round pen. Three grooms apartments and separate ancillary buildings with veterinary / farrier rooms, feed storage and multiple equipment bays. The main residence features cathedral ceilings, fireplace with floor to ceiling stone chimney, wood & marble floors, elevator, screened balconies and infinity pool with water vistas.

Offered at $11,000,000

Natures Point - 10 Acre equestrian estate with direct bridle path access & within true hacking distance to WEF. 5 bedroom, 5 full bathroom and 2 half bathroom pool home with top quality detail & finishes. 14 stall center-aisle stable with 3 staff apartments, 10 grass paddocks, round pen, sand riding arena and grass grand prix riding field. Offered at $11,900,000

10 acre equestrian estate with direct bridle path access and within true hacking distance to Wellington’s world famous Winter Equestrian Festival. 5BR/7Bth pool home with top quality detail and finishes. 14 stall center-aisle stable with all the amenities including: two studio apartments, a one bedroom, one bathroom manager’s apartment and a rider’s lounge with kitchenette. The property also boasts a large riding arena, grand prix grass riding field, round pen and 10 grass paddocks. The main residence is beautifully appointed with center-island kitchen, gas cooking, wine chiller and subzero refrigerator. The family room and office have beautiful handcrafted wood built-ins. Three years new and meticulously maintained. Now offered at $11,250,000

Matt Johnson • Engel & Völkers Wellington Licensee of Engel & Völkers Florida Residential, LLC 10620 W. Forest Hill Blvd • Suite 40 • Wellington • FL 33414 Mobile +1 561-313-4367 Matt.Johnson@evusa.com

Download Matt Johnson’s mobile real estate app To get FREE access to all local listings from your smartphone or tablet

©2018 Engel & Völkers. All rights reserved. Each brokerage independently owned and operated. Carr Sollak Realty, LLC licensee of Engel & Voelkers Florida Residential, LLC. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Engel & Völkers and its independent License Partners are Equal Opportunity Employers and fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act.

WANDERS

The pristine barns of Calumet Farm.

Images courtesy Sloane Travel Photography.

My old Kentucky visit

BY BARBARA BARTON SLOANE

i

“Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people.”

— W.C.Fields

I recently found myself thinking about horses — a lot. I happened to be reading a biography of Queen Elizabeth II and learned that she has had a keen interest in horses since, at age 4, she was given a Shetland pony named Peggy. This diversion developed over time into one of her main leisure activities with a particular emphasis on the breeding of Thoroughbreds. I learned that she sometimes sent her horses to be bred in Lexington, Kentucky, home of the top horse farms in this country and the Keeneland horse auctions held each autumn.

The Queen’s prized horses right here on our own soil? Intrigued, I decided to pay a visit to Kentucky for some authentic equine excitement.

As it turned out during my sojourn, I saw these

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majestic creatures wherever I looked. Lexington is horse country in every sense of the word and, on my drive from the airport, I was enthralled with the spectacular scenery — the rolling hills of bluegrass with pretty red barns, fields and meadows sprinkled with wild flowers and encircled by miles of white horse fencing that enclosed beauteous Thoroughbreds and their foals.

BUT FIRST, KENTUCKY BOURBON, Y’ALL No visit to Kentucky would be complete without a trip to some of its famed bourbon distilleries, and Buffalo Trace Distillery is one of America’s oldest.

On the tour, I observed the entire process of turning corn, rye and malted barley into bourbon. At

the Woodford Reserve Distillery, I learned that it is the only facility in the state making bourbon with the original Scottish “pot still” method. There were some fine exhibits on the history and heritage of this beloved beverage and lunch on the front porch was a great way to end the distillery tours — topped off, natch, with a splash of pure, perfect Kentucky bourbon.

KENTUCKY HORSE PARK A highlight of my visit was the Kentucky Horse Park, which is dedicated to man’s relationship with the horse. The park is one of Kentucky’s premier attractions and unlike any other in the world with its showcase of museums, galleries, theaters and working farm exhibits. Fifty breeds graze on its 1,200 acres of lush pastures and everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the horse is here, including the Hall of Champions and the “Horses of the World” exhibit.

At the park, you can take Shaun Washington’s Unique Horse Farm Tour. Knowledgeable in all things horse and particularly Kentucky’s history of horse racing and breeding, with fascinating tidbits

you will hear nowhere else, Washington offers a behind-the-scenes tour that is not to be missed.

First up was the Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital. He explained that this is one of the foremost equine hospitals in the world, a leader in equine veterinary care founded in 1986.

As we walked into the reception area, we faced a large window onto one of the operating rooms. A masked and gloved nurse was readying the room for doctor and patient. Within moments, double doors swung open and there on a gurney-operating table was a sight I found somewhat alarming — a totally sedated horse lying on its back, his hind legs drawn up almost to his stomach and his left front leg strung up straight and fixed in place. The surgeon then drilled a screw into the horse’s ankle that would ultimately adjust its abnormal gait. This was a once-in-a-lifetime sight that was difficult to watch but utterly fascinating, start to finish.

Our behind-the-scenes tour brought us up close and personal with the celebrated stables of not only Keeneland but Calumet Farm — which produced Triple Crown winners Whirlaway (1941) and Citation (1948). Perhaps there’s another Whirly or Citation among the farm’s million-dollar Thoroughbreds and adorable two- and three-week-old foals.

AN ICONIC EVENT HAPPENING SOON Next month, the Bluegrass State steps into the spotlight again with the 144th Run for the Roses, as

A mare and her newborn.

the horse-racing world gets set to mark the 40th anniversary of the epic rivalry between Harbor View Farm’s Affirmed and Calumet Farm’s Alydar for the 1978 Triple Crown, which Affirmed won. The Kentucky Derby — the first leg of the Crown, which includes the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes — is a wonderful sporting event replete with rich traditions like sipping Mint Juleps, donning big, beautiful hats, and singing Stephen Foster’s poignant “My Old Kentucky Home.” This fanfare elevates the event, which takes place May 5 in Louisville, from just another horse race to a celebration of Southern culture, making it a true icon of Americana.

LEXINGTON — HORSE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD I came away from this engrossing equine experience with a firmer knowledge of what goes into the fine and exacting art of horse breeding.

I was captivated by the beauty of the Kentucky countryside and gripped by the towering statue of Man o’ War — routinely ranked as the greatest racehorse to date — at the entrance to the Kentucky Horse Park. I will always remember the classic Calumet Farm but will try to erase the vision of the particular stall where the great Alydar — the only racehorse to finish second in each of the Triple Crown races — met his tragic, suspicious end in 1990. (Was he killed for the insurance money?) I now have a finer appreciation of horse racing and the complex business of breeding these wonderful animals.

But above all when I remember Kentucky, my thoughts will return to my peeking into pristinely kept stalls and finding tiny, just-born foals lying languidly as their elegant mothers protectively hovered over them. The tenderness of those images will stay with me forever.

For more, visit Lexington Kentucky Tourism at visitlex.com, Buffalo Trace Distillery at buffalotracedistillery.com, Woodford Reserve Distillery at woodfordreserve.com, Unique Horse Farm Tour at uniquehorsefarmtour.com, Kentucky Horse Park at kentuckytourism.com and the Kentucky Derby at kentuckyderby.com.

“Sapori (Italian for “flavors”) is the newest and the fanciest restaurant to arrive on the outskirts of White Plains near the County Center.”

—New York Times

Oasis of HOPE Gala

Dinner & Live and Silent Auction THURSDAY, APRIL 12TH 6:00 P.M.-9:30 P.M. Leewood Golf Club , 1 Leewood Dr. Eastchester, NY 10709 To purchase tickets, sponsorships, journal ads online, please visit: https://liftingupwestchester.org/2018-oasis-of-hope-gala/

Or call (914) 949-3098 ext. 9741

Lunch, Dinner, Private Wine Room, Outdoor Dining • Valet Parking 324 Central Ave, White Plains, NY 914.684.8855 • saporiofwhiteplains.com

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WANDERS

A Kenyan dream of Africa

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BY JEREMY WAYNE

Barely 100 years ago, when it was proclaimed capital of British East Africa — the country we now know as Kenya — Nairobi was still a swamp. Wild animals would wander in from the plains, so that if you were foolhardy enough to take a late night stroll, you were as likely to be mauled by a hungry lion as bitten by a mad dog.

Fast forward a century, and Nairobi today is the 10th largest city in Africa, an economic and cultural hub with a thriving stock exchange and a vibrant arts, food and music scene. With techie industries flourishing, it is not for nothing that it is known as the Silicon Valley of Africa.

Nairobi is also home to one of Africa’s most famous hotels, Fairmont The Norfolk. Opened in 1904, The Norfolk is, like Raffles Singapore or the Shepheard Hotel in Cairo, the stuff of legend, as integral to the development of Nairobi as Nairobi is bound up with the history of the hotel. The Norfolk is where President Theodore Roosevelt and his son Kermit stayed in 1909, and from where they set off on their notorious great safari, with 500 porters carrying everything from collapsible bathtubs to crates of Champagne; where Hugh Cholmondeley, Lord Delamere, English aristocrat and founder of the equally notorious “Happy Valley” set, would ride his horse into the dining room and jump over tables; and where royalty and heads of state, film stars and top-tier rock musicians have always chosen to hang their crowns and pith helmets in the Kenyan capital.

A Fairmont Hotels & Resorts property since

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Gardens at Fairmont The Norfolk. Images courtesy Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

2004, The Norfolk is still the best address in town.

Attention to detail shows: Guest rooms feel fresh and inviting. The hotel’s celebrated gardens — a lush oasis in this dusty city — are primped and spruced. And, thanks to executive chef Aris Athanasiou, some of the best food in town is to be found on the hotel’s landmark Lord Delamere Terrace and in its steakhouse, Tatu.

Meanwhile, there is a great deal to occupy you in the town and, whether or not you are on your way to or from safari, you should schedule two or three days here. Karen Blixen’s house, now the Karen Blixen Museum, with its evocative view of the Ngong Hills, is a quiet joy and the prelude to ex-

ploring the wider neighborhood of Karen (named, of course, for Blixen herself.)

At the House of Treasures Emporium, a thoroughly upscale shopping Shangri-La, I came across Sally Dudmesh’s opulent jewelry, made using silver, gold, fossils and gemstones; as well as Bumble & Ava’s made-in-Kenya kids’ clothes; Bush Princess handbags; and Deepa Shah’s home goods and Indian quilts. And diagonally across Dagoretti Road, hidden away in the tony residential enclave of Windy Lane, I found Englishman Chris Payne’s eclectic emporium — beautiful artifacts and furniture upholstered in vintage African fabrics, like suzani, ikat and Rwandan wax cloth. (Lug home an armchair? “We ship everything,” Payne says.)

If wild beasts no longer prowl Nairobi’s streets, uniquely, in this African city they are never far away.

Big game — which is to say lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, elephants and Cape buffaloes — roam the Nairobi National Park, within sight of the city skyscrapers, while at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, also within easy reach of downtown, you can see orphaned elephants and black rhinos that are being rehabilitated before being reintroduced to the wild.

For the full-on safari experience, however, the Fairmont Mara Safari Club, in the northwest Masai Mara, awaits — a luxury en suite glamping experience, on a bend of the Mara River at the foot of the Aitong Hills. This is country the Big Five call home, where pods of hippopotamuses gather by the river facing your tent. It is also one of the best places to see herds of wildebeest crossing in migration season, which runs from July to October.

Signature suite at Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club.

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For a gentler but no less awe-inspiring experience, take my advice and head north. It’s a mere 35-minute flight from Nairobi, by Cessna or de Havilland Dash 8, up to Nanyuki, a rapidly gentrifying town that sits virtually on the equator, with snowcapped Mount Kenya in the distance. A few miles out of town, the Mount Kenya Safari Club — also in the Fairmont stable — was formerly the home of Hollywood movie star William Holden. Smart and self-assured, like the actor himself, with colonial flourishes here and there, the club is the kind of hotel they don’t build anymore. (Some might say just as well, but from an architectural point of view at least, I think that would be to miss the point).

At the Safari Club, there are wood-burning fireplaces in every guest room. (Despite being on the equator, Nanyuki’s elevation means it gets cold up there at night.) The hotel shop, a destination in itself, sells African Kente cloth shawls, exquisite Kitengela glass, fabulous Nubian hats and beaded Masai bracelets, all in the colors of the rainbow.

There are pink gins in the bar (where you can play at being a character straight out of a Graham Greene novel) and Indian curries at the hotel’s Tusks restaurant, prepared by a very talented Keralan chef. And there are game drives to spot zebra and wildebeest in the early dawn and sundowners around the fire pit in the conservancy at dusk, with only the whisper of the breeze in the baobab trees and the crackling of the fire for company, and the wide African night falling like an ink-black velvet cape to swaddle you and make you wonder at the grandeur of it all.

The equator itself, invisible of course but palpable, actually bisects the club; in one of the club’s luxury suites it actually sits between the double sinks in the bathroom, so you can wash your hands in the Northern Hemisphere and dry them in the Southern, if the fancy takes you.

Downstairs in the magnificent public rooms there are antlers on the wall, to remind you of where you are, in hunters’ country — but not too many, thank goodness. The mandate of the Animal Orphanage, on the grounds of the club, is to prevent the extinction of species, to conserve the ecosystem and to rescue young animals, returning them where possible to their natural habitat. The orphanage’s main project right now is the breeding of the mountain bongo, the exquisite but now critically endangered striped antelope, of which, piteously, today less than 100 remain.

The tragedy of poaching is brought home even

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Sudan at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. The last male Northern White rhino in the world, Sudan died March 19.

IF WILD BEASTS NO LONGER PROWL NAIROBI’S STREETS, UNIQUELY, IN THIS AFRICAN CITY THEY ARE NEVER FAR AWAY. BIG GAME — WHICH IS TO SAY LIONS, LEOPARDS, RHINOCEROSES, ELEPHANTS AND CAPE BUFFALOES — ROAM THE NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK, WITHIN SIGHT OF THE CITY SKYSCRAPERS.

more acutely at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, just west of Nanyuki, a 30-minute Land Rover ride away, where, until mid-March, 45 year-old Sudan was the last male Northern White rhino in the world. Come here and learn at firsthand what we have done to our planet and how we may yet save what we have left.

In a lighter mood, back at the club, you can horseback ride, play tennis, golf or croquet, walk the glorious estate or simply sit around the pool, Mount Kenya as your backdrop, reading Isak Dinesen (aka Karen Blixen) short stories perhaps, or listening to Benga, Reggae or Congolese pop on your iPhone. Bliss.

“A unique blend of relaxation and adventure,” as Laurent Chaudet, the hotel’s genial general manager puts it, and really it would be hard to phrase it better.

This fall, Delta’s long-awaited nonstop from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Nairobi is due to start service and will make getting to Kenya easier than ever. If you have ever promised yourself a safari, or wanted to experience the incomparable African night on the plains, or dreamed of that farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills, there could be no better time to plan it than now.

For more, visit fairmont.com/Kenya.

Twin Lakes Farm

T

win Lakes Farm is Westchester’s largest diverse equestrian center, offering both boarding and a robust riding academy. The riding academy starts at age 6 with private lessons before moving up to groups; adults ride daily and take advantage of the 8pm adults-only classes.

For the more serious equestrian, Twin Lakes Farm offers Drill Teams, Interscholastic Teams, Horseshowing, and Summer Leasing while also offering year round boarding.

Camp is coeducational and runs 8:30am to 4:30pm all summer and includes riding, camp activities and the very popular Horseshow.

Set on two campuses each has its own indoor arena, 55 stalls each, lighted outdoor arenas, paddocks with hay feeders, heated tack rooms and wash stalls.

The North Barn is home to the Riding Academy, Drill Team and Therapeutic Riding Program while also hosting the interscholastic (IEA) shows and schooling shows. The South Barn houses the boarders and show team while hosting nine USEF shows each year.

Whether it’s children’s lessons, adult lessons, riding teams, showing competitively or recreational riding there is something for everyone at Twin Lakes Farm which is why we are:

“Where Westchester Learns To Ride!”

©

960 CALIFORNIA ROAD, BRONXVILLE • 914-961-2192 • WWW.TWINLAKESFARM.COM A FACILITY OF THE COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER PARKS, RECREATION & CONSERVATION

Riverdale Stables ABOUT THE FARM:

Riverdale Stables is the premier riding facility in the 5 boroughs of New York, offering lessons year round at all levels.

The facility boasts over 80 stalls, indoor, and outdoor wash stalls, many turnout paddocks, a large indoor arena, along with four lighted outdoor rings-including grass hunt course!

WHAT SETS RIVERDALE APART?

Riverdale Stables is a one of a kind place. We are an equestrian oasis tucked away in the corner of Van Cortlandt Park with open green grazing space, indoor and outdoor arenas turn out paddocks, and a barn with heated tack rooms and updated stalls. We are mass-transit accessible-minutes from the bus and Subways. Riverdale Stables prides itself on offering programs for the riders of New York City who do not own horses but want the hands-on opportunities of riding and learning about proper horse care. We have afterschool programs, Therapeutic Riding, Interscholastic Teams combined with camp and lessons for all levels of riders-from novice to our show team.

Riverdale Stables …

“Where New York City Learns To Ride!”© 6394 BROADWAY BRONX, NY 10471 (718) 548-4848 WWW.RIVERDALESTABLES.COM

Going to the dogs in the best possible way

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STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY DANIELLE RENDA

Bring your laptop, invite some friends — and have your pup tag along, too.

Boris & Horton, a dog-friendly café, recently opened in Manhattan’s East Village.

Nearing two months in business, the shop boasts a friendly, interactive ambiance, with dogs and their owners mingling while alternative music fills the air. In one area of the café sits a photo booth, where owners can dress their dogs (and themselves) in silly costumes and have a GIF image (an animated digital image) taken. Another wall is lined with all sorts of dog-themed merchandise, from wearable fashion for pooches and pet parents, to sturdy leashes, greeting cards, coffee mugs, jewelry, pins, hats and totes from vendors like Lucy & Co., Dog + Bone, Love Thy Beast, Found My Animal and Brooklyn Bowtied.

Despite the bustle — and the adorable dogs coming and going — the atmosphere is as calm as a traditional café, as several guests work on their computers, occasionally petting their furry friends during a recent visit.

Coppy Holzman, co-owner of the store, makes an effort to greet every customer, both human and canine.

“That dog bowl is empty. Let me refill it for you,” he says, while promptly getting water for a thirsty pup.

The café is the brainchild of Holzman and his daughter, Logan Mikhaly. The father-daughter duo — who lived in Westport for a number of years, with Mikhaly having attended Staples High School — has been long dedicated to animal welfare. Holzman is the founder and former CEO of Charitybuzz, an online charity auction

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Snack options for dogs include this selection of cupcakes, courtesy maison de pawZ.

site that partners with celebrities and brands to raise money for international nonprofits. The animal organizations currently served by Charitybuzz include Wags and Walks Rescue in West Hollywood, California, Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats in Los Angeles and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Manhattan. Mikhaly, who lives in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg section, also worked for Charitybuzz, and earlier managed the operations for Used Dogs, a no-kill dog rescue in New Orleans. She volunteers for Badass Brooklyn Animal Rescue in that borough, while her father is the president of the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation and a member of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Leadership Council.

The café is named after their pets (no surprise there).

Holzman’s dog, Boris, is a Pit Bull-Terrier mix with shaggy hair who was rescued in Puerto Rico. “He’s

very enthusiastic. Every day is a party,” Holzman says.

Mikhaly’s dog, Horton, is a Houston-born, 12-pound mystery breed with a charming snaggle tooth. “He comes here a lot and owns the place,” Holzman says.

The café fulfills their vision. The dogs don’t have to wait outside while their parents order, a common hassle faced by dog owners. Second, Holzman and Mikhaly offer vegetarian fare, with some vegan and gluten-free options, and none of their merchandise is made using leather.

“We want to walk the walk if we’re talking the talk, in terms of being animal supportive,” Holzman says.

“We’re not using leather. We’re not selling meat.”

To meet the requirements of the New York State Department of Health, and to satisfy guests seeking a quick bite in a place free of barking, the shop is divided into two spaces — the animal-free café area, which includes the ordering counter; and the dog-friendly area, which includes the photo booth, merchandise and even dog beds

A furry guest munches on a tasty doggie donut made by maison de pawZ.

for sleepy pups.

The café offers light fare, such as specialty toasts and pastries, as well as coffee and craft beer and wine in the evening. I opted for a regular coffee, which is made using the shop’s in-house Boris Blend and avocado toast, smashed avocado seasoned with lemon juice, flaked sea salt, ground black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes, topped with slow-roasted tomatoes and served on gluten-free bread.

Yes, it was even better than it sounds.

On the dog-friendly side sits a delectable selection of gluten-free and grain-free doggy “donuts” and cookies, fresh-baked from the “pawtisserie” at Brooklyn’s maison de pawZ. In addition to the fare and camaraderie, Boris & Horton features events throughout the month. On the day of WAG’s visit, Holzman is preparing for a visit from a dog acupuncturist. Recently, Holzman says a Girl Scout troop stopped by the shop to discuss pet rescue and adoption and the shop hosted an animal-friendly paint night; wine-and-cheese pairing; a Kombucha night, featuring a jewelry exhibitor; and several adoption evenings.

In the near future, Holzman and Mikhaly are hoping to open a second store as they continue going to the dogs in style.

Boris & Horton is at 195 Ave. A in Manhattan.

For more, visit borisandhorton.com.

Westchester Philharmonic

Dream Kitchens and Baths CRAFT-MAID ■ BIRCHCRAFT ■ HOLIDAY ■ CABICO ■ STONE ■ QUARTZ ■ CORIAN ■ DECORATIVE HARDWARE

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Tickets start at $36.

Tickets: (914) 251-6200 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. ©2018 Westchester Philharmonic, Inc.

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WANDERS

It's a dog's life at the Hyatt

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BY DEBBI K. KICKHAM

Sir Hyatt is the lovable ambassa-dog at the Hyatt Regency LAX. Courtesy Hyatt Regency,

It's one thing to travel with your pet, but it's quite another to visit a first-class hotel where a cute little canine awaits you.

That's what happens at the Hyatt Regency Los Angeles International Airport — or Hyatt Regency LAX for short. As its signature catchphrase tells you, everything about the hotel is Unquestionably unairport. (Hashtag #UnquestionablyUnairport).

Especially Sir Hyatt.

Who's that, you ask? He’s the darling little dog who calls the hotel his home. Sir Hyatt is never left unattended, is walked several times a day and does his best to make friends with all guests.

The best part: Sir Hyatt is a professional therapy dog, just the ticket for many of the folks who fly into this airport hotel.

"Sir Hyatt helps our guests with separation anxiety," says Libby Zarrahy, the hotel's marketing director. The beautiful Border Collie and Terrier mix — with an ever-wagging tail — is about 4 years old and a growing presence on the hotel’s Facebook account, she adds.

Even better, the furry little Fido is a rescue dog.

Zarrahy says that the hotel first came up with the idea of an in-house pooch and then fell in love with acquiring a rescue dog.

"We couldn't think of anything better than a dog from a rescue facility," she adds. "Sir Hyatt fit our profile perfectly, as he is well-tempered, not intimidated by traffic in the lobby, is approachable and is very loving. As anyone would tell you, animals who

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are rescued know it and give back in terms of their loyalty and love."

Sir Hyatt definitely does that — and more. He's a full-time Hyatt Regency hotel employee, with all the benefits, including grooming once a month, vaccinations and his registration as a professional therapy dog. Even more extraordinary, Zarrahy adds: "There are many flight crews who plan their trips to stop in LA just so they can see and visit with Sir Hyatt and have their picture taken with him."

When is a dog not a dog? When he's also a ham. On Facebook you can find Sir Hyatt posing for the paparazzi, shopping for Louis Vuitton luggage (the posh pet carrier bag, of course) or calling his agent, showing his hilarious sense of humor as an outstanding ambassa-dog. He's one in a million and there's no question that he's the hotel's adorable mascot.

Of course, the Hyatt Regency LAX has many other advantages to offer its guests. Newly opened, it shines and sparkles since its top-to-bottom transformation as part of the Hyatt Regency brand in 2017.

For starters, the hotel (which is beloved by pilots and airline crews) is the closest to the airport, which means that your free shuttle from the hotel takes you directly to the terminal, with no other hotel stops.

Another great point? The hotel has superior soundproofing, so that you can actually sleep. "The windows are double-paned and vacuum-sealed, with blackout draperies," Zarrahy says. "Our guests — and

our airline crews — need to sleep uninterrupted."

Another bonus: There are no less than eight plugins per room. Translation: You and another person traveling with you will have more than enough ports for your iPhones, laptops, iPads and other technical devices. "Our bandwidth is also a great advantage," Zarrahy says. "We offer three gigabytes of bandwidth, which is the quickest and speediest, so our guests don't experience any bottlenecks.” Who doesn't love that?

At the hotel, another great option is the Regency Club, where you'll find select food presentations all day long, including full gourmet breakfasts, lunch snacks, hors d'oeuvres and desserts at night. Make sure to talk to Cairo Enslinger, the pizzazz-y supervisor of the Regency Club. He's a delight and will make everything about your stay personalized — and perfect. And when you want a little time with youknow-who, Enslinger will get out the leash — faster than you can say "Woof" — and bring up Sir Hyatt for a face-to-face visit.

After you've indulged, just go to the terrific fitness center where a wealth of weights and machines await you. Actually, you just might also find Sir Hyatt up there too, working out.

"On days when it's too rainy to walk, we let him use the treadmill," Zarrahy says with a laugh.

For more, visit losangelesairport.regency.hyatt. com or call 424-702-1234. And for more on Debbi, visit gorgeousglobetrotter.com and marketingauthor.com.

Discover The new IL FORNO Italian Kitchen & Bar Where Good Vibes meet Italian Inspired Cuisine!

Enjoy a Classic & Crafty Cocktail.

Have your perfect experience!

LUNCH AND DINNER Tuesday - Sunday 343 Route 202, Somers, NY 10589 (914) 277-7575 www.ilfornosomers.com

Private Events and Catering

WONDERFUL DINING

A brunch at Blue Dog

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STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS

BY ALEESIA FORNI

Budding entrepreneurs cite a host of reasons behind their dreams for launching a new restaurant — a lifelong passion for food, the realization of a childhood dream, chefs ready to take the next step and venture out on their own.

While the reasons may vary widely, it’s safe to assume that not many are inspired to open their own restaurant because of their dog.

But that was the case for Elizabeth Slavutsky, who opened the first Blue Dog restaurant in Manhattan’s Chelsea section in 2006. The eatery was inspired by, and named in honor of, her late English Bulldog.

“The restaurant's name comes from the fond memory of my childhood dog, Oliver,” she said.

Initially, Blue Dog’s menu consisted of a number of Slavutsky’s family recipes, many of which were deep-fried.

“A lot of these recipes are my grandmother’s recipes from way back when,” she said. “My grandmother was a very big part of my childhood. I was basically raised in the kitchen, so instead of playing with dolls, I was in the kitchen, and I found it to be second nature.”

But that concept has seen a shift in recent years, when Slavutsky decided to give the menu a healthier twist, removing certain aspects of the dishes and shifting to an alternative method. Dietary restrictions are also accommodated with ease.

Today, nearly all of the food served at Blue Dog is organic, locally sourced and either homemade or unprocessed. Proteins are grass fed, all natural and USDA approved. Nothing is frozen and all

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The Senior Benedict burger and crispy fries at Blue Dog.

dishes are made on site.

Slavutsky’s venture has proved a popular one. She now operates four restaurants across Manhattan.

WAG headed to a midtown Blue Dog Cookhouse & Drinkery, which was busy on a rainy Saturday afternoon. At the entrance of the restaurant (at 308 W. 50th St.), we were met with a cozy dining area that featured a single long communal table in the center surrounded by booths and high tables. A bar at the front of the restaurant was decorated with industrial fixtures, while faux white branches hung from the ceiling and lined the windows that offered a view of passersby. We grabbed our seats at a table, which just so happened to offer a front-row view of the blackand-white movie projected onto a wall.

Slavutsky said the choice to show classic films stems from her background in filmmaking.

Chocolate brownie sundae.

Home-style chicken and waffles.

“We wanted to add a medium that would enrich the visual experience to celebrate the arts,” she said.

Blue Dog offers a drink choice for virtually every taste. There are more than two dozen coldpressed and natural juices, along with an array of teas, espressos and coffee options. A cocktail menu was similarly eclectic, ranging from a Purple Rain, which features lavender Fords Gin and violet liqueur, to the provocatively titled “He Had It Coming,” a mezcal and tequila cocktail with a red wine float (and a hint of the musical “Chicago”).

I started with a Bloody Mary, but asking for the brunch classic is not quite specific enough. This eatery offers four variations — a classic vodka and mix, one with mezcal, another with bourbon and a fourth with scotch. I choose the last, which also includes a tasty truffle oil, cucumber and a red pepper rim.

Though the restaurant may place a focus on healthier versions of your favorite comfort foods, that doesn’t mean their brunch menu is lacking for enticing options. There are 11 — yes, 11 — variations on the burger. Unable to resist, my guest chose a juicy Senor Benedict burger, which was topped with a poached egg and slathered with Hollandaise. Crumbled chorizo added a nice kick to the burger, served on a sesame seed bun with a side of crisp fries.

I opted for home-style chicken and waffles. Crispy chicken sat atop fluffy waffles, while sides of jalapeno maple syrup and a creamy mustard aioli were perfect additions to the brunch staple.

Offerings on the dessert menu, or what the eatery refers to as its “Guilty Pleasures,” range from a flourless chocolate cookie ice cream sandwich to a dish called a Chocolate Fantasy, which features sponge cake, layers of chocolate mousse and caramel mascarpone, caramel and chocolate drizzle and chopped chocolate.

We decided on a chocolate brownie sundae, which paired a deliciously rich brownie with vanilla ice cream and was finished with a chocolate drizzle.

While Slavutsky said Oliver was the driving inspiration behind Blue Dog, a second loving pup is playing a part in making the restaurant the success it is today.

Coffee mugs and to-go cups are adorned with the face of Rupert, Slavutsky’s present pet.

“Rupert is a very rare blue English Bulldog, my favorite breed,” she said.

With gray coats and striking blue eyes, blue Bulldogs are slightly different from their other English counterparts.

“When I laid eyes on him, it was love at first sight.”

Slavutsky said her adoption of Rupert seemed meant to be. She felt destined to bring him, along with his “beautiful blue eyes,” home to Blue Dog. “I felt there was no better reason to adopt him,” she said.

For more, visit bluedognyc.com.

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Winding down (or up) with wine

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STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH

BY DANIELLE RENDA

A glass of Pét Nat Rosé at The Red Pony.

You don’t have to saddle up to visit The Red Pony — though a fashionable pair of riding boots might be a nice touch.

The cozy wine bar — which opened in Rye this past December in the space once occupied by the Rye Smoke Shop, a city fixture — offers a sociable space for patrons to unwind. It’s not a go-to spot for sports fans during the height of their respective seasons, but it’s certainly a destination for chitchatting with friends after the workweek (or work day).

It’s hard to miss the corner bar, with its large picture windows overlooking downtown Rye’s Purchase Street. Norwalk-based owner Cai Palmer has created a warm, laid-back vibe and eliminated the pressure of committing to a full-course meal by focusing almost exclusively on beverages, with the option to order a few bites.

When WAG arrived on a Friday night around 8 p.m., the bar was buzzing with activity, chatter and, most important, laughter. It was a place we felt welcomed into immediately.

The Red Pony offers a selection of more than 20 international wines and sparklers. We sampled a Pét Nat Rosé from France that is as light and bubbly as Champagne and is accompanied by a knowing menu description that reads: “On Wednesdays, we drink pink. And Thursdays. And all weekend long. Every day, really…” The wine proved satisfying — as expected — with a crisp, extremely refreshing taste that was slightly sweet, slightly tart.

Also on the menu is a selection of cocktails, humorously (and appropriately) referred to as “Clarktails” after Clark Moore, the general manager. Moore, a longtime mixologist who previously worked for Harper’s

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THOUGH THE BAR’S NAME BEARS NO CONNECTION TO JOHN STEINBECK’S NOVEL ‘THE RED PONY,’ IT WAS INDEED INSPIRED BY LITERATURE.

in Dobbs Ferry and Juniper in Hastings-on-Hudson, creates sophisticated beverages by looking to seasonal ingredients for inspiration. His cocktail list includes an ode to The Dragon Coaster — the near 90-year-old iconic wooden roller coaster in Rye’s Playland Park.

The drink contains cachaça, a distilled Brazilian liquor similar to rum that is made from fermented sugarcane juice; Uccelli, a natural- colored blue bitter from Brooklyn; L.N. Mattei Cap Corse Blanc, a bittersweet Corsican aperitif; and Dragoncello, an Italian liqueur made from French Tarragon and mixed with honey syrup and lemon juice.

Moore is quite adventurous with flavor. He recently shared via the bar’s social media about his

Philly Cheese Steak Clarktail, a “beverage” made with peated bourbon (a bourbon that’s similar to Scotch and whiskey), Annie’s Mac and Cheese mix — yes, cheese — beef stock and a whole raw egg. WAG passed on this one — we prefer the sweeter tastes.

For patrons, Moore will whip up beverages according to the customer’s request, within reason, in addition to those listed on the menu.

We were interested in sampling different kinds of cheeses — not as a beverage but rather on a board. So we ordered a tasting of three (Spanish goat cheese, cheddar and Fromager d’Affinois) alongside two cured meats (salami and prosciutto), crostini and mustard and fig jam spreads. The Fromager d’Affinois — the evening favorite — has a creamy texture and taste similar to Brie.

The Red Pony, which accommodates some 40 people, is adjacent to Wine at Five, Palmer’s wine shop, which moved from 4 Purchase St. The idea is to allow patrons to sample the wines at The Red Pony while offering the option to purchase these same wines next door.

Though the bar’s name bears no connection to John Steinbeck’s novel “The Red Pony,” it was indeed inspired by literature. Palmer is a fan of the Western-set “Longmire” TV crime drama, based on Craig Johnson’s books. Throughout the series, the characters frequent The Red Pony, a tavern in Wyoming that serves as their “watering hole.”

Luckily, the Eastern Red Pony is far classier — and much more tame — than the Wild West.

The Red Pony is at 53 Purchase St. in Rye, and Wine at Five is at 1 Elm St. in Rye. For more, call The Red Pony at 914-481-4220 or Wine at Five at 914-921-5950 or visit redponybar.com or wineatfive.com.

Proprietor, Bobby Epstein of the legendary Muscoot Tavern in Katonah, invites you to experience his newest restaurant—

Kisco River Eatery Come in and savor the fresh raw bar and our impressive variety of steak, pasta, chicken and seafood selections in our warm and cozy atmosphere.

Gather • Eat • Drink.

Lunch & Dinner 7 days a week Sunday Brunch 11-3 Happy Hour Daily from 3-6 222 East Main Street • Mount Kisco, NY 10549 914 • 218 • 3877 info@Kiscoriver.com www.kiscoriver.com Free Parking Around Back

WINE & DINE

A journal for wine lovers and newbies

BY DOUG PAULDING

Editor’s note: WAG’s own Wine & Dine columnist, Doug Paulding, has been in love with fine food and drink ever since he waitered at a French restaurant on Nantucket as a 19-year-old. He later joined a wine-tasting group and participated in the Sommelier Society of America’s wine course. At the now-defunct Hemingway’s Restaurant in Killington, Vermont, where he did wine/beverage service part-time and also skied, he was introduced to Santé magazine and began reviewing wines and spirits for that publication. In addition to his fine work for WAG, Doug writes a wine blog at dougpaulding.com.

So we were delighted when we learned he had a new “Wine Tasting Journal” (Peter Pauper Press, White Plains, $7.95. 192 pages) not only for oenophiles but for those of us who don’t know a Pinot Noir from a Pinot Grigio.

Wine is as complex as perfume. We may not become experts like Doug but we’ll have fun developing our taste buds.

In this excerpt, Doug gets us started:

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I have arranged this wine tasting journal as a simple diary for the wines you get to experience. Each page is organized clearly and methodically. The hope is that, with little time dedicated, you can start to see patterns develop of where you are in the wine taster continuum — that is, which grapes you prefer, what winemaking styles you prefer and which regions and grapes of the world will likely hold your attention. Improving your knowledge of wine is not just to increase your chances for finding attractive wines in the future. It’s also fun. This journal will help you to find a compatible and wonderful wine for any occasion.

I enjoy carefully made and regionally inspired peasant food; unadorned, well-crafted and honest clothing that drapes naturally; and attractive jewelry without the bling. So, let’s bring this concept to wine tasting and simplify.

The first question is, Why describe at all? When you go into a wine store or a restaurant, the merchant or sommelier may approach you to assist. If you can tell them wines you have enjoyed or descriptives you look for, they will have a far better chance of showing you something you are almost certain to like. And as you fine-tune your palate over time by not just drinking, but by tasting with an analytical approach,

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Doug Paulding's new “Wine Tasting Journal” (Peter Pauper Press, $7.95, 192 pages).

better wines will find their way to you. Notable wine opportunities in my life increased in proportion to my growing tasting skills and circle of wine friends. I used to dine regularly in a beautiful restaurant in my hometown. The French owner, Joseph, would often bring me a taste of something to get my opinion.

And if an expensive wine was served and refused at a table, he would bring me a taste to confirm either its soundness or its flaws. Another friend was given a case of Cognac from pre-World War II. He brought out a bottle for us to taste and discuss — a memorable treat. And still another friend opened a La Tâche, one of the truly exceptional wines of the world from Burgundy’s exemplary Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.

We discussed the intricacies of this special wine, including the nuance and depth of flavors, and then

we basked in the bouquet. It remains one of the most divine and unforgettable moments in my wine world.

A really good place to start the process of wine appreciation is opening a bottle with a friend who has a more refined palate. Open, pour, taste, discuss. There are short courses offered up everywhere that will educate and improve your knowledge and palate. Visits to wineries, either local or while on trips, and tasting a variety of their wines will help you experience different grapes, wine styles and blends. Wine stores often have winery representatives pouring tastes of their wines who would love to discuss their region or winery with you. And restaurants everywhere have wine and food pairing dinners with the winemaker or a winery expert guiding you through the process.

Many of the bigger cities host large regional wine tastings, often for a very reasonable fee. These tastings are often exclusively for the media in the afternoon and are opened up to the public in the evening. They will have several producers and representatives from a particular wine region. Most significant newspapers have a respectable wine columnist who can give inspired advice. There are also many organizations offering multi-week wine education courses, with professional certification as a goal. You need not be in the industry to sign up for one of these courses. Join or start a wine tasting group, similar to a book club, where each week or month one person learns about a wine region, provides wines from the region and leads the tasting. In this industry, the guided and self-guided education possibilities are endless. And, of course, everyone with an interest should begin to develop a personal wine library for learning or for reference. “Exploring Wine” from the Culinary Institute of America is an excellent reference textbook. I use it often. Kevin Zraly’s “Windows on the World Complete Wine Course” and Marnie Old’s “Wine: A Tasting Course” can be read systematically cover to cover or randomly opened anywhere to improve your knowledge.

Today is the most exciting time in history to be exploring the world of wine. Winemakers are highly trained and often university educated and come to their profession with a vast world of knowledge. They will often work in other wineries or other countries or continents before they settle in somewhere. The internet allows for knowledge and information sharing worldwide. Agronomists, winemakers and the public are demanding better made and more natural wines.

Organic, biodynamic and earth-friendly are relatively new terms in the wine world. In the vineyard, introducing natural predators and insects to keep damaging creatures away makes for a cleaner and safer wine.

And the internet allows for a dialogue possibly with the winemaker or winery. If you have a noteworthy wine experience, those responsible for crafting the wine might love to hear from you. An earnest email could get you additional information, attractive pricing for direct sales and maybe an invitation to the winery.

There’s no better time than now.

Doug Paulding’s “Wine Tasting Journal” is available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble and peterpauper.com. Write him at doug@dougpaulding.com.

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WELL

Providing a more personal touch

BY JENA A. BUTTERFIELD

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When we’re not feeling well, we all want to be treated immediately by doctors who understand us as well as their specialties. There’s a growing need for quality doctor/patient relationships on both sides of the exam table and, with it, a growing field — concierge medicine.

“The typical primary care doctor has a patient panel of 2,200 to 2,500 patients,” says John Connolly, MD, president and CEO of Castle Connolly, a research company that publishes the “America’s Top Doctors” book series and partners with more than 30 magazines to profile top docs. “When (physicians) convert to a concierge model, (they) reduce their patient load to anywhere between 400 and 600 patients,” Connolly says. “That gives them the ability to offer immediate appointments, either same day or next day and to spend a lot more quality time with them.”

Connolly had a growing interest in the concierge model when he met Dean McElwain, MD, a health care executive who had a decade of experience in the concierge approach.

“I decided it was time that Castle Connolly got

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Neal Pire, national director of wellness services at Castle Connolly Private Health Partners, hosting a New York City-based member wellness event. Courtesy Castle Connolly Private Health Partners.

into this field,” Connolly says. “So, we launched Castle Connolly Private Health Partners (CCPHP) back in 2015.”

Concierge medicine seemed to fit Castle Connolly’s brand of helping consumers navigate the health care environment. “We are uniquely situated in the space,” says McElwain, president and COO, Castle Connolly Private Health Partners.

Their nationwide network of physicians gave them an edge. “(Patients) have access to our database of top doctors,” Connolly says. “It’s very useful to them.”

Their database proved fertile ground for finding doctors who could benefit from converting their practices. “There is no cost for doctors,” Connolly says. “We handle the cost of that conversion

and we also offer expertise to do it properly.”

At Castle Connolly about 30 doctors have converted their practices to the concierge approach, and “we have another three or four that are in line ready to be launched,” Connolly says. “We expect we’ll add between 10 and 15 additional doctors this year.”

Steven Schneider, MD, a 16-year “America’s Top Doctors” veteran, was the second doctor to come aboard CCPHP when it launched. Before he converted his practice to the concierge model, he had a patient panel of 2,500, seeing 20 to 22 patients in a single afternoon. His part-time practice is down to 250 patients. Now he sees a maximum of eight to 12 patients in an afternoon; four or five on some days.

He had been considering concierge medicine for years when McElwain approached him, he says, and the change has been beneficial.

“I would greet my patients with ‘Sorry to keep you waiting,’” Schneider says. “It’s changed the quality and nature of my practice. And now no one’s waiting.”

The concierge model is no longer only for the super-rich. There are physicians who can charge $10,000 to $25,000. “People hear that and think ‘Concierge medicine, that’s not for me,’” Connolly says.

The patients who join a CCPHP concierge practice pay an annual fee of around $2,000 to $2,500.

“That’s what most of our doctors (charge),” Connolly says. “Some charge more. The doctors continue to bill for insurance. But they don’t have to bill for a couple of thousand patients, they have to bill for the number of patients they’re caring for, so it’s much less burdensome.”

Telemedicine is a growing part of the CCPHP program, which has developed its own branded wellness offering that pairs patients with a health coach at no additional cost.

“That’s part of the secret sauce,” McElwain says.

“Physicians understand the added value of that.”

Annual growth in subscription private medicine services, primarily in internal and family medicine, is between 3 and 6 percent, notes Concierge Medicine Today, an industry trade publication. The obstacles to enticing doctors are twofold, Connolly says, citing increased employment of physicians by hospitals and large medical groups as well as a general fear of change and making their converted practice a success.

But according to an August 2017 article in The American Journal of Medicine, concierge medicine will continue to grow. Even hospitals are realizing many patients are looking for a concierge doctor and are implementing programs.

Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston has launched a concierge medicine program and “We have partnered with Newton-Wellesley Hospital, which has also launched a program,” Connolly says.

Critics of concierge medicine say the model further drains the pool of an already insufficient number of primary care physicians. But for

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Schneider, it was a determining factor in whether he continued to see patients at all.

“If I had kept the old practice, I don’t think I could do it anymore,” he says. “I was in a state of anxiety half the time.”

There is also fear of elitism and a reinforcement of a two-tier health system.

“Is it a solution for everybody? No.” Schneider says. But he sees a growing number of middle-class and blue-collar workers opting for the concierge model. He cited a patient who initially balked at paying the annual fee. During the time that he was trialing the new program, the patient suffered a hemorrhage. It was caught the day it happened. Schneider’s ability to manage the patient’s case led to quick action and saved him from dying of a stroke. More personal care was the difference between life and death.

“The major change I see is simply growth as more doctors and more patients become knowledgeable about concierge medicine,” Connolly says. “Because for those who can afford (it), it’s definitely worth it.”

For more, visit ccphp.net.

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WELL

MORE THAN SKIN DEEP

BY JENA A. BUTTERFIELD

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All men may be created equal, in the words of The Declaration of Independence. But all skin cancers aren’t, says Jeremy A. Brauer, MD, a dermatologist with practices in Rye and Manhattan.

While basal cell and squamous cell are the most common forms, “melanoma is the one we’re most concerned about,” he says. Nonmelanoma skin cancers appear mostly on the head, neck and extremities; melanoma, on the back in men and on the legs in women.

“All three have a component of sun exposure, although there are also genetic factors,” Brauer adds.

“Surgery has the highest cure rate. But not everyone may be a good candidate for surgery. And not every skin cancer may meet the appropriate-use criteria for surgery.”

Fortunately, most basal- and squamous-cell cancers are slow-growing and can be successfully treated with electrodessication and curettage to burn off and scrape the tumors, standard surgical excision or topicals and radiation therapy. However, there are certain tumor subtypes and locations as well as patient characteristics that may require the Mohs micrographic surgical technique, in which Brauer did a two-year fellowship at the Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York. Named for Frederic E. Mohs, the physician and surgeon who pioneered the surgery in the 1930s, Mohs is an efficient if time-consuming procedure in which the tumor is removed and studied under a slide, layer by layer, while the patient waits. After the surgeon

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Jeremy Brauer, MD, at his Rye office. Photograph by Sebastián Flores.

maintains “clear margins,” the wound is repaired.

Mohs not only has the highest cure rate, it also saves the greatest amount of healthy tissue and leaves the smallest scars.

While some surgeons have begun to use Mohs in the treatment of melanoma, Brauer says, the standard of care is still wide surgical excision.

As for any resulting scarring, he says there are surgical and nonsurgical techniques to improve the skin’s appearance and texture, including lasers, steroid injections and fillers.

When it comes to skin cancer, he says, “a lot of what we see today is the result of past behaviors.”

Yesterday’s sun worship is the serious skin damage of today and tomorrow. And it’s not just an excessive love of Mr. Sun. “Unfortunately, skin cancer is on the rise for younger patients,” Brauer says. This may be due in part to the popularity of tanning beds, “although fortunately, a lot of states have legal age limits.”

While he says that “most skin cancers are curable,” the old saying about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure applies. “The use of FDA-approved UVA, UVB broad-spectrum sunscreen is a must,” he adds. “The SPF (sun protec-

tion factor) number matters, but it’s only half the story. Use one with a minimum number of 30. Beyond that, the benefits are incremental.”

The other half of the story is applying the sunscreen as directed, and wearing UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) hats and clothing. (Brauer says he is particularly mindful of this when he, his wife — Anate Brauer, a doctor specializing in reproductive endocrinology and infertility in Tuckahoe and Greenwich — and their three young girls go swimming and biking.)

The Mamaroneck resident, whose amiable bedside manner has made him a quotable doc on everything from Buzzfeed to Reader’s Digest, has always loved working with children. Growing up on Long Island, he first thought about being a pediatrician. But at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine — which he attended after graduating “with highest distinction” from Cornell University — he was struck by the versatility of dermatology, a discipline that has cosmetic and reconstructive components.

“Luckily I never have the same day twice,” he says. “I love what I do.”

For more, visit jeremyabrauermd.com.

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Put your injured rotator cuff back in rotation

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BY KEVIN PLANCHER, MD

Kevin Plancher, MD. Courtesy Plancher Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine.

If a rotator cuff tear has made combing your hair or getting dressed difficult to do — or playing your favorite sports is all but impossible — arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery may offer the best chance to get back to an active lifestyle quickly and safely.

Many of the two million or so people in the United States who see their doctors each year because of weakness and pain due to a rotator cuff problem aren’t aware how common this shoulder injury is for men and women ages 40 to 90. But options for resuming their lives and being able to play sports again pain-free is possible.

The rotator cuff helps to lift and rotate the arm and is powered by a group of four muscles that join as tendons to cover the head of your upper arm bone. If one or more of the four rotator cuff tendons is torn, it may weaken the shoulder, making everyday activities difficult and painful. Even more exacerbating is the inability to lie on the shoulder when sleeping.

Two common reasons that account for rotator cuff tears are a traumatic injury or wear and tear. No matter the mechanism, getting a diagnosis with a correlation by MRI is the first step to resolve symptoms.

Who gets rotator cuff tears? Any adult can develop the condition, but most tears happen slowly over time — especially in those over 40 — and occur in a person’s dominant arm. People who do a lot of

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lifting or overhead movements and are not bending their elbow when performing a task are particularly vulnerable as well.

Athletes suffer more rotator cuff tears due to overuse, especially baseball pitchers, tennis players and other “overhead” athletes. And workers whose jobs require much arm movement over their heads, like painters and carpenters, are also at increased risk.

How can you tell if your rotator cuff is torn? The most common symptoms include: • Pain on the side or the back of the shoulder at rest, lying down at night or on the affected shoulder.

• Pain when lifting and lowering the arm at your side with low weight.

• Weakness when holding your arm at your side and trying to place it behind your back.

• Weakness of the arm when reaching for a quart of milk from the refrigerator with a straightened arm.

If the rotator cuff tear occurs suddenly, such as from a fall or a sports injury, severe pain is a major clue. That may get better over a few days, but the weakness will persist.

If pain and weakness due to a rotator cuff tear don’t improve with time, rest and medication, a definite diagnosis is imperative. A certified shoulder surgeon may consider surgery to repair the tear, which involves reattaching the tendon to the head of the upper arm bone. The size of the tear — with

those larger than 3 centimeters more likely to need operative care — and the acuteness of the injury and weakness are all factors in repairing the tear.

While several surgical techniques could do the job, arthroscopic repair is the least invasive way to fix a torn rotator cuff. During this type of surgery, a small camera is inserted into the shoulder joint that emits images the surgeon can use to guide movement of small surgical instruments inside the joint.

Only tiny incisions are needed because of the small size of the camera and surgical tools, and the surgery is done on a same-day, outpatient basis.

Arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs include less postoperative pain, less blood loss and less chance of complications such as infection when properly done, with rare use of any narcotic.

Arthroscopic rotator cuff surgery enables patients to return much more quickly to work and sports, although it is usually no sooner than four months for vigorous sports to avoid a re-tear, meaning less disruption and a better experience overall.

Hands down, it’s the type of surgical rotator cuff repair I rely on most for my active patients.

Kevin D. Plancher, MD, MPH, is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon and the founder of Plancher Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, a comprehensive orthopaedics and sports medicine practice with offices in Greenwich and Manhattan. For more, visit plancherortho.com.

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WELL

Blue offers a cure for the blues

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BY GIOVANNI ROSELLI

For almost four years, Delray Beach, Florida, resident Jahaira Zamora-Duran, a family friend, has embraced her life with a new best friend, her pig Blue. Although this choice may sound slightly unconventional, Zamora-Duran felt like there would be no better selection from the animal world: Why did you decide to get a pig?

“I’ve always loved all animals. I have known pigs to be extremely smart so I have always wanted one. One day I was scrolling through Facebook and I saw a friend’s pig that had an accidental litter. We went over to look at the pigs and we immediately fell in love with Blue.”

So, it was love at first sight.

“Blue was sitting in a muddy pool and as soon as I saw her I said, ‘We need to take her home.’”

What tricks does Blue enjoying performing?

“Blue can spin, sit, bow, jump, give kisses and put a little basketball in a hoop. She can point out the colors red, yellow and green. She can even play a little piano.

“The colors took the longest to learn. One week she learned green and once she learned

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Blue the therapy pig in action at NuVista Living in Wellington, Florida. Inset, Blue ready for her close-up.

Photographs courtesy Jahaira Zamora-Duran.

green, I added red. After a month or two, I added yellow. The other tricks only took about 20 minutes to learn.”

How did you get Blue started with therapy?

“When I brought Blue home, she was very scared and the one thing I used to bond with her was teaching her tricks. She learned so quickly and I realized how intelligent she was. I started her Instagram page and instantly I got feedback that Blue made people smile and how Blue made their day. I thought, Why not sign her up as a therapy pig and make more people smile by bringing Blue to people in a nursing home?

I really wanted to spread the work about how special and intelligent pigs really are.

“We visit a nursing home every month….After

word started to spread, being on the local news… we got requests to visit other nursing homes.”

How many followers does Blue have on Instagram?

“Right now, she has 9,496 followers…. If you want to see Blue in a wedding dress, doing tricks, or just being herself, visit her Facebook page at facebook/ bluethepig or on Instagram @bluethepigofficial.”

If someone is considering getting a pig as a pet, what advice would you offer the person?

“Research, research, research. People think it’s like having a dog or a cat but it’s more like having a toddler. Pigs have the cognitive ability of a 3-year-old child. Pigs are a lot more work than they seem. They throw temper tantrums and they are master manipulators.”

When I asked Jahairia if it was worth all the trouble, she said, “Yes, if you are ready. To me, it is worth it.”

Reach Giovanni on Twitter @GiovanniRoselli and at his website, GiovanniRoselli.com.

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Nurturing nature

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STORY BY JENA A. BUTTERFIELD

At the Jennie Clarkson campus of St Christopher’s in Valhalla, you’ll be greeted with enthusiasm by Jennie and Clark.

Clark might press his soft cheek into your palm or lurch toward you with an affection that feels like a hug. If you allow it — and you might — he’ll gladly take it further with a kiss. Jennie will have overheard these shenanigans with her large ears and come running.

But don’t let this exuberant welcome intimidate you. Clark is a friendly Mini French Alpine goat and simply can’t help himself.

Jennie is a Toggenburg-Nubian cross, a breed of dairy goat with floppy ears and a nurturing personality. Then there’s Don and Ralph, two playful Pygmy Nigerian crossbreed twins who also want to say “hello.” In the chicken-coop next door are Red and Artemis. Artemis is a Crested Cream Legbar who lays beautiful blue eggs. She and Red, a Columbian Blacktail hen, will be happy you’re here and have loud things to say about it.

This motley animal family is the pioneer of an inspired Animal-Assisted Therapy program at St. Christopher’s Inc., a nonsectarian organization serving the needs of vulnerable children. It has three locations — a primary campus in Dobbs Ferry, an all-female campus in New Windsor, and 35 acres in Valhalla, perched high on a hill above the Kensico Reservoir, where the animals are having an effect.

“They are a great addition to our program here,” says Jerry DeJean, clinical director at the Jennie Clarkson campus. “Our kids are amazingly kind and sensitive. The animals bring that out.”

The Valhalla site is home to the REACH program.

Its aim is to help young people with a wide spectrum of disabilities learn the necessary skills it takes to become independent, socially integrated adults. The campus includes residential cottages that sleep 54 youths between the ages of 13 and 21. Many residents are on the autism spectrum or have significant behavioral and mental challenges. During the day, they

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Feeding time at the farm, Don, Jennie and Clark take a break from playing to fuel up. Photograph by Juliana Wynohradnyk.

attend REACH Academy, a public high school in the Greenburgh-North Castle Union Free School District.

Back on campus, there are clinical and therapeutic programs, including a 1-acre garden and, as of last October, the Jennie Clarkson barn.

The Animal-Assisted Therapy Program began with St. Christopher’s CEO Donald Antonecchia and staff attending the Westchester County 4-H Fair at the Alfred B. DelBello Muscoot Farm in Katonah.

There they met AnnMarie Sasso, a consultant and member of the Animal Therapy Committee and visited her Croton-on-Hudson farm soon after.

“We were originally going to get two goats,” says Judith Halden, supervisor of the Animal-Assisted Therapy Program. But plans for two quickly turned to four. “AnnMarie’s goats were having such a good time together,” she adds.

Four goats and two chickens later and “we’re learning as we go,” Halden says with a smile that conveys she’s loving every minute of it.

Halden was wowed when Sasso taught the kids to make hand cream with their freezer full of goat milk. She realized they could continue to weave lessons into every aspect of animal care. “It opens up avenues of different fields to practice on and think about,” she says.

Sasso recalls using the milk to make butter with the students. One resident wasn’t interested in participating. But his peers were so enthusiastic, they got him involved. He not only joined in making the butter but he ate most of it.

Residents learn about adult animal husbandry and hoof trimming and give the animals monthly checks for lice and mites. Some have formed a 4-H club through Cornell Cooperative Extension.

They bring the animals to weekend fairs where they present the program to hundreds of people.

They’ve been trained to do jobs at the barn. They have a chore list for opening the barn in the morning and closing it at night.

Knowing the animals depend on them makes a difference. Grooming them is important. The animals have a way of breaking through the students’ emotional guards at that moment. There’s no judgment and petting and holding them can be calming.

And the lessons don’t stop there. The kids learn how chemicals melt, how to weigh the animals and measure their girth, height and feed and practice organizational skills, time management, critical thinking and problem solving.

One day a goat got loose. “Do we panic?” Sasso says she asked the kids, imparting another lesson. After calmly working together, the goat family was reunited.

Plans are afoot for a chicken hatching program to teach about brooding and generally caring for young chicks. Red and Artemis will then retire to Sasso’s farm. “There’s a pecking order with birds,” she says.

“It’s better to start with them all young.” The plan is to have two incubators (one at REACH and one on the New Windsor campus) with 18 chickens in each. The chickens lay two or three eggs a day so there is talk of a cooking program as well.

Eventually, the chickens will roam free in the goat’s pasture and the goats will loan the chickens their half-soiled hay. The manure will enrich the soil in the campus’s vegetable garden.

St. Christopher’s also partners with the Pegasus Therapeutic Riding program in Brewster. Kids can take part in either the unmounted or mounted programs and learn about horse care and behavior or enhance their sensory integration skills through riding.

Canine Integrative Therapy sessions through Westchester-based Giving Retriever have been a great success. Founder-owner Heidi Bonorato trains service dogs for disabled veterans and teaches the kids how to train them, too.

Future goals for the Jennie Clarkson campus include a Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center.

But these programs will require donor support. Perhaps people could sponsor an animal, an idea that sparks Sasso: “The kids could write thank you notes.”

Going forward, the program is in need of leashes, holders, rubber boots for the kids and a milk stand to harness the goats for milking and giving vaccines.

The effect on the staff has been dramatic. Halden recently spent a week without the animals. “And boy did I feel it,” she says as she enters the barn with Sasso and DeJean. She notices the goat’s headshots on the wall were their “baby pictures” and remarks on how quickly they have grown. Sasso and the Jennie Clarkson staff decided to lead a hunt for azaleas and rhododendrons, two plants that can be toxic to goats.

They are all keen on the mission. Anything to protect the St. Christopher’s family.

For more, visit stchristophersinc.org.

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Becky and Philip Putter didn’t feel comfortable leaving their dog at an overnight facility.

“I would have guilt when I’d leave, honestly,” Philip says. “I didn’t want to go on vacation.”

As a veterinarian who served as the medical director for animal hospitals in Ohio, New York and Connecticut — having held positions at a shark lab research station in Bimini, Bahamas, and an animal rescue preserve in South Africa — Philip had certain expectations for care. He didn’t want to leave their precious pup, Ticket, a rescue from the Caribbean, at an establishment with poor surveillance, a stiff atmosphere or one that lacked an on-site doctor.

After several dissatisfying experiences, the Nyack couple decided to open their own facility.

The result is Spot On Veterinary Hospital & Hotel, a new state-of-the-art establishment in Stamford offering services for dogs and cats, including a hospital, pharmacy, hotel, day care, spa, chauffeur and animal training. The facility also includes on-site cat and dog adoption centers, both of which are funded and run by private donors.

“I think one of the things that was really important to us and our mission is that not only are we spoiling the (pets) and spoiling their owners, but...we’re going to treat their animal just like

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Clockwise from top left: Becky Putter, director of operations. Photograph by Danielle Renda; Philip Putter, DVM, founder owner of Spot On Veterinary Hospital & Hotel. Photograph by Bob Capazzo; a sweet, furry friend is given a refreshing bath after a day of play at the onsite animal spa. Photograph courtesy Spot On Veterinary Hospital & Hotel; and an adorable pup relaxes in his plush toddler bed in the animal hotel. Photograph by Amanda Jones.

we’re going to treat our own,” says Becky, who serves as the director of operations.

The idea behind Spot On is that services are based on each pet’s personality and needs.

“We can sort of do whatever that individual pet is used to,” Philip says with a smile — whether it’s sleeping on a bed versus the floor, spending time alone instead of being with other animals, or participating in active play rather than resting.

The staff, which includes 18 experts that were handpicked from a pool of 300 applicants, makes the transition between home and home away from home a smooth ride — literally.

“We can come to your house and pick them up,” Philip says. “We can do house calls for veterinary services or valet. We make it as easy as possible for you to leave your pet with us and know exactly what’s going on with no stress.”

To further ease owners, Spot On has placed cameras throughout, which clients (and animal lovers) can access via the website to view live group play.

“We’re an open book,” Philip says.

The hospital area is equipped with six exam rooms, two full-time doctors and two part-time doctors, one of whom specializes in acupuncture and traditional Chinese veterinary medicine. If needed, specialists and surgeons can be brought in for specific cases. A separate entrance isolates skittish or aggressive animals from the general population, and another isolates animals with contagious diseases.

For all pets, the first exam is free.

The treatment room includes dedicated areas for dental procedures, which are conducted on an adjustable table with a silent motor that levels with the floor for easy transfer. Mobile ultrasound, digital X-ray and digital dental radiography machines stand ready for use.

“We use nothing but the best,” says Becky, who explains that meticulous planning was involved in every detail of Spot On. The surgery suite includes a CO2 laser, which, Philip says, allows for bloodless surgery that yields little trauma and a speedy recovery.

The hotel portion is divided into four tiers — the junior suite, park view, grand premier and penthouse — which include different room sizes and services ($52 to $125 per night). The penthouse suite — a 75-square-foot space — features an all-glass front door with a spacious, wroughtiron toddler bed and ultra-plush bedding, as well as a dazzling chandelier, a 40-inch flat-screen TV

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with animal programming and a personal web cam for owners to check on their pet, as desired.

Certainly, there’s no “ruff”-ing it around there.

The amenities are equally impressive, with à la carte options, including personal training, storytime before bed, a puppy birthday party, medication administration, a frozen Kong (a hollow toy) with peanut butter, the option to upgrade to a personal web cam, and a car ride to Starbucks for a “Pupaccino” (a frothy treat of almond or rice milk).

The daycare facility (starting at $22 per day) is equipped with three indoor play areas — park-, tree- and beach-themed — and four outdoor play areas, with a puppy pool in the works. WAG was lucky enough to observe an indoor play session — which was guided by a trained professional — that featured a dozen well-groomed pups, whose faces wore the sweetest smiles. We could’ve watched them all day.

“All of the play groups are grouped by either size or temperament,” Becky says. “They’re grouped because they’re going to get along and they’re going to play safely and happily together.”

And safe and happy, they were.

Spot On Veterinary Hospital & Hotel is at 184 Selleck St. in Stamford. For more, visit spotonvet.com or call 203-973-7768.

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A dog receives some TLC from the staff at Spot On Veterinary Hospital & Hotel. Photograph by Amanda Jones.

IT’S WILD OUT THERE! Spring Health Tips from Blue Buffalo® Ah, warmer weather at last! Time to get out in the wild (well, at least your backyard) and celebrate spring with furry family members. Before heading out, keep these seasonal tips in mind.

1. Start flea and tick prevention

Always check with your veterinarian first, but it’s wise to start flea and tick medication a few weeks before spring arrives if your dog or cat isn’t on a year-round regimen.

2. Continue year-round heartworm medication

Visit your veterinarian to be sure to continue your furry pal on year-round heartworm preventative.

5. Don’t spring into the season

Ease into spring after being cooped up during winter. Dogs can become overly exhausted quickly and heat stroke is a danger during the first few weeks of hotter weather. Take shorter walks until you’ve both acclimated to the higher temperatures and make sure to always have water available for your pup.

3. Make sure vaccinations are up to date

Warm weather means more social contact and trips to the park, which increases your dog’s risk of contagious diseases like coronavirus, bordetella or parvovirus. Keep a copy of your pet’s vaccination history and schedule from your veterinarian handy.

4. Watch for seasonal allergies

Like us, cats and dogs can be sensitive to grass and pollen spores.

Constant itching, licking or rubbing, and red, irritated skin from hives and rashes may all signify allergies. Monitor the pollen count in your area and wipe your pet’s paws with a cool towel once they come in from outside. Watch out for poisonous plants and flowers by checking the Top 10 Poisonous Plants on Blue Buffalo’s site.

PROTE HIGH

IN ~ GRAIN-F REE

Try BLUE Wilderness® Meat-rich, grain-free ancestral diet Made with more of the meat dogs and cats were born to love Learn more at bluebuffalo.com

PET OF THE MONTH

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PHOTOGRAPH BY SEBASTIÁN FLORES

Cookie is truly a smart cookie. She recently passed her C.L.A.S.S. BA test and is working toward her MA. C.L.A.S.S. stands for Canine Life and Social Skills, and Cookie totally aced it after training on things like loose-leash walking, calm meet and greets, leave it, settling and more. Being a C.L.A.S.S. graduate means that Cookie got a neat ribbon and her new owner will get a really well-trained pooch.

But Cookie isn’t all business. The 6-year-old Pointer/Terrier mix is also a big, happy goofball.

She loves her people friends — indeed, loyalty is the name of the game with this girl — and is a terrific companion. Cookie's ideal home would be with a person or people who will continue her training — she enjoys challenging that big brain of hers — and provide her with equal parts outdoor fun time and indoor cuddle time. Cookie loves being active and playful. (She's on the SPCA Trail team and would make a great jogging partner.) But she's also great at chilling out and relaxing by herself. She frequently has sleepovers in the trainer's office and is always a model tenant.

Cookie is such an easygoing, good sport that she's the go-to gal for dressing up in costume. However, she’s selective with her pooch pals and does not enjoy cats.

It would be wonderful if she could be the only dog in a forever family whose members are age 16 and up.

To meet Cookie, 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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The Horse Whisperer

PET PORTRAITS

BY ROBIN COSTELLO PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY DAWN LONGWORTH

A five-second video was all it took to steal Dawn Longworth’s heart away. Mesmerized by the beautiful mare, something inside her knew she “had to have this horse.”

“It would be a very long haul from Bowie, Texas,” Dawn questioned if she had it in her to save this majestic animal. “A rescue horse can come with a lot of challenges, a huge investment of time and resources and undeniably no guarantees.” With gentle encouragement from her partner, Tom Murphy, Dawn took a deep breath and a leap of faith and decided to relocate the horse to New York.

It was love at first sight for Dawn the day Teah arrived at the barn that would become her new home. Although initially leery of human contact, the mare began forging a bond with her new owner as the days passed. Dawn discovered that just like with humans, you have to give things a chance, a quiet, sacred space for trust and love to grow.

Dawn found that the more she gave of herself, the more Teah responded in kind. A special lesson learned: “If you’re feeling upset or stressed, the horse picks up on it. I discovered I had to be responsible for the energy I brought into the barn.

That applies to other areas of life for sure.”

With clarity of purpose, patience and a healthy sense of humor, the two bonded beautifully. In time Teah revealed herself to have a gentle disposition, with a sweet loving heart.

Dawn’s equine dream has since come true times two. Teah now lives out her days at the bucolic Crotta Farm in East Fishkill with a new pal, a second rescue horse named Kaylee whom Dawn adopted in May 2015.

Taking care of the needs of the two equines has become a family affair. Twice a day, Dawn (aided

by Tom and teenage daughter Leanne) arrives to tend to the daily needs of their dynamic duo. “It’s very hard work but so rewarding.” Their sense of joy is palpable as they approach the barn where the horses stay.

“Teah and Kaylee are so sweet,” Leanne gushes.

“They can sense if you're happy or sad. They always listen and always know just how to make you feel better. I love our horses so much. The best part of our day is being with them.”

Dawn, Tom and Leanne have learned that “home is where the horse is.” In those tender moments at the barn each day, the troubles of the modern world melt away.

Dawn Longworth with Ellie, one of her first horses.

Leanne Longworth with Kaylee.

Teah and Kaylee at Crotta Farm.

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April 3 WHEN & WHERE

Through April 25

“Hazardous Beauty,” an environmental art show featuring artists Alejandro Durán and Willie Cole, who interpret the environmental problems of plastic pollution and explore the effect of our increasing disposable culture. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 1 to 5 p.m.

Sundays, Flynn Art Gallery, Greenwich Library, 101 W. Putnam Ave., Second Floor; 203-622-7947, flinngallery.com

Through May 4

The Gordon Parks Foundation presents “Beneath these Restless Skies,” an exhibition by British documentary photographer Harriet Dedman. The work explores issues of identity and opportunity in West Harlem. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 48 Wheeler Ave., Pleasantville; 914-238-6619, gordonparksfoundation.org

Through May 5

“18-3838” — Pantone has designated Ultra Violet 183838 as the color of 2018. Heather Gaudio Fine Art will be showcasing paintings, prints and sculpture that take on this blue-based purple in different forms and styles. 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 66 Elm St., New Canaan; 203-801-9590, heathergaudiofineart.com

Through May 15 Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art presents “Bleeding Edge,” an exhibition of artists from the greater New York area who are pushing boundaries in new media.

The exhibition explores the human-technology relationship. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays; noon to 6 p.m. Saturdays; and by appointment Tuesdays through Thursdays; 1701 Main St., Peekskill; 914-788-0100, hvcca.org

Through May 26

Clay Art Center presents its exhibition, “THEY,” which highlights voices that are marginalized and historically underrepresented in institutional spaces through the work of eight ceramic artists. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 40 Beech St., Port Chester; 914-9372047, clayartcenter.org

Jacob Burns Film Center screens award-winning choreographer Marta Renzi’s documentary, “Her Magnum Opus.” An ode to creativity and community, the film follows a group of friends as they gather to celebrate their mentor and learn that what lasts is those you leave behind. 7:35 p.m., 364 Manville Road, Pleasantville; 914747-5555, burnsfilmcenter.org

April 6

“Art of the Gesù,” an international symposium to accompany the exhibition of the same name, features experts on Bernini, the Baroque and Jesuit Art, from The Morgan Library, The Frick Collection, New York University, the University of Edinburgh and more. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fairfield University Art Museum, 1073 N. Benson Road; 203-254-4046, artofthegesu.eventbrite.com

April 6 through 8

The “Spring Blossoms” flower show is a rare opportunity for visitors to experience Lyndhurst filled with sumptuous floral arrangements and to walk through the house at their own pace without a guided tour.

The show kicks off with a special Preview Party on April 6, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., hosted by the Garden Club of Irvington to benefit the restoration of historic fountains and perennials in the Lyndhurst Rose Garden. The flower show is April 7 and 8, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Lyndhurst, 635 S. Broadway, Tarrytown; 914631-4481, lyndhurst.org

April 8

Katonah Museum of Art presents its annual Himmel Award and Lecture, which recognizes those who provoke new thinking in art and design. This year’s award honors Françoise Mouly and Art Spiegelman, lifelong collaborators who catapulted the graphic novel into the literary genre it is today. 5 p.m., 134 Jay St., Katonah; 914-232-9555, katonahmuseum.org

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April 14 and 15

The Silver Screen Sports Film Festival presents a two-day celebration of some of the most iconic sports movies from the past 50 years, including “Rocky,” “Rudy,” “Caddyshack,” “Major League” and “Slap Shot.”

All screenings will be followed by a Q&A session with talent from each film. Check website for various show times, Tarrytown Music Hall, 13 Main St.; 914-631-3390, tarrytownmusichall.org

April 21 through May 6

Hudson Stage Company presents “Switzerland,” a psychological thriller that pits Patricia Highsmith, author of “Strangers on a Train” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” against the publisher determined to get her to write the last installment in the “Ripley” series. Times vary, Whippoorwill Theatre at North Castle Public Library, Kent Place, Armonk; 914-271-2811, hudsonstage.com

April 21

ArtsWestchester presents “Performing Families: an Evening of Music and Conversation,” with four family bands performing and discussing the meaning of music, kinship and tradition. Featuring Mariachi Sol Mixteco, LOFT’s Pride Chorus, Sruli & Lisa’s Family Klezmer Band, and Smt. Kiruba and Shaaranya Pillai.

An audience talkback will follow the performance.

7 p.m., 31 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains; 914-4284220, artswestchester.org

April 12

At the exhibit “Vive La France! How the First World War Turned the Parisian Art World Upside Down,” Kenneth Silver, New York University professor of art history, will talk about how wartime values brought momentous change to the aesthetics of Picasso and the avant-garde of the Parisian art world. 6 p.m., Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich; 203869-0376, brucemuseum.org

April 13

Detail of teapot by Robert Lugo, featured in “THEY” at Clay Art Center. Courtesy Clay Art Center.

April 14

Friends of Music presents a concert with cellist Edward Arron. The Westchester musician will be joined by pianist Jeewon Park and violinist Tessa Lark for a program that includes Beethoven, Ravel and Dvorak. 8 p.m., Ossining High School, 29 S. Highland Ave.; 914-861-5080, friendsofmusicconcerts.org

Westchester Photographic Society presents a lecture by photographer and author Bryan Peterson, “Understanding Composition and the Elements of Design.” 8 p.m., Westchester Community College, 75 Grasslands Road, Room 107 — Technology Building, Valhalla; 914827-5353, wpsphoto.org

Mariachi Sol Mixteco, appearing April 21 in White Plains. Photograph by Dizzy.

Hudson Valley Writers Center & The Masters School present “The Westchester Poetry Festival.” The free event includes a keynote address by Reginald Dwayne Betts along with readings by Chris Campanioni, Andrés Cerpa, Nicole Sealy and Anya Krugovoy Silver. 1 p.m., The Masters School, 49 Clinton Ave. Dobbs Ferry; 914-332-5953, writerscenter.org

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Westchester Philharmonic: Eternal Spring Edgar Meyer, double bass

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Jeremy Denk One of America’s foremost pianists

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National Theatre Live Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead

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Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Classical Evolution

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Big Band Dance Party Purchase Jazz Orchestra & Jon Faddis

May 5

Jessica Lang Dance World premiere of a new work set to the music of Tony Bennett

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National Theatre Live Julius Caesar

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Westchester Philharmonic Keys, Kegs & ‘Que Anna Polonsky & Orion Weiss, piano

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Pictured: Jessica Lang Dance © Sharen Bradford

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Thank You

914.251.6200 www.artscenter.org

LUCILLE WERLINICH,

Chair of Purchase College Foundation

The Woman’s Club of White Plains presents its Annual Fashion Show and Scholarship Luncheon, including a silent auction, to raise funds for the scholarship. 11:30 a.m., CV Rich Mansion, 305 Ridgeway, White Plains; 914-948-0958, womansclubofwhiteplains.org

April 22

FOR YOUR NEXT MITZVAH OR BIRTHDAY PARTY

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Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County's annual fundraiser returns with the Pilobolus Maximus Dance Company. Proceeds from the event benefit NSFC's summer programs. 7 p.m., Quick Center for the Arts, 1073 N. Benson Road, Fairfield; 203-2544010, nstudios.org Celebrate Connecticut’s first open green spaces with the Norwalk Historical Society, which presents author Eric D. Lehman’s talk on “Time Machines to the Past: Connecticut Town Greens.” 2 p.m., Mill Hill Historic Park — The Townhouse, 2 E. Wall St.; 203-846-0525, norwalkhistoricalsociety.org.

The Breast Cancer Alliance Annual Junior Committee Fashion Show — BCA will open the runway to more than 20 local students, who will model fashions from Richards to benefit the Junior BCA Committee. Schools represented include Bronxville High School, Brunswick School, Fox Lane High School, Greens Farms Academy, Greenwich Academy, Greenwich High School and Sacred Heart Greenwich. Funds raised go to support breast health services for underserved women throughout Connecticut and in Westchester. 11:30 a.m., Richards, 359 Greenwich Ave., Greenwich; 203-861-0014, breastcanceralliance.org

April 25

The Westport Library presents a screening of the 2017 film “Marshall,” about future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall facing one of his greatest challenges while working as a lawyer for the NAACP in Connecticut. Sandy Lefkowitz will join screenwriter Michael Koskoff for an after-film discussion. 7 p.m., Bow Tie Ultimate Royale 6, 542 Westport Ave.; 203-846-8797, westportlibrary.org

A Whimsical and Unique Venue for Your Next Party!

• Talented Events and Audio/Visual Team • Indoor or outdoor open floor plans lets guests enjoy a variety of environments • Multimedia Gallery with 33 x 12 foot projection screen and customizable interactive floor • State-of-the-art sound and theatrical lighting system For a personal tour, call 203 899 0606, ext. 208 steppingstonesmuseum.org/rentals

The Breast Cancer Alliance (BCA) and UJA JCC Greenwich are partnering on the symposium “Hot Topics in Breast Cancer.” The panel, consisting of leading experts in the field, will discuss new breakthroughs in prevention, screening and therapies for breast cancer. The morning will help inform women about how to take action for themselves, their daughters, mothers, sisters and friends. 9:30 a.m., Old Oaks Country Club, 3100 Purchase St., Purchase; 203-861-0014, breastcanceralliance.org

April 28

Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County presents “April in Paris,” its 2018 fundraising benefit. The event will feature cocktails, dinner, dancing, a silent auction and live music. Dress casually chic or fashionably French. 6:30 pm, The Warehouse at Fairfield Theatre Company, 70 Sanford St., Fairfield; 203-333-2642, habitatcfc.org

April 29

“En Masse” — A large-scale, participatory outdoor performance event created for hundreds of musicians. Visitors can follow groups of musicians on their path and stay for an hour or experience the entire musical marathon. Noon to 3 p.m., Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield University, 1073 N. Benson Road; 203-254-4010, quickcenter. fairfield.edu

Presented by ArtsWestchester (artswestchester.org) and the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County (fcbuzz.org).

Norwalk, CT

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Thursday, April 26, 6-10pm 700 E. Main Street, Stamford, CT

You’ll Enjoy: FREE Signature Pink SWAG Bags Food & Drink Samples • Psychic Readings FREE Parking • Mini Beauty Treatments Prizes, Raffles & so much more! ~VIP Tickets Available~ ...

G N I R U FEAT

A star-studded concert spectacular featuring the world’s best celebrity & female impersonators.

A tribute to Cher & Joan Rivers!

SPONSORED BY:

Get your tickets today at FunGirlsNightOut.com

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SIX DECADES OF VOLUNTEERING Happy 68th birthday, Volunteer New York!. More than 50 business leaders and associates from companies that support Volunteer New York! throughout the year gathered for a celebratory networking reception recently, hosted by TD Bank of Rye. Last year, Volunteer New York! created 2,250 volunteer opportunities for employees of local businesses as part of planned days of service. Collectively, they served a total of 5,843 hours. Photographs by Paul Schneiderman.

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Stephen Moroney and Michael Welling Joanne Taylor and Nicholas Preddice Andy Katell, Kelley Smith and Alison Gibson Laura Rizzo Eric Tomasi and Marjorie Lang Felix Tapia and Christine Gritmon Glen Fernandez and Pat Cappelletti Joseph Roberto and Joe Ali Sarp Kayalar and Evan Kesten

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CONSERVATION, WINE & FLORAL DESIGN PRESENTED BY WESTMORELAND SANCTUARY

A new event series featuring evening discussions on nature and conservation over wine, appetizers and a floral design session using seasonal, locally sourced plant materials.

Bring home a beautiful arrangement…created by YOU!

Thursday, April 12 ‘Wine and Vine’ 7pm

Wednesday, May 16 ‘May Bouquet’ 7pm

Saturday, September 29 ‘Fall Wreath’ 7pm

Speaker: Steve Ricker

Westmoreland Head of Conservation Workshop Coordinator: Nadia Ghannam

Event Floral Designer

To register, visit www.westmorelandsanctuary.org

Thank you to our sponsors:

$20.00 per person (all materials provided)

Mission: To secure and preserve land for the enjoyment and enrichment of all ages through environmental education and Conservation programs.

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DOCTORS IN THE HOUSE With more than 20,000 square feet of space, Columbia Doctors Tarrytown offers more than a dozen specialties and subspecialties. Recently, the doctors and staff hosted an open house at the location to introduce themselves and their services to the community. Westchester and Fairfield residents now have access to all the benefits of an academic medical center that conducts leading-edge research and offers services for the most high-risk, complex cases. Photographs by Robin Costello.

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1. David Sperling, MD 2. Dora Piccirilli, MD 3. Larisa Geskin, MD

HUDSON VALLEY FEAST

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Hudson Valley Restaurant Week, which ran from March 12 to the 25, kicked off at Peter X. Kelly’s Restaurant X & Bully Boy Bar in Congers on March 6 with plenty of delectable bites to choose from. A dozen vendors were on hand to show off their wares, ranging from wines and whiskeys to cheeses and coffee. More than 200 restaurants across the region participated in Restaurant Week, which was presented by The Valley Table, a magazine celebrating its 20th year. Photographs by Bob Rozycki.

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9 Brooks Addington Jenna Vanacore Barbra Glustoff Linda Perez and Raysa Lopez Ron Tesler, Kristina Melcete and Vincenzo de Raco Alejandro and Jake Griffin Diaz Maya Laurincova Cristina and Eric Silver

GIRL POWER “Girls’ Night Out” was the theme of a “heart”-warming event held recently at the Marriott in Tarrytown that saluted heart disease survivors and their supporters. The evening was emceed by CBS2 anchor Mary Calvi and raised more than $80,000 for Westchester Medical Center Health Network’s Heart and Vascular Institute.

12. (Back Row) Chhaya Aggarwal, MD, Jennifer Silvio, Maria Quizhpi, Srihari Naidu, MD, Lucy Ann LaGuardia, Joshua Goldberg, MD, Mary Calvi, Courtney Moskowitz and Sei Iwai, MD (Front Row) Tara and Adriana Pratt, Joseph Giamelli, MD, Sandra Nunez and Ramandeep Sahni, MD

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GREENWICH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL May 31 - June 3, 2018 Greenwich, Connecticut

# Purchase Tickets and Learn More

GREENWICHFILM.ORG

/GREENWICHFILM

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LIGHT THE DARKNESS “Light the Night,” the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s premier community event, brings light to the darkness of cancer. The Connecticut Westchester Hudson Valley Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society recently held an award ceremony for its “Light the Night” Corporate and Friends and Family teams at The Westchester Hilton in Rye Brook. The society brings communities together to celebrate those who are fighting the disease and to honor those we have lost.

1. Ryan Cola and Rob Signore 2. Michael Grant, Andy Singer, Esther McCarthy and Tom Gardner 3. Caroline, Scot and Kate Stevens 4. Helynn Toughener and Sandra Rampersaud 5. Helen and Paul Anbinder 6. Mark Rubin, MD, and Deborah Sherman 7. Mary Kay Barr and Tom Vitti 8. Sophie and Alanna Levine and Sam and Olivia Berk 9. Roger Drake and Paul Melitsanopoulos 10. Evan and Lauren Bonenfant and Tommy Cossuto 11. Nicole Mandanici and Steven Gersen, MD 12. Douglas Burke, Michele Bryant, Kimberly Tapscott, Lynn Sullivan, Walter Markes, Kristin Ball, Ginny Pracilio, Renee Romano Bornstein, Jackqueline Mclean Markes, Valerie Baker, Joseph Samuel and Marcia Berry 13. Robert Dukesherer, Mary Esposito, Domenick Esposito, Chloe Esposito Dukesherer, Amy Ferraro, Cindy Ferraro and David Ferraro

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BRISTAL'S HEARTBEAT The Bristal Assisted Living at Armonk, an assisted and independent living community, recently hosted a “Heart Health Fair” as part of February is Heart Month. The program featured several speakers, who discussed heart health and fall prevention.

14. Maytha Ramirez, Shalini Bobra, MD, Samantha Krieger and Jackie Telfer

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Eager Beaver Tree Service INTELLIGENT TREE CARE ARTISTIC DESIGN DETAIL ORIENTED LONG TERM PLANNING-IMMEDIATE RESULTS SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!

EXTRAORDINARY Serving Westchester and Fairfield 914-533-2255 | 203-869-3280 |

203-966-6767

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THREE NEU SHOWS A Purchase College jazz combo provided the entertainment when more than 500 people attended the recent opening of three new exhibits at Purchase College’s Neuberger Museum of Art. “Bending Light: Neon Art 1965 to Now” focuses on the often-blurred lines between commercial and fine art and considers the complex interplay among light, chemistry and artistic vision. “Stephen Antonakos: Proscenium” is a monumental, site-specific work originally created in 2000 for the Neuberger’s vast Theater Gallery. And “From Motherwell to Hofmann: The Samuel Kootz Gallery 1945-1966” examines how Kootz’s New York gallery (1945–1966) was instrumental in promoting the careers of several major Abstract Expressionist artists. Photographs by Harrison Edwards.

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Alejandra Noyola and Rosie Dunphy Scott and Avis Larson Jacqueline Adler and Tracy Fitzpatrick Michael Sillerman, Joyce Kootz and Rebecca and Gerhard Schoenthal 5. Jesus Torres and Courtney Lykins 6. Kazuko Ono and Andrey Durney

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ROLLINS GOES RED For 12 years, the team at the Rollins/Brown & Brown/Gaston Insurance Agency has been doing its part to raise awareness and funds for the fight against heart disease and stroke, the number one killer of women. Each year the team participates in the American Heart Association's Go Red campaign, which harnesses participant’s energy, passion and power to band together and collectively wipe out heart disease. Team members are challenged to know their own risk for heart disease and take action to reduce it — this year, they brought in Jennifer O'Connor of Élan Elite Body Development/Yoga to lead them in a meditation exercise before sharing a snack of heart-healthy food.

7. Front row: Jennifer O’Connor, Carollee Cabot, Kashona Thomas, Mary Gerhardt, Ariadna Garcia, Mei Walia, Gloria Pizarro Second Row: Renee Marengo, Rosie Himelfarb, Alison Green, Amelia Romero, Joy Arzaga, Karen Kismatali, Sara Beatty, Liz Savarese, Nick Gagliardi, AdriaRuth Pauze, Khalil Elaouni Third Row: Sherifa Ahed, John Moccia, Donna Witt, John Paribello, Stephen Soliman, Carol Russo, Kailee Valenzuela, Mike McGarity

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ALL IN THE FAMILY The annual Westfair Communications Family-Owned Business Awards ceremony, presented by the Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journals and WAG magazine, honored 20 businesses from Westchester and Fairfield counties. More than 200 attendees gathered for the Feb. 27 awards ceremony at 1133 Westchester Ave. in White Plains. Kate Hampford Donahue, president and CEO of Hampford Research Inc. in Stratford who was honored in 2017, was the keynote speaker. “The 2018 Family-Owned Business Awardees did not disappoint. Their family-business histories and successes were absolutely inspiring,” said Westfair Communications Publisher Dee DelBello.

“Two thoughts were loud and clear – families matter and there’s nothing better than working hard together.” The event sponsors included Entergy Corp., Citrin Cooperman, The University of Connecticut School of Business, Val’s Putnam Wines & Liquors, Atlas Tech Services, Heineken Corp., BMW Mount Kisco, Blue Buffalo and APS Payroll. Supporters included Gilda Bonanno LLC, Kristals Cosmetics Skincare, Royal Regency Hotel, Blossom Flower Shops, Buzz Creators, The Bristal Assisted Living, Greenwich Polo Club and White Plains Linen. The event benefited Paws Crossed Animal Rescue, a no-kill animal shelter in Elmsford.

– Aleesia Forni. Photographs by Bob Rozycki.

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Anthony Aitoro Beverlee Dacey Diana Margi and Stephen Altman Daniel Guiney and Ian Bertles Ava Amuso, Denise DeGrigoli Amuso and Troy Amuso Daniel, Michelle and Joseph Lepore Matthew and Mike Risko Jared, Robinand Kenneth Hirschberg Maria Dacey, Lisa Cavataro, Matt Giardina and Barbara Laughton

ORCHID EXTRAVAGANZA The 16th annual “Orchid Show” at the New York Botanical Garden (through April 22) is an architectonic marvel — mainly in a hot, sherbet palette — that reflects the towering work of a true master, Belgian floral designer Daniel Ost, as well as New York’s soaring spirit. Ost’s basket-like sculpture in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory’s Palms of the World Gallery — which seems to reach for the 90-foot-tall dome overhead – and the orchid sculptures in the Seasonal Exhibitions Galleries capture the influence that Japan has had on the designer’s career. Bamboo stalks as thick and strong as pipes form grids at every turn. Tubing suggests plant life’s connection to water (though the orchids and other plants are watered there the old-fashioned way, by hand.) The climbing quality of the displays underscores the tree-dwelling aspect of orchids, Ost said.

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10. Nick Leshi and Daniel Ost 11. Daniel Ost, Todd Forrest and Marc Hachadourian APRIL 2018

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STAMFORD EATS

The Crowne Plaza Stamford was the place to be for the recent 25th annual “Taste of Stamford.” More than 500 people packed the hotel ballroom and were treated to samplings of food and beverages from top local chefs, restaurants and distributors in and around Fairfield County. This popular annual culinary event was first produced in 1993 by the Stamford Chamber of Commerce.

1. Maddie Foley, John Procaccini and Tyler Marino 2. Vivian Carrasquillo, Stuart Pike, Oscar Mendiola, Virgiline Charlestin and Fresnel Charlestin 3. Garry Feldman, Angela Curley-Henkel and Trig Benhiudiath 4. Marlena Forte, Heather Cavanagh and Jennifer Forte 5. Lauren Gamer 6. Cristina Patino and Teddy Gianokos

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‘KIDS FOR A CAUSE’ It was a day full of smiles when Breast Cancer Alliance presented its “Kids for a Cause Carnival Day” at the Round Hill Club in Greenwich. Activities included face-painting, balloon animals, arts and crafts, a magician, the Songs for Seeds group and revolving entertainment for all ages on the main stage. A fashion show organized by Hoagland’s of Greenwich featured BCA’s junior models, ages 3 to 10, who dazzled everyone with their sass and style. Proceeds from the day of fun went to benefit Breast Cancer Alliance’s mission to improve survival rates and the quality of life for those affected by breast cancer. Photographs by Cheryl Moss.

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Ashley and Stewart Fox Brodie and Benn Calhoun Courtney Wilson and Maxine Armstrong Ashley, Richard, Scott and John Perkin Molly Calhoun, Kathy O’Malley Morrisey, Sarah Pribyl, Yonni Wattenmaker and Candace Procaccini 12. Christian and Suzanne Zakka and Mary Jeffry 13. Tom, Bill and Charlie Morrissey and Mary Alice O’Malley

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A grand way to celebrate

WE WONDER:

WIT

ARE YOU A PART Y ANIMAL?

Richard Carlisle

Leonard Donofrio climbing instructor, Rockland County resident

Trader Joe’s employee, Hartsdale resident

Ariel Feuz

Angel Hernandez T-Mobile employee, New Rochelle resident

Boost Mobile employee, Riverdale resident

“Well, I’ve been called an animal a number of times in my day. I like to believe it was in regard to my partying, but who knows.”

“I definitely had my share of party animal days when I was a young man. But now? No way. I gave that all up a long time ago.”

“Under the right circumstances, I am. With the right concoction of stimulants and company that I surround myself with, I come out of my shell and really let loose.”

“Well, this past weekend I tried to fight a bouncer and lost my phone partying in Miami. So, I think that’s a ‘yes’.”

“I’m definitely a party animal.

I’m always the first on the dance floor.”

retired, Greenwich resident

Yvonna Melville

Sara Rose

New Haven resident

Palisades Center employee, Rockland County resident

Francesca’s employee, Stamford resident

Katiana Same

Zharde Sellona

“I’m Irish, so I love to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I don’t know if I’m exactly a party animal. I like to think that I hold my own, but I’m not an ‘out-every-weekend’ kind of girl.”

“I’m absolutely a party animal. I never know when to stop and it always gets me into trouble.”

“Oh, I know I’m a party animal. I’m the first one at the club and the last to leave.”

“I love to party, but I don’t know if I’d consider myself an animal. I love a night full of good food, good friends, loud music and no hangovers.”

Cotton On employee, Yonkers resident

*Asked throughout central and northern Westchester County at various businesses.

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Alanis Longo

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