JUDITH JAMISON
Dancing on the global stage
SEÁN HEMINGWAY
The grand(son) also rises
ON THE ROAD
To Iceland, London, Kenya and beyond
THE BUTLER:
China’s new status symbol
IN LOVE WITH THE ANCIENT GREEKS AT HOME IN SRI LANKA
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CONTENTS
THIS PAGE Fragmentary Colossal Head of a Youth, (thought to be Alexander the Great), Greek, Hellenistic period, 2nd century B.C., marble. Antikensammlung, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Image: © SMB / Antikensammlung.
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COVER STORY
JUDITH JAMISON ON THE DANCE OF LOVE
12 My Greek odyssey 16 The grand(son) also rises 20 Chinese adopt Jeeves lifestyle 22 Targeting global health 24 Journey between two Chinas 26 Sleepless in ‘Siracusa’? 28 Lost Catskills 30 World culture, one stop 34 Canyon Ranch: A family affair 36 Style in the ‘House’ 38 From Paris to Lyndhurst 40 Man about (London) town
44 This wide and universal theater 46 Man, machine and … magic 50 Paws up for animal-assisted therapy 52 ‘Jersey’ girl 54 In, out of and over Africa 58 Frozen in time 70 Wondrous Whitehall 72 Beating cancer, winning at polo 86 From Kalahari to kale 88 Garden concierge 90 A father’s legacy
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94 WINE & DINE Accent on Aussie wines
100 WELL Master the fitness basics as you travel through life 102 PET OF THE MONTH More for Maggie 103 PET PORTRAITS A pair of twos for the road 104 WHEN & WHERE Upcoming events 108 WATCH We’re out and about
Dancing on the global stage
SEÁN HEMINGWAY
The grand(son) also rises
ON THE ROAD
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Bruce Museum – inside front cover brucemuseum.org
Miller Motor Cars - 19 millermotorcars.com
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Muscoot Tavern – 95 muscoottavern.com
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CuisinArt Resort – inside back cover cuisinartresort.com D'Errico Jewelers - 42 derricojewelry.com
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The Water Edge at Giovannis - 107 watersedgeatgiovannis.com
Patio.com - 33 patio.com
Val’s Putnam Wines & Liquors - 117 valsputnamwines.com
Penny Pincher Boutique - 32 pennypincherboutique.com
Vincent & Whittemore - 57 vinwhit.com
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Westchester County Center- 115 countycenter.biz
Prutting & Company Custom Builders –11 prutting.com Red Ski Creative – 29 redskicreative.com
Greenwich Polo Club - 89 greenwichpoloclub.com
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The Spa at Norwich Inn – 83 thespaatnorwichinn.com
Ethan Allen Hotel - 103 ethanallenhotel.com
Fort William Henry Hotel &Conference Center - 84 fortwilliamhenry.com
Sothebys International Realty - 81 sothebyshomes.com/greenwich
Rhone- 67 rhone.com
Westchester Medical Center - 15 westchestermedicalcenter.com White Plains Hospital – 9, 108, 109, 110, 111 wphospital.org R&M Woodrow Jewelers - 1 woodrowjewelers.com
Ridgefield Playhouse - 105 ridgefieldplayhouse.org
World Class Parking – 115 wcparking.com
The Ritz-Carlton Residences Westchester II - 7 rcresidenceswestchester.com
ON THE COVER:
JUDITH JAMISON
China’s new status symbol
Aquarion Water Company - 99 aquarion.com
Gregory Sahagian & Sons - 73 greg@gssawning.com
120 WIT What’s your favorite sentimental journey?
THE BUTLER:
John Rizzo Photography - 113 johnrizzophoto.com
Euphoria Kitchen & Bath - 66 euphoriakitchens.com
98 WELL Your signature, your style
AT HOME IN SRI LANKA
The LaurelRock Company - 77 laurelrock.com
Eager Beaver Tree Service - 119 eagerbeavertreeservice.com
96 WHETTING THE APPETITE Amaretto Baked Ice Cream Chocolate Cherry Bread
IN LOVE WITH THE ANCIENT GREEKS
Aqua Pool & Patio - 43 aquapool.com
Club Fit – 45 clubfit.com
92 WONDERFUL DINING Setting an Italian table
To Iceland, London, Kenya and beyond
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Judith Jamison at Fairfield University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. See story on page 60. Photographs by John Rizzo.
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EDITOR'S LETTER GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
THE BARD, AS USUAL, SAID IT BEST: “I HOLD THE WORLD BUT AS THE WORLD… A STAGE WHERE EVERY MAN MUST PLAY A PART…” Welcome to our annual travel issue, in which all the world is indeed a stage, one we explore in a look at the Bard’s Globe Theatre 400 years after his death. We’re “Celebrating the Globe” in its other meaning, of course. As some like it hot, we journey to Sri Lanka — for sensuous architecture, including actress Gillian Anderson’s former home — and for those who like it even hotter, we head to Iceland. Yep, you read that right. There the landscapes are starkly beautiful; the marriages, open; and the community pools, therapeutic and not for the bashful. Our travel all-stars — Debbi K. Kickham and Christine Negroni — are back, having chilled at Canyon Ranch spa in Lenox, Mass. (Debbi) and covered Kenya by land and air (Christine). Meanwhile, our own Wanderer, Jeremy, gets mixed up in a comic case of mistaken identity at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan. Speaking of people with the same name, we hope you’ll relish our Q&A with the witty James Sherwood, author of the new “James Sherwood’s Discriminating Guide to London,” inspired by the original guide by, yes, James B. Sherwood (no relation). Closer to home, we have shops (House of 29, Mama Jane’s Global Boutique) and exhibits (Lyndhurst’s “Defying Labels” and The Met’s “Manus x Machina” and “Pergamon”) with an international flavor, as well as two businesses (Homefront Farmers, Mike’s Organic Delivery) that take different approaches to providing you with fresh produce. But mostly, we have people with an international mindset — Dr. Richard Deckelbaum, who has devoted himself to global health; Italian chef Valentino, who worked his magic at Saucy Realtor Jacqueline Ruby’s home; archaeologist Seán Hemingway, Ernest’s grandson and co-organizer of The Met’s blockbuster Hellenistic “Pergamon” show; and writer Delia Ephron, whose new novel,
Photobombed by Alexander the Great at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photograph by John Rizzo.
“Siracusa,” locates the tension in travel. Few have had more of a global perspective than Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater star and artistic director emerita Judith Jamison. At a Fairfield University talk that our Laura and John attended, Jamison observed of Ailey: “He wanted us to go outside of dance and meet other people in different disciplines so that we’d have something to say to the world about what it is to be human.” And that gets to the heart of what makes our travel issue — indeed any WAG issue — and our writers special: We locate people, places and things at the intersection of ideas. So a piece on Val’s Putnam Wines & Liquors by New Wagger Aleesia is really about a father’s legacy for his son. And a story by New Wagger Bill on Marissa Scheinfeld’s forthcoming book “The Borscht Belt” is really about time — which Tennessee Williams said is “the longest distance between two places.” I had my own encounter with time at the “Pergamon” show, which features my childhood idol, Alexander the Great. There we stood face-to-face, a contemporary writer and a world conqueror, separated by more than 2,000 years but bound by the bridge of the imagination. Georgette Gouveia is the author of “Water Music,” part of her series of novels, “The Games Men Play,” which is also the name of the sports/culture blog she writes at thegamesmenplay. com. Readers can also find weekly installments of her serialized novel, “Seamless Sky,” on wattpad.com.
K E E R G Y M SSEY Y D O EOR BY G
EG GET T
OUV
E IA
I HAVE BEEN IN LOVE WITH THE ANCIENT GREEKS SINCE I WAS A CHILD. IT BEGAN WITH A SCHOLASTIC BOOK ON THE GREEK GODS AND MY BELOVED AUNT MARY, WHO RAISED ME. A KENNEDY DEMOCRAT, SHE FILLED OUR HOME — AND MY HEAD — WITH THE WRITERS JACKIE LOVED AND TURNED TO, PARTICULARLY IN TIMES OF TRAGEDY.
Four bearded adults and a youth sprint naked on an amphora awarded to the winner of the Panathenaic stade race, circa 530 B.C. From “Greek Mythology: A Traveler’s Guide From Mount Olympus to Troy” by David Stuttard. Drawing by Lis Watkins. © 2016 Thames & Hudson Ltd., London.
The dramatists Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles. The poets Homer, Pindar and Sappho. The philosophers Aristotle, Plato and Socrates. The historians Herodotus and Thucydides. I read them all, perhaps when I should’ve been enjoying family and friends. But I couldn’t get enough, especially of those mercurial gods — stars in a high-class soap opera that offered me, a convent schoolgirl, glamour and sex under the guise of a traditional, classical, nun-approved education. It was only later when faced with adult heartaches that I realized how much the ancients have taught me about living life — and accepting loss — with honor. By the time I discovered Alexander the Great, the Greco-Macedonian king whose conquest of the Persian Empire in 331 B.C. would lead to the dissemina-
tion of post-classical Greek culture (Hellenism) and whose birthday I shared, I had found a kindred spirit — one who showed me how to cope with difficult parents and manage people. “You should ask yourself why you’re so in love with someone who’s been dead for more than 2,000 years,” cautioned my aunt, who was born on the anniversary of Alexander’s conquest of Persia (Oct. 1). I didn’t have to. The Greeks fired my imagination, and I returned that fire with faithfulness, even as I despaired over the decline in interest in them — spurred in America by the devaluing of traditional classical education and the failure of Alexandrian leadership (leadership from the front). Indeed, a recent New York Times article suggested that the reason The Museum of Modern Art is thriving financially while The Metro-
politan Museum of Art struggles is because we’re no longer interested in the past. Modernism and contemporary art are where it’s at in the digital age. But we live with the past, not in it. It informs the present and the future. And so it was with great joy that I’ve detected a Greek revival, if you will, in a spate of exhibits and books that have taken me on my own odyssey. It began last year with an article in the magazine Minerva — named for the Roman version of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, with whom I identify intensely —announcing two major exhibits, the Portland Art Museum and The British Museum’s “The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece,” which celebrated the Greek perfection of the human form, and “Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic
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Sunium: Poseidon’s Cliff-Top Temple. From “Greek Mythology: A Traveler’s Guide From Mount Olympus to Troy” by David Stuttard. Drawing by Lis Watkins. © 2016 Thames & Hudson Ltd., London.
The goddesses of the Eleusinian Mysteries, Demeter and daughter Persephone, flank the young prince Triptolemus on a marble relief from Eleusis, circa 440 B.C. From “Greek Mythology: A Traveler’s Guide From Mount Olympus to Troy” by David Stuttard. Drawing by Lis Watkins. © 2016 Thames & Hudson Ltd., London.
World.” Alas, I couldn’t get to Portland or London, and a search for “The Body Beautiful” catalog on Amazon — named for the female warriors whose power impressed even Alexander and his legendary ancestor, Achilles — yielded nothing. Patience, I thought, your moment will come. And it did as I went to Washington, D.C. at Christmastime to see my family and “Power and Pathos” at the National Gallery of Art. I had warned the family that the National Gallery show was all I wanted for Christmas. They received the news with a resigned equanimity worthy of the Stoics (Roman philosophers but still, close enough to the Greeks). The youngest of the clan, teenaged James, was drafted to accompany me, and he and I soon found ourselves standing before “Alexander the Great on Horseback,” a Roman copy of the Greek original. I had known this work, housed in Naples, all my life only from books. Now here I was face-to-face with it. “I’m so happy I could cry,” I told James, who took this 14
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in manly stride. As we wandered through the show and catalog — which charted the increasing realism in the Hellenistic portrayal of the human figure — I suggested we play a game. “Let’s try to find Greek influences throughout the museum.” And we did — in works of the Renaissance, of course, neoclassical (turn-of-the-19th-century) Paris and Art Deco (1920s) America — the last represented by Paul Manship’s angular “Diana and a Hound,” Diana being the Roman Artemis, goddess of the hunt. After that and having secured at last a copy of “The Body Beautiful” in the exhibit gift shop, James and I rested from our Herculean labors at the all-youcould-eat Greek buffet in the museum’s Garden Café. As winter gave way to spring, my Greek odyssey intensified. Unable to get to The Field Museum in Chicago for “The Greeks — Agamemnon to Alexander the Great” — I’ll try to catch up with it at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C. (through Oct. 9) — I couldn’t wait to treat myself to the small accompanying catalog and a stamp-sized paperweight that reproduced a handsome coin of Alexander with the ram’s horns of the sky god Zeus Ammon entwined in his luxuriant locks. I devoured Thames & Hudson’s “Greek Mythology: A Traveller’s
Guide From Mount Olympus to Troy,” “Mythology: An Illustrated Journey Into Our Imagined Worlds” and “Persian Painting: The Arts of the Book and Portraiture,” which offers plenty of sensuous illuminated manuscript folios of Alexander’s adventures from the Persian perspective. On Good Friday, I took in “Gods and Mortals at Olympus: Ancient Dion, City of Zeus” (through June 18 at the immaculately revamped Onassis Cultural Center NY in Manhattan) before heading across the street for services at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. But the mother lode was still to come — “Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World” (through July 17 at The Met). Here was the fulfillment of 35 years of covering the arts and a lifetime of loving the ancients at the intersection of gorgeous objects and intellectual inquiry. In the first gallery, I encountered the “Alexander on Horseback” I had seen in Washington amid various Alexanders. “Enough Alexanders for you?” a Met spokeswoman teased, knowing my fondness. “There can never be enough,” I replied. When I interviewed exhibit co-organizer Seán Hemingway during a second visit, this time with WAG photographer John Rizzo, I realized he knew what I meant. Hemingway autographed his debut novel, “The Tomb of Alexander,” for me with an inscription that any Alexandrian knows is the password sailors must give to mermaids to ensure a safe voyage in the wine-dark Mediterranean. Perhaps I was a mermaid in a previous life. “Alexander lives and reigns,” Hemingway inscribed my copy. For me, he and the Greeks always will.
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THE (GRAND)SON ALSO RISES: A HEMINGWAY AT THE MET BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN RIZZO
Seán Hemingway among the treasures in “Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
MEETING SEÁN HEMINGWAY FOR THE FIRST TIME, YOU MIGHT NOT ASSUME THAT HE IS INDEED RELATED TO ERNEST HEMINGWAY — the lusty war correspondent; lover of bullfights and difficult women; pursuer of big game and bigger fish; and novelist of such crystalline economy that he has become the gold standard by which all fiction writers despair. Papa Hemingway’s bespectacled grandson
looks like the gentle scholar that he is, nattily dressed in crisp khakis and a navy blazer that offsets the azure shimmer of his tie. But as with Indiana Jones — or, perhaps more appropriately here, a Hemingway hero — appearances are deceiving. Since 1988, this classical archaeologist has been excavating on the eastern side of the Greek isle of Crete, birthplace of the seminal Minoan civilization in the Bronze Age. And as curator in the Department of Greek and Roman Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, he is the co-organizer (with curator in charge Carlos A. Picón) of the blockbuster “Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World” (through July 17). “Unprecedented” is a word that is much bandied about in the art world. But “Pergamon” really is the exhibit of a lifetime, featuring more than 265 treasures — including marble, bronze and terra-cotta sculptures, gold jewelry, glass vessels, engraved gems and precious metals and coins. About a third of these are loans from the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, now under much-needed renovation. These works, originally excavated from the ancient city of Pergamon (today Bergama, Turkey), have been placed in the unique context of iconic loans from other museums, including the sensual marble sculpture “Sleeping Hermaphrodite” from the Museo Nazionale-Palazzo Massimo alle Terme in Rome and the monumental marble vase “The Borghese Krater” from the Musée du Louvre in Paris. “There’s something about having a link with the past through such beautiful objects,” Hemingway says, “the idea of being in the presence of something from centuries ago” that has thrilled him since he was a boy growing up in the shadow of the museum where he now works. But a conversation with Hemingway during a second visit to the exhibit makes clear that this is no mere show of luscious objects. Rather, the works are signposts in a timely narrative that considers WAGMAG.COM
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the cultural power and limitations of leadership. “Pergamon” begins with, and is pervaded by, one man — Alexander III of Macedon (356-323 B.C.), later known as Alexander the Great. The Greco-Macedonian king’s conquest of the Persian Empire ushered in an age of Hellenism (post-classical Greek culture) from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Indus River Valley that would last 300 years until the death of the queen who kept his golden sarcophagus in Alexandria, Egypt — Cleopatra. It is impossible to overestimate the seismic geopolitical — and thus, cultural — shift that Alexander has represented. Before him, power flowed east to west. Afterward, it would flow west to east, creating another wave of tension between the seemingly luxurious East and the seemingly hard-charging West that is a subtheme of the exhibit and is with us today. Alexander is also a cultural fault line in a way that draws parallels with our own globalism and multiculturalism, Hemingway says. “Before Alexander, the Greeks thought of foreigners as barbarians (a Greek word). In Hellenism, you have the melding of cultures, which he encouraged. He saw one world — with himself as ruler, of course.” So was he a mere autocrat? A conqueror leading
a war of revenge against past Persian atrocities? A romantic living out the Homeric ideal of excellence? Or an adventurer in search of the ever-elusive horizon? Hemingway sees all this in Alexander and more. “He must’ve been enormously charismatic to lead such a vast army.” A patron of the arts and possessor of a fortune of 6,000 tons of Persian gold and silver after his conquests, Alexander crystallized his charisma in carefully controlled images of himself — by the painter Apelles, the sculptor Lysippos and the gem carver Pyrgoteles — that at once captured and idealized his striking appearance, the first ruler to do so, Hemingway says. “He portrayed himself without a beard, giving himself a youthful look.” It was part of what Hemingway calls “the idea of creating a unifying image of yourself and branding yourself.” When Alexander died (possibly of cerebral malaria) a month shy of his 33rd birthday in his capital of Babylon, the successors who carved up and ruled his empire, like the poisonous Mithridates VI of Pontus, strove to emulate that brand by depicting themselves adorned with godlike ram’s horns or Herculean lion’s heads and skins. But though you can mimic charisma, you can’t bottle it. And,
anyway, charisma without accomplishment is mere perfume. “Pergamon” ends with the fatal defeat of Cleopatra and her lover, Mark Antony, at Actium and the triumph of their rival, Octavian, the future Caesar Augustus, who rejected the sensuousness of Hellenism and the East for the austerity of the earlier classical Greece — even as future Caesars fancied themselves new Alexanders. They even raided his tomb, which has since disappeared. Or has it? In his debut novel, “The Tomb of Alexander” (Arrow Books, 2013), Hemingway explores what he calls “one of the great mysteries. “I was excited to try something that’s very different from what I do,” he says. In writing a novel about Alexander, Hemingway turned to another charismatic figure whom he knew only from family stories and editing his manuscripts — his grandfather. (Among Seán’s favorite works by his grandfather are “A Moveable Feast,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “The Sun Also Rises.”) “My grandfather’s writing is so clean, so beautiful, so carefully edited,” he says. “What I’ve learned from him is that you have to find your own style and write about what you know.” For more, visit metmuseum.org.
CHEMISTRY
Galleries open: Tues. thru Sun. 10am to 5pm
Explorations in
Abstract Photography
Featuring artists May 21 – June 19
Ellen Carey Jill Enfield Anne Arden McDonald Amanda Means Wendy Small S. Gayle Stevens
Alternative photographic methods developed by these artists over years allow them ways in which to create works that are strikingly varied and result in mysteries that are thought-provoking, asking the viewer to grapple with the Curated by question of what makes a Karlyn Benson photograph a photograph.
Amanda Means 18
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23 Garrison’s Landing, Garrison, NY garrisonartcenter.org 845.424.3960
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E S E N I H C OPT AD VES JEE TYLE S E F LI U DR BY A
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POSSESSING A PERFECT BUTLER, SIMILAR TO MR. CARSON ON “DOWNTON ABBEY,” IS FAST BECOMING A TOP STATUS SYMBOL FOR CHINA’S NEW LEGION OF 569 BILLIONAIRES, WHO NOW TOP THE UNITED STATES’ 537 BILLIONAIRE TITANS. According to News China magazine, the amount of wealth possessed by China’s nouveau riche climbed to $2.1 trillion in 2016. The “must-haves” for the class-conscious, super-rich in Communist China’s “classless” society include a luxury mansion, a Rolls-Royce or two, a couple of bodyguards, a yacht and a private jet. But the new gold standard for the super hotshots is a Western-trained butler, preferably answering to the name of Mr. Carson. The hottest of these hotshots is real estate developer Wang Jianlin, chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group. With a fortune valued at roughly 86 billion yuan ($14.1 billion), he tops Forbes List of the 400 Richest People in China. In addition, some 67,000 people there have assets worth more than 100 million yuan ($16.4 million) and 1.09 mil-
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Christopher Noble created a Butler Academy in China. Courtesy dreamstime.com.
lion people have a net worth exceeding 10 million yuan ($1.6 million). Is this Communist China or Western capitalism? Among those to sit up and take notice is Christopher Noble, a graduate of the Amsterdam-based International Butler Academy (TIBA). Noble was working as a butler in a swanky social club in Chengdu — an affluent city in Sichuan Province where the food has long been known as the most sophisticated in China — when, to his amazement, he discovered that the fashionable socialites were fascinated by English butlers. Noble assumed the demand for private butlers among the Chinese elite would continue to expand. So he decided to establish, for the first time in China, a Butler Academy. TIBA’s Chengdu campus, headed by Noble, opened in July 2014, with the hope that China’s elite would follow in wealthy Western footsteps and hire butlers to manage their growing estates. Noble plans to win over potential clients through the academy’s cooperation with real estate developers. Butler hopefuls are both Chinese and foreign. Among those who paid the tuition fee of 40,000 yuan ($6,176) for the concentrated 42-day training course are a railroad engineer, a software
programmer and a state-owned enterprise employee. Perfect Butler graduates earn annual salaries of up to 1 million yuan ($154,400). Besides learning Western etiquette from books, the students master the art of silver service and folding napkins into the shape of swans, as well as setting a royal British table with four kinds of crystal wine glasses and a confusing variety of porcelain plates and assorted silverware to match each menu. They must also take hats and coats and bartend while welcoming a dozen or more dinner guests, who may arrive at a moment’s notice. In some cases the butlers are also required to demonstrate Western manners to their Chinese employers, including the use of knives and forks, the sipping of soup discreetly and the art of polite conversation as on “Downton Abbey.” Although the Chinese elite have traditionally employed highly skilled servants and gourmet cooks, the idea of a dignified, Western-trained butler makes them feel special — like British aristocrats who hire Chinese cooks. Some clients have even asked the academy for blond butlers to ride horses around their properties. Others wanted to hire them as janitors. Of course, these kinds of de-
mands have all been rejected. Pu Yun, marketing director for TIBA’s Chengdu campus, told News China, that China’s high-end real estate market has recently encountered a bottleneck in development, making it ripe for the butler status symbol. “Materially we don’t know what else we can do to improve properties,” he said, “The only thing left to do is to cover each brick with gold. So breakthroughs are needed in other areas.” The idea is to show the Chinese elite that they can upgrade their estates further by hiring Western-trained butlers. Pu says, “These new home-buyers will become our target clients.” Noble believes that knowing Western customs will be a necessary undertaking for China’s newly rich, whose businesses and lifestyles have all become increasingly globalized. In the last four years alone, The compound growth rate of China’s overseas investments has reached 72 percent. While the lives of prosperous Chinese are becoming more international, it is still too early to say whether or not the British butler in China is a fad. As long as “Downton Abby” continues to be a popular show in China, Noble’s Butler Academy will probably stay in business.
IN CONJUNCTION WITH
8th ANNUAL GOLF OUTING AT THE STANWICH CLUB
MONDAY, JUNE 6th Co-Chairs: Michael Clain, MD, Adam Ercoli, Rich Granoff and Vicki Leeds Tananbaum Auction Chair: Amy Sethi
JOIN US FOR LUNCH, GOLF ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE AT STANWICH, COCKTAILS, SILENT AND LIVE AUCTIONS AND DINNER RECEPTION MEDIA SPONSOR
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Dr. Richard Deckelbaum
TARGETING GLOBAL HEALTH BY DANIELLE RENDA PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB ROZYCKI
AS A DOCTOR AND PHILANTHROPIST, RICHARD DECKELBAUM MAKES IT HIS MISSION TO HELP OTHERS. Deckelbaum has worked in classrooms, hospitals and laboratories around the world, traveling to countries such as Zambia and Israel to help improve their public health systems. In Israel, he laid the groundwork for the world’s first medical school focused on global health and spearheaded the first children’s hospital in the West Bank. And now he shares his expertise with Columbia University students as a professor of pediatrics and epidemiology. When asked what inspires him, he says with a smile, “(Helping people) is a part of me.” Deckelbaum’s spirit is evident as he shows WAG the memorabilia inside his Hastings-on-Hudson home. One wall is dominated by a floor-to-ceiling display of artifacts that share space with the artwork of his wife, Kaya, profiled in May WAG. Each artifact has a story, and each of Kaya’s creations draws on ethnic influences. The objects have been collected
over time, during the couple’s many trips to Africa. Though Deckelbaum’s feet are firmly planted in the United States — in addition to being a professor, he is the director of Columbia University’s Institute of Human Nutrition, as well as a specialized pediatrician for NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in Manhattan — much of his research is still devoted to Africa, where his career began. As a graduate of McGill University in Montreal in the 1960s, he traveled to Zambia with Kaya to work for an affiliate clinic of the Zambian Flying Doctor Service. (The organization, later called AMREF Doctors, is now an international aero-medical service headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.) Deckelbaum’s mission was to improve the clinic and save lives while broadening his perspective. “I thought that before I went into academic medicine, it would be important to see things that went beyond the ivory tower,” he says. He recalls his first day of work, which began with an eye-opening experience. After immediately noticing that all of his 15 to 20 patients lay in dirty sheets, an appalled Deckelbaum called for change. However, he soon realized that the unsanitary conditions weren’t the result of laxity but a cultural misunderstanding. The Zambians were accustomed to sleeping on the ground — which they did — and had been soiling the sheets themselves. “It made me realize that when traveling to a new place, a new culture, the first thing you should do is look, watch and listen, and don’t talk,” he says. “And it was after that experience, I learned that when you work in different places, you have to really understand the people and their conditions.” A year later, Deckelbaum traveled to Jerusalem with Kaya, where he served as a liaison between the Israelis and the Palestinians as they collaborated to upgrade the Palestinian health system. That role created relationships he maintains to this day. “A lot of my work in the Middle East is about getting people to talk to each other,” he says. “My
feeling, as a doctor, is that we shouldn’t take a political stance. We should try to make things better, wherever we are.” It was also during this time that he helped open the first children’s hospital in Israel’s West Bank, and later, co-founded the Medical School for International Health (MSIH) at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev, Beersheba, Israel. MSIH, which is affiliated with Columbia University, is the first medical school with a required four-year global health curriculum. Deckelbaum returned to the United States in 1973 to work at Boston University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he shifted his focus to basic science while continuing to advance his overseas work. “I’ve developed a good career in basic science and biological science, and having that career in science has allowed me to pursue other disciples, like global health,” he says. “I’m able to bridge the two by doing training in Africa, which is very exciting.” Lately, Deckelbaum has been researching the “double burden” — the dilemma of worldwide malnutrition versus obesity — with an emphasis on Africa, of course. “Worldwide, there’s over one billion people that are hungry,” he says. “And, there’s over one billion people that are overweight or obese because of too much food.” At the same time, Africa is developing more socalled First World illnesses. By the year 2030, more fatalities in Sub-Saharan Africa will be caused by non-communicable diseases — such as cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, cancer and diabetes — than from malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and maternal and child malnutrition combined. His ongoing mission is to educate the public in order to reduce this likelihood. “It’s a new era in terms of what’s going to be killing people,” he says. “Cancer, trauma, road accidents. It’s all totally unaddressed in Africa.” He is currently working with Columbia University to facilitate the African Nutritional Sciences Research Consortium, an effort to unite the university with institutions in East Africa and conduct doctorate and postdoctoral training in basic sciences as they relate to nutrition, agriculture and noncommunicable diseases. The objective remains the same — to save lives. “Everyone has to learn from each other,” he says. “It’s about taking the glass that is half full and making it full.” WAGMAG.COM
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Y E N JOUR EEN BETWHINAS C O TW E BY S
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DURING MY YEARS AS A FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AND LATER THE NEW YORK TIMES, I TRAVELED TO VIRTUALLY EVERY REGION OF THE WORLD. AMONG THOSE JOURNEYS, THE ONE THAT REMAINED MOST VIVID IN MY MIND, AND PERHAPS MOST MEANINGFUL, HAPPENED DURING THE CHINESE CIVIL WAR BETWEEN THE AMERICAN-BACKED NATIONALIST ARMIES OF GENERALISSIMO CHIANG KAI-SHEK AND MAO ZEDONG’S COMMUNIST FORCES. I BECAME WITNESS TO ONE OF THE LARGEST MILITARY ENGAGEMENTS IN HISTORY, THE OUTCOME OF WHICH WOULD PROFOUNDLY REORDER THE GLOBAL BALANCE OF POWER TO THIS DAY.
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Seymour Topping visits the Huaihai Memorial Museum in Xuzhou in 2009. To his left is the city’s mayor and to his right, his friend Li Xiguang, professor of history at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
My journey began on Dec. 12, 1949. I had learned that more than a million troops were locked in what would become the decisive battle of the civil war near the city of Xuzhou, 75 miles north of Chiang’s capital of Nanking, where I was stationed. So I determined to go behind Communist lines to interview Mao and report that side of the story. I packed my duffel with a portable typewriter and drove my jeep to the terminal on the Yangtze River, where a troop train was returning from the front loaded with wounded soldiers and refugees. Nationalist reinforcements quickly boarded. Some soldiers, responding to my entreaties, helped me onto a crowded boxcar. We spent the night propped against the sacks of rice stashed up the sides of the boxcar to afford some protection from the gunfire of Communist guerrillas waiting in ambush. The steam engine chugged north to the town of Pengpu, near the Huai River on the edge of the vast Huaibei Plain of central China, where the armies were fighting what historically would be recorded as the Battle of the Huaihai. Chinese historians would later compare it with the Battle of Get-
tysburg, the turning point of the American Civil War. When I arrived in Pengpu, the victorious Communist forces were sweeping south on the plain toward the Huai River. My plan was to stay in a lonely Jesuit mission until the Communists took Pengpu and then present my credentials. I wound up remaining in the mission through Christmas, attending the Roman Catholic services conducted in Chinese. Growing impatient, I decided to cross the Huai River on New Year’s Day and hike north to the Communist outposts. I would introduce myself by flashing a photograph taken three years earlier of me posing with senior Chinese officials in Yenan, Mao’s headquarters. At the age of 28, the lure of a great news story obscured thoughts of dangers. I hired two peasants to carry my bags and crossed the bridge into No Man’s Land, which I had been warned was bandit territory, and began walking along railroad tracks. Nationalist planes droned above on the way to bomb the advancing Communist troops. About five miles out, we ran into a road block manned by four men in peasant garb, who confronted us with submachine guns. As they shouted at me with fingers on triggers, one of my baggage carriers yelled, to my vast relief, “He’s an American correspondent.” From then on it was days spent marching — on horseback and on foot — and nights spent under guard with little but scampering rats for company to a headquarters located on the edge of a battlefield where, I later learned, the Nationalist garrison fleeing the key city of Suchow was surrounded by 300,000 Communist troops. When the firing ceased, I knew the encircled Nationalists had been overrun. My hope of an interview with Mao was soon shattered. In the late morning, Wu, a deputy commissar who had interrogated me on arrival, entered the hut where I was confined to tell me, “In regard to your mission, we ask you to return. This is a war zone. It is not convenient for you to proceed.” Wu did not reveal if my request for an interview had reached Mao. Overriding my questions, he simply said, “The horses are waiting.” My journey between old and modern China ended there. I had been witness to the final phase of the Battle of the Huaihai, in which the Communists eliminated 550,000 Nationalists to their loss of 30,000. It was Chiang’s Waterloo. As I mounted my horse, Wu came up beside me and said gently, speaking in English for the first time, “I hope to see you again. Peaceful journey.” The history of the Huaihai campaign is in Seymour Topping’s recent memoir “On the Front Lines of the Cold War: An American Correspondent’s Journal From the Chinese Civil War to the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam.”
SLEEPLESS IN ‘SIRACUSA’? BY LAURA CACACE
FF
For best-selling author, screenwriter and playwright Delia Ephron, writing isn’t just a career — it’s in her blood. Her sister was well-known director, screenwriter and author Nora Ephron, whose works include “Silkwood” and “When Harry Met Sally.” Their parents, Henry and Phoebe Ephron, were both screenwriters who, every night at the dinner table, stressed the importance of words. Ephron’s newest novel, “Siracusa,” which she’ll discuss with readers at Scarsdale Public Library in July, was a lingering presence in her mind for the better part of five years. “It has so many thoughts and things I feel about relationships and marriage and every-
Delia Ephron. Photograph by John Rizzo.
thing. And then my husband and I found ourselves in Siracusa (Italy). The first day I thought, ‘This is one of the most fantastic places I’ve ever been. It’s been here since 2 A.D., it’s all stone….’ And the next day I thought, ‘If I spend another week here, I’ll lose my mind.’” She’s talking from her East Village apartment in Manhattan, where she offers WAG beverages and snacks as she bustles around her cozy home with her dog, Honey, at her heels. When Ephron finally sits down, she curls her legs up under her, eager to
discuss her new novel and the inspiration for it. During her visit to Siracusa (Syracuse), she knew almost immediately that she had to write a book with the stone architecture and rich history of the Sicilian locale as its setting. “Nobody ever had. It’s very dramatic to put couples in a place that is almost where beauty can become oppressive. So I knew… that the story I was going to be telling was going to have a certain suspense element to it. It was going to have a sense of people going a little crazy.”
The story is told from the perspectives of two married couples — Lizzie and Michael, and Taylor and Finn, who have a mysteriously quiet 10-yearold daughter named Snow. But an underlying tension haunts the couples throughout the trip, some of it deliberately hidden from the others. Lizzie and Finn used to date, and Taylor is strangely attracted to Michael, because he’s kind to Snow. Plus, Michael is cheating on Lizzie with a younger woman — a disaster in the making. Each character tells his or her story from a singular perspective, and the tangled web of lies spun throughout the book comes to an unraveling point in the historic city of Siracusa, where the couples have decided to vacation together. As for what inspired such a complex narrative, Ephron says, “My husband and I have traveled for years with other couples, and often with other couples and their kids… So, I’ve always been aware of how travel intensifies relationships… And then you’re subject to all sorts of problems,
like getting places and strange airports and dramas… And when you go on a trip you never know, Is this going to be one of my great ones? Or is this going to be one of my, kind of, God knows what.” As Ephron sees it, the same goes for friends who travel together. “The other thing is that friendships are really both enhanced and destroyed on vacations… Instead of just having dinner and then after dinner you go home, we’d see them for breakfast, and then we would be at some exhibit, I mean… we had all these hysterical adventures with them, so I was very aware that travel with friends is also a whole thing different from friendship at home.” “Siracusa,” out in stores July 12, is already headed to the big screen and Ephron, whose credits include “Michael” and “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” will adapt it herself. Screenwriting was something she shared with Nora on such films as “You’ve Got Mail” and “Sleepless in Seattle.” “Nora and I were so close,” she says of her sis-
ter, who died of complications from acute myeloid leukemia in 2012. “We had fun. We had a great time doing it.” Screenwriting lends itself to collaboration, anyway — working with actors, producers and directors — but the bond the sisters had gave them all the more reason to work together. “There were things that were common ground to us, that we felt especially suited to and so we would choose those things.” But Ephron knew that writing novels was truly where her heart lay. “I made a plan in my head that I would always continue to write books, that they were what was my heart and soul and they were really what was going on in my brain, and I think I just was always in love with books. So that promise I made early to myself, and I’ve kept to that.” Delia Ephron discusses “Siracusa” from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. July 16 in the Scott Room of the Scarsdale Public Library, 54 Olmsted Road. Registration is required in advance. For more, visit scarsdalelibrary.org.
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LOST CATSKILLS
NEW BOOK EXPLORES THE GREATEST DISTANCE — TIME BY BILL HELTZEL
MARISA SCHEINFELD HAS BEEN TREKKING AROUND SULLIVAN COUNTY FOR FIVE YEARS, PHOTOGRAPHING ABANDONED AND DECAYING HOTELS AND STUDYING THE POWER OF TIME, NATURE AND PEOPLE ON THE ONCE VIBRANT BORSCHT BELT — AS THE CATSKILL MOUNTAINS ENTERTAINMENT SCENE WAS AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN. Documenting how the region has changed has changed her. “I look at time differently now,” she said. “I look at mortality differently. I look at people differently.” On Oct. 4, Cornell University Press will publish her book, “The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America’s Jewish Vacationland.” It features 129 photographs of 40 hotels and bungalows, as well as essays by Scheinfeld, historian Jenna Weissman Joselit and author Stefan Kanfer. More than 500 hotels and resorts were built in
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Lounge chair at indoor pool, Grossinger’s Catskill Resort and Hotel, Liberty, N.Y.
the Catskill Mountains, beginning in the 1920s, an era of rampant anti-Semitism when Jews were often banned from hotels. The resorts began to decline in the mid-1960s. Perhaps it was the development of places modeled on the Borscht Belt, like Las Vegas and Atlantic City, that signaled the end, Scheinfeld said. Or the expansion of the airline industry, enabling people to fly to far-off destinations. Or anti-discrimination laws that opened up accommodations for Jews. Scheinfeld grew up in the Catskills. In 1986, her family moved from Brooklyn to Kiamesha Lake, between the fading Kutsher’s Hotel and Country Club and the Concord Resort Hotel. “We were never guests of the hotels,” she said. “We just walked around as if we were. We swam and played bingo and did the quintessential Borscht Belt activities.” She moved away to pursue her career, studying photography at the State University of New York at
Albany, working at the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego and earning a master of fine arts at San Diego State University. When it came time to do her master’s thesis, she followed a mentor’s advice: Shoot what you know. “That’s what compelled me to start the project,” she said. She studied old photographs and drove around thinking about the landscape. She collected old postcards, figuring out exactly where they were taken and then replicated the scenic views for before-and-after diptychs. Ruins entranced her. They are romantic and sad. They reveal history and hint at a vibrant place and time. Finding them is an adventure. “It’s amazing what time does to places,” she said, “how they change, how they stay the same, these beautiful hotels and these ruins of hotels.” Swimming pools have become ponds filled with frogs and fish. Showroom carpets have yielded to
moss. Ferns grow out of foundations. It’s not just that nature has replaced the architecture. People have also left their marks. Squatters have taken over buildings. Paintballers battle among the wreckage. Youths have converted stages to skateboard parks. She has taken many of her prints on the road in a traveling exhibit. Old Borscht Belters often see the images as bittersweet. “They say this is so sad. But minutes later their eyes light up and they tell me a story about the same place, about a birth or a wedding or some milestone celebrated there.” She went back to the same places dozens of times, season by season, as different colors and contrasts and stages of growth were revealed. Even structures changed — expanding, contracting, cracking, leaking and buckling. “The process of time is what I am most interested in,” she said. “So I had to devote time to it.” Using film rather than the immediacy of digital photography enabled her to slow down the process, to think more about composition, look for the best angle, choose the truest frame. She never touched, moved or manipulated anything.
She set her Pentax 645 on a tripod, checked the light meter and, using only natural light, captured the best exposure. When she shot locations she had visited as a child, she went about her craft methodically. But the scenes unearthed memories and afterward left her devastated. Walking through Kutsher’s, she saw the pool table on which her grandfather, Jack Scheinfeld, taught her to play. “It brought back memories of my aging parents and a longing for people no longer here.” Now she lives in Waccabuc. She has honed her craft. She fell in love and got married. She became a happier person. Chronicling the past also gave her a sense of the ebb and flow of time, and that makes her optimistic. Sullivan County has seen economic disruption and recovery before, she said, and its natural beauty endures. She sees signs of revitalization — a bed and breakfast here, a yoga center there, New Yorkers spending the weekends. “I hope that in some way my project causes people to rethink this place.” “The Borscht Belt” can be preordered from Amazon.
Coffee shop, Grossinger’s Catskill Resort and Hotel, Liberty, N.Y. Photographs by and courtesy Marisa Scheinfeld.
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WORLD CULTURE, ONE STOP BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
Photographs by Elizabeth Kirkpatrick for Mama Jane’s Global Boutique.
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BARBARA JOHNSON’S STORE IN SOUTHPORT IS 800 SQUARE FEET, BUT IT CONTAINS THE WORLD. Canvas bags from Kenya. Peace bracelets from Laos. Blouses from Madagascar. Textiles from Hawaii. Beadwork from the Philippines. Bowls from India. Alpaca-wool goods from Ecuador. Jewelry from Spain. Every nook and cranny in Mama Jane’s Global Boutique, as the store is called, teems with color and life. But this is not just the case of a shop in a tony community featuring high-end, imported goods. Rather it’s about bringing awareness to some 90 artisans, often women, around the world who could use the support and to businesses that champion Fair Trade, green sources and female empowerment while at the same time telling their stories and paying it forward to like-minded nonprofits. Johnson’s epiphany came on a service trip to Kenya in 2010 with husband, Gary, and two of their children. Along the way they became acquainted with Free the Children, a Toronto-based charity founded by Craig and Marc Kielburger that encourages children in industrialized countries to help those in the developing world by fostering education and clean drinking water, among other initiatives. For Johnson, the encounter with Craig Kielburger and his sister-in-law, Roxane Kielburger, was “a life-changing moment.” So was the trip. “I never worked that hard in my life — going to a school, digging a garden. It was such a beautiful place.” And one in which she had a chance to see her privileged life through the lens of those who had less but were still content. “Here were children singing about how happy they were to have clean water.” Johnson also met the indomitable matriarch Mama Jane, who would organize the
Mala necklace, hand-beaded and colored with vegetable dyes, from Jewelry for a Cause.
Kenyan beaders at work.
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women in the carrying of water jugs down to the river and helmed a merry-go-round collective of some 50 women that would rotate the profits from their beadwork among members. That sparked something in Johnson, and three years later Mama Jane’s was born. The store buys products from around the world, often made by artisans such as the beaders Johnson observed in Kenya. Then, minus expenses, the profits are passed on to related charities. They are The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in East Africa, helping to preserve elephants, rhinos and other endangered species; ME to WE, offering socially responsible products and services to help support Free the Children; Partners in Health, a health care provider for countries and communities in need; and Our Woven Community, a Bridgeport-based charity that offers immigrants opportunities for sustainable employment through sewing. The products in Mama Jane’s, Johnson says, “speak to people all over, who get to hear (the ar-
Kuba cloth weekend bag from Global Gals, Kenya.
tisans’) stories” via the cards that accompany the items. Among the examples, Johnson says, are the canvas bags that began with a knock on the door. That’s how travel photographer Daniela Bateleur met fisherman Ali Lamu from Lamu Island in Kenya’s Lamu Archipelago. In 2008, he knocked on her door, seeking work. Instead, she asked him for an old Indian dhow sail to paint on. One sail led to several weekend bags with messages of love and hope, which in turn led to marriage and a studio that employs 24 Lamu fishermen to make the bags. Another great story, Johnson says, is of Filip + Inna, founded by a Filipina (hence the name) Lenora Cabili, who brings the beadwork, embroidery and weaving of indigenous countrywomen to the fore. “We’re so used to looking at stores that are the same,” says Johnson a former Gymboree franchisee who had to get up to speed quickly as a retailer. “My store is a mix of cultures and price points, everything from $7 to $700…. It’s a celebration of the unique.” Mama Jane’s Global Boutique is at 363 Pequot Ave. in Southport. For more, call 203-292-8787.
Penny Pincher Boutique The Very Best in Women’s Luxury Consignment Established 1985
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CANYON RANCH: IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR BY DEBBI K. KICKHAM
WHO IN THE WORLD WOULDN’T LOVE A TRIP TO A WORLDFAMOUS, AWARD-WINNING HEALTH AND WELLNESS SPA? I’m lucky. At 60 years old, and as a professional travel writer for more than 30 years, I have visited Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Mass., at least 10 times. But then you have to consider my amazing 98-yearold mother and my vibrant 70-year-old sister. Mom Joanna is an inspiration to everyone she meets. At her age, she is still focused on purchasing the right lipstick, wearing the perfect twin set with her pearls and having her hair done. Her only impediment is that she sometimes needs a walker. She lives with my sister Christine in Farmington, Conn., and when mom has finished cleaning and baking, she polishes the silver and irons the sheets. My sister Chris is also an inspiration — a size-4 blond beauty who swims daily, adores beauty products (and Sephora and Bluemercury) and dreams of traveling when she retires. And would you believe it? Neither of them had ever been to a destination spa. Canyon Ranch to the rescue. We spent two glorious days there and realized it was the ultimate family vacation, as it offered something for everyone — no matter your age — while inspiring body, mind and spirit. It was such a great experience that while we there, we realized that two days was only an amuse -bouche and vowed to return, especially with my sister’s 40-year-old daughter, Kristin. We began our sybaritic spa journey with a delicious breakfast in the dining room. Canyon Ranch is famous for its cuisine and while there, we enjoyed a wealth of fabulous meals. Just about everything we ate was a home run — especially the 100-calorie chocolate chip cookies, the yummy chicken Parmesan and the 34
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Bellefontaine Mansion at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Mass. Courtesy canyonranchdestination.com.
divine mushroom Brie soup, which we all highly recommend. (You can obtain the recipes online at canyonranch.com). The chicken salad sandwich, pizza and Southwestern veggie burgers are also dee-lish. It was all a treat, especially to see someone else waiting on mom and Chris. Our schedule was action-packed with something every hour on the hour. We experienced a super-session on making your feet healthy, followed by probably the best yoga class my sister and I — yoga novices who previously didn’t like the practice — have ever taken. If we could have bottled the hilarious, entertaining energy of instructor Blaise Gregory, we would have taken it home with us — he was that good. While we positioned ourselves, mom sat in her walker chair and did the breathing exercises with us. Other fitness classes included an intense ballet barre workout and a stretch class. Mom watched our every move and we were thrilled to know she was sharing the moments with us. Then, of course, there were the creativity lectures. We took a watercolor class in which our teacher demonstrated tips and tricks, and we left with our own signed masterpieces. Probably our favorite class was silk-scarf decorating. Everyone complimented us on our results — which the three of us wore to dinner. (Hermès couldn’t have done it any better.) We also loved our paint-and-play class, in which we colored and made our own designs. Don’t miss “Lunch and Learn,” when you discover smart techniques from the chef for making decadent-
ly delicious meals that have had the fat and calories mostly kicked out of them. Our session was on vegetarian falafel and tabouli, and it was so impressive that Chris vowed to make them for her next gathering with friends. No, I didn’t forget the spa treatments. Ah, the spa: This is where all three of us thrilled to posh pamperings. First, we had facials with gorgeous products. Next, we lined up in a row and had our pedicures simultaneously, marveling at how wonderful the day had been. All three of us were inspired by what we had experienced — especially the lectures on health. (I also had a complimentary body-fat assessment, and highly recommend it for every guest who also aims for 90 percent lean muscle mass. I’m at 89 percent and learned that I should increase my weights.) Chris, who has more energy than anyone I have ever met, was so inspired after the trip that she came home and, straight away, bought watercolors and paper, while also checking out yoga classes. “Canyon Ranch invigorated me mentally and physically,” Chris said. “It inspired me to do new and different things in a nurturing environment. I loved it.” Our family trip to Canyon Ranch was a joy and a memorable experience that will only get better as we remember it. Mom summed it up so beautifully when she told me (in our luxurious Canyon Ranch hotel suite): “You’re never too old to enjoy the best things in life.” For more, visit canyonranch.com. And visit me at gorgeousglobetrotter.com.
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C E L E B R AT I N G 1 0 Y E A R S
STYLE IN THE ‘HOUSE’ CHAPPAQUA BOUTIQUE MAKES ITS MARK BY MARY SHUSTACK PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB ROZYCKI
Jewelry from around the world, including these works by Carolina Bucci, is in the spotlight at House of 29.
THERE’S A WORLD OF INFLUENCES, DESIGNS AND SOURCES WITHIN HOUSE OF 29 LIFESTYLE BOUTIQUE BY SARAH. The sophisticated Chappaqua destination for fine and fashion jewelry, clothing and accessories has a definite point of view. But what it doesn’t have is even a hint of pretension. Here it’s all about a warm welcome, a relaxed atmosphere and exceptional customer service. That’s by design, says owner Sarah Mass David. “There’s no charge at the door,” she says with an
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Sarah Mass David, Arlene Mass and Lily Mass, from left, at House of 29 Lifestyle Boutique by Sarah in Chappaqua.
engaging laugh. “We want people to come in and look.” When they do, they’ll see countless examples of standout designs that manage to straddle the line between timeless and edgy. It’s all the result of a team effort, or more precisely, a family effort. Though business cards may list specific jobs — Sarah’s mother, Arlene Mass, is billed as the sales and business specialist, while her sister, Lily Mass, is the web store developer, marketing and PR specialist — everyone does a bit of everything. “I don’t know if we have roles,” Sarah says. “We know what we’re (each) better at.”
And one of those things is working together. “We all buy together. We all have to agree,” Sarah says. House of 29 is dedicated to showcasing selections not found in every other shop. The trio handpick every item they carry, emphasizing up-andcoming designers and unexpected finds. With the women representing three different decades, they each bring their own strengths and experiences to the mix, creating a staff that customers of all ages can relate to. A full half of the shop is dedicated to fine jewelry, but as Sarah has said, it’s a modern — not traditional — jewelry store.
Creations range from pieces by award-winning Israeli designer Yossi Harari to works by Holly Dyment, a onetime Toronto interior decorator who regularly travels to India to oversee the creation of her collection that includes rings with evil eye, skull and lip motifs. “She tries to make everything whimsical, but they’re also very well made,” Sarah says. “We try to educate our customer. Jewelry can be fun and still well made.” Elasticized bracelets take an elegant spin with faceted stones in works by Los Angeles-based Sydney Evan. Italian designer Carolina Bucci, now based in London, creates “lucky bracelets” that take the friendship-bracelet tradition to luxurious new heights, while Kismet by Milka, from Turkey, offers unique pieces in what the designer calls “pink gold.” “It pretty much goes with every skin tone,” Sarah notes of the rose-gold creations. Throughout, as Lily adds, “It’s fine jewelry, redefined.” But even the fashion jewelry here stands apart from the crowd, in, for example, designs by Anton Heunis that feature vintage stones and are handmade in Madrid. “Originally, we just wanted to carry jewelry,” Sarah says. “We said, ‘You know what? We love clothing, too.’” So House of 29 offers a well-edited selection, starting with leather jackets from VEDA. It’s a look Sarah calls “city chic that the suburban mom can still wear.” They had a feeling the item would connect. “We got it in and we sold it out in a week.” Now it’s a staple. Other popular picks, she adds, include styles by David Lerner, “known for what we call his luxe leggings,” and George Loves, featuring hand-painted fashions. “Each one of his pieces is one of a kind,” Sarah notes, with Lily adding, “It’s about no more boring basics.”
Also, adds Arlene, what they offer — including advice — helps people see they can “get out of their comfort zone.” Customers seem to appreciate all that’s going on at House of 29. Lori Fromm, a media executive with Glamour magazine, is not only a loyal customer, but longtime neighbor of the Mass family. “She’s always had a flair for fashion,” Fromm says of Sarah during a visit on a recent afternoon. “She just always had a sense of style. I’m just so impressed she had the courage to do this.” For Sarah, who grew up in town, House of 29 was almost destined to happen. “We love fashion,” she says. “We come from a history in fashion. We had just always wanted to open our own store.” Sarah, who studied film and television, finally gave in to the field she grew up around: Her father, Alan Mass, spent 30 years in the fashion business. (And if the family connection weren’t strong enough already, Sarah shares that it was her husband, Gal David, who tapped his construction expertise to spearhead the creation of the sleek, black-and-white interior with bold red accents). Today, with House of 29 just marking its first anniversary, Sarah says she still gets asked about the shop’s name, which she happily shares is a tribute to both the fashion houses of history and a nod to her birth date. Shopping at House of 29 is designed to help you recreate that wonderful way you feel on your birthday or other special day. As Sarah says, “It’s about finding something in the store that makes you, you.” As the boutique’s motto says, “We do not stop until we find your perfect want. Your 29.” And what woman doesn’t want to feel 29? House of 29 Lifestyle Boutique by Sarah is at 39 S. Greeley Ave. in Chappaqua. Call 914-861-2928 or follow on Facebook or Instagram.
SADDLE UP at OX RIDGE
For Children & Adults
Beginners and Advanced
Camp, Lessons, Boarding & Showing Summer Camp Registration 2016 (Tuesdays through Fridays)
Session I – July 5-8 Session II – July 12-15 Session III – July 19-22 Session IV – July 26-29
Mark your Calendars Ox Ridge Horse Shows 2016 Open to the Public April 3 & 23 rated “C” June 14-19 rated “A” July 5, 21, 27, 31 rated “C”
203-655-2559 www.oxridge.com Darien,CT WAGMAG.COM
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S I R A P T M S O R FR NDHUuts Y p L n o TO xhibiti in focus E hions fas
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VISITORS TO LYNDHURST WILL FIND THEMSELVES WITH QUITE A CHALLENGE SOON — DECIDING WHICH OF THE DRESSES, HATS, SHOES OR BAGS ON DISPLAY IS THE FAVORITE. Though many may be inspired to play such a game, the Gould family fashions, accessories and related personal effects that will be unveiled June 17 in Tarrytown have been gathered not only to delight but also explore history in a most fashionable manner.
While Jay Gould may have been the famed railroad baron and financier in residence at Lyndhurst toward the end of the 19th century, it is the women in his life — and what they wore — that will be the focus of the summer exhibition in the mansion and its carriage house gallery.
Howard Zar, Lyndhurst’s executive director, examines one of the historic accessories to be featured in “Defying Labels: New Roles, New Clothes,” the Tarrytown site’s summer exhibition.
“Defying Labels: New Roles, New Clothes” will explore how the wardrobes of Gould’s two daughters, philanthropist Helen Gould and Anna Gould, Duchess of Talleyrand, and daughter-in-law Edith Kingdon Gould, a former actress, reflect the dramatic shift in women’s roles from the 1880s to 1940s. WAG recently checked in with Howard Zar, Lyndhurst’s executive director, as the exhibition was coming together. Surrounded by mannequins in the carriage house, he and Krystyn Hastings-Silver, the associate director and collections manager, unpacked hats and took dresses off a rack, showing off some of what he’s discovered since joining the National Trust for Historic Preservation site.
“I got here three years ago, and I started looking through the collections.” Today, Zar said, there is a greater appreciation of fashion’s historic value far beyond being “just the old clothing in the attic.” “Defying Labels” will spotlight some 30 ensembles drawn from Lyndhurst’s holdings and supplemented by loans from around the world, such as Anna Gould dresses from the French museum Palais Galliera, Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris and objects from Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. “There’s a lot of pieces coming in that people wouldn’t be able to see otherwise,” Zar said. It all combines, added Hastings-Silver, to offer a new way to see Lyndhurst, featured earlier this spring as one of “10 Homes That Changed America” on PBS. “It’s part of the untold story,” she said. “It’s so accessible. Clothing is something people can really relate to.” The focus on daywear reflects how more and more women were leaving their traditional roles within the home to lead more public lives. Gone were the corsets, thrown aside in favor of comfortable fit — and the start of modern design. Throughout the exhibition, each of the three
Gould women’s personalities and styles will emerge, Zar said. Helen Gould’s fashions trace her transition from serious and plain eldest daughter to a beloved philanthropist with a taste for quality clothing that leaned toward the neutral palette. Edith Kingdon Gould was a beautiful young stage performer who joined the family during a time of great social change. Her fashions reflect not only her understanding of drama and the power of dress but also the effect of public image. “She is very aware of the fact that she has an incredible figure and knows how to accentuate that,” Zar said. And in Anna Gould, who would live most of her life in Paris, we meet a woman who was noted for her insistence on dressing for herself, taking full advantage of being an American heiress living — and shopping — in the world’s fashion capital. One thing to remember, he added, is that the Gould family wealth — plus the fact that Jay Gould was a bit of an outsider — allowed these women to dress in a way that was ahead of its time. “Because the Goulds were not ‘in society’ — they were self-made — he looked at his daughters very differently… (The Goulds) lived the way I think men
Area H Cafe and Mu utdoor Play seum S tore Hands-on Exhibits H Birthday Parties H O
Stepping Stones Museum for Children
and women live today. You really see it in the way they dressed.” The exhibition further explores the evolution of day wear, adopting accents of men’s tailoring and encompassing both travel clothing and sporting attire. Throughout the exhibition, Zar said, we can see “the way they curate their closets for the different roles they play.” Stepping away from the fashions, the exhibition also includes possessions such as Helen Gould’s Near Eastern travel tent and Anna Gould’s French furniture. While people may come away remembering the jewel-toned neckline of a dress or the intricate details of a Cartier enameled desk clock, Zar said the exhibition is designed to resonate on other levels, spotlighting the changing role of women and creating a richer understanding of the Lyndhurst story. “You’re able to see things over a period of time, and it gives you a very different sense of the people who lived there.” “Defying Labels: New Roles, New Clothes” opens June 17 and continues through Sept. 25 at Lyndhurst. For more, visit lyndhurst.org.
SUMMER HOURS: Monday
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
– Sunday
Come Out and Play at Stepping Stones Museum for Children. Rain or shine, we have all types of environments your child will enjoy. We have a tented outdoor courtyard and hands-on exhibits where children of all ages will explore, discover, create, test and learn in ways they have never imagined....see for yourself why everyone loves Stepping Stones. Plan your visit today.
steppingstonesmuseum.org/calendar on for Dads FREE Admissi , June 19! on Father’s Day Norwalk, CT • Exit 14N or 15S off I-95
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MAN ABOUT (LONDON) TOWN BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
HEADED TO LONDON THIS SEASON, PERHAPS FOR THE OFFICIAL CELEBRATION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II’S 90TH BIRTHDAY JUNE 10 THROUGH 12? WHY NOT TAKE JAMES SHERWOOD ALONG? WELL, NOT LITERALLY, OF COURSE, AS HE’S ALREADY THERE. BUT RATHER, WHY NOT SLIP THE NEW “JAMES SHERWOOD’S DISCRIMINATING GUIDE TO LONDON” (THAMES & HUDSON, 432 PAGES, $29.95) INTO YOUR LOUIS VUITTON OVERNIGHTER OR BIRKIN BAG? If anyone should know the city, it’s this style guru — the archivist at the bespoke tailor Henry Poole & Co. and a consultant for the Savile Row company Anderson & Sheppard as well as The Savoy hotel. Here he is on J Sheekey Oyster Bar: “Marilyn Monroe, who wasn’t dumb and wasn’t blonde, observed astutely that ‘glamour cannot be manufactured.’ This applies to restaurants as well as to the most fabulous 1950s blonde: you either have it or you’ve had it…. So it is with huge respect, a standing ovation and a rush of endorphins that we applaud the perennial glamour puss opened by Josef Sheekey in 1896, when Queen Victoria was still on the throne.” And it is with respectful endorphins that WAG poses these 10 questions:
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Your guide — inspired by the 1975 original by James B. Sherwood (no relation) — is subtitled “An unabashed companion to the very finest experiences in the world’s most cosmopolitan city.” What makes London different from the other great cities of the world? “Without wishing to offend New York, Beijing, Paris or Moscow, I think London is the most consistent of all the candidates for ‘world’s most cosmopolitan city.’ The population has always welcomed those wishing to settle here from foreign countries and contribute to the richness — both literal and metaphorical — of life in London. Similarly, the city has for the most part been a safe and open destination for the world’s wealthiest travelers for many centuries. Paris, Moscow and Beijing may be comparable in age and perhaps in beauty to London, but France, Russia and China did have a propensity to cut their emperors’ heads off or assassinate them, making these cities no-go areas time after time. London was and is a place of greater safety. “In the year that we celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday, I think it appropriate to say that the British monarchy has been a stabilizing force in London and a great attraction for visitors. There is something reassuring for Londoners and visitors that the city’s palaces are still occupied by a royal family. This isn’t a dead city like St. Petersburg where the history is frozen in aspic. London’s history has been turbulent, too. The Great Fire in 1666, the Blitz of 1940-41 and the present epidemic of demolition and redevelopment have all changed the architectural face of London. And yet, enough of historic London has survived to make it a familiar destination even for people who have never visited. London does not wallow in nostalgia either. It is a city constantly looking to the future like New York. For fans of ‘Downton Abbey,’ if New York is a debutante, then London is the Dowager Countess."
I’m a business traveler with only one day in London. What must I do? “Oh Lord! If you’re a business traveler only given one day off in London after a long haul flight then I really do feel sorry that you work for such an awful boss. I’d imagine you’d like to avoid the bovine tourist hoards and enjoy a little serenity in the city center. Weather permitting, do lose yourself for the morning in Hyde Park — it is, after all, larger than Monaco — before taking a taxi to The Wallace Collection in Manchester Square — the largest and loveliest collection of Rococo furniture and paintings in England placed as they were in a hidden aristocratic townhouse behind Oxford Street. “Perhaps follow in the footsteps of Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence and lunch on half a dozen oysters and a glass of reviving Champagne at J Sheekey’s Oyster Bar in Covent Garden. Take a walk to the Millennium Bridge and cross for an afternoon at Tate Modern before taking your seats in Shakespeare’s Globe for a live performance or, if you prefer, a screening at the BFI (British Film Institute). If you’re feeling frisky, a nightcap in the bar above London’s oldest restaurant, Rules, should prepare you for bed in company or singularly."
I’m a jet-setter with all the time — and money — in the world. How do I do up the town? James Sherwood at St. James’s Palace in the city that he loves. Courtesy Thames & Hudson.
“If money is no object, London will open up for you like an orchid. William Kent House is an exquisite 18th-century property behind The Ritz that now forms an exclusive annex to London’s most famous hotel. There are only two suites — the Prince of Wales Suite and the Royal Suite — and both have the prettiest views over Green Park. Billet yourself in William Kent House using
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the magnificent red dining room with its Renaissance ceiling for a series of private dinners and cocktail parties for you and your guests. The West End is filled with private dealers in art, antiques, jewelry and gemstones, who will arrange viewings for serious clients as will the major auction houses Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips. You could, for example, take a master class in tiaras at Piccadilly antique jeweler Bentley & Skinner or inspect Tudor portraits with British expert Philip Mould in his Pall Mall gallery. The Ritz concierges will be able to secure private boxes with retiring rooms and bars in West End theaters, including the Royal Opera House. Take the private dining rooms at Scott’s, The Wolseley or the newly refurbished Ivy for a post-theater supper. Membership to private clubs such as Loulou’s and Annabel’s can be bypassed. Private views and dinners can also be arranged in London’s museums and galleries with sufficient notice. One of the most impressive venues to hire in entirety is the Richard Branson-owned Kensington Roof Gardens with its acre and a half of landscaping, streams, follies and flamingos inspired by Spain’s Alhambra Palace and Sudeley Castle. Ordinarily a restaurant and private members’ nightclub,
Kensington Roof Gardens is a chic, surreal venue for an exotic private party."
"WITHOUT WISHING TO OFFEND NEW YORK, BEIJING, PARIS OR MOSCOW, I THINK LONDON IS THE MOST CONSISTENT OF ALL THE CANDIDATES FOR ‘WORLD’S MOST COSMOPOLITAN CITY.’"
I’m still a jet-setter but I like a bargain, too. Thoughts? “Dial down the expense of a Michelin-star restaurant such as Hélène Darroze at the Connaught, Fera at Claridge’s or Angela Hartnett
at Murano by booking a set lunch menu and keeping a very sharp eye on the wine list. Not much point spending under £50 (roughly $73) on three-courses only to blow £100 on the wine now is there? Jet-setters don’t tend to get an awful lot of sleep so perhaps sacrifice the grandeur of a famed West End hotel in favor of charm such as Soho’s Hazlitt’s hotel or an up-and-coming location such as Bloomsbury’s Hoxton, Holborn. Don’t, incidentally, be fooled by London’s endless happy hours and deals on drinks. You will be served absolute swill and feel ghastly in the morning.”
The one souvenir I must take from my London experience is… “I’d go for an experience of a lifetime rather than a tin of biscuits from Fortnum & Mason or a Buckingham Palace tea towel. In May or June your timing is right to see The Queen at the State Opening of Parliament, Trooping the Colour or Royal Ascot. HM is now Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and a wave from that white-gloved hand thrills Londoners and our guests alike.” For more, visit thamesandhudsonusa.com and for the full interview with James Sherwood, visit wagmag.com.
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“ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE,” SHAKESPEARE OBSERVES IN “AS YOU LIKE IT,” “AND ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN MERELY PLAYERS.” BUT DAVIS MCCALLUM — ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE DRAMA LEAGUE-NOMINATED HUDSON VALLEY SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL, WHICH WILL BE PRESENTING “AS YOU LIKE IT” THIS SEASON, JUNE 7-SEPT. 5 — WOULD ALSO REFER YOU TO THE LINES THAT PRECEDE THIS OFT-QUOTED PASSAGE: “THIS WIDE AND UNIVERSAL THEATER PRESENTS MORE WOEFUL PAGEANTS THAN THE SCENE WHEREIN WE PLAY IN.” The world as theater: It’s a protean metaphor. We speak of the “theater of operations” in wartime, or of “staging” a fundraiser. The novelist and boxing enthusiast Joyce Carol Oates called the sport “America’s tragic theater.” But the universality of the theater lies not only in the richness of its metaphoric quality — greatly enhanced by Shakespeare, who died 400 years ago. Its global
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aspect is quite literal. To be in the theater — which began in ancient Greece as a form of ritual that did not require spectator participation — is to take your act on the road. (Indeed, the production for which HVSF received a 2016 Drama League nomination, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” was actually a co-production with The Pearl Theater Co. that ran in Garrison and Manhattan.)
The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival’s entrance in “The Winter’s Tale,” 2015. HVSF uses the expanse of its Boscobel House and Gardens setting to reflect the world outside and inside its circular tent. Photograph by T. Charles Erickson.
In his PBS series “In Search of Shakespeare” and its companion book (Perseus Books Group), filmmaker Michael Wood suggests that the Bard’s “lost years” between his early life in Stratford-upon-Avon and his arrival in London (the 1580s) may have been spent in an itinerant troupe called the Queen’s Men that traveled as far as Scotland and Ireland at the dawn of professional theater. In London, Shakespeare became part of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a company for which he would write for most of his career and which performed at The Theatre in the rough trade district of Shoreditch. Landlord troubles ensued, ultimately spurring the group to found its own theater in an area close to the bear pit, the bull baiting and other
“entertainments” of the day. It was 1599 — the turn of a new century, midway in Shakespeare’s career — and he was in a state of heightened creativity, preparing a comedy (“As You Like It”), two history plays (“Henry V” and “Julius Caesar”) and the work that many consider his greatest, “Hamlet,” a tragedy that is a particularly profound exploration of the relationship between the world and the theater, containing as it does a traveling troupe; a play within a play; and a set of characters who seem to be acting their lives, none more so than the complex hero, who is caught between the theatricality of events and their crushing reality. “Hamlet,” however, is hardly the only Shakespearean work with theatrical allusions. Some of the plays have well-known prologues and epilogues that frame their theatricality (“Henry V,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Tempest”). Others consider the theatrical nature of life. In “Macbeth” — which HVSF will present this season in a provocative, all-female production — the Scots general despairs over the passing of his once steely wife, who has cracked under the weight of their murderous ambition: “Out, out, brief candle. Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more….”
These and other works would be presented at the new home of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men — the Globe Theatre. “It’s not for nothing that it was called the Globe,” HVSF’s McCallum says, “a through passage to the known world and the world as yet unknown.” The 3,000-seat Globe was a 12-sided, timbered space, he says, possibly decorated with the signs of the zodiac. There was a trap door, a musician’s balcony, and different levels of seating, rising from the hoi polloi to the hoity-toity. This was theater in the round — a not insignificant fact, he adds, for it not only created a greater intimacy between the players and an audience munching hazelnuts (the peanuts and Cracker Jacks of the day) but it afforded everyone an opportunity to see and be seen, a modern concept. “The Globe was the people’s theater,” says Shirley Kaplan, co-founder of the Obie Award-winning The Paper Bag Players, who taught for more than 40 years at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers. McCallum sees the circular tent at Boscobel House and Gardens in Garrison, where HVSF performs, as the spiritual heir to the Globe, destroyed in 1613 by a fire resulting from a cannon accident during “Henry VIII.” The theater was rebuilt in 1614, closed due to Puritan pressure in 1642 and demolished two years
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later. In 1997, it was recreated as the 1,400-seat Shakespeare’s Globe, founded by actor-director Sam Wanamaker some 750 feet from the original site. “There is something magical about walking past this reimagining of the open-air theater built in 1599 and seeing an actor costumed as Julius Caesar waiting outside the auditorium to make his entrance,” says James Sherwood, author of the new “James Sherwood’s Discriminating Guide to London.” (See story on Page 40.) “Having the opportunity to experience Elizabethan and Jacobean drama as it was performed is a thrill, though I do prefer a seat with a cushion in the gallery rather than standing room in the pit.” These days, of course, you don’t have to go to the Globe to be at the Globe. The digital age has brought artists and audiences together in ways that would’ve delighted the Bard. Kaplan mentions “Shank’s Mare,” a puppetry piece about traveling through life that was a collaboration between Tom Lee, a New Yorker by way of South Korea and Hawaii, and Japan’s Koryu Nishikawa V. It was workshopped at Sarah Lawrence before drawing raves last year at La MaMa in Manhattan. Theater today, she says, “is about giving voice to the historical moment and different cultural groups.” For more, visit hvshakespeare.org.
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MAN, MACHINE… AND MAGIC FASHION’S METHODS – AND RESULTS – SHINE AT THE MET BY MARY SHUSTACK
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Ensemble, Iris van Herpen (Dutch, born 1984), spring/summer 2010 haute couture; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2015 (2016.16a, b) Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photograph © Nicholas Alan Cope.
IF A DRESS IS MADE BY HAND, IT’S BETTER THAN ONE MADE BY MACHINE… RIGHT? That long-held belief is being challenged, in a most stylish manner, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology,” the latest exhibition of The Costume Institute of The Met, instead examines the two methods of creation to propose that today, these approaches exist not only side by side but often together in fashions that propel the industry ever forward. With a stunning array of fashions from around the world representing designs from the early 1900s through today, the exhibition is a name-checker’s delight with some 170 ensembles. Visitors will want to spend plenty of time, swooning over looks created by everyone from Coco Chanel to Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Dior to Issey Miyake, Halston to Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen to Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent to Raf Simons… and many, many more. Filling galleries on the two floors of the Robert Lehman Wing, transformed here thanks to white scrims and evocative music by Brian Eno, the show truly transports the visitor. If you like edgy looks in leather, they are here, but so are delicate looks dotted with florals, futuristic ensembles dripping with crystals and quirky picks fluttering with feathers. With the Met Gala — the institute’s star-studded benefit held May 2 in conjunction with its exhibition’s opening — now a glittering memory, the spotlight returns to the fashions on hand and what Andrew Bolton, curator in charge of The Costume Institute, described in press materials as the focus of the impressive affair. “Traditionally, the distinction between the haute couture and prêt-à-porter was based on the handmade and the machine-made, but recently this distinction has become increasingly blurred as both disciplines have embraced the practices and techniques of the other.” It was a premise he expanded on during the press preview, adding “instead of presenting the handmade and the machine-made as oppositional… (the exhibition) proposes a re-thinking of the haute couture and prêt-à-porter.” He noted that traditionally, the handmade has been associated with elitism and nostalgia, superior to mass-produced work.
Dress, Iris van Herpen (Dutch, born 1984), autumn/winter 2013– 14 haute couture; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2015 (2016.14) Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photograph © Nicholas Alan Cope.
In “Manus x Machina,” there is an exploration of designers who are breaking free “from usual confines,” Bolton said. “For them, the hand and the machine are creative… They are employed in tandem. The hand and the machine work in combination.” Indeed, the exhibition examines how today’s designers, from those in New York’s Garment District to the famed couture houses of Paris — and all places in between — balance their options, addressing style challenges with the ever-evolving methods and materials they feel will interpret their work best. Visitors to the exhibition journey into this world of fashion and technology from the earliest days of haute couture in the 19th century, when the sewing
“Flying Saucer” Dress, Issey Miyake (Japanese, born 1938) for Miyake Design Studio (Japanese, founded 1970), spring/summer 1994 prêt-à-porter; Courtesy of The Miyake Issey Foundation Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph © Nicholas Alan Cope. WAGMAG.COM
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machine was invented through the industry’s encounters with industrialization and mass production, through today, when available tools push new boundaries at every turn. It’s a world where long-treasured, by-hand techniques exist along with options that now include 3-D printing, computer modeling, bonding and laminating, laser cutting and ultrasonic welding. To put it all in perspective, “Manus x Machina” is structured to pay homage to the traditional métiers of haute couture, such as embroidery or feather work, while also examining tailoring and dressmaking. Throughout, there are case studies to explore particular fashions more in depth. In the lacework section, for example, Miuccia Prada’s prêt-à-porter dresses (2008-9) show how this contemporary designer taps into available resources. In exhibition text, Prada noted that the lace was made by machines in Switzerland but the company appliquéd flowers by hand “to create a more three-dimensional effect.” And, she added, “Usually, when you think of technology, you think about strange, futuristic processes. But technology can also be about finding a different type of lacework or embroidery.” For anyone who questions the ability of the
handmade and machine-made to live side by side — let alone in glorious style — they need look no farther than the exhibition’s showpiece, a 2014-15 haute couture wedding ensemble by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel. The gown, complete with a 20-foot train, commands all eyes as it reigns over the exhibition’s center space, details of its intricate embroidery projected onto the dome overhead. The scuba-knit creation pulls the entire “Manus x Machina” premise into clear focus — the train is hand-painted with gold metallic pigment, machine-printed with rhinestones and finally, hand-embroidered with pearls and gemstones. In its shadow, WAG scored a few exclusive moments with Bolton, the curator, as the exhibition’s dazzling press preview was wrapping up, and he shared that the goal of the show is indeed all about “challenging your expectations.” And, he also hoped “Manus x Machina” proved what, as a curator in an art museum, he truly believes: “I take it for granted. Fashion is an art.” No arguments here. “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” continues through Aug. 14 at The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. For more, visit metmuseum. org/ManusxMachina.
Wedding ensemble, Karl Lagerfeld (French, born Hamburg, 1938) for House of Chanel (French, founded 1913), autumn/ winter 2014–15 haute couture, back view; Courtesy of CHANEL Patrimoine Collection Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photograph © Nicholas Alan Cope.
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More reasons to believe in how much better you can be. Health enhances. Health inspires. Health is what makes everything else in life possible. And at Greenwich Hospital, it’s our commitment to helping you realize all that’s possible in your life. We bring you a quality of personal care and a level of patient satisfaction few hospitals have achieved. In fact, Greenwich Hospital is recommended by patients more than any other acute care hospital in the Tri-State Area.* And as part of one of the country’s most advanced health systems, Yale New Haven Health, we can deliver today’s most advanced science and technology to our patients. At Greenwich Hospital, that’s the world of possibilities health can bring to you. That’s the Greenwich Hospital experience. greenwichhospital.org
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Green Chimneys provides children and adolescents with animal-assisted education and treatment. Photographs courtesy Green Chimneys.
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FOR CHILDREN AND ANIMALS ALIKE, GREEN CHIMNEYS IS A PLACE OF LEARNING AND HEALING.
PAWS UP FOR ANIMAL-ASSISTED THERAPY
19 years old, Ross set up activities, like dog training, garden work and animal feeding, to promote child-animal interaction and personal development. It was also during this time The Putnam County that Green Chimneys’ barn nonprofit, which has an cupolas and chimneys were acadditional location in Carcidentally painted green, which mel, provides animal-assiststuck as the nonprofit’s name. BY DANIELLE RENDA ed education and treatment for Today, the facility continues to exchildren with special needs. The faecute Ross’ vision by incorporating stucility’s farm and wildlife center is also dents into daily tasks, like egg collecting, pen home to more than 200 animals, some of cleaning and animal grooming, and more intenwhich face struggles of their own. sive therapies, like horseback riding. “The students that we have at Green Chimneys exBut each student’s curriculum is designed according to inperience social and emotional issues that really affect their ability dividual preferences. to learn and develop in their own home school districts,” says Jennifer Milillo, “Animal-assisted activities can come in many shapes and forms,” says Milillo. director of marketing and communications at Green Chimneys. “Here, they’re “We have many activities and much of it has to do with what a child gravitates to.” learning all of the same skills.” The animals at Green Chimneys include farm and barn animals and undoGreen Chimneys encourages interaction between its wild and domestic mesticated wildlife, like falcons, owls and snakes. counterparts. This alternative approach creates new opportunities for the stuStudents are also regularly exposed to horticultural education. At the Educadents. In turn, the animals, which have been donated, rescued, found or rehational School Gardens on both campuses, students can grow and harvest their bilitated after injury, receive some TLC. By working together, the students learn own vegetables and prepare meals using their homegrown produce. At the responsibility, empathy, caregiving and compassion. Boni-Bel Organic Farm in Brewster, students participate in a more hands-on The organization has a preschool, a therapeutic day school and a residenexperience involving vocational training, seasonal farm operations and retail tial treatment center, as well as before- and after-school programs and a sumresponsibilities at The Country Store, which sells Green Chimneys' homegrown mer camp. The school is a New York state-accredited special education facility produce and handmade gifts. that serves 250 students, 100 of whom live on campus. The Patterson campus On June 5 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Green Chimneys hosts its 24th anserves day and residential students in grades K-12, while the Clearpool campus nual Birds of Prey Day, its largest event of the year. On June 8, the nonprofit in Carmel has smaller, more intensive classes for students in grades 4 through teams with Neiman Marcus Westchester for a fashion show. (See Page 52 for 8. The summer day camp accommodates nearly 800 students annually. details.) On July 16, Green Chimneys is the “charity of choice” for The Victory But since its inception, the facility has served thousands. Cup polo match at Kirby Hill Farm in Pawling from 1 to 8 p.m. Then on Aug. “When we opened in 1947 as a boarding school model, there were 11 chil2, it’s the annual fundraising Golf Classic at Sunningdale Country Club in dren,” Milillo says. “So we’ve substantially grown over the years.” Scarsdale, 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Green Chimneys is at 400 Doansburg Road in It was during Green Chimney’s early days — nearly 70 years ago — that foundPatterson and 33 Clearpool Road in Carmel. For more, call 845-279-2995 or er Samuel B. “Rollo” Ross Jr. introduced this nature-based approach. At just visit greenchimneys.org.
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'JERSEY' GIRL CHIARA BONI’S FABRIC OF CHOICE FOR GLAM ON-THE-GO BY DANIELLE RENDA
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aintaining a beautiful wardrobe while traveling can be stressful. But Italian designer Chiara Boni has a solution. Boni — who brings her collection to Neiman Marcus Westchester June 8 to benefit Green Chimneys — is the brains behind Chiara Boni La Petite Robe. The brand, whose name means “The Little Dress,” has been dubbed the “ideal travel wardrobe” for its low-maintenance, high-comfort styles. Each piece is made using an eco-friendly, stretch jersey material that is breathable, wrinkle-free and machine-washable. This eliminates the upkeep required of most luxury wear. And, most important, it’s figure-flattering — whether that figure belongs to Fran Drescher, Dita Von Teese or Oprah Winfrey, who are among Boni’s celebrity clients. A bonus: The clothing can be easily folded into its corresponding organza pouch and placed in luggage — or even a purse. What emerges, Boni says, is “timeless” in every sense of the word, adorning women of all ages in all seasons. The brand’s versatility complements the professional meet-and-greet, jet-setting and, with a
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Chiara Boni. Photograph by Cosimo Buccolieri. Courtesy Chiara Boni La Petite Robe.
pair of spiky heels, the ladies’ night out. Boni, a Florence native who launched La Petite Robe in 2007, has been working with jersey since the 1980s, prior to its use in the mainstream market. In the early ’70s, she received recognition for her first collection, “You Tarzan, Me Jane,” sold in a Florence boutique. Her Spring/Summer 2016 Collection — including dresses, pants, skirts and jackets as well as couture — came to life when she asked herself: “What would I wear?” The collection features bold, monochromatic looks, Boni’s signature. She adds texture with prints, lace inserts, mesh, bows, origami details,
mermaid silhouettes, peplums, off-the-shoulder styles and cutouts — ensuring that the woman onthe-go is always glam-on-the-go. Neiman Marcus Westchester in White Plains will showcase Chiara Boni’s Spring/Summer 2016 Collection June 8 to support Green Chimneys, a nonprofit aiding children with special needs. (See story on Page 51.) Ten percent of all sales from the runway fashion show will go to Green Chimneys, in addition to personal donations made during the 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. event, which will be held in Dress Collections, Level Two. For more, visit neimanmarcus.com or chiaraboni.com.
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AFTER YOU’VE PACKED YOUR SUITCASE AND YOUR PASSPORT, BE PREPARED WITH ONE MORE THING BEFORE DEPARTING FOR A SAFARI IN KENYA — AN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, “AREN’T YOU SCARED?” ONCE CONSIDERED THE GOLD STANDARD FOR SAFARIS, THE KENYAN SAFARI HAS SEEN THE NUMBER OF VISITORS FROM AMERICA PLUNGE OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, ACCORDING TO THE KENYA TOURIST BOARD. PEOPLE WITH EXPERIENCE SELLING AFRICAN TRAVEL INSIST THOSE FEARS ARE UNWARRANTED.
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“Kenya is safe,” says John Spence of Aardvark Safaris, a California-based travel company. But he acknowledges “It has struggled through tough times,” checking off violent events that were unrelated to tourism and far from the country’s many game parks. Even Ebola, a threat only on the other side of a vast continent, scared away visitors, says Old Greenwich-based safari specialist Diane Lobel of African Portfolio. But, she adds, “We’re comfortable continuing to send clients to Kenya,” which is starting to see
Guests at Tortilis Camp in Amboseli National Park stay in tents sized for couples or families. Photograph courtesy Tortilis Camp.
a resurgence in travel. After two weeks exploring the capital city of Nairobi and visiting two of the nation’s premium parks, I noticed security in public places is higher than here in the States, where Americans saw 372 mass shootings, including 62 school shootings, in 2015. One can view Kenya’s beefed up security, including metal detectors at the entrances to hotels and airport perimeter screening, as alarming or encouraging.
The rest of the world doesn’t seem to be worried about Kenya like the Americans. There’s a building boom underway across the East African nation, fueled by the construction of luxury hotels for business and leisure travelers. City hotels tend to cluster in two areas. They’re situated near the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, which is conveniently — if incongruously — at the north edge of Nairobi National Park. There the Ole-Sereni would be my choice, both for its stellar views of the animals and for its clubby,
colonial-era décor. The hotel’s history includes two notable recent events. It was leased to the Americans after the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy, and Prince William and Kate Middleton celebrated their engagement there in 2011. Still, many visitors opt to stay in the chic suburb of Karen, named after Karen Blixen, the Danish writer better known by her pen name Isak Dinesen, whose brief and unlucky time there was the subject of the memoir and subsequent film “Out of Africa.” There former colonial homes have
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Christine Negroni feeding an endangered Rothschild giraffe at the Giraffe Center in Karen, Kenya, named for writer Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen).
been turned into guest houses a short drive from the Karen Blixen Museum, the Giraffe Center, restaurants and galleries. I spent a half-day hiking the grounds of the Giraffe Center where the endangered Rothschild is being reintroduced into national parks. Nearby, the artists at Ocean Sole: the Flipflop Recycling Co. turn cast-off beach shoes into whimsical and environmentally-friendly souvenirs. And at Kazuri, a cooperative of local women transform Mt. Kenya clay into unusual jewelry and ceramics. But the bulk of Kenya tourism is about the wildlife. Twenty years ago, trying to see more than one of Kenya’s 51 game parks and reserves meant a lot of driving as Kenya is the size of Texas. Now, several domestic airlines, Air Kenya and Safarilink among them, offer flights timed so that passengers can leave one park in the morning and be in another in time for an afternoon game drive followed by the obligatory sundowner.
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I had the chance to see how ultra-high end travelers might do it, when I spent an afternoon flying over Maasai Mara National Reserve as the guest of Scenic Air Safaris, which offers seven- and 14day tours in an eight-passenger, luxury-outfitted Cessna Caravan. Pilots like Murtaza Walijee, with whom I flew, point out the sights as the plane flies at low-level over Kenya’s magnificent terrain. “Flying safaris are very good,” Aardvark Safaris’ Spence says, because they can minimize transit time. He cautions travelers should be careful they don’t use the plane to cram too much into a trip, because it’s important to appreciate time on the ground. That’s where interaction with locals will happen. Because Kenya’s been in the safari business for longer than many other African countries, it has “more diversity in terms of price points,” African Portfolio’s Lobel says, with accommodations and amenities that range “from motels in the bush to
very luxurious individual units.” The camps where I stayed — Tortilis Camp in Amboseli National Park and Karen Blixen Camp in Maasai Mara — were deluxe by my middle-class standard, with solicitous service, two game drives with experienced guides each day and three delicious meals, all priced between $450 and $650 a day. One can go higher, of course, with villa-sized camps complete with spas and game drives where guests are unlikely to encounter any other tourists while watching the lions hunt or the elephants frolic. With all the information available online or from specialists like Aardvark and African Portfolio, coming up with the perfect trip won’t be difficult. Your only challenge will be explaining to your fellow Americans why their fears won’t keep you from a Kenyan safari. For more, visit christinenegroni.com.
Fairweather Farm North Salem, NY
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n icon of North Salem country living. Stone walls, babbling brooks & mown paths traverse 22+ acres of unspoiled pasture. The main house resides atop a knoll, tucked between a boxwood garden and the inground heated pool. Restored to high standard, the Colonial Revival home seamlessly blends original detail & modern amenities. The spacious public rooms all feature fireplaces and hardwood floors: LR with a south-facing bay window; library with elaborate millwork; DR with hearth & French doors; study w/ vaulted ceilings & window seat. The expansive EIK features traditional style combined with high-end appliances. A full bath, boot room complete the 1st floor. 2nd level comprises the home’s private spaces: A master suite with a fireplace, bay window, WIC, and ensuite bath. 2 BRs connected by a full bath; guest room with ensuite bath. Outbuildings: Immaculately restored caretaker’s cottage,barn/studio w/ 2 apartments totaling 3 bedrooms. Splendid potential for horses. MLS#4601218 Price: $3,750,000
S Honey Hollow, Pound Ridge, NY
ited on 34 bucolic acres of open fields, lush woodlands and within walking distance of the 4700 acre Pound Ridge reservation is this classic 6 bedroom, 6 1/2 baths colonial. This traditional home melds relaxed country living with generously proportioned rooms for elegant entertaining. The property includes a strategically situated pool, an artfully planted terrace and tennis court. This home offers a remarkable lifestyle in a picturesque setting! MLS# 4532852 Price: $3,398,000
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eautiful colonial, on prestigious Hook Rd. in the heart of the estate area. Original antique was renovated and expanded to include 5 BRs & 5.1 Baths. Gourmet Kitchen w/ granite counters/custom cabinets, gas/electric cooktop & Subzero refrigerator opens to finely appointed family room/living room. Window wrapped Breakfast rm. 2 level landscaped acres fenced with gated entry, heated pool, stone work & patio. An additional 1,734sq ft. of basement with high ceilings, suitable for finishing. Privately situated but close to village and convenient to train station. MLS# 4605229 Price: $1,595,000
Hook Rd Retreat, Bedford, NY
B Swan’s Way, North Salem, NY
eautifully appointed home that will make you smile. Surprise at every turn. Located on lovely winding country road amidst horse farms and reservoir. Private and serene yet minutes to train & highway. Living room with 3 seating areas. Kitchen/Dining room opens to flagstone terrace. Master suite with large office separate from main rooms .8.9 acres.Pond .2 Car Garage. Greenhouse with attached garden. Room for pool. Excellent condition! MLS# 4530107 Price: $1,225,000
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© “Iceland” by Fokion Zissiadis, published by teNeues. Seljalandsfoss, Seljaland Waterfall South Iceland, Photograph © 2015 Fokion Zissiadis. All rights reserved.
N E Z O R F TIME IN GEO BY
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ICELAND IS HOT. The New York Times Magazine has written about the Zen healing powers of its communal pools, warmed by hot springs, that are part of every municipality. CBS “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley has visited one of its volcanoes. It has The Icelandic Phallological Museum, which contains more than 280 penises and penile parts from every Icelandic mammal and which WAG covered in 2012. And when it comes to amour, well, let’s just say it believes in open relationships. No wonder people in this country the size of Kentucky — where darkness reigns for 19 hours a day in winter — are, according to the Times' magazine contributing writer Dan Kois, “among the most contented in the world.” But in plumbing that contentment, we must not discount the stark beauty of a landscape that has observers reaching for otherworldly metaphors. Among those hypnotized by its darkling enchantment is the architect and self-taught photographer Fokion Zissiadis. With his wife, Mata, at his side, he has traveled to Patagonia, Botswana and Oman, among other remote locations. Together, they covered 6,214 miles in Iceland. The result is “Iceland,” a new limited-edition book from teNeues Publishing Group ($600, with a trade edition due this fall) that captures the visual poetry of milky waterfalls, rivers of Roman glass, alabaster coasts and crystalline beaches and a kind of lunar landscape whose verdure is all the more poignant for its annual brevity. Who says ice can’t be nice? For more, visit teneues.com and fokionzissiadis.com.
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H T I D JU ISON E M C JA E DAN H T E V N O O OF L Judith Jamison at Fairfield University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. Photograph by John Rizzo.
Judith Jamison in Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations.” Photograph courtesy Ailey Archives.
TALL AND REGAL, JUDITH JAMISON STRIDES ONTO THE STAGE OF THE CE CA CA REGINA A. QUICK CENTER FOR THE A R AU L ARTS AT FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY WITH BY THE ÉLAN OF THE INTERNATIONAL DANCE STAR SHE WAS AND REMAINS. “HELLO, I’M ELLEN DEGENERES,” SHE SAYS TO LAUGHTER AND CHEERS FROM THE AUDIENCE. “AND I’M NOT GIVING ANYTHING AWAY.” BUT THEN, SHE HAS ALREADY GIVEN SO MUCH. JOINING THE ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER IN 1965, SHE QUICKLY BECAME AILEY’S MUSE, CREATING SOME OF HIS MOST INDELIBLE ROLES, INCLUDING THE VIRTUOSIC SOLO “CRY,” WHICH LEAVES BOTH THE PERFORMER’S AND THE AUDIENCE’S SOULS LAID BARE; AND ONE HALF OF A COMPLEMENTARY PAIR IN THE DELIGHTFUL “PAS DE DUKE,” WHICH AILEY MADE FOR HER AND MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV. DURING THE FOLLOWING DECADES, SHE APPEARED AS A GUEST ARTIST AROUND THE WORLD, HEADLINED THE BROADWAY HIT “SOPHISTICATED LADIES” AND FOUNDED HER OWN TROUPE, THE JAMISON PROJECT. WAGMAG.COM
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wanted to be a dancer, but she remembers that first performance. “I was scared to death. I remember being blinded up on stage, the curtain going up, going down and people applauding. That did it. I loved dance.” From then on, she did all she could to keep dancing, learning as many styles as she could, including ballet, tap and modern. All of her hard work, drive and passion paid off in 1964 when choreographer Agnes de Mille (“Rodeo,” “Oklahoma!”) invited her to join American Ballet Theatre for a performance. “At the time, the closest they could get to brown at the theater was Latino. So that was truly marvelous.” Even more marvelous was the way she made it to Alvin Ailey, immediately after an unsuccessful audition with another choreographer — a blessing in disguise. “The relationship wasn’t so much about what he said to me,” Jamison remembers. “It was very spiritual. He would dance and we’d follow him. When I learned 'Cry,' I was learning the steps. I read in the program the next day what the dance was about” — a 16-minute piece dedicated to his mother and black women everywhere. “Mr. Ailey was a person dedicated not only to his craft, but to each person he worked with, as well as the community that he felt the theater served. He instilled this love of the world in his dancers as well. Mr. Ailey was only interested in who you were as a person. He wanted us to go outside of dance and meet other people in different disciplines so that we’d have something to say to the world about what it is to be human.” It was that kind of leadership that prepared Jamison to take over the company when Ailey died in 1989. For the next 21 years, she continued his legacy, bringing the troupe out of debt and finding new success. “Alvin Ailey has been integrated since its inception,” Jamison, now artistic director emerita, is proud to say. “Mr. Ailey welcomed everyone. That’s a part of my experience. That’s a part of my learning how to be artistic director.” It was a lesson she’d been learning since she first stepped onstage with his company, facing audiences that sometimes saw the color of her skin first. “It’s something to fight, but it’s something to ignore. When I’m onstage, I’m not thinking about not being able to get a cab after the show. I’m thinking, ‘I’m going to tear it up.’”
“I DANCED THE WAY I DANCED BECAUSE OF ALL THOSE OPPOSITES, AND WHAT WAS IN THE MIDDLE – THE LOVE MY FAMILY HAD FOR EACH OTHER.”
Judith Jamison. Photograph by John Rizzo.
When she returned to the Ailey company in 1989, it was to become artistic director at his request and take the company to the next plateau that would include two historic South African engagements and a 50th anniversary, 50-city tour. Taking part in Fairfield University’s signature lecture series, “Open Visions Forum,” Jamison credits the people she’s surrounded herself with over the years for their guidance, which has led her to find such remarkable success. Born in 1943, she grew up in Philadelphia — “not the City of Brotherly Love at that time,” she says. During her youth, she saw the birth of the Civil Rights Movement. “There were countless people not on the front lines who were dealing with things that required strength,” she remembers. “That was my parents.” Even in the face of segregation, Jamison felt protected, loved and safe, due also to her grandparents, who lived right next door. “I was protected from degradation. My parents knew where to lead us. When we (she and her brother) saw derogatory things, they’d acknowledge that this wasn’t who we really were.” 62
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Like many successful couples, her parents were complements. Her father, “a Southern gentleman,” didn’t even blink when her mother raised her voice to him. But not much later, Jamison and her brother would peek around the corner into the living room to find their parents dancing together cheek-to-cheek, as if the fight never happened. “Their resourcefulness and can-do spirit really boosted what my brother and I learned about how to be hard-working.” Jamison’s mother was fond of quoting Shakespeare to her children. Jamison’s father was a sheet-metal mechanic and carpenter. “He made our dining room and kitchen cabinets. He made a stainless steel grill for our backyard. I’m smiling, because it was a wonderful time in my life.” A man of many talents, Jamison’s father could also play classical piano and sing opera. “He taught me how to play the piano,” Jamison says, recalling how his rough, calloused fingers would nonetheless move delicately over the keys, creating a sound so soft and melodic, she couldn’t help but notice the paradox in it, even as a child. “I danced the way I danced because of all those opposites and what was in the middle — the love my family had for each other.” She was 6 years old when she performed for the first time. At that age, she had no real idea if she
Judith Jamison in Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations” in Paris. Photograph by Aigles.
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WARES
ULTIMATE GREEN HOUSES BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
The central hallway of Sisindu T is dominated by a live tree growing up towards the light, mirroring the artificial pillar in remarkable style. Photograph © 2016 James Fennell.
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FREUD SAID “BIOLOGY IS DESTINY.” FOR HOUSES, GEOGRAPHY MAY BE DESTINY.
Top Right: The inspiring ceiling in the drawing room of Gillian Anderson’s former home, Pilimetienne, designed and hand-painted over several months by Spanish artist Nuria Lamsdorff, is best viewed in a semi-prone position from one of the indulgent sofas below. Photograph © 2016 James Fennell. Above: The air-conditioned, glazed bedrooms at the Geoffrey Bawa-designed Claughton House emphasize simplicity and lean styling. Photograph © 2016 James Fennell.
Witness Sri Lanka, subject of Thames & Hudson’s luscious coffee-table book “At Home in Sri Lanka” (208 pages, 350 color illustrations, $45, June 14). This island off the southeast coast of India – about the size of West Virginia – is known for the black tea bearing its former name, Ceylon; Buddhist temples; a diverse populace and landscape; a longstanding democracy, the oldest in Asia; a 2004 tsunami; a 2009 civil war; a thriving economy (up 6.5 percent); and recent mudslides that left scores missing as WAG went to press. And one thing more: Several hundred miles north of the equator, the country has a hot, humid climate. This book, with wish-you-could-dive-into-them photographs by James Fennell (“Living in Sri Lanka”) and an elegant text by Tom Sykes, illustrates how 26 choice properties — included those created by architects Geoffrey Bawa and Anjalendran — have responded to the climate’s challenges.
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Put it this way: These are not your Greenwich and Bedford homes. Forget about million-dollar art collections, floor-to-ceiling windows, overstuffed wood furnishings and massive kitchens that spill into family rooms: They couldn’t take the heat. Instead say “hello” to overhanging roofs, double walls with slats, courtyards inside and out, outdoor kitchens that whip up the dahl (lentil curry) that is a staple of virtually every meal; and concrete furnishings built into walls and artfully covered in cushions and batiks. As Sykes writes, these blur the line between inside and out, cooling hosts and guests alike. Traditional or modern, each house is stunning in its own way. But the eye will keep drifting back to the colonial splendor of Gillian Anderson’s one time retreat, Pilimetienne. The actress has made a name for herself playing a self-possessed FBI agent in “The X-Files” and a series of self-deluded literary heroines in “The House of Mirth,” “Bleak House,” “Great Expectations,” and, through June 4, in “A Streetcar Named Desire” at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. Add to this description creator of a home whose curving walkways, scalloped arches, clean-limbed furnishings and crisp brown and white palette, off-set by splashes of tall floral arrangements, offer delights at every turn. Like its renovator, Pilimetienne is a fine-boned beauty. For more, visit thamesandhudsonusa.com.
The splendor of Walatta lies in the careful accretion of detail, a classic example of the maxim that with great architecture the whole is much more than the sum of its parts. Photograph © 2016 James Fennell.
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THE WORLD ON A STRAP BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
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Handbags and a cosmetic case from among Anne-Marie Carlson’s collection. Photograph by Bob Rozycki.
FOR STYLISH FASHIONISTAS — AND FASHIONISTOS — ON THE GO, IT’S HARD TO BEAT ALVIERO MARTINI S.P.A. The brand — founded 25 years ago in Milan, where it still maintains its almost 54,000-square-foot headquarters — is known for its high-end leather goods, footwear, soft accessories and clothing collections for men, women and children. But it is perhaps best-known for the handbags, wallets, cosmetic bags, key chains and now luggage in its Geo Collection. These tawny colored offerings mimic antique maps, and, like antique maps, they are just as whimsical. On one bag, America and Australia are two sides of the same coin. And on another, southern Africa lies perilously close to, um, Greenland.
Ah, well, geographical correctness pales in the face of aesthetics. Among admirers of the handbags is Anne-Marie Carlson, chair of the Committee on Teaching About the United Nations and a Westchester resident. “I was fascinated by the different maps on each one,” she says, “and collecting them became a kind of game.” Her husband, Don, who shares her passion for travel, “knew I loved them, and he tried to find some, too.” The couple “hit the jackpot,” in her words, when they traveled to Italy and discovered different Geo Collection items in different cities. (Milan and Rome are the flagships, with the Alviero Martini market also strong in the Middle and Far East.) Others of us may not be readily able to tell Tasmania from Tanzania. But with a Geo piece by our side, we’ll always be able to locate style. For more, visit alvieromartini.it.
S U O R D N L L O W ITEHA H W RA TOGKI O H D P Z YC A N B RO Y R O STO BY B
I’VE BEEN IN OLD HOUSES THAT WERE FILLED WITH LIFE AND ANTIQUES, NEW HOUSES WITH UNEXPECTED COLORS, BUT REFLECTING RESPECTIVE CULTURES, MANSIONS THAT WARMED WITH DARK WOOD AND BRICK, MCMANSIONS WHERE CHEEVER-LIKE SECRETS HOVERED IN QUIET CONVERSATION NEAR THE STUFFED CHEETAH IN THE LIBRARY, SHACKS BARREN BUT WITH A CRUCIFIX ON A WALL, DOUBLE-WIDES WITH FAUX WOOD PANELING COVERED WITH FAMILY PHOTOS, BLUE-COLLAR HOMES WITH YELLOWED LINOLEUM FLOORS AND A LIVE MONKEY ON A STAND IN THE KITCHEN, AND INNUMERABLE FARMHOUSES — ONE WHERE A CLUCKING HEN WAS MAKING HER ROUNDS WITH THE APLOMB OF ONE WHO REALLY RULED THE ROOST.
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No matter the amount of money invested, all had their own DNA. Poor, middle class or rich, everyone creates a home suited to his or her own tastes or sensibilities. And so for Whitehall in Palm Beach, the former home of Henry Morrison Flagler is a testament to the Gilded Age and today a museum exemplifying the finest of European taste and culture. Flagler chose wisely with architects John Carrère and Thomas Hastings to design the 75-room Beaux Arts estate as a wedding present to his second wife, Ida Alice Shourds. Flagler was a founding partner of Standard Oil with heavyweight brothers John D. and William Rockefeller, inventor Samuel Andrews and his cousin and silent partner, Stephen Hark-
ness. Flagler was familiar with the work of the two architects who designed the Standard Oil office building in Manhattan, as well as the New York Public Library and the Fifth Avenue mansion of Henry Clay Frick, among others. They also did the work on his first foray into Florida, the 540-room Hotel Ponce de Leon in St. Augustine. The architects had the front of the home face due East to welcome the morning sun as it rises over the Atlantic. According to museum literature, the façade of the home with its huge Doric columns, was intended to “evoke the image of a temple to Apollo.” The doors to this temple utilize the ancient symbols of the sun, lion heads. The architects hired the New York City design
Steel beams and molded plaster ceilings helped facilitate the speed – 18 months – at which Henry Morrison Flagler’s home, Whitehall, was completed in Palm Beach in 1902.
firm of Pottier & Stymus to create the interior rooms. The designers recreated the styles of the Italian Renaissance, Louis XIV and Louis XV. The furnishings are primarily reproductions rather than antiques. You can get lost in Flagler’s home as you walk room through room as I did with David Carson, public affairs director. And by lost, I don’t mean in the physical sense, but rather lost in wonderment. One woman from a group of visitors spent five hours in the room set aside to the lace collection of Jean Flagler Matthews, Flagler’s granddaughter and the founder of the museum, Carson said. Lace, believe it or not, was once more valuable than gold and played an important part in the fashions worn by women of the Gilded Age, which ran from the end of
the Civil War to the stock market crash in 1929. Each period room is a treasure trove for the eye, whether it be created for the color, the texture or the fabrics. Every room seems to be a step ahead for its time. The master bath had a telephone. The built-in organ in the music room competes with the recessed lighting that illuminates a copy of Guido Reni’s “Aurora” that was painted on canvas and affixed to the ceiling. The house holds many secrets. The gold leaf used throughout the house looks different in the drawing room, doesn’t it? Is it the light? It is different, Carson says. It’s aluminum leaf that highlights the plaster ornamentation. Due to the extraction process, aluminum was as expensive and
precious as gold during the Gilded Age. The aluminum leaf was coated with shellac to give it a goldish look. Another little secret that gets overlooked by many is the inlaid flooring of the room. The Greek key that serves as the perimeter is evident as you look into the room. But once you step in and look back at it, it disappears. The grain and cut changes it. Look at the ceilings in the different rooms. Those artworks painted à la Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel? No, Carson says, first done by an artist on canvas and then taken up and glued on the ceiling. One other secret. Since oil lamps were replaced by electric lights in Flagler’s new home, many of the women who stayed as guests were taken aback by the brightness of the new lights. To help them out, flowers were arranged on the lampshades to cut the brightness. While Flagler might not have been a world traveler, he is credited with being responsible for creating the Florida of today. It was his first wife, Mary, that first brought him to the Sunshine State when she took ill and a doctor prescribed warmth and sea air. But it would be a honeymoon to St. Augustine with his second wife that turned Flagler, who was born in upstate New York, into seeing the potential of the city as a winter resort. After building the Ponce de Leon, Flagler added two more hotels nearby. But getting from wintry New York to sunny Florida was a challenge to travelers as Florida trains had different gauge widths. So, he bought up railroads and standardized the gauge. As he did so, he built or expanded hotels along the line. His foresight, knowledge and wealth kept him going south to Fort Dallas. The outpost was built after the start of the Seminole War in 1836. It was fortuitous, since Julia Tuttle, a friend of John D. Rockefeller, owned 640 acres of woods and marshland along the Miami River and Biscayne Bay. If he would extend his Florida East Coast Railway to Fort Dallas, she would share half her land with him. A city would soon rise that the new residents wanted to call Flagler. However, the businessman man demurred and said to name it after the river, and so the city of Miami was born. And Railcar No. 91, the vehicle that transported him and his family along his rail line is now at home on the grounds of Whitehall, ensconced in the Flagler Kenan Pavilion. When completed in 2005, the structure was the first public Beaux Arts-style building built in the U.S. in 60 years. And one more secret: The rail car was put out of service and seemingly disappeared until found in a field in Virginia. It was in disrepair, having been used for housing for farm workers. Needless to say, it was refurbished to all its glory and is another place to lose yourself at Whitehall. For more, flaglermuseum.us.
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Brandon Phillips before the 2016 Polo for a Purpose match. Courtesy Lila Photo.
POLO PLAYER BRANDON PHILLIPS WAS BORN FOR HORSES. HE GREW UP ON A HORSE FARM OUTSIDE TORONTO. HIS FATHER AND BROTHER WERE AMATEUR POLO PLAYERS AT THE TORONTO POLO CLUB. HIS MOTHER RODE TO THE HOUNDS. TWO UNCLES AND TWO COUSINS ARE PROFESSIONAL EQUESTRIANS, WITH THE UNCLES HAVING BEEN PART OF THE CANADIAN OLYMPIC TEAM. 72
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BEATING WINNING CANCER, AT POLO
But Phillips — who played rugby and basketball, as well, and peppers his conversations with analogies to soccer and baseball — heard the siren call of another sport that captivates many a Canadian youth, hockey. “Horses were something I did in the summer,” he says. “Then I got into it.” And how. Beginning this month, Phillips will be in action at Greenwich Polo Club, playing the No. 2 position for the Postage Stamp Farm team. (It is, he says, akin to being an offensive midfielder in soccer, who’s always at the center of the action.) Polo players are handicapped on a scale of minus-2 to 10, with minus-2 indicating a novice and 10, a rare accomplishment. Phillips is a five-goaler based in Wellington, Fla., a city in Palm Beach County known
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as “the winter equestrian capital of the world.” After finishing up the spring season there last month, he headed north to a private farm in North Salem to ensure everything was ready for the 16 horses he’d be riding this summer. (Polo is such an intense sport that players change “ponies,” as they are called, with each of the six chukkers, or periods, keeping other horses in reserve.) Phillips’ stable includes an equal mix of mares and geldings — no stallions, which are apt to be distracted by the mares. “Very few stallions have their heads in the game,” he says. “Very few are tame enough. But the few
who do are exceptional horses.” For these animals and their riders, polo offers a peripatetic lifestyle that is at once exciting and demanding. Depending on his own schedule, Phillips will either travel ahead to troubleshoot or drive the horse trailer himself, stopping overnight on the twoday trip from Florida to Connecticut at a farm in North Carolina or Virginia where the horses are fed and rested. On overseas trips, the horses are loaded into a container that has three to four stalls and is placed in the belly of the plane. Each horse has his own stall, water and hay and can see and smell his buddies so he won’t get nervous. The container has stabilizing elements as well to keep four-legged passengers from feeling the motion of the plane. “It’s a nice way to travel,” Phillips says, with the horses placed onto a plane in, say, Miami at midnight and safely ensconced by 9 a.m. on a farm outside London. As for their rider, with all the preparations and training — on horseback five times a week and in the gym as many times — flying offers a moment to zone out. Not that Phillips is the type to let the stress of travel and competition bother him. “Pressure is waiting for the doctor to come in to
tell you whether you’re going to live or die.” On June 7, 1992, a 15-year-old Phillips felt an ache in his left leg that he attributed to a weekend of playing rugby, hockey and polo. Instead it was from a grapefruit-size tumor entangled with his left kidney that was pressing on his lymph nodes — Stage IV non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Phillips faced the possibility of losing his left kidney and leg and then was given three to six weeks to live. “It was as bad as it could be, although my parents didn’t tell me the worst. I knew the thing was bad, though.” He was prescribed a protocol of experimental chemotherapy, and, over the course of a month, the tumor shrunk. After four months of chemotherapy, he was in remission. By October, he was back in school. And by December, he was on the school basketball team. Through the ordeal, Phillips was angry rather than frightened. “I had this whole summer of polo set up.” That anger, though, turned to determination. “I thought, God put me through this for a reason. You don’t have a choice, so you’ve got to go through it. But never once did I think, I’m going to die. Instead I thought, ‘This is a pain in the ass. But
I’m not going to die.’” From that point on, Phillips’ life took off. Two years later at 17, he was scouted for professional polo. And in January 1995, he signed with Peter Brant, founder of Greenwich Polo and the White Birch Team. “One day you’re playing backyard baseball and the next you’re playing with the Yankees.” Today, Phillips is ambassador for the White Plainsbased Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which will hold an event at Greenwich Polo on Aug. 28. “I never thought there was any pressure in playing polo,” he says, because he knows, “there’s a lot more pressure in life than winning or losing a game.” The Greenwich Polo Club season opens June 5, with the Monty Waterbury Cup, which continues June 12 and 19. Then it’s the Butler Handicap June 26 and July 10 and 17. The East Coast Open will be contested Aug. 28 and Sept. 4 and 11. Gates open at 1 p.m. Sundays, with the matches at 3 p.m. Admission is $40 per car. The dress code is summer chic. (Ladies, remember your hats.) Tickets are available online, as are private cabanas and boxes. The field address is 1 Hurlingham Drive. For more, visit greenwichpoloclub.com.
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T A E M F R O O H D T L A WA E TH J ER BY
The Waldorf Astoria New York. Courtesy Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts.
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SURE, I LOVE TO TRAVEL, BUT SOMETIMES I JUST LIKE TO SIT BACK AND SOAK IT UP AT HOME. EARLIER THIS YEAR, I WAS INVITED TO TAKE PART IN AN EXTRAORDINARY INTERNATIONAL EVENT THAT HAD THE ADVANTAGE OF TAKING PLACE PRETTY MUCH ON MY DOORSTEP. IN A VERY COOL, CULINARY COLLABORATION CALLED “TASTE OF WALDORF ASTORIA,” NOW IN ITS SECOND YEAR, JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION “RISING STAR” SEMIFINALISTS PARTNER WITH ESTABLISHED WALDORF ASTORIA CHEFS FROM AROUND THE WORLD IN A YEARLONG COMPETITION TO FIND A NEW DISH TO ADD TO THE REPERTOIRE OF ICONIC DISHES THAT HAVE BEEN CREATED AT THE FLAGSHIP NEW YORK HOTEL. You yawn — but I don’t use the word iconic lightly. Eggs Benedict, originally created as a hangover cure (protein and carbs, can’t argue with that) made its debut in 1893, would you believe? And Waldorf Salad, the inspiration of legendary maître d’hôtel Oscar Tschirky, came along three years later. Red Velvet Cake, meanwhile — borrowing from Southern recipes and adding red food-coloring to the mix — burst onto the hungry New York scene in the 1930s. So any new “iconic” dishes have big spoons to fill. In this year’s competition, five chef partnerships reached the last round, the great cookoff being held in Manhattan at the end of February. Arriving at the Waldorf on a filthy, wet, New York winter’s day, I must confess I was a little confused when the obliging chap at the front desk said to me, “Excuse me, sir, but I see you have already checked in.” Well, that was news to me, I thought, but, being English, I said nothing of course. “And how was the flight in from New Orleans?” Curiouser and curiouser, I mused, having just taken Metro-North from White Plains, but I still said nothing and instead just looked blankly into the middle distance. These front desk clerks can be an odd lot. Then just in time — before I headed up to room 1515 and found myself in bed with someone else’s wife — the penny dropped and I remembered that one of the finalists was anoth-
Waldorf Salad. Courtesy Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts.
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er Jeremy Wayne (seriously), the chef de cuisine at San Francisco’s celebrated La Folie restaurant. Mystery solved. It did occur to me at this point that in all “innocence” I might be able to charge Champagne and caviar — or how about some expensive trinkets from those glitzy hotel showcases? — to the other Jeremy Wayne’s hotel bill and get away with it, but then I realized that the other Jeremy Wayne might be able to do the same, so I dropped the idea like a hot rock and explained to the agent where I thought the confusion lay. During a tour of the property that afternoon, I learned many interesting and arcane facts about the fabled Waldorf. That it was the first hotel in New York to offer room service, for instance, or that the Grand Ballroom was the first — and still is — the only four-story, two-tiered ballroom in the city. Or that the hotel’s Empire Room helped launch the careers of Frank Sinatra and Diana Ross. Or — my favorite of all, and there are many — that FDR, who always avoided having to “walk” in public, would enter and leave the Waldorf via a hoist through a ceiling panel in his train compartment, which led to a trap door, which in turn would deposit him on the sidewalk right outside
the side entrance of the hotel, which over ground or under ground is, of course, just a few yards from Grand Central Terminal. Handy. But back to the “Taste of Waldorf Astoria” 2016 and the star-studded finale in the hotel’s Vanderbilt Room. Talk about “Around the World in 80 Days.” This glittering evening event was more like “Around the World in 80 Minutes” — or even less if you, like me, are a dab hand at appearing insouciantly at the front of the buffet line as if you have been standing there all along, an offense we refer to as “queue-barging” in my native, well-behaved England, where this is generally punishable by death. First up, there was the exotic-looking Beech Anemone, the entry from Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam, a bosky native mushroom paddling in smoked egg yoke and creamy gouda. Delicious, if not my first choice, although it did remind me I have not been to Amsterdam in years. Time to get my clogs on. And next, from Waldorf Astoria Beijing, a spring roll — a little stunner of Chinese nappa cabbage wrapped around minced Wagyu beef. Yes please — I could eat dozens of these. There were especially long lines at the Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem’s cooking station, for a dish by Waldorf Chef Itzik Mizrachi Barak and his chef
partner, Joseph “JJ” Johnson, executive chef of The Cecil in Harlem. Their Seven Species was a riff on the seven special agricultural products of the Bible. That one will be hard to beat, I thought, by now starting to feel just a little full. Then back across the Pond and sweeping south to New Orleans, for my namesake Jeremy Wayne and Waldorf chef Stefan Kauth’s Cajun-spiced Gulf Shrimp with Cappeletti, surely a contender — and getting my vote for obvious reasons, which had nothing to do with food. Finally, up to Waldorf Astoria Orlando, for Sable Fish With Florida Truffle, which, whatever you think about sable fish, I can tell you was not half bad. Swimmingly good, in fact. The winner? It was that pretty amazing Jing Roll, from Waldorf Astoria Beijing, which will soon be on the menu at 25 Waldorf Astoria hotels worldwide, if it’s not there already. But you know what? I rather like the idea of eating it at source. So now I’m counting my cents, digging out my old renminbi, and, soon, with any luck, I’ll be China-bound. So gè bão, as they say in the East, and watch this space. For more, visit tasteofwaldorf.com.
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Outstanding Properties.
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GIFTS AND NEW PRODUCTS IDEAL FOR ANY OCCASION COMPILED BY MARY SHUSTACK
PARISIAN DELIGHTS We’ve all daydreamed about April in Paris, but let’s be honest — we’d accept a trip to the City of Light any month of the year. Until then, you can certainly add a bit of French flair to your table with goods from Gien. We’re captivated by the De Paris À Giverny collection with its whimsical floral-meets-architectural scenes available on vases, trays, coasters, plates and, shown opposite, the extra large candy tray ($100). Or go a bit more stately with the Paris Monuments collection ($200 for a set of six dessert plates). No matter the pick, you are tapping into the fabled history of Gien, which got its start in 1821 and is carried at boutiques, including La Dentelliere in Scarsdale. For more, visit gien.com. Photographs courtesy Gien.
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DON’T FORGET TO PACK… (1) Pack along some stylish travel companions with Brights Leather genuine goatskin accessories from Graphic Image. The slim passport case ($60) features handy pockets and is available in six colors, with personalization available, while the luggage tags, right, ($30) combine fashion with function. Personalized and again offered in six options, the colors of this piece help you easily identify your bags while its design allows you to conceal your identity unless needed. And where to go? Flip through the bound-by-hand Brights Leather volume of “1,000 Places to See Before You Die” ($94) by Patricia Schultz. Oh, the possibilities. For more, visit graphicimage.com. Photographs courtesy Graphic Image.
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A WORLD OF INSPIRATION (2) Singer Lionel Richie has spent much of his life on the road, from his days with the Commodores through his solo career as one of the world’s best-selling artists. Rather than being burned out from the “another night, another show” lifestyle, it seems Richie found a world of inspiration that he’s translated into a new venture. The Lionel Richie Home Collection is filled with designs inspired not only by his Southern heritage and love of family but also his world travels. Selections range from the sleek Firenze vase to the timeless Milano plates to, shown here, the elegant Jardin Spheres in crystal, which work as candleholders or vases equally well. (Available in three sizes, from $31 to $62).
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For more, visit lionelrichiehome.com. Photograph courtesy Lionel Richie Home Collection.
A SEAT MOST ORNATE (3) Nectar is committed to spotlighting artisans around the globe, so a visit to its boutiques, in Rhinebeck or High Falls, or its website, puts you, figuratively, right on the road to other lands. Its large collection of Fair Trade and eco-minded products include jewelry, travel accessories, home decorative goods and furniture, such as this Ornately Carved Indian Bench. The company urges you to “Feel like a reclining raja relaxing on this ornate hand-carved Indian loveseat, perfect for reading, journaling, and creative thinking.” Featuring reclaimed wood and intricate detail, the piece in whitewashed ($1,250) or natural ($1,100) finish comes with a seat cushion, ready to be personalized with your own pillows or throws. For more, visit shopnectar.com. Photograph courtesy Nectar. 80
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EXQUISITE ENGLISH MANOR | $6,745,000 A stunning 1922 stone manor that is located prominently on one of Riverside’s most prestigious streets. Extensive 2-year renovation with no expense spared. WEB ID: 0067868 | Julie Nelson | 203.984.4949
DRAMA AND PRESTIGE | $3,950,000 Serenity is found down a long drive on one of the most prestigious cul-desacs in Greenwich. Impressive 7,776 square feet of sun-drenched spaces. WEB ID: 0067993 | Steve Archino | 203.618.3144
FAIRCHILD LANE | $3,590,000 This exceptional home has been meticulously designed to create luxurious and refined living spaces for all to enjoy. Sports bar, wine room, theater, gym & sauna. WEB ID: 0068054 | Barbara O’Shea | 203.618.3134
BROOKSIDE PARK - LOCATION, LOCATION | $3,250,000 Distinctive Cotswold, tucked away in a private association. 5 en-suite bedrooms, more than generous living spaces, beautiful acre of land with pool & spa. WEB ID: 0067847 | Karen Coxe | 203.618.3133
SHERWOOD COURT | $2,495,000 Each of the two townhouses offer both “smart home” and “green home” technology. Offering an unparalleled urban lifestyle in downtown Greenwich. WEB ID: 0067926 | Brad Hvolbeck | 203.618.3110
SCENIC COUNTRY RETREAT | $2,050,000 On 2.5+ acres with pool, spa, stonewalls and pond. The converted barn style architecture compliments its surroundings perfectly. WEB ID: 0067982 | Cynthia Vanneck | 203.618.3169
GREENWICH BROKERAGE | 203.869.4343 One Pickwick Plaza | Greenwich, CT 06830
sothebyshomes.com/greenwich
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MERCURY IS RISING … AND WE’RE SHARING THE HOTTEST SUMMER GETAWAY SPOTS OF 2016 CAPE MAY, N.J. Ocean Club Hotel
HOBOKEN, N.J. W Hoboken
1035 Beach Ave., Cape May, N.J. 609-884-7000 · capemayoceanclubhotel.com
225 River St., Hoboken, N.J. 201-253-2400 · whoboken.com
FIRE ISLAND, N.Y. The Palms Hotel Fire Island
LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. Fort William Henry Hotel and Conference Center
168 Cottage Walk, Ocean Beach, N.J. 631-583-8870 · palmshotelfireisland.com Ocean Club Hotel, Cape May, N.J.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
National Hotel
1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J. 609-317-1000 · theborgata.com
36 Water St., New Shoreham, R.I. 401-466-2901 · blockislandhotels.com
Stokton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club
Spring House Hotel
401 S. New York Road, Galloway, N.J. 855-894-8698 · stocktonseaview.com
52 Spring St., New Shoreham, R.I. 401-466-5844 · springhouseblockisland.com
BLOCK ISLAND, R.I. The Atlantic Inn
CAPE COD, MASS. Chatham Bars Inn
High St., New Shoreham, R.I. 800-224-7422 · atlanticinn.com
297 Shore Road, Chatham, Mass. 02633 508-945-0096 · chathambarsinn.com
HAWLEY, PA. Woodloch
48 Canada St., Lake George, N.Y. 800-234-0267 · fortwilliamhenry.com
The Sagamore Resort
731 Welcome Lake Road, Hawley, Pa. 800-966-3562 · woodloch.com
110 Sagamore Road, Bolton Landing, N.Y. 518-644-9400 · thesagamore.com
Fort William Henry Hotel and Conference Center, Lake George, N.Y.
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LENOX, MASS. Lenox – Canyon Ranch
MYSTIC, CONN. Inn at Mystic
165 Kemble St., Lenox, Mass. 413-637-4100 · canyonranch.com
3 Williams Ave., Mystic, Conn. 860-536-9604 · innatmystic.com
Taj Boston
Mystic Marriott Hotel and Spa
15 Arlington St., Boston, Mass. 617-536-5700 · taj.tajhotels.com
625 North Road, Groton, Conn. 06340 860-446-2600 · marriott.com
LITCHFIELD, CONN. Winivan Farms
NEWPORT, R.I. Castle Hill Inn
155 Alain White Road, Morris, Conn. 860-567-9600 · winvian.com
590 Ocean Ave., Newport, R.I. 888-466-1355 · castlehillinn.com
LONG BRANCH, N.J. Bungalow Hotel 50 Laird St., Long Branch, N.J. 732-229-3700 · bungalowhotel.com
Ocean House 1 Bluff Ave., Watch Hill, R.I. 401-584-7000 · oceanhouseri.com
Ocean Place Resort & Spa
NORWICH, CONN. The Spa at Norwich Inn
1 Ocean Blvd., Long Branch, N.J. 732-571-4000 · oceanplace.com
607 W. Thames St., Norwich, Conn. 06360 800-275-4772 · thespaatnorwichinn.com
MONTAUK, N.Y. Montauk Yacht Club Resort & Marina
OLD SAYBROOK, CONN. Saybrook Point Inn & Spa
32 Star Island Road, Montauk, N.Y. 11954 888-692-8668 · montaukyachtclub.com
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2 Bridge St., Old Saybrook, Conn. 06475 800-243-0212 · saybrook.com
CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa, Anguilla.
POCONOS, PA. The Lodge at Woodloch 109 River Birch Lane, Hawley, Pa. 570-685-8500 · thelodgeatwoodloch.com
ANGUILLA CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa, Anguilla 2000 Rendezvous Bay, Anguilla 264-498-2000 · cuisinartresort.com
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MIKE’S ORGANIC DELIVERY: FROM KALAHARI TO KALE Mike’s Organic Delivery sources all its eggs, meat and produce from local farms.
BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH
FRUSTRATED WITH A DECADELONG CAREER IN MARKETING, MIKE GELLER WENT TO THE DESERT. The Kalahari Desert in Africa, specifically. He spent three months there, starting in July 2008, and worked out of a photography camp in Botswana, hunting food for himself and three others. It was there, Geller says, that an idea started eating away at him: The way we get our food is totally wrong. “I went into a supermarket in Botswana and all the food there was better than what you get at Whole Foods here,” he says. “And I just couldn’t figure out how or why that was.” Four months later, Geller was back in his hometown, Greenwich, and launched a business aimed at solving that very problem. He called it Mike’s Organic Delivery, a middleman between farmers and consumers, delivering fresh veggies, fruits and meats straight from the farm to people’s doorsteps. As far as company origin stories go, three months in the African desert is a particularly en-
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gaging one: Geller recalls being charged by a leopard and narrowly escaping the jaws of a cobra. But it’s clear Geller emphasizes his business’ origin story for reasons beyond just that. In the fresh food market, a personal story appeals to customers far better than any premium placed advertisement. “One thing people spot in this sector really quickly is a lack of authenticity,” Geller says. He built his business slowly, telling his story and plan to friends and former teachers. He started with $25,000 of his own money, running it from his parents’ home. Mike’s Organic Delivery launched in 2009 with about nine customers and four farms. This year, Geller expects 500 customers to sign up for the summer season in 23 municipalities in Westchester and Fairfield counties. As his business grows, he says the most important thing is helping out farmers. “These are people that genuinely care about you and me and the planet and, heaven forbid, doing
Mike Geller, founding owner of Mike’s Organic Delivery. Photographs courtesy Mike’s Organic Delivery.
things responsibly,” Geller says. The delivery service sources almost solely from farms within a 50- to 60-mile radius, with the exception of products that aren’t available in New York, such as salmon from Alaska, tuna from Oregon and walnuts from California. Geller and two other full-time employees personally drive to farms weekly to pick out what is fresh for delivery. From there, the food is packaged and driven out of a warehouse in Stamford. Geller moved the business there from his parent’s house three years ago. The turnaround is quick. Fruits and veggies usu-
ally arrive at a customer’s door 12 to 36 hours after they were first picked. And Geller is expanding what can arrive at your door. He started a working relationship this year with the popular Mill Street Bar & Table restaurant in Greenwich. Upon order, Mill Street will provide specialties such as flatbread pizzas and gluten-free chicken nuggets delivered to you along with your groceries for the week. Baskets all start with a basic fruit-and-veggie combination but can be customized to include an assortment of meats, cheeses and other specialties. Customers can adjust for dietary restrictions as well. Baskets come individually, starting at about $50 for the basic fruits and veggies, or as a package for the summer or winter season, which starts at $1,350 for 23 weekly deliveries. When Mike’s Organic Delivery began, the company was early to the food delivery model. “There was no else doing this,” Geller says. But now, the food delivery market is exploding. Online grocery delivery is a billion-dollar industry, led by national brands such as HelloFresh and Blue Apron. Even The New York Times is getting in on the act. It announced in May that it would start making home deliveries of ingredients from recipes listed on its website. But Geller doesn’t appear too worried about
the competition. Sure, he’s competitive and says he wants to beat them, but he may be playing a different game altogether. He’s focused on growing a customer base just within Fairfield and Westchester, not going national. And in this region, he says, the big companies can’t compete with the relationships he’s built with local farmers. “I got married in October and had 20 farmers at my wedding,” Geller says. “These are not suppliers to me. They are people we see every Monday for seven years.” This connection gets back to the “‘a-ha’ moment” in the desert, as Geller described it. He believes there is simply too little of a connection between people and the food they eat. On the wall of his warehouse in Stamford, he mounted a dozen taxidermy deer heads, gathered from yearly bow hunting trips around the country, and even back in Africa. He says he gets that some people don’t like hunting, but believes all meat eaters should go at least once. If they did, he reasons, “they’d eat a lot less meat.” “You are so disassociated from that food, that animal, that you don’t realize something died,” he says. “An animal died so that you can eat it.”
A typical haul from a summer basket, delivered to doorsteps by Mike’s Organic Delivery.
That goes beyond meat, too. Mike’s Organic Delivery’s website features profiles and pictures of each farmer who supplies the company, adding transparency to the process. “We have the right as consumers,” Geller says. “We should know what is in our food and where it came from.” For more, visit mikesorganicdelivery.com.
U N I Q U E LY S A G A M O R E . U N I Q U E LY Y O U . 110 Sagamore Road, Bolton Landing, NY 12814 | 855.434.0424 | thesagamore.com
U N I Q U E LY O PA L
GARDEN CONCIER GE
John Carlson, a marketing consultant turned owner of Homefront Farmers in Ridgefield.
BY R EE
WHEN RIDGEFIELD RESIDENT JOHN CARLSON FIRST STARTED HIS AT-HOME FARMING COMPANY, HOMEFRONT FARMERS, THE RESPONSES HE RECEIVED IN HIS FIRST TWO YEARS OF BUSINESS WERE A MIX OF CURIOSITY AND DISBELIEF. “‘Is that really a thing?’” Carlson says people would ask him. “‘People really hire somebody to help them with their vegetable garden?’” But he figured if people hire companies to care for their lawns and bushes, why not someone to design, build and maintain their vegetable gardens? “It just seemed like there was an opportunity for a company to be focused on that and specialize in it to help people,” he says. “There was also a strong belief that there are a lot of people interested in this kind of thing now. People interested in organic, in getting back to the basics of growing their own food, but really had no knowledge of how to go about doing it and certainly no knowledge of how to do it efficiently. “I just had someone write me an email saying 88
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they grew up in Rhode Island and their parents and grandparents always had a garden and they loved having it, but they wish they had paid attention because now they want to have it for their kids, but they don’t know what to do,” he adds. “That is a very typical intro we get from people.” Miranda Lubarsky Gould, Carlson’s right-hand woman, is one of many twentysomethings who came to Homefront to follow a passion for agriculture. After working wih elderly Penobscot Native Americans in Maine through AmeriCorps VISTA, Lubarsky Gould, a choral singer and graduate of St. Olaf College in Minnesota, says she could not go back to a typical 9-to-5 desk job: “I love growing things. I am just addicted to it.” She has been with Carlson since the inception of Homefront in 2012. Like her, many of the nearly 20 seasonally fluctuating staffers are avid agriculturalists who did not go to school for their passion but cultivated their passion through experiences on working farms and farm volunteer programs.
“I think everybody is doing it, because they love to grow and teach people how to grow,” she says. With consistent year-over-year growth and the company’s roots firmly planted throughout the region, Carlson says he has set his sights on growing his business to five times its current size. “I think there is a market out there to be significantly bigger and I would certainly like to do it before someone else does,” he says. While Homefront’s gardens can be as large as 1,600 square feet, or 40 feet squared, and range in price from $5,000 to $12,000 to design and build, Carlson recently began a new chapter in his business to include gardens as small as 10-by-16 square feet, ranging in price from $3,000 to $6,000. “This is not your grandma’s garden where if you end up with some tomatoes at the end of the year, you are happy,” Lubarsky Gould says. “We are not a farm where as long as it produces in the end it doesn’t matter what it looks like in between. With this every step of the way it has got to be perfect.” In addition to building the gardens, Homefront offers year-round maintenance and hands-on education for its clients at an additional cost. The company tailors its service according to whether a client wants simply to set up a garden or have it fully serviced from seed to harvest. Carlson says he serves about 120 clients on a continual basis with about 50 to 60 new garden projects per year, 70 percent of which retain the company’s maintenance services. While Homefront specializes in produce — everything from greens to goji berries — it will also tap homeowners’ own maple trees to create handcrafted maple syrup and set up beehives for honey. It has yet to incorporate livestock like chickens and rabbits, but Carlson says those are on the horizon. “We could get into sheep and goats, but the market and interest is smaller,” he adds. Looking ahead, he plans to expand his business, possibly through franchising, to reach farther north along the Connecticut shore into New Haven County and adjacent counties. The company also recently purchased 11.5 acres in Redding to establish a base of operations to source produce internally in addition to its network of local farmers, including The Hickories Farm in Ridgefield and Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center in Easton. A marketing consultant for more than two decades, Carlson says reconnecting with a tradition largely lost in today’s society has been a welcome sea change in his life. “I spent a lot of years in a business where our only mission was to make money in the consulting firms I worked for,” he says. “It is rewarding financially, but it’s not very rewarding in other ways. I was determined in this business to have some meaning beyond just achieving business success.” For more, visit homefrontfarmers.com.
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A FATHER’S LEGACY BY ALEESIA FORNI PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB ROZYCKI
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ooden shelves filled to the brim with bottles of wine from across the globe sit floor to ceiling, lining the walls of Val’s Putnam Wines & Liquors, giving a cozy, rathskeller feel to the shop’s interior. That ambiance is one reason second-generation owner Jeb Fiorita has elected to keep much of the Greenwich store in the same condition as when his father, Val, opened it nearly 50 years ago. “We feel it offers some semblance of being... back in the Old World,” he says. Val Fiorita, who started his eponymous busi-
Jeb Fiorita, owner of Val’s Putnam Wines & Liquors – the business his father started.
ness in 1957, dipped into various fields but always thought wine was a solid investment. Initially, the store was a few blocks away on Greenwich Avenue, but the elder Fiorita saw an opportunity when a new shopping center was constructed on Putnam Avenue. “We were the first residents in this spot, and we’ve been here ever since,” Jeb says before adding, “I pray we’ll be here for another 50 years at least.” From the time Val took a 5-year-old Jeb along on a business meeting, Jeb has always had some involvement in his father’s ventures.
So when he and his father stopped talking shop in the early 2000s, Jeb knew something was wrong. Val fell ill in 2004, prompting Jeb, who was working in finance in England, to return home to help operate Val’s Wines. “I got to spend some of the most valuable years of my life with him and rebuild something that he had started,” Jeb says of his father, who died in 2011. “(My father) provided the opportunity for me to get an education, to learn about finance and the economy and accounting, and I was able to infuse a new level of knowledge, life and energy into this business.”
Jeb recognized a need in the town beyond what the location was offering at the time. “You’d come in, you’d pick up your six pack of beer, get your bottle of wine, in and out, quick and go,” he says. “Our town really demands a lot more.” It’s with that sentiment that the store now offers wine-tastings, events, seminars, in-home classes and tutorials. “You’re not just coming here to buy something, you’re coming here for an experience,” he says. To enhance that experience, Jeb has traveled extensively to vineyards around the globe, connecting with the producers of the vintages he sells. “There’s nothing like that experience, particularly when you’re dealing with a small family,” he says. “It’s been passed down generation to generation. We’re that, in a smaller frame.” For a recent in-home wine tasting, guests were able to experience some of the culture of Down Under without leaving Connecticut. Val’s paired
Australian wines with samplings of crocodile, emu, kangaroo and ostrich. Also on the menu? Camel sliders. “They were a bit chewy,” Jeb admits. Whatever the culinary offerings, there is no right or wrong when it comes to the wine. “If you want to put ice in your Chardonnay, then that’s right for you,” he says. Jeb hopes to break down the stereotypes that keep some away from the world of fine wines. “We don’t want to be too flashy and pretentious,” he says. “A lot of people are afraid to ask for things in wine, (because) there’s this sort of idea that there’s snobbery.” He also hopes to carry on his father’s legacy in Val’s upcoming second location, which is set to open in Glenville this spring. “I’m going to keep his namesake and his honor,” Jeb says, because there would be “none of this without him.” Val’s Putnam Wines & Liquors is at 125 W. Putnam Ave. in Greenwich. For more, call 203869-2299 or visit valsputnamwines.com.
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WONDERFUL DINING
SETTING AN ITALIAN TABLE BY DANIELLE BRODY PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB ROZYCKI
ON A RECENT FRIDAY EVENING, JACKIE RUBY’S KITCHEN WAS FILLED WITH FRESH INGREDIENTS FROM ARTHUR AVENUE, ALONG WITH DECANTED WINE AND TWO VALENTINOS IN CHEF’S COATS – ONE, A SMALL, FLUFFY DOG; THE OTHER, A CHEF VISITING FROM ITALY WHO’S ABOUT TO WHIP UP A FEAST FROM ANTIPASTO TO DESSERT.
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Valentino and Larisa find a moment to themselves in the kitchen.
Amid preparations, Jackie (also known as WAG’s Saucy Realtor), George Valentino Pestritu and his wife and business partner, Larisa Lavinia Laudat, relive a memorable day two years ago when Jackie and husband Doug were vacationing in Italy and the two couples ended up cooking together from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. When Jackie and Doug called their travel agent to book a cooking class, they were told all classes were full and were connected to Valentino and Larisa. The couple runs Tastemotions, which offers visitors private chef services, cooking lessons, wine and cheese tastings and more in Lucca, a city in the Tuscany region of Italy. Jackie and Doug had the rare treat of going to the couple’s home. “It was 12 hours of pure bliss,” Jackie says. Every year during one of their few off months, the couple visits the U.S., traveling around the country to cook with clients they met in Italy. (One includes Martina McBride, who dedicated an entire chapter of her how-to-entertain book, “Around the Table,” to Valentino’s recipes.) Valentino and Larisa work together seamlessly — slicing fresh tomatoes, checking the oven and swiftly switching from Italian to English to chat about everything from their lives to the different cheeses in each region of Italy. Valentino says he knew he always wanted to be a chef. A cookbook was the first book he ever read. But, following family tradition, he went to military school and started his career in airport security. Yet eventually, with his father’s blessing, he pursued his passion for cooking. He and his wife, a trained sommelier, started working together managing a villa. Valentino also worked as the head chef at a restaurant. Larisa was there to support her husband, having known him since childhood through their grandparents. Now they enjoy the variety of working with different clients and learning from new experiences together. Larisa says she and her husband move efficiently, because they understand each other so well. The easy bond between the two translates into the environment of the kitchen. Spending time with the sweet pair, you feel like part of the family. The chefs believe in using fresh ingredients, creating real, delicious meals and making everything from scratch. They assembled a vibrant antipasto and dishes of melt-in-yourmouth crostone with Italian sausage and creamy cheese and valdostana, puff pastry with tomato sauce, ham and mozzarella. (See the recipes at wagmag.com.) Watching the creation of the meal — pappardelle with a ragu meat sauce, veal ossobuco with broccoli and fontina cheese phyllo dough baskets — and eating with the chefs made the meal even better. I’m hoping the next meal I have with Tastemotions is in Valentino and Larisa’s hometown. For more, visit tastemotions.com. Valentino makes pappardelle. WAGMAG.COM
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WINE & DINE
ACCENT ON AUSSIE WINES STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY DOUG PAULDING
TT
here’s something about an Australian accent that makes me smile. It’s not only the melodic rhythm and the tempo of the talk but also the “twisted” (to this American) pronunciation of the words. Throw in a few funny words like “stickies,” which refers to the fortified wines Port and Sherry, and it’s nothing less than a cross-cultural English discovery. There’s also something about the wines of Australia that makes me want to sit up, lean forward and taste. Just recently, I had the great opportunity to sit at the new and wonderful Rebelle restaurant in Lower Manhattan with Hentley Farm’s winemaker, Andrew Quin, and talk about — and taste — some of his wines. Hentley Farm (hentleyfarm.com.au) is a Barossa Valley winery specializing in the production of high quality Shiraz as well as Grenache, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier and Riesling. Owners Keith and Alison Hentschke have deep roots in the Barossa Valley. Keith’s ancestors arrived in the region in the mid-1800s and planted fruits and vegetables and some grape vines. Fifth-generation agriculturist Keith grew up on a farm and was put in charge of a small vineyard, where he planted his ambition and charted his course. He studied agricultural science and wine marketing and researched suitable grapegrowing plots in the region. In 1999, he and his wife bought a property that had once grown wine grapes but now needed a complete renovation and replanting. In 2004, they bought up an adjacent vineyard of high quality Shiraz vines where they now source
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Andrew Quin, winemaker for Hentley Farm in the Barossa Valley of Australia, poured many of his wines recently in Manhattan.
their flagship Shiraz, Clos Otto. In 2008, it was clear they needed some additional winemaking talent and brought in Andrew Quin. Quin had been looking for a boutique-style operation where he could hone his winemaking style and “create some of the best single vineyard and single block wines in our country.” Quin greeted me with a glass of his 2015 Riesling. It was fresh and lively with a citrus fruitiness paired with tropical flavors resulting in a lovely textured mouthfeel that had length on the finish. His next pour was a bright and beautiful 2015 Rosé made from Grenache and Shiraz. The bright pink color told me a festive time awaited. This wine showed citrus lemony notes tempered by strawberry and fresh cherry. Then we were asked to take a seat at the table, each place setting containing 10 large wine glasses appropriately filled with two of Hentley Farm’s Shirazes — one called The Beauty and the other, The Beast. We had the opportunity to taste five vintages of each wine to compare the flavors that different soils, weather, temperatures, sun and wind exposure from a small area have on essentially the same grape. The Beauty vineyard is at low altitude on the banks of a small river. The Beast vineyard is at a considerably higher altitude with clay and bluestone influencing the grapes. We tasted the 2004, ’05, ’06, ’08 and ’09 of each wine. Vintages varied with some showing more red cherry flavors and others leaning toward
dark cherry. The Beauty showed good acidity with fresh and fruity notes. The Beast was more evolved with dark and aromatic fruit, hints of raisins and currants and black pepper all bound together with a textural silkiness. These wines are well-made and can be enjoyed straight away, or they can be put down in the cellar for at least a decade of development. Next we tasted the 2014 Stray Mongrel which, at $28, is more affordable for the masses. Showing fresh red fruits with a balanced spiciness, this wine was delicious. Now we were properly ready for the aforementioned flagship Shiraz, the Clos Otto. We tasted the 2010 and ’12, which were both wildly generous with their flavors. The 2010 showed ripe currants and dark cherry with a backbone of oak influence providing leather and chocolate. The 2012 had fresh and lively fruit, dark cherry and licorice with velvety tannins. At $165 a bottle for the Clos Otto, these are special occasion wines. But they are both luscious and smooth, perfect for a night when a slight chill is in the air. Hentley Farm’s other wines are priced considerably less, but still show the pedigree of a wonderful property paired with a passionate winemaker. Quin and company consider themselves to be “wine growers,” which is a farm-to-bottle euphemism. Great wines are made in the vineyard. Hentley Farm’s vineyards do not disappoint. Write me at doug@dougpaulding.com.
E R OA R I N
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Our Food is Extraordinary and our Charm Unforgettable! Steak | Chops | Pizzas | Seafood & Raw Bar
Stop in and experience the charm of this historic eatery, a neighborhood favorite since the Roaring 20’s! Enjoy our cozy tavern where it’s always lively and cheerful or relax on our patio and enjoy our outdoor seating area overlooking our bocci ball court. Live Music on Saturdays and some Fridays Happy Hour Daily from 4-6 and again from 9-11 on Thurs, Fri and Saturday nights.
105 Somerstown Turnpike, Katonah, NY (Corner of Rt. 100 and Rt. 35)
www.muscoottavern.com
914 • 232 • 2800
WHETTING THE APPETITE
AMARETTO BAKED ICE CREAM CHOCOLATE CHERRY BREAD BY JACQUELINE RUBY PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB ROZYCKI
There’s no need to serve ice cream in the hot sun when you can bake it. This is a really easy way to make ice cream bread. And you can use any flavor you want.
INGREDIENTS:
• • • • • • •
1 pint melted vanilla ice cream 1¼ cup self-rising flour ¼ cup dried cherries ¼ cup chocolate chips ¼ cup sliced almonds 2 tablespoons amaretto Zest ½ orange
DIRECTIONS: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine melted ice cream and self-rising flour. Mix well, stirring in amaretto. Add chocolate chips, almonds and dried cherries – mix. Then add orange zest. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and grease with non-stick spray Pour batter into pan and spread evenly. Bake 35-40 minutes. Cool fully before slicing and garnishing with fruit.
For more, contact the Saucy Realtor at jacquelineruby@hotmail.com
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YOUR SIGNATURE, YOUR STYLE BY BRIAN TOOHEY PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB ROZYCKI
WHEN WE SEE SOMEONE WHO MAINTAINS A CONSISTENT LOOK, WHAT WE SEE IS HER SIGNATURE STYLE. WITH CELEBRITIES AND ICONS, IT IS THEIR BRAND. When I worked behind the scenes at the couture fashion shows, it was easy to recognize Anna Wintour by her signature bob. At the Kenneth Salon, I couldn’t help but notice Jackie Onassis as she would gracefully ascend the long staircase in her signature scarf, sunglasses and jeans. Then there are signature styles that drive trends, like Jennifer Aniston’s long smooth layers. As spring moves into summer, a new season is the natural time to put a new spin on your style. You want it to be complementary. This is when you need the help of a pro, who will consider your face shape, hair type, personality and lifestyle. A great first step would be to nourish your hair. In 98
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the May issue, I mentioned Olaplex. I believe it is the most revolutionary treatment in the hair industry. Hair that is color-processed and affected by chlorine and heat can become dry and lifeless. Olaplex rebuilds the broken bonds so your hair is restored to a youthful softness and manageability. Clients are pleased that it can be used at home and, at 3.3 oz., the #3 Hair Perfector is perfectly sized for travel. If you’re thinking of a color change, here’s a trick I use when choosing a tone that will enhance and not drain your complexion. Start by looking at the palm of your hand. If your palm is pink, it falls under the cool category. Peach tones are neutral, while olive tones are warm. Then look at the ring of color that surrounds your eye’s iris to determine your natural pigment. Finally, consider your flesh tone. Two out of these three tones will be the same — and the tone that would flatter you most. Just-off-the-beach highlights are always a signature summer look. The Balayage method, in which each strand is painted individually, adds a beautiful accent to your color. For daily maintenance, Shu Uemura’s shampoos and conditioners are the choice of so many of my clients for their luxurious feel and smooth finish. They, too, come in travel sizes. And when you shampoo, leave the shampoo in for at least one minute.
This will allow any buildup to attach to the lather and not your hair. Then rinse thoroughly. Speaking of travel, I think it’s a great time to try something new. Hotels often have fine products in sample sizes. Sometimes all it takes is a little change in fragrance to awaken the senses. It’s wonderful to see how a woman seems to come alive when her style is fresh. There is a look of lightness and surprise that spreads throughout the room. In addition to enjoying the way others react to their new styles, my clients often say a fresh cut makes them feel like they’ve lost 10 pounds in an afternoon. Hair that moves as you do, looks great and is easy to maintain is a great confidence-booster. When style strikes the right balance among proportion, shape and color, there is harmony. And everyone can’t help but notice and enjoy it. Your hair is an important accessory. The good news is that it keeps growing, so have fun with it. And, as I like to say, remember to treat your hair with love and it will never leave you. Visit Brian at Warren Tricomi Salon, 1 E. Putnam Ave., Greenwich. To book an appointment with him, call 212-262-8899.
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MASTER THE FITNESS BASICS AS YOU TRAVEL THROUGH LIFE BY GIOVANNI ROSELLI
Giovanni Roselli. Photograph by Osiris Ramirez.
THE HIGHLY ACCOMPLISHED MARTIAL ARTIST BRUCE LEE ONCE SAID, “I FEAR NOT THE MAN WHO HAS PRACTICED 10,000 KICKS ONCE, BUT I FEAR THE MAN WHO HAS PRACTICED ONE KICK 10,000 TIMES.” Today, we live in a world full of shortcuts. It’s easy to skip certain steps and still achieve a somewhat desirable outcome. However, there is one tried-and-true method that always works — first master the basics. We’ve all heard it before, but it too often gets overlooked. When any high-level athlete’s moves are analyzed, it is evident that he or she is highly proficient at the fundamentals of the given sport. These elements are so deeply ingrained in these athletes that these characteristics appear automatic. This allows them to take their games to a whole new level. 100
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In the fitness industry, it seems like there is always some new creative exercise or workout program. However, in the end, it’s mastering the proper technique of the basic patterns (hinge, squat, lunge, step, push, pull) that will enable you to achieve some remarkable feats of strength and athleticism. To dive deeper into this, the ones who have gotten so good at the fundamentals are the ones who build that strong foundation for their bodies. What goes along with mastering the basics is that the chances of injury go down, and what is the one thing no one wants to face — getting hurt. And what happens when injury occurs? Your joint(s) may hurt so you move less. Moving less means your joints do not get loaded. Less joint-loading means muscles weaken. Muscle weakness means force doesn’t get cushioned correctly. Less cushion means the condition worsens. And the snowball continues. This is also what happens in osteoarthritis.
It’s like trying to build a house on sand. You can try to build a beautiful, chic house, put in all the nicest appliances, but without that strong foundation the house will slowly start to sink. John Wooden, one of the most successful college basketball coaches of all time, started each season’s practice in the locker room — teaching and reviewing how to put on socks and sneakers properly. Why? Well, so the players wouldn’t get blisters. If their feet are hurting, it will affect the quality of their play. If they can take care of their feet, then they are set up to optimize their skills. As former World Heavyweight Champion James J. Corbett once said, “Only those who have the patience to do the simple things perfectly ever acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.” Strength coach Mike Boyle likes to make it even easier, recommending the KISS principle — Keep It Simple, Stupid. Reach Giovanni on twitter @GiovanniRoselli and his website, GiovanniRoselli.com.
PET OF THE MONTH
E R MO R FO GIE G A M LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. The SPCA recently took in this petite Pitbull mix named Maggie in the hopes of giving her more visibility than she had in a shelter down South. Sadly, Maggie has lived in a shelter since she was practically a puppy. The 4-year-old is a total mush-ball, who loves people and kids — enjoying a good romp in the yard, playing with toys or just sunbathing. Maggie also walks well on her leash and knows her commands. Her only issue is she doesn’t care for other dogs. But she’s perfect for the single-pet owner, as she is a well-mannered, easygoing dog. To meet Maggie, visit the SPCA of Westchester at 590 N. State Road in Briarcliff Manor. Founded in 1883, the SPCA is a no-kill shelter and is not affiliated with the ASPCA. The SPCA is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. To learn more, call 914- 941-2896 or visit spca914.org.
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PET PORTRAITS
A PAIR OF TWOS FOR THE ROAD BETH MCDONALD — A CROMPOND RESIDENT who’s been a registered respiratory therapist for more than 25 years, currently with Northwell Health in Westchester — sent WAG this lovely photograph of her Puggle (Pug Beagle mix), Ruby. Beth describes the almost 9-year-old as “a sweet dog who loves people and greets me with love and enthusiasm every time. She enjoys hiking with me in parks and on trails along the Hudson River. Ruby is always aware of her surroundings. She makes a terrific watchdog.” Working with critically ill patients, Beth finds refreshment for her soul in hiking, creating items out of reclaimed wood and being with Ruby. “Having a dog is good for the heart,” Beth writes. “I wish people were more like dogs. The world would be a better place.”
Must Love Dogs We Dig Your Dog
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MARY RAHE — A KATONAH RESIDENT who is director of philanthropy for the YMCA of Central and Northern Westchester — sent this evocative photo of her dog, an 8-year-old Glab (Golden/Labrador Retriever mix): “Babs is from Guiding Eyes for the Blind. She decided that becoming a pet was a better fit for her skills than guide dog. We go to Pound Ridge almost every weekend, year-round-and feel lucky to have such a magnificent place to hike 10 minutes from our home.”
awareness of and understanding for this misunderstood predator. 1 p.m., Muscoot Farm, 51 NY-100, Katonah; 914-
WHEN & WHERE
864-7282, nywolf.org The Beardsley Zoo hosts its annual “Wild Wine, Beer and Food Safari” fundraiser, featuring fare from area
THROUGH JUNE 22
restaurants and tastings of more than 160 vintages and brews from around the world. With live entertainment, a
“Layer Upon Layer: Donna Forma” – Connecticut
silent auction and a raffle. VIP tickets include a “behind-
sculptor Donna Forma takes an unusual approach to
the-scenes” tour of the animals. 6 p.m., 1875 Noble Ave.,
exploring nature’s secrets in this new large-scale organ-
Bridgeport; 203-394-6565, beardsleyzoo.org
ic sculpture exhibit. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays; and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays, the Flinn Gallery of
JUNE 4 THROUGH SEPT. 18
Greenwich, Greenwich Library, 101 W. Putnam Ave.; 203-
The Hudson River Museum hosts “Tongue in Cheek:
622-7947, flinngallery.com
the Inflatable Art of Jimmy Kuehnle.” Kuehnle’s massively scaled inflatable sculptures, which he makes from
THROUGH JULY 17
vinyl-coated polyester fabric, inflate and deflate, pulse and “breathe” like an organism. Noon to 5 p.m. Wednes-
“Happy Days” – The whole gang is back. Richie, Fonzie,
days through Sundays, 511 Warburton Ave., Yonkers;
Ralph, Potsie, Chachi and all your favorites from the hit
914-963-4550, hrm.org
TV series are rockin’ and rollin’ all week long in a celebration of poodle skirts, jukeboxes, motorcycles and malt shops. Westchester Broadway Theatre, 1 Broadway Plaza, Elmsford; 914-592-2268, broadwaytheatre.com
JUNE 5 Music icon and former Beatle Ringo Starr and His All-Star Band, featuring Todd Rundgren, Gregg Rolie, Steve Lu-
THROUGH AUG. 27 Pelham Art Center’s Public Art in the Courtyard pres-
kather, Richard Page, Warren Ham and Greg Bissonette, perform at 8 p.m., The Capitol Theatre, 149 Westchester Ave., Port Chester; 914-937- 4126, capitoltheatre.com
'MATT KINNEY: HIDES' THROUGH AUG. 27 PELHAM ART CENTER
ents “Matt Kinney: Hides.” Contemporary artist Kin-
ney’s large-scale wood sculptures allow viewers to ex-
Westport/Weston Chamber of Commerce presents its
plore art within a natural environment. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
first Westport Dog Festival, featuring vendors, food
Mondays through Thursdays, 155 Fifth Ave., Pelham;
trucks, veterinary seminars, doggie skill and agility
a.m., Manhattanville College Reid Castle, 2900 Purchase
914-738-2525, ext.113, pelhamartcenter.org
demonstrations, training sessions and competitions for
St., Purchase; 914-323-1482, mville.edu/business/wli
“best tail wagger, best kisser, best barker and most looks
JUNE 2 The Food Bank for Westchester presents its 11th “Hun-
like owner” – daylong fun for Fido and the whole family. 10
JUNE 9
a.m. to 4 p.m., Winslow Park, CT-136, Westport; 203-2279234, westportwestonchamber.com/dogs
Houlihan-Parnes Realtors celebrates its enduring success
ger Heroes” breakfast, which honors those volunteers
at its 125th Anniversary Gala. 5:30 p.m., Westchester
who have made exceptional efforts to fight hunger in
Today’s Hit Music, K104.7 WSPK Hudson Valley presents
Country Club, 99 Biltmore Ave., Rye; 914-694-6070, hou-
Westchester County. 8 a.m., Tappan Hill Mansion, 81
“KFEST 2016,” with musical artists Mike Posner, Hailee
lihanparnes.com.
Highland Ave., Tarrytown, 914-923-1100, foodbankfor-
Steinfield, Bebe Rexha, Nathan Sykes, Fat Joe and more.
westchester.org
Noon to 6 p.m., Dutchess Stadium, 1500 Route 9D, Wap-
The Women’s Club of White Plains presents “Jazz for
pingers Falls; 845-838-0094, k104online.com
the Gardens,” featuring a jazz quintet, wine and hors
JUNE 3 THROUGH 11
The Princess Marina Chapter of the Daughters of the
“The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
British Empire in conjunction with the Greenwich Cro-
(Abridged)” – Featuring all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays,
quet Club holds a Croquet Picnic, 12:30 p.m., Bruce
performed in 97 minutes by three actors. Fast-paced,
Park Croquet Court, Indian Field Road, Greenwich; call
witty, and physical, it’s full of laughter for Shakespeare
Seonaid Corbishley at 203-219-7157 for more details.
Road East, Armonk; armonkplayers.org
914- 686-1537, womensclubofwhiteplains.org
JUNE 9 THROUGH 12 The second annual Greenwich International Film Festival celebrates gifted artists and promotes Greenwich as
lovers and haters alike. 8 p.m. June 3, 4 and 9 through 11 and 4 p.m. June 5, Whippoorwill Hall, 19 Whippoorwill
d’oeuvres at 6:30 p.m., CV Rich Mansion, 305 Ridgeway;
JUNE 8
a film and visual arts center with more than 30 films over four days. Screenings and events take place at Greenwich
Professional women will have the opportunity to enhance
Bow Tie Cinemas, Cole Auditorium at Greenwich Library,
their business skills, bringing value to their organizations
L’Escale Restaurant, Restoration Hardware, Massey The-
and to their careers, at the daylong “Women’s Leader-
ater at Greenwich Academy and Miller Motorcars; 203-
The Wolf Conservation Center and Muscoot Farm pres-
ship Summit: Lead With Power and Purpose,” present-
717-1800, greenwichfilm.org
ent “Coyote Awareness Day” in an effort to broaden
ed by Manhattanville College School of Business. 8:30
JUNE 4
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Don’t Miss These Great Shows! THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE for movies and the performing arts
June
Non-profit 501 (c) (3)
80 East Ridge • Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877
203.438.5795 • RIDGEFIELDPLAYHOUSE.ORG
July
10 Southside Johnny and
16 Jim Messina
Special Guest Gary Douglas Band
19 Graham Nash
the Asbury Jukes
11 Judy Collins Special Guest Ari Hest
14 Jay Leno
22 SNL’s Colin Jost 24 Galactic featuring
Erica Falls
15 Carl Palmer’s
ELP Legacy:
Remembering Keith and the Music of Emerson, Lake & Palmer
30 Brian Howe Former lead singer of Bad Company
16 Mary Chapin Carpenter
31 KC & The Sunshine Band
23 Comedian D.L. Hughley
August
24 Delta Rae
5
Glenn Miller Orchestra
6
Grand Funk Railroad
and Gabe Dixon Benefiting the Michael J. Fox Foundation
25 Lizz Wright 26 Kansas
Special Guest Artie Tobia
July 1
8
The English Beat & Soul Asylum Bob Saget
13 Trombone Shorty
& Orleans Avenue
Special Guest Funky Dawgz Brass Band
15 The Bacon Brothers
10 The Go Go’s 14 Diamond Rio 19 Johnny Winter
All Star Band
23 TOTO 24 Kenny Wayne
Shepherd
27 The Bangles 28 Al Di Meola
JUNE 11 The Ossining Children’s Center hosts a “Dine-a-Round” benefit for child care tuition assistance for low-and moderate-income working families, with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6 p.m. at a private Briarcliff Manor home followed by dinners in several other area homes; 914-9410230 or ossiningchildrenscenter.org This year’s “Walkway Marathon Race Series” features the “Think Differently Dash,” which provides people with developmental and physical disabilities a race of their own. The Think Differently Dash will begin at 10 a.m. and follow a 1-mile route down Main Street to a finish line at Mid-Hudson Civic Center; 845-454-9649, walkwaymarathon.org
JUNE 12 A stylish 1960s blue and white Mustang, music and plenty of ice cream will kick off the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum’s annual Ice Cream Social, featur-
RHINEBECK ARTS FESTIVAL JUNE 25 AND 26, DUTCHESS COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
ing local craftsmen, costumed interpreters and a wide range of educational, family-friendly activities. Noon to 4 p.m., Mathews Park, 295 West Ave., Norwalk; 203838-9799, lockwoodmathewsmansion.com
JUNE 14 THROUGH JULY 3
Laura Benanti, Board President Rodd Berro and 30
will run through the woods and mud, climb obstacles
years of its Music Therapy Institute. The awards will be
and navigate Fire Towers. Athletes of all levels are wel-
handed out at a celebratory dinner following a day on
come. 8: 30 a.m., Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla;
the greens and courts. 10 a.m., Brae Burn Country Club,
events.westchestermedicalcenter.com/mudrun
Westport Country Playhouse stages the recent
39 Brae Burn Drive, Purchase; 914-761-3900, musiccon-
Off-Broadway comedy hit, “Buyer and Cellar” by Jon-
servatory.org
athan Tolins, winner of a Lucille Lortel Award for Out-
JUNE 25 AND 26
standing Solo Show, about a young, out-of-work actor
United Way Day of Golf - Enjoy a great day of golf, fine
Rhinebeck Arts Festival, featuring 200 artists and
who winds up working for a well-known star in the mall
dining, prizes and auction. Proceeds will help United Way
craftsmen, gourmet food, beverages and specialty pur-
she built in her Malibu mansion. 25 Powers Court, West-
of Westchester and Putnam serve and strengthen its
veyors. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
port; 203- 227- 4177, westportplayhouse
communities. Fun starts at 11a.m., shotgun start, cocktails/
Sunday, Dutchess County Fairgrounds, 6550 Spring
dinner, Mount Kisco Country Club, 10 Taylor Road; 914-
Brook Ave. (Route 9), Rhinebeck; 845-331-7900, artrid-
997-6700, uwwp.org/golf
er.com
JUNE 18 THROUGH AUG. 7 The Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts “Harmony
JUNE 24
at Play” offers with jazz, opera, pop and classical pro-
See Spot work: It’s take your dog to work day. This day
JUNE 27
grams to celebrate its 71st season. 149 Girdle Ridge Road,
is recognized to promote the adoption of dogs from
Script in Hand Play reading of “The Late Christopher
Katonah; 914-232-5035, caramoor.org
shelters.
Bean” by Sidney Howard, directed by Anne Keefe. A comedy about paintings left to a family by a deceased
Newburgh Illuminated Festival features live music
artist suddenly skyrocket in value. 7 p.m., Westport
on multiple stages, vendors selling locally sourced
JUNE 25
and handmade goods, pop-up art shows and trolley
The American Lung Association of the Northeast, West-
tours of historic Newburgh. Noon to 10 p.m., Liberty
chester/Fairfield County presents its “Lung Force Walk
Street and Broadway, Newburgh; newburghilluminat-
– Westchester” to raise awareness and funds to fight
edfestival.com
against lung cancer and promote lung health. 9:30 a.m.,
JUNE 28
Manhattanville College, 2900 Purchase St., Purchase; ac-
Cerebral Palsy of Westchester presents its 15th Annual
tion.lung.org/wc
Golf Classic to benefit children and adults with disabil-
JUNE 20
Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport; 203227-4177, westportplayhouse.org
ities. Tee off starts at 10 a.m., Quaker Ridge Golf Club,
Music Conservatory of Westchester’s 15th Annual
Evan Lieberman Westchester Medical Center Trauma
146 Griffen Road, Scarsdale; 914-937-3800, cpswest-
Golf and Tennis Classic honoring Tony award winner
Mud Run - during this 5K obstacle course, participants
chester.org
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NOT YOUR...
TYPICAL EVENT VENUE
EVENTS FROM 30-350 GUESTS, WE DON’T JUST SUPPLY THE SPACE; WE CREATE THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE.
2748 Post Road, Stamford/Darien Border • 203.325.9979 • WatersEdgeatGiovannis.com
WATCH
HEART TO HEART
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The American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women Luncheon: Building Healthier Families” drew some 100 women to its event at the Stamford Marriott Hotel & Spa. Heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined, but the good news, said keynote speaker Dr. David Katz of Yale University, is that much of it can be prevented through mindful eating, exercise, the cessation of smoking and other behavior modification. Lauren Scala, NBC 4 New York’s traffic reporter, was the emcee for the event, which was, not surprisingly, a sea of red. Photographs courtesy Bernie Weiss
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Photos. 1. Nicole Ciminera, Victoria Astacio and Christina Rae 2. Robin Costello and Georgette Gouveia. 3. Kathy Silard 4. Judy Campisi, Heather Kinder, Martha Glantz, Virginia Kuper, Helen Eidt and Tanya Dutta 5. David Katz and Lauren Scala 6. Standing: Simone van der Merwe, Sean Manning and Henner Espinoza; Seated: Kristen Crooks, Meryl Stevens and Angela Valvano
SHOES SHINE
Lovers of shoes, Sarah Jessica Parker and “Sex in the City” — and, let’s face it, aren’t those all one and the same thing? — were out in force at Bloomingdale’s White Plains when Parker appeared on behalf of her SJP brand. Everyone agreed that she is among the most gracious of celebs, even helping customers try on her very Carrie-like pumps. 7. Sarah Jessica Parker at Bloomingdale’s White Plains with fans. 8. Sarah Jessica Parker helps a fan pick out a pair of pumps.
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DISCO DUCKS
Scarsdale Cycle, a fitness studio in Scarsdale, partnered with the Greenburgh Nature Center for the kickoff of its weekly “Milky Way” cycling classes. The gym is at the former site of The Milky Way Club disco. Scarsdale Cycle revitalized the Milky Way Club through this event while also giving back to the community. Guests had the opportunity to make a donation to the Greenburgh Nature Center, which brought some animals to the party. Photographs by Suzie
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Ferro Photography. 1. Charlie Link 2. Danielle Link 3. Casey Keefe 4. DJ Jeff B’Bica 5. Isabelle Kuhn and Rebecca Snyder
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B’WAY FRANK & FRIENDS
Legendary Broadway composer/songwriter Frank Wildhorn (“Jekyll and Hyde,” “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” “The Civil War,” “Bonnie and Clyde”) was joined by Broadway show performers at a special benefit concert of Broadway show music called “Frank and Friends.” The benefit, held at Tarrytown Music Hall for Make-A-Wish Hudson Valley, launched the chapter’s 30th anniversary campaign to help grant the wishes of more than 150 children with life-threatening medical conditions. 6. Sabrina Weckerlin, Tracy Miller, Yoka Wao, Frank Wildhorn, Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes
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REMEMBERING A FORMER SLAVE’S SERVICE
Wartburg hosted a reading and signing of NY1 reporter Cheryl Wills’ book, “The Emancipation of Grandpa Sandy Wills,” which pays homage to her great-great-great grandfather who fled his slave master, Edmund Wills, and fought in the Civil War from 1863 to 1865 as a member of the United States Colored Troops. The event was held in the Rehabilitation and Adult Day Services Center on Wartburg’s campus in Mount Vernon. More than 65 people were in attendance. 7. David Genter, Cheryl Wills and J. Yuhanna Edwards
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CARING FOR OUR
COMMUNITY
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HOPE FLOATS
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Drizzling rain and overcast skies did not dampen the enthusiasm or spirit of hundreds who turned out for Breast Cancer Alliance’s annual “Walk for Hope.” Greenwich Avenue was lined with supporters as everyone from toddlers to grandparents and even dogs in their brightest pink walked and ran to honor and remember family, friends and colleagues affected by breast cancer.
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Photographs by Elaine Ubiña. 1. Eddie Calle 2. Carolyn Decker and Jill Kelly 3. Todd and Caroline Phillips 4. Jane Batkin 5. Betsy Kreuter, Cindy Catterson, Marc Kowalski and Katie Vedasdi 6. Zoe Bensusan and Max Wattenmaker 7. Louise Marasso and Lily 8. George and Jules Madison 9. Nancy Smith, Joan Whipple, Jaime Warner and Annie Amato 10. Roberto Avrbrahao, Gabriel Vasconcellos, Giacomo Caesari, Pedro Anderson and Amuradha Kumra 11. Courtney Olsen, Yonni Wattenmaker, Susan Weiss and Mary Jeffrey 12. Ira Tamigian and Ella Magnuson
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THAT’S THE (VOLUNTEER) SPIRIT
More than 600 guests joined Volunteer New York! in recognizing eight individuals and groups from Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties during the 36th annual Volunteer Spirit Awards. In the past year, Volunteer New York! helped connect or inspire more than 19,000 volunteers who have contributed more than 270,000 hours of service to 500 local nonprofits. As Westchester Deputy County Executive Kevin Plunkett said during the event, “The spirit of volunteerism is alive and well in Westchester.” 1. Robert Baron and Jane Solnick 2. Carissa Duro, Leandro Francisco and Mike Snow 3. Joy Soodik and Susan D. Kroll 4. Joanne Kirkpatrick, Larry Fair and Stacey Petrower 5. Gayle Binney and Jeanette Gisbert 6. Susan Kushner, Eric Nodiff and Joseph Roberto 7. Rob Cordero and Alison and Joseph L. Ali 8. Maria Collins, Zach Lewis and Doug Rogers 9. Markham F. Rollins and Matthew G. McCrosson 10. Jake Gallin, Aurora Anthony and Ally and Thomas Gallin
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THE BEATLES, UJA-STYLE
More than 550 guests joined UJA-Federation of New York for a buffet, cocktails and a performance by The Fab Faux at the historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. The event, “Westchester Celebration: All Together Now,” honored longtime leaders Jane and Norman Alpert of Harrison and Sherry and Robert Wiener of Mamaroneck. Proceeds from this evening benefitted UJA-Federation, which cares for New Yorkers of all backgrounds and for Jews everywhere.
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1. Eric S. Goldstein 2. Laura Kleinhandler and Karen Sobel 3. Gary Claar and Lois Kohn-Claar and Randi and Dan Kreisler 4. Norman and Jane Alpert, Martine Fleishman and Sherry and Robert Wiener
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WHAT’S THE BUZZ?
There were busy little bees at the New York Botanical Garden’s “Antique Garden Furniture Fair,” which featured 27 participants from around the country. The kickoff party for this year’s bee-inspired weekend, designed by Ken Fulk, included DJ Kiss spinning, the Englewinds playing “Flight of the Bumble Bee,” a honey sampling by City Island Gold Apiary and some very attractive “drones.” 5. Kate Perry, Sergio Becher, DJ Kiss, Anthony Ruffian and Liz Sergeev
ALI THE GREAT
Ali Torre, founding president of the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation, was among the 90 outstanding Americans who received the 2016 Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO). With support from her husband, Major League Baseball’s chief baseball officer and Hall of Famer Joe Torre, Ali Torre has been able to help thousands of victims since the foundation’s inception in 2002. The ceremony featured a significant military presence and patriotic performers and was followed by a black-tie gala dinner in Ellis Island’s historic Great Hall. 6. Ali Torre receives her medal from NECO.
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2016-2017 TOURS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA
Just getting back to photography? Our clients come from all skill levels, including beginners. Lessons are tailored to help you progress, no matter how much experience you may have. Travel with us in small group photo tours to Ethiopia and Kenya. Working in the field, learn photojournalism, portrait photography, location lighting, editing and workflow with new topics daily and personal one-on-one instruction. Updated 2016 itineraries, dates, testimonials and tour fees are posted online at www.johnrizzophoto.com
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John Rizzo Photography | 405 Tarrytown Rd. Suite 1302, White Plains, NY 10607 | (646) 221-6186 worldwide mobile | www.johnrizzophoto.com
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WATCH
SALUTING A BRONXVILLE DESIGN
The American Institute of Architects New York State (AIANYS) recently awarded Bronxville Union Free School District’s newly renovated and restored community auditorium, designed by KG+D Architects, the “Excelsior Award of Distinction in Public Architecture.” The awards celebrate design and professional excellence in publicly funded buildings in the state. The award ceremony took place during the annual “Excelsior Awards Presentation Reception” at The Renaissance Hotel in Albany. 1. Margaret O’Donoghue Castillo, Erik J. Wilson and Brian O. Mangan
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FILM FOCUS ON MENTAL HEALTH
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The Mental Health Association of Westchester — in collaboration with the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health, NAMI Westchester, WJCS, HDSW and The Harris Project — hosted the Westchester premiere of the feature film “No Letting Go” at The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Yonkers. Screened before a sold-out crowd of more than 200, the film follows a young boy and his family as they navigate his mental health issues. “No Letting Go,” which was based on the family of writer, producer and Westchester native Randi Silverman, made its local premiere during Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week and National Mental Health Awareness Month. Photographs by Mark Jessamy. 2. Amy Kohn, Linda Rosenberg, Randi Silverman and Nancy Austin 3. Alan Trager 4.Michael Orth
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STAYIN’ ALIVE
It was another enjoyable makeup date at Bloomingdale’s White Plains as the store teamed with Food Bank for Westchester for “A Night at the Beauty Bar” to support the nonprofit. DJ Theo spun the Bee Gees, area restaurants offered tasty treats and the ladies shopped for cosmetics till they dropped — all in the name of a good cause, as 10 percent of purchases went to the food bank. 5. Denise Daly and Bonnie Koff 6. Kelly Bernacchia, Ellen Lynch, Eric Aho and Matthew Hamill
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WATCH
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SURF’S UP TO HELP KIDS
The Westchester Children’s Association (WCA) held its 2016 spring benefit dinner recently at The Surf Club on the Sound in New Rochelle. During the evening’s program, the organization bestowed its 2016 Edith C. Macy Award for Distinguished Service on New York Knicks assistant general manager Allan Houston for his work with the Allan Houston Legacy Foundation and his commitment to children. WCA raised more than $320,000 to help further its mission to be the voice for Westchester’s children. 1. Allan Houston and Kevin J. Plunkett 2. John Tolomer and Tracey Zimmerman 3. Hugh and Marilyn Price 4. Martin and Joanne Amorosi 5. Lynn Sorbel and Kate Weingarten
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CELEBRATING GREENWICH ARCHITECTURE
The Greenwich Country Club was the setting for the Greenwich Historical Society’s annual Landmark Recognition Program reception. The event honored five distinctive properties that reflect Greenwich’s unique architectural heritage. The keynote presentation was given by Frank J. Prial Jr., AIA, one of America’s foremost architects in the preservation movement. 6. Stephen and Stephanie Miron and David Ogilvy 7. Joy Lautenbach, Ellen Reid and Marc Lautenbach 8. Russ and Debbie Reynolds and Robert and George Getz 9. Rachel Franco 10. Peter Malkin and Debra Mecky 11. Davidde Strackbein, Chris Franco and Nancy Ozizmir
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SOMETHING ‘NEU’
PERFECT ‘PITCH’
More than 250 people gathered on a lovely spring evening for “Nights Out,” a TGIF celebration at the Neuberger Museum of Art that teamed the museum with WFUV public radio. Photographs by Lynda Shenkman
The Friends of Westchester County Parks hosted “Pitch in for Parks,” its largest one-day annual volunteer program, which spruces up county parks for the spring season. Event sponsor Whole Foods Market donated $14,900 to the Friends.
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1. Loretta Hanifan and Dana Lee 2. Maggie Morrow and Brian Clas 3. Tony Maddalena, Larry Bahr and Angela Valvano 4. Chuck Singleton, Ann Blinkhorn and Marc Johnson 5. John and Patty Burke and Hope Amster 6. Lisa Hertz-Apkon and Andrea Garbarini 7. Brandan Saltz and David Herman 8. Steven and Amy Keith 9. Terri and David Friedman and Paul Zukowsky and Tracy Fitzpatrick 10. Judith Riggs and Amita Rodriguez
11. Joe Stout, Christine La Porta, Elisa Mondragon and Debbie Zandi
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OUT OF AFRICA
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The Arthur Murray Grand Ballroom of Greenwich hosted Shannon Elizabeth for the event “Shannon Elizabeth & Animal Avengers: Back to Africa.” The event brought awareness to Elizabeth’s nonprofit, which assists anti-poaching units as well as organizations and individuals in Africa who save and protect endangered animals while supporting the surrounding communities in the process. Photograph by Ilene Anders. 12. Shannon Elizabeth and a young fan
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WIT WONDERS:
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY?*
Maria Bronzi
Dean Brown
Ryan Errico
Kristina Georges
Barbara Israel
Ellen Lynch
Jessica Mahon
Sandra Saiger
Lauren Scala
Danielle Schuka
Barbara Cirkva Schumacher
Alexandra White
“I would say when I saw my brother (Lt. Col. Christopher J. Bronzi, deputy executive assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr.) graduate from the United States Naval Academy. It was 1996 and my whole family went. There were 50 of us and we had special T shirts. It was awesome.”
– Maria Bronzi,
director, Altium Wealth Management, and chairperson of the board of directors, Food Bank for Westchester, White Plains resident
“Going to Florida with my grandparents and seeing spring training. My grandparents lived in Fort Myers near the Kansas City Royals’ spring training camp. This was in the Bo Jackson days.”
– Dean Brown,
director of business development, The Bristal Assisted Living, Stamford resident
“Any journey with my wife and kids.”
– Ryan Errico,
principal, Mercer, Woodbridge, Conn., resident
“Walking around Central Park. I grew up in the city.”
– Kristina Georges,
marketing and communications, Aqua Wellness World, Sleepy Hollow resident
“Scotland for the golf and the history. I took a trip to the West Coast, playing all the courses and visiting all the distilleries. Here I have to say that single malt Scotch plays into it.”
– Barbara Israel,
owner, Barbara Israel Garden Antiques, Katonah resident
“I went to Ireland with my husband for the first time two or three years ago. We both had family that came from there, and it was good to connect with the landscape. There were a lot of emotional connections, too.”
– Ellen Lynch,
president and CEO, Food Bank for Westchester, White Plains resident
“My honeymoon. I went to the Bahamas. The weather was wonderful. The sea was crystal blue. The food was
wonderful. And, of course, I was with my husband. I’ll never forget it.”
– Jessica Mahon,
campaign coordinator, American Heart Association (Wallingford, Conn. office), Ansonia, Conn., resident
“My husband and I have been married 15 years. We met on the wrong telephone call. We go to Cap Juluca in Anguilla every Valentine’s Day and eat at the same restaurant.”
– Sandra Saiger,
owner, Blithewold Home, Bedford Hills resident
“I have traveled the globe visiting many interesting and beautiful places, but my heart truly belongs to New York City. It’s an electrifying place with a story on every street corner. I love that there is always an adventure to be had, whether it be a visit to the bright lights of Broadway or a serene sunset stroll along the Hudson River. New York City is what you make of it and to me it’s incredible. My life is there. My dreams are there. It’s a deep connection and I feel very fortunate to call it home.”
“I think my grandparents’ 50th anniversary with the whole family on a cruise to Key West and Mexico. We did the Caribbean. I’m looking forward to their 60th.”
– Danielle Schuka,
corporate development director, American Heart Association (Poughkeepsie office), Beacon resident
“Rome. My husband and I were married there, and it was one of our first romantic weekends when we met. We also spend time in Capri, so Rome-Capri has become our sentimental journey.”
– Barbara Cirkva Schumacher,
owner, Fleur, Mount Kisco resident
“I would say when I take a drive up north, because I was raised on a farm in central New York. When I take that drive with my husband, it brings it all back.”
– Alexandra White,
sales manager, Blithewold Home, Patterson resident
– Lauren Scala,
traffic reporter, NBC 4 New York, Manhattan resident *Asked at the New York Botanical Garden’s “Antique Garden Furniture Fair,” the American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women Luncheon” in Stamford and the Food Bank for Westchester’s “Night at the Beauty Bar” at Bloomingdale’s White Plains. 120
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