The challenge of great rivalries
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CONTENTS AUGUST 201 8
12
What price athletic glory?
16
Only as good as your rival
18
‘Open’ season
20
Family court
22
The new ‘Louie’ steps to the baseline
24
Crazy ‘love’
26
Persistence pays for CBS Sports chair
28
Old Salem Farm welcomes young riders
32
A sporting paradise – and more
36
Tall in the saddle
40 Hats off to Bill
44
The mental ‘game’ of yoga
48
Beyond the tees at Putnam County Golf Course
50
A decade of swing
54
Obsessed with olive oil
56
Miller time
58
These magic moments…
62
‘Still’ a classic
66
‘Big kids’ get messy in the name of charity
76
Sailing through history
98
Soft summer nights at the Delamar Greenwich Harbor
72
COVER STORY
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, A life with heart
THIS PAGE:
At the Palisade Boat Club. See story on page 76. Photograph by Meghan McSharry.
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WAY Wondrous woodwork amid stately splendor
90
WARES Sleeping with Ted Baker
94
WARES The old rec room needn’t be a wrecked room
96
WHAT’S COLLECTIBLE Peerless Parzinger
102
WANDERS Ah, the spa
104
WANDERS Oprah’s cruising – and you’re invited
106
WANDERS ‘High Society’ indeed
110
WONDERFUL DINING A taste of Mexico in WAG country
112
WINE & DINE A tequila with a World Cup kick
114
WELL Healing the natural way
116
WEAR About-face on beauty
118
WELL Be a mindful weekend warrior
120
WELL Muscle up for mind as well as body
122
WELL Move it, or else
124
PET OF THE MONTH Glorious Gloria
125
PET PORTRAITS The Kennedys’ canine cabinet
126
WHEN & WHERE Upcoming events
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WATCH We’re out and about
144
WIT If you could be perfect at any sport, what would it be?
FEATURES H I G H LI G HTS
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COVER: The challenge of great rivalries
HEART HEALTH with Dr. Sanjay Gupta DOWN ON THE HORSE ‘FARMS’ Old Salem, Orchard Hill and Pine Ridge PALISADE BOAT CLUB History on the Hudson CURTIS CORD Olive oil impresario MIKE MILLER Golfing his way to the Open TENNIS’ US OPEN AT 50
+ PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN WAG COUNTRY
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Sporting inspirations
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IN NEW YORK STATE 2014, 2015, 2016
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Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open women's singles champion. Getty Images for USTA.
COVER STORY
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NEW WAGGERS Meghan McSharry recently joined the staff of Westfair Communications, WAG’s parent company, as digital content director. Raised in Greenwich, Meghan graduated cum laude from Elon University in May with a degree in strategic communications, having spent a semester in London. She loves reading and writing about luxury lifestyle and anything involving the British royal family. In her spare time, Meghan enjoys researching the latest trends, watching “The Crown,” photography and skiing in Vermont.
Ezriel Kornel, MD is director-at-large of the Orthopedic and Spine Institute at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco; founding partner, Brain and Spine Surgeons of New York in White Plains; and assistant clinical professor of neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medical College in Manhattan. He is affiliated with many of the leading hospitals in the area. Kornel was trained in Stockholm in the use of the Gamma Knife and, when indicated, utilizes this stereotactic radio surgical technique for the treatment of brain tumors as well as for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. He gained his initial expertise during his neurosurgical residency at the GW (George Washington) School of Medicine & Health Sciences in Washington D.C. Kornel has numerous mentions in the biography of James Brady, press secretary to President Ronald Reagan, because of his involvement in Brady’s care after he sustained a gunshot wound to the head in John Hinckley’s attempted assassination of Reagan. What motivates Kornel is highly personalized attention combined with the utmost dedication to the ultimate well-being of his patients. For more, visit topspinesurgeonnyc.com.
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EDITOR’S LETTER G EO RG E T TE GO U VEIA
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ugust is traditionally the moment we get to exhale with our sports, recreation, relaxation and health issue — a favorite of the Waggers’ (or, at least, of the editor’s). This time around we feature all of our themes in spades as we salute the US Open in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens. This year marks not only the 50th anniversary of the Open but the 40th of its move to what is now called the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. We salute these occasions with stories on what the Open — and the Open Era that admitted professionals as well as amateurs to the Slams — has meant to the players, particularly the women; the new “Louie,” the tennis center’s new Louis Armstrong Stadium; and “Love Means Zero,” Jason Kohn’s scorching new documentary on a man who has seen many an Open with the big names he coached — Pelham-born Nick Bollettieri. It’s a documentary that asks “What price athletic glory?” — the subject of our opening essay. This year is also the 40th anniversary of a dramatic New York Yankees comeback that began against the Boston Red Sox this month and Affirmed’s triumph over Alydar for the Triple Crown, so how could we resist a piece on rivalries? It includes some tennis favorites like Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. 10
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Our tennis subtheme continues with Jena on the court with hubby and son at the Yonkers Tennis Center. Baseball gets its due in Ryan’s piece about the Bronx Bombers selecting Carmel’s Ty Louis Campbell Foundation and its Muddy Puddles Mess Fest, which support kids with the most aggressive cancers, as their summer charity. The equestrian world is represented by a youth tournament that’s a first for Old Salem Farm in North Salem and Mary’s look at Orchard Hill Farm, an equestrian property on the Ridgefield-South Salem border. We hit the links with a story on the Pound Ridge Golf Club and Jena’s profile of Knollwood Country Club golfer Mike Miller, who qualified for the U.S. Open Championship back in June. Not all games are about sports or forms of exercise as Mary discovered when magician David Copperfield led a tour of some of his treasures for the “Summer of Magic” show at the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library. Mary’s on deck again for another New-York Historical Society show “Celebrating Bill Cunningham,” whose bicycle was the vehicle for his street fashion photography. With all this activity, we’ve had to put up our feet. Chill with Phil’s story on the Connecticut origins of the doo-wop classic, “In the Still of the Nite.” Luxuriate in floral fashion powerhouse Ted Baker’s new line of bedding. Come along with us as we overnight at the Delamar Greenwich Harbor as part of
our occasional staycation series. The hotel is wellknown for its spa, which uses Valmont products. For another story, we were treated to a facial in one of the two new spa rooms at The Saks Shops at Greenwich’s Main Shop. There’s always a bit of “Six Degrees of Separation” in WAG, but this month it’s particularly intense. Jessica Bonnetain, who administered the facial for Valmont, told us she loves Ted Baker. Phil’s profile of CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus references sports talent agency IMG, to which Bollettieri sold his tennis academy. Neurosurgeon Ezriel Kornel and orthopedist Kevin Plancher, guest Waggers, advocate exercise for a healthy mind and body, though for fun and in moderation, a thought echoed by British cardiologist Sanjay Gupta, who headlines the Heart Health Weekend at the Renaissance Westchester Hotel in Harrison. We’ve been advancing the weekend in our sister publications, the Westchester County Business Journal and WAG Weekly. But we thought you’d enjoy a look at the participants, including yoga and meditation instructor Brett Bonnist; olive oil expert Curtis Cord and naturopathic physician Carine Bonnist (Gina’s stories); and, of course, Gupta (who is not to be confused with the neurosurgeon and CNN medical reporter of the same name). He is a most unusual physician, as much a philosopher-teacher as a doctor, who’s all about striking a balance as the key to good health and good living. In this month of the exhale, we hope his words of wisdom strike a chord in you. A 2018 Folio Women in Media Award winner, Georgette Gouveia is the author of “The Penalty for Holding” (Less Than Three Press), a 2018 Lambda Literary Awards finalist, and “Water Music” (Greenleaf Book Group). They’re the first two novels in her series, “The Games Men Play,” which is also the name of the sports/culture blog she writes at thegamesmenplay.com. Readers may find her novel “Seamless Sky” and installments of “Daimon: A Novel of Alexander the Great” on wattpad.com.
OOPS!
In WAG’s July “Tasteful Inspirations” issue, we made some not so tasteful mistakes. In the story about the burgeoning Hudson River foodie scene, we misidentified the photograph on Page 42. It’s of Hudson Farmer & the Fish in Sleepy Hollow. And in the same story, we were geographically challenged about the location of the RiverMarket Bar & Kitchen, which is in Tarrytown. Then in the story about the “Boqueria” cookbook (Page 57), we misspelled one of the author’s names. It’s Marc Vidal. Apologies, all. And for us, 30 lashes with a wet noodle.
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Jean-Léon Gérôme’s “Pollice Verso” (“Thumbs Down”), an 1872 oil in the collection of the Phoenix Art Museum, captures the brutality of the ancient Roman arena. Its palette influenced the design of the movie “Gladiator” (2000). 12
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What price athletic glory? BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
ON JUNE 9, MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY AND I GATHERED TO WATCH NBC’S COVERAGE OF THE RACE FOR THE BELMONT STAKES, WITH THE TRIPLE CROWN ON THE LINE. WE AGREED IT WAS A THRILLING MOMENT, WITH JUSTIFY BECOMING ONLY THE 13TH THOROUGHBRED TO COMPLETE THE TRIFECTA, BUT NOT ALL OF US FOUND IT THRILLING IN THE SAME WAY. SOME OF US WATCHED THE RACE WITH DETACHED APPRECIATION. Some of us were on our feet (OK me), willing Justify across the finish line. But one of us, a big animal rights supporter, had a reaction that caused the rest of us to do a double take. “Kick him,” she yelled at the TV to one horse that was balking as his handler tried to load him into the starting gate before the race. When we looked at her oddly, she laughed and said, “I really hate this.” She is not alone. For every racing enthusiast, there’s an animal rights activist who will recite the litany of abuses that racehorses have faced — the training, the whipping, the drugs, the often fatal injuries and, sadly for some, the trip to the slaughterhouse. For every American Pharoah, the 2015 Crown winner, and Justify, there’s Ferdinand, the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner who wound up in a slaughterhouse when he proved a dud at stud in Japan; a Barbaro, the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner who developed laminitis and had to be put down after a valiant effort to save his right hind leg, shattered in the Preakness Stakes; and an Alydar — the great rival of the 1978 Triple Crown winner, Affirmed — presumed by many to have been murdered for the insurance money. And yet, there I was, whooping and hollering — Justified, but not without ambivalence. Sportswriters like to say that horses are born to run, but that is disingenuous. They certainly like to run in a field with their mates, free and unencumbered by the financial and emotional expectations of man. But around an oval? You have to train a horse to do that. I don’t think Secretariat woke up one day and said, “I’d like to win
the Belmont by 31 lengths.” In “Duel for the Crown: Affirmed, Alydar and Racing’s Greatest Rivalry” (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster, 2014), Linda Carroll and David Rosner recount the vast difference between running and racing in their amusing description of Alydar’s sire (and Affirmed’s grandfather), Raise A Native, who would wait until he was all tacked up on the track and then collapse, playing dead. Let’s just say his racing career wasn’t very long but, fortunately for him, he proved a champion stud. Even Triple Crown champs, Carroll and Rosner write, can resist nurture over nature. Whirlaway — the only Crown winner to triumph in the Travers Stakes as well — was spooked by the starting gate, the starting bell, the saddle, in short just about everything to do with racing. But boy, could “Whirly” run and, though much of his skittish quirkiness was disciplined out of him, he never lost the habit of veering toward the outside rail in the home stretch — his signature long tail flapping behind him. They are such distinctive personalities, these magnificent creatures, which may be one reason why we enjoy watching them test their mettle as they thunder around a track, even as we realize somewhere in our heart of hearts that it is not their choice to do so. We anthropomorphize them and romanticize what they do, perhaps because we love to watch them so and wish we could race as well.
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Longines – official timekeeper and watch of the Triple Crown races – records the moment when Justify, ridden by Mike Smith, entered immortality as the 13th winner of the Crown at the Belmont Stakes. Courtesy Longines.
All sport is warfare as art... Few works better capture this instinct than the movie ‘Gladiator’ (2000). The Oscar winner is really two films, the more profound being the story of what it means to die beautifully – with courage and without regret.
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But what of two-legged athletes, particularly in some of our most brutal sports? They choose their lives for a shot at the big money, fans always gripe, as if wealth obviates the need for our compassion. Yet theirs is often barely more of a choice than that of a racehorse. Some athletes — boxers and basketball and football players in particular — see their sports as the way out of poverty, while others — gymnasts, figure skaters, tennis players — commit to their sports before they are old enough to fully understand the consequences of that commitment. Or they have that commitment made for them. There are few more evocatively, pointedly harrowing accounts of the latter than Andre Agassi’s autobiography, “Open” (Alfred A. Knopf, 2009), which describes his violent father’s draconian measures to transform him into a tennis prodigy. (Jason Kohn’s fascinating new documentary, “Love Means Zero,” which explores the narcissism of Agassi’s coach, Nick Bollettieri, is a noteworthy companion to that book. See Page 24) Tennis is boxing without the bloodshed. Its jabs and uppercuts are psychological, allowing fans to feel superior to those of boxing — and, increasingly, football — where the point is to win by inflicting bodily harm. Yet boxing and football — despite the latter’s declining ratings that have been attributed to everything from on-field violence to protesting players to the glut of telecasts — remain multibillion-dollar businesses. They have their poet lau-
reates. Novelist Joyce Carol Oates, who attended boxing matches with her father as a child, wrote an eloquent appreciation of the sport (“On Boxing”) that includes this thought: “Boxing has become America’s tragic theater.” Rather, all sport is warfare as art — framed in space, organized in time, channeling the inner bloodlust (though not always containing it, as the occasional Yankees-Red Sox brawl and soccer’s highly nationalistic World Cup attest). Few works better capture this instinct than the movie “Gladiator” (2000). The Oscar winner is really two films, the more profound being the story of what it means to die beautifully — with courage and without regret. The ostensible story is your classic athletic “Pilgrim’s Progress.” Substitute your favorite complex athlete for Russell Crowe’s betrayed general-turned-gladiator and his or her crusty but loving coach for Oliver Reed’s gladiatorial trainer, and you have your quintessential sports movie, in which fan and athlete are complicit in the bloodlust. “Are you not entertained?” Crowe’s Maximus yells at the crowd after he finishes off his opponents. (It’s what Novak Djokovic thought of, he said, as he battled Roger Federer and a hostile crowd en route to winning the 2015 US Open.) We are entertained by the spectacle, the thrill of the metaphorical kill — even if that entertainment makes us sometimes wince.
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any of the great sports anniversaries being celebrated this summer are the anniversaries of great rivalries: The 40th anniversary of the Triple Crown showdown between the victorious Affirmed and his rival, Alydar — the only horse to finish second in all three Triple Crown races. The 40th anniversary of the New York Yankees’ comeback against the Boston Red Sox from 14 ½ games out of first place to win a one-game playoff on a Bucky Dent homer. The 10th anniversary of Rafael Nadal’s takedown of perennial Wimbledon champ Roger Federer in a taut seesaw match, 6—4, 6—4, 6—7 (5— 7), 6—7 (8—10), 9—7. It’s the subject of the insightful new Tennis Channel documentary streaming on The CW, “Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal and the Greatest Match Ever Played,” based on L. Jon Wertheim’s book of the same title (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009). But what makes Federer-Nadal, known to fans as Fedal, a great rivalry? What makes any great rivalry? It’s a question we’ve considered before in July 2012 WAG but one so enticing that we thought the time ripe to revisit it. Veteran tennis journalist Steve Flink says the charisma of rivalry lies in complementary opponents, as in righty Federer’s elegant serve-and-volley game versus southpaw Nadal’s fiery baseline approach. Flink’s favorite rivalry, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, offered similarly contrasting styles — the emotional lefty Navratilova with her big serve, the steely right-hander Evert as a counterpuncher. Each won 18 Slam singles titles. They alternated as number one and number two in the WTA rankings for all but 23 weeks from 1975 to 1987. Indeed, longevity was key to their rivalry as they faced off 80 times. 16
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“You’re only as good as your opponent makes you play,” Navratilova observes in “Strokes of Genius.” “Chris made me a better player, then I made her a better player.” “She made me a better player,” Evert agrees in the documentary, referring to her retrofitted serve and fitness in the advent of Navratilova, “and I don’t know if anyone else would’ve done that.” It is the delicious irony of rivalry: You might win more without a rival — Federer’s dominance went virtually unchallenged until Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray arrived on the scene — but you might not be as good. It’s the reason, John McEnroe observes in the documentary that he mourned Björn Borg’s retirement in 1983 at the height of their rivalry and continually tried to per-
Chris Evert in action at the 1983 US Open and Martina Navratilova at the 1986 US Open. Stephen Szurlej / TENNIS magazine.
suade him to return. (For our money, Borg-McEnroe’s clashes in the 1980 and ’81 Wimbledon finals — which they split, with Borg winning in ’80 and McEnroe in ’81 — were every bit as good as Fedal ’08, just as the intuitive Nadal’s more evenly balanced rivalry with the extroverted but intellectual Djokovic might have the edge over Fedal, in which Nadal has the advantage.) But just because a rival makes you good doesn’t mean you have to love him — or them. For every
Evert-Navratilova — who traveled and lunched together during their careers and still keep in touch constantly, even going antiquing together — there’s Yankees-Red Sox, with players and fans going at one another since the turn of the 20th century. The latest installment — as the teams vie for first place in the tough American League East division — featured a bench-clearing brawl April 11 at Fenway Park after the Bombers’ first baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin was hit by a pitch from the Bosox’s Joe Kelly, possibly in retaliation for Austin spiking Bosox utility player Brock Holt earlier in the game. Slamming his bat into the dirt, Austin charged the mound, precipitating the brawl. The exchange continued a tradition that began 115 years earlier in New York when Boston pitcher George Winter was knocked down and a fight ensued.
Four-legged creatures can go at it like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier as well. As laid-back as Affirmed was in the barn, he displayed a matchless will to win on the track, according to Steve Cauthen, the jockey who rode him to immortality. Whenever he sensed the high-strung, aristocratic Alydar trying to pass him, he’d cock an ear and giddyup. It helps explain why he was victorious in seven of their 10 encounters, including the Crown. Those encounters made Affirmed more special than other Crown winners, according to his trainer, Laz Barrera: "Affirmed is greater than Secretariat, or any Triple Crown winner, because only Affirmed had to face Alydar." Even Evert and Navratilova went through a period when they were distant rivals. Evert says she quit playing doubles with Navratilova, because
Navratilova became a little too familiar with her game. In the early 1980s, basketball player Nancy Lieberman convinced Navratilova that she should be hostile to her rival. Hostility to a rival may work in team sports like basketball, baseball and football, because there rivalry is an abstraction — them versus us. And lots of teammates have your back. But in an individual sport like tennis? In the end, Evert and Navratilova recognized that while they were tennis players on the court, they were human beings off it as well, women who share a love for a game that transcends the years they played it professionally. It was a question of maturity, Evert says, and realizing that the rivalry is “not affecting your individual legacy. If anything, it’s adding to it. It’s a legacy itself.”
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‘OPEN’ SEASON BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
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his is a big year for sporting anniversaries, with few bigger than the golden jubilee of the Open Era — when the four Grand Slam tournaments (Wimbledon and the Australian, French and US Opens) “opened” competition to professional as well as amateur players. Ten years later, in 1978, the US Open, formerly known as the U.S. National Championships, moved from the tony, intimate Westside Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens, 3 miles north to the new USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows — the world stage that the US Open demanded. But it wasn’t merely a journey in miles from a bucolic private club to a boisterous public setting. It was one that can be measured in milestones that reflected America’s shifting attitudes toward workers’ and women’s rights and the resurrection of New York City, back from the financial brink. Few have been better positioned to observe those milestones than longtime tennis journalist Steve Flink, author of the indispensable “The Greatest Tennis Matches of All Time” (New Chapter Press) and a 2017 inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. WAG caught up with the Katonah resident shortly before he left for Wimbledon and enjoyed serving and volleying verbally with this writer of encyclopedic recall and thought-provoking opinions. Perhaps not so coincidentally, he said, the early years of the Open Era dovetailed with the formation of the players’ unions and tours, including the Virginia Slims Circuit, founded in 1970 by Billie Jean King and eight other players, along with World Tennis magazine publisher Gladys Heldman. “The women were making one-tenth of what the men were making,” Flink remembered. “It was a necessary thing. They were going to establish themselves.” Which they did, with the Virginia Slims tour becoming the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973. A year earlier, the men had formed the Association of Tennis Professionals at the US Open. (World Team Tennis, founded in part by King and her then-husband, Larry King, began in 1974.) The early years of the Open Era (the mid-1970s) also saw what Flink called a “tennis boom” — which was not unlike the ballet boom of the same period, led by Mikhail Baryshnikov’s defection to the West.
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Rafael Nadal in action against Kevin Anderson in the men's singles final at the 2017 US Open. USTA/Darren Carroll.
Jimmy Connors, Björn Borg and Chris Evert were among the great players to emerge, with Flink singling out the scrappy Connors as the central figure of the Open Era: “He was important in bringing in new, blue-collar fans.” Counterbalanced by the elegant Arthur Ashe, Connors would give way to John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl; Boris Becker, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi; and, ultimately, the quartet of men who have dominated tennis in recent years — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The parade of female stars is no less impressive, including Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Venus and Serena Williams. Inevitably, any tennis conversation rolls around to GOAT — greatest of all time (though perhaps that should be GTD, greatest to date, since time mercifully hasn’t ended). Though Serena Williams is considered by many, including Tennis magazine, to be the greatest female player, Flink is reserving judgment to see if Williams, who has 23 singles Slam titles, can surpass the record of Margaret Court, who has 24. Flink also cites Navratilova, winner of 18 Slam singles titles and the only player to hold the top ranking in singles and doubles play for more than 200 weeks; as well as Graf, holder of 22 Slam singles
titles and the only player to win the Golden Slam — the Grand Slam plus the Olympic gold medal, which she did in 1988. As for the men, Flink said, “on record, it’s hard to deny Federer, a player of such enduring excellence,” marked by an unprecedented (for a man) 20 Slam titles. Could Nadal — with 16 Slams, mostly on French Open clay — surpass him? He’d have to up his game and do better on Wimbledon grass, Flink said. Regardless, though, he added that if he could put all the men at their best in a time warp, he would select Sampras as GOAT, he of the peerless first and second serves. Sampras also figures in the greatest match Flink has ever seen — a 2001 quarterfinal showdown against longtime rival Agassi under the lights at the US Open. Perhaps the game’s best server, Sampras went up against one of the game’s best returners in an epic battle that went to four tiebreaks (the US Open instituted the use of the tiebreak in Slam tournaments), with neither man ever losing his serve. In the end, Sampras prevailed 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5). Other favorite Flink matches include two semifinals in which Djokovic came back to beat Federer (in 2010 and ’11), the latter from two sets down that featured an incredible, seat-of-the-pants return.
Though people speak of the Federer-Nadal rivalry — known to fans as “Fedal” — Flink does not discount Nadal-Djokovic (called “Rafanole,” for their nicknames), or Federer-Djokovic. The latter appeared in a memorable 2015 US Open final, Flink said, in which the Djoker had to battle not only Fed but the pro-Fed crowd that had been drinking steadily through a three-hour rain delay. It was a gutsy triumph over not only Fed but one of the toughest places on the tour, rivaled, Flink said, only by the French Open. “What makes the US Open so tough is the heat coming off the hard courts.” (In the Forest Hills days, the U.S. championship was contested first on grass, with players complaining of wicked bounces, and the last three years on clay.) Along with the heat come the planes headed to and from LaGuardia and JFK and the overall rollicking atmosphere. These have been somewhat mitigated by the retractable roofs over Arthur Ashe Stadium and, now, the new Louie — Louis Armstrong Stadium. “The roof has added character,” Flink said. Something that the Open Era and US Open have both always had plenty of. The US Open will be contested Aug. 27 through Sept. 9. For tickets and more, visit usopen.org.
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FAMILY COURT BY JENA BUTTERFIELD
T
he match turned competitive when our instructor, Ed, showed me where to point my feet so my serve would land where I wanted it to. We were on the court at Yonkers Tennis Center (YTC), playing doubles, using orange-colored balls. Their slower speed and lower bounce allow players to hone their skills and still have fun. Finally, I was able to connect more with my racket, thus crushing my opponents after their early lead. I didn’t care they were children under age 10. The boy on the right had a monster serve and the girl on the left played with such good nature and lack of frustration it only egged me on. We won by a point. My partner still looked disappointed in me, though. No matter. He was dependent on me for a ride home. “When parents start to win points, they get just as excited as the kids do,” said Thane Schweyer, assistant general manager of club operations at YTC. He’d seen this outcome before. Playing tennis is infectious when it’s made simple yet competitive for mixed-level players. I celebrated our win maybe too exuberantly but I had finally learned to serve correctly. I had also learned that Ed’s a patient man. My competitive antics and my son’s feigned disappointment were part of a running joke during our match. We left determined to continue our shtick — as well as our reign as champions — when we played again. This was Parent and Family Week at YTC, a Yonkers institution that itself has been in the same family for 47 years. Owner and President Joseph Curto Jr. and staff implemented the inclusive event in an attempt to involve parents and encourage them to be more active with their kids. (There’s also free open time weekdays for family members of young players.) “It helps (their progress) if parents play with them,” Schweyer said. During most practices, however, I can be found lounging behind the picture windows overlooking the center’s six Plexicushion hard courts, drinking a cup of complimentary tea and using the center’s Wi-Fi. For my son’s next lesson, I’ll be back at my post but, thanks to those orange balls and YTC’s encouragement, we’ll be playing together more often now on our own. BALLS FOR ALL The United States Tennis Association (USTA) introduced its 10 and Under Tennis program in an
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Yonkers Tennis Center president Joe Curto Jr., left, and Thane Schweyer, assistant general manager of club operations. Courtesy Yonkers Tennis Center.
effort to match and evolve the game in tandem with the skill level of young players. “(The USTA) wanted kids to have more success playing the game,” Schweyer said. The modified format utilizes a colorized ball progression of red, orange, green and yellow. The balls have varying degrees of compression that create more opportunity for players to become tactically sound. “The idea is that kids can rally and play the game in a more efficient way,” Schweyer added. “They’re learning through doing.” Before the change, youth tennis lessons used repetitive technical drills. Players would receive balls from the instructor without mimicking the rally. It’s a method that doesn’t translate to the adjustments players need to make during an actual game, Schweyer said. “Every shot and every situation is different. This allows us to do both.” The sticking point for Schweyer is that while the colored-ball system is targeted for kids, it has the potential to revolutionize the game for everyone. No matter what level player you are, “this is going to help your game,” he said. Players can practice using their body more efficiently and learn to control movement and ball spin to achieve a stronger stroke. “I don’t think enough pros understand that,” he said. “We don’t teach school the same way we did 30 years ago.” There’s still a lot of pushback in the industry for professionals to play only with the standard yellow balls. “Yonkers was one of the first facilities to truly embrace (this program),” Schweyer said. “It’s why I chose to come here.” Schweyer uses the green balls for adult orientations. This gives him a talking point. “So much happens in two seconds,” he said. “If you can give someone a little bit of time, it helps.” A slower ball also allows people to trust their swing, and Schweyer thinks it could reduce instances of tennis elbow. “Even if you’re experienced, if you’re a little bit late (with your racket), you compensate with your arm. “(Tennis) is easy to learn, hard to master,” he added. Using orange ball allows him to play competitively
with his wife. When you can increase the frequency of ball contact and expand your pool of tennis partners to play a competitive match, it’s a win. THE COMMUNITY WINS YTC hosts free events for U.S. veterans and will be offering tennis programs at three Yonkers Public Schools. “Joe (Curto, owner) is very much about giving back to the community,” Schweyer said. Curto’s desire to share a passion for the game sets the bar. “Our moniker for success is not the amount of people who play here, it’s the amount of players that play in general,” Schweyer added. In that vein, programs at YTC are developed to encourage a lifelong involvement with the game. “It’s a sport of relationships, health and wellness,” said Schweyer who’s played tennis since he was 5. “I met my best friend on the tennis court.” YTC also offers the paddle sport pickleball. “The beauty of pickleball is that within 10 minutes someone can learn the game.” It’s popular among seniors and gaining momentum on college campuses. “Anybody can pick it up,” Schweyer said. “You don’t have to have a great technique, just get it over the net.” This fall, YTC will introduce a cardio-tennis fitness program. “It’s the most fun thing I’ve seen on a tennis court,” he said. “And everyone can do it because of the (red and orange) balls.” During summer camp, older kids are encouraged to volunteer as coaches in training. Their goal is to give 100 high-fives a week to young campers who earn points for things like character, picking up balls, effort, listening well and enthusiasm. Eventually these volunteer coaches can graduate to junior pros, which are paid positions. “They get to be around the sport they enjoy doing and might think about as a career,” Schweyer said. They came for fun but the end result is that everyone seems to be improving at YTC. “Everybody plays for different reasons,” Schweyer said. “Even if you came for a workout, we want you to learn a little while you’re here.” For more, visit yonkerstennis.com.
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Architectural rendering of the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center’s new Louis Armstrong Stadium, set to bow at the US Open, which begins Aug. 27. Courtesy United States Tennis Association.
THE NEW ‘LOUIE’ STEPS TO THE BASELINE BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
T
he new “Louie” — as in the new Louis Armstrong Stadium — is set to make an instant impression on tennis fans when the US Open begins Aug. 27. “The majority of fans come in the East Gate,” Danny Zausner says. “The Louie Armstrong Stadium is at the East Gate. So we anticipate an immediate ‘wow.’” As COO of the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center, Zausner has overseen “the seven-year labor of love” that is the more than $600 million transformation of the center, in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, on the site of the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs grounds. In the Roaring 22
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’20s, it figured as the ash heap that served as a pivotal setting and resonant metaphor in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” The 14,000-seat Louie — the number two arena at the center after Arthur Ashe Stadium — will be a delight for fans, players, reporters and shoppers alike, Zausner says. It occupies the footprint of the old Louie plus half of the Grandstand Stadium, which has moved to the southwest part of the campus. So the new Louie is wider than the old one, which makes it roomier. “There are nice big concourses on two levels so it’s comfortable,” Zausner adds. And tennis-fashionable: Walking along the East Plaza, fans will notice the stadium’s glass wall with Adidas, Polo Ralph Lauren, Wilson and US Open Collection storefronts. “There will be a little competition no doubt to have the best storefront,” he says. The four will be among the seven retail locations. There will be 14 concession stands as well. But while the new Louie is roomier, it’s also more intimate, a plus for the players, “who feed off the fan energy.” For them, there are new warm-up areas and a lounge space in which to hang out before their matches. Everyone, Zausner adds, will benefit from the retractable roof. Unlike the Arthur Ashe, where the roof cocoons the stadium as a later addition, a roof was always part of the design for the new Louie. Still,
would there be the money for the roof or would that have to be a later piece of the puzzle? Fortunately, the revamp has come in on budget, Zausner says, and fans can expect to stay nice and dry, as it takes only about six minutes to close the roof. He calls the creation of the two roofs “a nice family story” as they were created by ROSSETTI, an architectural firm out of Detroit begun by Gino Rossetti and now run by son Matt. There’s an equally nice story behind the history of the Louie and its name. The old Louis Armstrong and Grandstand stadiums were carved out of the Singer Bowl, built by the Singer Sewing Machine Co. and donated to the 1964 World’s Fair. The Bowl subsequently featured some of the biggest headliners in rock and boxing, including The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson. In 1973, the stadium was renamed for Louis Armstrong, the beloved jazzman (1901-71) who lived in nearby Corona at 34-56 107th Street (between 34th and 37th avenues). (The house is now the Louis Armstrong House Museum, a U.S. landmark.) When the United States Tennis Association moved to the stadium’s site in 1978, it did so with the proviso that it would keep the name Louis Armstrong Stadium — which it has. And now the great performer’s namesake is ready for its closeup on the world stage. For more, visit usopen.org.
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Nick Bollettieri in Jason Kohn’s documentary “Love Means Zero.” Courtesy Showtime.
CRAZY ‘LOVE’ BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
P
eople are complex creatures. They can be terrific at what they do — and make your life miserable while they’re doing it. That wondrous, monstrous complexity is at the heart of Jason Kohn’s documentary, streaming on Showtime — “Love Means Zero.” It’s a terrific title for a film that is by turns infuriating, enlightening and heartbreaking. And it’s a great double entrendre: Love means zero in tennis, but it also means nothing to an egotist whose lack of self-awareness (the two go hand in hand) proves tragic to all, not the least of whom is himself. The egotist in question is Nick Bollettieri — who coached Monica Seles, Venus and Serena Williams, Boris Becker, Jim Courier and, perhaps most famously, Andre Agassi. When we meet him at the opening of Kohn’s 89-minute film, he is seated in a chair in the great seedy, humid outdoors talking to Kohn off-camera, wearing shorts and a polo shirt. His skin has the look of a well-oiled baseball glove, and he punctuates his sentences with the word “baby.” For 40 years, Bollettieri — who was born and raised in Pelham — has run a tennis academy/preparatory school (now part of International Management Group) that’s been described as “a minimum-security prison.” It’s in Bradenton, Florida, a state that’s known for its alligators.
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Always gracious and insightful with the press, including WAG, Bollettieri nonetheless has something of the gator about him — something watchful and predatory, as if he were ready to pounce on the next misplaced tennis stroke or opportunity. It would be easy to poke fun at or pass judgment on such a Damon Runyonesque character. But what makes Kohn’s film so devastating is that he does neither. Rather the self-described former chubby Long Island kid — who fell in love with the individuality of tennis as a fan and social player — locates Bollettieri’s tragic flaw in his seeming imperviousness, impassivity and opacity. (He claims in the documentary not to remember the names of his eight wives.) It’s not merely the story of a man who failed to understand the pain he inflicted on others, Kohn says, but one of a man who for a long time failed to understand how he could be hurt by others as well. “But he got there in the end,” Kohn says, referring to Bollettieri choking up as he reads a letter in which Agassi describes how he had been a father figure to him. By the time we get to that emotional high point, though, we’ve already been through the boot camp atmosphere of mostly eager-to-please, perspiring kids hitting endless balls and cleaning latrines as they’re manipulated by a coach who seems less Machiavellian than mercurial. He promoted then dropped Carling Bassett and Kathleen Horvath. He sat in Agassi’s box in his 1991 French Open final against Courier, even though Courier was also his student. Did Bollettieri deliberately motivate Courier to beat Agassi or merely back the wrong horse early on? It certainly seemed the latter as Agassi — a punk kid turned prodigy by an abusive, violent father — kept losing in Slam finals to peers like Courier, Pete Sam-
pras and Michael Chang. He finally broke through improbably on his least favorite surface, grass, at Wimbledon in 1992. By then, however, the intense father-son relationship that had developed between Bollettieri and Agassi had begun to change. A year later, Bollettieri ended it in true Nick fashion, letting Agassi know by mail but first revealing the split to USA Today. The breakup, Kohn says, was more complex than a mentor being eclipsed by a pupil who had become a supernova. “Money is always the symbol of the power dynamic in a relationship,” Kohn says. Bollettieri thought he wasn’t being respected enough so he bolted. Or maybe the relationship-challenged coach preferred to be the leaver rather than the leavee. But here’s the thing: If, as 18th-century poet Alexander Pope wrote, “All partial evil is universal good,” then we have to admit that Bollettieri is a successful coach, a kind of perverse disciplinarian. “Nick Kyrgios needs Nick Bollettieri,” Kohn says of tennis’ reigning bad boy. Though he looms large in the film, Agassi — who created the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation and the Andre Agassi Preparatory School, a tuition-free charter school in Las Vegas for at-risk students — declined to be interviewed for it. It’s one of the reasons the film wound up at Showtime instead of at ESPN, which was interested in Agassi for its “ESPN Films: 30 for 30” series. “Love Means Zero” represents a 180-degree change in subject matter from Kohn’s first film, “Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)” — a tale of political corruption and violent crime in Brazil that won the Grand Jury and Cinematography Awards at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. But the tennis documentary is certainly in Kohn’s court. While he didn’t make his middle school tennis team and music and movies would soon have greater claims on his affection, Kohn never lost his love for the game’s social aspect or its personalities. “The appeal of tennis and other single sports is that you root for a person. There’s something in that person that you imagine your life to be.” He grew up in the era of Agassi’s great rival, Sampras, whom he found closed off. “I couldn’t see anything in him as a person that would let me in. But as a child, I loved Boris Becker. I loved to see his emotion. They say Boris Becker was at his most vulnerable when he was angry, but I just thought he was being human.” Kohn — whose next film is “Diamond, Silver & Gold,” about the origins of life and synthetic diamonds — still plays tennis on Los Angeles’ pristine public courts and attends the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. But he acknowledges that it’s not the same as those early-round night matches at the US Open that he attended as a boy. “It’s as close to a religious experience as I’ve ever had.” For more, visit kilofilms.com.
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Sean McManus. Courtesy CBS.
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S
ean McManus believes that television sports might represent the last flash of spontaneity in today’s media world. Of course, in view of his role as chairman of CBS Sports, that belief comes as no surprise. “Sports is live and unpredictable,” he explains. “Some of the greatest drama in all of the media happens in sports.” McManus took on the chairman role in 2011 after a six-year run where he held the twin positions of president of CBS Sports and CBS News. His news division leadership is widely viewed as being one of the most successful in the history of U.S. journalism — 12
Emmy Awards, four Peabody Awards, three DuPont Awards and 29 Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association. “I miss the big events, the elections, the conventions, the coverage of major news events,” McManus says about his leadership years at the news division. “And I miss the people involved with the shows. But my first love has always been sports television. I’m perfectly happy running the sports division.” And that is no surprise. Born in New York City and raised in Westport, McManus attended Fairfield College Preparatory School and started working at ABC Sports as a production assistant and associate producer following his 1977 graduation from Duke University. He joined NBC Sports in 1979 as an associate producer assigned to major global events, including Wimbledon and the Tour de France, and, in 1982 at the age of 27, became vice president of program planning and development at NBC Sports, the youngest vice president in that network’s history, responsible for rights negotiations of the Olympics, the Breeders’ Cup and the NFL. In 1987, he became senior vice president of U.S. television sales and programming for Trans World International, the TV division of the sports marketing firm International Management Group, returning to TV broadcasting via CBS Sports in 1996. In the seven years since his promotion to CBS Sports’ chairman, McManus has seen dramatic changes on the field and in the media industry that were unimaginable in 2011. “The state of the sports television marketplace has been changing on an almost daily basis,” he says. “The cable business, especially ESPN and other cable sports channels, are focusing on a diminished subscriber base. Plus, there are all of the other opportunities that people have for watching TV — on Sunday evenings, for example, DVR viewing is way up.” There is also the new politicization of sports, particularly in National Football League (NFL) games in which former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick divided the sport and the country by starting the trend of taking a knee during the pre-game performance of the National Anthem as a protest of police brutality aimed at people of color. McManus, whose network showcases the NFL, acknowledges that not everyone was pleased when other NFL players followed Kaepernick’s lead. “It affected some viewers of the NFL, who didn’t
In 1982 at the age of 27, McManus became vice president of program planning and development at NBC Sports, the youngest vice president in that network’s history, responsible for rights negotiations of the Olympics, the Breeders’ Cup and the NFL.
think it was appropriate for them to do,” he says. “It hurt a little bit, but fans that stayed away came back.” Still, the Kaepernick effect put a dent in NFL game attendance and viewing, but McManus diplomatically diverts blame from the star players to his programming choices for contributing to any evaporation of fan enthusiasm. “I do think it’s clear that adding 10 games to the Thursday night package and two additional Sunday morning London games has clearly diluted the Sunday afternoon packages and affected the ratings,” he has said in a recent Wall Street Journal interview. “It’s just simple mathematics.” Still, McManus is willing to put more football on CBS with the startup Alliance of American Football (AAF). CBS is scheduled to air the new league’s inaugural game on Feb. 9, which is the Saturday following CBS's coverage of Super Bowl LIII, and the remainder of its 10-week regular season will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network cable outlet. McManus believes the AAF has the potential for a great future. “It is very well-funded, which a lot of startup leagues have not been,” he explains. “It is being led by (filmmaker) Charlie Ebersol, with
consulting by (former NBC Sports chairman) Dick Ebersol, two of the greatest minds in the business, and with high-profile coaches and hundreds of really good football players. And they have a plan that is not just looking forward two to three years, but forward 10 years.” Of course, no mention of McManus is complete without acknowledging his father, the legendary sports broadcaster James Kenneth McManus — better known by his professional name Jim McKay — who is widely considered the gold standard of his field. “I don’t think any one person fills the void,” McManus says about his father, who passed away in 2008. “A lot of people have the quality my father had, but he was really unique in broadcasting. I don’t think there will be another Jim McKay.” But for tomorrow’s sports broadcasters who want to be the next Jim McKay — or the next Sean McManus, for that matter — the executive recommends persistence and perseverance. “Knock on every door that you can,” he says. “When the first opportunity comes along, take it. It’s a very difficult industry to get into.” For more, visit cbssports.com.
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USHJA North American Jumping Young Rider Team Championship gold medalists at the 2017 Adequan/FEI Youth Championships presented by Gotham North, Zones 2, 5 & 7 Team â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Caitlin Creel (aboard Liberty Son and Ailish Cunniffe (aboard Baloucento, not pictured). Photograph by Andrea Evans/US Equestrian. 28 WAGMAG.COM AUGUST 2018
Old Salem Farm welcomes young riders BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
NEW BRAND, NEW LOCALE. THE ADEQUAN/FEI NORTH AMERICAN YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY GOTHAM NORTH (NAYC) – FORMERLY THE FEI NORTH AMERICAN CHILDREN’S, JUNIOR AND YOUNG RIDER CHAMPIONSHIPS – WILL BE HELD IN PART FOR THE FIRST TIME AT OLD SALEM FARM IN NORTH SALEM. The youth championship for eventing, which includes dressage, cross-country and show jumping, took place last month in Kalispell, Montana, as part of The Event at Rebecca Farm horse show. The championship for jumping and dressage, which involves a series of highly skilled movements and minimal commands from the rider, will be held as a standalone competition at Old Salem Farm Aug. 1 through Aug. 5. It will be featured in the Grand Annex and Hedge Rings as opposed to the grass fields familiar to fans of the Spring Horse Shows and American Gold Cup. The Adequan/FEI North American Youth Championships is said to be the premier equestrian competition in North America for children, junior and young riders, ages 12 through 21. These equestrians compete for individual and team medals in the Olympic disciplines under the rules of the Federation Equestre Internationale, the international governing
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McKayla Langmeier and Iliano van d'Abellendreef competing at Old Salem Farm (right). Photographs by Jump Media.
body for equestrian sport. Along with an updated and rebranded name and logo, the championship will be awarding prize money for the first time in the jumping divisions, including $50,000 in the Junior Jumping Championship and $75,000 in the Young Rider Jumping Championship.
The USEF and FEITV channels will livestream the competitions. Hippodata will provide live scoring. And there will be educational events to give competitors a chance to learn the skills necessary to pursue a career in competitive riding. For more, visit usef.org.
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A sporting paradise and more THERE’S A 13-ACRE EQUESTRIAN PARADISE ON THE RIDGEFIELD/SOUTH SALEM BORDER THAT NOT ONLY CATERS TO THOSE WITH A LOVE OF HORSES BUT THOSE WITH A LOVE OF GRACIOUS LIVING, ALL CENTERING AROUND A METICULOUSLY UPDATED FARMHOUSE. Banish any thoughts of rustic living at Orchard Hill Farm, though. The property, now on the market, is the quintessential gentleman’s farm, complete with a respectful nod to an earlier era while fully integrating most every modern convenience. Built by George Doubleday, who chaired the industrial manufacturer Ingersoll Rand, as a wedding gift for his son, Orchard Hill Farm carries its own bit of sporting history. Harold “Pinky” Gillum, who went on to acclaim for developing a bamboo fly-rod, was one of the crew members on the farmhouse back in 1937. Today, his fishing rods remain prized among collectors. Over the years, Orchard Hill has seen its share of renovations. Among them was the 2012 addition of a stunning glass conservatory, a year-round “retreat at home” that opens to a bluestone patio and offers sweeping views of the property. Among the farm’s amenities are a stone guest cottage, organic gardens, a saltwater pool and spa, an outdoor kitchen, a six-car heated garage, a horse barn, a putting green and, adding a most bucolic touch, an apple orchard. Inside, the main floor of the six-bedroom, seven-bath (five full, two half) single-family home offers a formal foyer
Photographs by Daniel Milstein.
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with high ceilings, custom millwork and fireplaces throughout. The heart of the 7,500-square-foot home, though, is the spectacular kitchen, a tour-de-force space completely redesigned in 2015 by noted New Classicist architect Dinyar Wadia. It’s filled not only with state-of-the-art appliances but also encompasses a family room, charming breakfast nook and butler’s and food pantries. The master suite continues the atmosphere of understated elegance and has been likened to an oasis of luxury complete with master bath and windows on three exposures. Again anticipating a modern family’s needs, the house — which is situated in the Ridgefield school district — also features a welcoming play area, a first-floor mudroom and a porte-cochère. For the equestrians, there is no shortage of amenities, including a nine-stall barn with a hayloft, a wash stall, a heated lounge, a tack room, five paddocks and a Lawton Adams riding ring. The property, the listing agents note, would serve as a stunning Northeastern base for equestrians who otherwise live in Wellington, Florida — or the garage and barn facilities could just as easily adjust to accommodate the needs of a serious automobile collector. Whatever your fancy, the agents say, Orchard Hill Farm offers the rare combination of premium equestrian facilities with an expansive and warm home atmosphere in which most every desire seems to have been addressed. Orchard Hill Farm is exclusively represented by William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty’s Ridgefield Brokerage. For more, contact listing agents Joanna Rizoulis and Amy Smith-Sroka at 914-921-9501. — Mary Shustack
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36The entrance WAGMAG.COM 2018 of The Pine AUGUST Ridge Dude Ranch. Photographs courtesy The Pine Ridge Dude Ranch.
Tall in the saddle BY JENA BUTTERFIELD
IT’S AUGUST AND THE KIDS ARE COMPLAINING THEY’RE BORED. “DANG!” YOU COULD SAY. “STOP ALL YOUR CATERWAULING AND BELLYACHING.” BUT BEFORE YOU START ASKING YOURSELF WHAT IN TARNATION THERE IS LEFT TO DO THIS SUMMER, MIKE OFFNER RECKONS YOU SHOULD HEAD TO KERHONKSON AND RELAX LIKE A DUDE. (HE’S NOT TALKING ABOUT THE SURFIN' OR LEBOWSKI KIND, HE’S TALKING ABOUT THE RANCHING KIND.) Offner is owner and former barn manager of The Pine Ridge Dude Ranch (formerly Pinegrove Ranch and Family Resort) in New York’s Catskill Mountains. Pine Ridge is an all-inclusive family owned and operated ranch with a dedicated following of dudes and dudettes who’ve been influential in saving their “home away from home” after its closing last September. When previous owner, community stalwart David O’Halloran, died last summer, Offner (who had left his position as barn manager in 2012) led the charge to save the ranch where he’d been riding horses since the age of 7. “My relationship with the property is pretty special,” Offner says. “This is the first place I rode a horse.” The Valhalla native came with his family in 1987 and began working there in 1996. Offner’s lifelong attachment to the ranch reflects the experience of many longtime visitors. “The ranch was really loved by so many families,” he said. O’Halloran’s family struggled to keep the ranch open and, when it finally closed, the town was heartbroken. Surrounding businesses suffered from a drop of visitors. Longtime guests lost a piece of their history, the horses lost their home and workers lost their jobs. Offner knew he had to find a way.
“I always felt like I owned this place even as a kid, like it was my home,” he said. He started a GoFundMe page upon learning the 34 beloved horses on the property were sent to auction. “That was very difficult for me,” he said. Saving the ranch involved a succession of dream-come-true moments that started with those horses. Offner’s “network” was able to buy 31 out of the 34 and bid the others up high enough so they would be sure to go to good families. Then they retired half of them up to Vermont. “We walked away very satisfied with the outcome,” he said. Another challenge he mounted was raising funds to purchase the 150-acre property. “Our chances of getting the ranch were slim to none,” he said. Eventually, two silent partners, former guests of the dude ranch, joined Offner. “We had to deal with the bank and there was a lot of debt on the property,” he said. When they were finally able to break the news that the ranch had been saved, people were overwhelmed. It was a moment Offner will never forget. Taking the reins as owners, they saved 100 jobs, 60 year-round and 40 seasonal. “In a rural area like this, (saving jobs) is critical for the town,” he said. Now he’s hoping to usher in a new day for a
place that’s drawn repeat customers for more than 40 years. Pine Ridge Dude Ranch includes a 125-room main building that had fallen into disrepair. “This place is like a diamond in the rough,” he said. “It’s so versatile.” After taking over in January, the new ownership embarked on a $1 million renovation, including upgrades for the guest rooms and the lobby. “It took us six weeks just to get heat in the lobby,” he said. Offner started with obvious fixes but then one upgrade led to another. Renovations will continue but with guests champing at the bit, the team launched a successful reopening on Memorial Day weekend. “It’s an expensive place to try to have with nobody coming through the door,” he said. With the hamlet of Kerhonkson located in the town of Rochester, 90 miles from New York City, you’ll be going from city slicker to country dude faster than you can say “yee-haw.” Two characteristics to expect are informality and family-style hospitality. “It’s a fun, safe, family environment,” Offner said. “The top comment we always get is how genuine and good our staff are.” The fun starts as you mosey on by the carved wooden horses in the lobby over the horseshoe and kerchief patterned carpet and sidle up to the front
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desk where a cowboy hat-wearing employee waits in front of a big sign that reads “HOWDY.” If you’ve chosen an all-inclusive package (which includes three meals a day) proceed to your rooms with names like Montana, Dakota, Wyoming and Santa Fe. (Day passes can also be purchased.) Guests can visit the new filly, Juniper, or try the BBQ, archery, campfires, hiking trails and fishing. There’s a bull named Kawasaki and, above all else, horses. “Everything’s focused around our horse program,” Offner said. Trail rides are tailored to everyone from beginning cowboys to advanced cowgirls. “In addition, we have private lessons,” he said. Yellowbellies who prefer avoiding critters larger than their pets can go rock climbing, play laser tag and ride paddleboats. There’s an arcade and an indoor pool with twin waterslides, playgrounds and an outdoor bounce pillow. City slickers may prefer to hit the on-site Starbucks or the fitness center to get a massage then mount a saddle at the bar in the Bull Room nightclub. There’s also mini-golf, basketball, tennis, paddleball and bocce. Before you vamoose, Offner suggests taking advantage of the social director who’s on hand to plan scavenger hunts, bingo and arts and crafts.
Amazing British & Irish Cheeses
Sun-Mon 12-4 Tues-Sat 10-5 Wed & Fri 10-7 Closed Labor Day
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Owner Mike Offner helped bring the ranch back from the brink.
“I’ve always lived my life to follow my passion,” he said. “This has always been a dream of mine since I was young.” With his dream now realized, Offner can’t just rest and take it all in. “There’s so many levels I want to take it to,” he said. “Maybe it’s so surreal, it hasn’t hit me.”
He envisions eventual pumpkin patches, apple orchards and hosting weddings. There seems to be no limit but he’s been preparing for this his whole life. It’s something you learn early on a dude ranch. If you climb in the saddle, be ready for the ride. For more visit pineridgeduderanch.com
Just in time for back to school
203-628-7462 UKG.Life 78 Stony Hill Rd Route 6, Bethel, CT
Ciel Bicycles (est. about 1987), New York City, retailer Biria, Germany (est. 1976), manufacturer. Bicycle used by Bill Cunningham, ca. 2002. New-York Historical Society, Gift of Louise Doktor, 2017.13.1. Cunningham circulated around the city on a bicycle. This bicycle is one of 30 he owned during his many years as New York’s trend spotter; and inset above, Savinien Caracostea, “Bill Cunningham (part of the Friends Series),” December 2014. Images courtesy New-York Historical Society Museum & Library. 40 WAGMAG.COM AUGUST 2018
Hats off to Bill BY MARY SHUSTACK
ANNA WINTOUR, VOGUE’S NO-NONSENSE EDITOR-INCHIEF, FAMOUSLY SAID, “WE ALL GET DRESSED FOR BILL.” SHE’S REFERRING TO BILL CUNNINGHAM, THE BELOVED NEW YORK CITY ICON AND FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES. Cunningham (1929-2016) was as noted for his candid shots as for the trusty bicycle that he rode to capture the subjects of his signature work. His groundbreaking fashion photography saw him not only chronicling the city streets but also its most glittering society events and fashion shows. That and his lifetime of work are now being honored with an exhibition at the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library in Manhattan. Of course, his bike is on display as part of “Celebrating Bill Cunningham,” mounted in honor of the society’s recent acquisition of objects, personal correspondence, ephemera and photographs. All, press materials note, “reflect the life and work of Bill Cunningham, one of the late 20th century’s most influential trend-spotters and style authorities.” Filling the fittingly intimate, second-floor Pam & Scott Schafler Gallery, the show is a gem spotlighting the low-key — though notably good-humored — personality synonymous with his trademark blue French workman’s jacket. It’s a more personal exploration of Boston-born Cunningham, who was
also showcased here in 2014’s “Bill Cunningham’s Facades.” That memorable exhibition was devoted to his eight-year project started in the late 1960s that documented New York’s architectural treasures by pairing them with fashions sourced from thrift shops, auction houses and street fairs. It was a tour-de-force that in the end employed some 500 outfits and more than 1,800 locations and became the subject of a 1978 book. In addition, his spirit was more than evident at the historical society in this past autumn’s “The Duchess of Carnegie Hall: Photographs by Editta Sherman,” an exploration of and tribute to Cunningham’s longtime friend and artistic collaborator. “Celebrating Bill Cunningham” touches on Cunningham’s start as a milliner and his own William J. designs and follows his story through his decades as a photojournalist, one who was often spotted on Fifth Avenue at 57th Street capturing the fashions — and personalities — that caught his attention. Here, we see his Nikon camera and glimpse into his process, with contact sheets and notations, along with work from
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the “Facades” project. But perhaps the most enjoyable moments come when pausing to sit for an original short film created specifically for this exhibition. “A Visit with Bill Cunningham” by Josef Astor features unseen footage from his love letter to a New York of another era, “Lost Bohemia.” The poignant 2010 documentary artfully traces the demise of the homes and studios — the very lifeblood — of Cunningham and the other residents of the onetime artists’ enclave above Carnegie Hall. In this new short, Cunningham, reflects on change, specifically how the sudden popularity of wigs killed the millinery business but led him in a new direction. In a few words that seem to sum up his outlook, we not only see his character and what contributed to his success but also gain a valuable lesson. As Cunningham said, “You gotta go with history, dearie.” “Celebrating Bill Cunningham,” curated by Debra Schmidt Bach, the society’s curator of decorative arts, continues through Sept. 9 at the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library, at 170 Central Park West in Manhattan. For more, visit nyhistory.org.
Antonio Alvarez, “Bill Cunningham photographing Tziporah Salamon,” 2011. Courtesy Antonio Alvarez.
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KENYA, TANZANIA, ETHIOPIA & RWANDA TOURS Exceptional Camps & Lodges | Authentic Experiences | Private tours for groups and families with children
“WE MET THIS YOUNG GIRL WHILE WALKING ON A WORN PATH THROUGH TALL GRASSES. SHE WAS CARRYING A HEAVY CLAY POT ON HER HEAD, FILLED WITH WATER. SHE IS A SURI GIRL, FROM SOUTHWESTERN ETHIOPIA, RAISED IN THE TRADITIONAL WAY AND FULFILLING HER DUTIES IN HELPING WITH THE FAMILY CHORES. THE LIGHT WAS BEAUTIFUL, SO WE STARTED TAKING PHOTOS OF HER. UNSURE OF ALL OF THE ATTENTION AND FOR A SPLIT SECOND, SHE SMILED. IN THE DISTANCE, WE HEARD HER MOTHER CALLING FOR HER.” –Antonio Deciccio, New York
“OUR ADVENTURE IN EAST AFRICA WAS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE, FROM THE EXTRAVAGANCE OF WILDLIFE IN AMBOSELI AND REMOTE VILLAGES IN SAMBURU, TO BREAKFAST OVERLOOKING NGORONGORO AND SCENERY ALONG THE PLAINS OF THE SERENGETI. THIS WAS A TRIP NOT EASILY FORGOTTEN.” — Evan Anthony, Cambridge MA
All packages include photography lessons | John Rizzo is a former Newsweek photographer, has worked on 6 continents & winner of two Arts Alive Grants, 2013 &2016
Africa Photo Tours Inc. | 455 Tarrytown Road Suite 1302 White Plains NY 10607 | (646) 221-6186 worldwide mobile | www.johnrizzophoto.com
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Couple practicing yoga.
The mental ‘game’ of yoga BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
“NINETY PERCENT OF BASEBALL IS HALF MENTAL,” NEW YORK YANKEES HALL OF FAME CATCHER YOGI BERRA ONCE SAID. THE SAME MIGHT BE SAID OF YOGA. “It’s not just a physical thing. It’s also mental,” says Brett Bonnist, a yoga and meditation instructor with Kaia Yoga in Fairfield County who’ll be leading a meditation workshop Aug. 4 and 5 at the Heart Health Weekend at the Renaissance Westchester Hotel in Harrison. “It’s a mind-body practice as opposed to an exercise class. “I usually include mindfulness in the class,” he adds. “Mindfulness is really the practice of coming back, noticing your tendencies, following the breath, any of the sense perceptions. That’s what you want to take away from it — cultivating mindfulness.” Yoga, which has taken many different forms since its birth in 6th-century India, uses a series of asanas, or poses, as a way to prepare the body for
meditation. The practitioner may hold these poses — many of which have highly visual animal names like downward dog, dead bug and flying camel — for a set time or flow from one to the next in a connected sequence, as in the sun salutation. The flowing sequences are called vinyasas. Bonnist teaches a hot vinyasa class, mainly at Kaia in Westport, in a heated room, which, though it may seem counterintuitive, actually helps you move more easily — as if you’re swimming in air. The focus remains on the breath, he says, and accepting whatever you’re feeling in the present moment. “We’re so used to thinking about our feelings, instead of feeling our feelings,” he says. Especially if they’re unpleasant. AUGUST 2018
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“There is a tendency to be attracted to play and avoid pain. But surrendering to suffering is huge.” This doesn’t mean wallowing in it or seeking it out but rather something akin to The Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.” A runner who studied English literature at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Bonnist says he “stumbled” into yoga in 2015. He had always been interested in Eastern philosophy. Yoga was a deeper way into it. With 500 hours as a registered yoga instructor with Yoga Alliance, Bonnist will be leading a silent meditation workshop at the Heart Health Weekend, focusing on deep breathing. While meditation has been linked to heart health, not every form of yoga is right for every person. Check with your doctor before beginning any yoga practice, particularly the hot ones, and always inform your instructor of any medical challenges, he says. Then get ready for an experience that Bonnist says, “gives you the space in your mind to invite yourself in.” For more, visit kaiayoga.com.
Female yogis in an 18th century Indian watercolor. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Annual Support-A-Walk For Breast & Ovarian Cancer Sunday, October 7, 2018 FDR State Park - Yorktown Heights, NY
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BEYOND THE TEES AT PUTNAM COUNTY GOLF COURSE BY LAURA JOSEPH MOGIL
P
utnam County Golf Course is one of the hidden jewels of the lower Hudson Valley. Nestled in the rolling hills of Mahopac, the 18-hole championship golf course offers golfers a challenging 6,800-yard, par-71 venue with spectacular vistas of the beautiful countryside. But what also attracts people to the golf club is its dining and entertainment opportunities. That’s all thanks to Mahopac resident Al Ciuffetelli, who has run Homestyle Caterers with his brother Joseph for the past 25 years. The business took over catering at the public golf course, owned by Putnam County, five years ago and has grown revenues from $234,000 to $1.15 million per year (30 percent of which goes back to the county). “What makes our catering stand out is that our food is all homemade, featuring many of our own Italian-American family recipes that we’ve brought over here. Everything is fresh, and we don’t buy any of the frozen foods that many of the other catering halls use,” Al Ciuffetelli says. “My brother and I run most of the events ourselves and many of our staff members have been with us for over 15 years.” In addition to the Putnam County Golf Course, Homestyle handles the catering at several other area courses, including Blue Hill in Pearl River and Dunwoodie in Yonkers. The company also provides food service at the Westchester County Center, as well as area schools, corporate office building, and other institutions. At the Putnam course, Ciuffetelli says that Homestyle does the catering for more than 20 golf outings a year. “We do everything from the county sheriff’s department to local veterans groups and area police departments. People really want to come here because of the food, and we’re very fair on the pricing.” Ciuffetelli’s company also handles the catering at
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The Ciuffetelli brothers, Joseph and Al, pictured in 2015. Photograph by John Rizzo.
the club for a variety of nonprofits, professional organizations, associations, alumni groups and families. Events are held in two banquet venues, Sybil’s Hall, which can seat up to 300 people and the Patriot Room, which can handle 80 to 100 guests. Each of the rooms has views of the course, which was designed by golf architect William F. Mitchell and first opened in 1959 as Putnam Country Club. (The club remained private for many years and underwent several ownership changes until it was purchased by Putnam County in 2004.) “We also have The Grille, which is perfect for enjoying classic pub fare, whether it’s before or after a round of golf,” Ciuffetelli says. Golfers can eat in the cozy atmosphere of the main restaurant or choose to sit on the airy indoor or outdoor decks or at the al fresco bar. In addition to the food, Homestyle provides a full range of services in terms of entertainment and decorations. “We can get you whatever you need, from DJs and musicians to balloons and photo booths,” Ciuffetelli says. Drawing on his entertainment connections, Ciuffetelli started a concert series at the club three years ago. The events take place every Friday night between Memorial Day and Labor Day on the club’s outdoor patio and surrounding golf greens. “When we first began, we had 30 people here, and now some of our performances attract over 1,000 guests. The recent Nerds concert we held brought in 1,400 people,” he says. Scheduled acts include 1 Wild Night, a Bon Jovi tribute band, Aug. 3; Appetite for Destruction: The Ultimate Guns N’ Roses Experience, Aug. 10; Desert Highway: A Tribute to the Eagles, Aug. 17; and Whoz Ya Daddy, playing classic rock and pop, Aug. 24. All tickets are $29 and include a barbecue dinner catered by Homestyle. A cash bar is available throughout the evening. Coming up Sept. 8 is a Clam and Lobster Bake with music performed by Amanda Ayala, who was featured on NBC's Emmy-Award winning show “The Voice.” There is also an Oktoberfest Oct. 5, featuring more than 25 craft beers from local breweries and a popular band called the Amish Outlaws. “We really try to mix it up. Sometimes we have a disco night and other evenings we offer country music, comedy or a Golden Oldies event for seniors,” Ciuffetelli says. “Our goal is to give people a little taste of everything.” In the off-season, Homestyle offers entertainment at the club once a month. Ciuffetelli says that that the concert series has exploded because the club is at the center of Putnam County. “When you go down further south to areas such as Yonkers, there’s a lot to do and you can go into the city. But up here, there’s not as much to offer,” he notes. “People are looking for something to do that’s safe and they know they’re going to have an enjoyable time. They can rely on the fact that there’s going to be good food and good entertainment, so the value is there for them. That’s why we’ve been so well-received.” According to Ciuffetelli, one of the reasons why he started the concert series was to get people to try the club’s food. The first year he was there the club had 57 parties booked, and now there are close to 300 a year. “When people eat the food and realize that it’s amazing, they want to book a party here. That’s how we built the whole business,” he says. For more, visit putnamcountygolfcourse.com. AUGUST 2018
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A DECADE OF SWING BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
C
elebrating its 10th anniversary, Pound Ridge Golf Club combines the tony setting of a private course with the accessibility of the public course it is. The 172-acre site contains a par-72 course designed by World Golf Hall of Fame designer Pete Dye, mixing the classic (the 11th hole) with the dramatic (the 13th hole, which features a boulder known as Pete’s Rock.) “When we first met with Pete Dye before the course was built, our goal was for him to create something truly special for the public player in Westchester County as well as the New York City metro area,” Kenneth Wang, owner of the club, says in a statement. “That vision has certainly come to fruition.” Wang — a venture merchant who is president of U.S. Summit Co. and brother of fashion designer Vera — was introduced to the game by his father, Summit’s founder. “I miss hit my first golf ball at a driving range that
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Top; The 11th hole of Pound Ridge Golf Club is a classic par 3 with a scenic backdrop. Bottom; The third hole of the Pete Dye-designed Pound Ridge Golf Club has an undulating bucolic quality. Photographs courtesy Pound Ridge Golf Club.
used to exist on Route 3 in New Jersey,” Kenneth Wang told Cameron Chung of sportsagentblog.com in 2015. “The Meadowlands Sports Complex is there now. My father took me. I was about 8 years old. He thought I had talent. He was incorrect. “We bought the predecessor golf course in 1980, all 9 and a half holes of it. It had been a full 18 but a local developer had cut it in half to build housing. We bought the rest with no greater motive than liking real estate and golf. Years later, we asked Pete Dye to restore it to 18 holes, tore out the old course and built the new one.”
You can play the course for $150 a day Mondays through Thursdays or $230 a day Fridays through Sundays or holidays. Or you can buy a debit card for $3,000 that’s good through 2019 and gives you 10 percent off on the daily fee. The club’s amenities include a pro shop and an eatery. But the real selling point is the beauty of the course. As Wang adds, “We look forward to the next 10 years of providing unique and thrilling rounds of golf few courses can match.” For more, visit poundridgegolf.com.
Where ‘Main Street’ is Memory Lane. The Village at Waveny provides award-winning Assisted Living and a therapeutic approach to memory and dementia care. Located in New Canaan, Connecticut, our world-renowned indoor “Main Street” is a bustling site for meaningful interaction, fun activities and fulfilling programs for seniors. Discover more about everything we have to offer, including long-term care and short-term overnight respite stays for caregiver relief, by calling 203.594.5302, dropping by, or visiting waveny.org. Enjoy long-range confidence knowing all Village residents have priority access to Waveny’s entire nonprofit continuum of care, including Waveny Care Center, our 5-star Medicare and Medicaid accredited skilled nursing facility, should their personal or financial needs ever change. A nonprofit continuum of care that’s planning ahead for you.
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ust a stone’s throw from New Canaan’s vibrant town center, The Inn offers distinctive independent senior living that celebrates wellness, dignity and choice. All residents at The Inn enjoy priority access to Waveny LifeCare Network’s entire continuum of care, including personal care services through Waveny at Home, and our 5-star skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, Waveny Care Center. Call 203.594.5450 or visit us at waveny.org to discover more about life at The Inn. Schedule lunch and a tour, and come visit us today.
Newly-Renovated 1-Bedroom Suite now available!
73 Oenoke Ridge New Canaan • Connecticut
country homes •equestrian estates • acreage
Creekside Farm
I
nspired by the warmth of an english country house, this lovely 4br, 4.2 bath home displays architectural integrity & old world craftsmanship. built in 2004, the house abounds w/understated elegance & custom appointments. The details of this home includes 10’ceilings, oak flooring, custom cabinetry, 5 fplcs, picture windows & french doors. among the refined spaces is the pine paneled entrance hall, & the classically proportioned Lr & dr, each offering sweeping views of the hunt country beyond. This unique property includes a turnkey equestrian complex adjacent to the ns open Land. The house presides over 12 acres, contiguous to 150 acres of conservation land. miles of riding & walking trails. creekside farm has a 6 stall barn & a 2 stall shed barn. 2 storage and tractor sheds. chicken coop. The facility includes 3 large fields, 4 paddocks, 2 medical paddocks, & a 100’ x 200’ outdoor ring. mLs#4804109 Price: $4,750,000
Stony Creek Farm
L
ong time established equestrian facility.top Location near a horse shows. covered ring and outdoor ring both with travelright footing. 7 grass Paddocks.10 dry paddocks. 22 approved stalls in separate areas allows for more than one trainer. cozy club room/office with fireplace. boarder Lounge. 3 groom rooms. kitchen. 3 baths. 2 Large haylofts, tack rooms & wash stalls. recent painting and landscaping. generator. abuts 150 acres conservation Land for endless trail riding through open fields and with natural cross country jumps. 1 hour from nyc mLs#4823496 Price: $1,750,000
Properties are adjacent o n t h e g r e e n , b e d f o r d, n e w yo r k • 9 1 4 . 2 3 4 . 3 6 4 2 • v i n w h i t. c o m
country homes •equestrian estates • acreage
Baptist Church Road
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30-acre, 43 stall equestrian facility. 40 minutes from nyc, a mile from the taconic Parkway. barn #1: 9 12’ x 16’ mat; 22 12’ x 12’. all stalls w/ dutch doors. tack room w/lndry; bth & Locker rm; office, 2 wash stalls. 25 ton hay loft: 5 bay heated garage w/2 staff apts. each 2 br w/ bath. barn #2: shed row style 8 12’ x 12’ stalls. barn 3: 4 10’ x 12’ stalls; shed row 2 run-in sheds. stone storage barn. garage: 3 bay. storage shed. indoor riding arena: 80’ x 200’. outdoor riding arena: 175’ x 300’ w/sprinkler system, 16 Paddocks. 14 grass paddocks,2 sand paddocks 40’x 50’. managers house: 2400 sq.ft, 3brs, 2 bths. Legal commercial boarding facility! ag district. mLs# 4818969 Price: $5,850,000
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OBSESSED WITH OLIVE OIL BY GINA GOUVEIA
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ost humans have passions of one sort or another, but how they evolve is another story altogether, and often a defining "aha" moment leads to an obsession. Such was the case with Curtis Cord, the founder and publisher of Olive Oil Times, an online publication whose mission is threefold — to provide news about all things olive oil, to educate its readers about its life-enhancing benefits and to rate the best specimens during its annual worldwide competition, now in its sixth year. A Larchmont native, Curtis and his wife, Kelley, were traveling in St. Tropez eight years ago when they happened upon a delightful shop and sampled some of the preeminent olive oils produced in France. The shop owner generously shared her in-depth knowledge about the characteristics, production methods and intricacies of the varying samples — in essence, tasting notes — like those to which we've become accustomed when referring to wine or single-origin coffees. They left with not only some fine oil but a newfound curiosity for this proven healthy fat. Returning to New York, Curtis set out to connect with others who shared his passion, so he started a personal blog about tasting olive oils at various shops around the city, cooking with olive oil and other related topics. From the first post, he knew he was onto something. The comments, feedback and readership grew at a rapid pace and validated a belief that he suspected may be true. "Because of the richness of the culture and variety of oils in the marketplace, I knew it was something that deserved a more journalistic approach," he tells me. I ask him if Kelley was as enthusiastic as he was about this endeavor, or if she thought he had gone mad. "Definitely the latter," he responded. But that did not assuage his passion in the least. After only a few short weeks of blogging, Curtis launched Olive Oil Times and created the online publication of the same name, which eight years later is
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regarded as the only commercial forum discussing all things olive oil such as news, products and life-changing studies. He hired a few freelance writers with a global reach who wrote articles highlighting celebrated examples from different regions of the world. There was no commercial aspect, no particular point of view or bias. They were just posting olive oil news and studies from peer-recognized journals. Quickly the industry began to recognize the publication for bringing cohesion to a largely unstructured industry. Hundreds of readers became thousands and the recognition ultimately led to a “60 Minutes” segment featuring Curtis, signaling a growing interest in not only olive oil's benefits, but in the publication's activities. What began with the aim to get people talking led to educating the public about the need to know what it’s buying and consuming. Readers and culinary experts started to trust this new voice on the scene, one not promoting or advocating anything other than knowledge and education. In the beginning, Olive Oil Times' focus was on health. "The public should want to know more about it," Curtis said, "especially if they genuinely want to prolong their lives and feed their bodies in the best possible way." Because olive oil is a monounsaturated fat, it's heart healthy. Studies from highly accredited universities and medical schools have proven the benefits to stabilization of blood sugar levels, warding off diabetes and improving cognitive disorders such as dementia by increasing brain size. Thousands of articles amassed and archived on Olive Oil Times' website bear out these claims and studies. Curtis urges buyers of olive oil to educate themselves by going to retailers who offer samples of their goods, because smell and taste are what determine the finest oils. On first sniff, only the aroma of fresh, green olives should be detected, nothing else. In the tasting, the complexity, harmony and pungency of the flavors should be pronounced and pure, and also to one's liking. The range of characteristics can run from absolute substandard specimens all the way to perfection. For an olive oil to be classified as extra virgin, it needs to pass certain chemical testing benchmarks, but the industry is only lightly controlled. Also to meet this labeling, the oils should not display any defects, which he feels American consumers have come to accept. Defects are presented as rancidity caused by the conditions of the olives, or spoiled fruit used in production. Other defects include winey, fermented or vinegary taste and muddy sediments. My conversation with Curtis is more of an education than it is an interview. His knowledge, expertise and willingness to share his passion naturally lead to a discussion of the six-day intensive courses in olive oil for industry professionals and interested individuals, currently offered at the SoHo Manhattan and San Jose, California, campuses of the Curtis Cord, the founder and publisher of Olive Oil Times. Courtesy Curtis Cord.
International Culinary Center, formerly the French Culinary Institute. Starting in January, they will be offered in London, too. Curtis cites the influence of "the late great" Dorothy Cann Hamilton, founder of the original institute, for her influence on his development of a course of study focused entirely on olive oil. When Hamilton’s life was cut short at the age of 67 in a 2016 automobile accident, The New York Times’ obituary noted, "She was...(also) cleareyed about what makes for good cooking. ‘The whole basis of cooking well doesn’t necessarily have to do with a recipe or the genius of a cook. It has to do with the ingredients,’ Ms. Hamilton said in 1999. 'If you don’t have a beautiful tomato, you’re never going to get a great tomato soup.’” This culinary mantra is repeated often and by many. Technique aside, good food comes down to quality ingredients. The average American, he tells me, buys the cheapest oil with the words “extra virgin olive oil” on the label, and then keeps it next to the range where heat and light cause it to spoil more quickly. "The typical consumer doesn't understand the points of difference, and we are trying to change that," Curtis says. He believes, too, that there is a correlation between an oil's quality and its health benefits. "Remember, olive oil is not a cure for disease, but it does improve our chances of diminishing their effects," he said. As impartial observers of the industry, Curtis and his team at Olive Oil Times established a worldwide competition for producers in 2013, attracting 565 samples from 22 countries in its first year. Held in April, the event, known as the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, has grown steadily every year since. It attracts an increasing number of producers who set out to craft the best oils to be judged by a professional panel in an event open only to staff and the media. This year they had to cut off entries at 1,000 samples from 27 countries, many European and South American, but others from far-flung lands such as Japan, China and Lebanon. Each producer pays an entry fee, submits all the details of their product and ships three bottles over the months of January to March. They are held in temperature-controlled vaults until the tasting, evaluation and rating by 18 judges from three countries. This year, 12,000 people watched a live stream of the event, a fun fact that Curtis is proud to reveal. I ask Curtis, now residing in Rhode Island, if he ever returns to the land of his roots in Westchester County. "Yeah," he says, "to go to Ray's in Mamaroneck or Nicky's down at the Larchmont train station for pizza." They must use good olive oil. The results of this year's NYIOCC World Olive Oil competition may be found at bestoliveoils.com. For more, visit oliveoiltimes.com, bestoliveoils.com and internationalculinarycenter.com. AUGUST 2018
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MILLER TIME BY JENA BUTTERFIELD
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or pro golfer Mike Miller, who qualified for the recent U.S. Open Championship, there’s a golden hour on the course. “There’s nothing better than playing golf at 6:30 at night with no one around,” he says. “It’s the perfect time.” Often — when he’s not playing tournaments or on the Mackenzie Tour in Canada — Miller’s on the verdant course at historic Knollwood Country Club in Elmsford, a member-owned club founded in 1894. Playing without pressure on a course that feels like home reinforces a love for the game that consumes most of his waking hours. “There’s no one to get in your head and no one to influence you,” he says. “You’re just out here enjoying yourself.” It’s no secret that the life of a pro athlete can be relentless. “It’s an all-day thing for me at the moment,” he says. “I played a tournament this morning (the 96th Westchester Open at Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale) and shot 70.” The next morning he’d be playing round two and maybe should’ve gone home to rest. The Westchester Open had three rounds and he finished the tournament in ninth position. But with golden hour approaching, there was only one thing to do. “I’m actually over at Knollwood now practicing,” he says. “My father’s here; my caddy’s here (longtime friend Dante Antonini). We’re going out there and we’re going to grind and practice. And try to work on my putting.” It was his putting that got in the way of recent success at the 118th U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton. Miller was fresh off his turn in Southampton where he shot 77 and 78 in the first two rounds and missed the cut. “I’m a very good ball striker but I’ve always kind of struggled with putting and trying to get the ball in the hole,” he says. This particular evening at Knollwood, he knew what he had to focus on. “It’s what makes a living on PGA tours,” he acknowledged, “being able to get the ball in the hole much quicker than the next guy.” Shinnecock was the second U.S. Open for Miller and, as a local boy, he couldn’t help but be partial to the location.
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Pro golfer Mike Miller at the U.S. Open with his father Bob Miller Jr., head pro at Knollwood Country Club in Elmsford. Photograph courtesy Knollwood Country Club.
“I played Oakmont in 2016,” he says. “But this one was more satisfying. Just knowing that it was in New York. And knowing that so many family and friends were going to be able to come out and watch ... was truly tremendous. You want to play well and you want to qualify. Then to actually go out and do it makes it that much more special.” Despite his early departure from Southampton, Miller has been gaining momentum from a string of recent wins. They’ve proven to him that winning begets winning. “And it doesn’t matter if it’s a local tournament at home or if it’s the U.S. Open,” he says. “A win is a win and you feel great about yourself.” Learning to deal with defeat is just as important. “Knowing that I wasn’t going to play Saturday and Sunday (at the Open) definitely hurt,” he says. “Walking up the 18th hole on Friday and knowing that I wasn’t going to make the cut, that was probably the most disappointing moment because everyone is still there rooting you on. But you don’t want to be the guy that’s the Debbie Downer, because they’re all there supporting you.” That sportsmanship has been ingrained in him from early on. His father, Bob Miller Jr., has been head golf pro at Knollwood for 35 years. “He started out as a member here and my grandparents were on the board. Now that he’s the head pro, it’s kind of always been in the family. I’ve been able to grow up basically my entire life here.” His father’s tutelage has been instrumental in the way Miller approaches the sport. “My dad always told me, ‘You can borrow the game; you never own it.’” Attaining perfection is a lifelong pursuit.
“It’s such a mental game,” he says. “You’ve got to keep working at it. The minute I think I’ve reached my maximum potential is when I’m probably going to start to go backwards. It’s a law of nature ... You can’t win it the first day but you can certainly lose it the first day.” Miller, who turned pro at age 21, has played competitively since age 11. “Now I’m 26 and I’m still learning and I’m still trying to get better,” he says. “If I think it’s going to help me, I’ll try anything just to get 1 percent better.” There’s no prescription, he says, but “there’s a process.” “Everyone wants to just step right out of college and be the next Tiger Woods. The harder you are on yourself, the worse it gets. That’s kind of where I am now. I’m not standing still, but I’m not progressing at the pace that I want to be progressing at.” Miller’s learned to accept that it’s all part of the game. “You don’t want get down on yourself, because there’s nothing really wrong.” His advice for youth players considering the sport is simple. “You just go out there and you just practice and you play,” he says. “Don’t worry about what you’re shooting because if you’re a great player, you’ll know. And if you’re not a great player, don’t let the score affect you. Just love the game and love every shot because one shot could change your entire outlook.” He also advises not to commit to golf as a young kid “unless you really know,” he says. “I played a lot of sports growing up, but I didn’t know I wanted to play college golf — professional golf — until I was 17 or 18 years old. I just knew I wanted to play a sport like any other young person that picks up a racquet or club or a ball or a stick. “Don’t ever think you have to put all your apples in one basket,” he adds. “Golf is a game you can pick up when you’re 20 if you want or 30, it doesn’t matter. You can do it till you can’t walk anymore. As long as you can hit (the ball), find it and hit it again you can enjoy yourself.“ His most vivid memory took place on the course with his father when he was 15 years old. “It was the first time I broke the course record,” he says. “It was probably 6:30 (p.m., golden hour) and I was gonna shoot 62 and break his . . . record. It was one of my biggest moments. We were driving home and (my father) was so excited, he couldn’t wait to talk about the round. I remember how appreciative I was.” The moment influenced Miller’s determination. “The minute you stop believing (in yourself), you’re going to be passed by somebody.” Miller’s advice is to take advantage of opportunities, put in the work that no one sees and “hopefully, at the end of the day, you shoot a lower score then the next guy,” he says. “Then you’ve gotta do it all over again the next day.” For more, visit Kccclub.org.
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Regulation straitjacket used by Harry Houdini, ca. 1920. When police handcuffs – or any handcuffs for that matter – proved too easy to escape from, the heavy canvas, metal rings, and reinforced leather straps of straitjackets enticed Houdini. From the first outdoor performance in Kansas City (1915) to New York, Houston and Boston, Houdini performed suspended from cranes or tall buildings, preferably the ones housing major local newspapers; and following page, inset, Merv Taylor Round Birdcage Production, ca. 1960. Bird cages appearing out of thin air, and birds vanishing from cages, have long been part of magicians’ acts. Copperfield Collection. Photographs by Glenn Castellano. Courtesy New-York Historical Society Museum & Library. 58 WAGMAG.COM AUGUST 2018
These magic moments… BY MARY SHUSTACK
MAGIC CAN BE CAPTIVATING, AT ANY AGE. IT CERTAINLY CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF DAVID SETH KOTKIN, A 1960s NEW JERSEY BOY WHO WOULD GROW UP TO BECOME KNOWN AS DAVID COPPERFIELD, ONE OF THE FIELD’S MOST-FAMED PRACTITIONERS. “I started as a ventriloquist by watching Paul Winchell on TV,” Copperfield said to those attending the June press preview of “Summer of Magic: Treasures from the David Copperfield Collection” at the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library in Manhattan. A trip with his mother, reaching the city through the Port Authority building, landed the young boy at the magic counter at Macy’s Herald Square — and the rest, as they say, is history. “I fell in love with magic,” he said. “Ventriloquism was out. I was in love with magic.” As Davino the Boy Magician, he would become the youngest person, at age 12, to be admitted to the Society of American Magicians. It was the start of a career that has yielded television specials and world records, blockbuster feats such as making the Statue of Liberty “disappear,” a 1996 Broadway show and perhaps his signature, The Death Saw, a shocking illusion unveiled in 1988 and brought to (near) life in the museum lobby. From the start, Copperfield said, it was magic’s transportive powers that enabled the shy boy to feel like a hero. His passion, fueled by the city’s magic shops, fed his determination to combine his act with “more,” tapping into a love of “MGM musicals, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra.” The master illusionist led an informal tour through the elaborate exhibition that spotlights New York’s pivotal role during the Golden Age of Magic, from the 1880s through the 1930s. Copperfield not only studied his craft but its history, clearly evidenced here. Drawn from Copperfield’s collection, the exhibition is a walk through magic’s illusions, tricks and great escapes. Visitors can see items ranging from the milk crate, handcuffs and
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Family friendly Living History Weekends are scheduled throughout the run of “Summer of Magic: Treasures from the David Copperfield Collection,” with living historians such as Tanya Solomon, a vaudeville style magician pictured above, bringing the past to life. Photograph courtesy Tanya Solomon; and inset, David Copperfield at the exhibition’s press preview. Photograph by Mary Shustack.
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straightjacket used by Harry Houdini to a recreated magic shop filled with tricks, from vanishing coins to decks of cards, an homage to the glory days of magic shops that catered to magicians of all ages. Props, costumes, posters and a wealth of related memorabilia spotlight famed acts, including Chung Ling Soo, the star of the vaudeville circuit known as the “Chinese Conjurer” — in reality, Westchester-born William Ellsworth Robinson. Throughout, Copperfield stressed, magic is more than just mindless entertainment but sparks the imagination — and even technology. He also brought magic’s interactive elements close to home, seeking volunteers to step into the area that allowed you to “levitate.” As “Summer of Magic” curator Cristian Petru Panaite, assistant curator for exhibitions at the historical society, said about the exhibition — and maybe even magic itself, “It’s a slice of cultural history… so many rich layers to this story.” “Summer of Magic: Treasures from the David Copperfield Collection” continues through Sept. 16 at the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library, at 170 Central Park West in Manhattan. Extensive programming includes “Living History Weekends” through Aug. 26; a “Capturing the Magic Weekend” Aug. 24-26; and lectures, workshops, performances and films. For more, visit nyhistory. org/summer-magic.
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Fred Parris at a New Haven City Hall. Photograph by Peter Hvizdak / Hearst 62 WAGMAG.COM AUGUST 2018 Connecticut Media.
‘Still’ a classic BY PHIL HALL
ON FEB. 19, 1956, THE BASEMENT OF ST. BERNADETTE CHURCH IN NEW HAVEN WAS TRANSFORMED INTO A MAKESHIFT RECORDING STUDIO TO ACCOMMODATE PERFORMERS AFFILIATED WITH STANDORD RECORDS, A SMALL LOCAL LABEL. The recording session was designed to capture a tune called “The Jones Girl,” which was planned as the big breakthrough song for a New Haven group billed as The Five Satins. Since “The Jones Girl” needed a second song to fill the B-side on the planned record, another number was also performed during that session. “The Jones Girl” made no impression upon release and would be completely forgotten today had the disc jockeys of that era not turned the record over to give the afterthought B-side song a play. That tune was “In the Still of the Nite,” which is celebrated as one of the seminal achievements in the evolution of popular music. Last December, Fred Parris, the lead singer of The Five Satins and the writer of “In the Still of the Nite,” returned to St. Bernadette’s to perform his classic work for a PBS special celebrating the best of 1950s doo-wop music. T.J. Lubinsky, the producer of the PBS special, told the New Haven Register during a break in production that “In the Still of the Nite” was “one of the first songs I heard” while listening to oldies radio growing up in New Jersey. “This song just had a feeling, a meaning,” Lubinsky observed. “It was like magic when ‘In the Still of the Nite’ started playing.” And, perhaps, it took a good deal of magic for the song to achieve any attention. For starters, Connecticut was on the fringe of the music industry
when that fateful recording session took place. “New Haven was not particularly a hotbed in the day,” recalls Steve Metcalf, author of the Metcalf on Music blog for WNPR.org and former music critic for the Hartford Courant. “But like a lot of urban New England cities, New Haven partook in the doowop phenomenon of that period.” The doo-wop genre deviated from earlier forms of popular music in its use of chords. “Doo-wop used a certain chord progression where the I chord was followed by VI chord, followed by the IV chord, followed by V chord, then back to the I chord,” Metcalf explains. Initially unique to the R&B charts, doo-wop songs began to cross over onto the pop charts by the mid1950s. Parris, who fronted a previous singing group called The Scarlets, formed The Five Satins in 1954, but his budding career was interrupted when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He wrote “In the Still of the Nite” while on guard duty at a military base in Philadelphia and recorded the song when he and Al Denby, a fellow Satin also in the military, were home on leave. Ed Martin, Jim Freeman and Nat Mosley were the other vocalists in the group. “In the Still of the Nite” — the “Nite” spelling was meant to differentiate it from the same-titled 1937 Cole Porter composition “In the Still of the Night” — initially seemed doomed to oblivion due to Standord Records’ lack of distribution beyond the small Connecticut market. In 1957, good luck shone on the song when the much-larger New York-based Ember label acquired it and put it into national release. “In
The Still Of The Nite” peaked at number three on the R&B chart and number 25 on the pop charts. “I remember hearing it when I was 4 or 5 years old,” says Gene Seymour, a music and culture critic. “You couldn’t avoid it. That kind of vocal music was everywhere.” But what made this song stand out? Seymour admits that “In the Still of the Nite” is not a complex or artistically provocative endeavor. “There is nothing extraordinary about the song or the singer, for that matter,” he says. “We’re not talking about Clyde McPhatter (the widely imitated R&B singer). Yet it took that one record to have an effective accessibility — an accessibility as it relates to the harmonies and other elements that make doo-wop doo-wop.” Metcalf agrees, noting the simplicity of the recording was key to its charm. “It had a certain genuine authenticity,” he observes. “After all, it was recorded in a church basement with a non slickness, like anyone could’ve recorded it.” Alas, Parris was not able to immediately benefit from the song’s first round of popularity. He was stationed at an Army post in Japan when the song was rising up the charts, and singer Bill Baker substituted for him in concert gigs and follow-up recording sessions until Parris’ military service was over. With Baker as the front man, The Five Satins had a follow-up hit in 1957 with “To the Aisle,” which peaked at number five on the R&B charts and at number 25 on the pop charts. When Parris returned from military service, Baker was not eager to relinquish his leadership of The Five Satins. Parris performed
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under Fred Parris and the Scarlets and gained control of The Five Satins name after the Baker-led group broke up. Under Parris’ lead, The Five Satins continued recording through the 1960s for a number of labels but never latched on to another hit song. Personnel changes and even a name change to Black Satin created confusion that diminished the act’s star power. However, “In the Still of the Nite” was passed on with well-regarded cover versions from Paul Anka, The Tokens, Dion, The Beach Boys and Debbie Gibson. An a cappella arrangement by Boyz II Men reached number two on the Hot 100 Airplay in December 1992 and then charted at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot 100 Singles Sales in January and February of 1993, respectively. Nonetheless, the original Five Satins version is still considered the crowning achievement. Jane Minogue, publisher of The Daily Doo Wop online resource, attests to the song’s staying power. “During the six years I worked on The Daily Doo Wop, ‘In the Still of the Nite,’ has been the number one requested song,” she says. “People remember the song from sock hops, proms, dates, weddings and other occasions.” As for Parris, now 82, the attention that his song continues to receive is a source of amazement. “I’m pleasantly surprised,” he said during the taping last December of the PBS production. And as he prepared for yet another performance of “In the Still of the Nite,” he jokingly noted that nothing was going to stop him from sharing the doo-wop classic with a new generation. “I’ve got my doctor with me over here, just in case,” he says, with a laugh. A 1950s style jukebox.
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Yankees pitcher Sonny Gray at mini “Mess Fest” in White Plains. Photographs provided by New York Yankees. All rights reserved.
‘BIG KIDS’ GET MESSY IN THE NAME OF CHARITY BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH
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e’re used to seeing our favorite baseball players with dirt on their uniforms. But on a recent visit to White Plains, Yankees stars were instead covered in mud. A group that included Yankees Manager Aaron Boone, shortstop Didi Gregorious, left fielder Brett Gardner and pitcher Sonny Gray visited Mohawk Day Camp on June 11 for a mini “Mess Fest.” The baseball stars spent the afternoon rolling in mud, being pelted by water balloons, tossing Wiffle balls and taking pies to the face from a group of children diagnosed with cancer, all to help raise money and awareness for the Ty Louis Campell Foundation and its fight against the disease. What brought the Yanks to the event was the wish foun-
dation co-founder Cindy Campbell heard from her son, Ty, at a hospice care facility in 2012. Ty was 5 and had been diagnosed with brain cancer at age 2. “One of his favorite programs was ‘Peppa Pig,’ and I was just having this simple conversation with him and I asked, ‘What do you want to do when you get all better?’” Campbell recalls. “He said in this really soft, sweet voice, ‘I want to jump in a muddy puddle.’” Ty passed away later that year following a struggle with a brain tumor that required him to endure 20 surgeries, 11 cycles of chemotherapy and 44 rounds of radiation. His positive attitude throughout that time earned him the nickname SuperTy. The simplicity of his answer that day in
Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner in White Plains for the team’s mini “Mess Fest.”
Cindy Campbell and her 20-month old son, Bodhi. Campbell and her husband started the Muddy Puddles Project in 2013 in honor of their son, Ty, who died from brain cancer in 2012.
hospice stuck with Campbell, who imagined herself and other adults having much more exotic or grand ambitions. “His wish was just so simple, and it was really such a testament to how young he was and the way kids think,” says Campbell, a Pawling resident. “It makes you realize there are so many kids who just want to be kids.” Ty's family, which created the Ty Louis Campbell Foundation to combat childhood cancers in 2012, has worked to make his wish a possibility for as many children as possible. In 2013, Cindy and her husband, Louis Campbell, co-founded Muddy Puddles Project, which hosts an annual “Mess Fest” that raises money for the foundation. “Mess Fest,” Campbell says, is for “everything
that’s off limits in the confines of their home. Let’s have this come to life for them.” That means thousands of kids and their families can spend a day of running in the mud, throwing paint, tossing pies and dodging water balloons. Aug. 4 will mark the sixth annual “Mess Fest,” hosted at Kiwi Country Day Camp in Putnam County. More than 10,000 people have attended “Mess Fest” and other Muddy Puddles events since its launch. The Muddy Puddles Project and Ty Louis Campbell Foundation have raised more than $1.2 million for strategic cancer research projects. Last year, Muddy Puddles became the charity partner of Ty’s beloved “Peppa Pig.” Then the Bronx Bombers got in touch this year
for their annual “Hope Week,” in which the team spends a week visiting and spotlighting charities in the area. For this year’s first “Hope Week” event, the Yankees reached out to Campbell, who suggested a “mini ‘Mess Fest,’” this one just for kids diagnosed with cancer. Camp Mohawk hosted and helped plan the event along with the Yankees. It wasn’t clear whether any players would actually attend, Campbell says. The event had already gotten underway when visitors were gathered in a circle. Yankees officials told them a surprise was coming before Boone, Gregorious, Gray and Gardner all came rolling in on a small train. Boone presented a check for $10,000 from the Yankees to the fund. “It was like they weren’t even famous,” Campbell says. “They just played with the kids all day. They were so giving. We had a birthday cake for a little boy, Beckham. They blew out the candles with him.” The Yankees gave the organization 100 tickets for the next day’s game against the Washington Nationals. Boone asked Campbell to throw the first pitch. It was actually a return for her to Yankee Stadium. While Ty was alive and healthy enough to travel, the family received Yankees tickets and a stadium tour through a friend — which ended with a surprise cameo from some Yankee legends. “As it just so happened to turn out, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada were walking out of a press conference, so we met in the hall and they went, ‘Is that Ty Campbell?!’ …someone had given them a heads up and it was just so cool. That, I thought, was my Yankees moment.” Now she was on the mound at Yankee Stadium for a bittersweet moment, this time in honor of her son. There was some pressure, too. Boone had joked with her the day before that she “better throw a strike.” She hadn’t thrown a baseball in years. But as she prepared to throw one in front of thousands of people, she says she felt Ty’s presence. “When I got to the mound, I wasn’t scared at all. Ty never threw a baseball. He was too young when he was diagnosed and too weak when he was in treatment. So I just felt like, of course, I’m going to throw this ball and I’m going to throw it for him, and, of course, it’s going to be fine.” And where did it end up? “It went right into the mitt.” For more, visit thetlcfoundation.org and muddypuddlesproject.org.
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Wondrous woodwork amid stately splendor PRESENTED BY SOTHEBYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S INTERNATIONAL REALTY
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THIS HOUSE, WHICH IS ON PECKSLAND ROAD IN GREENWICH, IS INDEED AN EXCEPTIONALLY GRACIOUS STONE AND BRICK TUDORSTYLE MANOR. BUT THE MATERIAL YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU SEE THE INTERIOR IS NOT NECESSARILY STONE OR BRICK BUT WOOD — FABULOUS RICH WOODS, INCLUDING WHITE OAK, IN THE GRAND, SWEEPING HALL, THE LIVING AND DINING ROOMS, THE GREAT ROOM, THE DEN, THE KITCHEN CABINETRY, THE BUTLER’S PANTRY, THE BALCONY, THE FRENCH DOORS AND THE WINDOW TRIMS. Such architectural details define this 14,535-square-foot house that rests atop a gently winding drive through a park-like 4-acre setting. And they help give the seven-bedroom residence, which was built in 2001 and also contains nine full baths and one partial bathroom, great presence and scale throughout. The craftsmanship and flow of rooms also provide an elegant atmosphere for entertaining and family life. Meanwhile, floor-to-ceiling windows, which flood the reception hall with afternoon light, offer panoramic views of the pond, flowering and mature trees, a stone terrace and amenities that will delight both the serious and casual athlete. There’s a 60-foot-long pool and spa built in 2015 as well as a tennis court. Other features include a one-bedroom stone cottage overlooking the pond, and a garage for 12 cars, a full house generator and indoor and outdoor security cameras. Gated and fenced, the property offers both privacy and proximity as it’s but 10 minutes to town and school. While it’s listed for $10 million, it can also be rented for $40,000 per month on a long-term basis. For more, call Barbara Vogt at 203-233-4599 or 203-869-4343. – Georgette Gouveia 70
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A LAMBDA LITERARY AWARDS FINALIST
A quarterback's search for identity amid the brutal beauty of the NFL ORDER TODAY FROM AMAZON OR BARNES & NOBLE "The Penalty for Holding" is the second novel in Georgette Gouveia's book series "The Games Men Play," which is also the name of her blog exploring sports, culture and sex. thegamesmenplay.com
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Sanjay Gupta. Photographs courtesy Sanjay Gupta.
A life with heart BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
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LET’S GET ONE THING STRAIGHT: SANJAY GUPTA, M.D., IS NOT SANJAY GUPTA, M.D. OR RATHER, SANJAY GUPTA THE CARDIOLOGIST IS NOT SANJAY GUPTA THE NEUROSURGEON AND CNN MEDICAL REPORTER. NOT THAT THE TWITTERSPHERE NECESSARILY KNOWS THAT. EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE CNN’S GUPTA SPARKED CONTROVERSY WHEN HE SAID PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP HAD HEART DISEASE. CARDIOLOGIST GUPTA — WHO PRACTICES IN YORK, ENGLAND, AND WILL HEADLINE THE HEART HEALTH WEEKEND AUG. 4 AND 5 AT THE RENAISSANCE WESTCHESTER HOTEL IN HARRISON — FELT THE HEAT IN THE FORM OF HATE TWEETS AND EMAIL. How dare he pass judgment on someone who was not even a patient: That was the general tenor of the criticism. But how dare they criticize him when they weren’t even speaking to the right Dr. Gupta: It’s a response that Gupta offered not in indignant anger but in humorous acceptance. “There’s a huge focus on being perfect,” he says during our Skype interview. “What we should be aiming to do is to be human. It goes hand-in-hand with being kind, imperfect and vulnerable. We’re so busy trying to get ahead that we push others out of the way. We should be concentrating on giving our time and our love. Being happy is really important.” By now you realize that Gupta — yes, we’re still talking about the cardiac guy — is not your average doctor but more of a philosopher-physician. A consultant cardiologist with specialist interest in cardiac imaging at York Teaching Hospital, he has more than 200 videos on his YouTube channel, with subjects ranging from blood thinners to palpitations. Though he has more than 35,000 subscribers, he doesn’t make money off of this. Still, he says, “It’s very enriching. I feel I’m growing as a human being.” He also plays racket sports like badminton, tennis and squash; plays the saxophone and mouth organ; studies piano; and speaks several languages, including Hindi, Swahili and French. Did we mention he’s a gifted photographer, a craft he honed while training in cardiac imaging at Harvard Medical School? He’s been a National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year and a finalist in the Wanderlust Travel Photo of the Year competition. It’s all part of what he calls “the wholehearted life,” one that takes into account balance and moderation as the means to stress reduction as well as good sleep, nutrition and exercise. “By far to my mind the biggest killer worldwide is stress,” he says. “It contributes in huge ways to destroying quality of life. You eat more. You don’t exercise. You become depressed, which leads you to eat more….It’s a vicious cycle.” One set in motion by any number of factors, Gupta says, not the least of which is our attitude toward what makes up a successful life. “We’re breeding an abundance of workers,” he says. “You work hard so you can have more money 74
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to play hard but then you have to earn more money. “We’re not allowing ourselves to be compassionate to ourselves. We treat this as a sign of weakness. And if you lose your compassion, you lose the most precious commodity — which is time.” Time to be with others in the moment. “If you wait until you’re 70, your children will have fled and your pension will have eroded … So hang on, let’s think things out. Why do we have to work hard, play hard and spend more than we have? “When I was a boy, we would drive to the video store and you’d save your money and wait all week to go to the store and maybe you’d watch that video several times. Now there are a million options.” Conversely and ironically, these have not led to continuous fulfillment but to boredom, which fosters depression. “Clutter also causes a huge amount of anxiety. Spending more, buying more, accumulating makes you more anxious.” What is crucial, he says, are your relationships, nurtured in the actual world rather than the virtual one. “Loneliness kills more people than any other condition.” He talks of his own immediate family with characteristic affectionate humor: “My long-suffering wife, Neeti, is hugely patient with me and, without her support, nothing I do would ever have been possible.” Their two children — a son, Armaan, 14, and a daughter, Navya Naveli, 11, “are both at that point in their lives when they are quiet and surly and obsessed with their phones,” he adds with a smile. Nonetheless, stay engaged with people, Gupta says. Manage your expenses. Declutter. Sleep more. Sleep better. Only 20 percent of people say they are refreshed by sleep. One in three suffers from insomnia, one in five from sleep apnea, which is related to obesity. These are alarming statistics when you consider that you can go three times as long without food as you can without sleep, Gupta says. “(Sleep deprivation) is the worst form of torture. It’s impossible to lose weight if you don’t sleep well. The hormones aren’t in balance and there is a predilection for calorie-rich food. Lack of sleep is associated with every form of heart disease. If you don’t sleep right, there’s bloating and it feeds into
Photographs by Sanjay Gupta.
Sanjay Gupta
‘The majority of diseases have deep roots in inflammation. Exercise is the core in combating it. But it shouldn’t be extreme.’ — Sanjay Gupta
indigestion, depression and migraines.” The other components in a wholehearted life are those that probably first come to mind — nutrition and exercise. Gupta is “absolutely” a fan of the Mediterranean diet, a plant-based diet that emphasizes fruits and vegetables and includes whole grains, nuts, olive oil, fish, poultry, low-fat dairy and red wine (in moderation). “I’m an everything-in-moderation guy,” he says. “You have to do what feels good.” These are guiding principles for him when it comes to exercise. “The majority of diseases have deep roots in inflammation. Exercise is the core in combating it. But it shouldn’t be extreme.” He sees bodybuilding, for example, as an extreme that can lead to inflammation and medical problems. A half-hour cardio workout (walking, swimming, biking) five times a week is a good goal. Born in Zambia and raised in Kenya, Gupta came to his interest in the heart at a tender age. He was about 6 when his father suffered a nonfatal heart attack. “It was very scary. My father was this godly person in my life and the doctors were nice to us, kind to us. These were our heroes.”
He studied at The Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School and the Royal College of Physicians, both in London, and received his MD from The University of Manchester, where he did a research fellowship in heart failure medicine. In 2009, he received a fellowship to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. While there, he trained in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, cardiac CT and cardiac PET at Harvard Medical School. After being appointed as a consultant cardiologist at York Hospital in 2010, he helped develop cardiac imaging services, including stress echocardiography, transesophageal echocardiography and cardiac CT. The more he practiced — and reassured nervous-Nellie friends — though, the more he realized that there is only so much you can control in health and life, certainly not genetics, luck or the idea that we will all age and die. “We must do what we can to make the quality of life better now and do that as long as we can. Living a wholehearted life is the best any of us can do. If we can’t do that, then we will have lived an unfulfilled life.” For more, visit yorkcardiology.co.uk. AUGUST 2018
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Palisade Boat Club's boathouse. 76 WAGMAG.COM
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Sailing through history STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY MEGHAN MCSHARRY
NESTLED IN HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON AMID A NUMBER OF TOWERING, NEW LUXURY APARTMENT BUILDINGS SITS THE HISTORIC PALISADE BOAT CLUB. Established by prominent residents of Yonkers in 1866 as a place for community members to come together for sport, recreation and socialization, the Palisade Boat Club is proud of its heritage as the oldest boat club in the state of New York and the third oldest in the country. With a clubhouse built atop pilings in Yonkers in late 1869, the club also holds the title of the oldest boat club in its original structure in the country. Constructed of timber beams locked together by treenails (wooden pegs), the building is in impressive condition, despite its age and decades of devastating hurricanes and snowstorms that have taken their toll on similar structures. While the boathouse remains in its original form, the club has moved locations since its establishment. In 1910, the Penn Central Railroad needed use of the original location at the foot of Gold Street in Yonkers. Later that year, the boat club journeyed up the Hudson River on pontoons to its current home, where it straddles the Hastings and Yonkers border. The yard is considered Yonkers, while the boathouse itself is in Hastings.
Across the river loom the Palisades, which hold a fascinating history. After an important role in the Revolutionary War, the Palisades became something of a hub during the Industrial Revolution. Quarry workers blasted away at the basalt rock to form bricks used in the construction of New York City brownstones and boat docks. Steam-powered factories crushed the bones of deceased workhorses to create fertilizer for nearby fields. All that remains of these ghosts is the occasional brick found hidden among the vegetation. As the turn of the 20th century approached, â&#x20AC;&#x153;excursion grovesâ&#x20AC;? began popping up along the New York and New Jersey coastlines. On the Hudson River, the land that was once home to quarries and factories became the perfect setting for day-trippers from Manhattan to take a ferry and enjoy playing fields, campgrounds and riverfront relaxation. Despite the recreation parks cropping up in the Palisades, quarries still dominated large portions of the cliffs. It was not until 1900 when the Commissioners of the Palisades Interstate Park was formed to preserve the cliffs. It consisted of two separate bodies, a New York Commission and a New Jersey Commission. The commis-
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Roel Kunst, the Palisade Boat Club’s vice president.
sion set out to purchase land from the few families settled on the Palisades in order to make way for more of these “playgrounds,” and turn Palisades land into a protected park. In 1937, the two states agreed to create a single Palisades Interstate Park Commission. Looking across the river from the second level porch of the Palisade Boat Club on a recent visit, we see little trace of this past. The boat club is a serene escape from the hustle and bustle of the
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nearby railroad tracks and the city in the distance. “It’s a gem,” says Roel Kunst, the Palisade Boat Club’s vice president. “Something like this is really hard to find.” To maintain its status as the nation’s oldest boat club in its original form, it is undergoing renovations in what will be a long process. The club awaits new composite siding to return the building’s exterior to its signature blue and white colors. Next up, replacing the age-old foundation.
The boat club offers its members picturesque views of the Hudson, with the George Washington Bridge and Manhattan skyline visible to the south and the Tappan Zee and Governor Mario M. Cuomo bridges to the north. With annual dues and an additional fee, members can store their own watercraft in the historic boathouse for easy access to the dock. It’s an ideal location for children and families to learn how to kayak and fish for bass or bluefish right off the dock. In addition to being a gathering place for its members and their friends and family to enjoy the river, the club promotes waterfront and boating safety and river preservation. “We focus on safety. The jet skis are a menace to us. They don’t always pay attention to us,” Kunst says. He stresses the dangers of kayaking on the river without a life jacket and insists on carrying an air horn so he can alert passing boats to his presence. In addition, he carries a radio as an extra safety precaution. “We want to be accessible to boaters. You can use our facilities, our bathrooms, our showers. We want to be a friendly boat club. We want to promote the Hudson River.” For more, visit palisadeboatclub.org.
WAG COUNTRY'S PRIVATE SCHOOLS PR E PAR I NG TH E N E X T G E N E R ATION
Spotlighting the most elite private schools in our region
PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION ARCHBISHOP STEPINAC HIGH SCHOOL 950 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains, New York 10605 914-946-4800 // stepinac.org Top administrator: Thomas Collins, president The Bi-cultural School 2186 High Ridge Road, Stamford, Connecticut 06903 203-329-2186 // bcds.org Top administrator: Jacqueline Herman
Brunswick School
100 Maher Avenue, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830 203-625-5800 // brunswickschool.org Top administrator: Thomas Philip Brunswick School has been defined and distinguished for nearly 120 years by its commitment to “Courage, Honor, Truth.” The school offers rigorous academics, including an advanced science-research and computer science program, more than 30 advanced-placement courses and a permanent off-campus wilderness education and applied-classroom-learning program in Randolph, Vermont. It also offers comprehensive arts, drama and music — and a language program that includes instruction in Arabic, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Italian, Latin and Greek.
The Chapel School
172 White Plains Road, Bronxville, New York 10708 914-337-3202 // thechapelschool.org Top administrator: Michael Schultz In its 72nd year, The Chapel School continues to offer academic excellence and expanding extracurricular programs, including service learning, music with Concordia Conservatory faculty; National Junior Honor Society, select choir, band, dramas and musicals, golf, basketball, cross country and track. Christian Heritage School 575 White Plains Road, Trumbull, Connecticut 06611 203-261-6230 // kingsmen.org Top administrator: Brian Modarelli DARROW SCHOOL 110 Darrow Road, New Lebanon, New York 12125 518-794-6000 // darrowschool.org Top administrator: Simon Holzapfel EAGLE HILL SCHOOL 45 Glenville Road, Greenwich, Connecticut 06831 203-622-9240 // eaglehillschool.org Top administrator: Marjorie E. Castro FAIRFIELD COLLEGE PREPARATORY SCHOOL 1073 N. Benson Road, Fairfield, Connecticut 06824 203-254-4200 // fairfieldprep.com Top administrator: Rev. Thomas M. Simisky
Engaged Minds. Meaningful Connections.
FAIRFIELD COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL 2970 Bronson Road, Fairfield, Connecticut 06824 203-259-2723 // fairfieldcountryday.org Top administrator: John R. Munro Jr. FORDHAM PREPARATORY SCHOOL 441 E. Fordham Road, Bronx, New York 10458 718-367-7500 // fordhamprep.org Top administrator: Christopher Devron FORMAN SCHOOL 12 Norfold Road, Litchfield, Connecticut 06759 860-567-8712 // formanschool.org Top administrator: Adam K. Man FRENCH-AMERICAN SCHOOL OF NEW YORK Pre-school 85 Palmer Ave., Scarsdale, New York 10583 914-250-0521 Elementary School 111 Larchmont Ave., Larchmont, New York 10538 914-250-0469 Middle and High School 145 New St., Mamaroneck, New York 10543 914-250-0451 fasny.org Top administrator: Joël Peinado
Register for Open House!
Oct 14: Grades 6-11 Nov 4: PreK-Grade 5 kingschoolct.org/openhouse
Be inspired in a community that unites academic challenge, kindness, and personal growth.
King School is a co-ed college preparatory school educating students from 30 towns. KING 7 EngdMnds_9833x6667_062218OH.indd 1
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PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION GERMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEW YORK 50 Partridge Road, White Plains, New York 10605 914-948-6513 // gisny.org Top administrator: Ulrich Weghoff
GREENWICH CATHOLIC SCHOOL 41 North St., Greenwich, Connecticut 06830 203-869-4000 // gcsct.org Top administrator: Patrice Kopas
GERMAN SCHOOL OF CONNECTICUT Campus located at Rippowan Middle School 381 High Ridge Road, Stamford, Connecticut 06905 203-548-0438 // germanschoolct.org Top administrator: Renate Ludanyi
THE GREENWICH COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL 401 Old Church Road, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830 203-865-5600 // gcds.net Top administrator: Adam Rohdie
GREEN MEADOW WALDORF SCHOOL 307 Hungry Hollow Road, Chestnut Ridge, New York 10977 845-356-2514 // gmws.org Top administrator: Bill Pernice, pedagogical administrator GREENS FARMS ACADEMY 35 Beachside Ave., Greens Farms, Connecticut 06838 203-256-0717 // gfacademy.org Top administrator: Janet Hartwell GREENWICH ACADEMY 200 N. Maple Ave. Greenwich, Connecticut 06830 203-625-8900 // greenwichacademy.org Top administrator: Molly H. King
THE GREENWICH SPANISH SCHOOL The Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor Center 6 Riverside Ave., Riverside, Connecticut 06878 203-698-1500 // greenwichspanish.org Top administrator: Rosario Brooks, director THE GUNNERY 22 Kirby Road, Washington, Connecticut 06793 860-868-7334 // gunnery.org Top administrator: Peter W. E. Becker
The Harvey School
260 Jay St., Katonah, New York 10536 914-232-3161 // harveyschool.org Top administrator: Bill Knauer The Harvey School offers a wide array of extracurricular activities in fine and performing arts, interscholastic sports and community service. The school features an international student program, including week-long and semester-long exchange programs, optional five-day boarding, offering the benefits of a boarding school with the comfort of home on weekends and an award-winning robotics program. IMMACULATE HIGH SCHOOL 73 Southern Blvd., Danbury, Connecticut 06810 203-744-1510 // immaculatehs.org Top administrator: Mary R. Maloney
HACKLEY SCHOOL 293 Benedict Ave., Tarrytown, New York 10591 914-366-2600 // hackleyschool.org Top administrator: Michael C. Wirtz
For more information on our admission reception, please visit brunswickschool.org/admissions/ BRN WAG Half Page Ad 2018_1.indd 1
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PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION
Iona Preparatory School
Lower School, grades PK-4 to 8 173 Stratton Road, New Rochelle, New York 10804 914-633-7744 Upper School, grades 9-12 255 Wilmot Road, New Rochelle, New York 10804 914-632-0714 // ionaprep.org Top administrator: Brother Thomas Leto Westchester’s only all-boys, K-12 Catholic school has been preparing young men for success for more than 100 years. Rigorous academics with three levels of study, a personalized and comprehensive school counseling and college advisement program, unique Christian service and leadership opportunities locally, nationally and internationally, championship athletics and an array of activities provide students with the foundation for success in college and in life. An Iona Prep education is an investment that reaps dividends—78 percent of seniors attain academic scholarships to college, with nearly $30 million earned in merit-based scholarships and an average scholarship offer of roughly $60,000. Come for a visit and see the Iona Prep Difference for yourself. JOHN F. KENNEDY CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 54 Route 138, Somers, New York 10589 914-232-5061 // kennedycatholic.org Top administrator: Father Mark G. Vaillancourt
THE KARAFIN SCHOOL 40-1 Radio Circle, Mount Kisco, New York 10549 914-666-9211 // karafinschool.com Top administrator: Renee L. Donow
King School
1450 Newfield Ave., Stamford, Connecticut 06905 203-322-2496 // kingschoolct.org Top administrator: Dr. Karen E. Eshoo King School’s personalized approach to teaching and learning is the essence on which students thrive. King, a pre-K through grade 12 independent school, has embraced the “person” in personalization – the student’s passions, goals and challenges. Underpinning the teachers’ deep understanding of each student is a comprehensive student learning profile, introduced in pre-K and developed through senior year.
Maria Regina High School
500 West Hartsdale Avenue, Hartsdale, New York 10530 914-373-8191 // mariaregina.org Top administrator: Valerie Reidy Since its founding in 1957, Maria Regina High School has been a distinguished leader in education for young women, providing a rigorous learning environment and strong social and moral guidance in a faith-based tradition. Celebrating more than 60 years of excellence, MRHS is committed to the values of Scholarship, Service and Spirit. We challenge young women to “FIND YOUR STRENGTH” intellectually, spiritually, athletically and through extracurriculars. By embracing the diverse personal, cultural and intellectual backgrounds of its students, MRHS develops young women so that they can make a significant contribution to their community and society.
LÉMAN MANHATTAN PREPARATORY SCHOOL Lower School 41 Broad St., New York, New York 10004 Upper School 1 Morris St., New York, N.Y. 10004 212-232-0266 // lemanmanattan.org Top administrator: Maria Castelluccio MAPLEBROOK SCHOOL 5142 Route 22, Amenia, New York 12501 845-373-8191 // maplebrookschool.org Top administrator: Donna Konkolics
Boarding and Day for Boys - Grades 7-12 / Postgraduate
Active, engaged, and out of their seats — this is how boys at Trinity-Pawling experience learning. Our distinctive programs bolster the way boys learn best: by doing. As experts in boys’ education, we understand how to guide our students to become young men of integrity who can rise to the challenges of an ever-changing world. This educational experience could make all the difference in your son’s future. Learn more about the benefits of a Trinity-Pawling education at www.trinitypawling.org Join us at our OPEN HOUSE on October 8 or November 10, 2018
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PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION
The Masters School
49 Clinton Ave., Dobbs Ferry, New York 10522 914-479-6400 // mastersny.org Top administrator: Laura Danforth Founded in 1877, The Masters School is a leading co-ed day, 5-and 7-day boarding school for grades 5-12 located on a beautiful 96-acre campus. Masters is distinguished by its renowned teaching method, an accessible residential faculty and a welcoming and inclusive culture. Students find their own voices through the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transformative seminar-style learning approach, which builds collaborative and confident learners. All students benefit from the boarding school environment featuring true global diversity (students from 30 countries) and a vibrant 24-7 campus life with the majority of faculty living on campus. The result is students who are empowered to realize their greatest potential across academic, athletic and artistic disciplines and emerge ready for success in college, career and life. Visit our Open House on October 20: grades 5-8 at 9 AM, grades 9-12 at 1 PM. To RSVP or learn more, contact us at admission@mastersny.org or 914-479-6420. MILLBROOK SCHOOL 131 Millbrook School Road, Millbrook, New York 12545 845-677-8261 // millbrook.org Top administrator: Drew Casertano
THE MONTFORT ACADEMY 125 E. Birch St., Mount Vernon, New York 10552 914-699-7090 // themontfortacademy.org Top administrator: David Petrillo NEW CANAAN COUNTRY SCHOOL 635 Frogtown Road, New Canaan, Connecticut 06840 203-972-0771 // countryschool.net Top administrator: Robert P. Macrae NORD ANGLIA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, NEW YORK 44 E. Second St., New York, New York 10003 212-600-2010 // nordangliaeducation.com Top administrator: Adam Stevens, interim principal NOTRE DAME CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 220 Jefferson St., Fairfield, Connecticut 06825 203-372-6521 // notredame.org Top administrator: Christopher Cipriano OAKWOOD FRIENDS SCHOOL 22 Spackenhill Road, Poughkeepsie, New York 12603 845-242-2340 // oakwoodfriends.org Top administrator: Chad Cianfrani REGIS HIGH SCHOOL 55 E. 84 St., New York, New York 10028 212-288-1100 // regis.org Top administrator: Fr. Daniel Lahart
DISCOVER YOUR
MIGHT
RIDGEFIELD ACADEMY 223 W. Mountain Road, Ridgefield, Connecticut 6877 203-894-1800 // ridgefieldacademy.org Top administrator: James P. Heus
Rippowam Cisqua
Lower School 325 W. Patent Road, Mount Kisco, New York 10549 914-244-1200 Upper School 439 Cantitoe St., Bedford, New York 10506 914-244-12500 // rcsny.org Top administrator: Colm MacMahon Rippowam Cisqua School ignites learning in prekindergarten through Grade 9 students. Parents are drawn to RCS because of its unique ability to stretch, challenge and lift young minds. Strong student/ teacher relationships are supported by small class sizes, flexible learning spaces and an immersive curriculum that integrates academics, arts, athletics, wellness and innovation. By cultivating their imagination through academic play, exploration, and discovery, students engage in joyful learning experiences that spark their intellectual curiosity and personal growth. Graduates emerge as independent thinkers, confident communicators and engaged leaders who respect and contribute meaningfully to a diverse and increasingly complex global society.
The power of you, unleashed by a Masters education. The Masters School is a leading co-ed day, 5 and 7-day boarding school for grades 5-12 that fosters active intellectual exploration through a vibrant interchange of ideas, cultures, arts and athletics. Masters students find their own voices and emerge ready for college, career and life. To learn more, contact us at admission@mastersny.org.
OPEN HOUSE Grades 5-8 at 9 AM OCTOBER 20 Grades 9-12 at 1 PM
49 Clinton Avenue | Dobbs Ferry, NY | mastersny.org | 914.479.6420
Grades 5-8 at 9 AM Grades 9-12 at 1 PM
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PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION RUDOLF STEINER SCHOOL Lower School 15 E. 79 St., New York, New York 10075 Upper School 15 E. 78 St., New York, New York 10075 212-535-2130 // steiner.edu Top administrator: The College of Teachers, a group of faculty and staff, serves as the school’s governing body
SACRED HEART HIGH SCHOOL 34 Convent Ave., Yonkers, New York 914-966-3144 // sacredhearths.org Top administrator: Rev Maurice Moreau
RYE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL 3 Cedar St., Rye, New York 10580 914-967-1417 // ryecountryday.org Top administrator: Scott A. Nelson
SAINT JOSEPH HIGH SCHOOL 2320 Huntington Turnpike, Trumbull, Connecticut 06611 203-378-9378 // sjcadets.org Top administrator: William Fitzgerald
SACRED HEART GREENWICH
1177 King St., Greenwich, Connecticut 06831 203-531-6500 // cshgreenwich.org Top administrator: Pamela Juan Hayes Founded in 1848, Sacred Heart Greenwich offers a rigorous and integrated program in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM). Upper school students can enroll in a three-year science research program, which offers internships at medical colleges and research institutions. Students interested in the arts have use of a full performing arts theater, art studies for the lower, middle and upper schools, a storytelling room, an outdoor amphitheater and a broadcast journalism studio.
SAINT BARNABAS HIGH SCHOOL 425 E. 240 St., Bronx, New York 10470 718-325-8800 // stbarnabashigh.com Top administrator: Theresa Napoli
SAINT LUKE’S SCHOOL 377 N. Wilton Road, New Canaan, Connecticut 06840 203-966-5612 // stlukesct.org Top administrator: Mark Davis SALESIAN HIGH SCHOOL 148 E. Main St., New Rochelle, New York 10801 914-632-0248 // salesianhigh.org Top administrator: John Serio
School of the Holy Child
2225 Westchester Ave., Rye, New York 10580 914-967-5622 // holychildrye.org Top administrator: Melissa Dan A college-preparatory school for girls, fifth grade through 12th grade, that strives to develop “women of conscience and action.” Accomplished and dedicated faculty members foster the spiritual development, individual talents and interests of each student. This is realized through rigorous and comprehensive academic, art, athletics, service and global programs. SOLOMON SCHECHTER SCHOOL OF WESTCHESTER Lower School, K-5 30 Dellwood Road, White Plains, New York 10605 914-948-3111 Upper School, 6-12 555 W. Hartsdale Ave., Hartsdale, New York 10530 914-948-8333 schechterwestchester.org Top administrator: Michael Kay
THE URSULINE SCHOOL 1354 North Avenue | New Rochelle, New York | 914.636.3950 | www.ursulinenewrochelle.org
EDUCATE
INSPIRE
EMPOWER
OPEN HOUSE | Saturday, October 27, 2018 | 12:30pm - 3:30pm 84
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DISCOVER THE IONA PREP DIFFERENCE 78% of Iona Prep’s 2018 graduating seniors received 472 academic scholarships totaling nearly $30 million to the colleges of their choice.
SAVE THESE DATES FOR OUR FALL OPEN HOUSES GRADES 9 – 12 Sun, Oct. 21, 12–3 pm Wed, Oct. 24, 6–8 pm
BEGIN YOUR COLLEGE PREPARATORY JOURNEY THIS FALL
GRADES PK-4 – 8 Thurs, Oct. 25, 6–8 pm
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PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION
Soundview Preparatory School
370 Underhill Ave., Yorktown Heights, New York 10598 914-962-2780 // soundviewprep.org Top administrator: Ken Cotrone Soundview Preparatory School is an independent day school for grades six through 12, offering several academic specialties, including a flexible support center, music production and recording course, a design studio, a science research program and expanded AP course offerings.
THE SPENCE SCHOOL Lower School 56 E. 93 St., New York, New York 10128 Middle and Upper School 22 E. 91 St., New York, New York 10128 212-289-5940 // spenceschool.org Top administrator: Bodie Brizendine THE STANWICH SCHOOL 275 Stanwich Road, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830 203-542-0000 // stanwichschool.org Top administrator: Charles Sachs THE STORM KING SCHOOL 314 Mountain Road, Cornwall-On-Hudson, New York 12520 845-534-7893 // sks.org Top administrator: Jonathan W. R. Lamb
The Ursuline School
1354 North Ave., New Rochelle, New York 10804 914-636-3950 // ursulinenewrochelle.org Top administrator: Eileen Davidson The mission of The Ursuline School, an independent, all girls Catholic school is to educate, inspire, and empower a diverse population of 800 young women in grades six through 12 with our college preparatory curriculum. Ursuline students learn 21st century critical thinking skills and engage in service opportunities both locally and globally. The school belongs to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association and has 33 teams of student athletes.
Imagine. Create. Innovate. We stretch, challenge, and lift young minds with smaller class sizes, strong student/teacher relationships, and an immersive curriculum that excites students who crave authentic learning experiences.
OPEN HOUSE
Thursday, October 25 and Saturday, November 17 RSVP www.rcsny.org/visit
Admissions Open House: October 25 (PreK-Grade 4) Rippowam Cisqua School is an independent PreK through Contact Admissions at (914) 244-1296 November 17Mount (PreK-Grade 9 Gradeand Nine school in Bedford and Kisco, NY. or email admissions@rcsny.org
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Thinking of making a change for your daughter?
Think Holy Child. At Holy Child, girls shape their interests into a course of study guided by our dedicated faculty. They thrive in a culture of achievement that values innovation, collaborative scholarship and experiential learning.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Join us at our All School Open House Saturday, October 13 An all-girls, Catholic, independent, college-preparatory school for grades 5 through 12 2225 Westchester Avenue, Rye (914) 967-5622 | www.holychildrye.org
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PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION WESTCHESTER HEBREW HIGH SCHOOL 856 Orienta Ave., Mamaroneck, New York 10543 914-698-0806 // whhsny.org Top administrator: Rabbi Jeffrey Beer THE WINDWARD SCHOOL Lower School 13 Windward Ave., White Plains, New York 10605 Middle School 40 W. Red Oak Lane, White Plains, New York 10604 Windward Manhattan 202 W. 97 St., New York, New York, 10025 914-949-6968 // thewindwardschool.org Top administrator: John J. Russell THORNTON-DONOVAN SCHOOL 100 Overlook Circle, New Rochelle, New York 10804 914-632-8836 // td.edu Top administrator: Douglas E. Fleming Jr. TRINITY CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 926 Newfield Ave., Stamford, Connecticut 06905 203-322-3401 // trinitycatholic.org Top administrator: Dave Williams
Trinity-Pawling
700 Route 22, Pawling, New York 12564 845-855-3100 // trinitypawling.org Top administrator: William W. Taylor The goal of a Trinity-Pawling education is to unlock the potential for greatness that exists in each boy. The School pursues this goal through a vigorous experiential learning environment that emphasizes innovation, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. The Trinity-Pawling learning experience combines a timeless commitment to character with a dedication to prepare young men for an ever-changing world. One of the School’s most distinctive attributes is the Effort System—teaching boys that the more they invest in themselves the greater their accomplishments will be. Trinity-Pawling’s Center for Learning Achievement provides support services to assist students in reaching their academic potential. Specific instructional programs are available for students who have language-based learning differences and for students with executive-function difficulties.
WHITBY SCHOOL 969 Lake Ave., Greenwich, Connecticut 06831 203-869-8464 // whitbyschool.org Top administrator: Simone Becker, head of lower school; Jonathan Chein, head of upper school WOOSTER SCHOOL 91 Miry Brook Road, Danbury, Connecticut 06810 203-830-3900 // woosterschool.org Top administrator: Matt Byrnes
Find Your STRENGTH at Maria Regina High School
OPEN HOUSE | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2018 from 12PM-4PM
Class of 2017 accepted to over 200 Colleges and Universities 93% received Academic Scholarships $34.7 million received in Academic Scholarships
500 West Hartsdale Avenue, Hartsdale, New York | 914.761.3300 | www.mariaregina.org 88
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I FEEL SO POWERLESS. WE HAVE TO WATCH HER EVERY MINUTE. FAMILY AND FRIENDS STOPPED COMING AROUND. HE KEEPS SAYING: “THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH ME.” IT’S DESTROYING OUR FAMILY. I FEEL SO GUILTY WE HAVE TO MOVE HER INTO A HOME. IT’S SO HARD TO CARE FOR SOMEONE WHO’S MEAN TO YOU. HE HIDES THINGS ALL THE TIME. I’M GRIEVING THE LOSS OF SOMEONE WHO’S STILL ALIVE. WE DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START.
LIVING WITH FTD IS HARD. LIVING WITHOUT HELP IS HARDER. THERE’S COMFORT IN FINDING OTHERS WHO UNDERSTAND. WE FINALLY FOUND A DOCTOR WHO GETS IT. I GOT SO MUCH ADVICE FROM OTHER CAREGIVERS. UNDERSTANDING MORE HELPS ME DEAL WITH HER SYMPTOMS. SEEING THAT OTHERS MADE IT THROUGH, I KNEW I COULD TOO. WE HONOR HIM BY ADVOCATING FOR A CURE. NOW I’M BETTER AT ASKING FOR HELP. NO MATTER HOW BAD IT GETS, WE KNOW WE’RE NOT ALONE. It can feel so isolating and confusing from the start: Just getting a diagnosis of FTD takes 3.6 years on average. But no family facing FTD should ever have to face it alone, and with your help, we’re working to make sure that no one does. The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) is dedicated to a world without FTD, and to providing help and support for those living with this disease today. Choose to bring hope to our families: www.theAFTD.org/learnmore
WARES
e have a confession to make: We’re in love with Ted Baker. The rich fabrics so satiny to the touch. The bold florals on vibrant pastel and jewel-colored backgrounds. And the use of pinks throughout — heaven. Ted Baker, or rather founding CEO Ray Kelvin, started his first store in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1988, selling men’s shirts and offering a laundry BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA service for each shirt sold. Small wonder the brand’s moniker was “No Ordinary Designer Label.” From Manchester and Nottingham in England, Ted Baker moved on to London in 1990, launching Ted Baker Woman five years later. Today, there are approximately 500 stores and concessions worldwide, including one on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. (Locally, Ted’s a big part of Bloomingdale’s in White Plains and Lord & Taylor in Eastchester.) What makes Ted so terrific? It’s not merely the sumptuousness of the fabrics but the juxtaposition of brilliant prints. This past season, for instance, Ted paired cherry blossoms with peaches on everything from black skirts with an asymmetrical, fold-back ruffle to
SLEEPING WITH TED BAKER
From the High Grove Collection.
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From the Tangled Enchantment Collection. Photographs courtesy Ted Baker. AUGUST 2018
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totes and umbrellas. Now that irresistible blend comes to Ted Baker’s new bedding collection, available at select Bed Bath & Beyond stores and online. Fans of the womenswear — there’s also a menswear line — will recognize the signature looks and textures in Entangled Enchantment (birds, butterflies and blooms on an indigo background); Highgrove (featuring the flora and fauna of Prince Charles’ estate on a white background); Versailles (white-on-white intricacy worthy of Louis XIV); and, our favorite, Flight of the Orient (entrancing blossoms and hummingbirds against a gray backdrop). In addition to reversible duvet and comforter sets, there are quilted and scalloped coverlets and shams in solid blue, pink and white and accent pillows that offer contrast or pick up a single color in the patterns. And, as with the clothing, there are rose gold zipper pulls and buttons throughout. Prices start at $49.99 for the pillows and $129.99 for the bedding. For more on the bedding, visit bedbathandbeyond.com and for more on Ted Baker, visit tedbaker.com. From the Versailles Collection.
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Fall-Spring 2018-2019 Katonah, NY
A Home Built for Music... September 29
Acoustic Hot Tuna
The English Concert Harry Bicket
November 4
December 1
November 11
December 15
Julia Bullock, soprano
More concerts in the fall & spring!
November 30
Omer Quartet
CĂŠcile McLorin Salvant
New York Polyphony
Full Calendar & Tickets: caramoor.org / 914.232.1252
WARES
This finished basement transforms the old rec room into a sports lounge.
THE OLD REC ROOM NEEDN’T BE A WRECKED ROOM BY JANE MORGAN
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hat was once known as the rec (for recreation) room has really evolved. If you’ve bought a house recently that needs upgrading, chances are good that the family room or playroom will have fake wood paneling, linoleum floors or shag carpeting, acoustic tile ceilings and a junky collection of cast-off furniture. It may include a crusty bar sporting mirror decals, conjuring an image of swinging parties with neighbors whom time forgot. Because of its basement location, poor ventilation, poor lighting and faulty heating, you may have more of a “situation” than an oasis. In the past, people would throw the kids in there while they pursued more sophisticated entertainment elsewhere, but these days, the former rec room needs to appeal to every age and function. Since TVs have moved to every room in the house, the old “TV room” has now supersized into accom-
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modating home gym equipment, arts and crafts tables, a yoga space and of course, the traditional pool or pingpong table. Regardless of how many square feet you’ve got to work with, the key is to figure out your priorities, create defined areas within the room and respect its functions. If you treat it like the Island of Misfit Toys, you will never feel comfortable there. ORGANIZATION Define different areas and their functions. Use furniture groupings to distinguish one area from another. For example, create a comfy conversation grouping in front of the TV separate from a games table, with chairs designated to go around it. Or, if you plan to play games on a coffee table in that same lounge space, make sure that it has generous proportions. A large square shape lends itself well to gathering players around an activity. This may seem obvious, but make sure your games and puzzles are readily accessible. Tech is basically inescapable now, but can you dial it back to some degree if there are other choices that don’t take a shovel to uncover. Similarly, art supplies, books, sports paraphernalia and basically everything else should be housed in attractive and well-proportioned shelving and storage units. Built-ins immediately streamline any space and smooth out quirky corners. As always, remove clutter. DÉCOR Treat the basement as you would the rest of your home. Many rec room spaces receive a notoriously masculine design, with heavy leather chairs and
dark wood accents, but you do not have to settle for the “frat house” or “man-cave” look. If it’s in the basement, introduce a color scheme that is light and bright. Use changes in flooring or vary the color palette to define spaces visually. Any structural issues such as water leaks, mold, insulation or HVAC problems must be corrected before decorating begins. LIGHTING Installing proper lighting in a basement cannot be overstated. The three types of light that should be present (in every room) are overall lighting, accent lighting and task lighting. If you only use one type, I guarantee the space will look dingy no matter how many watts are in play. A WORD ABOUT TREADMILLS I’m sure that there are loads of people out there for whom the home gym is a source of health and replenishment. Unfortunately for everyone I am personally acquainted with, that same treadmill or elliptical machine can also become an irritating reminder of failure, not to mention a giant space-sucking hog. We all have good intentions when it is purchased, but 9 times out of 10, after an initial spurt of enthusiasm, it becomes a hanging dryer for handwashed clothing. So think long and hard before committing half of your usable square footage. No one space can be all things to all people, but with home design, as with all other things, coming to the process with care yields the most rewarding results. For more, visit janemorganinteriordesign.com.
WHAT'S COLLECTIBLE
PEERLESS PARZINGER BY JENNIFER PITMAN
T
he elegant designs of Tommi Parzinger are a familiar sight in my travels to the homes of Westchester and Fairfield county clients. Parzinger was a talented designer and artist who created both custom and commercial furniture, textiles, lighting and metalwork. His work, which appears regularly at auction, is classified as high-style Modernism, and its heyday was in the 1950s and ’60s. German-born Tommi Anton Parzinger (190381) shared his sculptor father’s aptitude for art. At Munich’s School of Applied Arts, Parzinger studied a variety of decorative and graphic arts and soon gained recognition for his poster designs. In the early 1930s, he immigrated to the United States and settled in New York. He worked first for Rena Rosenthal, whose trendsetting Madison Avenue shop did much to promote Modernism to American audiences. By 1939, he had established his own firm, Parzinger Inc. — the same year that he also exhibited at the World’s Fair. His New York City showroom, which was later renamed Parzinger Originals, supplied custom furniture, metalwork and lighting to decorators such as Billy Baldwin and prominent clients, including Marilyn Monroe, and the DuPont, Ford and Mellon families. In addition to his studio work, Parzinger designed commercial lines intended for more mainstream consumption. Parzinger’s name is associated with a number of companies, such as Charak Modern, a firm known up to that point for traditional furniture. He produced lighting for Lightolier, brass and silver plate accessories for Dorlyn Silversmiths and MueckCary and fabrics for F. Schumacher. At his peak of production, Parzinger churned out a dozen to 30 designs each year. Toward the end of his life, Parzinger stopped designing furniture and devoted his energies to Expressionist painting. The showroom closed shortly after Parzinger’s death in 1981, and the business was inherited by his life partner, Donald Cameron, who had overseen production and contributed designs for the firm. At the turn of this century, Cameron gifted a trove of Parzinger’s designs and interior drawings to the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Mu-
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Lacquered and studded cabinet with wrought iron fittings, 1960s, sold for $27,500.
seum. He also reissued some designs with the dealer Patricia Palumbo, which led to a burgeoning interest and a new appreciation of Parzinger’s work. Parzinger’s furniture is invariably described as refined, stylish, elegant and luxurious. In 1957, The New York Times noted “Mr. Parzinger’s furniture has a style all its own — a jewel-like quality in finish and metallic ornament that gives a precious, one-of-akind look to simple modern shapes. While a roomful of his designs is delightful, just one of his pieces can do for a simple room setting what a diamond clip does for the basic black dress.” The furniture was crafted with great care and used costly materials. While his work relied on simple geometry and was steeped in classicism, he modernized his designs by using colorful lacquer finishes — yellow, salmon, black and white — or tooled leather or wood veneers with contrasting inlay. His exaggerated use of latches and handles, decorative brasses and studding are hallmarks of his furniture style. Many of Parzinger’s designs are branded Parzinger Originals, although some pieces are unsigned. His commercial furniture is stamped Charak Modern. In lighting, Parzinger designed a broad selection of table and floor lamps, sconces and chandeliers, working in mahogany, lacquer, wrought iron, brass and nickel silver and embellishing the works with radiating lines and leafy flourishes. His most impressive chandelier evokes a crown. Parzinger’s early silverwork is associated with the silversmith Peter Reimes. It shows an affinity for engraved decoration and depicts classical subject matter but rarely appears on the market. Far more common are his works in brass or silver plate, many designed for Dorlyn Silversmiths. These designs do
not stray far from other American firms working in the Modern style. Enthusiasm and prices for Parzinger’s work were stronger in the early 2000s when a few dedicated dealers were championing his work, and when buyers were first rediscovering Parzinger. Jad Attal, Rago’s Modern specialist, notes that the silver lining is that prices are now more approachable. For example, an elegant inlaid mahogany Parzinger Original dining table will fall in the $3,000 range at auction, commanding slightly more than a Charak Modern model. The most desirable Parizinger pieces are his iconic lacquered, carved or tooled leather cabinets, which can range from a few thousand dollars to well over $20,000, depending on condition and design. In lighting, the mahogany, lacquered, silver-plated and brass fixtures command more than wroughtiron pieces. A pair of floor lamps can range from $1,500 to $10,000. In metalwork, brass models are less desirable that those with a silvered finish, and some pieces can be had for a few hundred dollars. As always, an important provenance will produce a strong auction result, as with the Sylvia Hoffman Collection, which sold at Rago in 2015. Hoffman was a longtime member of the Parzinger firm and her collection included a rare fish-form table lamp, which commanded $20,000 against an estimate of $3,000$5,000, showing that all bets are off when something rare and unexpected comes to the market. Jennifer Pitman, a Westchester resident, writes about the jewelry, fine and decorative arts she encounters as Rago Arts and Auction’s senior account manager for Westchester and Connecticut. For more, contact her at jenny@ragoarts.com or 917-745-2730.
SOFT SUMMER NIGHTS AT THE DELAMAR GREENWICH HARBOR BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
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S
hould we have crashed the wedding? The service had just begun on the tented terrace of l’escale restaurant bar at the Delamar Greenwich Harbor. The elegant Provençal-style, white-on-white interior was festooned with orchid centerpieces. The band was set up. The dance floor was at the ready. And we were in one of our signature pink floral outfits. It would’ve been so easy to take a page out of “The Wedding Crashers,” apologize for being late, tell the bride’s family we’re from the groom’s side, tell the groom’s family that we’re friends of the bride and…. But no. Tempting though it was, there was no reason to crash the wedding, because at the Delamar, the staff treats all the guests as if it’s their wedding day. We had escaped on a hot Friday for an overnight staycation for one of our occasional features in WAG. Two years ago, we visited The Ritz-Carlton New York, Westchester in White Plains just as Brexit broke. While England fumed, we luxuriated. Yes, it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it and it might as well be us. We began our Delamar escape with a publicist-friend’s invita-
tion to lunch on l’escale’s terrace. The Delamar’s take on gazpacho, spicy-creamy, whetted the appetite for the grilled tilefish, sautéed spinach and fingerling potatoes. But between courses, Director of Operations David Fletcher had a surprise for us — he always has a surprise for us — a bit of gnocchi in a tasty broth with slivers of summer vegetables. The gnocchi were like teeny pillows on the palate. Make that teeny pillows in 600-thread count pillowcases. Speaking of which — the room. There are 82 rooms and suites in the Mediterranean-style hotel. Ours had a crisply made king-size bed that immediately beckoned; a generous marble-accented bath with Bulgari Thé Vert products — it had me at Bulgari; and, sigh, a terrace that overlooked the harbor. Oh, to plunge into the bath, to slide into the bed, to sun on the terrace. But one of the things you learn when you’re a writer, is that a staycation is more stay than ‘cation. (Or, as a sassy colleague of ours put it, a glamorous job is only 10 percent glamour.)
Delamar Greenwich Harbor. Right: Bouillabaisse at l’escale restaurant bar. Photographs courtesy Delamar Greenwich Harbor.
‘It was all we could
So we plugged in our laptop and began banging out another article. Before we knew it, it was time to dress for dinner. Since the wedding was occupying much of the restaurant, we were having dinner in the bar, which is probably the place to be in Greenwich, particularly on a Friday night. It was as if all of the town, having spent the day shopping on Greenwich Avenue, the Rodeo Drive of the Gold Coast, merely rolled down the hill for drinks, dinner and gossip — the men in their Vineyard Vines, the women in short shorts or slinky summer dresses. It was all we could do to peel our eyes away and stay focused on the laptop that we drag everywhere (like Charles Dickens’ Jacob Marley, wearing the chains he forged in life). But we persisted and, fortunately, we had the collaboration of the waitress and bartender, who surprised us with a sweet virgin passion-fruit cocktail that certainly topped anything from Margaritaville. After a l’escale salad of mixed greens, we savored the Delamar’s take on lobster fra diavolo, just spicy enough, just al dente enough,
do to peel our eyes away and stay focused on the laptop that we drag everywhere (like Charles Dickens’ Jacob Marley, wearing the chains he forged in life).’
with the sauce clinging tenderly to the pasta. We were good. We had only the appetizer portion — and only a skim decaf iced latte for dessert. But there was yet another surprise treat — tiny, freshly made lemon bars. Well, we thought, maybe just one. And it would be a sin to waste the rest, so we’d have to take them back to the room for tea later. Thus fortified and having finally finished a draft of that story we were laboring over, it was time to exhale and play. We dropped the computer and lemon bars back in the room and sashayed down the walkway that runs past the hotel along the harbor. A fisherman casting off at the end said we looked beautiful — which was certainly good for our ego, but then, who doesn’t look great in pink heels. We paused to watch the sunset bleed periwinkle and rose into the night sky. What’s the old saying, “Red sky at morning, sailors’ warning. Red sky at night, sailors’ delight”? The sky boded well for our boat ride the next day. We clomped along a shaded path enveloped in all the leafy mystery of a summer night, then slowed along Steamboat Road as we headed back to the hotel, admiring all the handsome mid-19th century houses — with their mansard roofs, wraparound porches and gables — that face the bay. And then we did something we almost never do. We sat down outside the hotel, facing the harbor and did — well, nothing. Nearby, a sailboat rocked
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Spa supervisor Stephanie Torres administers a facial.
back and forth. Small motorboats plied the water, their red and green lights perhaps not the orgastic light at the end of Daisy’s dock in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” but filling us nonetheless with a longing akin to that in the great Platters’ song “Harbor Lights.” It was a soft summer night, the kind Frank Sinatra always sang about. Couples walking hand in hand smiled and said, “Hello.” An older gentleman stopped to talk about the hotter weather on the horizon. “There’s nothing you can do about it, so you might as well enjoy it,” he said. Words to live by. After a time, we went in to make a cup of caffeine-free berry tea at the cappuccino machine in The Library. It took us a moment or two to figure out that you had to put the cup under the hot water dispenser and press the button that said, miraculously, “hot water” to make tea, but we got the hang of it. Repairing to our room with the tea, we showered, changed and set ourselves up on the balcony for another go-round with that story we were working on. With the light coming only from our computer, the harbor and the stars, we wrote until the early morning hours, listening to 100
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the laughing voices below. Like them, we didn’t want the night to end. We forced ourselves to go to bed, though, for the next morning was a big one — our boat ride around the harbor, courtesy of the Delamar. After the complimentary continental breakfast, we grabbed our umbrella — to help ward off Mr. Sun — and headed for the dock, where Capt. Tony Glenister and a gay couple celebrating their 21st anniversary together were graciously waiting for us. As we headed out, Tony pointed out the terraced mansions that line the waterfront, including the property that once belonged to the Roebling family — creators of the Brooklyn Bridge. It was Cold Spring-born Emily Warren Roebling who oversaw the bridge’s completion, after her father-in-law, John, died of tetanus and her husband, Washington, died of caisson disease. Their former Greenwich home slopes down to a miniature Brooklyn Bridge. As we glided around the harbor, past an island that serves as a daytrip for ferrying beachgoers, one of the husbands told us about their anniversary getaway at the Delamar. The couple, with homes in New Jersey and Israel, had enjoyed
shopping on the avenue, a couple’s massage at the Delamar Spa and chatting with executive chef Frederic Kieffer while eating his mahi-mahi. For them, it had been a perfect experience. Mine was about to come to a close. After bidding my boating companions farewell and taking a short walk to the Bruce Museum, I headed to the bar for a scrumptious lunch of shrimp pappardelle and sports talk with director of operations Fletcher, like us a big New York Yankees fan. Then it was on to the Spa and its Beautiful Nails suite where Valentina Gonzalez gave me an expert mani-pedi with Essie’s Mademoiselle (pale pink, natch) and Russian Roulette (fire engine red) respectively. We talked makeup tips and I tried not to stare at the famous Greenwich resident who was having her nails done beside me. Nope, sorry, I can’t name her. Professional ethics. And sorry, too, I was to leave the Delamar. But I had such a good time that I was happy to return home. I have my memories — of a Sinatra night, harbor lights and Russian Roulette. And I have my hopes of another lunch, another spa visit — and maybe even a wedding. For more, visit delamar.com.
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AH, THE SPA BY BARBARA BARTON SLOANE
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nown as places of healing for thousands of years, Romans, royals, native peoples and paupers alike have all sought out spas to bathe in warm mineral springs, especially for their ability to alleviate pain and cure ailments. Today's spas incorporate a wondrous wealth of treatments from facials to massages to mani-pedis. Ayurveda, India’s ancient healing system, even offers a process wherein warm sesame oil is steadily dripped over the forehead. Colorfully named the “Third Eye Drip,” it’s not as scary as it sounds. I’ve had it and it was strangely pleasurable. This, as all of the treatments, offers relaxation, rejuvenation and a sense of renewal. Indeed, some studies indicate that various spa therapies can benefit the human body on a physiological level far beyond the pampering, feelgood sensations. The word “spa” derives from the name of the town of Spa in Belgium, famous for its many natural mineral springs and the old Roman idea of medicinal bathing comes from the town of Bath, England, where ancient healing springs were discovered. Now spas are the emerging trend and one of the fastest-growing industries today. The business of wellness is, well, a big business. Typically spas offer treatments “a la carte,” focusing on relaxation, wellness and aromatherapy, a field moving in a brand new direction. The power of scent is increasingly used for its strong therapeutic qualities. Playing a great role as a remedy for pain, as a mood enhancer and as a sleep aid, aromatherapy consists of using only natural oils extracted from a wide array of plants. Clients can receive customized treatments based on one’s particular needs. To achieve the client’s needs, the therapist can carefully select essential oils and techniques to offer healthful solutions. Some of the plushest, most sumptuous spas in the world are in New York City’s five-star hotels and I’d love to introduce you to a few: The Spa at the Peninsula Hotel: This urban oasis is found high above the bustle of midtown with panoramic views from its ample terrace. In this Forbes Five-Star spa, you are cosseted in an intimate, indulgent environment featuring innovative treatments
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Four Seasons Spa Body Massage. Courtesy Four Seasons Hotel New York.
expertly performed. Upon arriving you’ll unwind in the Asian tea lounge and imbibe an aromatic organic tea, its sole purpose to soothe, calm and prepare you for the treatment. I found this pretreatment relaxation period, snuggled under a down comforter and Frette linens, so restful that I hardly wanted to stir when my therapist came calling. The Sattva Signature Journey sounded like a trip I was eager to take. I was told it took two hours. Did I have the time? What do you think? My journey began with a mineral-rich aromatic foot ritual (read vigorous massage) followed by my body being fully (tip to toe) exfoliated with a pink Himalayan salt scrub. Next, I surrendered myself completely to the facial massage (told it was anti-aging) and finally, the pièce de résistance, the Vedic Aromatherapy fullbody massage to release muscle tension and induce a better sleep. Feeling as limp as the proverbial dishrag and already sleepy, there was no way I was going to quickly jump on a Fifth Avenue bus to wend my way over to Grand Central Terminal and home. Nooo, I had to acclimatize myself once more to the real world. I found that a spa cuisine lunch enjoyed on the Sun Terrace did the trick. Most recently I paid a visit to the spa I was told was the ne plus ultra at the Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown. Expectations high, I gotta say, this spa exceeded them. In fact, this will be the spa I'll return too whenever I need to recharge, destress, renew and rejoin the human race. Located mere steps from the vibrant sidewalks of downtown, this spa successfully blends high-tech treatments with luxurious natural products to indulge body, soul and mind. Influenced by science
and world-wide cultures, here is a haven both understated and sophisticated. The spa has partnered with Dr. Burgener Switzerland, the Swiss company with expertise in beauty and rejuvenation and Omorovicza from Budapest to create customized experiences exclusive to this spa. The menu offered myriad inviting treatments so I turned to spa director Tara Cruz for suggestions. She said that one of her favorites is the Chakra Balancing Ritual with a chakra foot massage accompanied by a wonderful blend of aromatherapy oils. There’s a detoxifying combo of salt exfoliates and dry brushing and a brief guided meditation to set one’s intentions and bring balance to life. Warm rose quartz is applied to transport the client into deep relaxation and ignite a feeling of love and well-being. The conclusion is a facial with acupressure and a mineral scalp experience. I was transported by Tara’s eloquent explanation alone and, of course, I knew that this was the treatment for me. (Yes, it was all that — and more). Leaving the spa and feeling like I was walking not on clouds but literally on air, I took a short five-minute walk from the hotel to the waterfront at Hudson River Park. This enlivening breath of fresh air was all I needed to get me on my way back home, the New Me feeling full of myself and renewed. My husband's eyes-wide-open and amazed smile when I tripped, light-as-air, through the door was an added bonus. For Barbara’s visit to the Mandarin Oriental Spa, visit wagmag. For more on each destination, visit fourseasons.com/newyorkdowntown, mandarinoriental.com/NewYork and newyork. peninsula.com.
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OPRAH'S CRUISING – AND YOU'RE INVITED BY DEBBI K. KICKHAM
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here's a whole lotta Oprah going on at Holland America Line. You heard that right. Holland America has partnered with O, The Oprah Magazine, to make the magazine come alive for hundreds of Oprah-loving passengers. On Jan. 30, the cruise line — which is undergoing $300 Million in brand enhancements — will debut a three-day Girls' Getaway Cruise on its newest ship, the Nieuw Statendam. Winfrey herself — who has been chosen to be the godmother of the ship — will embark on the inaugural Nieuw Statendam cruise, where she will be joined by Gayle King, the magazine's editor-at-large. All kinds of special events and presentations will be held on the ship, which is under construction at Fincantieri-Merghera Shipyard in Italy. Did I mention it sold out within minutes? Don't fret. There are even more luxury cruises in store for the next two years (though Winfrey herself will not be joining those.) The Oprah-themed cruises actually began last year with voyages to the Caribbean and Alaska. They have proven to be enormously successful and were co-branded with merchandisers such as Roberto Coin, Chico's and Land's End. The Aug. 11 cruise heads to Alaska while the seven-day Oct. 28 venture features seven days in the Caribbean. The cruises will be extended through 2019, with the focus on the power of travel for connection and personal growth. "I was lucky enough to be on the Holland America Oprah Cruise to the Caribbean in March,” says Kim Kett Johnson, a New Hampshire businesswoman. “I had always wanted to go on a cruise and when my friends insisted I go with them on an Oprahthemed cruise, I really wanted to be there. The cruise itself was amazing, accommodations, food, and the overall atmosphere on the ship. The Oprahthemed events that were offered throughout the cruise were perfect."
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Courtesy Hearst.
Kett Johnson also says that she tried to buy one of the Oprah-themed sweaters in the gift shop — as it would have made her feel "hugged by Oprah." But alas like most Oprah things, it sold out before Kett Johnson had a chance to make her purchase. The idea for the cruise partnership came about in 2016 when one of HAL's marketing executives met with Jayne Jamison, senior vice president, publisher and chief revenue officer of O, The Oprah Magazine. The two discussed how transformational travel can be, brainstorming to develop a special joint program between the cruise line and the magazine. "Oprah has done it all,” Jamison says. “She's an actress, author and philanthropist and we thought, 'Why not make her the ship's godmother?' “We found something that Oprah actually hadn't done before,” she adds with an enthusiastic laugh. The cruise line is equally enthusiastic. Says Orlando Ashford, HAL’s president : "We are so excited to have Oprah set sail with us again for the Girls' Getaway Cruise in partnership with O, The Oprah Magazine, and we're deeply honored that Oprah will serve as godmother of the Nieuw Statendam." On the official debut cruise, some 2,600 passengers will enjoy a wealth of Oprah events. They’re all women, "with the exception of 200 brave men who are coming," quips Jamison. Editorial staff from O, The Oprah Magazine will be
hosting some of the special events, including editor-in-chief Lucy Kaylin, creative director Adam Glassman, beauty director Brian Underwood and book editor Leigh Haber. There will also be a Girls' Getaway stopover for one day at Half Moon Cay, Holland America's idyllic private island in the Bahamas. O's Reading Room will showcase authors featured in the O Book Club, hosting presentations and book signings onboard. The ship's retail shops will also be chock-a-block with Oprah merchandise from brands "with mass appeal," Jamison says. "We are known for curating the latest and best in all price points." The ship's turndown service will feature Oprah quotes printed on cards that are placed on all beds. But without question, one of the greatest advantages of the Oprah-themed cruise is the opportunity to meet and befriend other women who share Oprah's energy and inspirational spirit. Knowing the popularity of Oprah and her magazine, these upcoming sailings will most likely sell out as did the debut cruise on the Nieuw Statendam. Says Jamison, "Once Oprah posted about the Girls' Getaway cruise, it sold out. That was it." Bon voyage, Oprah lovers. For more, visit hollandamerica.com/OprahMag or call 1-877-SAIL-HAL.
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ewport, Rhode Island, was once the most lavish resort in the world, a summer playground of unparalleled wealth and mind-boggling pretension. “Playground,” however, suggests fun and may therefore be something of a misnomer, because Newport in the Gilded Age of the late 19th century was anything but fun. “You do not give parties to enjoy yourselves, but to advance yourBY JEREMY WAYNE selves,” said Newport insider James de Wolfe, quoted by writer Brian Masters in his book, “Great Hostesses” (Constable, London 1982). The summer vacation, which ran from July 4th to Labor Day, was anything but a holiday, according to Masters. “It consumed all their energies and wore them into deep weariness. Every night there would be a dinner, a party or a ball, taking place in any one of the magnificent houses…The grandest house of all was The Breakers, a five-storey (sic) palace of paralyzing sumptuousness where Alice
‘HIGH SOCIETY’ INDEED
Outdoor pool at Grace Vanderbilt. Grace Hotels. AUGUST 2018 106Courtesy WAGMAG.COM
Vanderbilt, Alice-of-the-Breakers, held court.” Although none of the fabulous mansions — “cottages,” as they were sardonically known, strung out like giant totems of intemperate capitalism across nearly 1,000 acres of oceanfront land along Newport’s Bellevue Avenue, remain as private residences today, that’s not to say that 21st-century Newport doesn’t have more than its fair share of magnificent private homes. And this in turn poses the question of where on earth you are going to stay if one of summer’s grand house-party invitations fails to land in your mailbox. I know the feeling. Sometimes life just sucks, doesn’t it, which is a reason to be grateful for the Grace Vanderbilt hotel, to my mind the best place to hang your hat in spiffy Newport, which these days is not short of hotel accommodation, from modest inns and B&Bs to cookie-cutter lodges and showy mini-re-
sorts. For one thing, this hotel has the name, as it was once a Vanderbilt-owned house. (The “Grace,” funnily enough, does not reference Alice Vanderbilt’s strong-willed daughter-in-law, as you might have thought, but the Grace Hotels company, which not unreasonably prefixes all its properties, from the Greek Islands to Argentina, with “Grace.”) For another, there is the Vanderbilt’s position, not on rarefied Bellevue Avenue, which is somewhat removed from the action — it’s hard to imagine any Gilded Age residents popping next door to borrow a cup of sugar; the expedition would have taken them an hour — but right in the heart of historic downtown, just where you want to be as a summer visitor or indeed as a visitor any time of year. Arriving at the decidedly upscale if charmingly understated Grace Vanderbilt for a recent stay in a clapped-out Toyota SUV with a severely dented off-
side and a splintered side window held together with duct tape — a tree had fallen right across the hood three days earlier, luckily when the car was parked and passengerless — we were nevertheless not turned away by the well-groomed Vanderbilt reception team. It was as if all guests arrived in this fashion, a fact belied by the shiny latest-model Lexuses and Acuras around, confirming my long-held belief that inscrutability is at the heart of great hospitality. Solicitous inquiries were made, without a shred of irony or sarcasm, as to whether we had had a pleasant journey up from New York. Then, before we knew it, our tatty clutch of mismatched suitcases and an assortment of plastic bags were spirited away, as glasses of delicious chilled Billecart-Salmon Champagne were thrust enthusiastically into our hands and all the usual check-in rigmarole was bypassed as we were shown directly to our magnificent Vanderbilt suite
with no further ado. It was a welcome of which the real Grace Vanderbilt — her style distinct from her estranged and redoubtable mother-in-law, Alice, but no slouch in the entertaining stakes herself — might have been justly proud. The Grace Vanderbilt, you’ll have already figured out, is a very well-run hotel indeed, with a lovely conservatory and small garden where you can eat all day, and a miniature outdoor swimming pool, as well as an indoor pool, spa and wellness center. As for the guest rooms, they are fresh and contemporary, as far removed, and I say this with some relief, from the overbearing Italianate mansions on Bellevue Avenue — which almost choke you with excess, to the point where houseguests must have gasped for air. I loved our first-floor, two-bedroom suite, perfect for families, with its marble bathrooms stuffed to the gills with Molton Brown products, its
View from the Roof Deck.
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The Vanderbilt Grill.
small kitchen, dining area and vast living room. And then there were the snowy linens and beds so comfortable that, especially after a night on the Newport tiles, you might easily bring to mind Uncle Willy’s immortal words in the Broadway play and 1941 movie “The Philadelphia Story.” (It was made into a 1956 musical and relocated to Newport to take advantage of the musical talents of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and the Newport Jazz Festival, which will be held this year Aug. 3 through 5.) “This,” says Uncle Willy, nursing a monumental hangover on the morning of the jeopardized wedding of his haughty socialite niece Tracy Lord, “is one of those days that the pages of history teach us are best spent lying in bed.” That said, lying in bed is something you simply can’t do in Newport, no matter how much you may have overindulged the night before or how comfortable the bed — not when there is so much to do. From its world-class yachting regattas to the jazz festival; from its historic buildings, such as the Redwood Library & Athenaeum, established in 1747, to the Touro Synagogue (America’s first), established in 1763, and its Loeb Visitors Center, created by longtime Purchase resident and former American ambassador to Denmark John Loeb, Newport has something for everyone. And that’s before you’ve even set foot in any of the 10 “summer cottages” open to the public, either the Breakers itself, the impressively over-thetop Elms, modeled after the 18th century French Chateau d’Asnières outside Paris, the Gothic Revival-style
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Kingscote or Stanford White’s Rosecliff, commissioned by silver heiress Theresa Oelrich and modeled on Versailles’ Petit Trianon — to name but four. At the other end of town, the Grace Vanderbilt is a stone’s throw from the Newport waterfront, which was almost visible from our ground-floor suite, and the main thoroughfare of Thames Street, where to be honest the shops sell nothing you really need but lots of things you would really quite like. Not, it must be said, if you hanker after big-name stores, which are mercifully few on the ground (although there’s a J. Crew and Gap at the Long Wharf Mall if you’re really desperate), but rather if you’re drawn to individual, idiosyncratic places, like Jason & Co. for exclusive Newport beads, Patagonia for Newport sportswear and Kristina Richards’ Rhode Island-inspired lifestyle boutique, for gorgeous clothes and shoes. Of course, you don’t come to Newport especially to shop, but on the other hand, beautiful jewelry, objets d’art and magnificent clothes have always mattered here. In her book “King Lehr”(Applewood Books, 2005), a biography of Newport habitué Harry Lehr, one of America’s most successful (and disreputable) social climbers, Elizabeth Beresford observes that for a Gilded Age Newport hostess, having 80 or 90 dresses made for the season was not unusual, most of them to be worn only once and then discarded. Nowadays, you can pack lighter, thank goodness, because anything goes. You can dress up in Prada and high heels for dinner at Crowley’s Casino Pub on Bellevue Avenue or dress down in Dress Barn and flats for drinks
on the Roof Deck at the Grace Vanderbilt, Newport's ritziest bar and nobody is going to bat a gin-blearied eyelid — although if you land the coveted invitation to dinner at the Newport Yacht Club, gentlemen please remember you will need a collared shirt and jacket in the formal dining rooms. By the way, the fact that the line at the Grace Vanderbilt’s Roof Deck bar might be three-deep on any given evening is more than compensated for by the quality of the drinks and the view — the entire Newport waterfront laid out at your feet. And if it’s buzzy, read borderline raucous on the weekends, then the first floor Vanderbilt Grill is by contrast an ocean of calm, large tables spaced far apart so you can whisper sweet nothings in your date’s ear or talk secrets of state with the local senator and be sure that no one is going to overhear you. You also eat fantastically well here — the most delicious chowder and corn fritters, the most delectable lobster tails, the best weekend brunch. Evenings though, be warned, can get chilly in Newport, even in August. The climate is a few degrees cooler than the “mainland,” which is a boon in summer when a daytime breeze always seems to keep you cool. The one thing it’s unlikely to do in Newport, though, is rain. Want to know how I know? Back to “The Philadelphia Story,” er, “High Society.” As Tracy’s little sister, Dinah Lord, says with unflinching confidence, “Oh, it won’t rain. Tracy won’t have it.” That’s Tracy for you and that, in a nutshell, is Newport. For more, visit gracehotels.com and discovernewport.org.
Proprietor, Bobby Epstein of the legendary Muscoot Tavern in Katonah, invites you to experience his newest restaurant—
Kisco River Eatery Come in and savor the fresh raw bar and our impressive variety of steak, pasta, chicken and seafood selections in our warm and cozy atmosphere.
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WONDERFUL DINING
A Brussels sprouts taco in a lettuce wrap.
A TASTE OF MEXICO IN WAG COUNTRY
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t’s Playa del Carmen meets New York City in the 914.” That’s how the owners of Mission Taqueria, the new Mexican fusion restaurant at 472 Bedford Road in Pleasantville, describe the eatery that opened this spring. “The concept in terms of the design was creating a home on an agave farm,” says Mitchell Dennis, one of the restaurant’s owners. “At the end of the day, workers come together and STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS share the fruits of their labor.” BY ALEESIA FORNI Launched by Dennis and partners Tony Fortunate and Andrew Kotchen, the 1,600-square-foot eatery features wooden tables and industrial-style seating, along with a bench dotted with plush pillows that wraps around one side of the restaurant. The other side is occupied by a bar with a blue-tiled backdrop lined with 16 beer taps and 92 types of tequila and mezcal, an alcoholic beverage made from agave. Decorative touches range from small, planted cactuses to a longhorn cow skull. “As a team, we envisioned a design that redefines the perception of most Mexican restaurants,” says Kotchen, who is also founding principal of the Manhattan design firm Workshop APD. “We embraced the architectural aesthetic and historic tradition of Mexico’s rural region and enhanced that provenance with a contemporary flair.” Dennis says he hoped to incorporate the feeling of “eating together under
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the stars” by stringing lights across the ceiling. Similarly, menu items are designed to share, with a range of seafood, salads, steak, tacos and rotisserie chicken. “We wanted to create something for everyone,” says Sheryl Dennis, Mitchell’s wife, who helped with the restaurant's marketing. A public relations guru for more than two decades, Sheryl was also instrumental in creating the restaurant’s menu, one that she says places an emphasis on healthy, authentic ingredients, features many vegan options and is 98-percent gluten-free. “It’s authentic in its roots, but it’s modern in its presentation,” she says. Salads include a kale salad with pumpkin seeds and a chipotle-date vinaigrette. A Mission salad mixes red quinoa, cherry tomatoes and French lentils. There’s also a vegan pozole, a hearty stew with seasonal vegetables and a New Mexican chili broth. An order of fish tacos features beer-battered Mahi with pico de gallo, a scrumptious avocado salsa and a cabbage slaw. Perfect for the summer months, a lobster taco is topped with toasted corn and chipotle aioli and garnished with crispy potato threads. For those looking for a lighter option, any taco can be served in a lettuce wrap. We try that option for our
Baja fish tacos with radish and cabbage slaw.
Lobster tacos are topped with potato threads.
Tuna poke is served on tostadas.
crunchy Brussels sprouts taco, which features pistachio salsa and pickled red onions. “My vision of the menu is that you could dine here multiple times in a week and not feel that it’s repetitive,” Mitchell Dennis adds. A colorful shrimp ceviche with pickled chili, pineapples and Persian cucumber is both fresh and flavorful, topped with radishes and cilantro. A delectable tuna poke is served over crispy corn tostadas and topped with avocado. Other starters include mussels with chistorra, grilled Mexican street corn with lime aioli and a pumpkin seed hummus. Even an order of wings is given a Mexican flair, tossed in a hazelnut salsa macha. With a crispy skin and juicy interior, the spicy appetizer was a surprise highlight of our meal. Both Fortunate and Dennis are also the men behind the popular American cuisine restaurant 105-Ten Bar & Grill, an eatery that opened in 2014 at 127 Woodside Ave. in Briarcliff Manor. At 105Ten, the duo say they had a vision of creating a restaurant where members of the community could come together and share a meal. “You’re sitting amongst your neighbors,” Dennis says. “We used communal tables.” For the new restaurant, “modern Mexican was the desired fare, but it’s still the same kind of feeling” that the two created at 105-Ten, “where we’re bringing people together to have an experience.” “The menu is different but it’s the same spirit,” Dennis says. “We still want that feeling of you walk in and you may know your neighbor. Or if not, you meet people.” During a recent visit, we witness exactly that. A number of customers enter the doors of the eatery and quickly begin chatting with their dining neighbors, both those they know and those they don’t. For now, diners will have to enjoy that menu during dinner hours, though the owners say the restaurant is slated to open for lunch service in the coming weeks. Mission Taqueria has been open only a short time, but Dennis and Fortunate are already planning for the future. “We’re looking to grow,” Fortunate says, adding of 105-Ten and Mission Taqueria, “we like both concepts.” The duo already have plans to open a second outpost of their Briarcliff eatery in Croton-on-Hudson. Deriving its name from the new restaurant’s ZIP code, 105-Twenty will open at 120 Grand St. in the former home of French restaurant Tagine Restaurant and Wine Bar later this summer. For more, visit missionpleasantville.com.
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WINE&DINE
A TEQUILA WITH A WORLD CUP KICK STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY DOUG PAULDING
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ustria to meet Mexico in Germany. And no, this isn’t some undercard event for World Cup football. It is the birth of an exceptional tasting experience of a super premium boutique tequila. I didn’t (couldn’t) drink tequila for decades after an ill-advised and unpleasant experience. Just that tequila flavor wafting nearby took me back. But I am happy to say I am cured. It took a serendipitous romantic connection in Germany where an Austrian son-of-aschnaps-maker went to study and met a fellow student, the Mexican daughter-of-a-tequila-lover. As these romances go, it was time to go to Mexico and meet her parents. And as these things go, her dad brought out a bottle of tequila to initiate his future son-in-law, HP Eder, into their Mexican way of life. I have traveled and tasted and written about many types of spirits — bourbon, single malt whisky, vodka, rum, gin and many types of fortified (higher alcohol) wines. But I have never been asked to taste and discuss tequila until now, and what a beautiful experience. Eder had never tasted a well-made tequila in Europe and at the moment of his epiphany in Mexico, and with the old connections he had and new connections he quickly made, he felt confident he could create something special there. I’ve never been much of a shot glass guy. I taste most things out of open and round wine or snifter glasses. Sake will often be served in a tiny ceramic mug, Champagne in flutes, tequila in shot glasses with some salt sprinkled on the back of your hand and a wedge of citrus. But give me a larger glass, let me swirl and taste, and swirl and taste again and I feel like the drink exposes itself to me. Initial flavors and then lesser, tertiary notes will become increasingly apparent. At present, Pādre azul tequila makes three different tequilas, ranging in price from $75 to around $100. The Pādre azul Blanco is bottled directly after distillation. No oak aging is implemented so it is clear and pure blue agave-flavored. Agave is a tropical American plant that is the source of all tequilas. And, as with
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Pādre azul Super Premium Tequila.
grapes, terroir matters. The soil, altitude, aspect and horticultural techniques all contribute to the final product. Also produced is the oak-aged Tequila Añejo and the Tequila Reposado. The Añejo is aged in used oak bourbon barrels for a minimum 18 months. The Tequila Reposado, which I tasted, is oak aged as well for a minimum of eight months. So, Eder and his future wife started the process of exploring the finest tequilas, the finest agave fields, the best tequila makers, the best techniques and, of course, that all important money thing. They approached some Austrian buddies to partner up with some financing, and Eder incorporated his wife’s dad into the partnership. And his wife, Adrian Alvarez Maxemin, has a cousin who became the master distiller. I asked Eder via email what made Pādre azul tequila so special and “Super Premium”? “The tequila is handcrafted and slow cooked in traditional ‘Mamposteria’ ovens for a minimum of 24 hours, with some resting time, in order to attain maximum flavor and is fermented slowly with naturally occurring yeasts, which can slow down the fermentation process and create a more complex flavor profile,” he said. “Even the bottle is hand-
made. The taste is one of a kind, due to the agave sourced carefully from the Valles (River region) and harvested at about eight years of age when they are perfectly ripe; the slow cooking process; and aging in hand selected oak barrels for longer than the standard requirements for aged tequila.” I poured a glass for myself. I used a large wine glass, no ice, no fruit, no salt. I found it much like tasting a quality cognac or a premium rum. I wanted no camouflage of the flavors. Big swirls will fill your nose and draw you in with beautiful expansive and seductive layers. There were hints of chocolate carried by a backbone of citrus, with vanilla notes and coconut. There is a silkiness on the palate with a long finish. This tequila is 100 percent handmade, 100 percent blue agave and 100 percent Mexican. It comes in at 40 percent alcohol, 80 proof, standard for most typical spirits. I wouldn’t use it as a mixer. I definitely wouldn’t shoot it “to start the party.” This spirit is one to own and one to share and savor when you just feel like something a little different. Look for it in its leather clad bottle with metal skull on top. It will get your attention at the store and on your shelf. Write me at doug@dougpaulding.com.
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WELL
HEALING THE NATURAL WAY BY GINA GOUVEIA
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here is a small but ever-growing segment of the population adding naturopathic doctors and regimens to their health care teams. Not surprisingly, this branch of medicine is gaining in popularity due to its focus on preventative care centered on the "whole person." It seeks to understand individual patient needs in greater detail, with an aim of eliminating traditional pharmaceuticals and replacing them with other more natural treatments. I spoke with Carine Bonnist, N.D., a member of the four-person medical team at Shalva Clinic, a Westport-based naturopathic medicine practice, to get up to speed on this trend and learn more about what led her to choose this field, one that is scientifically based and administered by doctors who receive medical degrees. Bonnist is a graduate of the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon, one of seven fully accredited schools in North America offering a doctor in naturopathic medicine â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
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Carine Bonnist, N.D. Courtesy Carine Bonnist.
N.D. or N.M.D. — and a doctor of naturopathy — N.D. — degree. These are four-year programs, as in traditional medicine, the last two years being intensely focused on specific modalities, with a heavy emphasis on the study of behavioral medicine, natural therapies and clinical nutrition, among others. This mind-body approach, according to Bonnist, seeks to understand and diagnose a patient’s condition with an aim to get at the cause of the problem using the least invasive procedures and, in some situations, eliminate the need for prescription drugs and their many harmful side effects. In the states of Connecticut and New York, naturopathic doctors are not able to write prescriptions — in some states they are — but will work with a person’s primary care physician when they are needed. The website for INM, the Institute for Naturopathic Medicine, quotes its board chair, Michelle Simon, Ph.D., N.D., who offers an overview of the discipline: "Consumers are seeking wellness, prevention and health creation beyond disease management. Because of their deep experience in evidence-based alternatives that expand patient choice, naturopathic doctors are increasingly recognized as a vital part of the health care team.” I asked Bonnist what constitutes "evidence-based" treatment. “Nutraceuticals (supplements), lifestyle changes, diet and sleep are key components of the treatment plan,” she says. “The majority of people who seek out naturopathic medicine are fed up with the standards in traditional medical practices today and the lack of empathy exhibited by some doctors.” Diagnostics are used, as they are in traditional medicine, but with a more thoughtful, individualized approach. These can include blood tests and specialty testing such as stool panels; nutrient deficiencies analysis; and the resting state of adrenal glands, used to diagnose adrenal fatigue. These functional medicine tests, together with their more in-depth personal diagnostics and evaluations, are driving the popularity of naturopathic physicians. “There is nothing routine about these tests,” Bonnist says. "They are often more comprehensive and specialized, performed by vetted specialty labs that are well-known in the naturopathic world. " How Bonnist came upon this career is unconventional as well. A graduate of Greenwich Academy, she obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, attending on a full vocal scholarship. Clearly, her first love was music and she quickly cites the common bond between doctors of medicine and musical aptitude and talent. Majoring in psychology, she did not follow a pre-med route, but rather became attracted to the field by a general practitioner in traditional primary care who had a penchant for this natural branch of medicine. Raised in a health-conscious household, this resonated with her and ignited her passion. Now, back in her native Connecticut following a twoyear period honing her skills in San Francisco, Bonnist is enjoying the freedom of her career at Shalva Clinic and the ability to connect with her patients in an intimate way, typically spending 90 minutes on the first appointment getting to know them and understanding their mind-body dynamic. At Shalva there are four practicing naturopathic doctors and they have subspecialties much as they would in a traditional general practice. Bonnist’s focus is one of the busiest and growing daily — anti-aging. She tells me of her passion for cardiovascular health, too, not startling news given the heart and feeling that she employs in dealing with her patients. “One of the wonderful things about naturopathic medicine is that we really connect with our patients," she says. "People don't get sick as much, because of the focus on preventative care, so years down the road they will be saving money. It really is an investment in your health." It's hard to argue with that. For more, visit shalvaclinic.org.
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WEAR
ABOUT-FACE ON BEAUTY BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
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ost department stores feature cosmetics front and center when you enter the main floor. But The Saks Shops at Greenwich has moved its beauty offerings to the lower level of the Main Shop. “Beauty is a destination,” said Danielle Selip, assistant general manager for merchandising — an idea that is underscored not only by the move but by the addition of two treatment rooms, which can be used by Bobbi Brown, Estée Lauder, La Mer, La Prairie, Valmont and any other brand carried by the store. “I think you’re going to see more spas and treatment rooms in the future,” Selip says. They, along with the whole revamp, make for “a less traditional, more intimate experience for the store and its clients.” Recently, WAG had an opportunity to revel in the experiential when Saks invited us to have a facial done by Jessica Bonnetain, education and events manager/U.S. for the Swiss-based Valmont Group, whose Storie Veneziane collection of perfumes was featured in our June issue. That was not our first experience of Valmont. We were introduced to the products at The Spa at the Delamar Greenwich Harbor for a January 2016 WAG story. In a coincidental — or perhaps not so coincidental — six degrees of separation moment, Bonnetain knows Stephanie Torres, who did our facial at the Delamar, through friends and family. Bonnetain is also a big fan of Ted Baker, whose new line of bedding is featured in this issue of WAG. “The world is a large place but it returns small,” Bonnetain said in that delightfully philosophical way the French have of putting things. She also proved to have an expert touch — not too firm, not too gentle — for the facial.
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Courtesy The Saks Shops at Greenwich.
Bonnetain began with the White Falls Fluid Cleansing Cream to remove our makeup, following with the Vital Falls Invigorating Toner, an astringent to remove any impurities. Then she applied the Face Scrub, a revitalizing exfoliating cream to be used once a week; the Purifying Pack Cleansing and Purifying Mask; and the Prime Renewing Pack Anti-Stress Energizing Mask. The next group of products Bonnetain used — Sérum Précieux; Sérum Majestueux Vos Yeux, an eye-lifting serum; Cure Majestueuse, a nourishing beauty oil; Vos Yeux, an eye cream for puffiness and dark circles; and Votre Visage, an antiaging cream — are all part of L’Elixir des Glaciers, a Valmont collection that’s made of glacial spring water and Swiss plant extracts. It smelled as good as it felt. Bonnetain finished with L’Elixir’s Just Time
Perfection, a complexion-enhancing and anti-aging treatment that has an SPF of 45. Throughout the facial, which went by in no time, Bonnetain applied the products using Valmont’s vaunted butterfly technique — a rhythmic, sweeping upward movement that is designed to relax you as it revitalizes you. Color us sold. But that wasn’t the end of our Saks experience. We were then put into the equally expert hands of Fran O’Neill, Chanel Cosmetics’ business manager, who taught us a lot about applying makeup. She began spraying Chanel’s Gabrielle (a perfume named for the designer) on tissues she placed around our neck to protect our clothing and then had us hold a hand mirror at arm’s length: That’s the distance at which people see you. “It’s all about perspective,” she said. We continued to hold the mirror as she applied a Chanel Brun Cendre eyebrow pencil, beginning at the part of the brow closest to the nose, then moving to the top and filling in the rest. She transformed our Cleopatra eyes, with a hyperblack eyeliner atop the eye and a purple chocolate below for a smokier but subtler effect that included #20 concealer and a pink-metallic Mystic Eyes palette that complemented our silvery pixie hairdo and floral print dress. She finished our eyes with a mascara primer that conditions the lashes and Le Vol Black mascara. O’Neill primed our skin with Le Blanc Rosée (SPF 40) to counteract its yellow undertone. She also used a # 20 concealer and Vitalumière foundation in #20 Clair. She sculpted our wide cheekbones in #40 and #20 Les Beiges contour cream, which she applied in a bracketing motion on both sides of our face, using a rose bronze blush on the cheeks themselves. For the lips, O’Neill began with a nude liner, noting that outlining the lips is out of style. Instead she made a Cupid’s bow on the “v” of the upper lip then filled in the lips lightly with the pencil. She finished with a lipstick in Maggy (a medium plum) and a #119 gloss. The effect was softer than the overall drama we reach for on a daily basis but no less effective for its subtlety. For more, visit saksfifthavenue.com.
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WELL
Proper form in a sport can go a long way to reducing injuries.
BE A MINDFUL WEEKEND WARRIOR BY DR. KEVIN PLANCHER
A
n end-of-the-week-only approach to exercise and sports may be healthy after all, provided the “weekend warrior” prepares properly, doesn’t overdo it and uses the right equipment. Recent studies have shown how physical activity in general — even if limited to weekends — has a major effect on reducing incidence of disease and improving a person’s longevity. But exercise gains can be washed out by injury unless weekend-workout enthusiasts take the necessary precautions to minimize risk, such as: warming up muscles, tendons and joints before engaging in strenuous activity; wearing the proper gear, including the correct shoes; and knowing personal limits. Many injuries occur as a result of sudden increases in activity or abnormal movements before the body has been properly conditioned — as well as from buying into the “no pain no gain” adage. If you feel pain, your body is telling you something is not right and you
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need to stop whatever you are doing. In my career, I’ve seen many common sports injuries, such as Achilles tendonitis, ACL tendon tears, rotator cuff and other shoulder problems, ankle sprains, shin splints and stress fractures, hamstring and groin pulls, knee injuries and lateral epicondylitis, or “tennis elbow,” caused by repetitive motion. But my observations here follow the 2017 release of two major studies indicating the connection between physical activity — even though it is somewhat limited — and a significantly lower mortality rate. In the March 2017 JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers report that the “weekend warrior” approach to exercise, characterized by one or two weekly sessions of “moderate or vigorously intensive physical activity, may be sufficient to reduce risks for all-cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality, regardless of adherence to prevailing physical activity guidelines,” which recommend regular exercise throughout the week. Authors of another 2017 published report — this
one in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society — state that physical inactivity, often called a “sitting disease,” is linked to more than 3 million deaths worldwide annually. Weekend warriors “can up the exercise ante” during their normally busy week by spending a few minutes each day doing some stretching — either in the office or at home, climbing stairs rather than riding the elevator and occasionally swapping a cafeteria or restaurant seat for a brief walk at the lunch hour. Avoid sitting for long periods of time. Take a break. Get up and move about. Regular engagement of muscles and joints is not only healthy, it can help reduce the incidence of injury when participating in a sport or a workout regimen on the weekend. While some soreness in areas of the body not fully accustomed to strenuous activity is normal for weekend warriors, ongoing pain in a joint, limb or tendon is not and should not be dismissed. If you have serious pain that does not respond to rest and home treatment, see unusual bruising or discoloration of the skin in a painful area or cannot put weight on a leg, ankle or foot, contact your physician immediately. Of course, the best medicine is no medicine at all. To avoid exercise-related injury, especially if one’s activity is limited to weekends, I offer these tips in addition to proper warm-up before exercise: • Maintain a healthy weight level. Research indicates that the rising rate of obesity among individuals under age 65 is related to an increase in knee-replacement surgeries. • Eat well-balanced meals that provide necessary nutrients to strengthen muscles and tendons. • Know your sport. If necessary, get some lessons from a professional or talk to a trainer. Improper playing technique and posture are oftentimes to blame for injuries. • Participate in varied activities. Doing the same type of exercise over and over can put undue stress on specific areas of the body and cause repetitive motion injuries. • Wear shoes and use equipment proper to the activity. • Act your age. Don’t expect to do at age 60 what you were doing at age 30. Simply put: Be smart in your approach to sports and exercise, so that you can maintain a healthy level of activity well into old age and have fun doing the exercise or sporting activity. Kevin D. Plancher, MD, MPH, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon. He founded Plancher Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, with offices in Manhattan and Greenwich, and serves as clinical professor of orthopedics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. For more, visit plancherortho.com.
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WELL
“An interesting recent study showed that exercise involving muscle strengthening was more beneficial than other forms of exercise such as aerobics in reducing the development and severity of dementia in Alzheimer’s,” neurosurgeon Ezriel Kornel says.
MUSCLE UP FOR MIND AS WELL AS BODY BY DR. EZRIEL KORNEL
"H
ealthy body, healthy mind” is a maxim just about everyone has heard. But perhaps it should be “healthy muscles, healthy body, healthy brain.” For more than 2,000 years, humans have exercised to maintain and improve health, but it is only in recent years that hundreds of scientific studies have proven that exercise can help maintain and improve brain function. Various types of exercise from weight training to aerobics to yoga have shown a variety of benefits. Certainly exercise — by helping manage weight, blood sugar, liver and kidney function and cardiovascular well-being — helps greatly to maintain a healthy brain. Moreover, it has been shown that molecular and genetic changes that occur in exercise have direct effects on brain molecules and the generation of new nerve cells as well as the further growth and connections of mature neurons. Perhaps the most feared common consequence of aging is the onset of senile dementia. We all joke about memory loss and aging, but really it is no laughing matter. No one wants to lose the ability to reason
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and recognize the world and people around him. In recent years, medical research has demonstrated that exercise can reduce the incidence and severity of senility, both that which is secondary to cerebrovascular disease and that due to Alzheimer’s. Of note, an interesting recent study showed that exercise involving muscle strengthening was more beneficial than other forms of exercise such as aerobics in reducing the development and severity of dementia in Alzheimer’s. The mechanism of this benefit is still unknown and under intense investigation. A recently published study from the universities of Milan and Pavia addresses this important issue from the opposite side. Researchers studied what results from the lack of muscle use. We know that astronauts who do not use their legs as much in space and those individuals with illnesses such as multiple sclerosis can develop cognitive deficits such as memory loss and difficulty with concentration. This suggests that lack of lower extremity usage is detrimental to the brain. To study this effect researchers performed a well-constructed experiment in which they immobilized the back legs of
mice and after a period of time looked at the cells in specific areas of their brains. They found that neuronal stem cells that are needed to form new nerve cells were greatly diminished in these mice. It is likely that this applies to humans as well but we need much more study to confirm the extent of this effect. This does make sense in light of what the other studies mentioned above have shown. Clearly, there is not a one-to-one correlation between the loss of use of the legs and cognitive deficits. However, perhaps with aging, individuals who have significant difficulty with the use of their legs do not do as well cognitively. This may be another line worthy of investigation. What is clear from the extensive science thus far is that we should all be seeking a form of exercise that works for us and incorporate it into our daily routines. Whether by vigorous walking, jogging, running, swimming, aerobics, calisthenics, weight training or myriad other forms of exercise, find what fits you, your skill, your interest and your lifestyle and do it. Do it for your brain. For more, visit topspinesurgeonnyc.com
“Sapori (Italian for “flavors”) is the newest and the fanciest restaurant to arrive on the outskirts of White Plains near the County Center.” — New York Times
Lunch, Dinner, Private Wine Room, Outdoor Dining • Valet Parking 324 Central Ave, White Plains, NY • 914-684-8855 • saporiofwhiteplains.com
WELL
MOVE IT, OR ELSE BY GIOVANNI ROSELLI
I
’ve written in the past about topics ranging from nutrition to exercise, sleep, recovery, mobility and motivation. No matter the subject, the article has always tied back to this point: All of these elements play an important role in having the best quality of life possible. A term often associated with this mentality is ADLs, short for activities of daily living.
WHAT ARE ADLS? There are six fundamental activities of daily living: • Bathing — getting into and out of a tub or shower. • Dressing — putting on any necessary items of clothing, as well as undressing. • Transferring — getting into and out of a bed, chair, etc. • Toileting — getting to and from the toilet. • Continence — maintaining control of bowel and bladder function. • Eating — the ability to feed yourself. Performing most ADLs requires our major joint systems to have a certain amount of flexibility, strength and balance for each task. (For a review of the major joint systems please refer to my WAG article from this past May titled “The Hip Bone’s Connected To The…” ) One of the top questions that I’ll often get is: “So what are the best exercises to help as I get older?” In my opinion, there are three exercises that we can all benefit from to help us age as gracefully as possible. Keep in mind that there are a ton of exercises that I could list, and I’ll cover more in a future column. DEADLIFT How many times have we heard about that person’s “back going out” when they went to pick up something off the floor? Getting in and out of a chair? It starts with a good, deadlift/hip hinge. Your hips travel back with a softening of the knees, then your knees bend more, as you continue lowering yourself down onto the chair. Otherwise it’s the guy who needs to hold onto something in front of him, bend his spine forward and flop down quickly onto a seat. We are constantly picking things up off the floor, along with our children and pets. Some of the best fitness coaches and educators in the world today will actually say that the deadlift — in which you lift a barbell or dumbbells off the 122
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Courtesy Giovanni Roselli.
floor to the height of the hips and then down again — may be the most important exercise for longevity and overall body strength. CARRY Sometimes, not only do you need to pick something up, but then you need to carry it around as well. Groceries, the laundry basket and a suitcase are more of the common examples. Between wrestling and fitness presenting, I have taken tons of flights over the years, and the amount of people who cannot even put their luggage in an overhead compartment is astounding and sad. There are so many different types of carrying variations that can be performed in the gym. Some popular carrying variations are — farmer carries (holding weights in each hand), unilateral carry (one arm) and waiter walk (overhead). GET UP (GET DOWN) How many grandparents can easily get down to the ground to play with their grandkids? How easily can any of us get up from the floor without grabbing on to any and all available apparatuses while simultaneously grimacing and holding backs, knees and shoulders in anguish? In a study published in the European Journal of Cardiology, Brazilian physician Claudio Gil Araújo had more than 2,000 patients ages 51 to 80 partic-
ipate in an exercise program at Clinimex Exercise Medicine Clinic in Rio de Janeiro. With this he created the SRT, the sitting-rising test. Araújo noticed that many of his patients, particularly older people, had trouble with ordinary motions such as bending down — difficulty indicative of a loss of flexibility. As people age, he knew, reduced muscle power and loss of balance can greatly increase the risk of dangerous falls. There are many ways to exercise with ground to standing drills, with the Turkish Get Up being one of the most popular. For those unfamiliar with exercises that challenge you to get up and down off the floor such as the TGU (see photograph), please feel free to reach out to me for more information. LIVING WELL In the end, there is one word that it all comes back to — movement. Move. Keep moving. Don’t stop moving. Back in middle-school science class, we learned Isaac Newton’s Law of Motion: A body in motion stays in motion and one at rest stays at rest. There are gym rats who “live to exercise.” Not everyone is a gym rat. You don’t necessarily have to live to exercise. But you probably need to exercise to live. Reach Giovanni on Twitter @GiovanniRoselli and at his website, GiovanniRoselli.com.
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GLORIOUS GLORIA BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
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“Gloria, you’re always on the run now Running after somebody, You gotta get him somehow.”
A
h, dear, departed Laura Branigan, the Armonk native and longtime Westchester resident who died 14 years ago this month (Aug. 26) of an undiagnosed cerebral aneurysm at age 52. (She’s remembered annually with the Laura Branigan Memorial Scholarship at Byram Hills High School, her alma mater.) Somehow we can’t help but think of the throaty singer’s powerful cover of the song “Gloria” when we see this smiling 6-year-old, who
shares that name. This Gloria loves car rides, trips to the park, hikes, jogs, walks, playing with her tug and fetch Wubba Toy and just being with her human BFFs. She’s house-trained and enjoys her overnights in the SPCA trainer’s office. Gloria doesn't like playing with other dogs (or living with them), but she’s just fine walking around the shelter and wiggling at everyone she meets. To meet Gloria, 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.
PET PORTRAITS
THE KENNEDYS’ CANINE CABINET BY ROBIN COSTELLO “In the private residence at the Kennedy White House, family life bustled with a collection of pets that included as many as nine dogs at one time, a cat, parakeets, hamsters, rabbits, deer and seven horses.” – “The Dogs of Camelot”
T
hrough firsthand accounts, rarely seen photographs and documents from the archives of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, authors Margaret Reed of Wilton and Joan Lownds present a fascinating look at life with the Kennedys and their canine companions in the new book “The Dogs of Camelot: Stories of the Kennedy Canines” (Lyons Press, $19.95, 208 pages). Because Jacque-
line Kennedy fiercely protected her family's privacy and home life, the public rarely caught a glimpse of the menagerie that also called 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. home. You may have seen photos of Caroline’s horse Macaroni, but do you know about Charlie, Pushinka or Clipper? Charlie, the “First Dog,” was President Kennedy’s most beloved pet, a spirited Welsh Terrier who routinely could be found chasing the ducks in the fountain on the White House front lawn or swim-
ming alongside the president in the pool. His love for “sticks and balls” was legendary. He could not be persuaded to leave the president’s golf clubs alone (the ultimate big silver stick). Charlie was so adored he often flew first class, sitting in the seat right beside JFK. A gift to Jackie from Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev, Pushinka was the fluffy white offspring of the canine cosmonaut Strelka who had been sent on an orbital flight by the Soviets in 1960. Charming Charlie liked Pushinka very much. A “scandalous” Cold War romance developed when he sired an adorable litter of four puppies with her. Clipper, Jackie’s loyal and devoted German Shepherd companion, was a gift from her father-in-law, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Dark and regal in manner, he almost caused an “international incident” by stealing a stuffed toy meant for John Jr. from Italian Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani. Luckily, Jackie was able to wrestle it away from him quickly, much to the delight of the prime minister. Pet lovers and history enthusiasts alike will be captivated by this book, filled with charming anecdotes and stories of the enthusiasm and unselfish love these animals gave to the Kennedy family and the deep affection they were showered with in return. “The Dogs of Camelot: Stories of the Kennedy Canines” (Lyons Press, $19.95, 208 pages) by Margaret Reed and Joan Lownds is available online and at booksellers everywhere.
WHEN & WHERE
THROUGH AUG. 18 Pelham Art Center presents its annual Faculty and Student Showcase, which features works by the center’s artist-instructors and students in media that range from charcoal and collage to ceramics and mixed media. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, 155 Fifth Ave., 914-738-2525, pelhamartcenter.org
THROUGH DEC. 23 “Andy Warhol: Subject and Seriality” — This show at the Neuberger Museum of Art at Purchase College explores Warhol’s prints, photographs and approach to multiple images. Noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, 735 Anderson Hill Road, 914-251-6100, neuberger.org
AUG. 1 New Rochelle Opera (NRO) will take the stage at Hudson Park in New Rochelle during New Rochelle Council on the Arts’ Emil Paolucci Summer Sounds Concert Series, which runs through August 31. NRO will perform favorites from classical operas as well as from operettas and Broadway tunes. 7:30 p.m., 1 Hudson Park Road, 914-6542087, newrochellearts.org
AUG. 2 Fleetwood Mac tribute band Tusk will cover the greatest hits of the rock group at the Emelin Theatre. 8 p.m., 153 Library Lane, Mamaroneck; 914-698-0098, emelin.org
Lyle Lovett appears Aug. 9 in Bridgeport.
The Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, presents Teatro Nuovo and its semi-staged performance of Giovanni Simone Mayr’s “Medea in Corinto.” This new ensemble uses period instruments to present 19th-century operas. 7 p.m., 735 Anderson Hill Road, 914-251-6200, artscenter.org
AUG. 5 Neighborhood Studios and JazzFC present a benefit performance, “Tribute to Art Blakey,” featuring regional musicians led by Greg Wall, whose blend of jazz and world music has filled the halls of top venues from Carnegie Hall to stages throughout the world. 7 p.m., The Bijou Theatre, 275 Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport; 203296-9605, bijoutheatrect.net
AUG. 3
AUG. 8
Opening night reception for “ART FOREVER,” a weekend-long group exhibition and fundraising auction in support and celebration of 22 Haviland Street Gallery's 15th Anniversary as a community gallery. The exhibit coincides with Norwalk’s SoNo Arts Festival. 5 p.m., 22 Haviland St., Norwalk; 203-852-6727, bit.ly/22havilandstreet
“Arts in the Afternoon: Hearing Abstraction” — Musicians of the Yonkers Philharmonic Orchestra String Quartet will perform Bach, Haydn and Mozart in the Hudson River Museum galleries, inspired by the abstract works on view by artists Christine Hiebert, Ellen Kozak, Scott D. Miller and Donald Judd. Followed by a guided gallery tour. 1:30 p.m., 511 Warburton Ave., Yonkers; 914-963-4550, hrm.org
AUG. 4 Youth Theatre Interactions will teach audiences about the history of the modern dance form by engaging them in a workshop that includes a lecture, a video and a demonstration. Different schools of movement and dance theory, from Martha Graham to Alvin Ailey, will be discussed. 2 p.m., 92 Main St., Yonkers; 914-963-3040, ytiyonkers.org
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AUG. 9 Fairfield Theatre Company presents An Evening with Lyle Lovett and his Large Band. The four-time Grammy Award winner incorporates the broadest spectrum of American music into his songs and performances. 8 p.m., The Klein Auditorium, 910 Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport; 203-259-1036, fairfieldtheatre.org
Jeff Daniels has an Aug. 12 concert in Ridgefield.
The Westport Library presents The New York Times Book Review editor Pamela Paul in a conversation with Sybil Steinberg about her best-selling memoir “My Life With Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues.” 7 p.m., Saugatuck Congregational Church, 245 Post Road East, Westport; 203-291-4800, westportlibrary.org
AUG. 11 DANCE CHINA NY brings a dynamic range of Chinese dance and Beijing opera styles to Untermyer Park. Its repertoire of traditional and contemporary folk and classical dances weaves a tapestry of Chinese culture across time. 7:30 p.m. Untermyer Park, 945 N. Broadway, Yonkers; 914-375-3435, untermyer.com
AUG. 12 Actor Jeff Daniels is also a singer-songwriter who has eight solo records under his belt. Hear him perform solo and then with the Ben Daniels Band, featuring his son. 7:30 p.m., Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 E. Ridge Road, 203438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org
experience something real #PAC1819 September 16 Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Nobuyuki Tsujii, piano 29 Artist as Activist: A Conversation with Angélique Kidjo 29 Benim International Music (BIM) October 6 Jimmy Webb 13 American String Quartet and Salman Rushdie 20 Lea DeLaria 21 Westchester Philharmonic All-Orchestral Gala Opener 26 Black Violin & Purchase Symphony Orchestra 27 Velvet Caravan November 2 NW Dance Project 4 Aida Cuevas 18 Circa Carnival of the Animals December 1 CMS of Lincoln Center Windstorm 2 The Rainbow Fish Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia 8 Orpheus Chamber Orchestra | Steven Isserlis, cello 9 Boston Brass Christmas Bells Are Swingin’ 14 The Rob Mathes Holiday Concert (also on Sat 12/15) 16 Westchester Philharmonic Winter Pops!
Pictured: BODYTRAFFIC © Lee Gumbs
January 19 Gina Chavez 26 CMS of Lincoln Center Esteemed Ensemble Feburary 2 DIAVOLO: Architecture in Motion® 10 Westchester Philharmonic Friends and Family 16 Robin Spielberg March 2 CMS of Lincoln Center Hungarian Fire 10 Shadow Play Trusty Sidekick Theatre Company 16 Aspen Santa Fe Ballet 23 Portland Cello Project Homage to Radiohead April 7 Tiempo Libre 7 Westchester Philharmonic All Beethoven Season Finale 20 The Triplets of Belleville 25 BODYTRAFFIC May 4 CMS of Lincoln Center Deeply Inspired 5 Daniel Kelly’s Rakonto: Student Voices
914.251.6200 www.artscenter.org
Tickets on sale August 8
AUG. 18 AND 19 Young people of all abilities will appear alongside the Broadway pros of New Paradigm Theatre in a production of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Directed by television and stage veterans Scott Bryce and Jodi Stevens, with Emmy and Grammy winner Paul Bogaev as musical producer. 3 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday, Fairfield Theatre Company, 70 Sanford St.; 203-259-1036 fairfieldtheatre.org
AUG. 23 Greenwich Audubon Center presents a reception and a guided walk on the Audubon trails to take in the sights and sounds of a moonlit summer evening, including those of hooting owls, flying squirrels, tree frogs, katydids, crickets and other creatures of the night. Ages 21 and up; RSVP required. 7:30 p.m., Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road, 203-869-5272, greenwich.audubon.org
AUG. 24 Barbara Davis lectures on Norman Rockwell Aug. 13 in Harrison.
As part of its Summer Sunday outdoor concert series, Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens presents Dead Meat, a Grateful Dead Tribute band playing Dead songs through the years. 5 p.m., Bartlett Arboretum, 151 Brookdale Road, Stamford; 203-322-6971, bartlettarboretum.org
AUG. 12 THROUGH OCT. 7 Katonah Museum of Art (KMA) presents “PLAY & REWIND: Ode to Summer on Film,” transforming its galleries into a black box showcasing film and video installations that evoke sensations of summer. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m. Sundays, 134 Jay St., 914-232-9555, katonahmuseum.org
AUG. 13 New Rochelle’s city historian Barbara Davis presents a discussion and slideshow on illustrator Norman Rockwell’s early years in Mamaroneck and the two and a half decades he spent in New Rochelle. 1 p.m., Harrison Public Library,2 Bruce Ave., 914-835-0324, harrisonpl.org
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AUG. 14 AND 16 Participate in a one-of-a-kind opportunity to engage in Pilobolus’ signature processes of learning through movement in a 90-minute Pilobolus@ Play workshop for adults. Through creative play, improvisation, motor-skills building and performance, you will discover your own creative voice and learn how to share it with others. 6:30 p.m., Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield University, 1073 N. Benson Road, Fairfield; 203-254-4010, quickcenter.fairfield.edu
AUG 18 THROUGH SEPT. 3 Six regional photographers present their work based on the Alfred Stieglitz series of cloud pictures “Equivalents,” which illustrates how the shapes of clouds represent the internal beliefs, feelings and thoughts of the artist as well as the viewer. 1 to 6 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays, 1 to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, The Piermont Fine Arts Gallery, 218 Ash St., 845-3981907, piermontfinearts.com/
Jazz Forum Arts presents emerging pianist and drummer Julius Rodriguez and his quintet for a live jazz concert. Rodriguez, a Juilliard student and Westchester native, has performed with recognizable names, including Javon Jackson, James Morrison, Wynton Marsalis and Jazzmeia Horn. 7 p.m., 1 Dixon Lane, Tarrytown; 914-631-1000, jazzforumarts.org
AUG. 25 The Nowodworski Foundation presents free art workshops for children and adults during the 30th annual Port Chester Day event in Lyon Park. Guests will experience the fun of working together in a group setting while creating large colorful murals. 10 a.m., Lyon Park, 1 Parkway Drive, Port Chester; sitenf.org
AUG. 31 The Mark Twain Library Book Fair is one of the oldest and largest in New England. The Library in Redding was founded by Samuel Clemens; Mark Twain, himself in 1908. This is its largest fundraiser of the year. 9 a.m., Redding Community Center, 37 Lonetown Road, 203-938-2545, marktwainlibrary.org
Presented by ArtsWestchester (artswestchester.org) and the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County (fcbuzz.org)
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CARAMOOR’S KICKOFF
Audra McDonald, the six-time Tony Award winner, returned to Caramoor for the gala opening night of its summer season, in which she and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s brought the Great American Songbook to life. This year’s gala festivities honored longtime trustee Susan Freund and her husband, John. The evening began with a pre-performance cocktail reception and dinner then continued long into the night with an after-dark post-performance party with dessert and dancing under the stars. Photographs by Gabe Palacio. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Audra McDonald Ann Scheuer and Don Cecil Ben and Wallis Tsai Ben Weiss, Jenna Perlstein, Megan Litt and Elizabeth Couch Betsy and Jay Sharma and Laura and Ed Pla James Roe and Gemzel Hernandez Jean and Doug Traver Jennifer Stahlkrantz and Bill Sussman Jim and Debby Lash Jonathan and Elena Moffly and Kathryn and Jeffrey P. Haydon Liz Pressman and Gary Taratunio Maureen Hanagan and Victor Marrow Naomi Tamerin and Michael Bakwin Paul and Lisa Welch Peter Kend, Judy Evnin and Richard O’Leary Robert Kesten and Thom O’Halloran Susan and Ken Wallach Abigail Murthy John Freund, Howard Herring, Kristin Podack and Susan Freund James A. Attwood Jr., Jeffrey P. Haydon and Peter Kend
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HSS GALA
Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) hosted its 35th Tribute Dinner at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, raising more than $3.8 million for education, research and patient care. The gala honored Paul M. Pellicci, MD, chief emeritus of the hip service at HSS, and former U.S. Senator William Bradley. Lawrence O’Donnell of MSNBC hosted the event, which also featured a special performance by Jon Bon Jovi & Friends. Photographs by Don Pollard. 1. Stephen O’Brien, Jon Bon Jovi and Frank Cammisa 2. Kathy Leventhal and Ellen Wright 3. Lawrence O’Donnell, William Bradley and Paul M. Pellicci 4. Twyla Tharp and Edwin and Karen Su 5. Liza and Andrew Sama 6. Miriam and Roger Widmann, Mary Francina Golden and Kenneth Handal 7. William Bradley is joined on stage by his 1970s New York Knicks championship teammates Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Willis Reed and Dick Barnett 8. Hollis and William Potter 9. Lois and Bryan Kelly 10. Samuel and Jennifer Taylor 11. Katherine Pearle, Jenny Mollen, Jason Biggs and Andrew Pearle 12. David Fizdale and Natasha Sen 13. Robert and Stephanie Hotchkiss and Kathryn and Kenneth Chenault
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MUTUAL ADMIRATION
The Burke Rehabilitation Hospital Board of Trustees bestowed its highest honor on Country Bank at the 23rd annual Burke Award Dinner, held at Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase. The event recognized individuals or groups that have made significant contributions in the field of rehabilitation, either through personal achievements, the development of research or the establishment of programs and facilities to assist individuals with disabilities. The award dinner is the hospital’s largest fundraiser of the year, and the evening’s highlight was the presentation of a $30,000 check from Country Bank to Burke for its rehabilitative mission.
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14. Joseph M. Murphy Jr., Carolyn T. Murphy, Jeffrey Menkes and JoAnn M. and Joseph M. Murphy
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SUPPORTING BUSINESSWOMEN
WEDC (Women’s Enterprise Development Center) held its annual Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony at the Tappan Hill Mansion in Tarrytown. Hosted by News12’s Lisa Salvadorini, the event featured networking opportunities and the presentation of the 2018 Enterprising Woman Awards. This year the awards honored three outstanding women in business — Sallie Krawcheck, Aleida Frederico and Johanna Zeilstra. The evening raised funds for WEDC, which helps entrepreneurs create and grow successful businesses. Photographs by Lynda Shenkman. 1. Toni Ann Rufeh, Nancy Kessler, Stephen Chase, Millie Hernandez-Becker, Karen Campbell, Barbara Van Bergen, Anne Janiak, Edward Morgan and Jacqueline Schinnerer 2. Andrea Stewart-Cousins 3. Bob Knight, Dawn French and Marsha Gordon 4. Kathy Halas, Joan Mc Donald and Cindy Kanusher 5. Lisa Salvadorini and Kecia Palmer-Cousins 6. Soyini Chan Shue and Sandy Fernandez 7. Aleida M. Frederico, Johanna Zeilstra and Sallie Krawcheck 8. David Kidder
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‘FORE’ YOUR HEALTH
Recently, top athletes, entertainers and media personalities joined White Plains Hospital and the Mariano Rivera Foundation at a celebrity golf tournament community at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck. They gathered for a day of fun on the links and an after party to raise funds to support health access and information for the underserved in the community.
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9. Jeffrey Vainshtein and Doctors Marc Hamet, Kaare Weber and Josh Raff 10. Mark Kurlan, Keith Gollust, Mariano Rivera, John Solodar, Ian Bohen and Jonathan Spitalny 11. Susan Fox and Larry Smith
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BUTTERFLY KISSES
The Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation hosted its 4th annual “Butterfly Party.” The event honored Catherine, whose life was taken away at the age of 6 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Each year near her birthday, Catherine’s Butterfly Party celebrates her love of animals with more than 25 animal rescue organizations, which bring adoptable animals to the event, as well as nature exhibits and demonstrations. More than 5,000 guests attended from the metro area and Rhode Island and more than 40 animals went home that day. Sponsor Blue Buffalo hosted a booth with a team of volunteers who shared promotional giveaways and gave a free full-size bag of pet food to all the families who adopted a dog or cat that day. 12. Kerrie Canavan, Jenny Hubbard, Gina Long and Elissa Picciano 13. Kristen Landolfi, Matt Hubbard, Jenny Mezzapelle, Susie Gonegonto and Victoria Carmella, MD
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®
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STAR SCRIVENERS
Best-selling author James Patterson and former President Bill Clinton appeared together at a book signing at Barnes & Noble Eastchester. They were there to promote their new mystery thriller “The President is Missing.” Fans were elated to spend a few moments with the famous duo and happily left with an autographed copy and a new beach read for the summer. Photographs by Filip Wolak. 1. Bill Clinton 2. James Patterson
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ALEX THE GREAT
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The Neuberger Museum of Art recently hosted a preview of the exhibition “Brand-New & Terrific: Alex Katz in the 1950s,” which was organized by Colby College Museum of Art and is on a national tour. The Neuberger, on the campus of Purchase College, will be the only place in the New York metro area to see this show, which runs through Oct. 15. Photographs by Tim Grajek 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
Alex Katz Liz Menard, Jim French and Jane Phillips Karen Hauser and Jamie Beck Gordon Helen Stambler Neuberger, Paul Zukowsky and Barry Pearson Ava Zukowsky, Debbie Heidcorn, Roni Bolger and Mel Schweitzer David A. Greene, Tracy Fitzpatrick and Ada Katz Deborah Simon, Jim Neuberger, Alan Simon, Harriet Rader and Jackie Adler Walker David Fields and Stuart Dornfeld Bonnie Krugman and Robert Romano Lucio Noto
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GOING TO THE MAT Recently, more than 150 yoga enthusiasts attended The Mental Health Association of Westchester’s popular outdoor mega-yoga event. “Get On Your Mat For Mental Health” was held on a beautiful summer night on Court Street in downtown White Plains and featured a yoga marketplace, sponsor exhibitors, music and an hour-long yoga class led by Sarah Platt-Finger, the private yoga teacher of Deepak Chopra. A sea of people in their yoga poses moved gracefully. They were all there for a common cause, to support mental health “beyond the mat” and to continue the conversation that mental health matters. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Group yoga Charlotte Ostman and Thomas Roach Sarah Platt-Finger leads the class. Constance Moustakas and Jeanette Fairhurst
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‘RED’-LETTER DAY
The American Heart Association’s annual “Go Red for Women” luncheon, held this year at the Hilton Westchester in Rye Brook, upped its game with a hearthealthy lunch of grilled chicken salad and fruited desserts and a clever “PURSEonality” silent auction of luxe handbags with themed goodies selected by local women business and community leaders. Belinda S. Miles, president of Westchester Community College, delivered a thought-provoking keynote address for the event, co-chaired by the sister act of Grace Ferri, vice president of development and marketing, United Hebrew of New Rochelle Willow Towers Assisted Living, and Terri Ferri, branch manager/executive director of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Rita Mabli Lisa LaRocca, Terri Ferri and Grace Ferri Marisa and John Telesca Michael and Kristen Fuimara Paolo Bagnato, Tony Maddalena, Sandra Richards and Meryl Stevens
HONORING HISPANICS
Recently AT&T celebrated the achievements of some of our country’s most prolific Hispanic leaders at “Humanity of Connection,” an event held at Lincoln Center in Manhattan. The evening highlighted the impact Latinos have on America’s economy and business, Latinos’ increasing role in American government and leadership, the value and humanity of migrant workers, celebrating the diversity within Latino culture in the United States and the power of Hispanic images in the arts, film and print. 10. Ricardo Rivera, Griselle Vila, Erin Schrode, Tanya Lombard, Maria T. Cardona, Sonia Perez, Armando Lucas Correa and Monica Ramirez 11. Rapper Fat Joe
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embrace summer
www.BlossomFlower.com 914.304.5376 877.458.1709
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LUXURY MARKETING COUNCIL SCORES
Recently, more than 300 guests came to the Greenwich Polo Club to celebrate the Luxury Marketing Council of Connecticut-Hudson Valley’s fourth annual “Polo Family Day,” held during the Shreve, Crump & Low Cup. The gathering observed the organization’s fifth year as a voice of modern luxury in the metropolitan area. Under idyllic summer skies, guests enjoyed a VIP tent of food and drinks and browsed a Luxury Shopping Promenade of highend goods, elite automobiles and works of fine art. They left with memories of a picture-perfect day. Photographs by Nicholson Events and Mike Lauterborn. 1. 2. 3. 4.
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Charles Sant’Elia and Rosanna Minervini Sabrina Pray, JoJo Pastors and Steve Feldman Kathryn Minckler and Alberto Milani Janet Gordon
FRUITS OF THEIR LABOR
Harvest on Hudson, a restaurant in Hastings-on-Hudson, recently hosted 132 students from Hillside Elementary School to celebrate the restaurant’s 20th anniversary. The group savored the “garden-to-table” experience that the restaurant was built on. Angelo Liberatore, managing partner of Harvest on the Hudson, gave the students a tour of the garden and inspired the children to get their hands dirty, Students planted their own tomatoes and were given a pizzamaking demonstration by executive chef David Amorelli. Photographs by Simon Feldman. 5. David Amorelli, Robin Farrell, Annabelle Cullen, Angelo Liberatore and Jaidan Nunez 6. Fernando Quinones teaches the students how to plant. 7. David Amorelli cooks with the kids. 8. Angelo Libertore and the students in the garden.
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P U T N A M CO U N T Y W I N E F E ST. CO M
WE WONDER:
IF YOU COU LD BE PERFEC T AT ANY SPORT, WHAT WOU LD IT BE?
Samantha Butler
Gary Chang
Jasmine Evans
James Foster
Nancy Hersch
“I would have loved to be a player in the WNBA.”
“ANY sport? I would go with curling. I’d go to the Olympics every four years and then work at a different job for the other three. That would be a wonderful way to live.”
“I loved the entire time I spent playing volleyball in college. It would be nice to be perfect at that, though, I don’t think I’d do it professionally. That might be boring. I’d just break it out occasionally with friends or family.”
“It would be great to improve my golf game. My boss is always making fun of how odd my swing is.”
“I haven’t been able to play in a long time, but I always loved playing tennis. It would have been great to be perfect at that.”
Henry Morgan
Sarah Monroe banking, Bronx resident
investment banker, New York City resident
John Pratt
Norman Reid retired, Stamford resident
online content writer, White Plains resident
“My girlfriend and I actually just joined a bowling league. I’d become perfect at bowling. We could sweep every tournament.”
“In my line of work, it’s important to be able to hold your own on the golf course. I never learned how to play so I miss opportunities for networking and things like that. It would be really useful to know how to play, let alone be perfect at it.”
“I’ve taken up boxing recently and the work is very hard. I wouldn’t mind fastforwarding and becoming immediately amazing at it.”
“Well, one of the few sports I can still play with any confidence is pingpong. It would be nice to surprise my grandsons by beating them all and showing them that grandpa’s still got some moves.”
“I would love to be perfect at mini golf… I’m not the most competitive, so it would be nice to be great at a recreational sport with little pressure and stakes. It would be nice to still just play for fun. I think it would feel cheap to succeed at something important that I didn’t work for.”
bartender, Rye resident
student, Stamford resident
advertising intern, Scarsdale resident
teacher, Nyack resident
marketing, Brooklyn resident
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retired, Scarsdale resident
Rachel West