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The Westchester Library System will hold its 11th annual African American Writers & Readers Literary Tea on Jan. 19, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, at Abigail Kirsch’s Tappan Hill in Tarrytown.
The popular event traditionally kicks off Black History Month, a celebration of African-American history, literature and culture throughout the county’s 38 public libraries.
Continue reading "Literary Tea Kicks Off Black History Month" »
The Tarrytown Beautification Foundation and Westover Landscape Design, Inc. joined forces to install a new public garden for residents and visitors in the business district of Tarrytown. The island in the middle of the municipal parking lot off Washington Street has been transformed into an ornamental grass garden as part of a donation from Westover.
The new garden occupies the middle of the planting island, encompassing the two existing trees and surrounded by a strip of grass near the parking meters. There are three “sneak paths” through the middle of the garden so that parkers can easily walk to the Main Street business district.
“Although the grasses go dormant in winter, they are left in place, their flowers swaying in the winter winds and becoming coated with frost for a muted winter beauty,” Ann Acheson, landscape designer at Westover, said.
Susan Sincero, president of the Tarrytown Beautification Foundation, said, “I’m so thrilled. This is a very welcome addition to a once-forgotten area in Tarrytown.”
And Tarrytown Mayor Drew Fixell added, “This is one more example of the great work the Beautification Foundation has been doing throughout the village.”
For more information, visit www.tarrytownbeautificationfoundation.com or www.WestoverLD.com.
Rivertowns begin to prepare for the celebration
Sherry Saturno
For The Hudson Independent
To commemorate the 400th anniversary of New York State in 2009, communities are planning a series of festive events throughout the year. The slogan has been decreed as “New York’s 400th — celebrating the past, planning for the future!” Locally, Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow will be hosting several major activities including the Tarrytown River Festival, the Sleepy Hollow Arts Festival, the Horseman Triathlon and a grand parade. Irvington is still deciding how best to participate in the celebration.
Fiona Galloway, chairperson of the Quadricentennial Celebration Committee for Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, noted that 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage of discovery (see photo with replica of Hudson's Half Moon ship) along the river that now bears his name, and the 200th anniversary of Robert Fulton’s successful application of the steamboat engine.
“An anniversary such as this gives us an opportunity to celebrate the past, look ahead to the future and consider out place in the life cycle of the Hudson River,” Galloway said.
Continue reading "Countdown to New York’s Quadricentennial" »
Jerry Eimbinder
Coffee Labs Roasters of Tarrytown was awarded the gold medal for “Best of Brew” at the Ultimate Barista Challenge, China ’08 coffee-industry competition held last month in Shanghai. More than 180,000 visitors and exhibitors attended the annual expo at the Shanghai Exposition Center.
The winning presentation, made by Mike Love, Coffee Labs Roasters owner and head roaster, bested the runner-up Chinese entry. Both finalists were allowed 10 minutes for preparation and 10 minutes for brewing eight cups of coffee and making a verbal presentation to the board of four judges. Love’s winning brew, called Best of Ethiopia 2008 Sidamo Korate, can be tasted at Coffee Labs Roasters on Main Street. Order a French press of Ethiopian Korate — a small press costs $4; a large press is $6, and brewing takes four minutes. Call 332-1479.
Comfort food in an Italian home away from home
Linda Viertel
For The Hudson Independent
As the rivertowns continue to evolve and grow, there is more delight than ever in the comfort of a traditional, family-owned restaurant of long-standing in the community.
Rini’s in Elmsford — with its familiar faces, loyal customers who are treated as family, and authentic, carefully cooked Italian food in a homelike atmosphere — has been nurturing diners for more than a decade.
To walk in Rini’s door is to relax into a world that welcomes you as an old friend – even if it’s your first visit. Owner Leo Cattarini (in photo with his mother, Antonietta) shuttles between the kitchen and each table, an affable, charming host who always seems to know what his customers want. Leo, together with his mother, Antonietta, who tends bar, is carrying on the legacy of his father, Benny Cattarini, who founded Rini’s more than 10 years ago.
Wayne Coffey
For The Hudson Independent
Five times a week, sometimes six, Austin Siegel makes the 35-minute trip from Tarrytown to Brewster, his father, Jeff, driving north on I-684, Austin trying to drive his future in the same direction. Their destination is the Randy Mani Tennis Academy, where 14-year-old Austin is working on his backhand volley, harnessing his long-limbed power, hoping to continue his stunning rise up the nation’s youth tennis ranks.
As 2008 began, Austin, a freshman at Sleepy Hollow High School, was ranked about 250th in the U.S. Tennis Association’s Eastern district 14-and-under age group. He had a cranky knee and a meandering commitment.
“I didn’t really want to play tennis a year ago,” Austin said, sitting at the edge of the sofa in the living room of the Siegel’s Union Avenue home. “I was more interested in playing basketball.”
And now? Now he is the No. 1 ranked 14-year-old player in Westchester County, a kid with a pipe-cleaner physique and power that is belied by his 6-foot-1 ½, 135-pound frame. It’s notoriously difficult to predict big-time athletic stardom, but Austin’s size and fast-maturing game are extremely noteworthy positives.
Continue reading "Sleepy Hollow Freshman Sets His Sights on Tennis Stardom" »
Following is a list of winter recreation areas close to
the rivertowns to help you spend more time skating, skiing
and snowboarding and less time traveling. It is not meant
to determine the best, but rather the best that is closest.
