A presentation on the second coming of JumpstArt, due to return to downtown Riverhead on August 7, will take place at the Riverhead Town Board’s work session on Thursday. The interactive art project is run by the East End Arts Council. (more…)
Tag: East End Arts Council
BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | Vines & Hops and TWS Hobby Center opened up on Main Street within the past year.
It’s a lamentable story that locals are all too familiar with: downtown Riverhead was a veritable ghost town just a few years ago, with empty storefronts dotting large stretches of East Main Street.
To help counteract the sense of glum particularly felt during the holidays, East End Arts launched a campaign in 2010 that gave locals the opportunity to decorate the windows of vacant storefronts with festive scenes. The nonprofit has held a Holiday Window Decorating contest each of the past three years.
Click here to see photos from last year’s contest
But now, thanks to the recent influx of businesses to downtown Riverhead, none of that will be happening this year: Pat Snyder, the executive director of East End Arts, said the most of the storefronts she and other members of the Council would have decorated are, to the relief of many in the community, now occupied.
BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | Nancy Reyer, left, and Allison Pressler, right, at a window display made during last year’s contest to recognize Reyer’s son, Michael.
“It was our gift to the community to fill up the space, make it look nice during the holidays and encourage people to come downtown,” Ms. Snyder said. “There were vacant windows and the town we loved needed love. The windows we typically would have used are now mostly occupied by businesses, so that’s a good thing.”
Mattituck resident Mark Sisson, whose group “People for the Ethical Treatment of Elves” took second place honors in last year’s Holiday Window Decorating contest, called the change a sort of “double-edged sword.”
“On one hand, it’s great stores are filling up in downtown Riverhead,” he said. “But on the other, it’s too bad that we don’t get a chance to have this fun thing for the holidays.”
A few of the once-vacant storefronts locals used to decorate are now occupied by stores include Twin Forks Bicycles, game shop TheWarStore.com, and Vines and Hops Café, Ms. Snyder said. Twin Forks Bicycles moved into downtown Riverhead in February 2012; TheWarStore.com and Vines and Hops Café both opened their doors this year.
The former Woolworth building on East Main Street, which Ms. Snyder said also used to get the decorative window treatment, will soon bustle with activity itself. Ultimate on Main is expected to open a large gym on the building’s ground floor by the end of the year, and another tenant, Goldberg’s Famous Bagels, plans to open its doors in an adjoining space by the start of 2014.
“There’s nothing like a live, animated storefront with people inside,” Vines and Hops Café co-owner Jeff McKay said. “Having that storefront come alive with patrons – it’s a great feeling.”
KATHARINE SCHROEDER PHOTO | The Riverhead Blue Masques’ production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ earned a Teeny Awards nomination for choreography.
The 11th Annual Teeny Awards will be held at Southold High School today. The awards, presented by East End Arts and sponsored by Suffolk County National Bank and Riverhead Toyota, showcase the best in local high school theater.
The red carpet begins at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 at the door.
Southold, with 11 nominations, and Riverhead, with 10 nods, lead the way for local schools.
Check back this evening for a list of winners.
The nominees for all the North Fork high schools are listed alphabetically by school below:
DRAMA
Lead Actor in a Drama
Eliminas Abromaitis, Riverhead, “A Christmas Carol”
Jonathan Troiano, Riverhead, “A Christmas Carol”
Jamie Tuthill, McGann-Mercy, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Lead Actress in a Drama
Nicole Chiuchiolo, McGann-Mercy, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Brionna Cook, Riverhead, “A Christmas Carol”
Amanda Osborne, Riverhead, “A Christmas Carol”
Jordan Tapley, Riverhead, “A Christmas Carol”
Supporting Actor in a Drama
Andrew Nucatola, Riverhead, “A Christmas Carol”
Patrick O’Brien, McGann-Mercy, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Supporting Actress in a Drama
Danielle Allen, McGann-Mercy, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Emma Bernhardt, Riverhead, “A Christmas Carol”
Erin Plitt, Riverhead, “A Christmas Carol”
Jessica Sisti, Riverhead, “A Christmas Carol”
COMEDY
Lead Actor in a Comedy
Zach Fisher, Shoreham-Wading River, “Don’t Drink the Water”
Sean Mannix, Shoreham-Wading River, “Don’t Drink the Water”
Oliver Orr, Mattituck, “Are Teachers Human?”
Lead Actress in a Comedy
Maggie Daley, Shoreham-Wading River, “Don’t Drink the Water”
Gayle Gammon, Southold/Greenport co-production, “Trixie, Teen Detective”
Mally Fogarty, Mattituck, “Are Teachers Human?”
Rachel Lohrius, Shoreham-Wading River, “Don’t Drink the Water”
Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Tom Batuello, Mattituck, “Are Teachers Human?”
Anthony DeVita, Shoreham-Wading River, “Don’t Drink the Water”
Ryan Zlatniski, Mattituck, “Are Teachers Human?”
Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Nicole Chiuchiolo, McGann-Mercy, “You Can’t Take it With You”
Gwyn Foley, Mattituck, “Are Teachers Human?”
Sydney Campbell, Southold/Greenport co-production, “Trixie, Teen Detective”
MUSICAL
Lead Actor in a Musical
Sam Bracken, Southold, “Grease”
John Drinkwater, Greenport, “Guys and Dolls”
Lead Actress in a Musical
Laura Logan, Shoreham-Wading River, “Sweeney Todd”
Susanna Kelly, Southold, “Grease”
Brianna Pagano, Greenport, “Guys and Dolls”
Supporting Actor in a Musical
Matt Drinkwater, Greenport, “Guys and Dolls”
Jack Dunne, Southold, “Grease”
Supporting Actress in a Musical
Lea Gianbruno, Shelter Island, “Legally Blonde”
Michaela Manno, Southold, “Grease”
Shelby Pickerell, Southold, “Grease”
Outstanding Performance
This category recognizes students who “shine brightly” in roles not eligible for adjudication in the leading or supporting categories.
Alexandra Lasot, Southold, Teen Angel in “Grease”
Lara Mahaffy, Southold, Ursula in “Trixie, Teen Detective”
Choreography
Victoria Carroll, Riverhead, “Fiddler on the Roof”
Southold dance captains, Southold, “Grease”
Outstanding Ensemble
Mattituck, “Once Upon a Mattress”
Playbill/Poster Art
Stephen Spinelli, Shoreham-Wading River, “Sweeney Todd”
Gretchen Walter, Southold, “Trixie, Teen Detective”
Judge’s Choice Award
This noncompetitive award is given for a scene, musical number, dance number or group that the judges feel stands out enough to warrant special recognition.
The Greek Chorus, Shelter Island, “Legally Blonde”
Stage Management Recognition
(noncompetitive)
Mariah Brengel, Shoreham-Wading River
Ian Byrne, McGann-Mercy
Quinn Carey, McGann-Mercy
Helen Chen, Mattituck
Jaclyn Conway, Southold-Greenport co-production
Jaclyn Conway, Southold
Mayra Gonzalez, Mattituck
Melissa Hickox, Mattituck
Julie Lindell, Shoreham-Wading River
Anne O’Rourke, Mattituck
Stephen Spinelli, Shoreham-Wading River
Jerilynn Toole, Riverhead
Sean Walden, Greenport
Rachel Williams, Riverhead
Technical Design recognition
(noncompetitive)
Savannah Calderale, Southold, set design for “Grease”
Catherine Penn, Riverhead, costume design for “Arsenic and Old Lace” and “Footloose”
NEWS-REVIEW FILE PHOTO | East End Arts have announced details about the upcoming East End Challenge. It includes a new exhibit by the East End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation called “The Bays Around Us: A Tribute to Rachel Carson.”
East End Arts in Riverhead announced last week details about its upcoming East End Challenge, a contest that encourages high school students to help preserve the environment.
The East End Challenge involves having students explore connections between science and art for a new exhibit by the East End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation called “The Bays Around Us: A Tribute to Rachel Carson.”
Ms. Carson was a marine biologist and conservationist who wrote “Silent Spring,” a book that has been credited with launching the contemporary American environmental movement. This new exhibit will feature the winning entries of the East End Challenge.
Contestants are asked to explore connections between science and art and include a narrative, multimedia or visual images in their presentations. East End Arts officials said a panel of judges will consider the following: quality, message, inventive observation and creative interpretation of the East End’s maritime world. They added: “To paraphrase Einstein, looking at what everyone else is looking at and seeing what no one else is seeing.”
All high school students from the five East End townships — Riverhead, Southold, Shelter Island, Southampton and East Hampton — are eligible.
Students must first submit an application with an outline and description of their proposed project. Cash prize awards are available of up to $1,000 for winning entries. All finalists selected will receive $100 each.
The deadline for entries is March 4. For more information, visit eastendseaport.org/application.htm.
The Riverhead Town Board held its final regular meeting of 2012 Thursday Reporter Tim Gannon blogged live from the meeting.
Click below to read a recap:
NEWS-REVIEW FILE PHOTO | East End Arts announced today it has awarded Riverhead High School student José Alvizures with its annual Frances Ligon Memorial Scholarship.
East End Arts announced today it has awarded Riverhead High School student José Alvizures its annual Frances Ligon Memorial Scholarship.
The 14-year old musician began studying the cello with Jeannie Woelker at the East End Arts School in 2008. During middle school, José was a member of the chamber orchestra and participated in the Hamptons Music Educators Association Festival. He now plays in the Riverhead High School freshman orchestra.
BARBARAELLEN KOCH FILE PHOTO | José Alvizures practicing the sport of speed stacking at the Long Island Science Museum in 2010.
José participated in the East End Arts’ Perlman Program this past summer, where local string students played under the baton of the great Itzhak Perlman. José has also attended the East End Arts School’s Summer Music Camp and has been a volunteer at the East End Arts’ Community Mosaic Street Painting Festival for several years.
The scholarship was established in 2007 in honor of the memory of Frances Ligon, who served on the Board of Directors for East End Arts from 2005 to 2007. East End Arts officials called her a well-known advocate for the arts and early childhood education. She was also an avid gospel singer and performed regularly as a soloist and as a member of the East End Arts’ Harvest Gospel Choir, officials said.
Past recipients of this award include Brandon Boardman (2010 and 2011); Nazrus Halsey (2009); and Christian Hibbert (2008).
COURTESY PHOTO | Gena Griffiths of Cutchogue was selected as this summer’s artist-in-residence.
East End Arts has announced that a North Fork local has taken up the post as July and August’s artist-in-residence.
Gena Griffiths, a multi-media visual artist and arts educator, will create a three-figure sculpture during her two month stay at the Corwin Carriage House in Riverhead, representing the purity of a child’s creative process, according to the council. Ms. Griffiths will also offer three week-long art classes and weekly workshops for children between the ages of 5 and 14.
Her schedule of classes, which range from sculpting, painting, and multi-media art, can be found at the East End Art School’s blog, http://eeacschool.blogspot.com or by calling the school at 369-2171.
A Mattituck High School graduate, Ms. Griffiths received a bachelor’s degree in art studio and art education from SUNY/Potsdam in 2010. She’s spent the last two years working as a teacher assistant in the Mattituck School District and lives in Cutchogue.
BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | The new Suffolk Theater marquee moments after it was lit at a special ceremony Friday night.
East End Arts and 12 downtown Riverhead restaurants hosted “A Night Out in Riverhead” Friday evening. The event featured dining discounts, a free concert, a gallery opening and art lecture.
Athens Grill, Cliff’s Rendezvous, Dark Horse Restaurant, Digger O’Dell’s, Hyatt Place East End, Jerry & the Mermaid, Parto’s, Riverhead Diner & Grill, The Riverhead Project, Turkuaz Grill, and Tweeds all participated with meal and drink discounts.
The night culminated with a marquee lighting ceremony at the historic Suffolk Theater. Theater owners Bob and Dianne Castaldi threw the switch on the new digital marquee, installed as part of current renovation efforts at the theater, built in 1933 but closed in 1987. A toast was presented by the Riverhead Project.
East End Arts also hosted a gallery opening and talk with artist Charles Riley. Bob Barta & Friends serenaded the crowd with live outdoor music.
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