Arts and Entertainment

Details: Published: 06 September 2012; Created: 06 September 2012; Last Updated: 06 September 2012; Hits: 4831

SASFitnessClass Among the more than 230 classes offered this semester at SAS, the first forty-five courses will be starting next week. Kicking off the semester are classes in foreign languages, arts and crafts, cooking, dance, fitness, golf, music, and games, with many other subjects beginning later in the month.

French, Spanish, Italian, and ESL classes for different levels of ability are generally in sets of ten classes for $210, meeting either at the teacher’s home or the Scarsdale Public Library.

Many drawing and painting courses begin next week as well. Returning favorites such as watercolor, painting with water soluble oils, pastels, and drawing complement the new classes entitled Adventures in Art: All Mediums and Drawing and Painting Open Studio. Depending on the course, classes meet at either the Girl Scout House or Temple Israel Center, for eight to ten weeks, at a cost of $180 to $275.

The first of SAS’s cooking courses, Farm to Table Cooking, will meet on September 12, 2012 from 10 SASCookingClass a.m. to 2 p.m., and include a trip to the White Plains farmers’ market under the guidance of instructor Heather Solomon. Tuition is $125.

Belly dancing with Shayna Renzin and zumba classes with YeYe Valerio or Martha Ocequera resume for six sessions each. Tuition for any of the dance courses is $105 and classes meet at either Andrea’s Dance Studio, the Greenville Community Church, or Westchester Reform Temple.

Don’t miss your chance to catch the beginning of the fall fitness line-up. SAS offers eight different yoga classes for beginners to advanced students, including courses specific to hatha and vinyasa practices, with both day and evening meeting times available. Also returning are courses in body sculpting, boot camp, mat pilates, qigong, tai chi, and the ever-popular Walk Live Workout. New to SAS is a chair-based body sculpting class, a course on the Alexander technique, and a power pilates fitness course.

Golf at the Westchester Golf Range with instructor Adrian Ponce will meet on Tuesday evenings for six sessions starting September 11, 2012. Tuition is $175.

Joy of Singing and Song begins on Thursday, September 13, 2012, and meets for six sessions from 4 to 6 p.m. at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church. Led by Shirley Love, an operatic mezzo-soprano featured with the Metropolitan Opera Company, this course welcomes all abilities and levels of experience. Musical selections range from pop to Broadway to classical in this non-threatening choral instruction for $200.

Sylwia McNamara, ACBL accredited bridge teacher, ACBL certified director, and an accomplished tournament player, is the instructor for all bridge classes — for the novice to the advanced player. She will focus on the rules of the game, different aspects of bidding, and analyzing your hand for trick-taking potential in both suit and no-trump contracts. For the early birds who filled Alice Levinson’s canasta class, the series starts on Thursday, September 13, 2012. Optimistic students may add their name to the wait list or, better yet, secure a slot now in Alice Levinson’s mah jongg series later in the semester. Both the bridge and canasta courses meet in the daytime at Westchester Reform Temple and run in sets of five to six classes with tuition in the $125 to $150 range.

SASlogo SAS Catalogs were mailed in early August and are also available at the Village Hall and the Scarsdale Public Library. To register for courses, visit the SAS website at www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org . Call (914) 723-2325 with questions.

Details: Published: 28 August 2012; Created: 28 August 2012; Last Updated: 28 August 2012; Hits: 5814

petunias After 68 years, Sprainbrook Nursery on Underhill Road in Scarsdale will close. Owner Al Krautter announced his decision this week citing a host of factors that contributed to the nursery’s economic woes. He called the move “gut-wrenching” but said that old-fashioned garden centers have become “obsolete,” and that he is faced with competition from a wide variety of retailers. Though he loves his passionate and loyal customers, there “are just not enough of them.”

Krautter grew up at Sprainbrook and attended Cornell University where he got a degree in horticulture. He worked in the family business with his wife and parents and “enjoyed his mother’s daily company until she died at age 95.” Krautter’s own children helped out at the nursery as well, and attended the Edgemont School District.

He said “Sprainbrook has been my life” and told his customers that he did not give up on it easily, pouring all of his resources back in the business in the hope of saving it. However, he said, “due to the economic recession our sales have dropped and our costs continue to rise. With health insurance, rising fuel prices, a huge jump in water bills and a very high property tax for the area we are battling huge costs before we ever open the doors.”

We asked Al if a strong fall season could change his mind and what would become of the property if does need to close. Here is what he shared with Scarsdale10583:

We are out of money and cannot continue. I would love to sell it as a nursery but nurseries in particular are all having a difficult time. Part is due to the economy but also because of changing buying patterns. We do need to sell so it will probably go for real estate. We are not sure what our options all are as of yet as we are at the beginning of this process.

The 3.79 acre property in Edgemont will soon be for sale. Stay posted.

Details: Published: 10 August 2012; Created: 10 August 2012; Last Updated: 11 August 2012; Hits: 4918

photoshoot1 Large trucks, lighting apparatus and a film crew assembled in Chase Park on Friday August 10 causing much speculation about what was being filmed…. a movie, a tv show? And would the rain hold off long enough for the work to be done? Turns out the crew of 30-40 people came to Scarsdale to shoot a commercial for United Healthcare and AARP. The location scout selected Scarsdale because of the park’s setting in Scarsdale and shot the commercial to showcase the village. Though no famous actors were on the set, a representative from MacGuffin Films told us that SAG actors were employed and it was a union job.

Lange’s catered food for the crew all day and lunch was served at Moscato. The visitors found Scarsdale to be “friendly and cooperative.”

According to Assistant Village Manager Justin Datino, the production company “approached the Village, applied for and received an approved special event permit from the Village Manager’s Office.”

Datino then reviewed what was involved in getting permission to film here, “There are a number of requirements to obtain the photoshoot4 permit including: references, insurance, site plan, parking plan and advanced payment. The Village requires the film company to reimburse all expenses related to Police, DPW, parking as well as using the Village facility (Chase Park).”

Datino also added the following: “The Village receives many inquiries regarding filming, only a handful end up actually submitting a permit application for review.. Filming does bring with it both benefits and drawbacks. On an otherwise slow business day in the summer a crew of 30-40 people can stimulate business and activity in the Village Center but other circumstances could bring a variety of disruptions so there is a delicate balance and why the Village reviews each film request on a case by case basis.”

At 12:15, there was a big downpour so we don’t know whether the crew beat the weather and finished their work. However, we were told that the television spot should air in October so watch for Scarsdale on your television.

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Details: Published: 21 August 2012; Created: 21 August 2012; Last Updated: 21 August 2012; Hits: 3729

booksale2012 The deadline to donate books to the Friends of Scarsdale Public Library Annual Book Sale is quickly approaching -- and Kathy Steves, who runs the ambitious sale says that more than 60,000 almost-new and out-of-print books, including bestsellers, classics, biographies, fiction, parenting, cooking, art and antiques, computers, humor, self-help, drama, religion, business and poetry have already been donated. The last day to make your donation is Saturday August 25, so take care of it today.

Steves reports that though contributions are robust, the donations may not include as many current bestsellers as there were in previous years. Why? Because this year many residents were downloading books to their Kindles, Nooks and iPads, and therefore had fewer new offerings to donate. The good news is that the volume of donation remains strong – so you are sure to find something you like at a very reasonable cost. Massmarket paperbacks are already for sale in the library lobby.

Over 30 volunteers are now presorting the books into categories for the buyer’s convenience. There is also a large selection of books for children, as well as DVDs, CDs, videotapes, books on tape, and sheet music. More than $45,000 was raised last year. All proceeds from the sale support library programs and projects.

The official book sale will be held from Friday, September 7th through Sunday, September 16, 2012 at the Scarsdale Public Library, Olmsted Road and Post Road, Scarsdale, NY. The sale will begin on Friday, September 7th from 7 to 9 pm with a “Friends” preview. New members may join at the door that evening for $25. New books are added to the sale daily.

Here is the complete schedule for the sale:

Regular Sale

Saturday, Sept. 8: 9am - 4:30pm
Sunday, Sept. 9: 10am - 4pm
Monday, Sept. 10: 11 am – 8pm
Tuesday Sept. 11: 11 am – 8 pm

Half-Price Sale

Wednesday, Sept. 12: 11am – 8 pm
Thursday, Sept. 13: 11 am – 5 pm
Friday, Sept. 14: 11am - 4:30pm

Blow-Out Sale

Saturday, Sept. 15: 9am - 4:30pm
Sunday, Sept. 16: 11am - 4pm

For more information, please contact Kathy Steves at Steves10583@gmail.com. The Scarsdale Public Library is located at 54 Olmsted Road, Scarsdale, NY, 10583. Phone: (914) 722-1300. Website: www.scarsdalelibrary.org .

Details: Published: 23 July 2012; Created: 23 July 2012; Last Updated: 23 July 2012; Hits: 3270

ronald1 Scarsdale Firefighter John Savarese outdid himself to make this year’s Ronald McDonald House event the best ever. This is the third year that the Scarsdale Fire Department has sponsored a day of fun for pediatric cancer patients from Ronald McDonald House in Manhattan and their families, The event was held on Thursday July 19 at the Crossway Firehouse in Scarsdale and Savarese planned an ambitious program to thrill the kids and their parents.

It started with a police escort to lead the bus from the Ronald McDonald House in Manhattan to Scarsdale. Kids arrived at the firehouse and found carnival games and rides to enjoy. Savarese arranged for some classic cars to be on display, as well as a monster truck called Monster Mayhem and two humvees.

But he didn’t stop there. He used his contacts in the military to bring a swat team, and k9 unit in for a demonstration, and in a most spectacular display had skydivers jump from a plane and land at the firehouse to greet the visitors. He had even planned for some skywriters to write “Ronal McDonald House” in the sky, but this ronaldskydiver had to be cancelled due to the clouds. The Westchester County Police Department landed a helicopter that kids could explore.