In this age of video-taking phones, webcasts and YouTube, everyone, it seems, is an auteur. Your daughter dreams of being a real-life iCarly; your son aspires to be Spike Jonze (skateboard and all). And you wouldn't mind if one of them turned out to be a Spielberg in the making.
 
If the phrase "Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making a title sequence!" is frequently caught around your house, sign up your aspiring cinematographers and animators for a class at the new Media Arts Lab at Jacob Burns Film Center. With classes in production, animation and songwriting, kids (and you - there are plenty of adult classes as well) can make their own short films, learn production, even write and produce their own theme song (and lets face it; every one needs a theme song). Got a spectator on your hands? Let them learn the art of criticism (of films, at least). Now in their second year of classes, moms of previous students are giving it two thumbs up.
 
Registration is still open for classes, so don't miss out!
 
Jacob Burns Film Center - Media Arts Lab
405 Manville Rd.
Pleasantville, NY
914.773.7663
Media Arts Lab at Jacob Burns Film Center

Posted by plumberry at 01:39 PM | Permalink

Wasn't this season of American Idol a nail-biter to the end? You were relieved when dark horse cutie-pie Kris Allen took the top prize away from powerhouse Adam Lambert. Yes, the guy has enormous talent, but all that screaming was starting to give you a headache. (Oh, don't feel too bad for Adam; while Kris is under contract for the next two years with Idol, Adam can get his record deal signed and make his Broadway debut -- Spamalot, anyone?) Love him or hate him, watching Lambert (and/or Simon) week after week was certainly entertaining. And it's inspiring to know that anyone (well, anyone with looks and a good singing voice) could be plucked from obscurity and catapulted into super stardom just like that (make snapping noise).

That's why there's hope for a group of six suburban, 40-something dads who play in the aptly named band, Ask Your Mom. Recent winners of the "Best Parent Band in Westchester" by Westchester Magazine (just how many parent bands are there in this county?), these Bedford-based Daddy-O's have been making beautiful rock n' roll music together for over three years. By day, these would-be rockers are a banker, lawyer, doctor, web producer, marketing exec and philanthropist. By night, they shed the suits, kiss the kids goodnight and jam together at local sold-out venues in front of sold-out crowds! (Just kidding, the shows are free.) "Ask Your Mom is a great band to be a part of because we are all friends and love music," says drummer John Trumpbour. "Of course, getting six adults in the same place at the same time for practice during the week is not that easy, but we make it happen. A week without practice is a very long week since we all have a passion for music and the bug to play out live."

Next up is O'Malley's in Mount Kisco on June 20th.  So come on down to support these real guitar heroes. You never know what will come next for this band of dads. After all, last year's winner David Cook started his career in a bar too.
 
Click for Ask Your Mom's "concert" tour: http://askyourmom.us/

Posted by plumberry at 03:55 PM | Permalink

Economic tumult, piracy on the high seas, Michael Phelps caught "inhaling": It's only April, but what a year it has been already. All that's left, it seems, is to keep our senses of humor.
 
Aiding and abetting that goal is the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. In it's 23rd season, the critically acclaimed performance company promises to feature total mad-cap hilarity; love hiding in plain sight; battles of wit (and the sexes); shipwrecks; marriage; near death experiences; and one of the greatest reunions in all of Shakespeare. In other words, this season will include The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), the romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing, and the action-packed adventure/romance, Pericles.  Reasons as good as any to get out for the night, especially when getting out means an open-air tent theater perched high up on the banks of the Hudson River on the grounds of the historic 19th Century Boscobel estate in Garrison, New York. (Don't forget the picnic basket!)
 
As an added incentive, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is offering readers of Plumberry Jam a 15% discount on tickets for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday performances for the first four weeks of the season  (previews begin June 16) for tickets ordered through the box office, which opens April 27th. [Call (845) 275-9575 and use code PBJ-Shakespeare.] 
 
 "These are tumultuous times and we know that a lot of people are really struggling," says  Terrence O'Brien, HVSF's founding artistic director. "We hope that our twenty-third season will provide a bright spot by giving people an opportunity to leave the news behind for a few treasured hours.  We may not be able to provide tax relief, but we can certainly provide eco-comic relief!" 

Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
June 16 - Sept. 6th
Boscobel
Garrison, NY
 
Tickets and ordering:
Tickets: $29-$46 (before Plumberry Jam discount). 
To review a full schedule of performances, please visit: hvshakespeare.org
For tickets, call (845) 275-9575 and use code PBJ-Shakespeare.

Posted by plumberry2 at 01:22 AM | Permalink

The males in your life, namely your middle-school son, middle-aged husband and middlingly employed younger brother, share several common obsessions: Eating cereal straight from the box; Super Friends; and "graphic novels." The last, they insist, are Art and you are instructed not to toss these cultural artifacts (which litter the floor of the family room) as they will become "collectible." Someday. Really.

That may be debatable, but there's one practitioner of Benday-dot pointillism that you all might agree on: Roy Lichtenstein.  Best known for his representations of mass culture subjects - comic book frames, consumer goods, cartoon characters - Lichtenstein also used the styles of commercial art to render more traditional subjects (for instance, tables with two vases, still lives with fruit.) About to open at the Katonah Museum of Art is an exhibition of his works "in process": Formative sketches, drawings and collages that would later be translated into full-scale paintings, prints and sculptures and sold for millions and millions of dollars. (Not bad for a former art teacher at SUNY Oswego.) Through these displays, you'll be able to glean the developmental process that lead to some of the greatest work of the 20th century.
 
And while the status of those graphic novels might still be up in the air, maybe you will all be able to compromise on a print of "Whamm!" for the game room.
 
 
 
Lichtenstein in Process
March 29 - June 28, 2009
Katonah Museum of Art
134 Jay Street/Rt 22
Katonah
www.katonahmuseum.org

Image: Collage for Still Life with Reclining Nude, 1997
Painted and printed paper on board
40 1/8 x 60 1/4
Roy Lichtenstein Foundation
© Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

Posted by plumberry at 01:27 PM | Permalink

The presidential election may be over, but with the first 100 days moving along, Frost/Nixon in the theaters, and more Lincoln and FDR books on the new release shelves, politics are still on your mind. As long as you're thinking about those leaders of the free world, you may want to get a new perspective on them from the real king of pop: Andy Warhol.  The Neuberger Museum's new Warhol exhibition, Pop Politics, features over 60 paintings, prints, drawings and photographs of some of the most memorable political leaders, all done by one of the most memorable artistic leaders.

Throw a little Velvet Underground onto your iPod, and you'll almost feel you're at the Factory itself.

ANDY WARHOL: POP POLITICS
February 15, 2009 - April 26, 2009
Don't miss Warhol Thursdays: The Museum will remain open from 5-8 pm Thursday evenings, Feb 26-Apr 23, free of charge.
Neuberger Museum
735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY
www.neuberger.org

Posted by plumberry at 01:23 PM | Permalink

You are a good parent. The first day your children came home with their band instrument, you smiled indulgently -- without noticeably wincing -- as they showed you the notes they had just learned to play. You have dutifully ensured (i.e, nagged) that they practice every night, even forgoing earplugs so you had audible proof that the practice occurred. You have attended the grade-school concerts (again, sans earplugs) and smiled (again, without wincing) every time "Let's Go Band!" is played. You have even expanded your own musical repertoire to find recordings of artists who specialize in each kid's chosen instrument so they would have someone to emulate.

Continue on the "band parent of the year" track by bringing your budding musicians (especially clarinetists and saxophonists) to the final installment of this year's Katonah Museum of Art's Shades of Jazz series this Wednesday, August 6th. Featuring the phenomenal Israeli virtuoso Anat Cohen, your family will not only enjoy an evening of unparalleled performances on clarinet and saxophone, you'll get to do it while picnicking under the trees of KMA's Sculpture Garden, which somehow manages to be both civilized and carefree. (Come to think of it, that is how one might also describe Anat Cohen's music, which incorporates modern and traditional jazz, classical music, Brazilian choro, Argentine tango and Afro-Cuban styles.)

Curated by legendary jazz guitarist John Scofield (who will join Cohen for an end of the evening jam), and sponsored by Blue Note Jazz Club, the series is made possible with contributions from Captain Lawrence Brewing Company, The Little Wine Company and RadGrapes, and Organic Connection.
   
Shades of Jazz: Anat Cohen
Wednesday, August 6th
6:30pm
Kataonah Museum of Art
134 Jay Street (Rte. 22)
Katonah, NY
232-9555
www.katonahmuseum.org

Posted by plumberry at 01:46 PM | Permalink

Today's pop quiz:

Why would a little ol' newsletter like Plumberry Jam become the "media sponsors" of something like the Katonah Museum of Art's Shades of Jazz series?

A)    The Jam Makers happen to really like jazz, and are self-absorbed enough to think that if they like it, you should at least be willing to check it out.
B)    The Jam Makers happen to think (in that self-absorbed way of theirs) that the Katonah Museum of Art is a huge asset to the cultural life of Northern Westchester, and that everyone should spend more time there.
C)    The Jam Makers relish any excuse to go out on a weeknight, especially if it involves a picnic dinner; live, world-class music; complimentary wine & beer; and seeing you, their loyal readers, in person.
D)    All of the above.

Answering all of the above may have stumped you on your SATs, but not this time. We hope we'll see you on Wednesday, July 16th, at 6:30pm, in the Shade Garden of the Katonah Museum of Art to listen to Gino Sitson and his Cameroon a cappella group. And, of course, you'll get to hear the legendary John Scofield play a jam session and enjoy that free wine and beer from The Little Wine Company, RadGrapes and Captain Lawrence Brewing Company.

P.S. Since today is Bastille Day, and French happens to be one of the official languages of the African nation of Cameroon and, for some reason, thinking about picnics always makes you think about France (blame Manet), you might be wondering where to get a really good Parisian something or other. You would not be mistaken in thinking that you previously read a recommendation for something along those lines from the Jam Makers. It would be Bisou Patisserie & Café.

Posted by plumberry at 12:58 PM | Permalink

As a twenty-something, you were never one to take a share in the Hamptons. Glossing over the fact your cruddy job wouldn't support the expense, you claimed spending summer weekends in the city afforded you pleasures unavailable to the rental crowd. Besides the fact your weekend lasted at least ten hours longer than theirs (no sitting in traffic), there were Summer Stage concerts to attend, buckets of ice-cold beer to drink on Tar Beach, Yankees home games to cheer at, and of course, Shakespeare in the Park.
 
Shakespeare in the Park. Joe Papp's great legacy to the people of New York; camping out on line for hours with picnic in hand to get a seat was virtually a rite of passage for a certain generation of city dwellers. Before you get all misty eyed dreaming of days gone by, grab yourself tickets to a performance of the 2008 Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, which holds its theatricalities (now in their 22nd year) on the grounds of Boscobel, a magnificently restored Federalist mansion in Garrison, NY, overlooking the Hudson River and West Point.
 
Preorder a picnic dinner and a bottle of wine online when you order the tickets (no lugging coolers!); take a tour of the mansion and grounds; then settle in for the Bard's words come to life. This year's line up features Cymbelline, Twelfth Night, and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). The last, a condensation of the complete works - all 37 of them - into 97 minutes, will certainly tickle the fancy of the English major in the family, even if it leaves the Wharton grad a tad baffled.
 
And there, you don't even have to deal with the 6 Line.
 
Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
Boscobel, Garrison, NY
www.hvshakespeare.org
Previews until June 27; regular season June 28 - August 31
7pm, Wednesday & Thursday: $30
8pm Friday & 6pm Sunday: $38
8pm Saturday: $44
 
To view specific performance dates, please visit:
http://www.hvshakespeare.org/hv-cal08.asp

Posted by plumberry at 01:01 PM | Permalink

There are those who worry about the acoustics of the room in which they listen to music. They spend hours setting the volume and arranging their surround sound speakers.  You are of the persuasion that melodies (and harmonies) are best heard outdoors. As with food, taking it in al fresco lends a certain something to the experience (minus the mosquitoes). A summer evening, under the trees, with the jazz swinging -- you're there.
 
"There" in this particular instance is the Katonah Museum of Art's Shades of Jazz series . Curated by the legendary guitarist (and Katonah resident) John Scofield, this year's series features the most recent sensations from the international jazz scene. The performances, held in the museum's Sculpture Garden, end with a jam session with John Scofield. Bring a picnic dinner and a lawn chair, and enjoy complimentary wine and beer.
 
The first performance, on June 11th, will feature guitarist Peter Bernstein, the acclaimed New Yorker who has been part of the jazz scene since the 1980s. On July 16th groove to the AfroJazz sounds of Gino Sitson and his Cameroon a capella group. August 6th wraps up the series with virtuoso saxophone and clarinet player Anat Cohen, the Israeli phenomenon who combines modern and traditional jazz, classical music, Brazilian choro, Argentine tango and Afro-Cuban styles.
 
As media sponsors of the events, Plumberry Jam is going to be there too -- and offering you the chance to win four free tickets to the series! Just reply to this email by Thursday, June 5th at 5pm with the words "I want tickets!" to be entered in a drawing. (We'll announce the winner in Friday's Plumberry Jam.) Plus, we'll be giving out special Plumberry Jam bags at the June 11th event so be sure to pick one up.
 
Shades of Jazz
Wednesday June 11th, July 16th and August 6th
Performances begin at 6:30
$10 members, $20 non-members
The Sculpture Garden at Katonah Museum of Art
134 Jay Street (Route 22), Katonah
914-232-9555

Posted by plumberry at 01:48 PM | Permalink

Back when the only things you had to manage were your career-ladder climb and restaurant reservations, you fancied yourself an intellectual. The Utne Reader and New Yorker had a permanent place in your Coach work tote; the 92^nd Street Y's schedule was entered into your Outlook, with reminders set for when you had to leave the office "early" to make it to a 7:30 lecture. Now, as you juggle carpooling, playdates, sports games (that social life has been reduced to soccer-field sideline chats), PTA meetings, tutoring appointments and your job, you barely get to glance through the cartoons before the New Yorker hits the recycle pile.

Posted by plumberry at 02:20 PM | Permalink

It's that time of year. No, no, not the gift-giving, cookie-baking, drag-the-good-china-out-of-the-back-of-the-cupboard time of year (although it is, of course). The bonus-number time of year. Which means it's also the plan-2008-financial-and-investment-strategy time of year. **Click.** Back to Emeril's Holiday Over-eating Extravaganza.

Really, if you can mobilize the wherewithal to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner for two dozen of your closet friends and family in between running the department/your business/the PTA; getting the kids to swimming/theater/karate/Pro Swing (often all in the same afternoon); and ensuring there's enough laundry detergent and milk in the house, you do, most definitely, have the brain capacity to figure out what to do with that money (besides spend it).

 

But you're busy. Figuring out investing takes time. And even if there's one or more "financial sector" employees at home, like the cobbler's shoeless children, your family doesn't always benefit from that in-house expertise. So go out of the house on November 15^th to hear a talk on "Sane Money" from Timothy Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management and one of the nation's leading investment advisers (Barron's rated him the #6 portfolio manager in a recent ranking of US fund managers).

No, you won't have to hand him (or his company) your life savings, buy a book, take a timeshare or otherwise commit yourself to anything -- except getting answers on investing and allocating your own assets wisely. Part of a lecture series that includes experts from the worlds of art, American history and investing, Ghriskey's talk promises to be both illuminating and friendly. There's even a wine and cheese reception afterwards, so you will be forgiven if you feel a momentary flashback to your 92^nd Street Y days.

 

Sane Money: Investing Today and Tomorrow
November 15^th, 7:30pm, $20

St. Mark's Church
85 East Main Street

Mount Kisco, NY

 

Posted by plumberry at 06:27 PM | Permalink

The preview of fine fall weather has you thinking about many things: Cozy nights by the fire. Whether to buy that cashmere wrap sweater. Carving pumpkins.

As you're contemplating such things (some of which should not be combined in reality, such as wearing said sweater and carving said pumpkins), it's worth also contemplating getting your tickets for the annual Halloween event held at Van Cortlandt Manor -- The Blaze.

The best part? You can wear that sweater and indulge your Jack-o-Lantern passion at the same time, without worrying about gooping yourself up.

Posted by plumberry at 01:52 PM | Permalink

Among the things you gave up upon having children: Uninterrupted nights of sleep. High heels for the heck of it. Doing something with your husband besides the standard dinner-and-a-movie.

Expand your date night horizons with Katonah Museum of Art’s “Shades of Jazz” performances. Settle in under the towering branches that cover the Museum’s Sculpture Garden, and groove along to artists handpicked by the series’ host and organizer, jazz legend John Scofield. Cuban drummer Francisco Mela will appear on July 25^th; Swiss harmonica sensation Gregoire Maret plays on August 8^th.

KMA is pro-picnic, so pack a basket of goodies from William Nicholas & Co., then enjoy a glass (or two) of complimentary wine or beer provided by the Little Wine Co. and Captain Lawrence Brewing company. And just when you think it won’t get any better will be about the time Scofield takes the stage to jam with the performers for the latter part of the set. Well-behaved children have been spotted frolicking under the trees, but you’ll be forgiven for booking a mid-week babysitter for this one.

After all, you didn’t give up having a life.

Shades of Jazz
July 25 and August 8^th, 6:00pm
$10/members; $15/non members
Katonah Museum of Art
Rte. 22 at Jay Street
Katonah, NY

Posted by plumberry at 08:48 AM | Permalink

There's more to introducing children to the wonders of museums than making a two-hour round-trip trek to see the butterflies and dinosaurs. Again.

Which is why you regularly give thanks for the Katonah Museum of Art, and its Learning Center. Balancing adult-level rotating exhibitions with rich, hands-on children's activities and education, this local treasure has made itself an integral part of many families' weekends and afternoons.

To celebrate the Learning Center's tenth anniversary, KMA is hosting Children Should Be Seen: The Image of the Child in American Picture-Book Art. This exhibition, organized collaboratively with The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (yes, that Eric Carle), features original children's book illustrations from 85 artists.

In conjunction with the exhibit, KMA is holding myriad events over the summer for children and their parents, beginning with their "opening pARTy," this Sunday, July 1. Children and their families will get guided tours of the exhibition, as well as the chance to meet acclaimed illustrators Jerry Pickney and Amy Schwartz. And of course, there'll be plenty of the hands-on activities that have earned the Learning Center its acclaim over the past decade. Further activities over the summer include "Story Time Saturdays," "Art Adventures in ILLUSTRATION,"  "Meet the ARTist Sundays" and more.

So take your Harold, and his purple crayon, and get drawn into this scene.

Katonah Museum of Art
Route 22 at Jay Street
Katonah, New York
232-9555
www.katonahmuseum.org

Posted by plumberry at 05:20 AM | Permalink

The kids' weekend sports commitments are over -- hallelujah! Not that you don't love watching them throw, kick and hit (or pick the dandelions in the outfield), but now your Saturdays don't require strategic planning worthy of the D-Day invasion.

Since you still need something to do, we suggest: 

With the Kids:

Raggedy Ann and Andy
There's a reason some characters endure for nearly a century, and it's not just good marketing.
June 23rd & 24th, 12 noon, Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville; 914-747-5555; www.burnsfilmcenter.org

Yorktown Heights Fireman's Carnival
Just remember to get them the cotton candy after they've gone on the rides.
June 23rd, 4 to 11pm; June 24th 1 to 9pm; Yorktown Heights; (914) 962-5722

With Your Man:

Caramoor Opening Night
Come on, you've always wanted to attend a gala performance.
Saturday, June 23rd , 8:30pm, Venetian Theater at Caramoor, Katonah; 914-232-5521; www.caramoor.org

Tony Trischka's Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular
Concert Al Fresco tickets are only $9; bring a picnic dinner.
Sunday, June 24th, 4:30pm, Venetian Theater at Caramoor, Katonah; 914-232-5521; www.caramoor.org

With the Girls:

Modern Art Tour at Kykuit, the Rockefeller Estate
MOMA-worthy work, collected by one of the founders of MOMA. It just doesn't get any more civilized.
Saturday, June 23rd, 12:50pm; Kykuit, the Rockefeller Estate, Potanico Hills (tours depart from Philipsburg Manor); 914-631-9491; www.hudsonvalley.org/kykuit/

 

Posted by plumberry at 11:38 AM | Permalink

You booked the babysitter, made the reservations, and wouldn't you know it, the other couple cancels 'cause their kid is sick. (Question for the Universe: Why do stomach bugs always hit on the weekends?)
 
You could still take the table, then spend the evening grasping for conversation topics with your husband (cutest thing the kids did this week, when the kitchen reno is going to start) and eavesdropping on the table next to you. Or, you could both catch the Bedford Community Theater's performance of Neil Simon's Prisoner of Second Avenue and have something all new to talk about over drinks afterward. Your choice.

Friday, April 20 & Saturday, April 21.  8pm

Friday, April 27.  8pm

Saturday, April 28.  3pm and 8pm

Tickets $15

 

Bedford Hills Community House

74 Main Street, Bedford Hills

Box Office:  244-0474 ext 22.

For more information and directions, visit www.bedfordcommunitytheatre.org

Posted by plumberry at 01:24 AM | Permalink