Vol 1… No. 27
Observer: Living To 100
Macky’s New York: The Wind Breakers
RHS New Players Company: NPC Playwriting Program
Nicole Pietrandrea Hough, RHS 1991: How To Make Gnocci
The Ridgewood Art Institute: 68th Annual Sponsor Show
Author: Molly Ahearn, RHS 1978: The Dutchess County Fair
Observer
Living To 100
My Mom turns 90 this month. Happy Birthday, Mom!
I guess that with her DNA and a bit of luck, I have a chance of living to 100. I’m all in. It will be a challenge, of course. But I tend to like complicated endeavors with lots of variables. Probably why I enjoyed the challenges inherent in Cybersecurity at Fortune 500 corporations.
Yes, I like the idea of multiple careers and varying projects. My mind is alive with possibilities, most of them are obvious and just need to be placed in the proper environment and then be acted upon. The older I get the more I see this as a formula for success. Again, it is apparent to everyone but not followed through upon by many.
I think we all need to try to go from one project to another, whether they are failures or successes, and just keep in mind how momentous the journey is.
Macky’s New York
April 1, 2021 - Union Square
The Wind Breakers
In the fall of 1976...my brother Charlie and I went to Bernard's Sporting Goods with my mother...we were getting wind breakers. Now I never heard of the term before and the name was exciting to me - my brother got a blue one and I picked out a red one - they had buttons in the front...a canvas like plastic on the outside and the thin liner was made up of a light fuzzy material - I was thrilled...I mean it sounded like something a secret agent would have and couldn't wait for that first windy day so I could go out into the elements and be free from any wind since I was wearing my "wind breaker" - and so that day finally came and I rushed home from school...ran upstairs and grabbed my trusty red wind breaker - turns out...the coat didn't break the wind...in fact it just ended up filling up with air which made me look like a giant cherry - what a bunch of bull...I guess my first endeavor into the power of a good product name - don't even get me started with the waterproof boots I got the following Christmas.
Shot into water on a windy day on the west side if the north plaza looking east with the old Tammany Hall building in the distance.
Time 445pm.
#mackysnewyork
New Players Company
New Players Company is proud to present original works from our NPC Playwriting Program. We will be showcasing six new ten-minute plays by our student playwrights: Julia Wavle, Yuhyeon Byun, Rose Clarke, Olivia Cowie, Sophie Hartstein and Maryam Kourouma.
Starring professional actors: Cindy Clifford, Sage Higgins, Jasmine Canziani, Teresa Gasparini, Dylan Parkin, Ryan Katzer, and Brian Boothe.
A special thank you to the professional playwrights who served as mentors to our students: David Simpatico, Nan Gatewood Satter, Paul Allman, Cindy Clifford, Dana Hall, and Ryan Katzer.
PAY WHAT YOU CAN!
Sunday, April 11, 2021 at 7:00pm
Virtual Performance
Tickets: https://npcnewworks.eventbrite.com
COCO HOUGH
How To Make Gnocci
Inspired by a lifetime love of cooking (and a family obsession with food and interior design), Coco began a second career in Kitchen Design in 2001, after working on Wall Street for several years. While learning the design business (and exploring the New York food scene on the side) she worked in NYC plumbing and appliance showrooms and attended interior design courses at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) at night.
Within a year, Coco was designing for a Wood Mode showroom in Chelsea and managing full-scale projects under the mentorship of the showroom’s late owner Reeva Locker. In 2005 Coco was elected President of the National Kitchen and Bath Association’s (NKBA) Manhattan Chapter (after serving a year as Vice President in charge of educational programming) and in 2007 was named one of New York Spaces Magazine’s “Top Designers to Watch under 40.”
Since moving back to her hometown, Ridgewood, NJ, in 2005, Coco has continued to design and create beautiful spaces through her own business, Coco Hough Studio (previously Nicole Hough Designs) and has continued to pursue her love of cooking and food.
While running two small cooking ventures in 2010 (Happy Maggie Allergy and Gluten Free Foods, and Kitchen Cavalry Cooking School), Coco was named one of the five “Greenest Housewives of Bergen County” by Bergen Health & Life Magazine. To this day, Coco focuses on using every bit of what’s in your kitchen and cooking in an easy and sustainable way.
A passion for kitchens, food, travel and sharing her knowledge with you is the basis for Coco’s weekly Facebook Livestream (Tuesdays 7 PM EST). She can be be found on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. All are welcome to join in this pursuit of beautiful spaces and great food!
• • •
Coco (Nicole Pietrandrea Hough) holds an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from Bucknell University. She studied as an exchange student at the Université François Rabelais in Tours, France, speaks almost-conversational French and Italian, and loves exploring new places.
Coco lives in Ridgewood, NJ with her two children and their dog Sadie.
Ridgewood Art Institute
12 East Glen Ave, Ridgewood, NJ——201-652-9615
It is that time of year again!
Help support this wonderful organization by becoming a Sponsor!
Our Opening Reception for our 68th Annual Sponsor Show will be held THIS Saturday April 10th and Sunday April 11th from 2-5pm. The Exhibition runs thru Friday May 7th. During this time, we invite Sponsors to create their personal wishlists. We request that all wishlists be submitted before May 1st. The evening of our Gala Drawing, May 7th, Sponsors names will be randomly drawn and each Sponsor may chose a beautiful framed piece of Artwork from their list. Sponsorships are $275 a piece, or a Premium Sponsorship may be purchased for $400. Premium Sponsorships entitle the participant to 2 extra chances, but only one painting.
In the past this has always been our biggest fundraiser and our most exciting event. It would be lovely to capture that magic again.
Bring your mask and favorite Art Enthusiast, and help support this jewel in our community.
We will of course, as always, be following Social Distancing Standards.
Molly Ahearn
Eighty-two contemporary black & white photographs by documentary photographer Molly Ahearn, plus maps, antique historical photographs and memorabilia, bring to life this delightful history of the Dutchess County (New York) Fair, an annual highlight of the Hudson River Valley summer season since 1842, with almost half a million visitors now passing through its gates each year, making it the 2nd-largest agricultural event in NYS. Author Ahearn traces 166 years of fair history with such highlights as visits by Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, NYS governors Thomas Dewey and Averill Harriman, a "Talent Search" that discovered singer/songwriter Don McLean, and a colorful cast of stunt performers, snake charmers, "hootchy-kootchy" girls, and carney side-show acts. Photographer Ahearn captures the timeless memories of the fair--farm kids showing their animals and sleeping beside them in the tents, zany and hilarious sights on the midway, a draught-horse team thundering by, pig races, elephant rides, and summer fun as American as milkshakes and Ferris Wheel rides.
Molly Ahearn is an award-winning designer and active participant in many organizations including the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Leadership Alliance,The Arc of Dutchess, Arts Mid-Hudson, Mid-Hudson Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and Opus 40. A strong believer in the benefits of mentorship, she’s participated in the Chamber Foundation’s Career Achievement Program as well as in elementary, middle school and high school mentoring opportunities for many years.
Molly is President of Full Deck Design, located in Dutchess County New York.
Peace