Past Happenings
Robert Hill Band
Sunday, March 19 / 2:00- 4:00 pm This award-winning songwriter and slide guitarist has performed around the NY City area for the past 25 years. His latest CD “Revelation” is a contemporary take on a traditional genre - Gospel Blues. roberthillband.com “Hill's aggressive slide playing over a rough-and-ready backing track makes us want to slam down some moonshine and start a ballroom blitz. It's intense and relentless, and Hill's slide tone is fat, edgy and fabulous." — Guitar Player magazine. “Versatile guitarist who uses layering, tone, texture and good taste to keep the listener riveted. Good singer, mean slide player- here's to more efforts like this from Hill.” — Blues Access Magazine |
An afternoon of music with Chris Bergson an internationally acclaimed guitarist, singer, and songwriter, along with soul, blues, and gospel singer Ellis Hooks. In 2013, Bergson began performing and writing songs with acclaimed soul singer Ellis Hooks. Bergson and Hooks met in 2004 when they were sharing a bill at NYC’s Joe’s Pub. Their collaboration over the next decade would find them selling out shows at top NYC venues like Jazz Standard and City Winery and headlining festivals in Europe including France’s oldest Blues festival, the Cahors Blues Festival.
Sunday, February 19 / 2:00- 4:00 pm
$15 HVBS Members / $20 Non-Members
$15 HVBS Members / $20 Non-Members

The Vagina Monologues - Feb. 10, 11, 17, & 18 at 7pm
The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which explores consensual and non-consensual experiences through the eyes of different women with various ages, races, sexualities, and more.
Cost: $25
Run Time: 90 minutes
Where: Southeast Old Town Hall Theater
When: February 10th, 11th, 17th, & 18th at 7pm
Directed by: Mitch Horn
Cast: Elizabeth Cronin, Dawn Vanessa Brown, Kathy Files DiBiasi, Jenny Lambert, Jill Paxton, and Michelle Hodge.

HVBS Presents: Singer/Songwriter Elly Wininger - Dec. 11th, 2022 at 2pm
Join us for an up close and personal concert by Elly Wininger, the Hudson Valley Blues Society Local Challenge Solo/Duo Winner. Elly will be representing the Hudson Valley in January 2023 at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN.
“Before I could read or write, I was transported by my parents' 78s: Vera Hall's "Black Woman;" Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark Was the Night" and Lead Belly, who I used to try to sing like, much to my kindergarten teacher's dismay. I had no idea what or who I was listening to, but it stirred something in my soul that has been swirling ever since."
Harkening back to her start in Greenwich Village, festival promoter Kurt Henry called Elly a "folk-blues legend." And indeed- she played the very first set on opening night at CBGB, and was offered a recording contract with Red Robin Records at age 16. "I saw an ad in the Village Voice that said 'Wanted: Blues Singers,' so I grabbed my guitar and took the subway to the Bronx. After wandering around the projects, I finally found the right door. I went in and played for a while- I think it was "Rock Me Baby" and "Key to the Highway." The woman auditioning me yelled for her partner to come into the room. 'Listen to this' she said, nodding at me, in my braces and pointy glasses. I was as surprised as they were when she handed me a contract."
In 2014, Elly was inducted into the NY Blues Hall of Fame. So please spread the word...because you might meet the next solo/duo IBC winner!
HVBS is dedicated to helping our competitors with fundraising to help cover their travel expenses. The suggested donation at the door is $15 per person.

HVBS Presents: Jaxx Cafe - December 3rd, 2022 at 7pm
Join us for an up close and spirited concert by JAXX CAFE, the Hudson Valley Blues Society Local Challenge - winning Band.
Jaxx Cafe will be representing the Hudson Valley, of New York State, in January 2023 at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. Front man Jack Bernice is a 2012 NY Blues Hall of Fame inductee.
HVBS is dedicated to helping our competitors with fundraising to help cover their travel expenses. The suggested donation at the door is $15 per person. Please spread the word...we guarantee you will be wiggling in your seat or up dancing to the music and vibes of this band.
Refreshments and snacks will be available.
Join us for an up close and spirited concert by JAXX CAFE, the Hudson Valley Blues Society Local Challenge - winning Band.
Jaxx Cafe will be representing the Hudson Valley, of New York State, in January 2023 at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. Front man Jack Bernice is a 2012 NY Blues Hall of Fame inductee.
HVBS is dedicated to helping our competitors with fundraising to help cover their travel expenses. The suggested donation at the door is $15 per person. Please spread the word...we guarantee you will be wiggling in your seat or up dancing to the music and vibes of this band.
Refreshments and snacks will be available.
SPRINGING FORWARD - AN EVENING OF MODERN DANCE - June 18, 2022

Putnam County Dance Project, sponsored by Town of Southeast Cultural Arts Coalition, brings a program of uplifting dances, including dances from the revolutionary “mother” of modern dance, Isadora Duncan. Leading Duncan dancers who have performed around the world and studied the work extensively will show repertory that has been handed down from generation to generation, recreated from archival research and danced to the music of Chopin, Corelli and Schubert among others. Three performers steeped in the technique (Marie Carstens, MaryBeth Hraniotis and Faith Kimberling) will share their expertise at the 7 pm show on June 18th in Brewster, NY.
GOLDEN GIRLS GONE WILD: INTERACTIVE MURDER MYSTERY - June 17, 2022

Murder Mystery Manhattan, www.murdermysterymanhattan.com, has been a passion and creative project for Keith Dougherty for over 30 years. Taking the interactive murder mystery genre to the next level, Dougherty, who also writes and directs all the shows, keeps abreast of what is trending and classic, puts his own spin on it, and presents laugh-out-loud, interactive murder mysteries that spoof and celebrate some of your favorite television shows and film.
Blessed with some loyal followers for over 20 years, Murder Mystery Manhattan has been seen all over the tri-state area including upstate New York, Rhode Island, Westchester, New Jersey, Staten Island, Brewster and for such clients as Citibank, Spectrum Cable, Don’t Tell Mama, Doubletree Inns, The Falkirk Estate and Country Club, Oheka Castle, The Milleridge Inn, The Villa Roma Resort, Clove Creek Dinner Theater, and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouses.
Blessed with some loyal followers for over 20 years, Murder Mystery Manhattan has been seen all over the tri-state area including upstate New York, Rhode Island, Westchester, New Jersey, Staten Island, Brewster and for such clients as Citibank, Spectrum Cable, Don’t Tell Mama, Doubletree Inns, The Falkirk Estate and Country Club, Oheka Castle, The Milleridge Inn, The Villa Roma Resort, Clove Creek Dinner Theater, and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouses.
Edison Arevalo's "What Lies Beneath" Art Exhibit - June 3, 2022

Fascinated by illustrations from old encyclopedias, lithographs of Animalia, and especially botanicals, Edison Arevalo gathered wild plants and flowers, making illustrations. His attention was drawn to the root systems, some tangled and messy, others simple, which we never see or appreciate in any plant. That is how the series got the name "What Lies Beneath" Aravelo shot over 100 plates for this work, primarily Ambrotypes "glass plates" and some tintypes "metal plates."
Born in Cuenca Ecuador, and moved to the US at age 20, Edison Arevalo was fascinated by analog photography. He started with 35mm, moved to medium format; & ultimately started working with large format cameras. Digital photography was replacing traditional photography. Some favorite films and photo papers were no longer being made, and he looked into 19th-century photographic processes and making photographic film. Aravelo found images made with the wet plate collodion technique, which instantly caught his attention. It took years to read, learn and understand the collodion process and to build the necessary equipment and chemicals to work with this process.
Born in Cuenca Ecuador, and moved to the US at age 20, Edison Arevalo was fascinated by analog photography. He started with 35mm, moved to medium format; & ultimately started working with large format cameras. Digital photography was replacing traditional photography. Some favorite films and photo papers were no longer being made, and he looked into 19th-century photographic processes and making photographic film. Aravelo found images made with the wet plate collodion technique, which instantly caught his attention. It took years to read, learn and understand the collodion process and to build the necessary equipment and chemicals to work with this process.
Love Letters- October 8, 2021

LOVE LETTERS by A.R. Gurney is the tender story of the shared nostalgia, missed opportunities, and deep closeness of two life-long friends. The play is comprised of letters exchanged over a lifetime between two people who grew up together, went their separate ways, but continued to share confidences. Poignant, romantic, and frequently funny, It’s the life journey of two soul mates – enacted through words both written and unsaid – who share the greatest gift of all: the gift of love.
Directed by: Pia Haas
Starring: Jill Paxton and Larry Reina
Directed by: Pia Haas
Starring: Jill Paxton and Larry Reina

SHAKESPEARE RATTLE AND ROLL - July 10, 2021
The Cultural Arts Coalition is excited to have brought theatre back this past summer with a rousing original production of Shakespearean monologues, sonnets, scenes, jokes and famous expressions all mixed with the rebellious music of the 1950’s. A nod to the literary movement of the Beatnik Generation. Imagine, if you will, young Helena from A Midsummer Night’s Dream declaring her love for a rejecting Demetrius with a humorous monologue that is followed by a song asking “why do fools fall in love?”
The Cultural Arts Coalition is excited to have brought theatre back this past summer with a rousing original production of Shakespearean monologues, sonnets, scenes, jokes and famous expressions all mixed with the rebellious music of the 1950’s. A nod to the literary movement of the Beatnik Generation. Imagine, if you will, young Helena from A Midsummer Night’s Dream declaring her love for a rejecting Demetrius with a humorous monologue that is followed by a song asking “why do fools fall in love?”
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Triton Brass- June 26, 2021

This popular brass quintet performed patriotic American music and classical standards. What a blast it was!
Check them out on Spotify, Apple Music, and more!
This popular brass quintet performed patriotic American music and classical standards. What a blast it was!
Check them out on Spotify, Apple Music, and more!
STAMFORD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA STRING QUARTET - June 11, 2021

Bring your lawn chairs and blankets to the Electrozone Park Gazebo for an evening with the Stamford Symphony Orchestra String Quartet.
Works by W. A. Mozart, Giacomo Puccini, Florence Price, Jenifer Higdon, William Grant Still, and a set of lively Scandinavian folk tunes arranged by the Danish String Quartet.
Starring: Robert Zubrycki and Lisa Tipton, violins; Adria Benjamin, viola; Eliot Bailen, cello.
Works by W. A. Mozart, Giacomo Puccini, Florence Price, Jenifer Higdon, William Grant Still, and a set of lively Scandinavian folk tunes arranged by the Danish String Quartet.
Starring: Robert Zubrycki and Lisa Tipton, violins; Adria Benjamin, viola; Eliot Bailen, cello.
Austin James: Improve Your Financial Health - May 10, 2021

This program is for anyone who needs a little extra help with budgeting and reducing debt. With a different topic each week, this 3-week program was designed to give you the tools you need!
Topics include budgeting 101, income, saving, fixed expenses, debt snowball, debt settlement, bankruptcy, and how to build credit. Under the guidance of Financial Educator, Austin James, our participants learn how to set themselves up for success. As Austin said, “These classes are for just about anyone feeling the pressure financial pressure to survive.”
Topics include budgeting 101, income, saving, fixed expenses, debt snowball, debt settlement, bankruptcy, and how to build credit. Under the guidance of Financial Educator, Austin James, our participants learn how to set themselves up for success. As Austin said, “These classes are for just about anyone feeling the pressure financial pressure to survive.”
1/3 of Sophie- May 8, 2021

Local band, 1/3 of Sophie brings you funky, spacy, groovy covers of popular and not-so-popular songs!
1/3 of Sophie is: Brian Sanyshyn, trumpet and keyboard; Seamus Carey, drums; Rob Davies, bass; Matt Vanacoro, keyboard; and Jess Vanacoro, vocals.
Their first EP, The Audacity, is available on Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Spotify!
1/3 of Sophie is: Brian Sanyshyn, trumpet and keyboard; Seamus Carey, drums; Rob Davies, bass; Matt Vanacoro, keyboard; and Jess Vanacoro, vocals.
Their first EP, The Audacity, is available on Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Spotify!
Book Reading and Meet the Author, Heather Ostman- April 13, 2021

Brewster resident and author, Heather Ostman, reviews her book The Second Chance Home for Girls. This interwoven three voice narrative is a story of friendship, freedom, grief, and loss. This beguiling, slyly subversive tale puts a spiritual mystery at the heart of gritty truths.
Heather spoke with the audience on what inspired the book and what her process was like.
Check it out!
Heather spoke with the audience on what inspired the book and what her process was like.
Check it out!
