Happening This Weekend - 9/29/2017
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Where Is Lambs Hill Bridal? Next to King + Curated!
Condo Insurance or Homeowners Insurance? A First Time Homebuyer's Experience
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After spending my entire life living in rented apartments, 2017 was the year that I became a homeowner! Back in the spring, I went to an open house for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium that was move-in ready. I made an offer two days later. With all the excitement that surrounds buying a new home, there were some things I overlooked - like insurance. Oh yeah, I need that, don’t I? When you rent an apartment, you could have renters insurance, but it’s not required. I never had renters insurance, but now that I’m buying a home, this is necessary. I've seen so many commercials on TV - with the little green guy, with Flo, and with the guy who played Jay Jonah Jameson in the Spiderman movies - but how do I know which insurance to go with?? Where do I even start?
Wait - Homeowners Insurance for a Condo?
And then I remembered our friends at Antalek & Moore! Through them, I learned that I don’t need homeowners insurance, I need condo insurance - there is a difference. Like homeowners policies, condo policies typically provide structural coverage for a condo’s structure, personal property, and liability. The structural coverage they offer, however, is usually different from that provided by homeowners policies, because condo owners don’t own freestanding houses.
Condo Insurance Varies and is Good for Non-FreeStanding Structures
The protections that condo insurance policies provide for condos’ structures vary. Some policies don’t include much protection for a condo’s structure, while other policies afford a lot of coverage for cabinets, appliances, plumbing, wiring, flooring, and similar items. Whatever isn’t covered by a condo association’s master policy ought to be insured with a condo policy. Thus, a condo owner normally needs to purchase much less coverage if their condo association has an all-in master policy than if the association maintains a bare walls-in master policy.
The Insurance Bundling Effect
I connected with Terry Williams from Antalek & Moore and suggested that I bundle condo insurance with our current auto policy (I was purchasing the condo with my boyfriend). Not only was Terry easily available by phone and email to answer any questions we had, she was involved in the closing process. She was able to negotiate an even better annual rate than what was originally quoted to us. She was even okay with me dropping into their office for a quick “Hello!” just so I could meet the face behind the emails and phone calls. After we closed, she was still involved with making sure we were getting the best coverage possible, while dropping other coverage we were paying for that we didn't need.
Choosing to go with Antalek & Moore when buying my first home was a great decision and I’m happy to have someone like Terry working with me and looking out for our best interests.
Antalek & Moore is a sponsor of A Little Beacon Blog, and this article was created with them as part of our Sponsor Spotlight program. It is with the support of businesses like this, that A Little Beacon Blog can bring you coverage of news, local happenings and events. Thank you for supporting businesses who support us! If you would like to become a Sponsor or Community Partner, please click here for more information.
Main Street Summit Debuts Tuesday Night for Business in Beacon
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UPDATE: We have sold out! Tickets might be on sale at the door if some people don't show, and if there is standing room only.
We are super excited to reveal A Little Beacon Blog's better business side tonight in the Main Street Summit happening at The Telephone Building. Many Beaconites have known Scott Tillitt, founder of BEAHIVE, for a long time, and I got to know him better as my physical neighbor in The Telephone Building when I moved in. Last spring, he approached me to partner up on this summit idea he had. Saying yes was a no-brainer. Small business issues are my jam, which I normally exercise through content and programs I develop at my company Tin Shingle, which is also on the lease at the building. Helping people live their lives on their terms, which can include running a business and producing enough income to provide for yourself and your family (family of kids, pets, aging parents, etc.), is a major driver of why I develop programming for businesses and was happy to partner on this event.
What Will Happen at the Main Street Summit?
First of all, there will be wine, beer and snacks during a Cocktail Connection at the beginning and end of the evening. While I was walking the mile of Main Street distributing flyers, telling any business owner I could reach about the event (sorry if I didn't get to you! but that's why we have newspapers and the Internet, to get the word out!), they told me I needed to lead with the wine part. :)
Next, Scott will moderate an interactive panel of city leaders from the Chamber of Commerce (Pat Moore, partner at Antalek and Moore), BeaconArts (Kelly Ellenwood, current president and city-wide volunteer) and City Council (George Mansfield, owner of Dogwood and City Council member-at-large). We picked this lineup for their direct experience as business owners, as well as with business owners in different capacities. The audience will participate by sharing their questions and thoughts, hopefully making for good discussion. We really appreciate their time this evening.
Then, we will break out into riveting roundtable discussions: Jason from Drink More Good will be facilitating the Staffing and Expansion table. He's got a lot of initiatives running out of his shop, so the insight gleaned will be beneficial. Galia Gichon from Down to Earth Finance is my friend from my NYC days, and I've imported her all the way from Connecticut in order to connect with her table about Business and Personal Finances - from having a retirement plan to different funding options. Myriam Bouchard of Coherence Collaborative will be facilitating on Operations - successful business always comes down to the best systems! I will be facilitating the table on PR and Marketing, pulling from my experience as a website/newsletter producer at InHouse Design Media and teacher of how to get the good word out (your good word about your business) from Tin Shingle.
Why Isn't This Free?
While pounding the pavement, I got a few questions. Mainly people were excited about the event, and in the enthusiasm, two people said they wanted to go but asked why it wasn't free. This is a good question! And there are several answers:
- Space: While our building is large, it's not a wide-open field. It will only hold so many, and business is a hot topic because it's tied to people's livelihoods. Simply emailing in a registration doesn't guarantee that you're going to come, so we wanted to have a handle on how many were coming.
- We Want You To Come! The mindset behind free is interesting. Sometimes when there is a free event, you think in your mind: "Neat! I want to go!" But then you don't, and think "Eh... I'm really comfortable in my house right now. I'll actually sit this one out." But when you spend anything, even $10, that sort of commits you. You don't want to waste the $10 or $30, so you come!
- We are Businesses: Though we are having people affiliated with local government on the panel, and while the intent is for the greater good, we are a business, and not a government institution. City Council Meetings, Planning Board Meetings, etc. are all open to the public. In fact, we have started republishing them in our new City Meeting section! Some people asked, "Could you get a grant?" Well, maybe, but I'm not well-versed in grant writing, or even researching where to find such a grant. Plus, grants can take a long time to actually get, and they may come with restrictions. The beauty of being in business is that we can act swiftly. Sometimes for free, sometimes not. Depends on the needs of everyone involved. At the end of the day, if you want a business to stay in Beacon, they have to actually conduct business, which means bringing in money. Same applies to art and even nonprofits.
- Is That Free Event Really Free? Everyone is selling something. If you go to a free event and it's hosted by an amazing person who just wrote a book, that person is basically hoping you will buy their book (usually a signed edition) at the event. That's your admission. You just pay it on the reverse - at the end after you attend - maybe. Sometimes events are free because there is a major sponsor involved who serves as compensation to the creators of the event. The sponsors who came on board for this event helped make the ticket price affordable.
Will There Be More Business Events?
Heck yes! In my other capacity at Tin Shingle, we do have several events planned. From classes, to member meetings, to weekly webinars. Upon moving to Beacon and experiencing the thrill from in-person events, Tin Shingle introduced a new level of membership - Community. It's our most affordable level of monthly membership, and will include one in-person meeting a month. I just needed to get through the early newborn days before getting back into event hosting. Even simple member meetings take coordination!
Every Wednesday at noon Eastern time, Tin Shingle has free webinars online. They are called Training TuneUps. I record them live from 291 Main Street, but you can call or click into them from your phone or computer. They include interviews with business owners in all industries, training sessions in the best ways to use Instagram, how to get PR, and so much more.
Seriously, get on Tin Shingle's newsletter if you haven't yet. If you need motivation for running and growing your business, you'll want to get hooked in. The newsletter and loads of our articles telling you how to do things are free.
Tickets to tonight's summit at this point are very limited, and you can buy online here. We only have a few more available online, and are reserving a few for people who didn't see this note and show up at the door.
Thank You Sponsors!
Maria Amor, Real Estate Salesperson
Arthur DeDominicis, CPA
Storm King Art Center
FUELING MAIN STREET FOOD SPONSORS
Oak Vino
Pandorica
Chateau Lagrezette
Beacon Craft Beer Shoppe
MEDIA SPONSOR
See you soon, or see you at the next business event that A Little Beacon Blog or Tin Shingle are a part of!
UPDATE: We have sold out. We want to accommodate as many as we can. Anyone coming by looking for tickets at the door, we have standing room only, and ask that you stand toward the back for the panel. Decisions on tickets at the door will be based on if people don't show, and how much room there is. The main panel is in the Beahive room, with standing room in the hallway and in A Little Beacon Space. After the panel we will break out into the roundtable discussions, which should have more room at each table in different rooms of the building (including the upstairs and downstairs). Thank you!.
Happening This Weekend - 9/22/2017
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Seeking Your Memories of Beacon Spirit from the Past 40 Years
/After being away from the office for some time in order to be all-in for my new baby's first months of life, I was in the office today, in back-to-business fashion. My dear friend Charlotte dropped in, as she does from time to time, to catch me up on all of the film-making news in the area. (She is, after all, the #1 lookalike for Paul Newman's wife and has appeared in several things.)
We were discussing the Spirit of Beacon Parade, and how I'm on the Unofficial South Avenue Parade PTA Float-Building Committee, and how I need to find a few certain things today (top-secret, of course, until Sunday!), when Charlotte had the great desire to know what everyone's favorite memories were of Beacon or of the Spirit of Beacon Day.
The theme of this year's parade is Beacon Spirit of the Past 40 Years. Please share your favorite memory here in the Comments! If you have a picture you want to share, email it into us at editorial@alittlebeaconblog.com for consideration to be published in an article!
Happening This Weekend - 9/15/2017
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Lambs Hill Bridal Boutique
Third Annual Theater Day at Beacon High School 2017
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Photo Credit: Beacon Players
Third Annual Theater Day
Where: Beacon High School Theater
101 Matteawan Road, Beacon, NY 12508
When: Saturday, September 16, 2017
Time: Check-in at 8 am
Register: Email beacononstage@gmail.com
Coming to a high school theater near you... The Third Annual Theater Day opens its doors at the Beacon High School Theater on Saturday, September 16, 2017 to students from high schools in and around New York State. Tickets are free for a day of performance and technical workshops, including free breakfast and lunch, sponsored by Beacon High School, Spackenkill High School, Arts Mid-Hudson, BeaconArts and the Beacon Performing Arts Center.
Take a look behind the curtain of the agenda of workshops we've included below, and you will see why the region's high school musicals are so impressive. There have been other productions since, but A Little Beacon Blog explored Peter Pan in 2016 and the amount of student-produced work that went into it. The experience that students of Beacon High School theater come away with is irreplaceable. Hands-on work in set design, costume design, music, PR, and more are in addition to what the actors experience. Only 250 participants can sign up by emailing beacononstage@gmail.com and providing your name, school, and grade.
The day is designed to provide educational theatrical guidance in various fields while kids can interact with students from different schools, while talking about one of the things they love most: THEATER!
What's Going On For An Entire Theater Day?
The 2017 Schedule
Theater Day offers high-quality workshops for students, led by talented, working professionals in many different theater disciplines ranging from acting, dance, auditioning, scenic painting, special effects makeup and much more.
Examples of some of the workshops include:
Modern and Theatrical Dance
- Learn Modern/Creative Movement (Martha Graham/Horton technique)
- Jazz (Luigi warmup)
- Dance Combinations and Movements
Fosse Dance Workshop
- Combinations
- Signature and Stylized Choreography
Audition Technique Intensive
- High School Audition Do’s & Don’ts
- Vocal Audition Help
- Line Delivery
- Simple Rules
Musician Intensive
- Pit Orchestra
- Interactive (bring your instrument or use ours)
Acting - Drama vs. Musical
- Interpret Your Role Appropriately
Your Personal Acting Coach - One-on-One Evaluation
Lighting Design and Application
- Lighting Plots
- Instruments
- How To’s
- Resources
Set Design
- How to Start
- Different Ways to Present Your Ideas
- How They Do it on Broadway
- Create a Design and Present It
Set Construction
- Design is Completed, Now What?
Acting Shakespeare for the High School Student
- Overcome the Fear
- Language/Intonation
- Why “The Bard”
Costume Design and Execution
- Work Together to Create a Design
- How to Read a Plot
- Costume Changes
Art Color and Design for the Stage
Improvisation and Theater Games
Publicity
- Social Media
- How to Get The Word Out
- Create a Poster
- Press Release
- Collaborations
Vocal Techniques
- “I Can’t Sing”
- How Do I Make My Voice Work For Me?
The Student Stage Manager
- What Are My Responsibilities?
Makeup and Hair
- Creating the Look - Period Hair
- Fantasy Hair for the Stage
What Shows Work and What Shows Do Not Work For High School
Musical Theater Today?
- Sondheim/Schwartz/Webber
- Classics - Are They Gone?
8:00 am: Students are invited to begin the day for breakfast and check-in. During breakfast, the students will sign up for two morning workshops. There will be large charts set up in one of the hallways for students to sign up to attend morning workshops of their choice.
8:30 am: Group meeting in the theater for a brief kick-off and housekeeping.
9:00 am - noon: Two morning workshops!
Noon - 1:00 pm: Lunch! At this time, students can revisit their sign-ups for the afternoon sessions.
1:00 - 4:00 pm: Afternoon sessions
4:00 pm: Re-group in the theater for wrap-up, presentations and some fun theater activities. Some of the activities from the day might be presented so everyone gets a feel for all the workshops that took place.
Where the Vegetable is King: First-Ever Vegan Festival Begins in Dutchess County
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Eating a compassionate, plant-based diet is likely one of the best things you can do for yourself and the planet. If you already set the vegan table, are thinking about it, or are simply curious to learn more, prepare to be inspired and entertained at the first-ever Hudson Valley VegFest taking place on Saturday, September 23, and Sunday, September 24, at Gold's Gym in Poughkeepsie.
After two years of planning by activists Sande Nosonowitz and Rebecca Moore, the weekend festival spotlights innovators and influencers making waves on the plant-based culinary front, in the arenas of food justice, with compassion for animals and environmental sustainability.
"This celebration is for everyone - you'll absolutely be able to take in the energy that will be inspiring, joyous and life-changing," says Sande Nosonowitz. "If you are veg-curious - come explore, enjoy, eat and immerse yourself in the vegan vibe. If you are already vegan... well, welcome to paradise in Poughkeepsie," she continues.
Adds Rebecca Moore: “It really is time that the Hudson Valley and Dutchess County get a fun festival featuring delicious food that goes beyond just appealing to our palates - that cares more and wants change that fosters growth, that highlights innovative products and lets inspiring speakers teach, and that brings out the best in all of us."
Plant-based food companies, including Mindful Kitchens, which produces a delicious line of seitan-based charcuterie right here in Beacon, are on the lengthy VegFest vendor list. Lagusta’s Luscious, one of the Hudson Valley’s innovators with a national following, will be there with their stunning line of artisanal vegan chocolates.
Other vendors will present beautiful non-toxic health and beauty products and cruelty-free clothing lines. Organizations working hard to forward a more humane and compassionate world will discuss their important work and outline avenues for involvement and volunteering.
Cooking and fitness demonstrations will abound, and an impressive lineup of luminaries in the plant-based world, like best-selling author and inspirational vegan guru Victoria Moran, will take the stage. Celebrated vegan pastry chef Fran Costigan, known as “the queen of vegan desserts” will instruct and entice festivalgoers with her marvelous confections.
The festival is September 23 and 24, from 10 am to 6 pm both days, at Gold’s Gym at 258 Titusville Road, Poughkeepsie, NY. Their huge indoor space known as “The Net” covers over 42,000 square feet – ample space for the festival and attendees. VegFest tickets are $10 per adult, while children 10 and under enjoy free admission. For detailed information on the festival, including vendors and speakers, check out www.hvvegfest.org.
This Guy With the Sleeves of Tattoos Wants You to Toss Your Own Salad
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There's a book signing happening this Sunday, September 10, for Toss Your Own Salad by Eddie McNamara at the outdoor Beacon Farmers Market on Veterans Place (next to Towne Crier Cafe). McNamara's cookbook features meatless recipes. Now, I'm a meat and potatoes kind of gal, but I'm always looking for ways to jazz up a salad instead of wasting food in the fridge. Sometimes it's a lack of creativity or fear of knowing what to do with veggies, aka salad-tossing-block (think writer's block, but for making salads). Those days might be numbered.
The vegetable-forward timing is right as we enter the season for autumn detoxes and The Harvest, but something else caught my attention when people interested in this book signing sent emails to A Little Beacon Blog about it. The author, Eddie McNamara, is an ex-NYC cop, having entered the force right after college. He then spent several months after 9/11 helping out at Ground Zero, which led to his desire to retire due to PTSD, and he took up cooking. Eddie started a blog of the same name as his book, and I investigated a bit to get to know him. Here he is below, during a stop on his book tour:
His writing is hilarious and makes salad-tossing actually sound tough - as tough as the tattoos on his arm - as well as delicious. For any man wanting to eat more salads, this is the cookbook to get. Get it online (I prefer Barnes & Noble simply because Amazon is trying to take over the world) or find a signed copy at the Beacon Farmers Market. You might also check Beacon's local bookstore, Binnacle Books near the library, to see if they have a few copies). How tough is this guy? If his cop background wasn't enough, he even has a skull and crossbones in his blog logo! Not that salad-making has to be gender-specific at all. The literary approach to his salad-making is just so funny, you must read his blog. His style reminds of me of the Ink and Coffee blog, penned by our very own Marilyn Perez, an editor here at A Little Beacon Blog.
"Toss Your Own Salad" was just added to a 12 Must-Read Summer Cookbooks list at People Magazine. In Eddie's words: "People Magazine said you MUST READ my book. Bieber, every Kardashian, Drake, and J-Lo agree."
So with those endorsements, enjoy it, and maybe talk to him on Sunday. His people claim he will be providing recipes on the spot: If you give him a vegetable that you want to eat, he'll tell you how to prepare it and what will best accompany it. For the carnivores in the room, fear not, you can always toss some hamburger, fish or chicken into salad recipes while still getting more veggies into your life.
Second Saturday Art Gallery Guide For September 2017
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Happy Second Saturday, Beacon and fans of Beacon! Fall is in the air - schools are back in session, leaves are crunching, and there's just something invigorating about all of it. Make like the kids this weekend and work on expanding your horizons: Seeing a variety of art is a most excellent way to learn new things. Check in with nature at Theo Ganz, Catalyst and Matteawan, or find your softer side at Clutter. Practice civic engagement with two interactive art projects at the Howland Library. It's the final weekend for two exhibitions (Cathouse FUNeral and Beacon Institute)that blend history and art in very different ways. Don't miss out!
Get the scoop on all the Second Saturday happenings around town in our Guide to Second Saturday Art Gallery Showings!
As always, a huge, big thanks to BeaconArts (BACA) for the tireless efforts promoting Saturday. And another huge, big thanks to A Little Beacon Blog's advertising partners, without whom this production would be exceptionally difficult. Please support the businesses who support us!
Happening This Weekend - 9/8/2017
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Happening This Weekend - 9/1/2017
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Luxe Optique
Style Storehouse
King and Curated
Kids Halloween Hocus Pocus Parade Changes Date for 2017
/NOTE: This article is from 2017. As of 2019, the rules of the parade have changed. Click here for more up-to-date details.
Beacon Weekend Halloween Events
Saturday, Oct. 28: Psychic Fair from noon to 5 pm at Notions-n-Potions
Saturday, Oct. 28: Murder Mystery at 6 pm, show begins at 8 pm at Clove Creek Dinner Theater, Fishkill
Sunday, Oct. 29: Kids Hocus Pocus Halloween Parade - At noon, line up at Visitors Center near Bank Square Coffee; at 1 pm parade begins down Main Street
There will be no Dark Parade this year.
UPDATE: This year, heavy rain is predicted, and the parade has been postponed. See this article for details.
For the first time in forever - well, for the second time in its 20-year history - Beacon's Hocus Pocus Kids Halloween Parade will be the weekend of Halloween. That's right, on Sunday, October 29, the kids will line up at noon at the Visitors Center on the corner of South Avenue and Main Street (across from Bank Square Coffee) and begin parading and trick-or-treating in costume at 1 pm. For a long time, the parade had been held over a week before Halloween.
Traditionally, the kids paraded and then trick-or-treated the Main Street stores, but this year they'll be parading and trick-or-treating at the same time, according to parade organizer Ron Iarossi, a board member for the Beacon Chamber of Commerce and owner of Beacon Creamery. The number of participants has increased each year, with hundreds of kids and parents making their way down Beacon's milelong Main Street collecting candy. We participated at A Little Beacon Blog last year, and to hit up Key Food four times to refill our candy supply as the kids kept coming!
For some parents, this dates comes as a relief as costume-required events tend to pile on top of each other during the week of Halloween. With the actual date of Halloween on a Tuesday this year, the weekend of Halloween may prove to be a fun and busy time. There will be no Dark Parade this year.
PHOTOcentric 2017 - Garrison Arts Center Call for Entries Sept. 5, 2017
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The Garrison Art Center's deadline for PHOTOcentric, this year's International Juried Photography Exhibition, is fast approaching on Tuesday, September 5, 2017. This is open to amateur and professional photographers in all mediums. There is a $50 entry fee for five images, and $10 for each additional image. This year, the exhibit will be juried by Francis M. Naumann, an independent scholar, curator, and gallery owner of Francis M. Naumann Fine Art in New York. Naumann specializes in the art of the Dada and Surrealist periods, including the noted photographers Man Ray and Naomi Savage. He has recently organized museum shows for the Whitney Museum of American Art and the American Craft Museum of New York.
The opening reception will take place on December 9, 2017, and the exhibit will last through January 7, 2018, at The Riverside Galleries at Garrison Art Center in Garrison, NY (right next to the train station). "Best in Show" will be awarded $1,000, be featured on the cover of the exhibition book, with the image, artist's biography and website or email address in book, and link on Garrison Art Center website. Awards will also be given to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each category with a cash prize.
All work must be submitted online using this link. The format for your images should be 72 ppi resolution and JPEG format. 1280 pixels on the longest side and RGB color space (standard) with layers flattened, 8-bit mode. To view the full prospectus for this exhibit, click here to download.
Happening This Weekend in Beacon and Beyond - 8/25/2017
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