The Shopping Guide Shuffle: The Latest in New + Old Shops in Beacon

Just when there seemed to be a settling in of the stores, a whole lot of movement happened in the storefront community on Main Street Beacon. Here are a few moves:

Closed: Trendy Tots - Beacon's Kids Consignment Store

296 Main Street
Beacon, NY 12508
Trendy Tots Take Two, the kids consignment store in the sweet corner yellow house, has closed. Owned by a husband and wife team, this store had been a resource for parents who consigned gently used kids' stuff, and bought low-priced, high-quality items. Owner Jenn had a discerning eye for threads and did not accept everything that was brought into the store. Toward the end of summer 2017, the store posted a sign that said it would be closed until September. Small business owners often make personal choices like this - basing Open Hours around family needs. One time, Jenn was in a car accident and hurt her hip. Another time, the couple were caring for an aging parent and their open hours became inconsistent, but later returned to normal.

But September came and went, and the shop never reopened. In fact, the building and the grassy lot next to it, as well as the warehouse behind that which was known to be rented by artists from time to time, were put on the market to be sold. Asking price was $1 million. According to the realtor, there has been an offer on the property. The merchandise inside of the store has been removed, and we were unable to reach the owners to see if Trendy Tots is relocating.

Open: Wee Bitty Kids - New Kids Consignment Store

178 Main Street
Beacon, NY 12508
Just in the nick of time, a local mom, Jenny Donovan, opened Wee Bitty Kids, LLC, near Artisan Wine Shop on the west end of town near Bank Square Coffee. This has replaced the vintage shop Classic Couture Fashion Boutique. The owner of Classic Couture, Leah, has said she will send us an update when she finds the next location for her collection of vintage fashions.

In the meantime, Jenny is taking new consigners and has new and gently used clothing and items for sale. You can learn more about the store via Classic Couture's website and Facebook page.

Note: The new shop, Wee Bitty Kids, has no connection to the volunteer-based nonprofit group, the Wee Play Project, who runs the annual Ree-Play Sale fundraiser every April to raise money for Beacon's parks and library projects.

Loopy Mango Replaces Heart & Soul Apothecary

500 Main Street
Beacon, NY 12508
Longtime oils concoction artist, Leah Quinn, maintained a storefront at this corner store. Inside, she carried anything you might need to solve most any ailment. If it wasn't there, Leah would tell you how to make it. Over the summer of 2017, Leah packed it in at the storefront and went digital all the way. She seems to be exploding from her website, offering Subscription Boxes, workshops, and what looks to be a new line of clothing, like this hoodie.  Don't worry, you can still get Leah's Wonder Salve online here! It truly is wonderful, especially for eczema and sufferers of super chapped lips.

Loopy Mango has replaced the physical location of Heart & Soul, and ... all we can say is Wow. No stranger to retail, Loopy Mango has over 41,000 followers on Instagram, and has had a store in New York City since 2004. This location is all about "big loop" yarn, which is some really big and soft strands of yarn. They are so into it, they make their own in Key Largo, FL. Who is "they"? The business owners are corporate refugees who met in an art class, while "Loopy" is a German shepherd, and "Mango" is an orange cat. As for the people, according to their website:

Waejong Kim was born in Korea. She moved to Japan for college and after graduating from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies she worked as an interpreter and later opened a Korean fusion restaurant in Nagoya, Japan. She moved to New York after 9/11 and worked for a corporate housing company. She taught herself how to crochet, took a long vacation, and never returned to the corporate world. Waejong has a German shepherd named Loopy and and orange cat named Mango.

Anna Pulvermakher was born in Russia. She moved to Seattle, WA, with her family and after graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in Mathematics, she worked for Microsoft and Expedia as a Software Test Engineer. In 2003, she moved to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a professional artist.

Hudson Valley Fitness Center Renames to Zoned Fitness

Hudson Valley Fitness has rebranded to Zoned Fitness, and boy are they in the zone. We've watched their website for a number of years as we looked up information for A Little Beacon Blog's Adult Classes Guide, and the latest updates demonstrate that they are clearly in the zone, and are ready to transform your body. Their services Include food and nutrition training as well. Branding done by Beacon locals Rabe & Co.

New Fitness Center Coming Soon - The Studio at Beacon

Also on our radar! The Studio@Beacon, down near the Howland Public Library and Royal Crepes, is opening in January and will have a juice bar. Based on what drives the owners, the studio will likely specialize in boxing and cycling. With creative branding done by Kingston Creative.(P.S. Kingston Creative kind of has a thing for Beacon, and just released a 16 Most Instagrammed Places in Beacon, according to actual numbers. You'd be surprised who made the list!)

Highlands Current Launches Opioid Drug Crisis Special Report for Hudson Valley

Photo Credit: The Highlands Current

Editor's Note: This article was pushed to the front of our editorial calendar the day that Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa., withdrew his name from consideration as drug czar for the Trump administration. A report by The Washington Post and "60 Minutes" found that Marino was part of sponsoring legislation passed in 2016 that made it difficult for the Drug Enforcement Association (DEA) to go after drug companies who failed to report suspicious behavior - which included making large orders - of narcotics. According to the report, the DEA had been trying to block this proposed legislation for years, but in 2016 lost. Learn more about that in this NPR article.

You may have heard the chatter - "There's an opioid drug crisis in the Philipstown area." Two things may have happened after that - you might not have known what an opioid was, so the problem wasn't visible or urgent. Then, Philipstown isn't Beacon, so another removal from the situation occurs. When you read stories, however, of high school students who got addicted to opioids at age 14 after taking prescription painkillers for an ACL injury, or a sunburned foot, and then dying in a motel room in Newburgh, or almost dying after a long and frightening struggle with addiction from how the chemicals in the drug hook into the brain, "opioid" takes on a different meaning.

About a decade ago, a campaign was created called "Faces of Meth" that showed people's deteriorated faces - teeth, skin, hair. You can see faces of meth examples here. "Faces of opioids," however, is obituaries. It's an emotional route, versus the physical one. You can see faces of opioid examples here.

A recent New York Times article featured a medical examiner who is quitting his job after analyzing so many opioid-overdosed bodies, where he first sees white foam seep out of the lungs when he cuts them open, but has to analyze the entire body in order to give an official overdose verdict. The medical examiner wants to reach people before they get to his autopsy table - while they are living. He wants to be a minister. His church? Hiking trails. He wants to serve as a chaplain for the Boy Scouts of America, and wants to join the Appalachian Trail Chaplaincy of the United Methodist Church so he can minister on the the hiking trails that cross New Hampshire and its White Mountains.

Opioid Deaths and Help in the Hudson Valley

After publishing more than a few drug overdose obituaries, The Highlands Current, the newspaper based in Cold Spring that covers Phillipstown and Beacon, dedicated a lot of ink (aka space in the newspaper) to the epidemic, called Special Report: Fighting Back the Opioid Crisis. What compelled The Highlands Current to dedicate its staff and printing to such a cause? In the words of Christine Bockelmann, Chair of the Board of The Highlands Current:

“The opioid crisis is one of the most urgent of national issues, but where it is felt most acutely is on the local level — when a neighbor goes into treatment, a family member gets addicted, a teenager dies. The Highlands Current decided it was important to look at how this national crisis is playing out in our communities because that is where those receiving care and those giving care cope on a day-to-day basis. We wanted to understand the treatments supported by our care centers, our law enforcement officials, our courts, and we wanted to know their thoughts as well as those of addicts in recovery and of parents in mourning on the best approaches to "fighting back" in this crisis. In the middle of all the words devoted to this critical issue there may be information to help someone pull through, an idea for a more effective treatment, or just hope that educating more on this crisis will help bring it to an end."

The Four Components of the Special Report

The report is broken down into four easy-to-follow sections.

Part 1: Stories
Max
Max is the son of Teri Barr, owner of Hudson Valley Outfitters on Main Street in Cold Spring. One summer when he was 14, he got a bad sunburn on the tops of his feet while boating. The doctor prescribed an opioid painkiller. When the prescription ran out, they got another prescription. The rest of Max's story is in The Highlands Current's Special Report, and it involves a private boarding school rife with drugs, addiction, withdrawals, relapses, incarcerations, court appearances, a mother's constant battle to protect her son from himself, and what happened next.
Read Max's story 

Sasha
Alexander “Sasha” Matero, of Garrison, developed an opioid addiction while he was 14 years old as a student at Haldane High School in 2007. He injured his ACL, a knee ligament, in an accident and had it surgically repaired. He was prescribed opioid painkillers by his doctor during recovery from surgery. According to the article, the pills “flipped the switch,” his mother said. “The painkillers worked. They made the pain go away.” Sasha struggled with addiction to the painkillers for years after that. Despite open communication with his parents about his addiction, and with Sasha actively seeking help, he died in a hotel room in Newburgh on his 25th birthday in 2014.
Read Sasha's story

Part 2: Role of Law Enforcement and the Courts in Battling the Epidemic
Two Highlands Current reporters were assigned to cover the courts and police officers. Michael Turton looked at the work of the Putnam County Drug Court, while Jeff Simms (a Beacon resident) spent time with Beacon and Dutchess County police officers who battle the opioid crisis daily.

From his "A Day in Drug Court" piece, Michael recalls a conversation he heard, as the judge delivered opening remarks.

After the 30 or so defendants file into the courtroom, [Judge James] Reitz asks anyone to stand who knows a woman named Samantha who had appeared in court the previous week.

A few stand. “She was doing well,” Reitz says. “She told me, ‘How can life not be great? I’m clean and sober and working. I’m getting my degree. I’m doing great.’ ” Her most recent court-ordered drug test, three days earlier, had come up negative.

That same afternoon, she was found dead of an overdose.
Click here for the full article: A Day in Drug Court.

Part 3: Treatment Options
The Special Report explores different treatment and education options available, and new facilities that are being built. The Hudson Valley has hundreds of thousands of dollars available for building facilities that prevent death and try to get a person away from an addicted state. The following are explored in the articles:

• Dutchess County Stabilization
• Arms Acres
• CoveCare
• St. Christopher’s Inn
• What Does It Cost?

Part 4: Voices and Shared Thoughts to Fight Problem
The Highlands Current explores "thoughts of specialists, counselors, doctors and those struggling with addiction about what they feel should take priority in addressing the problem."

Click here to read the Special Report, and explore what is going on if you haven't yet.

Real Quick - What Are Opioids?

Before you dive into the Highlands Current's local spotlight on opioids, you'll want to know what they are. In the words of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, here is what they are:

Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine, morphine, and many others. These drugs are chemically related and interact with opioid receptors on nerve cells in the body and brain. Opioid pain relievers are generally safe when taken for a short time and as prescribed by a doctor, but because they produce euphoria in addition to pain relief, they can be misused (taken in a different way or in a larger quantity than prescribed, or taken without a doctor’s prescription). Regular use — even as prescribed by a doctor — can lead to dependence and, when misused, opioid pain relievers can lead to overdose incidents and deaths.
— National Institute on Drug Abuse

All Sport Heats Up With Classes, New Compost Program and More! (Sponsored)

If group classes and exercising in a community is your thing, then All Sport is for you, especially right now! The activity levels of All Sport's members vary, so All Sport has made available almost every kind of class you could want - from the upcoming Heart Chakra Yoga Class, to the popular Class Mashups which involve two different teachers and specialties, to the upcoming Small Group Training Trifecta Event with DJ Mace as a live DJ! Plus, don't miss the free Country Line Dancing class to prepare you for the upcoming six-week line dancing program. Then, escape to All Sport's relaxing sauna to warm your bones and/or calm your mind.

A Little Beacon Blog keeps a Guide of not-to-miss classes and events at All Sport, so check it out to stay on top of what's going on over there! All Sport's Event page lineup on Facebook is also a good place to check if you want to hook into posted events.

The Fuel Cafe and Composting at All Sport

The healthy food options at All Sport's Fuel Cafe have gone to a new level, and it's thanks in part to Beacon's own Chef Megan Lawrence (you know her from Nixie Sparrow days), who has brought creative soup, salad and other meal options to the snack counter at All Sport (see the Fuel Cafe's Instagram to be tempted). The most recent announcement has been the new Food Composting Program that Fuel Cafe is starting with Zero To Go, another Beacon-based organization. 

All food scraps, cups and containers will be placed into a compost bin and taken to a facility where they will soon turn into soil for future crops. Full circle!

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All Sport is a proud sponsor of Little Beacon Blog, and it is through support of businesses like theirs, this publication is able to promote news and events you want to know about. This article has been part of All Sport's Sponsor Spotlight campaign with A Little Beacon Blog.

'Tis The Season at All Sport Health & Fitness (Sponsor Spotlight)

It may be cold outside, but All Sport will keep you sweating all winter long! And we're not just talking about their sauna, although they have that too and it's one of our favorites. Today is the first day of Member Appreciation Week, from December 12 to 15, and All Sport is showing its members a little extra love with events for adults and kids, including a mini Wellness Workshop and photos with Santa! See dates below and more information here.

There are so many ways to enjoy All Sport, we maintain an All Sport Guide here at A Little Beacon Blog. At the beginning of every month, we throw the spotlight on the dates you don't want to miss.

Holiday Entertaining in Lobby - Live Music from Beacon High School choir

In honor of the holiday season, All Sport is hosting a variety of musicians in the lobby throughout the month to get you in the spirit. Don’t miss a serenade from members of our own Beacon High School Orchestra on Wednesday, December 14 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm! And the Costellos will also be playing during All Sport's Member Appreciation Party on December 15. If you're used to the band lineup around the pool during the summer at All Sport, then you won't be disappointed at this social schedule. Plus, Santa is coming during the Kids Craft Party on Tuesday, December 13!

School's Out Holiday Vacation Camp

You could occupy the kids for the entire week of Winter Break, or you could treat them to a day (or three) of All Sport Camp in the Winter. From 8 am to 5 pm on weekdays from December 23 to January 2, your children ages 5 to 12 can spend their days swimming, playing sports and games, doing arts and crafts, and more. Holiday Camp is available for members and non-members, but members get a daily discount. See more details here, and call the Front Desk at 845-896-5678 to register.

DING DING DING! Kids Class Registration Opens

Registration for Winter I kids activities, from fencing and gymnastics to swimming, opens on December 14 for members and two days later for non-members. The phone lines light up for Swimming Class registration, and others. See our breakdown of all kids classes, and find out how to make a workout for you happen at the same time as a sports class for your child.

Challenge Yourself

The next Small Group Training Transformation Challenge starts on January 9, just in time to get through the holiday leftovers and start working on your New Year’s resolutions! The program runs through April 4 and includes unlimited small group training sessions, progress tracking, nutrition seminars, and more. Even better: The Transformation Challenge is only $299 for members.

Plan For Holiday Closings

All Sport will close early on the following days this month, but don't worry, if you are one with your inbox, you'll see the reminders they send:

Dec. 24: Club closes at 3 pm
Dec. 25: Club is closed
Dec. 31: Club closes at 5 pm

There is a lot more going on at All Sport, so see our All Sport Guide for special classes, themed classes, and much more.

Editorial Note: All Sport is a Sponsor Spotlight of A Little Beacon Blog, and this post has been a part of our Branded Content Partner Program. Thank you for supporting businesses who support us!

Dr. Nick Opens New Practice as Beacon Veterinary Associates After Purchasing Roosevelt Vet on the Hudson (Sponsored)

Pictured Left: Dr. Bethany Souers, and Right: Dr. Nicholas Spaccarelli

SERVICES & SPECIALTIES:

• Wellness care
• Cat vaccinations
• Dog vaccinations
• In-house pharmacy
• In-house lab diagnostics
• Advanced dental services
• Digital radiology
• Soft tissue surgery
• Affordable orthopedic surgery with both general practitioners and board-certified orthopedic surgeons
• Chronic pain management

Major work has been going on in the center of Main Street at The Beacon Veterinary Associates, the new vet in the same strip as More Good, Towne Crier and Oak Vino. Six months ago, Dr. Nicholas Spaccarelli (aka Dr. Nick) bought Roosevelt Vet on the Hudson and has been enhancing it ever since, working with the existing staff and veterinarians like Dr. Bethany Souers, and preparing for their major name change.

Celebrating this Saturday at their Open House from 12 to 4 pm, you're invited to stop into their hospital and office location at 345 Main St., where they will personally take you on tours of the facility. You'll recognize several faces of the team if you visited prior, including Morgan, Dr. Souers, Nicole, and Heather. Soon you can meet Mike McCabe, LVT (Licensed Veterinary Technician) who sees patients during select Saturdays.

About Dr. Nick Spaccarelli

“Our Motto is: ‘21st-century medicine and surgery, paired with 20th-century care and compassion.’ We feel we are small enough to offer that hometown community feel yet still provide advanced medicine and surgery. If we can’t offer you a service in-house, then we will make sure to find the right specialist to come to our hospital or facilitate a referral to the best specialty centers in the area.””

— Dr. Nick

Dr. Nick Spaccarelli was born and raised in the Hudson Valley. He went to SUNY Delhi where he received a degree as a veterinary technician. He later attended Purdue University and continued on to Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine.

In 2007, Dr. Spaccarelli returned to the Hudson Valley to begin working in private practice and to pursue his professional interests in surgery, rehabilitation and pain management in pets that have chronic issues. A few years later in 2011, he went back to Ross University as a faculty member and clinician at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

After three years on the island of St. Kitts, Dr. Spaccarelli returned to the Hudson Valley to fulfill his lifelong dream of practice ownership. He brings over 10 years of small animal experience to the Beacon Veterinary Associates. He is excited to be adding orthopedic surgery and chronic pain management to a long list of advanced offerings at the practice.

Dr. Spaccarelli resides in Hopewell Junction with his wife Megan and their newborn daughter Mackenzie. They have a dog named Marshall that they rescued, along with two red-footed tortoises - named Harry and Sally - from St Kitts. He is an avid traveler and has been to Europe, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean and Central America. His passions include surfing, stand-up paddle boarding, fishing, hiking, cooking and spending time with family and friends.

This article has been a Partner Post with Beacon Veterinary Associates as a Spotlight Sponsor. Thank you for supporting businesses who support this publication and the community!

If You See This In Time...Come By The Space To Jump Around! Drop 'N Give Me 20 is at 9:30 am Tuesday

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Before I signed the lease on the space, I literally asked Deborah, the building owner and landlord, would I have privacy in the office because sometimes I needed to do my morning exercises. She responded by offering to install blurry glass in the office door, but that didn't seem necessary once I learned that I could do my morning stretching routine behind a wall in the middle of the room.

In the winter, I don't run outside as much because my bones get too cold and stiff, so it's either off to All Sport (where I can sit in their sauna!) or do a little routine at my desk! And so I thought: "Wouldn't it be fun if others got this quick morning workout, too?" So Jane Savage, founder of Savage Health and a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and USPTA-certified tennis coach, who for many years taught cardio tennis for all ages, is going to lead us in a 30-minute workout on Tuesday from 9:30 am to 10 am. Tickets are $10 and there are only seven spots left. Get it online or at the door, and bring your sneakers! Mats will be provided for any floor work.

Come on in and jump around!

Well, That Was Awesome... Hunting for Vampires and Bonding with Kids During Parent/Child Yoga

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After we put down the mats and set up the boom box, the morning began with spooky and dramatic organ playing as we moved our arms and pointed fingers to warm up our bodies. Child fitness instructor and founder of FitKidz, Dayna Case (my sister-in-law), led a small audience of mothers and children through different yoga poses and activities to songs, like "Going on a Bear Hunt," except our version was "Going on a Vampire Hunt" with all sorts of creepy adventures as we got closer to finding the vampire. Don't worry - we escaped from him.

The first dual yoga I'd ever done was Alice Sipple/Dancing Tree Yoga's class at All Sport. It was called Family Yoga and it was awesome. Alice has since moved with her family to Egypt for a spell, so when Dayna asked me if she could run a Parent/Child Yoga class in A Little Beacon Space, I jumped on it.

Why It Was So Special

In a yoga class with pairs, you get to work with and touch your partner. You can put feet to feet and grab wrists and sway back and forth. You can look at each other eye-to-eye, and give each other a spooky face. You can stop in the moments of a busy day to just be with that other person, who in this case, is your child. No telling them to put their socks on, no telling them to stop throwing water. Just moving and swaying, curling and rolling.

When's The Next One?

I don't know! Dayna lives in Columbus, Ohio, so it could happen whenever she passes through Beacon, I suppose. Or if you lead classes like this and want to give a special pop-up experience, contact me with your idea.

Meanwhile, see what other events are popping up in this Little Beacon Space. You never know if it will be back, so best take advantage by coming when it's here!

Small Group Challenges, Comedy Night, and One More Weekend of Swimming at All Sport (Sponsored)

Life is never dull at All Sport Health and Fitness in Fishkill. With fall weather just around the corner, All Sport is preparing with Small Group Challenges and Training to keep members motivated, working with each other, and working out directly with a trainer. Trainers have designed several classes for you to choose from at different times. All you need to do is pick and show up!

All Sport is becoming known for their Comedy Nights, and their next one is Saturday, September 17th. Hosted on the 2nd floor of the club in the room where the lights and stage are (you'll recall it when you've taken a barre or Zumba class), this is your chance to see comedians you'd catch if you were sitting in the audience of a live taping of Jimmy Fallon or Dr. Oz, or if you had a night at Gotham Comedy Live. This is a night of laughs, drinks and fun, so get your tickets now, as they have sold out in the past.

The lineup of standup comedians includes:

Co-Headliner: Kerri Louise
(NBC’s Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, The View, Dr. Oz)
 
Co-Headliner: Nick Vatterott
(Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Conan, Comedy Central)
 
Your Host: Neko White
(Gotham Comedy Live, Fox's Laugh, MTV)

PS: The cool Hudson Valley mornings aren't fooling All Sport, since we all are melting by the end of the day in the hot afternoon sun. All Sport has broken tradition with Labor Day, and is keeping the pool open for one more weekend! Click here for their pool hours.

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