Bronxville and Scarsdale region

Megan Sinanis, 10, of Eastchester, carried her very own jail cell with her as she was among several hundred children, who along with parents and grandparents, took park in Eastchester’s ragamuffin Halloween today. Photo by Seth Harrison

The parade started at Eastchester Middle School and made it’s way down White Plains Road before winding back to the middle school. Look for photos in tomorrow’s edition of The Journal News. View additional photos from the Eastchester ragamuffin parade.

Concordia College sent this over:

Concordia Conservatory presents its first Musical Adventures for Children concert for the 2010-11 season, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Flea”, at 11 a.m.  Nov. 13 in the Schoenfeld Campus Center at Concordia College, Bronxville.

With book and lyrics by Rami Vamos, the show features Conservatory faculty, students and special guest appearances by Bronxville residents Anne Churchill, Stella Guarnieri, and Melinda Magnani.

Cast:

Narrator: Kathleen Suss

Mr. Shtinkle: Rami Vamos

Timmy Lily Young, violin

Sally Whitney Dawson, guitar

Billy Nicholas Lombardi, guitar

Nancy Emily Kalish, violin faculty,

Donovan Cam Coffey, baritone

LeRoy Chris Magnani, cello

Dr. Donald  JP Redmond, piano

Mary Renee Redmond, soprano

Abraham Lincoln,  Cam Coffey, baritone

Mary Lincoln, Renee Redmond

Churchill, Guarnieri and Magnani, dog owners 1, 2 and 3

The show is about a flea who takes control of the mind of a Suzuki violin teacher. Suddenly the teacher, who used to devote hours to playing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, wants nothing more than to tickle and annoy dogs. This is very unfortunate for his students who are trying desperately to prepare for their big concert. This 45-minute family concert is designed to entertain and educate audiences.

Rami Vamos shares the stage with other musicians and actors to bring original material to audiences of all ages.  His prolific compositional output of children’s’ musicals includes Monsterland, The Amazing Tale of Prince Pickles, Once Upon A Time Signature, Introducing: Wolfgang Amadeus Schmutzinberry, Egbert the Scaredy Cat, and Marsha the Martian.

He has also written music for theatrical productions, setting his own compositions to masterpieces from many periods, and composed several solo and chamber compositions over the past few years including a collaborative composition with guitarist Randall Avers called 12 Silly Songs for 12 Silly Strings.

In fall 2006, Vamos was commissioned to write a musical, The 12 Days of Christmas, through a grant from the New York State Music Fund with Concordia Conservatory. The musical was the subject of a three segment documentary featured on Kids Teen News in the FOX channel.

Vamos has performed with renowned classical artists Pacifica String Quartet, members of the St. Louis Symphony, Marc Teicholz, Keith Underwood, Amy Oshiro, Mark Stewart, The Newman and Oltman Guitar Duo, and members of the Turtle Island String Quartet.

He currently lives in Brooklyn where he completed a NYC Teaching Fellowship, which earned him a second master’s degree in education from Queens College. He holds a bachelor of music from Oberlin College Conservatory and a master’s from Yale University.   He is on the faculty of the Colonial and Siwanoy Schools in Pelham, as well as Concordia Conservatory of Music & Art. In 2005, he started his association as a teaching artist with the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center in New York City.

Single tickets are $15 adults and $7.50 children/seniors. To purchase tickets, call 395-4507 or visit www.concordiaconservatory.org.

Got this in recently from the Tuckahoe School Foundation:

The Tuckahoe Schools Foundation (TSF) will host its  Eighth Annual Casino Night on Nov. 5 at the Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle.  The festivities begin at 7 p.m. and will include dinner and dancing, along with fun casino games, raffles and prizes.

To date, the TSF has raised $195,000 in grants and scholarships for students and programs at the Tuckahoe schools. The foundation, a non-profit organization comprised of community, business and civic leaders, works in collaboration with the school administration and Board of Education to secure independent funding for innovative and academic enrichment programs that enhance the educational programs for the district’s students.

Tickets are $90 in advance; $100 at the door. For more information, call 337-5376, ext. 1556.

We got this release in recently from UJA-Federation:

Ruth Suzman of Scarsdale was honored at UJA-Federation of New York’s Annual Lion of Judah Luncheon held Oct. 26 in New York City.

The Lion of Judah Luncheon honors philanthropic women. More than 16,000 women around the world are recognized as Lions of Judah, including more than 1,200 in the New York Jewish community.

A woman who makes a personal contribution of at least $6,000 annually to UJA-Federation’s Women’s Philanthropy is eligible to wear a Lion of Judah pin — the nationally recognized jewel-inset, 14-karat gold lion. As a woman’s contribution grows, a corresponding precious gem is placed as an inset in the lion’s eye.

Suzman was awarded with the Spirit of Peggy Award in memory of Peggy Tishman, who set an inspiring standard of service for women who give their time and hearts to communal leadership.

The award honors a young leader in our community who shares Peggy’s passion for dedicated service, generous commitment to philanthropy, and personal devotion to the welfare of the Jewish people.

Suzman comes from a family with a long history of philanthropy and social-service activity. Committed and creative, she follows in the footsteps of her parents, who sponsored a plane for 1984’s Operation Moses, a covert removal of Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel during a famine.

She is a founding member of the Solelim Fund, an early venture philanthropy program established at UJA-Federation. She is a chair of UJA-Federation’s 2011 Westchester Annual Campaign and serves on the Board of Directors.

Got this in from Concordia College:

Concordia College secured its second consecutive Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Women’s Tennis Championship with a 5-0 victory over No. 2 seeded Goldey-Beacon College Oct. 23 on the campus of Chestnut Hill College.

With the victory, the Clippers have earned the CACC’s automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Division II East Region Tournament, which will take place in May.

In addition, Concordia College senior Ola Roberts was selected the CACC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year in balloting recently released. Voting was conducted by nine head coaches. Three Concordia players, sophomores Yuliya Plevako and Adeline Brennan and junior Maria Ortiz were picked as second team All-Conference, while Brennan was selected MVP of the championship.

Roberts, who is from Bucharest, Romania, is undefeated this year in dual matches with a 9-0 singles record and a 6-o mark in dubles. She and her partner, Plevako, recently finished sixth at the ITA national doubles championship  in Mobile, Ala.

Garth Road: A 26-year-old Yonkers woman was arrested in Scarsdale on drunk driving charges, village police said. Leigh Murray of 65 Buena Vista Avenue was driving her 1990 Volkswagen on Garth Road with a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit, Scarsdale Detective Lt. Bryant Clark said. Murray was stopped by a Scarsdale police officer at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday after sailing through a stop sign without stopping. he said. When the officer approached the car, Murray had glassy bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and a strong odor of alcohol on her breath; she also failed a field sobriety test, Clark said. A test determined that she had a .22 blood alcohol level, police said. The legal limit is New York State is .08. Murray was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated and driving while intoxicated, both misdemeanors. She was also charged with several other traffic violations. She was released on $240 cash bail.

Eton Road: An undetermined amount of jewelry was heisted from an Eton Road private home, police said. The family discovered the burglary at 8:20 p.m. last Friday after being out for just under two hours for dinner. The homeowners found a rear double door in the back of the house forced open and the house ransacked, Clark said.

Scarsdale village police are investigating a string of car break ins that they believe were all connected, police said.

All of the break ins and thefts happened between Monday night and Tuesday morning on Secor Road, Wynmor Drive, Quentin Road and Brookby Road, Scarsdale Detective Lt. Bryant Clark said.

A car parked on Secor Road had a passenger side window broken and a woman’s purse stolen. A second vehicle, a 2008 Mercedes Benz, on the same road had a woman’s purse stolen, but there was no damage to the car.

On Wynmor Road a passenger window of a 2008 BMW LL X5 was broken on a car and leather jacket was stolen.

A 1998 Honda parked on Quentin Road had a window broken and two college textbooks and a homework assignment were swiped.

On Brookby Road, a 2010 Honda LL CRV had a window broken and an iPod was stolen.

This just in:

From Peru to New York, from bankers to artists: a melting pot of our diverse community will gather at the home of Scarsdale residents Nathan and Patricia Engelhard on Thursday Nov. 4, from 6-9 pm, for an art opening/cocktail party to benefit Manos Unidas, the first private special education school in Cusco, Peru.

The Engelhards are long-time residents of New York, but were born and raised in Peru, and are hosting this event as a way to reconnect and give back to their homeland. Manos Unidas founder/director Celeste Marion will be attendance as part of a two month journey she is taking across the USA to raise funds and create partnerships with schools in the United States. At present, the school is only able to serve a small fraction of the children and families in need of special education in the Andean region. Marion’s aim is to raise $25,000 by year-end to expand the current program.

Also up from Peru for the event will be renowned artist Estrella Dannon, who is showing her latest work and donating a portion of sales towards student scholarships. Also expected to attend is dancer/choreographer Cynthia Paniagua, the star of the film “Soy Andina” that screened on U.S. public television and at the Jacob Burns Center for the Arts in Westchester. Westchester-based EsCarole Catering, which specializes in fine Peruvian food, will be serving au d’oeuvres and Barsol Pisco Sours, the Peruvian national cocktail.

Manos Unidas is the first private school for special education in Cusco, Peru, serving children and young adults with developmental disabilities, down syndrome, autism and cerebral palsy. Most of the nearly 100 students receive scholarships to help pay the $60 month tuition, which is more than many Peruvian families can afford. Nearly all scholarships are paid for with private donations. To learn more, join the mailing list, or make a tax-deductible donation, please visit http://www.manosunidasperu.net/

The event is open to the public, with RSVPs to: Patricia Engelhard; patricia@escarolecatering.com or (914) 713-1082

Comedy Central funnymen Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert will host a Rally to Restore Sanity and a March to Keep Fear Alive, respectively, this Saturday at the Washington Mall in D.C. Are you making the hike up to our nation’s capital? Reporter Briggette Sayegh is looking for locals to talk to at the scene. If you would be willing to be interviewed, please e-mail her at bsayegh@lohud.com

Many of you have asked what recourse we have to protest the stunning 34 percent hike in water costs and 70 percent increase in hydrant maintenance fee charges.  Sadly, after review, it appears our options are meager.   (more…)