As the days grow short and incredible colors saturate the rolling hills, a banquet of astounding cultural offerings descends upon the county. From cutting-edge exhibitions to some of the world’s most celebrated musical acts, Westchester has an outing for almost anyone this fall. Keep scrolling and check out our lineup of some of the very best autumnal arts events.
Whether you are out with the family or out on the town, these fun, local festivals are worth a stop.
By Elizabeth Colombini
Yorktown Grange Fair
Sept 7-9
99 Moseman Rd, Yorktown Heights
Pie-eating contests, farm animals, a tractor parade, myriad food, and craft beer are just a handful of things that one can expect at this year’s Yorktown Grange Fair. A family-friendly three-day event, the Grange provides a welcome opportunity for young ones to enjoy a classic American fair.
Fall Crafts at Lyndhurst
Sept 14-16
Lyndhurst Mansion, Tarrytown
Those on the hunt for some cool crafts or a unique statement piece need look no further than this three-day event. Taking place on the spacious grounds of Lyndhurst, this twice-yearly craft show features roughly 300 artists and artisans selling one-of-a-kind creations ranging from jewelry and leatherwork to furniture and paintings.
Photo by Tom Nycz
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze
Sept 28-Nov 24
Van Cortlandt Manor, Croton-on-Hudson
Immerse yourself in the spirit of Halloween, as thousands of hand-carved pumpkins formed into a wealth of incredible sculptures and shapes illuminate the historic grounds of Van Cortlandt Manor during this popular autumn event.
Wingfest
Sept 27
Empire City Casino, Yonkers
Celebrate one of America’s favorite snacks at Westchester Magazine’s second annual Wingfest, where local restaurants will serve up their own versions of the classic finger-food. Happening at Yonkers’ Empire City Casino, the evening includes live music, contests, and, of course, plenty of top-notch chicken wings.
Stone Barns Center’s Harvest Fest
Oct 6
Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, Pocantico Hills
Celebrate all things autumnal at Stone Barns’ 15th annual Harvest Fest. Located on a working farm for one of the world’s top restaurants, this rustic festival features hayrides, crafts, local purveyors, live music, food trucks, tours, and farm demonstrations throughout the day.
The Yonkers Film Festival
Nov 2-8
Various Locations
Also nicknamed YoFi Fest, this celebrated film festival is returning for its sixth year, bringing movie enthusiasts together under one roof and in front of the big screen. The seven-day fest celebrates cinematic works from local artists and offers workshops along with screenings of full-length features, documentaries, and short films.
Photo courtesy of US Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth
Lewis Black
Sept 27
Paramount Hudson Valley Theater, Peekskill
Whenever Daily Show alum and louder-than-life funnyman Lewis Black stops by our region, it is cause for local comedy lovers to rejoice. With more than a dozen albums, two HBO standup specials, and roles in hit films ranging from Accepted to Inside Out, Black and his bellicose delivery will descend upon Peekskill’s Paramount Hudson Valley Theater on September 27.
Wanda Sykes
Sep 29
Tarrytown Music Hall
Named one of the top 25 funniest people in the country by Entertainment Weekly, Wanda Sykes is a one-woman comedic army. From eliciting laughs on hit shows like Blackish and Broad City to stealing scenes in films like Evan Almighty and Snatched, Sykes is one eminently versatile comedian. Catch the former Roseanne head writer as she hits the stage this fall during her sidesplitting area show.
Photo by Paul Mobley
Tracy Morgan
Oct 12
The Palace Theatre, Stamford
This irreverent funnyman made a name for himself as a long-running cast member on Saturday Night Live before earning widespread fame as the befuddled rapper Tracy Jordan on the NBC hit sitcom 30Rock. Now, the actor and comedian is back onstage, where he began his career, with a night of unruly standup from the Emmy-nominated star of The Last O.G.
Tim Allen Tools Up For More
Everyone’s favorite animated astronaut is gearing up for a new season of his hit sitcom Last Man Standing, another stab at Toy Story, and a rare area performance.
By Paul Adler
Photo by Ross Pelton
There are few celebrities of the modern age as perennially relevant as Tim Allen. From middle-aged dads who fondly recall the megahit sitcom Home Improvement to the under-12 set with a soft spot for Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear, the actor, author, and comedian is likely a familiar face — or voice.
Nowadays, Allen is perhaps best known for his role as Mike Baxter on the all-American sitcom Last Man Standing. It seemed that the show was set to disappear from the airways when ABC declined to renew it last May — but Fox stepped in and picked up the comedy for a seventh season. Throughout the travails, Allen never wavered in his support of the sitcom.
“I was the last person in the hospital while the show was on life support,” Allen says in a hushed voice. “I would come by the hospital every day and hold the show’s hand, and, before we knew it, we got 90 percent of commitments from most of the people I wanted — mainly the crew, the set, and the studio — and it all came back together.” The show is now set for a September 28 season premiere on Fox.
When asked why Last Man Standing struck such a chord with audiences, Allen admits it has a lot to do with the show’s tone and subject matter. “We didn’t make fun of things; we just had fun with things. I always thought the idea of it was a guy with three daughters, since I have two, and I loved Home Improvement, with the odd three boys, mixed, so I said let’s do one with three girls,” he explains. “I wanted to be like Archie Bunker, but with a degree in marketing from the University of Michigan.”
“The muscles that standup comedy exercises are almost like the legs or the core: They are the most important.”
The filming also struck a chord with Allen himself, who developed a special bond with his supporting cast. “I come from the world of standup comedy, where most of my life, I’ve worked onstage by myself. So I get really attached to people on movie sets and television shows,” he shares. “My family’s always been really tight — my real family — but sometimes I mistake these showbiz families for real, and they all look at me and go, ‘You know we’re not actually family, Tim.’ And I’m like ‘Oh, yeah, that’s a little disappointing actually.’”
Allen is once again returning to this standup that marked much of his career with a November 15 performance at Stamford’s Palace Theatre. For Allen, who could easily rest on his film work, standup is an indispensable part of life. “The muscles that standup comedy exercises are almost like the legs or core: They are the most important,” he says. “Touring is a lot of work, but if you come see me, I’m going to give you everything I’ve got.”
Allen traces this passion for the stage to the first time he saw a certain comedian’s standup act. “I saw Richard Pryor, and I was enamored. I said, ‘That’s what I want to do; I want to be as funny as that guy, as honest as that guy, as rock ’n’ roll comedy as that guy,’” recalls Allen. “Once I got to the point where I could do that, there was nothing like it. There is a deep level of connection to a different part of me more than in any show or movie — there’s nothing like standup comedy.”
According to Allen, sitcom work is so enjoyable because it is a combination of theater, film-type television, and the joys of standup.”[Sitcoms are] like a bridge between all of the art forms; that’s why I’m back at it, and that’s why I fought so hard for Last Man Standing.”
And yet despite this journey to the top, audiences can expect a standup show surprisingly true to the subjects Allen has always favored: the women in his life.
“They’re just complex, wonderful, scary, beautiful, horrifying… I mean there’s so much, and that’s really where all of it comes from,” he says with a laugh. “My act is really about my growing up and how this world has affected me, but the basis of that really is how the women in my life have molded me and made me what I am.”
As for what Allen is, the term megastar often comes to mind. While he has appeared in films ranging from The Santa Clause to Galaxy Quest, his work voicing Buzz Lightyear for each Toy Story film is one of the major reasons the title sticks. He is now getting ready to reprise his role with Toy Story 4, which is currently in production.
“It’s become an iconic thing and much bigger than me,” says Allen. “Pixar is so meticulous about content that my side of the story is not completely ironed out yet, but I love doing the character. It always goes back to that original story that Pixar wrote about friendships. It was a wonderful story, and it continues to be a wonderful story.” The same could be said of Tim Allen’s career.
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Photo by Luzena Adams
Kathleen Madigan
Oct 13
The Ridgefield Playhouse
Returning to the region after last year’s sold-out show, Madigan is once again bringing her singular style of sincere silliness to the standup stage. This rising star has appeared on virtually every late-night show there is, from cracking wise on countless episodes of Leno, Letterman, and most recently with Jerry Seinfeld, on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Stop by Ridgefield to see why Madigan is considered one of America’s top comics.
Photo by Joey Carman
Howie Mandel
Oct 18
Tarrytown Music Hall
The Deal or No Deal and America’s Got Talent host is a rare treat for local comedy lovers. This fall, the Canadian comedian known for his witty banter makes his way to Tarrytown, where he will let loose with an evening of high-test humor. Known for stints on shows like St. Elsewhere in addition to his award-winning writing, Mandel is a veritable comedic institution.
Sculpture by James Tyler, photo courtesy of ArtsWestchester
Brick by Brick 🔥HOT PICK🔥
Oct 2—Jan 19
ArtsWestchester
Stretching back to the 1700s, the incredible tale of brickmaking in the lower Hudson Valley involves everything from immigration and American industry to the environment, family enterprise, and economic development. In this unique exhibition of contemporary works, ArtsWestchester invites artists, including Tom Fruin, Julia Whitney Barnes, Christopher Payne, Lynda Shenkman, and James Tyler to examine this important aspect of local history.
May We All Grow Up to Be Children
Sep 15—Nov 26
Westchester Children’s Museum
Family members of all ages are invited to enjoy illustrations by celebrated artist George H. Lewis that explore childhood wonder and the loving bond between kids and their “imaginary” friends. Artwork and accompanying text encourages adults to reacquaint themselves with their childhood fancies, while young ones will enjoy the exhibit’s sensitive take on their own everyday imaginings.
Photo courtesy of The Aldrich Contemporary Museum of Art
The Domestic Plane: New Perspectives on Tabletop Art Objects
Ongoing through Jan 13
The Aldrich Contemporary Museum of Art
Everyday items have never looked so good. Boasting the works of more than 70 artists collected by five separate curators, this exhaustive exhibition investigates what exactly it means to be a household object and why quotidian items can make for some of the most impressive pieces.
ALL 🔥HOT PICK🔥​
Sep 22—Nov 10
Clay Art Center
The Clay Art Center’s fascinating new exhibit features a duo of artists whose works examine humanity’s impact on the environment, as well as a range of pressing social issues. Acclaimed sculptor Novie Trump’s installation of ceramic insect specimens gestures to the concepts of evolution, migration, and extinction, while artist Trisha Coates provides her own installation of ceramic detritus, referencing humans’ damaging impact on the natural world.
Death Is Irrelevant: Selections From the Marc and Livia Straus Collection
Oct 12—Aug 2
Hudson Valley Moca
With works from 17 different countries produced over a 40-year period, this bold exhibition investigates the nature and meaning of figurative art through a range of works by major artists including Damien Hirst and Red Grooms.
photo courtesy of Neuberger Museum of Art
Andy Warhol: Subject and Seriality
Ongoing through Dec 23
Neuberger Museum of Art
Among the 20th century’s most famous artists, few are better-known than Andy Warhol. This fall, experience the pop-art maestro’s exploration of repetition and time through the Neuberger’s expansive new exhibition, Andy Warhol: Subject and Seriality. The show features repeated images of the artist’s subjects within prints, photographs, and multiples from the Neuberger Museum of Art’s private collection, as well as those of five other New York museums.
Armonk Outdoor Art Show
Sep 29 & 30
North Castle Community Park
Peruse the impressive wares of nearly 200 juried artists selling jewelry, photography, paintings, prints, and a host of other creative works at the 57th annual Armonk Outdoor Art Show. Hosted in North Castle Community Park in Armonk, this exhaustive exhibition showcases art from across the country and throughout the world. The two-day event also includes children’s activities, food, as well as free parking and shuttle service.
Photo courtesy of Katonah Museum of Art
Outrageous Ornament 🔥HOT PICK🔥​
Oct 21—Jan 27
Katonah Museum of Art
Over the last century, jewelry has gone from a sleek status symbol to a boundary-
pushing, avant-garde medium in its own right. More recently, “jewels” have extended beyond expectations of adornment to include art objects more akin to standalone sculptures. In this compelling exhibition organized by a former MoMA curator, international artists, architects, fashion designers, and jewelers rethink and reimagine what it means to create jewelry in the modern age.
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Rock & Pop
Phil Lesh
Sept 6
The Capitol Theatre
The jam-band legend famous for his years as bassist for The Grateful Dead hits the Port Chester stage, along with The Terrapin Family Band, which features noted musicians Nicki Bluhm and Eric Krasno.
photo by Jimmy Hubbard
Mastodon
Sept 20
The Capitol Theatre
The Grammy-winning heavy-metal band Mastodon managed to turn hardcore music mainstream over the course of their seven albums. This fall, local audiences have a chance to see the rock gods live during this tour with Dinosaur Jr.
Angel Olsen 🔥HOT PICK🔥​
Sept 28
Tarrytown Music Hall
With a unique sound that blends low-fi rock with folk sensibilities, as well as spots on year-end top-10 lists, ranging from TIME and Newsweek to Esquire and Pitchfork, Olsen is one up-and-coming artist worth a listen.
Marshall Tucker Band
Oct 3
The Ridgefield Playhouse
This down-home Southern-rock band epitomizes the 1970s with easygoing hits like “Fire on the Mountain,” “Heard It in a Love Song,” and “Can’t You See,” which fuse genres ranging from soul and gospel to psychedelic rock.
Social Distortion
Oct 3
The Capitol Theatre
It’s finally time to catch these punk pioneers in the flesh during a rare area show. Now in their fourth decade on tour, these rockers, known as the godfathers of punk, bring their gritty sound
to Westchester.
Photo by Joseph Cultice
Garbage
Oct 20
The Capitol Theatre
Alt-rockers Garbage made quite the splash when they first hit the scene during the 1990s with hits like “Stupid Girl.” Catch the Shirley Manson-led quartet still going strong this month in Port Chester.
Art Garfunkel 🔥HOT PICK🔥​
Nov 2
The Ridgefield Playhouse
One half of the iconic duo Simon and Garfunkel, this lauded musician is known for hits like “Mrs. Robinson” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Now, the six-time Grammy-winning Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee is showing off in our neck of the woods.
Classical, Jazz, & Bluegrass
Black Violin and Purchase Symphony Orchestra
Oct 13
The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College
Talented duo and SXSW sensations Kevin Sylvester and Wilner Baptiste — also known as Kev Marcus and Wil B. — combine classical, bluegrass, hip-hop, R&B, and rock on the violin and viola, accompanied onstage by a DJ and drummer.
ArtsWestchester’s Jazz Festival
Sept 12-16
Various Locations
This five-day celebration of jazz for family members of all ages welcomes a fleet of jazz greats performing throughout the region. Catch artists such as Veronica Swift, Marquis Hill, Emmet Cohen, and Rudresh Mahanthappa at this wide-ranging fest.
Westchester International Baroque Festival
Sept 14-16
St. Thomas Episcopal Church
One of North America’s most distinguished performing groups, Ensemble L’Harmonie Des Saisons, joins several others acclaimed classical artists during this three-day fest.
Bernstein in Black & White
Sept 29
Copland House at Merestead
Enjoy two piano and two hand works by Leonard Bernstein during this evening event, which features symphonic dances from West Side Story, Divertimento, and other beloved scores.
Greensky Bluegrass
Oct 6
The Capitol Theatre
Having recently released their fifth studio album, Greensky Bluegrass has made a name for themselves with a sound both experimental and deeply rooted in American string music. This fall, catch them onstage in Port Chester with the Lil Smokies.
REBEL Ensemble for Baroque Music
Oct 27
Bedford Presbyterian Church
This popular local ensemble, which performs frequent area shows, presents the crown jewel of their season with a performance of works by Philidor, Mondonville, Couperin, Vivaldi, and Telemann.
American String Quartet
Oct 13
The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College
Internationally acclaimed writer Salman Rushdie teams up with the American String Quartet for a one-of-a-kind performance. The quartet will perform a work by Paul Cantelon, based on a novel by Rushdie, while the author reads excerpts from the book between movements.
Westchester Philharmonic 🔥HOT PICK🔥​
Oct 21
Performing Arts Center
Bask in the sublime sounds of Ravel, Brahms, and Haydn during this all-orchestra season opener by our own Westchester Philharmonic.
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As the warm weather recedes, Hollywood trots out its award contenders in both the multiplexes and the art houses. When it comes to deciding what exactly to watch, Marshall Fine, general manager of the New York Film Critics Circle and critic-in-residence at The Picture House in Pelham, is definitely the person to ask. Below, he rounds up the cream of the new fall film crop.
Mainstream
A Star Is Born
Oct 5
“Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper not only stars in this remake of the classic showbiz romantic tragedy — he makes his directorial debut here, as well. Previous versions featured Janet Gaynor, Judy Garland, and Barbra Streisand as the young striver who rises. This time it’s Lady Gaga, as the would-be singer-songwriter whose self-destructive lover turns her into a star. Cooper himself plays the country singer on the skids, even as he guides Gaga through her first dramatic onscreen role.”
Venom
Oct 5
“Tom Hardy, who put on a mask to play Batman’s nemesis Bane and then as a fighter pilot in Dunkirk, dons a horror-mask version of Spider-man as an anti-hero escapee from the Marvel realm. Hardy plays a reporter whose body and mind are taken over by an alien being known as a symbiote, which — oh, don’t even ask. Just know that it gives him superpowers, as well as an appetite for carnage. Plus, this guy has a mouthful of teeth like a shark that he isn’t afraid to use.”
First Man
Oct 12
“How do you top La La Land? How about taking audiences on a trip to the moon? That’s what Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle offers in his new film, about America’s first manned descent to the moon’s surface in 1969. He re-teams with actor Ryan Gosling, who plays Neil Armstrong who (spoiler alert) stepped into history as the title character. The cast includes Kyle Chandler, Claire Foy and Corey Stoll.”
Underground
Beautiful Boy
Oct 12
“Steve Carell and last year’s It-boy, Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name), costar in this true story based on the memoirs by writer David Sheff and his son Nic. Sheff, a successful journalist, discovers he is helpless to make a difference when his son becomes addicted to methamphetamine. It sounds like the kind of movie which, done correctly, could end up harvesting armloads of awards.”
The Old Man and the Gun
Sept 28
“Robert Redford stars in the true story of Forrest Tucker, a bank robber who escaped from San Quentin at the age of 70 and pulled off an unprecedented series of bank heists during a four-year spate of freedom. Sissy Spacek, Keith Carradine, Danny Glover, and Elisabeth Moss costar in the tale of an affable criminal who found a way to make the most of his golden years.”
Where’d You Go, Bernadette
Oct 19
“Missing mothers seem to be a theme in a couple of fall films, especially tales of women making unexpected discoveries about the early lives of their absent matriarchs. In this one, adapted by Oscar-nominee Richard Linklater (Boyhood) from the novel by Maria Semple, a teenager must track down her missing, anxiety-prone mom (Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett), and finds that she doesn’t know her mother at all.”
Film Geek Guide
Ring in the season with some classic, art-house, horror, and cult films screening throughout the county. Here are our picks for the ones to watch.
By Paul Adler
For midnight-movie mavens…
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Oct 28-29
The Picture House
This fan-favorite cult classic will run for two nights at The Picture House in Pelham, where devotees can see the story about two newlyweds who stumble upon what might be the weirdest laboratory on earth in this seminal
midnight movie.
For ’80s aficionados…
Ghostbusters
Sept 1
Alamo Drafthouse, Yonkers
Who you gonna call? How about the Alamo Drafthouse in Yonkers, to purchase a ticket for this zippy 1984 film starring Sigourney Weaver and Bill Murray about a team of wacky scientists who rescue New York from an excess of ectoplasm.
For music lovers…
Pink Floyd’s The Wall
Nov 28
The Picture House
In this trippy film that blends both animation and acting, audiences are treated to some of the legendary rock group Pink Floyd’s most famous songs, as well as a heaping helping of
hallucinatory imagery.
For foreign flick fans…
An Education
Sept 11
Jacob Burns Film Center
This award-winning British drama follows a teenage girl, played by Carey Mulligan, who comes of age in 1960s London as she falls for a much older man.
For the action enthusiasts…
Fight Club
Sept 13
The Avon Theatre
The first rule of Fight Club should be watching Fight Club, because this is one fun flick. Directed by Gone Girl maestro David Fincher, this edgy yet riotous film tells the story of a man who discovers an aggressive underground club and a “friend” named Tyler.
For documentary lovers…
Love, Gilda
Sept 20
Bedford Playhouse
Enjoy a cocktail party prior to the screening of this acclaimed documentary about the late Saturday Night Live star and her battle with cancer, which will be followed by a Q&A with original SNL writer and Emmy winner Alan Zweibel.
For sci-fi scions…
The Blob
Oct 1
Alamo Drafthouse, Yonkers
Step back in time to the golden age of science fiction with this 1958 monster flick starring Steve McQueen about an amorphous creature that comes from outer space to devour literally everything
in sight.
For horror hounds…
The Shining
Oct 7
The Picture House
Here’s Johnny!… Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 masterpiece hasn’t lost any of its punch with age. Don’t take our word for it. Check out this terrifying flick starring a deranged Jack Nicholson, who turns on his wife and young child up on the big screen.
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By Elizabeth Colombini
Phantom 🔥HOT PICK🔥​
Sept 13-Nov 25
Westchester Broadway Theatre
Based on the same Gaston Leroux novel that spawned Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, this witty play provides a unique take on the tumultuous love story of Erik, who spends his entire life living under a Parisian opera house, and Christine, an ambitious singer whom he takes under his wing. Written by Arthur Kopit three years prior to the release of Webber’s work, Kopit eschews elaborate special effects and instead sticks with theatrical simplicity.
Man of La Mancha
Sept 25-Oct 13
Westport Country Playhouse
A musical interpretation based on the classical novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, Man of La Mancha is the story of the self-knighted Don Quixote, who roams the hills of Spain with his trusty squire, Sancho Panza. Written by Dale Wasserman and directed by Mark Lamos, the play’s fun and hopeful tone is epitomized by the eternal musical hit The Impossible Dream. Take a trip to Elmsford and see why this merry musical took home five Tony Awards when it first hit the stage.
Fun Home 🔥HOT PICK🔥​
Oct 12-28
White Plains Performing Arts Center
A touching play inspired by Alison Bechdel’s eponymous graphic novel, Fun Home tells the story of a girl dealing with the stresses of a dysfunctional family and the complexity of her budding sexuality. A 2015 winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, as well as 12 Tony nominations, Fun Home examines the different stages of Bechdel’s life while exploring intimate secrets that contributed to transformative changes within her.
Senescence 🔥HOT PICK🔥​
Nov 2—18
Axial Theatre
This involving play was a semifinalist at the 2016 O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and tells the story of three New Jersey friends whose lives are forever changed by a stranger.
By Elizabeth Colombini
iLuminate 🔥HOT PICK🔥​
Sept 14
The Palace Stamford
The brainchild of Miral Kotb, fantastical characters are brought to life using light, music, and dance in this family-friendly performance. Once a contestant on America’s Got Talent, this acclaimed group incorporates art and incredible engineering into their eye-popping events. Wearing patented wireless lighting suits, performers dance to music from an array of artists like Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars.
Photo by Jennifer Prat
company nora chipaumire 🔥HOT PICK🔥​
Nov 2
Quick Center for the Arts
Bold and unapologetic, nora chipaumire’s live performances are a harmonious fusion of punk-rock, rumba, and Americana. Challenging notions of gender, class, and race, chipaumire incorporates explosive dance moves inspired by her upbringing in Zimbabwe into her award-winning works. Catch the troupe’s fancy footwork this November at Fairfield University’s Quick Center for the Arts.
Photo by Blaine Truitt Covert
NW Dance Project 🔥HOT PICK🔥​
Nov 2
Performing Arts Center at Purchase College
Sarah Slipper’s NW Dance Project, a contemporary dance company, provides a space for performers to collaborate and compose new works through improvisational techniques. A Vancouver native, Slipper transforms the stage using a range of highly experimental dance styles. This November, see the NW Dance Project at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase as they perform innovative works by accomplished dancers from Europe and North America.
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