Native American Art
Is it us, or do people only focus on Native American artwork when it gets close to Thanksgiving? No longer. On September 26, in conjunction with its Dynamic Traditions: Form and Function in Native American Art exhibition, the Stamford Museum & Nature Center will host a day celebrating Native American art. The Allegany River Dancers showcase songs and dances of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), including the Iroquois Smoke Dance and the Hoop Dance. Youngsters can take part in traditional games and craft activities. But the real draw is the museum-quality artwork available to purchase, including baskets, pottery, sculpture and jewelry.
Loco for Lobos
Los Lobos may be most famous for their cover of Ritchie Valens’s “La Bamba,” featured on the soundtrack to the 1987 movie, but that doesn’t mean their best work is behind them. In fact, the band received raves for one of its most recent albums, The Town and the City. “With the exception of U2, no other band has stayed on top of its game as long as Los Lobos,” Rolling Stone wrote in its review, “But while U2 constantly reinvent themselves and compete with new generations of bands, these East L.A. vets just keep on making the same golden blend of blues, R&B, cumbia, and barrio rock & roll that they first laid down when Jimmy Carter was president.” Sounds good to us. Check out their timeless, genre-bending rock music at the Paramount Center for the Arts on September 16.
One for the Road
What’s better than hearing Boz Scaggs play his pop-rock hits? (Remember “Lido” and “Lowdown?”) Seeing Scaggs’s performance at the fancified gala for the Ridgefield Playhouse on September 13—an event that goes beyond your typical concert. The evening begins with a meet-and-greet reception at which, while sipping on cocktails from the open bar, you can bid on items in a silent auction. The reception is followed by a dramatic live auction and the show, which will feature some selections from Scaggs’s newest album, Speak Low, hastily recorded to capture the live-performance feeling. You get the real deal.
Book Worms
Earlier in this issue, you heard from a slice of the legion of local children’s book authors. Ready to meet some of them in person? At the annual Children’s Book Day, held at the appropriately literary Washington Irving’s Sunnyside, fans can meet more than 60 of their favorite children’s book authors and illustrators—and a few beloved characters, too. This year’s participants include recent Westchester Magazine interviewees Alyssa Capucilli, Jean Craighead George, Susan Jeffers, Jerry Pinkney, and Ed Young, along with many, many others. The event takes place September 27 and runs all day.
Scope out Scofield
If you’ve got the blues about the end of summer, all you need to do to feel better is jazz up your fall. The season-opening performance of the Westchester Jazz Orchestra, taking place on September 26 at the Irvington Town Hall Theater, provides the perfect antidote. Legendary jazz guitarist John Scofield is the evening’s special guest, and the Orchestra will run through a program of his original music. Get to the theater early for a pre-concert talk, and you won’t notice how quickly the days are getting shorter.
Broadway, Baby
North Salem composer Alan Menken is best known for creating the scores to Little Shop of Horrors, Enchanted, and animated Disney classics like Beauty and the Beast. So when the eight-time Academy Award winner hosts an evening of entertainment to support a good cause, you’ll want to be his guest. Menken will lead a lineup of acclaimed cabaret singers and Broadway stars to benefit Premier Performing Arts—a professional, not-for-profit theater company—at the Tarrytown Music Hall on September 13. Joining Menken on stage will be twin crooners Will and Anthony Nunziata, 42nd Street original cast member Lee Roy Reams, and Producers player John Treacy Egan (currently the chef in The Little Mermaid, another Menken score).
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Home Theater
What to add to your Netflix queue this month
Sugar
DVD Release Date: September 1, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
This film, made by the writing and directing team behind indie darling Half Nelson, follows a teenage baseball player from the Dominican Republic who’s trying to break into the major leagues. It’s fitting that he’s inspired to do so by the movie Field of Dreams, because Sugar seems just as well-liked by both baseball fans and critics—Roger Ebert says it “lights up the landscape of film.” The DVD also includes the featurette “Play Béisbol! The Dominican Dream,” which includes interview with pros such as Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, and Sammy Sosa.
Monsters vs. Aliens Ginormous Double DVD Pack
DVD Release Date: September 29, Paramount Home Entertainment
Who would win in a fight: Aliens with sophisticated otherworldly technology, or a big blob who doesn’t have enough brains to be scared of them? Monsters vs. Aliens pits intergalactic beings against a team of misfit, government-hidden monsters (including a refreshingly strong female heroine). The “ginormous” DVD set comes with a 3D version of the movie (and four pairs of 3D glasses) along with other 3D goodies, including B.O.B.’s Big Break, a new tale starring the lovable blob.
The Wizard of Oz: 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition
DVD Release Date: September 29, Warner Home Video
Few movies are beloved for generations, so when a classic hits the seven-decade mark, you have to do something special. For the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, Warner Home Video carefully remastered the original film, then loaded the discs up with extras including a feature-length documentary about Victor Fleming, a feature-length film about Oz author L. Frank Baum, Baum’s 1914 silent film about Oz, interviews with some of the actors who played munchkins, and more. (Buyers even get a coffee-table book and an Oz wrist watch.) Unfortunately, this one is for Blu-Ray owners only, so make friends with an early adopter.
