Storytellers to Perform at the 12th Annual Community Mosaic Street Painting Festival
 
Riverhead, NY —The East End Arts Council is proud to announce the appearance of several renowned local storytellers at the 12th Annual Community Mosaic Street Painting Festival on Sunday, May 25th (rain date: May 26th).  Gathering under the Storytelling Tent, our professional tale-spinners are sure to transport all listeners, adults and children alike, to the land of make-believe. Here’s the schedule for this year (see below for performers’ bios):
 
12:30-1:15- Johnny Cuomo
2:15-3:00- Ken Corsbie
4:00-4:45- Lorena Doherty
 
For more information, call (631) 727-0900 or visit our website: www.eastendarts.org.
 
Johnny Cuomo
 
The art of storytelling comes naturally to musician/author/storyteller Johnny Cuomo. Collecting stories from his travels and interests alike, Johnny has combined his musical talents with his ability to hold an audiences attention, while unfolding tales of nature, birds, animals and stories from different cultures around the world.

Spending two summers as a volunteer teacher on the Barona and Viejas Indian Reservations in California has given him a special connection with the Native American culture, as well as enriched his abilities as a storyteller of Indian tales. Living for a time in Ireland, Johnny learned first hand about the Irish culture and music, which sent him on a path playing traditional Irish music with his band, Gallowglass, all over the country, as well as abroad. As a substitute teacher in the primary grades, Johnny works diligently to bring his love of music to the classroom on a daily basis, as well as lending his talents to the schools plays and concert programs. He has created his own summer enrichment program for his local school district to teach children the art of storytelling. Currently, Johnny is now the proud author of his first published children’s book, Moon-Glow (PublishAmerica, June 2004).

He holds a B.A. in Elementary Education and History and is in the process of completing his Masters degree at Stony Brook University.
 
Ken Corsbie
 
Ken brings the sound of the sea, rainforest, carnival, calypso, songs of the Caribbean – from Guyana and Trinidad in the South to Belize and the Bahamas in the north - the textures and sounds of the islands mixed with those of North America. He also brings 55 years of Caribbean theatre experiences.

Born and grew up in Guyana – Trinidad & Tobago parents – Ken says he is one third Chinese, one sixth Scottish, one fourth African, two seventh Amerindian, one seventh Welch, half Trinidadian, one tenth Barbadian, two fifths Guyanese, and therefore a “full-blooded West Indian stereotype.”

Ken’s repertoire is varied and versatile, crossing through Caribbean folk and literary tales, “performance” poetry, satirical and humorous anecdotes, personal stories of growing up, living in and leaving the Caribbean, arriving and becoming an American. He tells them all with “stereotypical” (his words) West Indian wit and flair.
 
Lorena Doherty
 
Lorena has the ability to paint pictures with words and voice in the imaginations of listeners. She is a photographer, a storyteller, a visual artist, a performance artist and most recently a Librarian.  She brings to the stage a mixture of cultural and artistic influences. Her repertoire is a mixture of world folktales.

Lorena has an Individualized Master of Arts Degree from Antioch University and completed a thesis entitled “Historical Threads Told in Story”.  She has been a featured teller on Cablevision’s “Tell Me a Story” and in Long Island’s “Newsday”.  She facilitated the “South Shore Storyteller’s Project,” a community-based storytelling project focused on building cultural bridges. This year-long project saw participants gather to listen and ultimately tell their own stories. The project culminated in public performances of personal, traditional, and historical stories of Bay Shore and its surrounding communities.
 
In 1998, Lorena was the first Suffolk County producer of “Tellebration!” Tellebration! is an annual world-wide celebration of storytelling traditionally held the weekend before Thanksgiving.  Since then, she has continued to produce and perform in Tellabration! in numerous locations throughout Suffolk County and beyond, including a yearly benefit held at The Little Portion Friary in Mount Sinai, NY. 

She has belonged to several Storytelling groups and is a founding member of The Long Island Storytelling Network (LISN).
Lorena resides in Wading River, N.Y. with her husband Jay and their four children, all of whom are four-legged.
 
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Laura Helms
Communications Coordinator
East End Arts Council
133 East Main Street
Riverhead, NY 11901
631.727.0900

Creative Home Expressions Chosen to Decorate The Oaks at Broadlawn Manor Models
 
(Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) – Kathy Passarette of  Creative Home Expressions, a Long Island based interior decorating, home staging and interior redesign firm, is pleased to announce that Creative Home Expressions has been chosen by Carriage Hill Associates to decorate The Oaks at Broadlawn Manor models, located in Massapequa, New York.   The Oaks at Broadlawn Manor are affordable condominiums for the senior community. 
 
Kathy is a Certified Interior Decorator, Interior Design Society Affiliate and Window Fashions Certified Professional Associate.  Kathy has initiated the formation of the Suffolk County Long Island Chapter of the Interior Design Society and currently holds the office of Vice President.  Kathy has established herself as an expert in her field with her tips and articles being published in such newspapers as: Newsday, Newsday’s How To Guide, New York Resident Magazine, Gwinnett Daily Post, Denver Post and the Miami Herald, among others.
 
For more information on services and fees, you can visit the website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com. 

New York Institute of Technology Announces 2008 Speakers and Honorary Degree Recipients 
 
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) celebrates its 47th annual commencement on Sunday, May 18, 2008 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
 
Before an audience of more than 10,000, NYIT President Edward Guiliano, will confer associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, as well as professional diplomas and certificates, to more than 4,400 graduates representing all 50 states and 98 countries. The ceremony will take place, rain or shine, at NYIT’s Old Westbury, N.Y., campus.
 
Media admission is by press pass.
 
Schedule and Honorary Degree Recipients:
 
NYIT will award honorary doctorate degrees to: Fitzhugh Mullan, M.D., Murdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy at George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (Doctor of Humane Letters), and Stanford Ovshinsky, Co-Founder, Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. and Founder of Ovshinsky Innovation LLC (Doctor of Science).
 
The NYIT choir will open the program with a singing of the National Anthem. Student speaker Nigel Chiwaya has been selected to address the Class of 2008. 
 
About NYIT’s Honorary Degree Recipients:
 
Fitzhugh Mullan, M.D., Doctor of Humane Letters
Dr. Mullan is the Murdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services and a professor of pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine. He is also a member of the medical staff at the Upper Cardozo Community Health Center in Washington, D.C. He served on both the President’s Task Force on Health Care Reform and the Council on Graduate Medical Education.  His current research and policy work focuses on U.S. and international health workforce issues.  Mullan graduated from Harvard University in 1964 with a degree in history and from the University of Chicago Medical School in 1968. He is the founding president of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship and the recipient of the American Cancer Society’s 1988 Courage Award.  Dr. Mullan will deliver the keynote address at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYCOM) hooding ceremony on May 17th at Lincoln Center.
 
Stanford Ovshinsky, Doctor of Science
Ovshinsky founded Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) with his late wife Iris Ovshinsky. A pioneer in sustainable energy technology and information, he is the primary inventor of ECD’s technology, including the Ovonic thin-film photovoltaics and the nickel metal hydride (NiMH) rechargeable battery that is used in cell phones, computers, and hydrogen storage systems. His research in amorphous semiconductors revolutionized the materials used in solar cells, computers, optical memories, and electric cars, as well as those used in photocopy and fax machines and LCD displays. Ovshinsky Innovation LLC was formed in 2007 to accelerate his work in alternative energy and in the information field.  Ovshinsky holds 360 U.S. patents.  He serves on various scientific, educational, and civic boards, and has received numerous international accolades, including Time magazine’s “Hero for the Planet” designation; the American Chemical Society’s Heroes of Chemistry 2000 (with his late wife); The Economist’s Innovation Award for Energy and the Environment.  Ovshinsky will speak at the School of Engineering and Computing Sciences commencement ceremony, immediately following the main ceremony.
 
The main commencement ceremony will be webcast live on NYIT’s Web site, www.nyit.edu, beginning at 9:30 (click on the “Commencement Ceremony” link).
 
About NYIT:
NYIT is the college of choice for more than 14,000 students enrolled in more than 100 specialized courses of study leading to undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees in academic areas such as architecture and design; arts and sciences; education and professional services; engineering and computing sciences; health professions, behavioral, and life sciences; management; and osteopathic medicine. As a private, nonprofit, independent institution of higher learning, NYIT embraces an educational philosophy of career-oriented professional education for all qualified students and supports applications-oriented research to benefit the greater global community. Students attend classes at NYIT’s campuses in Manhattan and Long Island, as well as online and in a number of programs throughout the world. To date, more than 69,000 alumni have earned degrees at NYIT. For more information, visit www.nyit.edu.
 
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