Presented by Long Island Arts Alliance and Bethpage Federal Credit Union
(Woodbury, NY) It’s back! Long Island’s annual Arts Alive LI Festival returns this October as a month-long showcase of Long Island’s many art, entertainment and cultural attractions. Presented by the Long Island Arts Alliance (LIAA) and Bethpage Federal Credit Union, the Festival takes place from September 27, 2013 through October 31, 2013.
From visual, musical and performing arts, to community festivals and epicurean delights, Arts Alive LI is a tribute to Long Island’s arts and entertainment world and will take place on stages, in galleries, at film houses, and in neighborhood restaurants across Long Island’s Nassau and Suffolk counties.
The 2nd annual Arts Alive LI festival – the month-long festival showcasing Long Island’s many arts, entertainment and cultural attractions, for children of all ages, will take place in Nassau and Suffolk counties during the entire month of October. Presented by the Long Island Arts Alliance (LIAA) and Bethpage Federal Credit Union, over 35 events in total will pay tribute to the visual, musical, and performing arts, community festivals and epicurean delights that take place on stages, in galleries, at film houses, and in neighborhood restaurants across Long Island.
Long Island families and visitors to the region are invited to attend and participate in the 35 + signature events, many offered for free. For a full calendar of events and to purchase tickets, visit www.artsaliveli.org.
“We are thrilled to have been able to attract and line up such a broad and impressive selection of performers, venues and events for this year’s Festival,” said Theresa Statz-Smith, Executive Director, Long Island Arts Alliance. “Long Island has so much culture to share; it’s an extraordinary place for creativity and inspiration, with ‘art-ventures’ – for children of all ages! We hope people will come out and explore all the region has to offer.”
The 2nd annual Arts Alive LI festival – the month-long festival showcasing Long Island’s many arts, entertainment and cultural attractions, for children of all ages, will take place in Nassau and Suffolk counties during the entire month of October. Presented by the Long Island Arts Alliance (LIAA) and Bethpage Federal Credit Union, over 35 events in total will pay tribute to the visual, musical, and performing arts, community festivals and epicurean delights that take place on stages, in galleries, at film houses, and in neighborhood restaurants across Long Island.
Highlights of Arts Alive LI 2013 events, which take place during October, National Arts and Humanities Month, include:
The Arts Alive LI Classic Series: Broadway Star Melissa Errico performing at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts; Brazilian Artist João Luiz performing at the Heckscher Museum; Jen Chapin in Concert at the Patchogue Theatre; Latin Soul, presented by the Sol Y Sombra Spanish Dance Company; Landmark on Main Street presents An Acoustic Night with Lou Gramm: The Voice of Foreigner; The Vixens of Broadway! Starring Betty Buckley at the Bay Street Theatre; the Gold Coast International Film Festival presented by the Great Neck Arts Center; Staller Center for the Arts presents David Sedaris and the inaugural event of the festival is the Nassau County Museum of Art’s Long Island’s Finest: Fine Arts, Fine Food, Fine Wine & Fine Company with guest artist Alex Katz.
The Arts Alive LI for Families: The Sag Harbor American Music Festival; the 2013 Long Island African American Heritage Parade and Festival; the Jamboozi Festival at Vanderbilt Museum; Viva L’Art at Hofstra University Museum; Cinema For Kids: Gustafer Yellowgold presented by Cinema Arts Center; Elska Plus Arctic Animals presented by the Long Island Children’s Museum presents; and the Craic Festival’s Stoked Fest – a “best of kids” films series.
The Arts Alive LI for Foodies: A series of events for people with a passion for the culinary arts that include chef demonstrations and tastings featuring Long Island’s finest food, wine and beer. Four events in the series are co-produced with Edible Long Island and feature some of the region’s finest “farm-to-table” restaurants such as Roots Bistro Gourmand presenting a Fall Feast menu and an introduction to the farm-to-table concept. Market Bistro in Jericho, along with Brooklyn Brewery presents The Quarterly Carousal – A Celebration of Beer, Food and Stories. Attend “Artisanal Cheese 101” at Sayville’s American Cheese Shop. It’s a taste testing of artisanal cheeses paired with local wines and beers – perfect for a sunny October afternoon. Sample Mirabelle in Stony Brook at a Wine Flight and Hors d-oeuvres tasting in the Mirabelle Lounge. The festival’s official Closing Event includes dinner at Quogue’s famed Stone Creek Inn and the performance “Other Desert Cities” by the Hampton Theatre Company in the Quogue Community Center. All guests will enjoy an after theatre “talk balk” session with the actors.
Also featured in Arts Alive LI for Foodies is A Taste of Port Jefferson; Healthy Snacking for Kids with Debby Sunshine; Vegan American Princess at the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center; and Long Island’s Finest: Fine Arts, Fine Food, Fine Wine & Fine Company at Nassau County Museum of Art.
“This year’s range of events is simply outstanding,” said Linda Armyn, Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Bethpage. “Bethpage is an ardent supporter of the arts on Long Island and we are very happy to once again partner with the Long Island Arts Alliance to bring this unique Festival to fruition and help enrich the lives of so many Long Islanders and visitors to our home.”
This past June, the Long Island Arts Alliance also spearheaded a poster contest, challenging artists of all ages from pre-school to professional to design a poster, depicting what the Arts on Long Island mean to them. Third grader Oroboghene (Orobo) Ogbovoh, from the Gotham Avenue School (Elmont Union Free School District) won the overall Grand Prize and was awarded an Apple mini-IPAD and a $500 gift certificate donated by Arts Alive LI presenting sponsor Bethpage Federal Credit Union. All first, second and third-place winning contest selections will be included in the Arts Alive LI 2013 commemorative poster series on display throughout the Festival. The winning students will also be recognized formally at the Arts Alive LI 2013 launch party in September.
Arts Alive LI and its year-round companion website, ArtsAliveLI.org, were created to promote Long Island as a culturally vibrant, diverse, inclusive place where people want to live, work and visit. At ArtsAliveLI.org, visitors will find news about ongoing art and cultural events taking place throughout Long Island, as well as Festival-specific calendar information, including facts about festival performers, venues and partner organizations. This year, the site will also include a valuable new resource – Arts Mkt, for budding artists looking to find information on available Long Island-wide art classes and workshops as well as opportunities for professional artists to exhibit or enter their work in contests. Website visitors can also learn about an “Artist of the Month,” which profiles local Long Island artists. The “Artist of the Month” for the Festival is world-renowned colorist Stan Brodsky. The “Stan Brodsky Retrospective” is on exhibit at Heckscher Museum through the festival until Dec. 1, 2013.
“Every sector of our cultural and economic landscape benefits from Arts Alive LI,” observed Statz-Smith. “Long Island is so much more than “a suburb’ of New York City, but its own ethnically rich and vibrant region, chock full of cultural venues, nightlife, downtowns, landmarks and activities for all ages and interests.”
The Second Annual Arts Alive LI October Festival 2013 is presented by the Long Island Arts Alliance And Bethpage Federal Credit Union with additional support from Long Island Community Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, and Empire State Development’s Division of Tourism/I LOVE NEW YORK, through Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council initiative.
ABOUT LONG ISLAND ARTS ALLIANCE
Long Island Arts Alliance (LIAA) is a collegial network of the region’s not-for-profit arts and arts education organizations, promoting awareness of and participation in Long Island’s world-class arts and cultural institutions. LIAA offers diverse support services to member organizations, serves as an advocate for arts education in our schools and collaborates on strategies for economic development and community revitalization.
ABOUT BETHPAGE
Bethpage Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative, existing solely to serve its members and has experienced rapid growth in recent years to become a strong alternative to banks. Bethpage was approved for the largest federal community charter in the U.S. in 2003 and now is Long Island’s largest credit union and leading community financial institution with over 212,000 members, 26 branches and 60 shared service center locations throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties. As a financial cooperative, Bethpage offers better rates, lower fees and a full menu of personal and commercial financial services.
Bethpage maintains branch locations in Bay Shore, Bay Shore King Kullen, Bethpage, Central Islip, Commack King Kullen, Elmont, Farmingdale, Freeport, Glen Cove, Hempstead, Huntington, Levittown King Kullen, Lynbrook, Massapequa, Melville, Mineola, North Babylon, Patchogue, Port Jefferson, Riverhead, Seaford, Smithtown, Roosevelt, West Babylon and Westbury with over 425 surcharge-free ATMs in King Kullen, 7-Eleven, CVS Pharmacy and Costco locations throughout Long Island. For more information, call 1-800-628-7070 or visit www.bethpagefcu.com.
ABOUT LONG ISLAND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
The Long Island Community Foundation (LICF) is the Island’s community foundation, making grants to improve our region and helping donors with their philanthropy since 1978. We identify current and future community needs, strengthen the Island’s nonprofit sector, encourage philanthropy, and, with our generous donors, build a permanent endowment to address these needs. We have made more than $130 million in grants from hundreds of funds established by individuals, families, and businesses. LICF is a division of The New York Community Trust, one of the country’s oldest and largest community foundations. For more information, visit www.licf.org.
ABOUT GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO’S REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL INITIATIVE
The Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative is a key component of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s transformative approach to State investment and economic development. The REDCs are public-private partnerships composed of local experts and stakeholders from business, academia, local government, and non-governmental organizations. The Regional Councils have redefined the way New York invests in jobs and economic growth by putting in place a community-based, bottom up approach and establishing a competitive process for State resources. As a result of the first two rounds of awards, $1.5 billion in resources have been awarded to support more than 1,400 regionally significant economic development and community revitalization projects that are creating or helping to retain an estimated 75,000 jobs across the Empire State and generating investments to grow the economy. For more information on the regional councils, visit www.regionalcouncils.ny.gov.
ABOUT WNET
In 2013, WNET is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of THIRTEEN, New York’s flagship public media provider. As the parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to over 5 million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, Need to Know, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children’s programs, and local news and cultural offerings available on air and online. Pioneers in educational programming, WNET has created such groundbreaking series as Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase and provides tools for educators that bring compelling content to life in the classroom and at home. WNET highlights the tri-state’s unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJ Today and MetroFocus, the multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. WNET is also a leader in connecting with viewers on emerging platforms, including the THIRTEEN Explore iPad App where users can stream PBS content for free.
ARTS ALIVE LI FESTIVAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
LIAA Chairman John R. Bransfield, Jr., New York Community Bank Foundation; LIAA Advisory Board Chair, Roger Tilles, NYS Board of Regents; LIAA Board of Directors members including: Diana Cherryholmes, Executive Director, Huntington Arts Council; Kirk Kordeleski, President & CEO, Bethpage Federal Credit Union; Beth E. Levinthal, Executive Director, Hofstra University Museum; Dale Lewis, Executive Director, Usdan Center for the Creative & Performing Arts; Sharon Maier-Kennelly, Executive Director, Landmark on Main Street; Laura Savini, Owner, Untamed Hair Productions; Dr. Elliott Sroka, Executive Director, Tilles Center for the Performing Arts.
ARTS ALIVE LI FESTIVAL ADVISORY BOARD
Nancy Engelhardt, Executive Director, The Energeia Partnership, Molloy College; Arti Datta, Founder, The Mudra Foundation; Kelly Cannaughton, Board President and Co-Artistic Director, Sag Harbor American Music Festival; Angelo Fraboni, Artistic Director, Madison Theatre at Molloy College; Lawrence Levy, Executive Dean, National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University; Lynda A. Moran, Executive Director, Islip Arts Council; Wallace Smith, President, Peconic Public Broadcasting; Napoleon Revels-Bey, Revels-bey.com; Robert T. Spiotto, Artistic Director at Large; Patricia Snyder, Executive Director, East End Arts; Mary Morgan, Executive Director, All For The East End (AFTEE) and Michelle Isabelle-Stark, Suffolk County Film Commission.
To purchase tickets and for more information including venues, performers, and a complete list of dates and times, visit www.artsaliveli.org.
