MILLBROOK — Angels of Light, the group that for more than 20 years has brought Christmas to terminally-ill children and their families, has opened an office in the village of Millbrook at 28 Front St., to help the nonprofit as it aids even more families in need. The group has expanded its services beyond just the holiday season to assist ill children and their families year round
On Monday, July 25, from 4 to 7 p.m., friends and benefactors of the 501(c)3 organization visited AOL’s new headquarters, enjoying music by Christopher James and local DJs, food and beverages and door prizes. Some of the crowd took advantage of the outdoor tables as well. The turnout was amazing, as many came out to support the group that has supported so many itself.
The space comes with a five year lease; it’s airy, set far back from the street and one wall is covered with photos of many of the children and their families who have been helped by AOL in the past two decades. The photos are displayed in a heart-shaped pattern, and the effect is quite powerful, evidenced by the oodles of people who surrounded the collage.
State Senator Sue Serino (R-41) stopped by to wish AOL well, as did some of those who had been recipients of their kindness. So, too, did others who have supported the nonprofit over the years.
The group’s annual gala is always much-looked forward to and eagerly attended, as are other events AOL sponsors throughout the year, like a marathon.
Several Nuvance Health employees attended. One special attendee was 96-year-old Krista Langa, from Hearts and Hands of Millbrook, there to show her support.
AOL was started by Lori Cassia-Decker and her husband George, with help from their family, and later from friends and many volunteers. In 2016, they delivered more than 7,500 gifts to 1,300 children battling terminal disease. It was at that time AOL became a nonprofit.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Cassia-Decker said she realized the need for such help existed all year long — not just during the holidays.
She and her husband announced at the time the expansion of their mission.
“Angels of Light’s initial mission to assist children and families with life-threatening illnesses living in the Hudson Valley has expanded to assist with medical bills, utilities, food, gas and much more year round,” they stated in 2020.
The Deckers, AOL Board President Danielle Mollica-Whiteley and Vice President Ariana Peterman agreed to accomplish such a large goal AOL needed dedicated headquarters. Now, with the new space on Front Street, clients and those in need will be able to make appointments, speak with AOL volunteers and meet their benefactors, in a place meant just for them. The space also allows for small get-togethers, like last week’s grand opening.
Volunteers are always needed at AOL, said Cassia-Decker, who added it’s a great place for students to get their community work volunteer credit.
Some volunteers help plan outreach events hosted by AOL, aside from the main gala. This year, there will be a 5K Run at Millbrook Winery on Sunday, Aug. 28; there will also be a Motorcycle Rally and Concert in the Park at the Town of Washington Park on Saturday, Sept. 24. Other AOL fundraisers will be planned to finish out 2022 and then again for the whole of 2023.
Cassia-Decker said AOL is always grateful for volunteers and donations, just as it was to those who came out to show their support for its new space on the 25th. It is also on the constant look out for those who need help, because after all, that’s the end goal of everyone who works at AOL.
To reach AOL or for more information, mail Angels of Light, P.O. Box 345, Millbrook, NY 12545, call 845-460-7704, go to www.angelsoflight.org or e-mail info@angelsoflight.org.
NORTH EAST — Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County will conduct a presentation on Thursday, May 9 on buying a three-bedroom affordable home to be built in the Town of North East.
The presentation will be held at the NorthEast-Millerton Library Annex at 5:30 p.m.
Any first-time home buyer interested should attend the information session.
The application for this pilot program home-buying opportunity must be made between May 1 and June 10.Minimum household income for the pilot program is $55,000 while maximum income is determined by family size.
Applications are available at the North East Town Hall.Habitat for Humanity describes itself as a nonprofit with global reach, working across the United States and in approximately 70 countries.
‘Migration Collage' by ransome
If you claim a single sobriquet as your artistic moniker, you’re already in a club with some big names, from Zendaya to Beyoncé to the mysterious Banksy. At Geary, the contemporary art gallery in Millerton founded by New Yorkers Jack Geary and Dolly Bross Geary, a new installation and painting exhibition titled “The Bitter and the Sweet” showcases the work of the artist known only as ransome — all lowercase, like the nom de plume of the late Black American social critic bell hooks.
Currently based in Rhinebeck, N.Y., ransome’s work looks farther South and farther back — to The Great Migration, when Jim Crow laws, racial segregation, and the public violence of lynching paved the way for over six million Black Americans to seek haven in northern cities, particularly New York urban areas, like Brooklyn and Baltimore. The Great Migration took place from the turn of the 20th century up through the 1970s, and ransome’s own life is a reflection of the final wave — born in North Carolina, he found a new home in his youth in New Jersey.
‘Square Quilting painting' by ransomeAlexander Wilburn
Map fragments of North Carolina feature heavily in a large collection of eight-by-eight collage and acrylic paintings, sold individually but together mounted on Geary’s wall resembling the stitched patterns on quilts, like the quilts by the late Black American artist Arlonzia Pettway. Along with artists like Annie Mae Young and Mary Lee Bendolph, Pettway was a renowned artist associated with the quilts of Gee’s Bend, generations of women in the town of Gee’s Bend, Alabama who preserved African American culture in beautiful and vibrant textile art with bold combinations of stripes, textures and colors. The influence is also wonderfully clear in ransome large-scale collages and acrylic paintings like “Square Quilt painting” on display at Geary. It’s a powerful symbol of Gee’s Bend’s legacy continuing on, even under a new artistic medium.
In the smaller works, called “Migration Collages,” painted portraits are combined with pieces of floral and pastel paper, evocative of the tradition of “Sunday Best” splendor worn in Black churches in the South. “The women elders at my Baptist church often greeted each other that way on Sunday mornings when one hat was more elaborate, colorful, or wider brimmed than another,” New York Times veteran Lena Williams wrote in her 1996 essay, “In Defense of the Church Hat.” “It was traditional to put on one’s newest finery for church, and in many historically black churches, the wearing of fancy hats by women carried both spiritual and cultural significance.”
“The Bitter and the Sweet” is on view at Geary through Sunday, June 2.
Hospitality, ease of living and just plain fun are rolled into one for those who are intrigued by the leisure-time Caravana experience at the family-owned Four Brothers Drive-in in Amenia. Tom Stefanopoulos, pictured above, highlights fun possibilities offered by Hotel Caravana.
The month-long process of unwrapping and preparing the various features at the Four Brothers Drive-In is nearing completion, and the imaginative recreational destination will be ready to open for the season on Friday, May 10.
The drive-in theater is already open, as is the Snack Shack, and the rest of the recreational features are activating one by one, soon to be offering maximum fun for the whole family.
Tom Stefanopoulos, the second generation helping to guide the Stefanopoulos family’s recreational complex, brings a deep understanding of hospitality and business sense in support of the multi-faceted enterprise, begun in the 1970s, that is now a mainstay of the town of Amenia, located on a corner in the heart of the commercial district. He paused for an interview on Friday, April 26.
Two luxury camping trailers, each with an attached wooden deck and fire pit, make up Hotel Caravana, and each offers a different fun vibe, Stefanopoulos explained. The larger of the two, offers a California lifestyle, retro to 1967, although its modern where it should be. It can sleep four.
The smaller Caravana sleeps two and offers a lifestyle of the future dating to about 2041. It’s a brand-new Airstream, Stefanopoulos noted. It also has an attached deck with firepit.
“We get a lot of New York City people,” Stefanopoulos said when asked what sorts of people are apt to be attracted to Hotel Caravana. “They want to experience the upstate life,” he added. The idea of sitting out on the deck while watching an actual drive-in movie appeals to them, as does room service offered by the restaurant.
The lobster rolls prepared by the Snack Shack, are served on brioche hot dog rolls, either Maine-style or Connecticut-style, and the lobster can be topped with caviar. Four Brothers version is praised by customers for the generous portion of lobster in each, and the price is competitive.
Caravana guests may book for a single night, or maybe two, or even longer, taking advantage of the bicycles to pedal along the nearby rail trail, a local amenity, Stefanopoulos noted.
“We make our guests feel like movie stars,” Stefanopoulos said of the hospitality. And, if they like miniature golf, it is just a few steps away from their Caravana deck.
Asked how and why the Caravana idea began, Stefanopoulos recalled that as the drive-in theater grew in popularity, people were traveling from greater distances away. The last film of the night might start at midnight, he said, so the idea grew that Four Brothers might be able to offer an accommodation to stay the night.
In addition to Caravana, Four Brothers offers an alternative of two or three tent camping sites.
Future plans may include a third Caravana, Stefanopoulos said. Also, there is a giant mastodon skeleton, presently in storage, that should be on display, he said.
“It’s pretty big,” Stefanopoulos added.
The playground might be enlarged in the coming seasons, and perhaps an old-fashioned arcade added for retro amusement.
The community that surrounds Four Brothers remains important to the Stefanopoulos family as they offer substantial summer employment opportunity. Stefanopoulos said that a goal is to contract locally for business needs, such as musical entertainment and advertising. The drive-in also schedules occasion fundraisers to benefit local organizations, including the Amenia Fire Company and area schools.
