Page 19 - Westchester - 2024 Travel & Meeting Guide

WESTCHESTER’S first fame as an arts destination was back in the 19th century, when its landscape — and others across the Hudson Valley — inspired a famous school of painters. Today, art still thrives in Westchester, where our museums, galleries, theaters, and other creative spaces thrill visitors with everything from 19th-century paintings, Tiffany stained-glass windows and rare Picasso tapestries to contemporary sculpture, African art, and breathtaking urban murals. For music and stage lovers, Westchester offers a wealth of live performances in beautiful historic theaters as well as renowned music festivals, symphony showcases, and children’s theater. Film buffs, too, can fill their desires in Westchester, where indie cinema — in spectacular spaces — lives large.
Topping the list of MUST-GO MUSEUMS are Peekskill’s Hudson Valley MOCA for the latest in contemporary art, and the Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase, which boasts a trove of pieces by 20th-century masters (think Warhol, DeKooning, Pollock, etc.) and an important collection of African art. Yonkers’ Hudson River Museum is renowned for works from the famed Hudson River School artists and its state- of-the-art planetarium, while the Katonah Museum of
Art offers hands-on fun for kids and a rotating display
of large-scale sculptures,
and Clay Art Center in
Port Chester is a nationally recognized non-profit ceramic arts center. See the work of revered 20th-century photography and social justice advocate Gordon Parks at The Gordon Parks Foundation in Pleasantville.
Options abound for THEATER- GOERS AND MUSIC-LOVERS in Westchester, too: Catch
Just for Kids!
Visit Westchester Children’s Museum at Rye Playland in Rye, for an interactive discovery and play space/art gallery.
live acts in nearly every musical genre as well as dramatic performances,
and stand-up comedy at venues including Tarrytown Music Hall, White Plains Performing Arts Center and the Westchester County Center in White Plains, Paramount Hudson Valley Theater in Peekskill, and The Performing
Arts Center at Purchase College. Rock ’n roll devotees love the historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, where icons from Janis Joplin to Neil Young have thrilled the crowd. Katonah’s Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is renowned for
classical, jazz, and opera shows — as well as its breathtaking grounds.
New to the scene are Chappaqua Performing
Arts Center
, on
the former Reader’s Digest campus, and the recently refurbished Bedford Playhouse for art, culture, and film events.
Visting with a CINEPHILE? Westchester has what they’re looking for!
Head to Pleasantville for independent, documentary, and foreign films at the Jacob Burns Film Center. (You might also catch a post-film Q&A with a big- name celeb.) The Picture
Don’t Miss
A full schedule of productions — bluegrass, comedy, classical, and children’s plays at Mamaroneck’s Emelin Theatre.
House Regional Film Center, with locations in Pelham and Bronxville, specializes in documentaries, classics, family films, and curated series. And, when you want to add food and beverages to your movie experience, try The Alamo Drafthouse in Yonkers or the LOOK Dine-In Cinema in Dobbs Ferry.
Opposite page:
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts; left: Jungle Fool by The Haas Brothers at the Katonah Museum of Art.
Filmed Here! Can You Name the Location?
Hollywood in Westchester is a thing! Countless film and TV shoots have taken place in Westchester recently. Can you recognize some of these locations?
ABCDEF
Succession The Gilded Age Dickinson Sesame Street The Crowded Room Modern Love
VisitWestchesterNY.com 17
Stop-You-In-Your-Tracks Street Art
Public art is booming in Westchester! Take a street-art crawl
that starts in Yonkers with Tony “Rubin” Sjoman’s Sawyer Place Mural at 45 Main Street, then head over to New Rochelle for Harmony by the Sea by Spanish contemporary artist Lula Goce at 44 Fountain Place, before touring two works in Mamaroneck: the black-and-white mural Diversity by Victor Ash at 118 Mamaroneck Ave and The Natives by Shalak Attack at 658 Mamaroneck Ave. Then, travel to S Broadway and Maple in White Plains, where Dan Carello’s Arrows is one of six murals from ArtsWestchester’s partnership with real estate developer LMC. Last stop — Peekskill, where street art is dispersed throughout the city, including numerous public sculpture installations at Riverfront Green Park.
One of the public sculptures in Peekskill’s Riverfront Green Park
CARAMOOR PHOTO BY GABE PALACIO, COURTESY OF CARAMOOR CENTER FOR MUSIC AND THE ARTS; SUCCESSION PHOTO BY DAVID RUSSELL/HBO; THE GILDED AGE PHOTO BY ALISON COHEN ROSA/HBO; DICKINSON & THE CROWDED ROOM PHOTOS COURTESY OF APPLE; SESAME STREET PHOTO BY ZACH HYMAN/SESAME WORKSHOP; MODERN LOVE PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER SAUNDERS/AMAZON STUDIOS
A. Westchester County Airport; B. Lyndhurst; C. Jay Heritage Center; D. Croton Gorge Park; E. Untermyer Gardens Conservancy; F . Westchester Rrivertowns, Hastings-on-Hudson
Cultural Heritage Celebrations
Festivals Galore
There’s a festival for everyone in Westchester! Every summer, thousands gather at the Cultural Heritage Celebrations at Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla to enjoy the music, food, and traditions of cultures ranging from African American to Asian, Hispanic, Albanian, and more... Westchester Pride celebrates the LGBTQ+ community with a full-day street fair in downtown White Plains each June... The Pleasantville Music Festival rocks out each July across several stages featuring big-name acts like They Might Be Giants... In November, indie cinema rules at The Yonkers Film Festival, with a full slate of screenings, workshops, panels, and parties... Enjoy Art Walks in Katonah on Saturday evenings throughout the year.