Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Arts

Weekly Rec: Artisan Shopping, Homebody Books 1st B-day, Holiday Lights, and More …

Our roundup of events this week includes plenty of artisan shopping, Hombody Books’ first birthday celebration, the lighting of Nyack’s holiday lights, and more.

Nyack Makers Market – Holiday Pop-Up Tour (11/28-12/24)

Over a dozen handcrafted gifts, art works, artisanal goods, on display in the magnificent wood-lined interiors of two of Nyack’s most exquisite buildings, the Angel Nyack and the Nyack Library, both designed by the famed Emery Brothers.

Friday, November 28, 11:00am-7:00pm, Saturdays, November 29 and December 13, 11:00am – 5:00pm, The Angel Nyack, 18 S Broadway, Nyack. Sunday, December 7, 11:00am – 4:00pm, Nyack Library, 59 S Broadway, Nyack. Wednesday, December 24, 9:00am – 1:00pm, Nyack Farmers Market.

Music by DJ Catch 22 on Saturday, Warm Libations by Savanna & Steep

Bill Batson, Art, Nyack themed art and merch, Local Global Finds, beloved, long time merchant Maria Luisa’s fair trade Initiative, & block prints, and housewares by John Curley Design, African-American children’s books curated by Erica Reid wisely, natural beauty products by Nyack, farmers market favorite Rebecca’s paradise, Indian textiles from Deivi Handcrafted. Other vendors include
Folkloric Jewelry
Lisa Medoff Designs
Hudson Wood Art
Gaby Moss Designs
Juniper Street Photography
Something4someone

Homebody Books Turns One!

Sunday, November 30, 4:00pm, Homebody Books, 6 Park St, Nyack

Homebody Books marks its first year in business! Festivities start at 3:00pm with a winter growing activity and read-aloud for the children, led by Cottage Creek Gardens’ Jennifer Giunta . At 4:00pm or so the party starts for all, featuring some nibbles by the fabulous new We Love Bread Cafe, which opened recently at 41 N Broadway, Nyack.

Nyack Chamber Holiday Lights

Friday, December 5, 6:00pm, Hezekiah Easter Memorial Square, Nyack

This annual event keeps getting more incandescent! This year featuring the Rockland Ukulele Orchestra, the All Together Now singers, the Bossy Frog Band, the Helen Hayes Youth Theater and a visit from Santa…in a fire truck!

Please bring an unwrapped gift for our toy collection for the Nyack Center.

Rockland Pride Night Market

Friday, December 5, 6:00-9:00pm, Rockland Pride Center, 28 S Franklin, Nyack

Nyack Center hosts UNES 3rd Annual Gift Market

Friday, December 5, 7:00-10:00pm, The Nyack Center, 58 Depew Ave, Nyack

A festive night to support Upper Nyack Elementary School and our creative community.

Affordable Art & Pottery Bazaar

Saturday, December 6 – Saturday, December 20, 11:00am-4:00pm (closed Sundays), Rockland Center for the Arts (RoCA), 27 S Greenbush Rd, West Nyack

Discover handmade art, pottery and gifts made by local artists.  Just in time for the holidays!  FREE entry.

Rockland County Youth Makers, Crafters and Artists Holiday Market

Saturday, December 6, 11:00am – 1:30pm, Creative Arts Workshop, 171 Main St, Nyack

ACOR’s Luminate 2025, an Immersive Dance Party

Saturday, December 6, 8:00 – 11:30pm, The Nyack Center, 58 Depew Ave, Nyack

All tickets include entry to the event, cocktail hour featuring delicious appetizers and cash bar, complimentary face painting, silent auction, exclusive raffle, Bridgman | Packer performance, interactive video playground, dance party with DJ Gina Turner, and access to Taco Boys food truck.

The VIP Ticket includes a complimentary glass of champagne, ticket to exclusive raffle, and access to VIP balcony seating.

All ACOR members receive a 10% discount!

Click here for details or to purchase tickets.

Music & Readings in a Holiday Spirt

Sunday, December 7, 7:00pm, The Nyack Center, 58 Depew Ave, Nyack

Celebrate Nyack Center’s 30th Annual Music & Readings in a Holiday Spirit—a beloved tradition of joy, generosity, and togetherness.

Hosted & Produced by the incomparable Bobby Belfry, with co-host Elliott Forrest, this multicultural evening features an extraordinary lineup of local and national vocalists and actors—neighbors performing for neighbors, lifting spirits and raising hope. This year’s line-up includes-music from:

Beth Leavel-Tony Award Winning Actress

Liz Byrne-Broadway Actress

Shirley Crabbe-Jazz Vocalist

Sean Fleming-Celtic Rock Artist

Rockland Pride & Ukulele Chorus

David Budway-Musical Director/Pianist

Readings from:

Adam Goldberg-Actor, Writer & Producer

Juan Pablo Mobili-Rockland Poet Laureate

Ben Tostado-Actor

Kim Cross-ED Nyack Center

All proceeds benefit Nyack Center’s children and families, ensuring every voice is heard and every child has a place to shine.

Come for the music and holiday spirit. Stay for the magic.

Leave knowing you made a difference.

Click here for tickets.

Demme’s Married to the Mob

Wednesday, December 10, 8:00pm, The Nyack Center, 58 Depew Ave, Nyack

Married to the Mob is set in Desperately Seeking Susan 1980s NYC. The film follows the fraught sojourn of Angela deMarco, unhappily married to high Mafia member Frank deMarco. When her husband is killed, Angela takes the opportunity to break free of the Mafia world entirely and start a new life. But Frank’s boss, Tony Russo, begins to court the unresponsive Angela. The FBI begins surveillance on her, thinking her to be Russo’s new mistress. FBI agent Mike Downey goes undercover as Angela’s neighbor, but soon finds himself attracted to Angela himself.

A discussion will follow the film. Kristi Zia, production designer of Married the Mob, will lead a discussion about the film and Jonathan Demme.

Click here for tickets.

Demme called Nyack his home and raised his family here. His son, Brooklyn, recently screened a film he produced, That Kid by Ashley Dawson, in Nyack and appears briefly in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another.

Jonathan Demme (1944 – 2017) known for a career that spanned feature films, documentaries, concert and performance movies, and music videos, and for his humanistic approach to characters and storytelling, was a long time advisory board member of Rivertown Film.

Roger Corman produced Demme’s first three films, Caged Heat (1974), Crazy Mama (1975), and Fighting Mad (1976) before he attracted public notice and critical attention with Handle with Care (1977) set during the popularity CB radio in the 1970s, and then The Last Embrace (1979). These paved the way for a string of films that began to provide him with access to larger budgets and better known actors and that featured an off-beat and overlooked America.

These included Melvin and Howard (1980), Swing Shift (1984), which he disowned, Something Wild (1986), and Married to the Mob (1988), all of which increased his stature as a film director with a sometimes quirky sensibility and an interest in unusual people and situations. During this time he also began exploring documentary forms with the performance films Stop Making Sense (1984), with the Talking Heads, and Swimming to Cambodia (1987), with actor/performance artist Spalding Gray.

He was a well known, respected, and seasoned director when The Silence of the Lambs (1991) changed his life and career after it became one of the breakout hits of the year and won Academy Awards in five major categories. Married to the Mob was the film directly before his career took this big turn.

As an A-list director his interests remained diverse. His films included both large and small budgets, social themes, and occasional experiments with form. They included Philadelphia (1993), about the AIDS epidemic; Beloved (1998), from the novel by Toni Morrison; The Truth About Charlie (2002), a remake of Charade; The Manchurian Candidate (2004), also a remake; Rachel Getting Married (2008), which incorporated a loose documentary style in some scenes; A Master Builder (2013), from a play by Henrik Ibsen; and his final feature, Ricki and the Flash (2015) about rock and roll, a subject he loved as much as movies.

In addition, Demme directed many documentaries that dealt with social issues, including Haiti Dreams of Democracy (1988), about Haiti and the coup against its president Jean-Claude Duvalier; Cousin Bobby (1992) about his cousin, a minister in Harlem; The Agronomist (2003), about Haitian radio journalist Jean Dominique; Jimmy Carter Man from Plains (2007), about former president Jimmy Carter; Right to Return: New Movies From the Lower Ninth Ward, and I’m Carolyn Parker (2011) both about life in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina; and Protection Not Protest: The People of Standing Rock (2016), about protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

After Stop Making Sense, music performance documentaries became a regular part of his career. They included three films with Neil Young, films with Robin Hitchcock, Kenny Chesney, and Justin Timberlake, and many, many music videos with major artists such as Bruce Springsteen.

Not only was he a sought after director of music films and videos, but he is well known for the way he used music in all of his films.

This screening of Married to the Mob has received generous support from the Village of Nyack, Nyack Tourism Grants.

Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by Wright Bros. Real Estate where Experience meets Excellence at Nyack’s Longest Operating Brokerage.


Nyack Farmer's Market


You May Also Like

Arts

Our roundup of events this week includes a Phantom Feast and Film at the Angel on Friday, The Great Nyack Snapshop at Fresh Market...

Arts

Our roundup of events this week includes pop-up markets for your pre-holiday shopping, the best Celtic guitarist at RoCA, a brass quartet, a symphony...

Arts

Our roundup of events this week includes Rockland Fashion Week, a Diwali Festival, art, music, theater, and more. We also have information about how...