A Country Christmas - Gene Pelham (1909-2004) - oil on canvas 16" x 24" signed lower right

What does a New York City painter have in common with a painter from Yugoslavia? Both painted the seasonal beauty of New York City and breathtaking country landscapes. Bogomir Bogdanovic painted the picturesque countryside of upstate New York while Gene Pelham chose the Vermont of Norman Rockwell.  If you are looking to incorporate paintings in your Christmas holiday decor, these two paintings offered by Tom Pikul of Bantam Fine Arts fit the bill. If you can’t decide whether you want a country or city scene, why not buy both.  These great works of art not only make fabulous decorative statements, they are also excellent  investments.  Click on paintings to enlarge and for more information.

Fifth Avenue and Central Park, NYC - Bogomir Bogdanovic (1923- ) - oil on masonite 24" x 30" signed lower left

The Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich will present the William C. Crooks Distinguished Lecture on Tuesday, November 17, 2009, featuring Russell Shorto, author of The Island at the Center of the World.

An archivist’s “find” in the New York State Library inspired this landmark tale about the Dutch people’s crucial role in making America what it is today. Published in 2004, The Island at the Center of the World combines meticulous scholarship and magnificent storytelling and brings to life a little known society predating what we know as Manhattan today. Russell Shorto is a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and the director of the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam. His lecture is the second in a series presented by The Historical Society devoted to understanding the Dutch impact on American culture, past and present. It is being held in conjunction with NY400, the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s 1609 voyage up the Hudson River, which led to the establishment of New Amsterdam and the New Netherland colony as well as Greenwich, Connecticut.

Mr. Shorto’s lecture is co-sponsored by the Greenwich Library and will take place from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Greenwich Library’s Cole Auditorium. Doors will open at 7 p.m. Admission is free but reservations are requested. Please call 203-869-6899, Ext. 18.

WHAT: Holiday shopping at Richards – a percentage of every sale benefits the Breast Cancer Alliance

Free admission

WHEN: Thursday, December 10, 6 – 8 pm

WHERE: Richards of Greenwich

359 Greenwich Avenue

WHY: A special evening of fabulous fashion and wonderful gifts that benefits

breast cancer research, education and outreach programs.

WHAT: Holiday Boutique – 15% of all sales benefit the Breast Cancer Alliance

Free admission

WHEN: Tuesday, December 1, 6 – 9 pm

Wednesday, December 2, 9 am – 5 pm

WHERE: Greenwich Country Club

19 Doubling Road

WHY: You’ll find fashion, jewelry, accessories and everything for the home in a

festive setting – all while helping out a worthy cause.  Come check out

the selection, including hostess and teacher gifts, floral displays, photography, fabulous edibles and more.

Call 203-861-0014 for more information.

The Greenwich Choral Society, under the direction of Paul Mueller, will open its 84^th season with its traditional Christmas holiday concerts on Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 4pm, and Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 4 and 7pm.  The concerts will be held at Christ Church Greenwich, 254 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, Connecticut.  Featured will be “So Hallow’d is the Time”, by Stephen Paulus, a work commissioned by the GCS in 1980, plus traditional carols and anthems.  Tickets are $25/$35 with discounts for groups and students 13-17.  Children 12 and under free with adult.   Subscription information and tickets can be obtained on line at www.greenwichchoralsociety.org, by e-mail at greenwich.choral@verizon.net, or by calling 203-622-5136.

The Department of Parks and Recreation announces registration for its Youth Basketball Programs.  We will again be offering a Co-Ed Program on Saturdays at the International School at Dundee Gym for children in kindergarten through sixth grade and also at the Bendheim Western Greenwich Civic Center for children in kindergarten through third grade.  There will also be a program that is exclusively for girls offered on Sunday afternoons at the International School at Dundee Gym, covering kindergarten through seventh grades.  Both programs will begin the weekend of December 5-6, 2009, and run until the weekend of February 13-14, 2010.  There will be no meeting on the weekends December 26-27, 2009 and January 2-3, 2010.

The Co-Ed Programs are designed to teach the basic skills of basketball and to help players sharpen their existing skills.  Game strategy, rules and sportsmanship are stressed and game play is included at every level.  The groups are kindergarten and first grade, second and third grade, and fourth through sixth grade at IS@Dundee.  Sessions for kindergarten and first grade and second and third grade are being offered at Bendheim W.G.C.C.  Bob Haugen will start his 13th year at IS@Dundee Gym, while John Czarnecki and Chirs Garofalo will handle the program at Bendheim W.G.C.C.

The Girl’s Program is under the direction of Chantal St. Laurent, in her fourth year with the program.  This program also aims to teach the basic skills of basketball and to help players sharpen their existing skills.  The groups are:  kindergarten through second grade, third and fourth grade and fifth through seventh grade.  Informal team play will be held at the Kindergarten through second grade level.  There will be more emphasis on game play at the third and fourth grade level.  The fifth through seventh grade level will function basically as a House League.

Registration may be done by mail now or in person at the Recreation Division Office, beginning Friday, November 6.  You may download registration forms at the Town’s website, www.greenwichct.org, and clicking on Check out Parks and Recreation and clicking on Youth and Adult Programs.  In person registration is available Monday through Friday, 8:15 am – 3:45 pm in the Recreation Office on the Second Floor of Town Hall on Field Point Road.

NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS TO FILM FOLLOW-UP STORY ON ROCKIN’ WATER AND THE “ROCKIN’ APPALACHIAN MOM PROJECT”

Second Time Rockin’ Water Founder Amy Guerrieri to be Profiled for Work in Appalachia

ROCKIN’ WATER™ is making a difference in kids’ lives. Not just with its great nutritional attributes of having 11 vitamins and minerals, 3 grams of fiber, and an antioxidant level equal to a serving of fruit, but with its work in one of the poorest areas of the United States, the Appalachian region of Martin County, Kentucky.

Amy Guerrieri, founder and CEO of ROCKIN’ WATER, created ROCKIN’ WATER with the goal of making a difference in kids’ lives and ROCKIN’ WATER is “made by Moms who love their kids™.”  Last spring Amy was moved by a television segment she saw on the people of Appalachia and their many nutritional, financial and emotional struggles.  Amy knew she had to do something to help these families – and this is why she had created ROCKIN’ WATER – to make a difference in kids’ lives.  Amy jumped into action and traveled to Kentucky to see first-hand the extreme level of poverty in the area, then immediately founded a non-profit to help the families in Appalachia through R.A.M.P. – the Rockin’ Appalachian Mom Project.

ROCKIN’ WATER, R.A.M.P. and Amy Guerrieri are striving to improve the nutritional well being of the children in Appalachia.  For every bottle of ROCKIN’ WATER sold, ROCKIN’ WATER will donate two cents to R.A.M.P.  R.A.M.P.’s efforts have been so impressive that NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams originally profiled the story in a “Making A Difference” segment in March. The story was one of the top-viewed online stories for two weeks following the airing.  NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams will be going back to Kentucky with Amy and her “Mom Brigade” of volunteers again in November for a follow-up story.

Just this year, Amy has personally been to Kentucky three times bringing thousands of bottles of ROCKIN’ WATER, and generating truckloads of donated items including much needed school supplies, backpacks, diapers, children’s and adult clothing, furniture, beds and anything else that is needed.  Amy has also been mentoring Moms in Martin County, Kentucky, the poorest county in the U.S., to help them with nutritional needs of their children, financial resources, and the well being of their family.  In recent months, R.A.M.P. has been working one-on-one with the Moms and children, working on nutritional education with the families and the schools, and securing repairs for one family’s home that was in dire need of repair; their home is now livable and safe for their children.

When Amy returns to Kentucky on her next visit, she will be bringing with her a truckload of ROCKIN’ WATER, donated coats and winter outerwear for the children, and close to 100 kerosene heaters R.A.M.P. has raised funds for to help keep 100 families warm during the cold winter months.  In addition, another full truckload of medical supplies and hospital equipment worth more than $75,000 will also be shipped to Kentucky. The medical equipment will fill two respite centers in Martin County, which will help families with loved ones that are elderly or have disabilities.  R.A.M.P. was able to secure the medical supplies through the generosity of Amy Guerrieri’s childhood friend, Jim Ressler, co-founder of Medical Angels, which is a New Jersey based non-profit that helps get medical equipment to those in desperate need.

“When I saw the story on the poverty in Appalachia, I couldn’t believe that such bad circumstances were here in the United States,” said Amy Guerrieri. “I’m a Mom of four children and I thought it was important for kids to know that poverty existed here in the United States – it wasn’t something that was just in other countries.  I wanted my children to know too that there was something that could be done to help, so through R.A.M.P., we are able to work community-to-community, family-to-family, Mom-to-Mom and kid-to-kid to really make a difference in their lives.”  Amy is so committed to R.A.M.P. and its efforts in Martin County, Kentucky, that she has told the residents there that she “would be back.” And, she has kept her promise, returning to the area already four times in the past nine months.  Amy plans on continuing her visits to Kentucky and mentoring the Moms there, working with the schools and the families on nutritional education and helping make a better life for the children of Appalachia.

“These kids are our future,” said Guerrieri.  “Kid need to eat healthy so they can focus in school and grow up and have a better life.”  One of the areas where R.A.M.P. hopes to make a difference is through the aspect of “paying it forward.”  Each family R.A.M.P. helps is required to then help another family in the area.  R.A.M.P.’s goal is to get a family to be self-sustaining and live a healthy life.

Margaret, one of the Moms Amy has been mentoring, lost her husband in February to a heart attack at the young age of 39.  Margaret has four children and didn’t know where to turn.  Without a job, a husband, and a limited education, Margaret thought her life was over.  Then Amy and the Moms of R.A.M.P. showed up on her doorstep and helped guide Margaret and her family.  Since that time, Margaret has lost 60 pounds, has changed the way she shops and cooks for her family, has gotten a job and has transformed her life.

If you would like to help R.A.M.P. and its efforts in Appalachia, visit www.rampamerica.org or call 203-990-0000.

Why go to NYC, when Community Answers is bringing NYC to you!

Community Answers, will host “Comedy Night Lite”  at the Cole Auditorium of the Greenwich Library on Saturday, November 14th @7:15pm. The MC for the evening is our very own Gideon Fountain (Actor, Writer and Comic), the comics for the evening include the very funny  Walli Collins (ABC’s “The View”, Comedy Central’s “Tough Crowd” & David Letterman show),  James Smith  (one of Australia’s best live stand up comedians. James has appeared on all of the major television network programs: Rove Live, The Footy Show, The Fat, The Comedy Channel’s Headliners and made countless other TV appearances), and Central’s always combative Barry Weintraub  (One of the louder lefties on Comedy “Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn”.)

Please join Community Answers with friends and make this a sold out event.  It promises to be real fun evening to kick back and relax, right in your own town.

A portion of your ticket is tax deductible. Tickets for the event are $65 & $50, and for a limited time Community Answers is offering group tickets (10) at a discounted price please contact 203-622-7916 or log onto http://www.communityanswers.org to buy your tickets

Event Cancelled

Author Talk & Book Signing
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
7:00pm

JENE LUCIANI
THE BRA BOOK

Just Books
28 Arcadia Road
Old Greenwich, CT

Free and Open to the Public

Just Books welcomes Jené Luciani and her clever and helpful book, The Bra Book: The Fashion Formula to Finding the Perfect Bra (BenBella Books, Dec 1, 2009; $19.95).  When a September 2006 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show held a “Bra Intervention,” a surprising truth was revealed: 85 percent of women wear and buy the wrong bra size. Even Oprah counted herself among those with an out-of-whack bra size. Three years later, and the problem still exits. Thankfully, there’s a one-stop place to look to finally find the solution to your undergarment headaches: the December release of Jené Luciani’s The Bra Book: The Fashion Formula to Finding the Perfect Bra!

“There are many reasons we all care so much about bras. A good one makes us feel good inside and out. It supports us, even protects us, concealing our flaws and highlighting our strengths. The right one can make us feel confident and sexy-like a woman should!” says Jené Luciani.  The Bra Book is your guide to every question that surrounds bras – from finding the right fit to learning bra fashion, Luciani creates a fun and informative read that is an essential for all women.

In chapters such as “The Herstory of Bras,” “Breast RX” and “Mountains vs. Molehills,” Luciani’s warm, supportive style helps women realize that finding the bra of your dreams is possible. The Bra Book even contains a chapter devoted to men, providing helpful advice and tips to finding the perfect lingerie for your special someone.

To learn more about Jene Luciani, visit her website: http://jeneluciani.com/

Join our community in welcoming elite cadets and midshipmen from the American Service Academies Program.  These brave young men and women are our country’s finest and they have chosen to participate in an intensive three week program on the Holocaust and military ethics run by the Auschwitz Jewish Center.  They have met Holocaust survivors and rescuers, worked with scholars and visited Holocaust and Jewish heritage sites in Poland and significantly explored the role of military leadership and ethical responsibility as it relates to their career choice.  Now they are coming to share their insights with our community.

The weekend is being brought to Greenwich through the Greenwich Fellowship of Clergy, Temple Sholom and Christ Church.

Friday, Nov. 20^th

Held at Temple Sholom, 300 E. Putnam Avenue, Greenwich

6:30 – 7: 30pm   Jewish musical Shabbath Service with the visiting Columbia University Jewish Choir, Pizmon.  Rev. James Lemler of Christ Church will give the guest sermon.

7:30 – 9:00 pm Traditional Shabbath dinner presentation by David Marwell, Ph.D., Director of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York.  Dr. Marwell will moderate the panel of cadets answering questions about their experiences as members of the US military learning about the Holocaust and ethical military leadership.  RSVP required for dinner.  $18.00 pp.  Call Rimma at (203) 542-7154.

Saturday, Nov. 21^st

Held at Temple Sholom

9:30 am – Noon – Traditional Shabbath services at Temple Sholom with guest sermon by Shiri Sandler, director of the Auschwitz Jewish Center.

Noon – 1:00 pm Shabbath lunch at Temple Sholom with an opportunity to informally chat with the Cadets.  RSVP required for lunch.  Suggested donation $10.00 per person.  Call Rimma at (203) 542-7154

Sunday, Nov. 22^nd

Held at Christ Church, E. Putnam Avenue, Greenwich

9:00 – 10:00 am, Sunday morning mass with guest preacher, Rabbi Mitchell M. Hurvitz of Temple Sholom.

10:00 am – 11:30 am Cadets Round Table – Each Cadet will share more of their own reflections on their studies.  There will be time for Q/A.  Light reception will follow.  RSVP requested.  Suggested donation $5.00 per person.  Call Rimma at (203) 542-7154.

For more information on any of the above programs, please contact Lori Baden at  203-542-7172.