iloveriverhead

On Sunday, January 17, 2010, Dee Muma hosted an open house for the community to see progress at the building that she is renovating at 1 East Main Street for a restaurant, catering business, and innovative living and working residences. It was well attended, with the Town Supervisor, the entire Town Board, friends, family, and many members of the Riverhead community coming out to see what she’s done and to wish her well.

Here is some video taken by Toni Munna on the occasion for iloveriverhead:

Congratulations to the Riverhead News Review’s 2009 People of the Year!

Winners include:

Chris Kempner, Riverhead Town Community Development Agency Director, Person of the Year

Laura Grable, Riverhead Spanish teacher, Educator of the Year

Tom Gahan, Civic Person of the Year

J. Gordon Huszagh, Suffolk County National Bank President, Business Person of the Year

Barbara Grattan (deceased), former Riverhead Town Clerk, Public Servant of the Year

Read article here.

"Healing Hand" award-winning photo by Jo Ledbetter

Happy New Year. Looking forward to another great year meeting other people who love Riverhead!

The Vail-Leavitt Music Hall has announced that Toby Walker, a Long Island native who has gone on to become an internationally respected and popular guitarist and entertainer, will play there on Saturday, November 28, at 8:00pm.

Toby Walker is a unique, accomplished, finger-style guitar virtuoso. He is adept at blues, rags, hot country picking, and coaxes more out of a guitar than anyone can imagine. He is a skilled singer and songwriter who draws inspiration from traditional and contemporary music. Toby takes that musical foundation and creates something uniquely his own and has been eagerly received in various venues including concert halls, festivals and coffeehouses throughout the U.S., England and Europe.

Walker’s passion for blues, rag, folk, and other traditional American music drove him to head for the Mississippi Delta, Virginia, and the Carolinas, where he tracked down some of the more obscure – but immensely talented – music makers of an earlier era. He learned directly at the feet of legends such as Eugene Powell, James “Son” Thomas, Etta Baker, and R.L Burnside, among others.

The talent, passion, and soul of a Toby Walker performance reflects these travels. Whether it is telling the humorous and heartwarming tales of other masters, talking about his inspirations, or astounding you with his musical mastery, his performances are a feast for the senses. The audience is moved in ways that delight them long after the encores. Make no mistake – Toby Walker is to be experienced live.

The concert is the last in a series of three events sponsored by the Riverhead Business Improvement District. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door, and can be purchased online at www.vail-leavitt.org.

The Vail-Leavitt Music Hall, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization located at 18 Peconic Avenue in Riverhead, NY, was built in 1881 to emulate the Ford Theater in Washington DC. It has a long and rich history that includes early experiments in talking films by Thomas Edison, and currently serves as both a rental venue and a presenting venue for the performing arts.

Art Sites Gallery received a very positive review in the New York Times by art critic, Benjamin Genocchio, for its current show of artist Avital Oz called “In / Out  On / Off.” The show exhibits the artist’s work of the last 40 years and includes almost 50 pieces of metal, wood, rubber, stone and other media.

The NYT review, entitled “Minimal Abstraction: Alive and Well,” said,

The hard work was worth it, for Mr. Oz has proven that minimal abstract sculpture is far from defunct and that artists continue to make interesting and innovative work in this vein. He has also proved himself to be an unjustly overlooked artist.

and

…by the standards of exhibitions here and at other small nonprofit venues on Long Island, this show is epic in scale and ambition.

Art Sites Gallery is located on the Peconic River at 651 West Main Street (Route 25) in Riverhead. For more info call 591-2401. Gallery hours are Thursday – Sunday, 12-5 PM.

In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, Atlantis Marine World Aquarium is offering free admission to Riverhead township residents every Friday in November, as well as on Thanksgiving Day.

“We want to acknowledge and express gratitude to our Aquarium’s hometown” explains Aquarium co-owner, Jim Bissett. “Offering free admission is just one small way of saying ‘thank you.’”

The special no-cost admission rate applies to Town of Riverhead residents only, who must show proof of residency upon entry. Residents must reside in one of the following towns: Riverhead, Wading River, Jamesport, Aquebogue, Laurel, Calverton, Baiting Hallow, Northville, and parts of Manorville.

For more information about the Aquarium, please call 631.208.9200, ext. H2O (426).

Title: 1st Annual Mystery Weekend
Location: Sites Throughout Downtown Riverhead
Description: Join the Riverhead Recreation Department for the first event of its kind in downtown Riverhead, and see if you can figure out “whodunit”! Spend the weekend collecting clues and interviewing mysterious suspects in your attempt to solve the crime.

Meet at Vail Leavitt Theatre on Friday night at 6 p.m. to get your instruction packet.

The crime is solved on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Vail Leavitt, so be ready to submit your solution!

$5 per person; $15 for a team of four.

To register, call the Recreation Department at 727-5744. For more details call Danielle Doll at 722-4444 ext. 731.

Start Date: 2009-10-23
Start Time: 6 pm
End Date: 2009-10-25
End Time: 2 pm

Grangebel Falls by Michael McLaughlin tied for 1st place in the Overall category.

The organizers of the Downtown Riverhead Summer Photo Contest are pleased to announce winners! To see all of the winning photos now, go to www.iloveriverhead.com/photo-contest.

Congratulations to winners in each of five categories!

OVERALL

1st place (tie):     “Grangebel Falls” by Michael McLaughlin
“Main Street” by Michael McLaughlin

2nd place:    “Papa Nick’s” by Cindy Clifford

3rd place:     “Downtown Friday Night” by Jo Ledbetter

ART & CULTURE

1st place:     “Suf—lk” by Kaitlyn Ferris

2nd place:     “Art on Main” by Diane Woodcheke

3rd place:     “Young Drums” by Jo Ledbetter

PEOPLE & EVENTS

1st place:     “Facing Gravity” by Kaitlyn Ferris

2nd place (tie)    “Fair Town of Riverhead” by Jo Ledbetter
“Head in the Clouds” by Kaitlyn Ferris

3rd place:     “Suf—lk” by Kaitlyn Ferris

WATER

1st place:     “Peconic Riverfront” by Jenny Intravia

2nd place:    “Peconic River by Citibank” by Diane Woodcheke

3rd place:     “Healing Hand” by Jo Ledbetter

HISTORIC

1st place:     “Grangebel Falls” by Michael McLaughlin

2nd place:     “Suffolk Alley” by Diane Woodcheke

3rd place:     “Boys & Barn” by Cindy Clifford

HONORABLE MENTION
Pepsi Freund
Aly Milner
Joe Abate
“Retromac”

Voting ended for the Downtown Riverhead Summer Photo Contest 2009 on October 4! Photographers took over 300 great photos this summer, a panel of six judges selected finalists, and the public voted online at iloveriverhead.com to decide the winners.All were invited to an awards ceremony at the Riverhead Country Fair on Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 12:30 on the Main Stage. Winning photos will be displayed at an upcoming exhibition as well as on this site and in other downtown promotional efforts throughout the year.

Thank you to the organizations that helped organize the photo contest, including:

·Town of Riverhead
·Riverhead Free Library
·East End Arts Council
·Riverhead Business Improvement District
·Riverhead Chamber of Commerce
·Vail Leavitt Historic Theater
·Suffolk County Historical Society
·Long Island Science Center
·Riverhead Rotary Club
·iloveriverhead.com
·Townscape, Inc.

Special thanks to the Business Improvement District for its sponsorship of publicity and awards.

Main Street by Michael McLaughlin tied for 1st place in the Overall category.

Title: 34th Annual Riverhead Country Fair
Location: downtown Riverhead
Link out: Click here
Description: judging for agricultural, homemade, homegrown and homemade products! Vendors, pony rides, amusement rides, food, music at this annual enormous Riverhead block party!
Start Time: 10:00
Date: 2009-10-11
End Time: 17:00

On Wednesday, September 23rd from 5:30-7:30pm, the Riverhead Chamber of Commerce will host a “Meet the Candidates Forum & Networking Night” where Chamber members will have the opportunity to meet candidates for town offices who are up for election and to learn firsthand their vision for Riverhead Town. All Chamber members and members of the local Community are encouraged to attend.

The event will take place at Martha Clara Vineyard, 6025 Sound Avenue, Riverhead. The event is sponsored by the Riverhead Chamber of Commerce, and attendance is free. Reservations are required and must be received before Thursday, September 17th.

For more info or to make a reservation, contact the Riverhead Chamber of Commerce at 727-7600 or email info@riverheadchamber.com. More info is also available on the Chamber website at www.Riverheadchamber.com.