ArtsWestchester gala rocks The Capitol Theatre 

Some of the 250 attendees of “The Arts Rock Gala” danced to Neil Berg’s Tribute to Rock’n’Roll, which took listeners from rock’s antecedents in the 1930s and ’40s through the 1960s and ’70s. Photographs by Georgette Gouveia.

It was a night for some old-fashioned rock’n’roll – and some old-fashioned humility – as ArtsWestchester honored New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Westchester County Executive George Latimer for their continuing commitment to the arts, Tuesday, Nov. 14, at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. Stewart-Cousins and Latimer in turn paid tribute to each other, their families, staffs, Legislators and the woman they called the “Queen of the Arts,” ArtsWestchester CEO Janet T. Langsam. 

From left, ArtsWestchester CEO Janet T. Langsam presents New York State Senate Majority Leader and gala honoree Andrea Stewart-Cousins with a framed photograph of the arts council’s Arts Exchange headquarters in White Plains.

ArtsWestchester, one of New York state’s premier arts councils, singled out Stewart-Cousins for allocating $3 million to the arts council’s three-year, post-pandemic “#RestartTheArts” regrant program. Nor has her support been limited to Westchester, Langsam said, noting a $10 million allocation to arts councils in Buffalo, Syracuse and the Capital Regions, among others.  

Westchester, too, has been a partner, with the county allocating $2.6 million in its budget for ArtsWestchester. The return on that investment? $182 million in economic impact, Latimer said. 

Neil Berg’s Tribute to Rock’n’Roll performs at ArtsWestchester’s “The Arts Rock Gala” at The Capitol Theatre, a temple of rock’n’roll, Tuesday, Nov. 14.

The honorees – who received framed photographs of ArtsWestchester’s Arts Exchange headquarters in White Plains, once a People’s National Bank & Trust — were also clearly delighted to be in another 1920s edifice, The Capitol, a movie palace-turned-rock’n’roll haven for such performers as Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, who performed new material at The Capitol Nov. 7 and 8.  

“It’s very cool to be up here,” Latimer said from the stage. “Not bad for a kid from the south side of Mount Vernon.” 

For her part, Stewart-Cousins, soigné in a puffy ensemble, a scarf draped over her left shoulder in what has become a signature, was among the mostly women twisting, bopping and otherwise dancing the night away to Neil Berg’s Tribute to Rock’n’Roll. The superb nine-member ensemble took listeners from rock’s antecedents in country, folk and the African American songs of the 1930s and ’40s through to the 1970s with a stop at, yes, even disco.  

The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, here projecting “The Arts Rock” theme of ArtsWestchester’s Nov. 14 gala, is a movie palace-turned-legendary rock’n’roll venue. “The Arts Rock Gala”, presented by Montefiore Einstein, featured delicious hors d’oeuvres and a comfort-food (think pasta and s’mores) buffet supper by Sam’s of Gedney Way in White Plains along with an equally tempting silent auction.

“Don’t Stop Believin’” the band and crowd sang at the end, in homage to Journey’s 1981 hit. 

It was clear that all there would not stop believing in the arts.  

For more, visit artswestchester.org.