ArtsFest – the annual weekend celebration organized by the New Rochelle Council on the Arts – wrapped up Sunday, Oct. 22, with a special fundraiser, a “Ragtime Jazz Brunch,” toasting the new statue of author E.L. Doctorow, installed in the city’s Huguenot Park. Guests of honor included Doctorow’s widow, Helen, and members of the Doctorow family as well as sculptor Derek Chalfant, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson and members of the Doctorow Legacy Initiative Committee, which was responsible for the statue.
E.L. Doctorow was a longtime resident of New Rochelle (and teacher at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers), whose Broadview Avenue home inspired the award-winning novel “Ragtime,” (which also became a popular film and a Tony Award-winning Broadway show). So the event committee wanted to “salute the new statue with an afternoon recreating the ‘Ragtime’ era in art, music and dance,” said Lynn Green, NRCA vice president and chair of the event. The result, she added, was “a toe-tapping tribute to E.L. Doctorow that had 90 guests swaying to the syncopated ragtime tunes and then experiencing a dance demonstration of popular dances of the early 1900s.”
The program included concert pianist Adam Kent, a New Rochelle native, who performed a selection of “Ragtime”-era music, followed by professional dancers Paolo and Laurentina, who demonstrated popular dance styles of the era and then offered dance lessons so everyone could try the steps. “Paolo and Laurentina made the Castle Walk seem breezy and fun,” said Lynn Green, “but as our 21st-century dancers found out, when they attempted the steps, they proved harder to gracefully do.”
There was also time for guests to greet the Doctorow family. New Rochelle High School graduate Sharon Weekes-Threash said that for her, “the highlight was being able reconnect with my NRHS Class of 1976 classmate, E.L.’s daughter Caroline Doctorow, whom I had not seen in many years.” Weekes-Threash noted that she has followed folk singer Caroline Doctorow’s musical career and “We were glad to catch up and plan to stay in touch.”
Guests were invited to wear period-inspired dress to the brunch for photo ops with antique cars and a fire engine of the period parked on the lawn of Wykagyl Country Club. A silent auction of experiences and items – including an autographed copy of “Ragtime,” a private tour of New Rochelle with City Historian Barbara Davis, a ride on the fire truck during the Thanksgiving Day parade and artwork by Charles Fazzino – added to the syncopated fun.
The “Ragtime Jazz Brunch” Committee included Maddali Paci Atallah, Zachary Berenbaum,
Margaret Chadwick, Barbara Davis, Monica Deane, Dave Fabris, Ximena Francella, Liz Garland, Saralyn Goldsmith, Lynn Green, Janine Jones, Linda Kelly, Theresa Kump Leghorn, Rhoda Lew, Christine Ramage, Karen Selman, Leah Sills, Stephanie Tomei and Catherine White.
Brunch sponsors included Alvin and Terri Bowles, Creative Artists Agency, Lynn and Steven Green, Theresa and Tom Leghorn, while patrons included Barbara Davis, Leslie M. Demus, Zahra Jlayer, Vanda Gallery and Ilissa and Paul Warhit.
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