Halloween 2022: Let’s Go!!!

Halloween Jack O’ Lanterns by Katheryn Laible

Updated 10/27…My mother always felt a main point of Halloween was to scare bad spirits away before winter gave them too many opportunities to wreak havoc. I love the idea, and really everything about All Hallow’s Eve.

You can learn all sorts of things about the holiday at history.com.

Here’s a history of the Celtic holiday Samhain from Time Magazine, which, due to it’s being an Irish word is, in fact, pronounced SAW-in.

This interesting old article from the BBC explores the connection (or maybe not) between All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, and Samhain. For an even deeper and broader look at such holidays, check out the World History Encyclopedia.

Of course, many folks simply treasure Halloween for the opportunity to express their creativity and enjoy a great party of sweets, cosplay, and the fun of being playfully terrified.

Are You Ready for Halloween?

Here are “159 of the most creative Halloween Costume Ideas Ever” from Bored Panda. If you have to come up with one yourself really fast, Readers Digest offers 102 Easy Halloween Costumes You Can Make Last Minute

Here’s the Ultimate Guide to Pumpkin Picking on Long Island — I still need to get mine. Can’t wait to carve this weekend!

Here’s 100 easy ideas for that from Parade.com. If you want to take it to the next level, check out “111 World’s Coolest Pumpkin Designs” from homesthetics.net.

Let's Make Some Plans!

For a truly spectacular experience, check out The Rise of the Jack o’ Lanterns which is finally returning to LI this year and is now being hosted at USDAN!

Mommypoppins.com offers up 75 Fun Halloween Activities for Kids.

Here’s a list of haunted houses offered by the Long Island Press

Did you know there’s a Long Island Haunted House Calendar?

Newsday’s got the party scene covered, and articles on all sorts of folks getting into the spirit across the Island. (There is a paywall. Please support local papers).

Don’t forget to check out cool local theaters. The Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington will be showing “The Bat” from 1926, “Scared for Your Life 2022: An Indie Horror Film Festival”, as well as “Boardinghouse –
Cult Café – VHS Night.” What shows are going on near you?

Downtown Happenings

This is also a great time of year to check out Long Island’s amazing downtowns, which are filled with treasures. Check out your local Chamber of Commerce, BID, and other local organizations to see what’s going on near you!

Check out The Huntington Arts Council’s exhibition “A Nightmare on Main Street,” an annual exhibition featuring artwork from students grades 6-12. There were 200 pieces from 145 students submitted. Juror Lauren La Bella chose 41 to show. They are eerily inspiring! Check out the website to learn more, including the 2022 statement that prompted them….

My own Firefly Artists Gallery features hauntingly beautiful works and so much more all year long from amazing local artists such as our abandoned space and other spooky scenes specialists John Lazzaro (did you see his new book?!?), Paul Mele (who’s also got “Confinement” going on at fotofoto in Huntington) and now the amazing Kristen Memoli (welcome!!!).

This Thursday evening, we will offer 10% off our entire gallery as part of Northport’s annual Witches & Warlocks’ Night Out.

That’s October 27th  from 5-8pm.

The event unites local businesses in offering promotions and Halloween spirit. Come in costume! Bring your friends! Pick up a free tote bag, map and directory of evening events from our neighbors at the Signature Properties Northport office, 172 Main Street, who wonderfully organize this event. 

Meanwhile the Northport Historical Society is featuring the “Somnia Tarot” an exhibition of works of Nick Bruno, “a 78 image art series which uses photography, sculpture, costume design,
and dream journal recordings to tell the tale of classic Tarot. “

…They’ve also got “Halloween Magic” with Todd Harris coming Sunday 10/30!

Let’s have some fun!

You can see other great Northport/East Northport events (including Halloween Yoga!) in the Northport Journal. Check out your own local resources (which we are SO lucky to have) to see what’s going on in your neighborhood!

However you choose to celebrate (or not!), we wish you all the best!

Be safe, be smart, and enjoy.

Happy Halloween!!!

Window Shopping Witches

Happy New Year! Thank You, Friends for these End of Year Resources!

Photo of sparkler with heart shaped core by Katheryn Laible

Photo “New Year’s Love” by Katheryn Laible

Happy New Year! We thought you might appreciate the following:
 
Let’s start with this fascinating piece on the history of New Year’s and its traditions from History.com
 
Then, let’s reflect on our own recent history. Here’s a blog post on a 7-Step Year in Review from Strength Leader Deb Ingino to help guide us! Deb is great at quickly boiling things down to key takeaways. Here, she picks a particularly timely nugget out of a great podcast from John C. Maxwell, while offering the link to his full 7 steps. I found it well worth carving out time for!
 
Many of us are still doing year-end giving! Today, my dear friend Nancy brought this New York Times newsletter: A giving guide to my attention. There’s a lot of useful stuff in here. As we might expect, it offers resources from a much more global viewpoint than we do, but also noted that LOCAL giving — including to local news sources —  is really important.
 
Along those lines…this piece written with David Okorn of the Long Island Community Foundation,“Foundations for the Common Good — A Call to Action” remains timely. If you want to quick-update it to account for the impacts of the last few years, just underline the sense of urgency in triplicate. The article explains growing holes in the LI safety net and how we might fill them. It also shares how the LI Community Foundation itself helps givers make the best use of their philanthropic dollars, as well as how it serves issues they’ve identified as critical directly.
 
Here’s a list of JUST A FEW incredible local organizations that could use our support...use it as a starter guide. We look forward to sharing many more in the New Year!
 
We’re also going to keep repeating this: The idea that a not for profit organization should be judged primarily by the % going to admin and fundraising is just plain wrong! Find out why in this article written with Marian Conway of the NY Community Bank Foundation: “Stop the Nonprofit Budget Fantasy. It’s Not Right!”  Marian’s run a foundation for years and in one way or another served and studied countless organizations. She literally has a Ph.D awarded for her dissertation on “What are the general operating expenses for nonprofits and who pays them.” She knows what she’s talking about. Please listen to her!!!
 
Finally, New Year – New Beginnings. Let’s talk a little bit about resolutions. Considering joining the Dry January tradition? Dr. Jeffery Reynolds, CEO of Family & Children’s Association has some great tips that I think can also be applied to helping follow through on other pledges, especially when paired with this good advice from Forbes.com on how to actually keep your resolutions.
 
Among mine, resolutions tend to involve committing to lifelong learning and development. Toward that end, I find the Farnam Street Newsletter to be something I regularly open and intend to dig more deeply into next year. This week, among other things, they offered snippets from their most downloaded podcasts. As for just a few favorite sources of local guidance, I really appreciate the Fair Media Council channel on YouTube, and everything Vision Long Island puts on its Vimeo.
 
I also resolve to more deeply appreciate our wonderful local treasures. Thank you, Cindy Mardenfeld, for sharing this Newsday article on the membership perks of Long Island attractions(it’s Newsday, so, please forgive the paywall). It covers all sorts of great museums, theaters, kids places and parks. The best part is knowing they’ve hardly scratched the surface!
 
Let me know your year-end reflections and resources, and what you’d like to see focused on in 2022. Thanks!!!

Yuletide Musing: The Lore of the Holly

Holly by Katheryn Laible

Known now as a symbol of Christmas, the Druids regarded holly as a symbol of fertility and eternal life, and thought it to have magical powers. The Romans associated it with Saturn…agriculture, fertility and the harvest. Although the berries are poisonous, it’s been used as a healing plant by Indigenous Americans, who made a tea of it as a heart stimulant.

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Halloween

Photo of Jack O’ Lanterns by Katheryn Laible

Katie’s mom always felt a main point of All Hallow’s Eve was to scare bad spirits away before winter gave them too many opportunities to wreak havoc. Given 2020, we’re all for doing anything we can!

We are thankful for all who care to take the threat this virus poses seriously while also forging creative ways forward. Halloween is a huge examples of this. Much is going on!

Some great local events are featured in this recent Main Street News (as well as other important items) including endeavors by the Greenport BID, “Nightmare on Main St.” in Huntington, and a “Trunk or Treat” in Kings Park. Their verymost recent edition also has NYS Guidelines for safe Halloweening, more great events and, we can NEVER say it enough, LOTS of other valuable information!

Mommy Poppins offers a family guide to Halloween 2020

Places perhaps a bit spookier are on LIHauntedHouses.com

We are intrigued by the History of Halloweenon History.com

Here is a brief exploration of the connection (or maybe not) between All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, and Samhain. from the BBC.

Here’s a History of the Celtic holiday Samhain from Time Magazine. Which, due to it’s being an Irish word is, in fact, pronounced SAW-in.

However you choose to celebrate (or not!), we wish you all the best! Be safe, be smart, and enjoy!!!

Nikola Tesla: The Man, The Myth, The Legacy

We are grateful the rain held off as we traipsed about the site of Nikola Tesla’s last and only surviving laboratory, “Wardenclyffe.” There, board member Neil Baggett talked about the great scientist and his time on Long Island, and plans to advance his legacy. While nothing can replace an in-person tour – we highly recommend taking one if you can! — here is a bit of what we learned:

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