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

Folio Awards Video, Fast Chats with the Fair Media Council

Fair Media Council Logo

We are grateful to all who are carrying on virtually! Here’s some incredibly touching and informative video from The Folio Awards.

While nothing replaces getting to connect with the folks that our sponsor The Fair Media Council normally brings together to highlight the best in local media, the online event was time well spent and we appreciated the virtual networking session held afterward.

Did you know WLIW now has a radio station? That’s how we learned! That and a whole lot more!!!

We are further excited by FMC’s endeavors to adapt and excited about their virtual event lineup featuring notables in news, media and business.

“FMC Fast Chat” is a live talk show on Zoom where the audience drives the conversation by asking questions in advance (during registration) or during the show via the Q&A box. The recorded version becomes a podcast available on the C-Suite Radio Network, as well as iTunes, Google Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher and TuneIn.

Expect real, powerful and relevant conversations with notables in news, media and business that put you in the know in just 30 minutes.

The events are free to attend, but preregistration is necessary to ensure a seat for the live shows.

October 6th: This already occurred but you can sign up for the podcast on The FMC Website: America’s Growing Need for Public Service & Volunteerism with RITA COSBY, Emmy-Winning TV Host, Female Legend of the Year in Radio, Best-Selling Author & Chair, Global Service Institute at LIU

October 27th: GARY VAYNERCHUK, chairman of VaynerX and CEO of VaynerMedia on how to do business right, right now.

November 10th: How did the media cover the Election? That’s the focus of this Fast Chat with BRIAN LEHRER of The Brian Lehrer Show, WNYC.

December 8th: Get the inside skinny on how to get your opinion heard on CNN, directly from CNN Opinion Editor RICHARD GALANT.

To register for any of these shows, please visit www.fairmediacouncil.org

More Fast Chats are continuously added. The best way to stay up-to-date is to sign up for the Fair Media Council’s weekly newsletter, The Latest, which comes out on Thursdays (Be sure to whitelist it).

Subscribe to FMC Fast Chat and you can also hear past episodes featuring Jeffrey Hayzlett, Chair and CEO, C-Suite Network, on how to do business during COVID19; Allison Gilbert, journalist and grief expert, on how to deal with loss and find comfort, and Ben Smith, media columnist, The New York Times, on the state of the news media today.

Firefly Lights November 2020: Welcome New Fireflies! Classes, Shows

The Firefly Artists Logo

Our community-oriented gallery created by local artists continues to be a light in our lives. Our main Firefly Artists gallery at 162 Main St, Northport is open Tuesday through Thursday 11am-6pm (closed for Thanksgiving), Fri and Sat 11am-8pm and Sunday 11-5pm. Send Katie an email if you’d like to meet up down there!

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Beth Fiteni Wants Folks to Understand the Current Administration’s Track Record on The Environment

In a recent blog post, Environmentalist Beth Fiteni of Green Inside & Out, offers, “important facts about changes to federal environmental laws and policies that the mainstream press does not typically cover.

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Community Leadership, Chapter 4: Leadership and the Dianne Parker Direction

Dianne Parker, the original Executive Director of Leadership and the Huntington Township Chamber Foundation with an early dedicated sponsor, Robert Scheiner of H2M Architects & Engineers. Photo by Katheryn Laible

Diversity.

This concept of developing leaders from all groups in a community certainly influenced Dianne Parker’s thinking. Dianne Parker was Executive Director of Leadership Huntington. We must say Dianne is a serious, intelligent business entrepreneur with a love of nature and art. She also has an earnest interest in people and all their cultural diversity.

Over the last 20 years, we have developed a great appreciation of how she crafted the Leadership Program and what she brought to it. One of her most important tenets being diversity of class member’s may lead you to ask, “Why?”

The answer is because it is important to bring people together so they may learn from each other and cross economic, cultural, gender, and educational lines. Many class members have expressed revelations and new understanding of other people and their circumstances while they were in the diversity rich environment of Leadership Huntington. Libby Hubbard, past Chamber Foundation President, commented that the class mix leads to a broader view of the community.

People have at times had an opinion that only those in positions of authority or higher status should go through the program. Those opinions ring hollow in my experience. That limiting concept would hamper the effect of experiential leadership. Many Leadership Huntington graduates have gone on to help build organizations and create non- profits that benefit many folks.

 

Why is diversity important? The answer is because it is important to bring people together so they may learn from each other and cross economic, cultural, gender, and educational lines. Many class members have expressed revelations and new understanding of other people and their circumstances while they were in the diversity rich environment of Leadership Huntington. Libby Hubbard, past Chamber Foundation President, commented that the class mix leads to a broader view of the community.

Larry Kushnick, Esq. Class of ’97, God rest his soul, said Leadership Huntington gave him the confidence to start his own law practice. He also helped get many local organizations started. Another young woman found her own voice and advanced in her family’s business because she now had the confidence to articulate her own worth. She, too, became instrumental to many positive community endeavors. Sometimes, the impact is very personal, which is good because community leadership starts at home. One gentleman in my class remarked, after going through temperament exercises, that he now understood why his wife was so different. Awe, clarification and understanding.

The notion that leaders can be developed, who as a direct result transform communities to be stronger and more effective, is a concept derived from the exploration, experiences and observations of community organizations like the Chamber Foundation and that group of committed individuals. To quote Ken Christensen, past Chamber Foundation member, “everywhere he goes there is a Leadership Huntington grad involved.”

This is very good. Community leadership is critical to building effective, inclusive communities which work for all citizens. It is hard to imagine an effective community which isn’t full of committed, engaged, involved and evolving volunteer leaders, servant leaders, and community trustees.

Change is everywhere. Communities change, issues change, circumstances change, demographics change. Leadership programs must change, too. The program that seems to work today won’t tomorrow. Community education isn’t enough. We must endeavor in an ongoing fashion to equip leaders with skills and processes that will serve them when and wherever they encounter a leadership challenge.

One class a year isn’t enough to create leaderful communities. One format does not fit all. We encourage all with experience and insight to think of yourselves as leadership development arms of your community, and of all the implications for change that concept implies.

Diversity is very important concept, and not an easy one to accomplish, but it makes such a rich learning environment. We have separated ourselves so much over the years we have missed the richness of diversity. One can only hope we may work toward that concept for a rich future.

We hope you can take away some bits of wisdom from the idea of diversity and the concepts that are suggested. Stay tuned, Chapter 5 is next!

Thanks for reading.
Trudy & Craig

This is very good. Community leadership is critical to building effective, inclusive communities which work for all citizens. It is hard to imagine an effective community which isn’t full of committed, engaged, involved and evolving volunteer leaders, servant leaders, and community trustees.

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!!!

Down to Earth with the Synchronicity Network – Thanks for Great Resources!

Photo of Bee on Aster by Katheryn Laible

Here at home, one way Katie’s been overcoming pandemic poos is through her garden. It works!!! She’s been weeding, mostly, identifying local and invasive species with apps like PlantNet and iNaturalist, and then wrestling those who’d best go out of the Earth until she’s too tired to do it anymore.

The reward has not only been a tremendous amount fresh air and healthy stress sublimation, but a yard full of gorgeous asters, goldenrod, wild raspberries and delighted pollinators! In recent week, the birds have started coming. It seems her yard is well rated on the Zagats Migration Edition!

She’s been grateful for the Huntington Gardeners and the Long Island Native Plant Gardening Group on Facebook as she’s overcome her well-earned terror of poison ivy and endeavored to cultivate and better understand her own hyper-local ecology. They are wonderful!!!

You can find others in our ever-evolving Down to Earth with the Synchronicity Network (submissions welcome!). Soon, we will add KMS Native Plants LLC, one of a growing number of sources for local plants and an excellent resource itself!

Autumn is a great time for planting. There are still a few weeks to take advantage of it! Katie has been transplanting volunteer native trees and plans to purchase native plants this weekend! Her gardening grand finale for 2020 will be the Winter Solstice, when she will honor a tradition started when her first child was tiny: Planting bulbs as a rite of faith that spring will dawn again.

This helps, too! Brain Pickings, we love you! Speaking of well-known appreciators of Long Island and human nature, Maria Popovich recently resurfaced this lovely meditation on Long Island’s own “Walt Whitman on Democracy and Optimism as a Mighty Form of Resistance” Read it, and carry on with whatever great mission you are on!

 

Spencer’s Picks: Overcoming Pandemic Fatigue; Art, Science & Suggested Solutions; The Happiness of a Dog

Dr. Spencer Thomas atop the Uffizi in Florence, Italy

Photo of Dr. Spencer Thomas atop the Uffizi in Florence, Italy. Photo by Katheryn Laible

 

As usual, when he’s not scrying into the mysteries of metals at the atomic level, or pondering puzzles of more efficient means of tapping energy, Dr. Thomas is bringing some light into our life. Here are a few of the things he’s brought to our attention:

Now that we’re about a month into the college semester with social distancing and remote learning, a lot of people I know are feeling a bit of a drag. You are not alone: Lonliness at Pandemic U: 14 tips for college students and their parents

Along similar themes, but more for everyone:: Your Surge Capacity is Depleted. This is Why You Feel Awful (and a couple good things you can do about it)

One thing that’s helpful is — to help! Here is a heartwarming and inspiring story from one of my very favorite professors from back in my undergrad time at Stony Brook. Bente Videbaek is an amazing person who has been working hard to make sure people have masks Facebook Page: “Humans of Mather Hospital”

When you feel a bit grounded and ready to stare some of the bigger challenges facing humanity in the face: Countdown is a global initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. One of the speakers, Dr. Rose Mutiso, is a friend of mine – we were graduate students together. She’s the incredible CEO of the Mawazo Institute, which supports women scientists and leaders throughout East Africa. She has also spoken at TED and written in Scientific American about the challenges that people in Africa face building digital and clean-energy infrastructure.

One for the Coltrane fans out there: The most feared song in jazz, explained. It’s not too hard for a layman to follow this breakdown of “Giant Steps,” even as it’s still among the most challenging things a musician may face

Finally, no big point here, but a bit of joy for you since we could all use it: The happiness of this dog after they put prostheses on

Spencer Thomas received his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. After some time at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, we are DELIGHTED to welcome him back to Long Island as a researcher at Stony Brook University. He also happens to be Katie’s brother. For a time, Spencer studied metals at the atomic level; the way atoms are arranged in a material can change its properties; one can take ordinary metals make them stronger, more flexible, corrosion resistant, even radiation resistant. We’re still endeavoring to understand what he’s doing now well enough to explain it so simply.

Spencer believes that no matter who you are, good communication can put scientific concepts within reach. The modern world demands scientific literacy and it is the responsibility of scientists to make that possible.

Vision Smart Growth Awards, Summit

We also deeply missed being able to gather with 1,000 community leaders at a live Smart Growth Awards this year. We are grateful for all our sponsors at Vision Long Island do to advance Smart Growth, their focus on serving Main Street (especially now!) and for their endeavors — like so many other nonprofits — to ensure their important work continues.

The online version was still deeply valuable. You can read a brief description of the honorees here. Check out their YouTube page for a video of the event itself, as well as great videos at the sites with the honorees.

Please also continue to check out the Long Island Main Street Alliance for news and information aimed at helping Long Island’s small businesses.

The Smart Growth Summit will also be virtual this year!

“In a time of social distancing and being unable to meet in person, the 19th Annual Long Island Smart Growth Summit is an event that takes on more importance as we seek to assist our local communities through economic recovery guided by placemaking principles.

This year, due to the ongoing pandemic, we will be holding a virtual program that will feature workshops, technical worksessions, and plenary sessions on regional and local issues facing downtown redevelopment, complete streets projects, infrastructure investment, regulatory relief and economic recovery through the Coronavirus.

For years, Vision has brought together thousands of civic members, chambers, community-minded developers, environmentalists, design professionals, labor, academics, seniors, young people, and minority owned businesses along with federal, state, county, town and village officials from Long Island and the region.

We need your continued energy and participation to help shape recovery efforts so the many years of progress made in our local communities is not lost.”

When: December 2nd through 4th

For More Info and to Register: Visit their Eventbrite page