Sound Shore

No need to travel to France to celebrate Bastille Day. Instead, head to Hudson Park in New Rochelle tonight for a free concert at 6:45 p.m. featuring the Zachary Lipton Quartet and Brian Carter. Both have been New Rochelle musical ambassadors to jazz festivals in New Rochelle’s “sister city” of La Rochelle, France. Their performances will be followed by “Bon Chic, Bon Genre,” a program of French and American selections.

New Rochelle was founded by the Huguenots, French Protestants who fled religious persecution, over 320 years ago. Bastille Day is a national holiday in France and is celebrated July 14 to commemorate the storming of the Bastille prison, an act that helped spark the French Revolution.

The concert is part of the city’s “Remembering La Rochelle” week held from July 9 to 16 to mark New Rochelle’s connection its  sister city. For more information, visit www.newrochelleny.com/sistercity.

The New Rochelle Public Library Board of Trustees is seeking applications to fill a vacancy on its board. Interested residents should send resumes or biographical statements to the New Rochelle Board of Trustees Nominating Committee, NRPL, 1 Library Plaza, New Rochelle, NY 10801, before Aug. 27. The board will review the submissions and fill the appointment at its Sept. 16th meeting.

The seat opened because trustee Kelly Berkell is moving out of the community and leaving the board. The person picked to fill the vacancy will hold the seat until the annual library election in May. At that time, an election will be held to complete the fourth and fifth years of Berkell’s seat and for a regularly-scheduled election of a trustee for a five-year term. The candidate who receives the most votes will serve the five-year term.

The Library Board of Trustees meets in the library’s Ossie Davis Theater on the second Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m., with a public-to-be-heard session at 8:15 p.m.

The BID Music on the Green concert series kicks off  Thursday, July 15 in New Rochelle with a performance by Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra. The show takes place at the New Rochelle Library Green at 6:30 pm. Brother Joscephus and the 12-piece orchestra blend New Orleans party music, soul, and secular gospel.

From the band’s bio: A three-piece horn section (the Shepherds of the Wind), the gospel choir (the Voices of Reason), and a rhythm section (the Guardians of the Groove) “lay it down” for vocalist Brother Joscephus, who sings about “the pain, joy and wisdom that is in his heart.” Since the release of its first recording in February 2009, the New York City band has already shared the stage with New Orleans stalwarts such as Trombone Shorty, the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars and Eric Lindell, and has sold out legendary venues such as the Highline Ballroom and BB King’s. They have thrilled crowds at outdoor festivals up and down the eastern seaboard, and in Vermont, Atlanta, Birmingham and New Orleans.

The BID Music on the Green concerts are free and begin at 6:30 pm. In the event of rain, the shows will take place in the Ossie Davis Theater of the New Rochelle Public Library. Complementary tickets will be available in the library beginning at  p.m. For more information, or to find out about other performances, visit www.newrochelledowntown.com.

In celebration of New Rochelle’s founding by the Huguenots over 320 years ago, the New Rochelle Sister City Committee will present two Bastille Day events during “Remembering La Rochelle” week July 9-16.

The Sister City Committee will host its celebration of Bastille Day, France’s national holiday, in front of City Hall on July 14 at 10 a.m. The event will feature the raising the flag of France, singing the “Marseillaise” and a brief talk on “Thomas Paine and the French Revolution” by attorney James S. Kaplan, a committee member. Huguenot descendants are especially welcome and will be asked to announce their Huguenot family name.

In the evening, the public is invited to a free Bastille Day concert at Hudson Park band shell at 6:45 p.m. featuring the Zachary Lipton Quartet and Brian Carter. Both have been New Rochelle musical ambassadors to La Rochelle jazz festivals. They will be followed by “Bon Chic, Bon Genre”, a special program of French and American selections. For more information, visit www.newrochelleny.com/sistercity.

The public is invited to a free show, “Astronaut,” at the planetarium at New Rochelle High School on Friday, July 16 . Doors open 15 minutes before the show, which starts at 8. New Rochelle High School Astronomy Science teacher Bruce Zeller, his crew, and Irving – the planetarium projector, will point out this rich sky which includes a waxing crescent moon and Saturn in the constellation Virgo and Mars and Venus in the constellation Leo. Immediately following the show, Neil Newman, (NRHS class of ‘08) will have telescopes set up on the roof to view these four celestial objects, weather permitting. The Planetarium is located on the corner of Flandreau and Argyll Roads. For questions, call 576-4589 or email bzeller@nred.org.

2010 07-06 AstronautJuly10

Over 50 local youth participated in the Soap Box Derby in New Rochelle last month, vying for the chance to represent Westchester at the 73rd annual All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio. The youngsters competed in downhill, gravity powered racers that they built from kits. The stock division winner (ages 8 to 13) was Hunter Conte and the super stock division winner (ages 10 to 17)was Ariella Delgado. They will compete July 24 for the title of International Soap Box Derby World Champions.

The Hugh Doyle Senior Center on 94 Davis Ave. will be opened as a cooling center today, July 6, and tomorrow, July 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Residents are also reminded to limit outdoor activities, drink lots of water and dress in light color clothing. For more information, call 235-2363.

Valerie Orellana and Lianne Merchant were sworn in as the New Rochelle Board of Education’s newest trustees at an installation ceremony Wednesday. They were elected in May to each serve a five-year term that ends June 30, 2015. They will replace Cindy Babcock-Deutsch who served ten years, and Jerome Smith, who had been a member of the Board of Education for fifteen years. Orellana and Merchant are pictured here, respectively.

The Pelham Board of Education approved the appointment of Tonya Wilson as the next principal of the Colonial Elementary School at a meeting last night. Wilson was officially appointed interim principal until she passes a required written New York State certification exam, which she expects to take over the summer. She has completed the administrative coursework and internship program, officials said.

Wilson has been a teacher at the Colonial School since 1998, except for a two-year leave of absence. There, she was a lead teacher and a member of English Language Arts Revision Task Force and the Standards-Based Report Card Task Force. According to the school district, Wilson is a graduate of Florida A & M University where she studied elementary education, got a master’s degree in education from Penn State, and completed the administrative leadership program at the College of New Rochelle.

She starts the job on August 28, taking over from Principal Janet Rothstein, who will retire Nov. 1.

New Rochelle’s trolley tour rides again this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The trolley tour, which will celebrate independence and history, is being organized by Habitat for Humanity of Westchester County. The tour will highlight local history, including New Rochelle’s ties to the Revolutionary War, the armory, and the famous people who lived there including actor and activist Ossie Daivs and artist Norman Rockwell. The trolley can be boarded in front of 524 Main St. The rides are free, but donations are welcome. The rides will run hourly between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.