Fall 2013 Block Festival

Sunday, September 29, 2013

12 noon - 4pm

South Riverdale Avenue

236th - 238th Street

Bronx, New York 10463

The South Riverdale Avenue Merchant’s Association (also known as SRAMA) was co-founded in 2009 by several merchants on the block. With 13 empty store fronts in 2009, the Association’s primary initial goal was to attract new businesses to the Avenue. Today, Riverdale Avenue has become a vibrant shopping and culinary destination for Riverdalians and beyond. Together with KRVC, the South Riverdale Avenue Merchant’s Association hosts an annual Block Festival for an afternoon of fun and festivities and to introduce many attendees to the wonderful array of stores, restaurants and services offered on South Riverdale Avenue.

The Fall 2013 Block Festival

Promo Media Event

On Friday, September 20th, a group of organizers, performers and sponsors gathered in front of Yo Burger, located at 3726 Riverdale Avenue in the Bronx, to promote today’s Block Festival. The Sep-tember 20th promotional event included a festival “sneak preview” with live music by members of NY Brogue and special stunts by clown, Dawn Jones. Event organizers and sponsors were also on hand, distributing postcards to promote the event under an eye-catching red tent decorated with promotional banners and balloons donated by DJ Drugs. Check out these great photos:

The Promo Media Event was one component of the massive promotional campaign for the Block Festival which included news releases, electronic outreach, social media, printed materials and much more!

Photos of our Promo Event featuring NY Brogue , Dawn Jones on stilts and Tracy McCabe Shelton, KRVC Executive Director, being interviewed by News 12.

Festival Schedule

On the Main Stage:

12:15 p.m. Preschool of Rock 12:30 p.m. Riverdale Music Studio students 1:00 p.m. Rale Micic Trio Featuring Alma Micic 2:00 p.m. New York Brogue 3:00 p.m. The Jeremy Beck Band

12 noon - 4 p.m.

•pony rides, trolley rides, pumpkin decorating •live musical performances •merchants will be displaying their goods and services •clowns, stilt walkers, face painters and magicians will be entertaining the kids •delicious food will be available

Bronx Culture Trolley Stops

The Bronx Culture Trolley will Loop through Riverdale, Kingsbridge and Marble Hill from 12 noon - 4pm making the following stops:

Skyview Shopping Center West 259th Street and Riverdale Avenue

Elisa Contemporary Art Gallery 5622 Mosholu Avenue

Santa Fe Restaurant, Lloyd's Carrot Cake, Ibiza

Broadway and West 242nd Street

Citibank Broadway and West 234th Street

St Stephen's Church West 228th Street @ Marble Hill Avenue

Khury Tours & Services, Kerner & Esposito Law office, Narcisse Spa

269-271 West 231 Street

TD Bank West 230th Street (just off Riverdale Avenue)

Country Bank Just off Johnson on West 235th Street

Salon Zoe Riverdale Avenue at West 236th Street

Pony Rides

Right on Riverdale Avenue!

Pony Rides - Look for the ponies near 236th Street.

Two ponies are available for rides all day!

The Pony Rides were brought to our community by the Bronx Equestrian Center. The Bronx Equestrian Center is a full service equestrian facility located in Pelham Bay Park. Western and English styles of riding are available for all levels of experience and interest. From pony rides and trail rides to haywagon rides and weddings... they have something for everyone. Come and say hello and meet their friendly horses and staff. Open every day – all year – from 9am until dusk. Bronx Equestrian Center 9 Shore Road Bronx, NY 10463 718-885-0551 www.nychorse.com

Main Stage Entertainment Rale Micic Trio Featuring Alma Micic

Rale Micic trio featuring Rale Micic on guitar, Mimi Jones on bass, and Shirazette Tinnin on drums, with special guest Alma Micic on vocals.

“Alma personifies what jazz singing is all about.” Ron Della Chiesa, WGBH Radio “There is no doubt about it: Alma Micic is a first rate jazz singer.” All About Jazz Alma Micic was born and raised in Belgrade, Ser-bia. At the age of 16 she started performing with a local quartet at a time when jazz was making a big comeback in Belgrade. Soon she became a featured vocalist with the Radio Belgrade Big Band and began touring and appearing at many local jazz festivals as well as television and radio broadcasts. In 1995, she received a scholarship to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in

JazzTimes, LA Times, San Diego Tribune, Boston Globe, etc. He has per-formed at prominent jazz clubs and music festivals in US and Europe includ-ing Catalina Jazz Club, Blues Alley, Scullers Jazz Club, Dizzy’s, San Jose Jazz Festival, Hartford International Jazz Festival, etc. Born in Belgrade, Serbia and living In New York City for the last decade, Rale Micic recently signed an endorsement deal with D'Addario strings, joining the likes of guitarists Pat Metheny, John Scofield and Lenny Kravitz. www.ralemicic.com

“Micic is bringing an intriguing new perspective to the jazz guitar” LA Times

“One of the most interesting young guitarists on the New York City scene" All About Jazz

Rale Micic is one of the most successful and criti-cally acclaimed jazz musicians to emerge from Ser-bia. His new release, symbolically titled “3”, is an entrancing trio record featuring Gregory Hutchin-son (Ray Brown, Joshua Redman, Joe Henderson) and Scott Colley (Jim Hall, Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker). “3”, already recognized by listeners and critics alike, is described as “ a groove heavy re-cord… pure listening pleasure”. Rale Micic is CTA Records recording artist and has been featured in numerous publications including Downbeat,

Rale Micic Trio Featuring Alma Micic (cont.) Rale Micic trio featuring Rale Micic on guitar, Mimi Jones on bass, and Shirazette

Tinnin on drums, with special guest Alma Micic on vocals.

Boston, MA. Alma graduated in 1999 with a BM in Jazz Performance. Alma's highly successful second release "The Hours" beautifully displays her songwriting and arranging talents in addition to her exquisite singing. The album has been praised by renowned international publications such as Downbeat, JazzTimes, Jazzwise, and All About Jazz. Alma has been a resi-dent of New York City since 2000. With her band, she has appeared at prominent venues such as the Jazz Standard, Scullers, Iridium Jazz Club, Cecil’s Jazz Club as well as various international festivals and concert halls. Her first album "Introducing Alma", hailed as "a striking debut" by Jazz Re-view, received radio airplay throughout the US, including Voice of America, XM Satellite Radio and international radio stations in South America, Japan and Europe. Alma Micic was also featured in a one hour NPR/WGBH Radio special “The Jazz Songbook”.

Alma’s singing has been described as "confident, soulful, vulnerable, rhyth-mically savvy, with the most sensual vibrato you're likely to hear" (All About Jazz). Featured articles include Swing Journal (Japan), Concerto Magazine (Austria), Jazzman and Citizen Jazz (France). She has received numerous awards such as the Cleo Laine Award for Outstanding Musicianship and BRIO Award from the NY Arts Council. www.almajazz.com

Mimi Jones was born in New York City and raised in the Bronx by parents that descended from Barbados and St.Croix, which explains why Mimi has so many musical influences that flow easily through her compositional style. A graduate from Manhattan School of Music Conservatory she studied early on with world-class bassist, Lisle Atkinson and saxo-phonist Charles Davis at the Jazz Mobile Workshop. She also studied, mentored and attended workshops with Barry Harris, Ron Carter, Milton Hinton, Dr. Billy Taylor, Yusef Latif, Max Roach, and Latin bass techniques with Guillermo Edgehill. Since then Mimi has

gone on to share the stage with such talents as the great Lionel Hampton, Roy Hargrove, Rachel Z, Sean Jones, Kenny Barron, and Jesse Davis, just to name a few. She has toured extensively throughout Europe and the United States. In 2003, Mimi Jones co-founded the group ”Jazz Sabroson” with drummer Antonio De Vivo and was commissioned by the Kennedy Center and Department of State to participate in the international program of

Rale Micic Trio Featuring Alma Micic (cont.) Rale Micic trio featuring Rale Micic on guitar, Mimi Jones on bass, and Shirazette

Tinnin on drums, with special guest Alma Micic on vocals.

Born and raised in North Carolina, drummer Shirazette Tinnin’s sound resonates with jazz, soul, and many other styles of music. An in demand drummer in New York City, has recently performed with Alicia Keys on BET in Black Girl's Rock (2012). She has been on tour with Tia Fuller at the Umbria Jazz Festival, Molde Jazz Festival and the Turkish Ambassadors, as well as leading her own group, The Shirazette Experiment Core-Tet. Shirazette is also collaborating with numerous other artists, and is the resident drummer for the Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet. She strives to keep the motion of jazz music progressive in all of her endeavors.

Besides performing, Shirazette is an active clinician, teacher, health coach and author, writing articles for Modern Drummer and Tom Tom Magazine. Shirazette is currently working on the release of her debut album as a bandleader, and is signed with the new record label Hot Tone Music. It is to be released in 2013. www.shirazettetinnin.com

cultural exchange performing in Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Barbados, Jamaica, Nevis and the Dominican Republic. The group was elected in 2006 by the Department of State and Jazz at Lincoln Center to participate in the Rhythm Abroad Program. In 2009, the Mimi Jones Band performed premièring her debut release, “A New Day.” Mimi Jones has also appeared at the Kitano Hotel, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, the Puffin Foundation, Symphony Space, the Zinc Bar and the Blue Note. www.mimijonesmusic.com

Main Stage Entertainment (cont.) New York Brogue

Danny Flinn on vocals and bodhran, Matt Stapleton on guitar,

Andrew Sharp on uilleann pipes, and Calum Pasqua on fiddle

New York Brogue - Danny Flinn, Matt Stapleton, Calum Pasqua, and Andrew Sharp In 2007, singer and percussionist Danny Flinn, guitarist Matt Stapleton, and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Sharp, formed New York Brogue in an effort to capture the free-wheeling energy of the Bronx Irish sessions where they had met while playing. Coinciding with a solo-project that Flinn was working on of the same ilk, they quickly released the EP "Bury Me On McLean" in 2008, and began performing throughout the Tri-state area. Blending an eclectic mixture of the traditional and the contemporary, instrumental sets and powerful ballads, the trio performed steadily til 2010, reaching as far as gigs in Ohio and Virginia Beach, while also performing with other projects. After a two year hiatus, New York Brogue returned with the inclusion of championship-winning Scottish fiddler Calum Pasqua in 2012, and has since taken performing again with renewed vigor. They are scheduled to release their upcoming album, "Live From the Poor Mouth", later this year, recorded at an exclusive performance this summer at Riverdale's own An Beal Bocht Cafe.

Main Stage Entertainment (cont.)

Phil Palombi is "one of the most sought after young bass players", according to Steely Dan tenor saxo-phonist and renowned jazz musician WaltWeiskopf. Since moving to New York City in 1997, bassist Phil Palombi is slowly but surely moving through the ranks of the New York Jazz elite. His resume now includes recordings and/or performances with Michael Brecker, Billy Hart, Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Etta Jones, Maynard Ferguson, Chris Potter, Rich Perry, Curtis Stigers, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Lew Tabackin, Chucho

Jeremy Beck Band Jeremy Beck on vocals and keyboard, Phil Palombi on bass, Craig Graham

on guitar, and Joe Strasser on drums

Jeremy Beck comes to the New York area by way of Alabama. Born and raised in the south his music ranges from the soul to blues, funk to jazz. An accomplished session musician, writer, singer and producer, he has worked with Bonnie Raitt, Missy Elliot, Mary Wilson, The Lennon Sisters, Kool and the Gang and most recently, James Hunter. Jeremy also heads up his own funk and soul group, Jeremy Beck and The Heavy Duty Horns. No matter what style he's doing, instrument he's playing or song he's singing, his music will have you on your feet.

Valdes, Mark Turner, and The Village Vanguard Orchestra to name a few. In addition to performing, Phil also has a passion for teaching that includes presentations at the International Society of Bassists convention in 2005, 2007, and 2009, numerous master classes at colleges around the world (most notably Eastman School of Music), and four articles written for Double Bassist Magazine. www.philpalombi.com

The Jeremy Beck Band (cont.)

Joe Strasser arrived in New York in 1990 to attend The New School of Jazz and earned his degree in 1994. He has performed with many jazz greats, including George Coleman, Harold Mabern, Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, Etta Jones, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Ryan Kisor and many others. He recently returned from a two -month tour opening for Steely Dan with the Sam Yahel Group and is also a member of Kyle Eastwood's touring band. He resides is Brooklyn.

Guitarist Craig Graham's oldest brother started teaching him guitar at the age of nine. In high school Craig started per-forming live with his first rock & roll band. He attended Berklee College of Music and also studied with Dave Creamer, Pat Metheny, and Michael Brecker. For the next twenty plus years Craig has become one of the most versa-tile guitarists playing many styles includ-ing Jazz, Classical, Bluegrass, Latin, Blues, Rock and Pop music. He has toured in Europe, Central America, the Caribbean, Asia and the U.S. He has performed or recorded with Jeff Andrews, Dave

Creamer, Vince DelGato, Joe Deninzon, Mark Egan, Ian Froman, and Ben Vereen to name a few. Craig has been a guitar instructor since the mid 80's. He is currently instructing at the American Institute of Guitar in New York City.

Main Stage Entertainment (cont.)

Riverdale Music Studio offers high quality private instruction in piano, violin, guitar, voice and viola for all ages. The RMS Chorus will perform “Scarborough Fair” ( English

Trad.) and “Message in a Bottle” by Police, and Natalie Near Ramirez will perform ( guitar and voice) "Daylight" by Maroon 5.

Real Rock n’ Roll musicians perform with unforgettable, undeniable, musical awe-someness for your little one. Preschool of Rock shows entertain by using original

tunes, hip-shakin' dance moves, and exciting instruments and props. We turn up the music without turning up the volume and every show is an educational, roof-raising celebration. Preschool of Rock per-forms birthday parties and parent and me classes in Riverdale and surrounding areas.

Professional Street Performers! Adam Auslander, Street Performer, Actor and Filmmaker, trained with the Ringling Bros Clown College and toured with their Red Unit on Gunther Gebel-Williams’ farewell tour. Since then his career high-lights include performing at Carne-gie Hall, Lincoln Center, annually

with the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade, the world renowned Halifax Buskers Festival, and the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit. His TV and film credits include Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien,The Rosie O'Donnell

Show, Saturday Night Live, Law & Order Criminal Intent and The Hoax. In the theater, he has been directed by David Shiner in Pomp Duck and Circumstance and Mark Ruffalo in Naked and Hate Free. His award winning film 'The Thin Blue Sign' can be seen on YouTube. adamaus@aol.com

Dawn Jones is an actress who entertains at parties, street fairs and special events for kids, adults, etc. Dawn is a clown, face painter, stilt walker, balloon animal maker, etc. Dawn is a graduate of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey

Circus Clown College and Northwestern University's theatre program. She is a veteran performer and has been enter-

taining at parties since 2000. Send in the Clowns!

Exhibits & Merchant Specials

Kidaroo will be hosting Scribble Art, Pumpkin Decorating and more right in the middle of the block. John's Botany Bay will be holding flower arranging classes and will decorate the block with beautiful fall decorations.

Baby It's You will hold a fundraiser for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. They will also have a Melissa & Doug Rep., a

Magician and special shopping sales all day during the festival. Riverdale Midtown Physical Therapy will give away tote bags and ice packs and will be hosting a free 'enter to win" massage

and stretch session. DJ Drugs will have a clown, face painting and will decorate the block with 300 balloons!

Enjoy soft Instrumental music at the Corner Cafe & Flamenco Dancers at Tin Marin.

Look for the Popcorn Pawz Truck with a a Free Dog Food Giveaway & for the Tiny's Diner classic car out front and lots of

great food offerings for the day!

Get a 10% Discount at Designers Corner, JJ Vineyards (wine) and Palombo's when you mention their festival booklet ads.

The Whole You Spa will be offering discounts on its popular massages and facials (see flyer in this booklet for more details),

as well as a chance to meet with acupuncturist Gregory Kuperman for a free consultation.

Larry The Locksmith and Hardware will have a raffle and the prize will be a shopping cart full of gifts!

Exhibits & Merchant Specials

Come on into Curves for a free Fitness Assessment and tour, plus a complimentary body fat & BMI check ! All new members

that join on Sunday, September 29th will pay NO SERVICE FEE and will get a FREE Curves Bag! Be sure to stop in and see how Curves is strengthening millions of women everyday. Find out more about our Curves Complete program...the whole solution that makes burning fat as easy as 1,2,3 with our Exercise, Meal Plan & Coaching all in one place! Plus our exciting "Curves Circuit with Zumba" classes. Curves is a complete Cardio & Strength-Training workout in just 30 minutes, where you can burn up to 500 calories every time!

Real Estate Exhibit at Sotheby’s International Realty – Excep-tional real estate photography of the most striking homes in our

collection. Imagery presents a stunning first impression of a home. Visit our window exhibit and high resolution flat screen display of exclusive homes in Riverdale and around the world. Complimentary first time home buyer packages, mortgage and interest rate up-dates and real estate information available. Stop by the Sotheby’s International Realty office at 3732 Riverdale Avenue and inquire within.

Luke Montgomery runs Kids Rock U, which features the Music for Aardvarks children's music program for Riverdale and the

Bronx. He has been holding music classes in the lower level studio at Sotheby's International Realty at 3732 Riverdale Avenue for two years now, and in that time membership has grown into the hundreds of families. Children 0-5 and their parents love singing, dancing, and jamming out on the instruments his classes provide. He is a lifelong professional musician who happens to genuinely like children, so this is the perfect "gig" for him. Attend a complimentary class today at 2:00 pm. kidsrocku@gmail.com.

Team KRVC!

Building a Better Community

1 Block at a Time!

Today marks KRVC’s ninth block festival in just under three years! These festivals have evolved into enormous events, which have been supported by more than 100 businesses and organizations, attended by thousands of people from and outside our community and covered extensively by the media.

This is the third festival KRVC has organized on South Riverdale Avenue. Each of these festivals was only possible through the generous support of the South Riverdale Avenue Merchants Association and its members. For this one, we held three planning meetings together and worked closely to coordinate all the programming, fundraising (thank you to the sponsors!) and general planning. These meetings were also attended by representatives from our local elected official’s office and Community Board 8.

This was the first festival we planned using our new website as a key tool for our promotion and sponsorship recognition. The festival was profiled on the website with detailed descriptions of all of the day’s offerings ,including a page with business exhibits. The festival sponsors are acknowledged several places on the website and profiled in the business directory section of the website.

www.krvcdc.org

Team KRVC (cont.) Key Festival Organizers Include:

Serving her community has always been Tracy McCabe Shelton’s passion. In April 2010, Tracy took over as KRVC’s Executive Director with extensive experience in the public interest and strong community ties and involvement. In her three year plus tenure at KRVC, she has developed an ambitious and extensive program of activi-ties, initiatives and events for the organization and our community. Prior to becom-ing Executive Director of KRVC, for nearly two decades, Tracy worked for the New York Public Interest Research Group/NYPIRG as a Consumer Attorney. Tracy moved

to Riverdale in 2002 with her family. Tracy served as co-President of the Parents Association of PS 24 for four years (2005-2009) and as the Auction co-Chair for the Bronx High School of Science for two years (2012-2013). Tracy is also currently serving once again as co-President of the PS 24 Parents Association for the 2013-2014 school year. Tracy oversees all aspects of the planning, programming and fundraising for these festivals.

Linda Manning is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and actor. Most recently her screenplay Learning to Drive was the Grand Prize winner of 2013 StoryPros Awards Screenplay Contest. In June of this year she played the role of Kim in a new feature film, Subways, produced by Novo Novus Productions. Her new play, Bite The Apple, was produced in August, 2012 as part of the New York International Fringe Festival. The play was developed and staged in February 2011 as part of the New Adaptations for the Stage workshop at The Directors

Company in NYC. In 2011 she received a BRIO Award from the Bronx Council on the Arts for her screenplay Learning to Drive. In 2007 her play GUY was a semi-finalist for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference. Linda has been a resident of Riverdale for fourteen years and has been actively involved in the community through volunteer work at her children's schools and other community events. In the spring of 2010 Linda began producing and hosting a regular jazz series in Riverdale. www.LindasJazzNights.com. Linda works with KRVC to produce community events in the Bronx as an Entertainment Consultant. Her primary responsible for these festivals is the programming—live music and street performers.

Farrah Rubin grew up in Riverdale, attending Riverdale Country Day School . She returned 14 years ago and lives here with her husband and two children. Farrah has over 20 years of experience in the garment industry. She ran the family busi-ness, Silk Club, specializing in Men's and Woman's clothing. Farrah was responsible for many facets of the business including Sales, Design, Product Development, and business management. After 20 years in the business, Farrah took time off to dedi-cate to her kids, their school, and the Riverdale community. Farrah is the current

PA Co-President at her kid's school PS 24. Her focus is on doing fundraising for enrichment programs, grant proposals, event planning, installing new Green Initiatives at the school, and Community Out-reach. Farrah also serves as the Treasurer for the Board of Directors of KRVC and for these festivals she focuses on fundraising and sponsor development.

Shari Hall, Program Assistant, joined KRVC in October 2008 with a public relations and marketing background. Ms. Hall currently manages the day-to-day operations of KRVC. A former Kingsbridge native who moved out of the area and then returned to Riverdale to raise her family of two daughters, Ms. Hall is very committed to our community. Both of Ms. Hall’s daughters are PS 81 graduates. In addition to her personal and nostalgic interest, Ms. Hall is also vested in revitalizing this neighbor-

hood so it continues to be a viable place to live in the Bronx. She believes that preservation and development of the local stores, businesses and schools are vital to the survival of any commu-nity. Through the efforts of KRVC and like-minded organizations, she hopes we can obtain this goal. Shari handles logistics and permitting for these festivals.

Thank you State Senator Jeff Klein!

We are grateful to the support we receive from all our sponsors, elected officials, Community Board 8 and the 50th Precinct. These festivals would not be possible without that broad base of support. However, State Senator Jeff Klein stands out as a huge supporter of our work. He recently allocated $100,000 in capital funding which will enable KRVC to purchase a portable stage, sound system, inflatable rides, tents, popcorn and candy machines, etc. for our festivals. With this funding, we have already purchased a giant 20 foot movie screen, which we used this summer for our movie night series. The funding will even enable KRVC to purchase a large vehicle where we can store and transport all of our new equipment!

Photos taken at our July 2013 movie night in Vinmont Park in North Riverdale where we debuted the movie screen KRVC was able to purchase with Senator Klein’s generous funding allocation.

Please Support Our Sponsors!

Nearly every business on the block and some off-the-block businesses sponsored or supported today’s festival. Please check out their ads on the

pages that follow and their stores and exhibits at the festival today.

Eat, Shop, Bank, Play LOCAL! Enjoy all our local businesses have to offer

today, and all year long.

A Strong Business Community = A Strong Community

For this Festival, we are so grateful to all our

sponsors including:

Linda's Jazz Nights, Corner Cafe, Pizza Plus, Yo Burger, Salvatore's of Soho, Sotheby's International Realty,

State Senator Jeff Klein, Larry the Locksmith, Kidaroo, John's Botany Bay, Citibank, Designers Corner,

Tiny's Diner, DJ Drugs, Radioland, Riverdale Midtown Physical Therapy, Curves, The Whole You Spa, Riverdale Hebrew Books and Gifts, Ha-Makolet, Palombo Bakery,

Greek Express, Tin Marin, Chase, Ginger Grill, Pretty Please, Popcorn Pawz, Wells Fargo, Baby It’s You,

Riverdale Nursery School, An Beal Bocht Café, Riverdale Veterinary Group, JJ Vineyards and Weichert, Realtors-House & Home.