The Mt. Kisco-Bedford Times | April 9, 2026

Creatives express high hopes at Mt. Kisco Arts Council summit

By Carol Reif
Staff Writer

The Mount Kisco Arts Council has a ton going for it.

Now in its tenth year, the all-volunteer group started with a pop-up art gallery on South Moger Avenue and has since grown into a hub of community creativity that sponsors everything from concerts, open mic nights, and family events to hands-on workshops, art walks, writing/reading circles, fashion shows, and lectures.

But there’s one vital thing it’s lacking: a permanent place for its programs.

(It partners with schools, the library, local businesses, and civic organizations to bring art into everyday spaces.)

“Having no home is tough. It’s sooo tough,” emphasized president Jessica M. Colon at the organization’s very first arts summit.

Held in March at Monarca Restaurant, the gathering packed in a diverse group of individuals eager to share ideas, offer advice, and celebrate culture and connection.

The MKAC not only got to raise awareness about itself — it was able to make a pitch for more funding, brainstorm ways to improve publicity, and unveil its hopes for the future.

Colon told Halston Media that she loved “how excited people were, not only about what we’re doing but what we can do together.”

“At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about — community coming together and really doing good work,” she said.

MKAC treasurer Jean Farber was also pleased.

“It was exactly what I hoped it would be … and actually more,” she said, adding that “enthusiasm” about promoting and supporting the village’s art scene “has been building for the last couple of months” and spreading amongst multiple organizations.

“It’s a creative endeavor for all of us. We’re sharing. We’re helping. There’s great satisfaction in that,” Farber said.

Co-vice president Alex Smoller, a multi-instrumentalist performer, thought it was “cool” that everyone involved with the MKAC was able to bring in their own “backgrounds, interests, and unique perspectives and then lend them to the initiatives that we foster and promote.”

Mayor J. Michael Cindrich, and his wife, Linda — an artist in her own right — were among the attendees.

The village allocates $10,000 a year in its budget to support the MKAC.

But the mayor said coming up with more than that could be a “challenge,” especially in light of a number of major capital projects — think Preston Way Bridge and The Chase water tank — currently on the village’s to-do list.

Cindrich instead offered to have village staff help the MKAC apply for grants available through entities such as ArtsWestchester, the large private, nonprofit arts council in the state.

(Cindrich recalled that when his dad was in a band in the 1930s in a coal mining area of Pennsylvania — a “hard, desolate, difficult part of our country” — he used to “drive a Model T with his bass fiddle strapped to the running board.”)

The summit also gave folks the opportunity to network.

Duke Covone, founder of Rising Tide Music NY and now a Halston Media columnist, spoke about producing programs at K1 Speed, an indoor racing center in Mount Kisco with a performance space that hosts bands.

(He’d briefly picked up the guitar when The Beatles landed in America. Then it sat in a closet for 25 years. At 49, he started his own “garage band,” something his wife suggested that maybe he should have done at 19. “Now I’m a rock star,” Covone joked, so it shows that “it’s never too late.” You can read more about that in the Opinion section.)

Gerry “Ray” Mak, an artist who co-owns the Curio Room, a thriving independent bookstore/gallery, with partner Frog Wing, said the business would never have come to town without an arts council. He lives in Peekskill, where the arts are also a big thing.

Whenever there’s a call for volunteers, John Rhodes and his partner, Shonan Noronha, always seem to be front and center.

Rhodes, a member of the local historical society and Conservation Advisory Council, pitched an upcoming exhibit of tree art — celebrating both Arbor Day and Earth Day — at the library.

JoAnne Hochstein, president of the Northern Star Quilters Guild and the Emergency Shelter Partnership, expressed a desire for spots to exhibit fabric art and to host quilting lessons.

Emile Menasché, editor of The Mount Kisco Bedford Times, offered to help spread the word about MKBT doings through the newspaper’s events calendar. (Email him at mkbt@halstonmedia.com with “Fox Tracks” in the subject line.)

David McKay Wilson, a member of its vestry of St. Mark’s Church, praised its very popular candlelight concert series and monthly ballroom dances.

“That’s where the energy is in our town right now, the arts,” he said, adding that St. Mark’s is very happy to be able to continue collaborating with the council.

Village Trustee and jazz vocalist Tammy Brown was impressed by the variety of talented folks present.

“They’re either musicians, artists, writers or teachers,” she said. “We’ve thrown out a lot of ideas about how we can work together to bring some wonderful, wonderful experiences to this town.”

MKAC co-founder Lisa Abzun reminded the crowd that “all of these folks that you see are volunteers.”

“They put their hearts and beings and compassion for this community, the arts community, into what they do,” she said, urging people to support the MKAC in whatever way possible,” Abzun said. “Without them we can’t do anything.”

Chamber of Commerce president Ed Reilly agreed.

“This is a great group of people,” he said. “I think Mount Kisco has more volunteers per square mile than any other town in Westchester.”

Captions:

Mount Kisco Arts Council President Jessica Colon / Photos: Carol Reif

Gerry “Ray” Mak, owner of The Curio Room, and Lisa Abzun

Good to Know
For more information about the MKAC visit mountkiscoartscouncil.com.