Arts and leisure digest

Tuxedo High School hosts murder mystery pasta party fund raiser on March 25 Tuxedo - George F. Baker Tuxedo High School Interact Club and the Student Council are sponsoring a 1920’s murder mystery pasta party in appreciation of local senior citizens on Friday, March 25, from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission is free for seniors, $5 per adult or $20 for a family of five people. Tickets will be available at the door. Funds raised will benefit Heifer International Charities. Heifer uses the philosophy of “pay it forward” by purchasing farm animals for needy families, who then share their offspring with other local farmers. If you would like to make a donation, contact scabibbo@tuxedoschooldistrict.com or call 845-351-4786 ext. 2226. Castle Fun Center cancer society benefit is scheduled for this Sunday Chester — The Castle Fun Center is hosting an American Cancer Society benefit this Sunday, March 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. The entire $10 admission fee will be donated to The American Cancer Society on behalf of team member Johnny Buonanno, who was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He will be undergoing surgery and treatment on March 31. The admission fee includes: two hours of skating including rentals and “Johnny’s Skate-Off.” Raffle tickets will also be on sale. For more information, call 469-2116 or visit www.thecastlefuncenter.com Piano jazz summit comes to the Lycian Centre this Sunday Sugar Loaf — Three generations of solo virtuoso jazz pianists will come together this weekend at the Lycian Centre. This event, starring Cedar Walton, Jacky Terrasson and Hiromi Uehara, will take place this Sunday, March 27 at 7 p.m. Lycian officials said Walton is a hard pop jazz pianist and one of the most universally respected jazz pianists active today. His most recent honor was to be named the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master for 2010. For many decades, Walton has enjoyed an up tempo career, maintaining a non-stop itinerary of performances and recording dates. He has accompanied a plethora of jazz greats while also fronting his own successful groups. Terrasson, winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition and a two time Grammy nominee, was acclaimed by The New York Times Magazine as “one of 30 artists under the age of 30 most likely to make an impact on American culture in the next 30 years.” Terrasson has a complete understanding of the blues and improvisation. The Wall Street Journal has described him as “intoxicating...he marvelous Mr. Terrasson transforms familiar sounds into the stuff of gorgeous jazz”. Since her 2003 Telarc debut, Another Mind, keyboardist-composer Uehara has electrified audiences and critics on both hemispheres with a creative energy that defies the conventional parameters of jazz, Lycian officials said, and pushes musicianship and composition to levels of complexity and sophistication. Tickets are available by calling 469-2287. Art auction is April 3 Monroe — Congregation Eitz Chaim, the Monroe-Woodbury Jewish Community Center, will hold an art auction on Sunday, April 3, with a 5 p.m. preview and a 6 p.m. auction start time. There will be a 50/50 raffle, hors d’oeuvres, dessert and coffee, and beverages. Admission is $10 per person and $20 per couple. Credit cards are accepted for art purchases. The auction will feature art in all media and price ranges. Interested people can visit www.marlinart.com and any purchase made will be credited toward the Monroe- Woodbury Jewish Community Center when code 15342 is entered. For more information, call 783-7424. Community book swap is April 3 MONROE — The Monroe Temple will sponsor a book swap, open to the community, on Sunday April 3, 2011, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Organizers said the event is sponsored by the Temple Torah School and its Social Action Committee to highlight the commandment of “bal tashchit,” the importance of saving trees and the environment. In contemporary Judaism ,advocates often point to bal tashchit as an environmental principle. “Congregants were asked to donate gently used books over a period of four Sundays and received a coupon indicating the number of books which they gave,” said Debbie Evans, co-chair of the Torah School Committee. “We have collected in excess of 1,000 books and will donate any left over after the book swap to the local library, Orange Regional Medical Center and a homeless shelter,” added Evans. On April 3, congregants can redeem their coupons and take home the same number of books as they donated. The swap is also open to the community who can buy books for 50 cents each. “The book swap has benefits to the community as well as the temple,” said Evans. “In addition to keeping books in circulation, thus limiting the number of new books which need to be produced, community groups will receive books and members of the community will have the opportunity to purchase books.” For further information, call 783-2626 or e-mail to: mnrotmpl@frontiernet.net. 'The Yankles’ screens at the Downing Film Center this weekend Newburgh — The Orange County premiere of the award-winning film, “The Yankles” take place this weekend at the Downing Film Center in Newburgh. The film will be screened five times from Friday, March 25 through Monday, March 28. Organizers said the movie’s messages are universal. It’s about making mistakes and moving on, about living by principles and not passions. “The Yankles” is about real people with real problems and real needs. Ticket prices are $8.50, seniors and Students $7, members and under 16: $6. Call 561-3686 for show times or visit www.downingfilmcenter.com.