A community rally to denounce the separation of migrant families at the U.S. border and advocate for their reunification will take place Saturday, June 30, at Mitchell Park in Greenport.
The North Fork Spanish Apostolate is sponsoring the #FamiliesBelongTogether gathering, which will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. READ
Friday was a particularly grueling day for Joyce Holzapfel, who spent five hours interviewing four candidates for the William Steeple Davis Trust’s year-long artist-in-residence program — and that’s not just because the process took so long. READ
Freelance photographer and videographer Randee Daddona with the Emmy award she received Saturday. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
The work of photojournalist Randee Daddona first landed on the cover of a New York City tabloid at the tender age of 13.
Then a student at Mark Twain Junior High School for the Gifted and Talented in Coney Island, Ms. Daddona (née Post) and her classmates were on a field trip in Brooklyn when they stumbled upon some breaking news: An unlicensed driver had just backed into a mounted police officer, pinning him and his horse between her bumper and a parked taxi. The troupe of aspiring photographers saw an opportunity in calamity.
“We were like, ‘Wow, here’s an assignment,’ ” Ms. Daddona recalled. “The Daily News was there. They were enthusiastic about us taking pictures.”
The police officer wasn’t seriously injured, but the story made page one of the April 27, 1976, edition of the newspaper and featured a quote from Randee Post.
“I told them, ‘Wow, I’ve never been under so much pressure before,’ ” Ms. Daddona, 52, said during a recent interview outside North Fork Roasting Co. in Southold. “I told them I was used to taking pictures of bums and homeless people.”
Nearly four decades later, Ms. Daddona, a regular contributor to Newsday who also shoots for Times Review Media Group and Edible East End, is still in the game and producing some of the region’s best photojournalism.
On Saturday, Ms. Daddona took home a New York Emmy in the best lifestyle feature category at the New York chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ annual awards ceremony at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. She was honored for a Newsday video she made about North Fork Sea Salt owners Scott and Kassata Bollman. The piece was shot in Cutchogue and she shares the award with Newsday assistant managing editor Arnold Miller and video editor Jeff Basinger.
East End Arts School new director Diane Giardi on the porch of the school last week. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
An artist with a holistic approach to lesson planning has been named East End Arts’ newest education director.
Diane Giardi, who began work in the downtown Riverhead office last week, said she’s excited to help teachers prepare curriculums and to build relationships with local artists and community groups.
“One thing I’d like to incorporate is some text in courses — poetry and other aspects of writing and the narrative,” she said. “It would also be nice to bring a little more theater back.”
Brandon Boardman (at piano) and his teacher, Billy Johnson, perform at the Long Island Music Hall of Fame Gala on Oct. 23. Mr. Boardman, a Riverhead resident who has Asperger’s syndrome, received a standing ovation following the performance. (Credit: Long Island Music Hall of Fame photos)
You won’t see Brandon Boardman using sheet music when he plays piano. That’s because the 20-year-old Riverhead musician can bang out an entire tune — mistake-free — after hearing it just once.
Mr. Boardman, who has Asperger Syndrome, was one of just a handful of performers to receive a standing ovation during last month’s Long Island Music Hall of Fame Gala at The Paramount in Huntington. (more…)