New Briefs: October 2025

“News Briefs” articles report on recent local arts and culture news stories in bite-sized pieces to keep readers informed of new local arts developments.

Choreographer Sidra Bell Honored With Yaddo Award

Westchester choreographer and dancer, Sidra Bell, is honored this month with an award from the renowned nonprofit Yaddo, an artist retreat in Saratoga Springs that encourages the creative process by providing a supportive environment for creation and expression. Bell, along with two other honorees – sculptor and writer Jill Viney and, posthumously, poet and author Langston Hughes. A celebration event hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Michael R. Jackson will take place in Manhattan on October 22.  Bell is recognized internationally for her dance theater company, Sidra Bell New York, of which she is the founder and artistic director. She has created works for esteemed institutions such as Ailey II and The Juilliard School, and was the first Black woman to choreograph for New York City Ballet. For upcoming dance performances throughout Westchester, click here.

ArtsWestchester Launches New Family Programming

ArtsWestchester has announced the launch of Second Saturdays, a new family-friendly program designed to provide visitors, especially children aged 5-12, with a deeper understanding of the themes on display in the gallery’s current exhibitions. On the second Saturday of each month, guests can participate in docent-led tours, activity sheets and hands-on workshops led by professional teaching artists. For instance, in the organization’s Meltdown: A Changing Climate exhibition, on view October 12, 2025 through January 11, 2026, artists respond to the potential impact of climate change on the future of our Hudson Valley region. As such, Second Saturday workshops will touch on these themes through projects like creating aquatic masks, crafting “water creatures,” and building sculptures from everyday waste like paper rolls and coffee filters (10/11); weaving an art piece that mimics water waves and creating abstract art (11/8); storytelling, learning printmaking and designing paper plate fish (12/3); and creating an underwater collage and paper jellyfish (1/10/26).

Walkabout Clearwater Coffeehouse Announces Shift to Saturday Afternoons

The Walkabout Clearwater Coffeehouse has announced a shift in its ongoing scheduling for its monthly concerts. Venturing into its 38^th season, the group will opt for Sunday matinee performances, a move away from its traditional Saturday evening concerts. The new season and new timeframe begins this month on October 19 with singer-songwriter Rod Macdonald, known for his folk style that incorporates sensibilities from rock, country, jazz and more. An audience singalong, the group’s “teachabout,” will precede the performance. The season continues through May 2026 with John McCutcheon (11/16), Windborne (1/18/26) and more. All concerts take place at Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation in White Plains.

African Art Museum Celebrates Grand Opening This Month

The Luangisa African Museum & Cultural Arts Center will celebrate its grand opening with a day of art, music and authentic cuisine in Mount Vernon on October 18. An opening day offers a live performance and workshop by Kauzeni Lyamba, a renowned composer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and music educator born and raised in Tanzania. A gift shop featuring African crafts, fashions and décor will be open during the event, as well as African hors d’oeuvres and refreshments for sale. The museum’s inaugural exhibition is Tree of Life, which showcases intricate wood carvings from the Makonde people of East Africa, on view October 19 through January 18. The museum will be open Thursdays through Sundays by appointment.

Caramoor’s Rosen House Concert Series Ushers in the Fall

At Caramoor, fall brings the music indoors, but the melodies and harmonies continue inside the historic Rosen House’s intimate Music Room. Its Rosen House Concert Series carries music lovers through the holidays and into the spring. This room, built by Caramoor’s founders, Walter T. and Lucie Bigelow Rosen, was built with chamber music in mind with a performance stage surrounded by artwork and furnishings of Renaissance and 18th-century Europe. The season offers jazz, roots, chamber, classical music and more, with an emphasis on emerging and underrepresented composers and performers with mentorship programs like Evnin Rising Stars and Schwab Vocal Rising Stars. It also shines a spotlight onrenowned and accomplished performers like renowned Rosanne Cash and viral vocalist Stella Cole (Oct 17). The season brings to Westchester award-winning musicians from around the world, including Djibouti-born French guitar virtuoso Raphaël Feuillâtre (10/26), German vocal quintet Amarcord (12/7), Irish band Goitse (3/20) and Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson (3/22).

You May Also Enjoy:

• Nearly Two Dozen 2025 Halloween Events in Westchester
• What’s Westchester Watching? October Edition
• Wit and Whimsy Unite at Rye Arts Center
• Performing Arts Center at Purchase Announces 2025-26 Lineup
• Dance Performances Take Center Stage in Westchester

_{Photos (top to bottom): Sidra Bell (photo courtesy of the artist); Second Saturdays (photo courtesy of the artist); John McCutcheon (photo source: folkmusic.com); Luangisa African Museum & Cultural Arts Center (graphic courtesy of Luangisa African Museum); Poiesis Quartet (photo credit: Eden Davis})