Hudson Valley Writers' Center Celebrates 20th Anniversary with Gala

7 p.m. Friday, September 19th, at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, Scarborough, NY

This year, the Hudson Valley Writers' Center's annual benefit is extra special as the Center celebrates 20 years of bringing the art and craft of writing to the Lower Hudson Valley.

At this year's Annual Autumn Celebration, on Friday, Sept. 19th at 7 p.m., the Center will honor writer Benjamin Cheever, writer/educator Brenda Connor-Bey and co-founder Donald Stever, for their long-term contributions to the success of HVWC. The evening will feature a special reading by former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins, who has been a supporter of the Center for many years. The Katonah Studio Jazz Band will play throughout the evening.

The silent auction will pay tribute to some of the region's more unique and interesting creative endeavors and institutions. Featured lots include:

• A restaurant romp through Peekskill, the city known as "The Gem of the Hudson." HVWC volunteers have worked with some of Peekskill's respected restaurateurs to put together a package that includes gift certificates from Kathleen's Tea Room, Henry's on the Hudson, Ruben's Café and 12 Grapes.
• Season tickets to Talk Cinema at the Jacob Burns Center. World-recognized Talk Cinema provides cinema lovers a chance to see the latest in independent movies before they are released, and to discuss them as well with Harlan Jacobsen, one of the nation's leading film critics and theorists.
• An equine adventure in a horse-oriented package that includes riding lessons, a romantic carriage ride for two, a horse massage and other goodies.
• A full-family tour of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery by famed local historian James Logan. Winners will revel in a trip through the past that will include the graves of Washington Irving, a Revolutionary War general, and a chance to learn little-known facts about one of America's most historic places.
• Other items up for bid will include VIP tickets to the "Conan O'Brien" show at NBC, a Nambe vase, a Persian rug, family memberships to Lyndhurst and Historic Hudson Valley, tickets to a Joe Jackson concert at Tarrytown Music Hall, a golf foursome at the Hollow Brook Golf Club, a Bradford Renaissance portrait, a framed limited edition by Lynn Butler, a classic urn with flora and foliage from Goodspeed and Co., tickets to see David Sedaris at Paramount Center for the Arts, and dozens of additional items.

The Hudson Valley Writers' Center is a nonprofit organization that advances the art and craft of writing by encouraging readers and writers at all levels to participate in and enjoy the literary arts. The Center offers a variety of educational programs for professional and amateur writers, presents public readings by well-known and emerging authors, and undertakes community outreach efforts that bring literary and educational programs to children and groups with special needs.

Based in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., in the old Philipse Manor train station, HVWC serves more than 6,000 people annually. This year's event will both celebrate the Center's successes and generate revenues for future activities.

For more information, contact Jerri Lynn Fields at 914-332-5953.

Download a PDF file of the invitation and/or the response card, which contains ticket and journal advertising information:

• Invitation Side A
• Invitation Side B
• Response Card Side A
• Response Card Side B

You can also reserve your seat(s) or obtain additional information by calling us at (914) 332-5953 or e-mailing info@writerscenter.org. Payment can be made by cash, check, money order, Mastercard, or Visa, and can be sent to us at 300 Riverside Drive, Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591, or phoned in to 914-332-5953. Individual tickets are $225. All but approximately $90 of the ticket price is tax deductible.

If you would like an invitation and have not yet received one, please e-mail us or call us at (914) 332-5953.

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