Your Waters, Your Melodies
On October 8, friends of HVWC gathered at Tappan Hill Mansion in Tarrytown for our 2026 Gala, Your Waters, Your Melodies; Celebrating the Power of Language in Concert with Our Natural World. Beautiful weather allowed us to start the evening with cocktails on the patio watching the sun set over the Hudson— a perfect kickoff to contemplate our theme and the achievements of our honorees: the extraordinary poet, vocalist, and Rumi translator Haleh Liza Gafori, and the vital organization Riverkeeper, led by President Tracy Brown.
Throughout the evening, we reflected on HVWC’s riverfront location as a source of literary inspiration, our commitment to the stewardship of our site, and the river as a life source to us all. We celebrated Riverkeeper and the organization’s growth under Tracy’s leadership, including creating visibility through storytelling techniques such as the colorful fish puppets of their Fish Migration Celebration (some of which also joined us at the cocktail reception). Tracy underscored the essential practice of artists bringing attention to environmental causes. Then, we saw the power of language and art in electrifying action as Haleh Liza Gafori read and sang her writing and translations, including her personal passion for the safeguarding of the Hudson.
Like the river, the sustainability of organizations devoted to the literary arts cannot be taken for granted. We gathered to collectively invest in HVWC’s commitment to writing, storytelling and creative expression— essential elements of our society that need protection. Thank you to all of our sponsors, HVWC’s Board of Directors, the 2026 Benefit Committee, and each and every individual who purchased a ticket and raised a paddle.
If you were not able to attend, it’s not too late to donate! Currently, thanks to the ArtsWestchester Challenge, any new donation or increased donation from an existing donor will be matched up to $7,000.
We are so grateful for your support, and for our shared belief in the essential art of the written and spoken word. And a special thank you to the following people who helped make the Gala happen:
The Hudson Valley Writers Center Board:
Ann Bookman, Garfield Charles, Brendan Condon, Jennifer Miller, Tom Mellana, Aubrey Moncrieffe, Michael Quattrone, Margo Taft Stever
The Gala Benefit Committee:
Ann Bookman, Elizabeth Bracken-Thompson, Alan and Marion Brown, Barbara Casey, Benjamin Hale Cheever, County Legislator Margaret A. Cunzio, Evelyn Hadad, Sleepy Hollow Village Mayor Marjorie Hsu, County Executive Kenneth Jenkins, Angelina Mak, Gail and Brian Payne, Clare Pierson and Peter Humphrey, Michael Prescott, Michael Quattrone, Shelley and Nick Robinson, Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky, Margo and Donald Stever, Heidi Torpey-Condon, and Westchester County Poet Laureate Phylisha Villanueva
Our 2026 Sponsors:
Champion: Peggy Dulany, Michael Quattrone
Sustainer: Margo and Donald Stever
Preservationist: Shelley and Nicholas A. Robinson
Advocate: Ann Bookman, Alan and Marion Brown, Brendan Condon & Heidi Torpey, The Herbert Hadad Family, Jennifer Miller, Clare Pierson, Riverkeeper, The Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Fund of the Sidney E. Frank Foundation
Beth Whitaker
Executive Director
Hudson Valley Writers Center
