Arts and leisure briefs

Wild for Wings will benefit wounded Marines Chester — GW’s American Burger will host a Wild for Wings party on Saturday, Sept. 25, to benefit America 4R Marines. Running from 4 to 8 p.m., the party will include wings, beer and live entertainment. A Marine Corps Tribute Bike will also be on display. Admission to the event is $20 at the door. Proceeds will fund backpacks full of supplies for wounded Marines in Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan. Once that goal is met, money raised will go to America 4R Marine’s 2010 Operation Merry Christmas. GW’s is located at 78 Brookside Ave. in Chester. For more information on Wild for Wings call Billy LoMeli at 492-1023 or Laurene Allen Sandstrom at 206-6725. Additional information is at www.America4RMarines.org. Fourteenth Amendment talk set for Sept. 29 at SUNY Orange Middletown — Richard A. Gerber, professor of history at Southern Connecticut University, will present a free lecture on the “The Fourteenth Amendment - Its Origins and Today” at SUNY Orange’s Gilman Center for International Education on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. Gerber will offers an examination of the genesis of the amendment and relates the issues of the latter half of the 19th century to current 21th century America. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1868 as a post-Civil War endeavor by the Republican Party to establish a multi-racial democracy in the former Confederate States following the Union victory. Both the origins of the movement to provide civil equality for four million African-American freed people and the intentions of the framers of the Amendment remain historically unclear. Call 341-4891 for more information. Arts Council sparks new series Washingtonville — Creative Contacts, a program that the Orange County Arts Council began in 2008, has added a new bi-monthly series, SPARK, with a debut event to be hosted by the Brotherhood Winery in Washingtonville on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at 6 p.m. Here’s how it works. Artists will submit a brief description (500 words or less) of their project by Tuesday at noon prior to the event on Wednesday. Everyone pays $10 and gets to have a meal (something simple like soup and bread). Proposals are distributed to the attendees and then artists will be given 2 to 3 minutes to talk or give a presentation about their project. All those in attendance will then vote for their favorite project and the winner gets the proceeds to assist with the project. The number of people there determines the amount of money awarded The event is sponsored by Frontier Communications. For more information about SPARK or the council, contact Susan Linn at 469-9168 or www.ocartscouncil.org. Music and Arts Festival set for Tuxedo Ridge on Oct. 1 and 2 Tuxedo — The fourth annual Music and Arts Festival at Tuxedo Ridge Ski Center will be held Oct. 1 and 2. The festival hosts the local and regional bands and has become a spotlight for Indie bands and artists. This year’s lineup includes Rob Cannillo and Friends, Sugarloaf Station, Evazan, The Reddan Brothers Band, Julia Haltigan, Barefoot Landing, Walt and Benzee from WTBQ, Sammy and Sara, Alec Philips, Kenny Bowles and others. The festival is free, but “free will” donations will be accepted to benefit www.spectrumforliving.org. Singer-songwriter Rob Cannillo, founder of Rock the Mountain, raises money and awareness for Spectrum for Living, a home for adults with physical and mental handicaps, where his friend Vincent Busciliano lives. Organizers said the event will take place rain or shine, is pet friendly and is for all ages. Guests should bring blankets and chairs; no outside food or beverages are permitted. Visit www.Robandfriends.com or call 351-1122 for more information. Polish dinner to be held Oct. 2 at Florida Presbyterian Church Florida — A Polish dinner will be served at the Florida Presbyterian Church. on Saturday, Oct. 2 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. “Lona O.” is cooking and the menu includes stuffed cabbage, mashed potatoes, and more as well as a dessert bar. If tickets are not purchased in advance seating cannot be guaranteed on the night of the event. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for children age five to 12 and can be purchased by calling 651-4310 or 651-4117. Clarinet concert set for Oct. 3 at the West Point Jewish Chapel West Point - Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Geller will present a free clarinet recital on Sunday, Oct. 3, at 3 p.m. in the Jewish Chapel as part of the West Point Band’s Chamber Recital Series called “Voices of the Clarinet.” Call 938-2617 for more information. Oct. 2 lecture will focus on indigenous plants MIDDLETOWN — Author and professor Dr. Douglas W. Tallamy will deliver the keynote lecture “Bringing Home Nature” during a daylong forum entitled “Our National Heritage — The Value and Necessity of Indigenous Plants and Animals” offered by SUNY Orange from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 2 in Orange Hall Gallery on its Middletown campus. Tallamy, author of “Bringing Nature Home - How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants,” is professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware. The Oct. 2 event kicks off a month-long focus by SUNY Orange on local environmental topics that will include lectures and presentations on sustaining native forests (Oct. 7), designing gardens with local flora (Oct. 13), attracting native birds with plants (Oct. 20), and creating winter gardens (Oct. 25). For more information call 341-4891 or e-mail cultural@sunyorange.edu. Information may also be found at www.sunyorange.edu/culturalaffairs. Watercolor workshop will be held in the Village of Florida during October florida — The Northeast Watercolor Society is sponsoring its annual watercolor workshop, “Watercolor Essentials,” in Florida from Oct. 18 to 21 at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Main Street. Robert J. O’Brien will lead the class and focus on the essential techniques necessary to produce a good watercolor painting. Students will explore composition and value patterns and their relationship to the painting process. To learn more about O’Brien and view examples of his work, visit www.rjobrien.com. Subject matter will include landscapes, florals, and close focus motifs. Critiques will be held and class discussion will be encouraged. For fees and to register call Richard Price at 607-637-3412; or e-mail: info@northeastws.com. www.northeastws.com.