CLOSE
Authors Posts by Press Release

Press Release

3859 POSTS 0 COMMENTS

by -
0 337
Owner Bernice Fehringer Photo from WMHO

Chocolate Works in Stony Brook has renamed and rebranded itself to Stony Brook Chocolate to connect to the destination of Stony Brook Village. 

With over thirty years of experience as a certified chocolatier, Bernice Fehringer has crafted Stony Brook Chocolate into a shop with treats for all ages. When she took ownership of the shop two years ago, Fehringer said it was always the goal “to incorporate ‘Stony Brook’ into the name of the shop. I felt that it would be my way of connecting to the community and adding to Stony Brook as a destination.”

Stony Brook Chocolate uses only pure milk and dark Belgium chocolate in their creations. Seasonal kits to decorate at home are available all year round. This February, take-home kits include twin chocolate hearts and milk chocolate lollipops that are accompanied by candy decorations. Also available are hot chocolate bombs in flavors like peppermint, peanut butter, white, dark and milk chocolate.

Stony Brook Chocolate is located at 143 Main Street in the Stony Brook Village Center. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, call their shop at 631-675-9366 or visit www.stonybrookchocolate.com.

by -
0 3943
METRO photo

Hearts abound on February 14, and few symbols (and gifts) are more widely associated with a holiday than heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are with Valentine’s Day.

Chocolates became trendy in the mid-19th century when the first chocolate bar was made by British company J.S. Fry & Sons by combining cacao powder with sugar and cacao butter to make a rich, melt-in-your-mouth treat that was markedly different than the gritty and greasy drinking chocolate that was losing popularity in Europe. Within a few years, competitor Cadbury introduced the first box of chocolates. It was called the “Fancy Box” and it didn’t take long to become wildly popular.

The marriage of chocolate and heart-shaped boxes seemed a natural progression, but the National Valentine Collectors Association says that heart-shaped boxes actually predate chocolate boxes. Various heart-shaped vessels, including “betrothal pendants” and silver boxes in the shape of hearts, were popularized a century earlier. There even were heart-shaped porcelain boxes as well as ones for sewing.

Having already introduced a chocolate box, Richard Cadbury marketed the first Valentine’s Day box in 1861. It was filled with delicious chocolates, and later could be saved as a keepsake to store special notes or other mementos, according to the North American Packaging Association. Furthermore, the gift fit with Victorian sensibilities in that it was demurely suggestive, NPR reports. Its introduction coincided perfectly with Valentine’s Day, which also soared in popularity around the same time.

Giving chocolate on Valentine’s Day also proved popular in North America. The American chocolate company Hershey’s introduced its Hershey’s Kisses in 1907, and in 1912 the Whitman’s Sampler arrived. In the 1920s, Russell Stover unveiled their own heart-shaped boxes, which today still include the “Red Foil Heart” and the “Secret Lace Heart.” Russell Stover has since become the No. 1 boxed chocolate brand in the United States. Today, more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes holding 58 million pounds of chocolate are sold each year and they have become a quintessential symbol of Valentine’s Day celebrations.

by -
0 92
Pixabay photo

Join the staff and volunteers at Sweetbriar Nature Center, 62 Eckernkamp Drive, Smithtown for an afternoon of close encounters with wildlife on March 7 (rescheduled from Feb. 14) from 1 to 3 p.m. Meet some of Sweetbriar’s cute and lovable animals, play an animal matching game in honor of Valentine’s Day,  and create a craft to remember the day.  There will be many photo opportunities. Fee is $10 per child/$5 for adults. For more information, call 931-979-6344 or visit www.sweetbriarnc.org.

by -
0 59
Auntie

This week’s shelter pet is 4-year-old Auntie currently up for adoption at the Smithtown Animal Shelter. 

This sweet mush of a girl was trapped as part of the shelter’s TNR program. She had a few kittens following her around that were assumed to be hers … until it was found she was already spayed!  This earned her the name Auntie because, well … who else would care for someone else’s children like they are her own? She is affectionate and outgoing and would love a home to call her own! 

If you are interested in meeting Auntie, please call ahead to schedule an hour to properly interact with her in the shelter’s Meet and Greet Room. She is microchipped and is up to date on her vaccines.

The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. Shelter operating hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the weekend. For more information, please call 631-360-7575 or visit www.smithtownanimalshelter.com.

by -
0 92
Jack Licitra & Camryn Quinlan. Photo from Staller Center

Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University and musician Jack Licitra team up once again to offer an uplifting and healing concert, virtually, on Monday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m.

Titled “Let the Music Heal Your Soul” the concert offers the usual funny songs and crazy antics while touching on some serious issues of loneliness for kids during the pandemic. Jack Licitra believes music is critical to healing and happiness. “Music can heal your soul,” says Licitra, “talking about all of the feelings, and singing about them, using yourself as the instrument, using hand movements and symbols, it can help to  heal your soul … it all helps kids get those feelings out in the open, and it shows them that they’re not alone.”

The Staller Center and Jack Licitra have paired up in the past to offer concerts through the Staller Center’s Outreach and Education Program at local nonprofits, libraries, and at the Staller Center itself. “There are a lot of other kids that feel disconnected from their friends … that’s why we wanted to offer this concert as a resource, to try to help them feel more connected to other kids that are feeling more alone than usual,” says Paul Newland, Outreach Director for the Staller Center for the Arts.

“Let the Music Heal Your Soul” by Jack Licitra and Friends uses music in a healing way by taking familiar melodies, rhythms, and chord progressions, to create a shared community consciousness. The concert features performances by Jack Licitra, Katie Monhan, Camryn Quinlan, and Brian Licitra.

Jack Licitra is a Sayville-based piano/hammond organ driven singer/songwriter; music educator; founder of the music-teaching studio South Bay Arts in Bayport. He has performed with some of the best musicians in the world such as Levon Helm, Jimmy Vivino and Bakithi Kumalo as well as opening shows for legends such as Richie Havens, Buckwheat Zydeco, Pinetop Perkins and even playing for then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

The concert is free and registration is required by visiting www.stallercenter.com/outreach.

 

by -
0 62
Alexander Boyce
Renowned Magician Alexander Boyce to perform in Valentine’s Day Fundraiser

The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum in Centerport will present Alexander Boyce’s Virtual Magic Show on Sunday, February 14 via Zoom from 7 to 8 p.m. Boyce, a renowned magician, performs a fun, live, interactive sleight-of-hand and mind-reading event. Guests will need a deck of cards and some coins on hand if they want to participate.

 Boyce has performed on national television, at The Magic Castle in Hollywood, and was featured recently in The New York Times. The Times has called Boyce “sophisticated.” The Philadelphia Inquirer said he is “enchanting.” The recent New York University graduate also performed in the long-running hit Speakeasy Magick at the McKittrick Hotel in New York City.

Actor Neil Patrick Harris, third from left, speaks with Alexander Boyce, back to camera. Photo by Bjorn Bolinder.

“I’ve spent the last several years touring the world sharing unique magic for the likes of Neil Patrick Harris, Jimmy Fallon, and Daniel Craig,” Boyce said. “I’ve worked wonders as a magician for clients like Amazon, Google, and NASDAQ at New York City institutions including The Friars Club, The Players Club, and The Rainbow Room.”

Time Out New York called the show, “highly skilled close-up magic that really leaves you gasping with wonder.” Recently, Boyce was one of the first American magicians to be invited to entertain in Cuba since the revolution.

Tickets for the fundraising event are $40 for Vanderbilt Museum members, $45 for non-members. Each ticket is good for one household. To order, please visit www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

by -
0 379
1 of 4

A 42-year-old pastor from Long Island gets a special thank you from a New York Jets legend after battling COVID-19 at Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH).

At the height of the pandemic, Doug Jansson organized prayer parades with his church, Living Word Church, at a few locations on Long Island, including Stony Brook University Hospital, where his mother-in-law was being treated for COVID-19 back in March. Doug, his wife Kelly and members of their church would drive around the hospital, signs and all, and stop to pray for staff and the patients they were treating. Their kindness didn’t stop there as they even organized grocery donations and drop-offs across Long Island.

Things came full circle on December 12, 2020 when Doug was admitted to SBUH after testing positive for COVID-19. Doug wound up in the ICU and on Christmas Eve he was intubated and placed on life support. The people he had been praying for were now caring for him.

Led by Dr. Paul Strachan and Dr. Allison McLarty, staff from nearly every division and department at SBUH helped care for Doug. Teams in pulmonary, CT surgery, ID, Medicine, Psychiatry/palliative care, GI, Hematology, Cardiology, Vascular and more helped on his road to recovery.

Doug was taken off ECMO on December 29 and extubated on January 5, 2021 before being discharged on February 3, 2021. He and his wife say the staff of every unit became like family and it seemed that the entire hospital was involved and routing for his recovery.

“The staff at Stony Brook were fighting for Doug and rooting him on. They were so encouraging to us. I am speechless over the care we’ve received,” said Kelly Jansson.

Rob Nocito, a resident in Emergency Medicine at SBUH, was one of the physicians who assisted in taking Doug off the ventilator. Nocito noticed Jansson was a hardcore New York Jets fan from the team’s memorabilia hanging in his room. Nocito happens to be good friends with Erik Coleman, a former defender on the Jets. He gave Coleman a call and he quickly agreed to talk to Jansson.

“My job is to make people feel better, and that doesn’t always mean medicine,” said Nocito.

Jansson was speechless as he met the NFL star via FaceTime. Coleman wished Jansson well and thanked him for everything he has done. See the moment here.

His wife Kelly couldn’t believe somebody would be so kind and do this for him. “We are so grateful to the staff at Stony Brook. They go above and beyond every single day,” she said.

As Doug was discharged, staff lined the hallways to wish him well.

Doug now looks forward to returning home to his wife and three children as well as getting back to the work he loves with his church.

Photos courtesy of SBUH

by -
0 103
Gabriella Hassilidine

Suffolk County Community College has nominated four outstanding students for the prestigious State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, the College announced.

The SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence recognizes students for outstanding achievements and who best demonstrate the integration of SUNY excellence within many aspects of their lives, which must include three of the following areas: academics, leadership, campus involvement, community service, or the arts (creative performing). 

 Last year only 213 SUNY students of more than 415,000 system-wide were recognized with the honor. SUNY will announce the award recipients later this month.

 Suffolk County Community College’s SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence nominees are:

Leenna Rutigliano

Leeanna Rutigliano

A Child Study Education major from Medford, Leeanna has a 4.0 grade point average and has earned Dean’s List recognition every semester for the last two years. Leeanna serves as President of Phi Theta Kappa’s Alpha Zeta Nu Chapter; is a Division 1 Finalist Oberndorf Scholar, and member of Suffolk’s College Choir. 

 

Imani Ackerman

Imani Ackerman

A Liberal Arts major from Center Moriches, Imani has a 3.8 grade point average and has earned Dean’s List recognition every semester for the last two years. Imani has been awarded numerous scholarships such as the John Speirs Memorial, Laura Provenzano, Astor Scholarship, and the SUNY Suffolk Rising Black Scholar. 

 

Gabriella Hassilidine

Gabriella Hassildine

A Liberal Arts General Studies major from Mattituck, Gabriella has a 4.0 grade point average and has earned Dean’s List recognition every semester for the last two years. Gabriella has served as president of the Music Club, president of the Honors Club, and as an Orientation Leader. 

 

Amrita Deonanan

Amrita Deonanan

A Business Administration major from Brentwood, Amrita has a 4.0 grade point average and has earned Dean’s List recognition every semester for the last two years. Amrita serves as a Peer Mentor, chief financial officer of the Student Government Association, and assistant editor of the Western Student Press.

by -
0 139
Photo from the Town of Smithtown Youth Bureau

The Town of Smithtown Youth Bureau announces a variety of upcoming youth and young adult programs planned for the month of February.

In partnership with Microsoft-Huntington Station, the Youth Bureau will offer three programs in February. On February 16th, the Rock Your LinkedIn Profile Workshop will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. virtually. Participants will learn exactly how to build their online brand, grow and engage a LinkedIn network, and sharpen a basic resume.

On Wednesday, February 17th, the Minecraft Hour of Code Workshop will be held from 11 a.m. to noon virtually. Students ages eight and older will have fun learning and being inspired by Minecraft, computer science and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Using the power of code and AI, students will learn to program a character to prevent forest fires and regrow a forest.

On February 18th, middle and high school students are invited to participate in the Black History Museum: Virtual Museum Experience from 3 to 4:30 p.m.. Students will virtually visit this museum and learn about the Freedom Riders in the 1960’s, and the work they did to protest segregation in public transportation. After the event, students can email the Youth Bureau and request a Town Certificate of Community Service Credit for participation.

The Youth Bureau will have a live virtual encounter with the butterflies and bugs of the Long Island Aquarium on February 19th from 10 to 10:40 a.m.. This free program is limited to 30 participants.

On Friday, February 23rd, there will be a District 7255 Virtual Student Interact Meeting for any students interested in learning more about the Interact Club’s community service and leadership opportunities. This meeting will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Interact Clubs organize at least two projects every year, one that helps their school or community, and one that promotes international understanding. Rotary Club adults sponsor, mentor, and guide Interactors as they carry out projects and develop leadership skills.

The Choosing Your College: How to do an Effective College Search Webinar will be held for students and parents on Thursday, February 25th from 6PM to 7PM. Topics that will be covered include when to begin thinking about your college list, making big decisions such as choosing a major, do’s and don’ts for choosing schools, college characteristics to consider, and effective college search engines and how to use them. A question and answer session will be held at the end.

Finally, the Town of Smithtown Youth Bureau is conducting a Community Needs Assessment Survey from February through April of 2021. Feedback from the brief survey will allow the Youth Bureau to effectively plan programs for the remainder of 2021. All survey participants (students and adults) will be entered into a gift certificate raffle for the month, and the winner will receive a $30 Grubhub gift card. The raffle winner for February’s survey respondents will be announced in March.

For more information on any of these programs, or to register, call the Youth Bureau at (631)360-7595, or view the Youth Bureau’s monthly newsletter here.

by -
0 607
Mouhamadou Gueye (#2) produced a career-high scoring output last Sunday against UMBC.

The Stony Brook men’s basketball team is now in the midst of crunch time as it aims to maximize its seeding in the America East Tournament.

Unfortunately for the Seawolves, they dropped the first of four straight games against the conference’s top placeholders, falling to UMBC, 71-65, on Feb. 7 at Island Federal Arena.

Stony Brook (8-9, 6-5 AE) slipped two games in the loss column behind UMBC (12-4, 8-3) and Vermont (7-3, 7-3) for the conference’s leading positions. The top two finishers earn byes into the America East semifinals, while the third and fourth seeds will host opening-round pods in the 10-team tourney.

UMBC shot 46.7 percent from three-point range before intermission (7-for-15) and built a 16-point advantage early in the second half.

“I think the experience factor was enormous,” Stony Brook coach Geno Ford said. “They came out at the start of the game, understood the intensity level when you’re playing for first place, and we played like an inexperienced bunch of new guys, who would like to win, but aren’t necessarily playing hard enough early.”

Mouhamadou Gueye paced Stony Brook with 17 points and eight blocks — both career highs, and the latter figure one shy of matching Jameel Warney’s program record, set in 2015 against Princeton. The scoring total supplanted a 16-point performance against Binghamton on Jan. 22, 2020 for his career high. Gueye now has 120 career blocks, matching Greg Angrum (1980-84) for fifth on the program’s all-time list.

Juan Felix Rodriguez (17 points) and Tykei Greene (11) also scored in double-figures.

A pair of free throws from Gueye and a driving layup from Rodriguez pulled the Seawolves within 49-45 and prompted a timeout from UMBC with 12 minutes remaining in the game. 

When play resumed, Jordan McKenzie produced a steal and Greene converted a driving layup at the other end to continue Stony Brook’s 16-2 run.

LJ Owens stopped UMBC’s hemorrhaging with a three-point play and the Retrievers managed to hold off Stony Brook the rest of the way.

“I’ll give our guys a lot of credit,” Ford said. “In the first half, I thought we played on our heels. And at halftime we really challenged them hard about their effort and energy level. And in the second half I thought we were fantastic. We played well enough to win for 20 minutes, but they played well enough to win for 40.”

The Seawolves played without leading perimeter threat Frankie Policelli.

Policelli, who is averaging 11.3 points per game and a team-leading .348 shooting percentage from three-point range, had aggravated a nagging hip issue late in in last Sunday’s 63-49 win against Hartford.

Still, Ford noted the Seawolves shot 13-for-34 inside the paint on Sunday.

“That is, to me, what sputtered the offense,” Ford said. “They pack the paint so hard that they force you to shoot threes. We have two or three guys out there that they’re just blatantly not guarding. They’re just standing in the lane, off of them.” 

Stony Brook and UMBC met again on Feb. 8 but the Seawolves fell again 60-48. The team heads to Vermont next weekend for a critical two-game showdown against the second-place Catamounts.

Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

Prev1...374375376...386Next Page 375 of 386
TBR News Media is your local news and entertainment website.
We provide you with the latest breaking news and information for your community.
Contact us: [email protected]

Most Viewed

©