On Tuesday, July 2nd at virtually the same exact time, Peekskill will celebrate its creative side at The Creatives Hangout at Gleason’s and its fashionable side with Lyn Slater at the First Tuesday Salon at the BeanRunner Cafe. 

The Creative Hangouts at Gleason’s

On Tuesday, July 2, from 6:30 – 8:30pm at Gleason’s, people will gather to hangout, share their creative ideas, network, and maybe even connect with someone who has similar interests and collaborate at The Creatives Hangout. 

A few months ago, Kristina Koller, founder of Hi-Top Productions which hosts South Street Jazz, came up with the idea to have an event where local people could connect and hopefully collaborate. “There are tons of networking events in this area but I noticed that there is never anything for creative people” Krisitna said. “I keep meeting so many creatives and I thought it was important to have something like this in Peekskill.” 

Krisitna quickly reached out and contacted Frederick Dennstedt, creator of Peekskill Exurbanist and co-founder of YAY! Markets, to help assist with promos via the Peekskill Exurbanist Instagram account. Fred thought it was a fantastic idea and such a great idea that he wanted to get involved beyond just sharing the event on The Weekender – a highlight of events each weekend in Peekskill.  “There’s so much creative talent in Peekskill but we saw there was no informal, low-pressure, and fun way to connect with other creatives in an environment made just for that — and thus The Creatives Hangout was born,“ said Dennstedt. 

The Creatives Hangout had their first event last month. Kristina and Fred were a little worried as they were not sure of how many people would show up. “We wanted to get at least 15 people gathered to call the event a success” said Koller. To their surprise, the inaugural Creative Hangouts event exceeded their expectations when they ended up hosting almost 50 people ranging from musicians, to photographers, actors, cinematographers, writers, comedians, interior designers, people in fashion and as Fred stated “we even had a knife maker show up!”

The event was such a success that the two immediately created a Facebook group and Discord for the events so everyone could connect with one another after each event. They then quickly went to work to create the second event which will be held this coming Tuesday.  

Tickets are $10 each. The event will have a raffle with items donated from local businesses to help with the event and to promote themselves. There will be prizes from Dylan’s Wine Cellar, the Peekskill Coffee House and Skinchanted Spa. There will also be fun games for everyone to connect comfortably. 

The organizers welcome anyone who considers themselves “creative”. “My dream is that the connections made at these events will be a catalyst for more art, performances, businesses, and other local manifestations of creativity that I haven’t even thought of yet. I think a place like Peekskill is a reflection of its people, so I love the idea of unearthing and connecting all the creative folks and seeing what impact they have on our town.” said Fred Dennstedt.

To get tickets to the event visit the Creatives Hangout on EventBrite by clicking this link.

First Tuesday Salon at the BeanRunner Cafe

This month at the First Tuesday Salon on July 2, from 6-8pm at the BeanRunner Cafe, the Salon welcomes Lyn Slater: the Ever-Evolving Accidental Icon. 

Lyn Slater is a writer, activist, social worker, former professor and serial reinventor. Throughout her 47-year career as a social worker she has creatively used performance, storytelling, photography, fashion, social media and the internet in the service of her advocacy work. 

In 2014, when Slater started a fashion blog at the age of 61, she instigated a change in how older persons were represented in the media as well as challenged stereotypes about what it means to be an older adult. At the height of her success, she walked away when her role became more about consumerism than culture change. She shares her experience in her memoir, “How to Be Old.” The book that was just released in March 2024, can be checked out from The Field Library through InterLibrary Loan, can be bought at local stores in the Peekskill/ Cortlandt area or online. 

Today Lyn writes on Substack, How to Be Old and a monthly column in The Peekskill Herald entitled How to Age Bold that seeks to engage residents of all ages in the project of making their city an age-friendly, sustainable community.

At the First Tuesday Salon, Lyn will share insights from her fascinating, recently published memoir, “How to Be Old” offering new ways to approach maturity and living fully at any age. In How to Be Old, Lyn Slater brings her characteristic style, optimism, forward-thinking, and rules-are-meant-to-be-broken attitude to the question of how to live boldly at any age. Lyn exemplifies that even with its unique challenges, being old is just like any new. beginning in life and can be the best and most invigorating of all life’s phases, full of rebellion and reinvention, connection and creativity.

Lyn, with her partner Calvin Lom, will describe Saturday mornings when they lived in the city, wearing something selected “for-the-moment” and searching out the grittiest urban corners for a photo shoot. These black and white photos, along with her fresh and candid blog became her entrée into social media renown, and the web of “influencers,” with hundreds of thousands of followers.  

Lyn will also help us look squarely at how our society assesses and compartmentalizes all of us based on age and how we can navigate its systems and conventions with vitality and humor as the unique individuals we are.

First Tuesday Salons are free and open to the public. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with Lyn and be part of a vibrant community conversation. To learn more about Lyn Slater, visit her website at Accidentalicon.com or follow her on Instagram at iconaccidental. Check out the BeanRunner Cafe at BeanRunnerCafe.com.