By Barrett Seaman–
One of the many roles the Rivertowns Chamber of Commerce plays is as cheerleader for new businesses that open in any one of the four villages it covers. Thus, an important physical asset of the chamber is a giant pair of red-handled scissors trotted out by either chamber president Danielle Centofanti-Davidson or another chamber official for ribbon-cutting ceremonies celebrating the “grand opening” of new enterprises.
It happened again Friday afternoon in Irvington, at the beginning of a full-throated weekend of pre-Halloween events up and down the rivertown villages. Lindsay Gerspach’s fitness spa-cum-gathering spot with a small retail component on the ground floor of the Trent Building, called “The Lark,” was the scene of another such occasion.

Gerspach describes her airy space as “a unique blend of fitness classes, community events, and a curated retail shop. Her marketing tag, stenciled on the glass front door: “Modern Fitness Meets Social Sanctuary.”
Those interested in sampling The Lark’s offerings were invited back on Saturday for “free fitness classes, wellness services, brunch bites from local establishments and a showcase of female-owned jewelry and apparel brands.
These “Grand Openings” invariably draw local politicians who present the new entrepreneurs with citations, as 92nd District Assembly member MaryJane Shimsky did at The Lark.

The celebration the next day at Irvington’s Savvy Sips Wine & Spirits at 50 Main Street was not an opening per se but a first birthday party for Rachel Tieger’s emporium that specializes in organic wines. Customers paused from tasting wine to watch Centofanti-Davidson, Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins and Assemblywoman Shimsky present Tieger with proclamations from their respective branches of government. “Opening a new business,” Shimsky observed, was
“something like a prayer,” or said another way, a leap of faith.
The event at Savvy Sips was Centofanti-Davidson’s third in 19 hours, she said. The party ran from 1:00 p.m. on into the evening, with different tasting sessions, live music and “raffles, discounts, temporary tattoos, cocktail making, lively conversation and more!” The weekend also included a Halloween Block Party centered in the Main Street School parking lot and a hayride.
Not to be outdone, Dobbs Ferry is offering a full calendar of Halloween Happenings, starting with “downtown window painting on October 23 and ending with a post-Halloween “Pumpkin Smash” at the newly renovated Gould Park.

Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, the Ground Zero of the spook season, have their own entertainment offerings, including a Haunted Hayride, a “Trunk or Treat” event at the Tarrytown Waterfront, with an outdoor screening of Nightmare Before Christmas. Centerpiece of the schedule is the Sleepy Hollow High School Homecoming football game against Irvington, surrounded by events and parades running from the Friday night bonfire until the game ends on Saturday night.
The downside of all this activity is, as always, traffic. The advice from police: “Make alternative transportation arrangements if you can during the peak periods, or plan to arrive early and stay late.”
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