Thanks to All Who Made Our 50th Anniversary So Special

December first was our actual 50th Anniversary - to the day - and we celebrated with a full-facility event presented by Rivkin Radler, LLP. Our CAC Through the Decades 50th Anniversary Fundraising Series began in October and culminated on December first with a screening party attended by nearly 300! Guests selected one of three films, including a screening of LILITH, the first film we ever showed, paired with a rarely-screened short "That's Me' starring Alan Arkin - which was part of the first program ever presented by CAC! After the films, our whole building was decked out for a party, with looping presentations in each theatre, including a documentary about the Cinema Arts Centre directed by local filmmaker Glenn Andreiev. Beautiful roses filled our lobby and Sky Room, donated by Amy's of Huntington. Staff and volunteers passed h'orderves, donated by area restaurants including Bottles and Cases,Butera's Restaurant, Cafe Buenos Aires, Finley's of Green Street, Meehan's, Rust & Gold, and Vauxhall. Live music was performed by The Second Chance Jazz Band. There was a big raffle with prizes contributed by Bottles and Cases, Butera's Restaurant, the John W. Engeman Theater, Janice and David Groden, the Heckscher Museum of Art, Long Island Opera Night, Oheka Castle, The Paramount, Matt Roren, Sinequanon, The Staller Center, Studio G Pilates, and the Tilles Center.

CAC Board Co-Chair opened our evening program with thoughtful remarks, especially thanking our Board of Directors for their meaningful service, and then presented a rose to CAC Co-Founder and Co-Director Charlotte Sky who spoke to our guests about the incredible experience of bringing our independent community cinema through five decades of incomparable programming. CAC Co-Director Dylan Skolnick closed the program with special thanks to all our sponsors and supporters, including event sponsors, Rivkin Radler, LLP, Aboff's Paints, NXT Stages and Dorian Stern, Sinequanon, H2M, Minuteman Press of Huntington, ShopRite, Theodore's Books owned and operated by former Congressman Steve Israel, and Janice and David Groden.

We also are enormously grateful for the engagement of our 50th Anniversary Committee which included Brian Atkins, Laurie Butera, Martin Butera, Lissa De Angelis, Steve Fisch, Jude Schanzer, Anu Sharma Magee, Marcia Novack, Dorian Stern, Rene Bouchard, Ted Cavooris, Dylan Skolnick, and Charlotte Sky.

Raffle winners were announced, and all of our guests went home with our 50th Anniversary Keepsake Journal.

It was wonderful to see so many of our closest members and supporters at this event. Thanks to everyone who made it possible, and successful, having raised about $25,000 to support our programs and operations.

Your Gift Will Be Matched!

Every gift counts. In December, your gift counts twice! This month, the Alpern Family Foundation will match your gift to the 2023 Vic Skolnick Life of Our Cinema Campaign dollar-for-dollar up to a total of $20,000!

A recent study conducted by the Long Island Arts Alliance demonstrated that in 2022, arts and culture organizations like the Cinema Arts Centre generated $330 million dollars in economic activity on Long Island. The Cinema Arts Centre was responsible for over $7,000,000 of that activity according to Customized Economic Impact Calculator for Long Island Cultural Organizations. Your investment in the Cinema Arts Centre contributes to the economic health of our whole community.

Your contribution also helps us to present the widest range of film programs and cultural events possible, including about 400 special events every year in addition to first-run films in our three theaters, often showcasing local and emerging film artists.

Your contribution helps us to maintain our presence as a true community center where people can meet for discussion, connection, inspiration, and fun!

Your contribution helps us deliver program to thousands of public school students each year, and present workshops and educational programs for children and adults.

The Cinema Arts Centre brings cultural, social, educational, and economic benefits to our community. Your contribution makes it all possible.

Your gift today, matched by the Alpern Family Foundation, will help ensure that we can keep delivering our mission next year and for years to come.

Please consider making a gift today,, and THANK YOU!

CLICK HERE

P.S. If you already made your gift, thank you so much. We will send you a thank you letter as soon as it is received. Please consider sharing this email with a friend so they can join you in supporting our independent community cinema.

OUR NEXT CONVERSATION with CROSSING PARTY LINES:

TUE, DEC 19 · 7:00 PM EST

BYO _____________ !!

RSVP at LINK: https://www.meetup.com/crossing-party-lines-ny-long-island/events/297345639/

Time to mingle & celebrate at Crossing Party Lines - Long Island Holiday Party!

BYO ideas, thoughts, dreams, hopes & aspirations for how you want to grow our community. DO NOT bring your own beer, PLEASE BUY beer in the café and help support the cinema! Together we will celebrate our first year together and plan our way forward.

It has been almost a year since we started coming together for conversations, SAY WHAT!!! We engaged in 10 respectful discussions with Long Islanders participating from all across the political spectrum. The attendance (+ waitlists) on our meetups show we have a vibrant and growing chapter. Many of you have reached out to me with topic suggestions for upcoming months and some with new ideas of things we can do together as a group that include potential book / podcast clubs, film clubs, game nights, blog posts, social media campaigns, video series etc. So, for our December meetup, instead of a specific topic, we will host a freeform discussion about where our CPL-Long Island members want to take this forum in 2024.

This is a great time to bring your family & friends, especially those from across party lines, to give them a taste of our camaraderie and how we are helping rebuild a culture in which all views are welcomed, appreciated, and heard. For this event, we will expand our participant allowance and also bring hand-held mics so people can hear each other clearly.