On Thursday, October 2, 2014 at 7pm, Pen and Paint Coffee House will take place in the Orange County Trust Company Great Room at Kaplan Hall, SUNY Orange, located at the corner of Grand and First Streets, Newburgh. Sponsored by Martha Café and TasKafé, the evening event will feature poetry, art, music, and coffee house-style refreshments.

Pen and Paint Coffee House will center on readings of original poetry by Sandra Graff, coordinated with multimedia images of paintings by Barbara Graff.  Literary and visual art by the two sisters is currently on view in the Pen and Paintexhibit in the Mindy Ross Gallery, and the Coffee House will serve as a closing reception for the show. Some of Sandra Graff’s SUNY Orange students will also read selections from their own original poetry inspired by the art in the gallery.  In addition, music thematically related to the poems and paintings will be performed by guitarist Jeff Allyn Szwast and vocalists Master Michael Quinnand Danielle Cardona.

Guests will be seated at round tables throughout the room, and may enjoy freshly baked treats provided by Martha Café a Fresh Eatery of Liberty St., Newburgh and free trade organic roasted coffee by Tas Kafé, Main St., Beacon.

A book signing by Sandra Graff will follow the presentation while the musicians continue to play, and guests may mingle in the Mindy Ross Gallery and Foyer and the Great Room.
Sandra Graff is an associate professor of English at SUNY Orange and a published poet.  She has two chapbooks to her credit, This Big Dress and Girl in Garden. Many of her poems can be found in these literary and arts publications: Rhino Poetry Journal, Georgetown Review, Blueline, The Fourth River, Home Planet News, and Copperfield Review.  Barbara Graff’s oils and acrylics with mixed media works have been shown in many venues in the Hudson Valley and the New York metropolitan area. In addition to her fine art, she has worked as a mannequin make-up specialist in the fashion industry in NYC.
This Cultural Affairs program is open to the public and admission is free.   For more information, send an email to cultural@sunyorange.edu, call (845) 341-9386, or check out the SUNY Orange website at: www.sunyorange.edu/culturalaffairs. Free and secure parking is available in the Kaplan Hall garage accessible from First Street.