Business Notebook: ‘Queen for a Day' and Ladies Night Out

WARWICK-Right on the heels of a successful Annual Sidewalk Sale, the Warwick Merchants are gearing up for the next downtown business district event, "Ladies Night Out." The eighth annual "Ladies Night Out" is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 18, from 4-9 p.m. A rain date has been set for the following evening, Friday, Aug. 19. There are more details to follow, but co-chairs Barbara Laurence, president of the Merchants' Guild, and Style Counsel co-owner Tim Mullally are now busy finalizing plans. Visitors during Ladies Night Out will be treated to refreshments, music, entertainment, a Karaoke contest and dance demonstrations. Vendors who specialize in services of interest to the ladies will also be on hand. "There's an emphasis this year," said Laurence, "on women's health, wellness and beauty. And the vendors we've invited will feature these services." Although Ladies Night Out is still a few weeks away, it's not too early to talk about "Queen for a Day," one of the highlights of the annual event. Nominations may be submitted in ordinary letter or by using printed entries available at all participating merchants. The nominations should be dropped off at Style Counsel, 19 Main St., no later than Friday, Aug. 12. "Queen for a Day," is an opportunity for a special lady to be recognized by her family or friends for her generous spirit, caring heart and selfless nature. The winner, who will be crowned in the Railroad Green at 8 p.m., will receive a valuable assortment of gift certificates and merchandise, which, in the past, have been valued at more than $1,000. Scrappingham Palace Warwick residents Jennifer Forestire and Kelly Cossano, art teachers at Washingtonville Middle School, recently fulfilled a dream. Forestire and Cossano share a passion for scrapbooking, the popular hobby of pasting photos and other memorabilia into custom-decorated albums, or scrapbooks. They recently put their talents and passion to work when they started a new business, which they named Scrappingham Palace. The company primarily deals with wholesalers and retailers but the public is also invited to visit its new Website to view products such as its hand-painted seasonal paper line, "At the Beach," along with a ribbons and buttons kit. Local residents may also recognize some of the people in the scrapbook photos. Forestire and her husband, Matt, live in the Village of Warwick with their son Zane, 14 months. Cossano and her husband, Robert, also live in the Village with their children Sierra, 10, and Cooper, 7. "You can tell by the photographs in our samples that we're two very proud moms," said Forestire who admits they often use the children as models. "What we feel sets us apart," said Cossano, "is that our designs are all hand-painted and have a great canvas appearance to them." Scrappingham Palace will continue to offer new scrapbook lines and embellishments for the wholesale and retail trade. "We also have a plan to design an idea book featuring our paper line," said Forestire. For more information and to view its products, visit the company's Web site at: www.scrappinghampalace.com. Moo Press publication wins Silver Award "Aidan of Oren," published by Warwick's Moo Press, recently won a silver medal in the Juvenile-Young Adult Fiction category of the 21st Benjamin Franklin Awards. It was also selected as a semi-finalist in the Juvenile/Young Adult Fiction category of the Independent Publisher Book Awards (nicknamed the IPPY Awards). The Benjamin Franklin Awards are given by PMA, the Independent Book Publishers Association, which recognizes excellence in independent publishing. "Aidan of Oren," set in medieval times, is about a boy who learns on his thirteenth birthday that he is destined to bring peace to his village. Aidan and his two special friends, Lilly and McKenzie, go on a quest to find the dragons that have mysteriously disappeared; dragons once maintained peace and harmony in their home country, Lionsgate. Along their journey, the friends learn the true meaning of courage, the importance of compassion, and the value of friendship. The audience for the book is ages seven to 12 but reviews and feedback have shown that it is well received by people of all ages. "Aidan of Oren" and other books published by Moo Press are available locally at The Bookstore.