Who is SuzySaid? She is the newest online resource for Rockland’s ladies. Part of a national free weekly email and destination website, Rockland’s SuzySaid is brought to you by two local moms, Kelly Miller and Arleen Goldenberg. Both have embraced the Festival’s positive family, community, and volunteer giveback slant. SuzySaid is specifically partnered with SMAF on Girls’ Night Out, The Give Back/Get Back SMAF Seismic Slimdown, and the Children’s Experience. Each week SuzySaid is featuring a personal story stemming from a woman’s journey to wellness in the Seismic Slimdown.

“Suzy is a fictional character, the best friend each of us (girls) phones when we need information, advice or simply to gush over the ‘great deal’ we stumbled upon during Saturday morning errands.” Suzy is you. She’s your neighbor, your sister-in-law, your daughter’s Girl Scout leader.” This is according to the Fairfield, CT founders who launched Suzy in March 2007.

Come meet SuzySaid at SMAF. She’ll be there. In the meantime, check out her site. There you’ll find such categories as “Deal of the Day”, “Give”, “Restaurants”, “Mom to Mom”, “Around Town” and more.

Meet Kimberely and Kerry.

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Richard Gandon is the driving force behind this online publication that “provides community news by our community and for our community”. It’s not about hard news. It’s about connecting individuals to their neighborhood and it is fueled by the horsepower of its readership. Presently, The Ramapo Times has a fan base of over 22,000 subscribers. It’s a forum which is taking hold and bringing folks together.

Today seemed like the perfect day to acknowledge Richard Gandon, who is also a Festival volunteer. He wrote a humorous, anecdotal account of the Festival’s kickoff fitness class last night. The Give Back/Get Back SMAF Seismic Slimdown is no longer all about the girls. Boys - - - bring it on.

So we had this major meeting last night. A who’s who of ‘getting it done’ volunteers.

We heard the talent rundown. We dove deeper into venue designs. We announced our ticketing partner (Tix go on sale July 12th). We heard about simulcasting, media partners, corporate sponsors, green initiatives, volunteer training. . .

It’s breath-taking - - - and I don’t mean in the ‘I think your gorgeous’ kind of way. I mean it takes your breath.

To reflect back on the 6 months of sprinter’s speed milestones surpassed and then to look ahead at the glory of what appears to be a mountain-top climb equal to Everest, we as a community have to take pause, RELEASE BREATH, and go ‘WOW’. NOW let’s get down to MORE WORK.

Do your dash to SMAF 2009. Join us on this last leg of the journey.

George Bernard Shaw said “Independence? That’s middle class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.”

When you break it down, ‘independence’ is really not an emancipation onto one’s own self. ‘Independence’ is a breaking from oppression. Whether the stronghold is from another country’s rule or from a mindset of negativity, independence is taking that proverbial ‘road less traveled’ - - - the tougher path. Oft, the more rewarding. And that ‘road’ is all the richer when shared with another soul.

In terms of the Suffern Music and Arts Festival, we are celebrating the independence to ‘THRIVE’ and not just ’survive’ this economy by bringing forth an event of commercial and community transformation driven by culture. That’s a change of mindset! In on the SMAF 2009 festivities are independent (indie) artists sharing their gifts of song and visual art without the constraints of the BIG Label. That’s a change from dominant rule!

But to George Bernard Shaw’s point, indie artists are dependent on a circle of fans (loyal and new) to keep the arts alive. To that end , anyone looking forward to SMAF 2009 is IN-Dependence of a more united community.