The Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame finds permanent home in Stony Brook Village

By Barbara Anne Kirshner, from Times Beacon Record, June 22, 2022. 

Excitement abounds in Stony Brook Village!

On June 21, the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) and the Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) held a press conference in which they announced that they are joining forces by signing a long-term lease to house the LIMEHOF’s first physical facility at the WMHO’s Educational and Cultural Center in Stony Brook Village Center.

This perfect melding brings together two organizations built on highlighting cultural as well as educational elements. The WMHO is rooted in the contributions of Ward Melville to the educational landscape of the Three Village Area. Its Educational and Cultural Center, an impressive white colonial-style building, opened its doors in 2002, offering interactive programs and events, exhibits, and theatrical productions.

The Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame, a non-profit organization founded in 2004, recognizes, honors and preserves Long Island’s musical heritage. The organization’s educational initiatives include annual scholarships, a concert series, speaker series, and its Hall of Fame with such inductees as Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, Eddie Money, Connie Stevens, Clive Davis and Neil Sedaka. The organization recently expanded its mission to recognize all forms of the arts including, but not limited to, comedy, film, television and theater.

Now that LIMEHOF has joined forces with WMHO, their ambitious collaboration intends to create a physical facility in the Educational and Cultural Center space that will showcase Long Island’s rich and diverse musical and entertainment history. Plans are for exhibits, a permanent “Hall of Fame,” a library, classrooms for educational programs and master classes, and a theater.

Dr. Richard Rugen, chair of board to WMHO said, “We are looking forward to a long partnership with LIMEHOF. Our trustees feel this is a perfect fit with the other not-for-profits located in Stony Brook Village, namely, The Long Island Museum, The Jazz Loft and The Reboli Center.”

“With all the other attributes in Stony Brook Village, such as restaurants, shops, parks, Discovery Boat, kayaks, historic buildings and hotel, this is a perfect addition. The multi-purpose building was constructed to hold exhibits, performances, classes and is wired for distance learning. When I heard that LIMEHOF was looking for a permanent home, I called Ernie Canadeo and the rest is history.” said Gloria D. Rocchio, President of The Ward Melville Heritage Organization.

The festivities were kicked off by the LIHOF 2022 inductees, the band Barnaby Bye, featuring the Alessi brothers, Billy and Bobby, and Mike Ricciardella, treating the audience to a rendition of their song Sea Birds.

Hosting duties went to the LIMEHOF Chairman, Ernie Canadeo, who proudly stated, “I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say there is no place in the country and even in the world that has produced as many extraordinary musical composers or entertainers than Long Island. We have inducted over 100 from every musical genre. Today we are thrilled to announce that we have expanded our mission and our name to include major figures in comedy, film, television and the arts in addition to music. This beautiful building will become the home to honor, respect and preserve LI’s diverse musical and entertainment history and its future.”

He continued, “In addition to a permanent Hall of Fame that will honor all our inductees, we will have 2 changing exhibitions a year. The first will be called LI’s Legendary Club Scene 1960s, 70s and 80s. It will be a tribute to clubs and bands who played on Long Island and created the unbelievable club scene that no one who lives here will ever forget. We expect to draw people from all over with nostalgia for those wonderful days. We are planning a grand opening in November 2022.”

Canadeo then introduced the world-renowned visual designer, Kevin O’Callaghan, who will oversee all things creative.

“I love this community. I am thankful for this opportunity; it is really amazing,” said O’Callaghan. “For this first exhibition, we want to focus on the people, because the people of Long Island are what made so much of this happen. The club scene, the music scene — it all started here. We want to get the stories, the stories behind the musicians and the shows and what people saw and experienced and what it felt like to be in Speaks and what it felt like to be in Hammerheads and what it felt like to see Twisted Sister. It’s amazing; Billy Joel, in his early days, just playing a piano, no band behind him. We want to hear those stories, so we’re reaching out to the public looking for stories, memorabilia. I don’t think there is anything too small that wouldn’t be important in here. We’re going to have a theater upstairs; we’re going to have a library upstairs. It’s going to be educational. I just can’t wait. I’m unbelievably excited!”

It is of special interest to note that the space where the Educational and Cultural Center is located was once the site of the famed Dogwood Hollow built by businessman and philanthropist Ward Melville. It was a 2,000+ seat outdoor amphitheater that hosted greats such as Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Liberace and more between 1955 and 1970.

In deference to this space, Canadeo said, “It was one of the most significant theatres on Long Island and it was right here where this building was built. So, you talk about karma and us being meant to be here; it’s really unbelievable. And if you look at the history, it was one of the first places that had no regard for racial issues. You look back and a lot of the artists here spanned everyone and it’s really a significant space. We are proud that our building is in this space.”

The crowd was treated to a tour of the upstairs space that will house the Hall of Fame, exhibits and a small theater. The official ribbon-cutting and public opening of the completed space is scheduled to take place this coming November. For more information and to see artist renderings of the exhibits, visit www.limehof.org.

View the article on Times Beacon Records wesbite HERE.

Stony Brook Village’s Spring Appreciation Day returns on April 23 (rain date April 24) with live music, a car show, a petting zoo and scavenger hunts with prizes from 1:30pm to 3:30pm. This event is free to the public. 

Throughout Stony Brook Village there will be something for everyone: Rocking Horse Farms will be set up in front of the Rustic Loft with a variety of animals for children to pet.  The Antique Automobile Club of America car show will be located in the parking lot of Market Square featured vintage vehicles. Burke and Brenda will be performing original and cover songs in the genres of R&B, Roots, Blues and Contemporary Acoustic at the Stony Brook Post Office. The Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO)’s Youth Corps will be offering scavenger hunts around Stony Brook Village. Each person to return a completed scavenger hunt  will be entered into a raffle to win Discovery Wetlands Cruise tickets. The Stony Brook Grist Mill (c. 1751) will be open for tours ($4 for adults, $2 for children, cash only) of the inner mechanical workings and history of the building, and shopping in the Country Store.

Sponsored by News 12 Long Island 

Built in 1947, Dogwood Hollow Amphitheater is notable as the setting of the Stony Brook Music Festival Series which became a highlight of the Long Island music scene for one and half decades, running from 1955 to 1970. The amphitheater hosted musical greats as Duke Ellington, Tony Bennett and Pete Seeger.

Recently, the Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) had the honor of receiving a Young Gardiner Scholar grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. With this grant, WMHO was able to recruit Sean Brass, a junior at Stony Brook University in the Social Studies Teacher Education Program, to archive its hundreds of documents related to the creation and legacy of Dogwood Hollow Amphitheater.

As part of his internship, Sean also created a short video for the public to be able to catch a glimpse into the history of Dogwood Hollow.  Watch the video on YouTube below.

Congratulations to Sean for his excellent work- and thank you to the Robert David Gardiner Foundation for the opportunity to help WMHO share this fascinating chapter of Stony Brook Village History!

The call to help our healthcare heroes on the frontlines at Stony Brook University Hospital is being answered by Stony Brook Village establishments. Organized by the Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO), Stony Brook Village restaurants and eateries will deliver meals and breakroom snacks to Stony Brook University Hospital in efforts to continue support for our healthcare heroes with the Stony Brook Village / Stony Brook University Hospital Meal Program.  

The Grist Mill Eatery, Mirabelle Restaurant at the Three Village Inn, Crazy Beans, Stony Brook Chocolate, the Village Coffee Market, Sweet Mama’s Restaurant, Brew Cheese and Premiere Pastry will be participating in the current meal program.

During this ongoing effort you can help show support for our healthcare heroes. 

You can donate to participating Stony Brook eateries directly, or you can send your donation to the WMHO, a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, founded in 1939.  Your donation to the WMHO is fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Every dollar will go to this cause.

For further information or to donate via credit card, call (631)751-2244. Checks should be made payable to WMHO. Please specify in the check memo that your donation is for the  Stony Brook University Hospital Meal Program account.  Please mail checks to WMHO, P.O. Box 572, Stony Brook, NY 11790.

Having trouble deciding what to get your favorite people this holiday season?

Stony Brook Village is here to help! View our 2021 Gift Guide HERE!

Want to let them decide what they want this year?

Stony Brook Village Gift Certificates are usable in ALL Stony Brook Village establishments, plus gift certificates can be used in more than one shop/eatery!

Gift Certificates are available for purchase Monday through Friday, between 9am and 5pm in Stony book Village’s managment office. Plkease call (631) 751-2244 for more information.