The International Issue

How can you do something without doing something?

It’s an odd question to ask, but a fun one to answer. And it’s a question we chose to answer with this issue. How could we tell “international” stories without writing about all the places you can see and things you can do around the world? Here’s how we answered that question:

We profile a local business that brings the Portuguese culture to us (pg. 14), and we show you how to create your own international progressive dinner simply by walking around Mount Kisco (pg. 34). Plus, we also researched the various ways you can have an international adventure this summer and fall without ever leaving our county; there are cultural festivals, cooking classes, music, dance lessons, art and more (pg. 39).

We explore unusual, and quite humorous, jobs, entertainment and superstitions around the world (pgs. 42, 58 & 63). We talk about the Olympics (pg. 44), we travel to Queens (pg. 74) and we tell you about some of the best global beauty products you can find stateside (pg. 60). And if you are the international travelling type, we provide expert tips on how to make planning such a journey much less stressful (pg. 64).

And we wouldn’t be true too our name, if we didn’t connect you to some of our incredible neighbors who fit nicely into this theme of ours. There’s a local teen who has her eyes, and her heart, set on a future Olympics (pg. 24), a doctor who has spent the majority of her career focused on the global AIDS epidemic (pg. 80) and six successful businesspeople who share their experiences moving to our country at various periods of history and phases of their lives (pg. 50).

On a personal note, we thought this issue would be a simple one to put together–maybe even a bit fun; we were wrong. Between welcoming, teaching, and, quite frankly, corralling, the high school seniors who interned with us this spring (see our photo on the left), the beginning of event season and redesigning our app so that we can better connect you to the community and local discounts, we were quite busy.

Speaking of events, if we didn’t see you at a festival in June, we will be at several more during July. Come tell us hello, meet some of our partners and enter to win prizes at the following events:

Pleasantville Music Festival, July 13

Gather & Goods, July 14

Caramoor’s Jazz Festival, July 27

We hope to see you soon,

Gia & Justin

Founders’ note: We would like to honor the memory of Oak&Oil founder Michael Kearns, who sadly passed away in May. He was a fixture in our community for many years, and our hearts go out to his family.