With a local family in need, Briarcliff is breathing new life into Mezzapalooza

The plight facing the Rowe family has prompted the Briarcliff community to restart Mezzapalooza, scheduled for Saturday, May 11.

After a four-year hiatus, a fun but important fundraiser is scheduled to return on May 11 at Briarcliff Manor.

The event is Mezzapalooza, an evening of music, food and community spirit in the village pavilion, under a large tent.

As of 2012, it was founded to help a family in Briarcliff Manor of Ossining who needed help after a setback, such as an unforeseen health problem. The original impetus for organizing the event was the sudden death of John Mezzatesta, himself an active member of the community and a pillar of the village, at the age of 40 in 2012.

“There is always a family in the village or in the wider area of ​​Ossining that could use the help,” says Marc Milano, one of the organizers of Mezzapalooza and involved in the non-profit organization the Mezzapalooza Foundation. “That’s how the idea came about, as a connecting bond through music.”

Each year through 2019, a different family was identified by the foundation’s board of directors and assisted when proceeds went toward helping a child’s college fund or helping a family make ends meet after one spouse became incapacitated .

But Mezzapalooza hasn’t been held since 2019, the last year before the pandemic. It has since been scuttled – until now.

Milano said another respected local figure and family experienced a serious health issue, and community members debated it and ultimately decided to bring it back. Scott Rowe, now 50, was a star athlete when he attended Ossining High School and married his high school sweetheart Michelle. The couple have two daughters.

A month after contracting COVID in June 2022, Rowe was taken to hospital with breathing difficulties and has been in and out of the hospital and other healthcare facilities since then. He currently resides at the Briarcliff Manor Center for Rehabilitation & Nursing.

“We were like, oh my gosh, this is the perfect opportunity for us to reboot this foundation and get it going, so we reconstituted the board with some local guys who are on the younger end of the spectrum sit,” Milano said.

For $100 per ticket, attendees can treat themselves to the food and beer trucks, or you can bring your own drinks, he said. Under the pavilion there is a tent with three local bands and other activities.

There will also be silent auctions where admission to area golf clubs, tickets to sporting events and meet and greets with professional athletes can be won.

Sergio Prosperino, another event organizer and someone who has been involved with the foundation, said community members went back and forth on the idea of ​​reviving Mezzapalooza but decided it would be a benefit to the community , and especially for the Rowe family.

With Mezzapalooza returning, the hope is that it will remain an annual event, he said.

“The intention is that now that we are bringing it back, the intention would be to continue it every year and identify a family that could unfortunately benefit from the foundation and continue it, assuming everything goes well in a few weeks is going to happen, and we anticipate it. shall. We will continue with it again,” Prosperino said.

Last weekend, 150 tickets were sold and the hope is that 300 can attend, he said. The event is scheduled from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM

To purchase tickets or for more information about Mezzapalooza, visit www.mezzapalooza.org.