By Liz Schevtchuk Armstrong
Offering good and services ranging from A — for Actors’ Lab — to Z — for Zumba, the Living Room opened on Saturday (June 25) at Number 103 on Cold Spring’s Main Street, in quarters that long-time residents may remember as Palen’s Drug Store. Like the long-gone pharmacy, whose name partially remains above the door, the Living Room focuses on health and well-being. Its offerings feature elements for both body and soul, including massage, guitar classes, drumming, yoga, kickboxing, drawing, ballet, Qi Gong-Tai Chi, and Zumba, which proprietor Nathalie Jonas described as a form of “Latin-dance influenced fitness.”
A large, polished wooden floor fills the back of the long ground level space and shelves with herbal teas, toiletries, and other health-oriented amenities line the front. Shortly after 12 noon on Saturday, an official ribbon-cutting got underway with a bagpipe serenade and welcome from Mayor Seth Gallagher, as about 20 passers-by and friends of Jonas and her colleague, Philip Nobel, gathered round. “As mayor, I want to say welcome to Main Street and thank you for opening up your business here,” Gallagher said, in between a brief tour of the space and more bagpipe music outdoors.
Ellyn Rosenthal gave a prayer-like invocation for the Living Room, where on July 16 she will offer a program, Truth at the Heart of Each Moment. “Thank-you for making this space that helps us to remember ourselves, our deepest selves, and make moments for living,” Rosenthal said. “May it teach us how to live.”
“We’re so happy to be here,” Jonas responded, cutting a broad blue ribbon strung across the doorway. The group thronged in and a weekend of free classes, concerts, refreshments, and Living Room relaxation began.
Photos by L.S. Armstrong
