BANNERS!
We'll soon be able to say, "We Have Them!"

Thanks to the artistry of graphic artist Pat Rotondo and the generosity of the entire Chatham Business Alliance, the Main Street of Chatham will soon be graced with colorful, absolutely gorgeous banners. 
 
The Business Alliance has been working for months to come up with a plan to beautify our Village. We will now be able to dress Chatham with Holiday banners that will be bright, appealing and thoughtful in the messages conveyed - Peace, Joy, Hope, Plenty, Wonder - and printed in various colors on a background that appears rich in texture. The banners will bring much needed color and joy to a wintry season.
 
After the winter holidays, these banners will be replaced with new “Welcome to Chatham” banners. These Rotondo-designed banners stand alone as works of art! The many, many hours that went into the design certainly paid off!  Assembled in collage style, the all-season banner includes an area map, a slice of Main Street/Hudson Avenue, and a welcome, - all wrapped up in an intriguing design.
 
Pat Rotondo of Pea Green Boat has a history rich in the arts. “Growing up in Connecticut, I loved making art and my parents encouraged me. I went to the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford as well as the Modern and the Met in New York City. After studying fine art at Pratt Institute, I then worked at Rockefeller Center as an illustrator of AP feature stories. Later I worked as a designer and creative director for organizations such as Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Houghton-Mifflin, Commonwealth Financial Network and the University at Albany.”
 
What Pat Rotondo neglected to mention was that she received a Bronze Healthcare Advertising Award in 2008 for her design of the Austen Riggs Annual Report. The Healthcare Advertising Award is one of the oldest and most well known marketing awards in the country, and in 2008 they had a total of over 4,400 entries!
 
When Rotondo moved to Chatham in 2004 she set up her art & design studio naming it “Pea-Green Boat” (www.pea-greenboat.com) from the Edward Lear poem “The Owl and the Pussycat.”  The main characters set out in a pea-green boat – a beautiful craft. “I thought that was a good metaphor,” muses Pat. “My craft includes several disciplines: print, web, motion graphics, handmade invitations, egg tempera painting. I’ve also begun working in polymer clay, making jewelry and other items.” 
 
Some of Pat Rotondo’s beadwork can be seen at the Chatham Real Food Coop craft section.  Check out her website on Etsy.
 
The Business Alliance plans to extend the Rotondo designed banners / flags throughout the Village. We need your help in order to unify the village with these designs.  $300 pays for one holiday banner, 1 “Chatham” banner and the armature needed for installation on one light fixture. $150 pays for one banner and helps with the cost of the armature.  Contributions at any level are most welcome. All contributors will be recognized in print, in the CBA window and in our hearts! The more money we raise, the greater the Village will look.
 
Please send your contribution for this project to: the Chatham Business Alliance, PO Box 7, Chatham, NY 12037 – or drop your check off at Brown’s Emporium.