Welcome to the Best Blog!
We’re kicking off the Best Video Blog with a wonderful piece from Board Member and Journalist Karen Ponzio. It’s fitting that Karen is writing our first blog post as she is our newest board member but has been a Best Video member for many years. She shares with us why she chose to join the board and what she loves about Best Video. Read on to hear her story…
Best Blog 8/10/26
by Karen Ponzio
As one of the newest members of the Best Video board, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Karen Ponzio, but I also go by KP. Some people know me as KP The Word because that is the name I use on social media. I am here to not only say hello (Hello!), but to let you know a little bit about myself, where I am coming from, and what I hope to bring to this most wonderful video store and performance space community.
A lifelong movie lover and longtime member of Best Video, I have also had the distinct pleasure of performing there as a poet both solo and with musical accompaniment, hosting the monthly Open Mic event that was held there for almost three years, and hosting film screenings. As an arts journalist for the New Haven Independent, I have reported on a wealth of events from screenings to concerts to readings for nearly ten years. Some of my favorite interviews have also been conducted at their lovely little tables both inside and out over a latte or two.
This past year I felt a call to be a part of Best in a most different way. Could I use both my skills and my enthusiasm to help them thrive and grow? I definitely thought I could. Apparently, they thought so too as I was elected to the board in the spring. One of my favorite aspects of Best is the community it fosters as a place to gather, get to know one another, and commune with others who have a love for film and so many other forms of art and media. The board is made up of these types of individuals as well, ones who have also voluntarily offered their enthusiasm and skills to help make Best the best it could possibly be. I feel so fortunate to be working with all of them. We have already begun to curate new events and experiences that we hope our members will enjoy and will encourage others to become members who aren’t already.
Walking into Best Video feels both new and familiar each and every time. The sheer abundance of films is mind boggling. I know I can easily find one of my all-time favorites, but I also know that I can walk over to any row and find a movie I have never heard of before, making yet another wonderful discovery that takes me somewhere I never though I might go.
Live events offer a similar scenario. I cannot tell you how many time I have arrived to see a band I am familiar with and then left having discovered and become enamored with another band that happened to be on the same bill. Film screenings have also led to post-film discussions with other cinephiles about favorite scenes, other films by the same director, and so much more. How fortunate we all are to have a place where we can be in conversation with each other about what we love. And speaking of conversation, shout out to the staff at Best who are some of the most knowledgeable and most fun people to speak to about cinema as well. I have learned so much from them.
For thirty-plus years of my life, I worked as a physical therapist with the main goal for every patient being to maximize their function. I bring this same goal to my role as a Best Video board member and member in general. Let us keep this wonderful community space open and welcoming to all, continuing to offer a variety of events and opportunities to the community, but also reaching out to invite others to experience Best for the first time and then return again and again. Whether you are stopping by to get a few pages of your work in progress typed up on your laptop, grab a café con miel (my personal favorite) for the road, rent the newest Robert Pattinson film, or attend an album release show for your favorite local band, I hope you find the same wonderful vibe that keeps you coming back as I and so many others have.
And I hope you’re excited to see what is next! On that note, if you are ever at an event and I am there, please introduce yourself. I would love to meet as many Best Video fans and supporters as I can. Tell me your favorite movie (mine is Moonstruck!) or band or book or whatever you like. Keep an eye out for new events, new offers, new drinks, and so much more. But also know that we will continue to bring that energy to keeping Best Video the place you always want to return to for comfort and camaraderie. It’s like that movie you watch over and over again because it makes you feel like part of something bigger (hello, Steel Magnolias!).
Thank you for listening and letting me tell you a bit about myself, and thank you to Best Video for letting me be a part of it all. The fun has only just begun!