Around the Island

What’s Happening on Shelter Island

COURTESY PHOTO | Heather and Pete will perform at the American Legion on January 6.
COURTESY PHOTO | Heather and Pete  perform at the American Legion on January 6.

MUSIC FOR A NEW YEAR

Acoustic rock duo Heather and Pete have a sound that is built on vocal duet harmonies, minimal guitar, and banjo. On Friday, January 6, the pair start the new year off right with an evening of live music on the lower level of the Shelter Island American Legion Hall. The music goes from 7 to 9 p.m. and admission is free. 

HALLELUJAH! IT’S HANDEL!

The second annual Handel’s Messiah Sing-in will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 8 at the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. This is the first Sunday after the feast of the Epiphany (Twelfth Night) and all are invited to join in singing the Choruses in the Christmas section (Part I) of the Messiah, ending with the Hallelujah Chorus.

The group will sing from the Schirmer edition of the Messiah. Bring a copy of the music if you have it, as there will be a limited number of copies available that day.

Light refreshments will follow and all are welcome to start 2017 on a high note by joining in the singing of this glorious music and enjoying the fellowship of other lovers of great music. Admission is free.

MET LIVE TICKETS

The Shelter Island Library is currently offering tickets to see performances of the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD which will be broadcast on a large screen at Guild Hall’s John Drew Theater in East Hampton on select Saturday afternoons in coming months. Tickets are $15 each and available for purchase at the circulation desk. Performances include “Nabucco” on January 7, “Romeo et Juliette” on January 21, “La Traviata” on March 11 and “Eugene Onegin” on April 22. All performances begin at 1 p.m.

Guild Hall is located at 158 Main Street, East Hampton. For more information, call the library at (631) 749-0042.

WOMEN’S CLUB MEETING

The Shelter Island Women’s Club will hold its next meeting at noon on Tuesday, January 10 at the Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall. The guest speaker will be Shelter Island Library Director Terry Lucas who will discuss genealogy resources such as Ancestry.com. All are welcome and a monetary donation or non-perishable food item for the Food Pantry would be appreciated.

FACING THE FREEZE

Plants and animals have their own way of surviving the winter season. On Saturday, January 14 from 1 to 2:30 p.m., Mashomack Preserve presents “Facing the Freeze” an outing that explores who hibernates, who simply rests, and what clues of activity can be seen at this time of year. Temperature permitting, the group will test its skills at finding appropriate wintering lairs for the rare Mashomack gelatin creature. To reserve, call (631) 749-1001.

Across the moat

EXPLORING DANTE

Canio’s Cultural Cafe in Sag Harbor offers winter courses to expand the mind, connect with neighbors and be inspired to enjoy new creative projects.

First up is the a series on Dante’s Divine Comedy. For the past three years, Canio’s has offered seminars examining the work of the great Italian poet  – — first with an overview of the master work, then a closer look at each book in the trilogy. This month, Canio Pavone, a Dante afficionado and the founder of the book shop that bears his name, will examine Il Paradiso with students on Mondays, January 9, 16 and 23. The text will be the Hollander translation. The seminar concludes with a luncheon provided at the book shop.

Registration and fee is $125 including luncheon. Canio’s is located at 290 Main Street in Sag Harbor. For information, call (631) 725-4926.

NORTH FORK VARIETY SHOW

Don’t miss the 13th Annual North Fork Community Theatre Variety Show. Performances are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, January 6 and 7, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, January 8. This year’s acts include songs, dance, magic, classical music and comedy. All proceeds go to the NFCT scholarship fund for local high school seniors. Tickets are $10 at the door.

North Fork Community Theatre is located at 12700 Old Sound Avenue in Mattituck. For information, visit nfct.com or call (631) 298-4500.

FIRESIDE JAMS

In recent years, the hottest tickets on the coldest nights on the South Fork have been for the “Fireside Sessions with Nancy Atlas and Friends” at Bay Street Theater.

This month, Atlas returns with her band, The Nancy Atlas Project. Each Saturday in January they will be heating up the Bay Street stage along with special musical guests as they offer inspiring jams and soulful ballads to ease us all into 2017.

So shake off those winter blues and join Nancy and the band each Saturday in January. Here’s the schedule:

January 7: Clark Gayton, monster trombone magic

January 14: Danny Kean, super funky keyboard

January 21: Randi Fishenfeld, insanely epic violin

January 28: Guest performer to be announced

Tickets are $25. To purchase, visit baystreet.org or call (631) 725-9500.

Rock on …

‘GREAT MUSIC SUNDAY’
IN GREENPORT 

Basically Baroque, a quartet of local professional musicians, performs in the third annual Great Music Sunday concert at 2 p.m. on Sunday, January 15 at Congregation Tifereth Israel in Greenport.

The program features works by Handel, Vivaldi, Stamitz, Goldberg and Haydn. A Q&A session follows. There is no charge, but a free-will offering would be appreciated.

The synagogue is located at 519 Fourth Street in Greenport. For details, call (631) 477-0232.