What’s happening: A round up of upcoming events on the Island
ANNUAL ‘CELEBRATION OF LIFE’
The 18th annual Cheryl Hannabury Memorial “Celebration of Life” community cocktail party will be held on Saturday, March 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Ram’s Head Inn.
This Island tradition is the biggest yearly fundraiser for the Island Gift of Life Foundation, which helps East End families with uninsured costs during treatment of serious diseases such as travel and lodging expenses for family members to distant treatment centers. Last year’s event raised over $40,000.
Tickets are $50. The evening includes live music, an open bar, light fare, a 50/50 raffle, and Chinese and silent auctions. Auction items will be gratefully accepted. Buy tickets in advance at islandgiftoflife.org. Tickets will also be available at the door.
PROHIBITION ERA MUSICAL
Shelter Island High School Drama Club members are busy rehearsing “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” Set in the 1920s to the music of George and Ira Gershwin, the musical will be presented March 22 through March 25. If you can help support the show by becoming a sponsor or placing an ad in the program, contact Meghan Lang at the school by March 15: (631) 749-0302, extension 131, or [email protected].
LENTEN FRIDAYS
On Fridays during the Christian season of Lent, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church is offering a dinner and program called “Listen: Praying in a Noisy World” based on the book by Rueben P. Job. A light dinner will be served at 6 p.m. with a discussion starting at 6:45 on February 23, March 2, 9, 16 and 23. A 40-day accompanying guidebook is available at the church office. Call (631) 749-0770 for more details.
FREE PIZZA & GAMES
Bring the family and join friends at the library’s next pizza and game night, Tuesday, February 27 starting at 5:30 p.m. The library has a large selection of fun games — classic and new. Enjoy a free pizza dinner while you play. There will be a drawing to win a new game, “Raja of the Ganges.” Call for details, (631) 749-0042.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Sylvester Manor’s Farm to Table Dinner will be held Saturday, June 23 at 6:30 p.m. For underwriting and sponsorship, call (631) 749-0626.
The Shelter Island Educational Foundation’s annual Porch Party will be Saturday, July 14. Details to be determined. Contact [email protected], for more information.
The Perlman Music Program’s “A Taste of Shelter Island” benefit will be Friday, July 27 at 6 p.m. Learn more: perlmanmusicprogram.org.
Mashomack Preserve’s annual dinner dance and auction is scheduled for Saturday, July 28 — details TBD.
The Shelter Island Historical Society’s Black & White gala will be Saturday, July 21. Send inquiries to black&[email protected].
ART HISTORY COURSE
The Shelter Island Library is hosting a free art history program beginning Thursday, February 22. “The Modern Genius: Art and Culture in the 19th Century” is offered by the Otis College of Art and Design through Kadenze (an online provider). Investigate the role of the French avant-garde in the 19th century with segments on realism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Videos will be screened and there will be online readings. This new course will meet at 5:15 p.m. on Thursdays through March (except March 8). Registration is required by the library and Kadenze. Call (631) 749-0042 to sign up.
Across the moat
LIFT EVERY VOICE
Sylvester Manor Educational Farm, in partnership with the Eastville Community Historical Society (ECHS), will present the fourth annual Black History Month Celebration on Sunday, February 25. This year’s program, “Lift Every Voice: A Celebration of Music, Culture and Tradition” will be held at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor from 2 to 4 p.m.
Georgette Grier-Key, executive director of ECHS, will moderate a panel discussion and musical presentations that explore the intersection and interconnections of musical genres and how cultures and traditions merge creating a universal language of music from gospel to blues and jazz, and roots music to tribal rhythms.
Panelists, representing the musical history and traditions from diverse communities, are Henry Maxwell Letcher II, a musician and jazz historian; Shane Weeks, a member of the Shinnecock Nation, a drummer and musician; and Karl Schwarz, member of New Moon Acoustic Blues Band and a traditional blues and gospel musician.
A reception follows at 3 p.m.
Once a Native American hunting and fishing ground, since 1652 Sylvester Manor has been home to 11 generations of its original European settler family. Over time, the property was transformed from a slave-holding provisioning plantation to an Enlightenment-era farm, then to a pioneering food industrialist’s estate and today to an organic educational farm.
Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Bay Street Theater is located on Long Wharf in Sag Harbor. To purchase tickets, visit sylvestermanor.org/black-history-month-2018/.
GET YOUR GOAT GOING
Have kids? Like puppets? On Saturday, March 3, Goat on a Boat Puppet Theater at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor will present “The Snowflake Man” by Puppet Kabob. The story is inspired by Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley, a self-educated farmer and scientist who became the first person to photograph a single snow crystal. The show starts at 11 a.m. Tickets are $15 and $25. For details, visit baystreet.org.
