What’s Happening Around the Island
This week
CLASS FUNDRAISER
On Saturday, July 29, the Shelter Island classes of 2022 and 2023 will hold a multi-family yard sale, bake sale and car wash on the school grounds. The hours are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
FUN FOR LITTLE ONES
The Shelter Island Early Childhood Learning Center is offering a summer session with weekly programs for children ages 2 to 5 from 8:45 to 11:45 a.m. Monday through Friday. Children will paint, make music, dance and play. To register visit shelterislandpreschool.com.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
Shelter Island’s 2017 Vacation Bible School will be held Monday, July 31 to Thursday August 3, 9 a.m. to noon each day at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. Vacation Bible School is open to all children ages 3 to 9. Registration forms are available at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, and Our Lady of the Isle Church or at ourladyoftheisle.org.
For information, contact Vacation Bible School Director Ginny Gibbs at (631) 749-1231.
TEE OFF FOR KIDS
On Tuesday, August 1, a Junior Golf Tournament will be held at Shelter Island Country Club. The tournament is open to all Island kids ages 6 to 16 and advance reservations are required by Sunday, July 30. Check-in is at 9:30 a.m., shotgun tee-off at 10 a.m., followed by lunch and prizes.
Sign up at Shelter Island Country Club or Gardiner’s Bay Country Club. For information call Scott Lechmanski at (631) 495-3352 or Gardiner’s Bay at (631) 749-1033. The cost is $40 and includes lunch and prizes.
Coming up
LIVING WITH HISTORY
This year’s Shelter Island Historical Society house tour is Saturday, August 5 from 2 to 5 p.m. and is based on the theme “Living with History/Making Choices.” The five houses on view represent “choices” ranging from incremental change to total re-envisioning.
The tour begins at the Historical Society’s Havens Barn, 16 South Ferry Road (Route 114), where visitors will receive a map and brochure. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased in advance or at Havens Barn on the day of the event. For more information, call (631) 749-0025 or email [email protected].
THEINERT RANCH FUNDRAISER
The Binder family of Shelter Island will host an evening of food, drinks, live music and Susan Schrott’s “Stars of Hope” project to benefit the Strongpoint Theinert Ranch in New Mexico, a retreat facility for military veterans and their families. The event will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, August at the Binder home, 15 Montclair Avenue. Tickets are $50. Guests may reserve at [email protected] or buy tickets online at josephjtheinertmemorialfund.org.
KETTLE CLAMBAKE
The Taylor’s Island Kettle Clambake is Saturday, August 12 from 2 to 5 p.m. Shuttle boats will be available at Congdon’s Dock at 2 p.m. or arrive by kayak — rentals available through Shelter Island Kayak at (631) 749-1990. Tickets are $100. Make checks payable to Taylor’s Island Foundation, PO Box 524, Shelter Island Heights, NY 11965. For information call (631) 749-1603 or visit taylorsisland.org.
CHAMBER BASH IN THE HEIGHTS
A “Young Musicians Chamber Bash” will be held on Sunday, August 13, at Union Chapel in the Grove, Shelter Island Heights. This family concert begins at 4 p.m. and will feature musicians Tristan Semmelhack, 15, Victoria Semmelhack, 14, and Jun Lin, 15, playing the music of Beethoven, Handel, Laclair, Saint-Saens, Sarasate and Vivaldi.
The concert is open to the public and admission is free.
CHICKEN, ANYONE?
Shelter Island Fire Department’s 54th annual Chicken BBQ is Saturday, August 19 at St. Gabriel’s Field. The barbecue runs from 4 to 8 p.m. ran or shine. Tickets are available at most Island merchants.
DOUBLE DELIGHT
In celebrating its 40th Anniversary with concerts of returning artists that were audience-favorites the Shelter Island Friends of Music presents “Double Delight: Piano Four-Hands, Orion Weiss and Anna Polonsky,” performing music by Schubert, Brahms, Debussy and Barber. The concert will take place on Sunday, September 3 at 8 p.m. at the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. Hailed by the Columbus Dispatch praised the duo for “masterful balance and precision as well as flawless execution.” It also remarked on the musicians’ “exquisite pianissimos, flawless grace notes, seamless exchanges of phrases … and unreal way of releasing keys at the same time.”
A meet-the-artist post-concert reception will follow the concert. Admission is free with donations appreciated. For more information, visit us facebook.com/SIFMconcerts for more information.
Ongoing
GATEHOUSE HOURS
The Gatehouse at Sylvester Manor offers a wide selection of items for the home, hostess, and garden, many of which are made by local artisans and are unique to Sylvester Manor. Located at Manwaring Road and Route 114 (across from the Manor’s white gates and next to White Oak Nursery), the Gatehouse is open daily Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The shop also functions as a Sylvester Manor visitor center. Stop by to learn more about the Manor.
POETRY CONTEST
Shelter Island resident Virginia Walker is hosting a poetry contest to benefit the Lustgarten Foundation for pancreatic cancer research and cure.
“After my mother’s death from pancreatic cancer, which I knew nothing about before her death, I began to pay attention to cases of pancreatic cancer,” said Ms. Walker. “One by one, poet friends from the East End community succumbed to this deadly cancer which has a six percent survival rate.”
The urgency to do something about this struck Ms. Walker when she and Michael Walsh were working on a book of their poetry.
“I discovered that Antje Katcher from our East End Poetry Workshop at the Southampton library was dying of pancreatic cancer. Both Michael and I loved her and her poetry,” she said. “I asked Michael if we could take all the money from sales of our book, ‘Neuron Mirror,’ and give that to the Lustgarten Foundation. He agreed.”
Although Michael Walsh died within six months of Neuron Mirror’s publication, Ms. Walker, a resident of Hay Beach, continued to sell the book and donate all proceeds to the Lustgarten Foundation. The book is dedicated to four East End poets who died of pancreatic cancer: Robert Long, Siv Cedering, Diana Chang, and Antje Katcher and so far, has raised over $9,000 for the charity.
As a final fundraising effort, Ms. Walker has asked three award-winning poets — George Held, Mindy Kronenberg, and Carole Stone — to judge the poetry contest which is open to all adults 18 and over and closes September 9, 2017. An awards ceremony will be held at the Onyx Theater in Oakdale on November 18. “Empathy” should be the theme of the poetry contest submissions.
Each poem must be accompanied by a check to the Lustgarten Foundation for $20. Send entry to Virginia Walker, P.O. Box 1032, Shelter Island Heights, NY 11965. Donations will be acknowledged. The first 100 entrants will receive a copy of Neuron Mirror. Go to neuronwalker.com for all rules.
Across the moat
THOROUGHLY MODERN
The North Fork Community Theatre’s (NFCT) Youth on Stage program presents “Thoroughly Modern Millie” now through August 6. Shows are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Directed by John Bradley, with music director Karen Hochstedler and producers Liz Liszanckie and Jen Eager, “Thoroughly Modern Millie” is set in 1922 and tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to the big city looking for love and adventure.
Tickets are $25. To purchase, call (631) 298-6328 or visit nfct.com. The North Fork Community Theatre is located at 12700 Sound Avenue in Mattituck.
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
North Fork Community Theatre auditions for the musical “Young Frankenstein” will be held Sunday, August 6 at 7:30 p.m. and Monday, August 7 at 7 p.m. Callbacks will be on Tuesday, August 8 at 7 p.m. Please prepare to perform about 32 measures of a song. It is OK to sing a song from the show. Actors will receive some group dance instruction to see the level of their rhythmic dexterity. There will be readings from the script at callbacks. Performances are set for October 12 to 15, 19 to 22 and 26 to 29. If you have questions, call director Bob Kaplan at (631) 929-3042.
NATIVE AMERICANS ON THE EAST END
Currently on view at the Eastville Community Historical Society (ECHS) in Sag Harbor is an exhibition titled “Native American Life on the East End.” It covers the Paleo-Indian Period to the continued presence of Native Americans on the east end of “Paumanok,” the Native American name for Long Island.
This goal of the show is to evade the stereotypical imagery of Native Americans and it showcases historic portraiture from the special collection of the Eastville Community Historical Society. More than 60 artifacts are on view, including tintypes, cabinet cards, vintage and modern photographs, and contemporary artwork from artist and Shinnecock Indian Reservation resident David Bunn Martine. The exhibition runs through October 7 and will then become a traveling exhibition.
The Eastville Community Historical Society’s Heritage House is located at 139 Hampton Street in Sag Harbor.
TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE EAST END
Climate change will have adverse impacts on Long Island’s East End over the coming decades. Some East End towns on the South Fork are taking action now to plan for tomorrow. The Peconic Estuary Program (PEP) wants to raise awareness of North Fork residents on this important topic and inform people how PEP is involved and what can be done to prepare for changes coming to Long Island. The PEP will be holding its next Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting on Wednesday, August 16 at Peconic Lane Schoolhouse from 6 to 8 p.m. Become actively involved in the conversation about all major issues facing the Peconic Estuary. For more information, please e-mail [email protected]
JACKIE ON THE SOUTH FORK
In the 1930s and 1940s, long before she became an internationally known figure, Bert Morgan often photographed young Jacqueline Bouvier and her family during summers in East Hampton.
On Friday, August 4, the East Hampton Historical Society’s Clinton Academy will host an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. for “Young Jackie on the South Fork,” an new exhibition of photographs from the Bert Morgan Archive at the Historical Society. The images span Jackie’s childhood, from ages five to 20, and these intriguing, seldom seen photographs captured even then her beauty, poise and determination.
The Clinton Academy is located at 151 Main Street in East Hampton and the exhibition will remain on display until October 8, 2017. Hours are Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays noon to 5 p.m.
FRIENDS WITH BENEFIT
Joy Behar’s “Friends with Benefits” comedy show comes to Guild Hall in East Hampton over Labor Day Weekend
Ms. Behar, the Emmy-winning talk show host of ABC’s “The View,” will perform the show on Sunday, September 3 at 8 p.m. as a benefit for The Retreat.
Leading comics will join Ms. Behar to stand up against domestic violence, including HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star Susie Essman, actress and comedian, Rosie O’Donnell, Comedy Central’s “The President Show” star Anthony Atamanuik and others. In addition, there will be a special musical performance by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Darlene Love.
“When I found out the number of children impacted by physical abuse, it got to me as a mother and grandmother and I wanted to use whatever influence I had to support The Retreat,” said Ms. Behar. “This wonderful organization provides shelter to so many families and that was enough to make me want to do something. So I called on some of my friends who happen to be very funny and talented and they generously agreed to make us laugh and entertain us for this great cause.”
A post-event reception including participating talent and other famous faces will be held for VIP ticket holders.
Tickets are $55 to $95 ($250 for VIP) and can be purchased online or by calling The Retreat offices at (631) 329-4398.
