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Not everyone in this country has an easy time counting his or her blessings at Thanksgiving. And there are certainly residents of the East End who have scant cause for gratitude. But, by and large, locals and seasonal visitors alike can agree that there is much to be thankful for among those who get to call this region home for even part of the year.

As any real estate broker would be only too happy to tell you, it all starts with location: the beautiful beaches; the island light at this latitude, reflected off the surrounding sound and sea; the vineyards and farm fields and remaining open spaces; and the recreational opportunities—all graced by a generally favorable climate in temperate ranges that reinforces the best aspects of all four seasons.

Add to this the variety of fresh local produce and all manner of bounty from local and offshore waters, including the world-class wines from the grapes that supplanted so much of the former staple crops of potatoes—which are still among the best to be had anywhere—and you have the makings of a feast of gratitude that the Puritans who celebrated the first Thanksgiving could never have imagined.

But, as impressive as all that is, it’s just a start. Because, over the years, the members of what used to be called the Summer Colony and the residents who raised their families and sent their children to school here established a variety of cultural institutions. Their purpose was twofold: They wanted to enrich their lives and the lives of their neighbors, of course, and they also wanted to recognize and celebrate the creativity of painters, writers, actors, musicians and artists of every description, people who were themselves celebrating the community they had joined in order to practice their crafts.

Once established, this magnificent symbiosis continued to flourish, and more institutions were added to the mix as more people found joy and fulfillment in both bearing witness to and participating in the creative process, through which all the arts reflect and inform the human condition while enhancing the quality of life for both practitioners and audiences.

Today, the list is truly impressive. Joining the 110-year-old Parrish Art Museum in Southampton and the Guild Hall Museum and John Drew Theater in East Hampton at the top tier are Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, and WLIU 88.3 FM, a public radio station with a commitment matching the strength of its signal to cover, reflect, and in many ways define the communities of the East End of Long Island and southern Connecticut.

Augmenting these institutions and filling any gaps are historical museums and libraries in almost every village and hamlet, smaller theaters from Montauk to Southampton to Quogue to the North Fork, dance schools for young and old, the Art Barge, the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, Ashawagh Hall, Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center in Water Mill, the Southampton Cultural Center and Levitas Center for the Arts, and the East End Arts Council and its associated educational arm in Riverhead, to name just a few.

The Writers Conference at Stony Brook Southampton is the envy of universities all over the country, and the graduate degree program in writing there has spawned an educational outreach for East End students that will not only help them become better writers but can improve their chances of acceptance into the best colleges. There is a Shinnecock Museum celebrating indigenous culture, and organizers of an African-American Museum are working to move beyond the planning stages.

Classical music programming is offered at the world-class level by the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, the Music Festival of the Hamptons, and Pianofest in the summer, and by smaller series and the Rising Stars and Piano Plus recitals in Southampton and Riverhead, respectively, in the so-called off-season.

There is no way to effectively measure the ways that these institutions improve the quality of life for all residents. After all, the ability to create and to appreciate art in all its forms is one of the critical elements that separates humans from the lower orders inhabiting our planet, and helps us to aspire to, if not become, our better selves. In addition to enriching our lives and allowing us to better understand and take pride in our cultural traditions, almost every one of these institutions has an educational component, and many are aimed at young and old alike, enabling all to more fully embrace their humanity and enhancing the life of the community as a whole.

No, there is no way to measure the incredible benefits of having these resources in our midst, no way to quantify how much they give us. But there is a time-honored way to show the extent of our gratitude—through the kind of financial support that will enable these institutions to continue to add the best kind of texture and color and depth to our experience of life.