Sag Harbor Cultural Heritage Day, an inaugural event celebrating local history, culture and music sponsored by the Sag Harbor Cultural District, will take place at multiple locations Saturday, May 21.
The cultural district comprises Bay Street Theater, Canio’s Cultural Cafe,
Christ Episcopal Church, The Custom House, Eastville Community Historical
Society, John Jermain Memorial Library, Sag Harbor American Music Festival, Sag Harbor Historical Society and Sag Harbor Whaling and Historical Museum.
John Jermain Memorial Library, at 34 West Water Street, will mark the day with three programs. “Sag Harbor Stories” will offer a recording booth to record—using the StoryCorps app or another method—interviews on life in Sag Harbor, significant events in village history and other stories of interest. The oral histories will become part of the library’s permanent collection. “Make History with John Jermain” invites patrons, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., to drop off donations of photographs, yearbooks, sketchbooks, deeds, genealogies, menus, Sag Harbor phonebooks, placemats, maps and other memorabilia and artifacts. Donations will be added to the library’s local history collection. “Sag Harbor 2016: A Photographic Record” will display digital photos of modern Sag Harbor submitted by the public by May 15.
Canio’s Cultural Cafe at Canio’s Books at 290 Main Street will hold a marathon reading of Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” starting at 10 a.m. An after-party will follow from 6 to 7:30 p.m. To register to be a reader, call (631) 725-4926.
Bay Street Theater, at the Long Wharf, will present “Jazz Inspired,” a concert with pianist Judy Carmichael and Grammy winner Billy Stritch at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35, $50, $65 or $75, available by visiting baystreet.org or calling (631) 725-9500.
Christ Episcopal Church will hold a Tiffany window tour and organ concert at 12:15 p.m. Then the Sag Harbor American Music Festival will present a concert there by Alfredo Merat at 4 p.m.
The Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities will have readings of letters by Henry Packer Dering, the first customs collector for the Port of Sag Harbor, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Custom House, at 912 Main Street. The society will host an event with preservation director Jason Crowley in the Bay Street Theater lobby at 11 a.m. exploring the architectural history and decorative motifs of historic Sag Harbor.
A folklore walking tour hosted by the Eastville Historical Society will start at the Heritage House, at 139 Hampton Street. The tour will include the St. David AME Zion Church, built in 1840, the St. David AME Zion Cemetery, founded in 1857, and the Heritage House, where participants can also view the “Black Memorabilia, Images and Icons” exhibition.
The Sag Harbor Historical Society, at the Annie Cooper Boyd House & Museum at 174 Main Street, will host “Plants, Pills & Policies: The Career of Dr. Edgar Miles” at 2 p.m. about an eclectic Sag Harbor physician and 19th century medical rebel. Admission is free.
“Every Village Has a Story: Places,” highlighting the working-class roots of Sag Harbor and curated by Elise Goldheart, is on view from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sag Harbor Whaling Museum, at 200 Main Street.