Community News for April 29, 2021

The Montauk Library’s new seed exchange program has launched. To participate, visit the library and pick up some free seeds. As you harvest, save some seeds to donate back to the library for others to cultivate. Seed donations should be made in well-marked envelopes.

For more information, call 631-668-3377 or visit montauklibrary.org.

The Morgan Duke Conservation Society is looking for volunteers who would like to sign up to help pick up litter at Amagansett National Wildlife Refuge. Volunteers can sign up at morganduke.ngo/volunteer.

The East Hampton Historical Society, 101 Main Street in East Hampton, will continue its virtual lecture series on Friday, April 30, at 7 p.m., with “Turn-of-the-Century Tales from ‘Wainscott Dumplings’ by Alice E. Osborn Hand (1879-1968),” presented by Hilary Osborn-Malecki.

Alice Edwards Osborn Hand was born in Wainscott in 1879. She spent her early years studying at the neighborhood one-room school and later taught elementary students until she married John Hand in 1905. They and their young son moved to Kinderhook, New York, in 1910. As the years passed, she enjoyed telling friends about her life long ago in Wainscott. Soon after her husband died in 1952, she sat down at her typewriter and began spinning the funny and heartwarming stories of Wainscott long ago, noting those born in the Hamlet and a descendant of its first settles, can rightfully be called a “Wainscott Dumpling.”

This event will be held on Zoom and is free to the public. To register please visit easthamptonhistory.org/events, or email info@easthamptonhistory.org.

The John Jermain Memorial Library, 201 Main Street in Sag Harbor, will host a “Once Upon a Time” mystery game for teens, via Zoom, on Friday, April 30, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The fairy-tale themes, non-murder mystery game is for teens in sixth through 12 grades.

Morven is the great stabilizer of the Enchanted Realm. He’s the king of the Caspar Sea and maintains the peace between the eight domains, which have historically been plagued with bad blood, often threatening warfare. Someone has stolen King Morven’s beloved trident, and he has turned to stone on the shore of Wonderland. The Red Heart Army has been sharpening their heart-tipped lances, the war monkeys of Osland are preparing for battle, and the leaves of the Silver Tree Forest trees are browning in despair. The trident must be found, or the future of the Enchanted Realm is uncertain. The Red Ruler has invited representatives from each domain to travel to Wonderland to solve this crime. Whoever stole the trident will be held accountable, and it must be returned to King Morven, so he can return to normal, restore balance, and maintain the peace in the realm. You must attend this meeting. This is where your story begins.

After registering, teens will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. For more information, call 631-725-0049 or visit johnjermain.org.

Bay Street Theater and the Sag Harbor Center for the Arts will host what is being called a “Town Hall Meeting” on Saturday, May 1, at 4 p.m. The session, which is open to 85 people in-person and is otherwise available virtually, is meant to offer guests a public forum for the nonprofit theater to discuss plans for a potential new theater space at the former 7-Eleven property on West Water Street.

For more information, visit baystreet.org.

On Saturday, May 8, from noon to 4 p.m., Sag Harbor author Stacy Dermont will sign copies of “The Hamptons Kitchen,” a cookbook she co-authored with Hillary Davis of Bridgehampton, at the Milk Pail, 1346 Montauk Highway in Water Mill.

This cookbook and guide to the East End, featuring over 100 seasonally inspired recipes, includes Ms. Dermont’s great-great grandmother Rosa Weinke’s recipe for Farmhouse Apple Pie. This classic dish boasts a “no-fail” crust, and Dermont recommends using six of the Milk Pail’s Pink Lady apples to fill it. “They’re just the right tart/sweet blend and they stand up to cooking,” says Ms. Dermont. “Pink Ladies are also the favored eating apple around our house. Back on my family farm in Appalachia, I’d shinny up an old apple tree by the hen coop to pull down an apronful of little, green heirloom apples, White Transparents. I’m so glad I can drive to the Milk Pail for fruit these days.”

“We love having Stacy visit for holiday signings — she’s a regular customer who always checks in on our extended farm family,” says 12th generation farmer Amy Halsey, proprietor of the market with her sister Jennifer Halsey-Dupree. “She was in last Christmastime for a socially distanced signing. Events like this give us a chance to get all caught up. We hope to have an outdoor craft sale here soon — and our food truck is here every day, so it’s always a foodie party.”

For more information, visit milk-pail.com.

The Southampton History Museum will hold a virtual tour, “The Old North End of Southampton,” on Thursday, April 29, from 11 a.m. to noon. In 1833, Captain Henry Halsey, a descendant of settler Thomas Halsey, returned to Southampton with his wife and infant son and bought a farm on North Main Street where he rebuilt an old Cape Cod-style house in which Anne Halsey’s relatives have lived ever since. Join the Halseys next Thursday for a virtual tour of the storied streets of the “Old North End” of Southampton, described by residents as “less a geographic neighborhood than a spiritual one possessed by a few families who reckoned back to 1640” and learn about the soldiers, sailors, midwives, writers, farmers, suffragettes, and “Yorkers,” who lived there in the last two centuries and the places they inhabited. Based on original research and the letters of the Halsey’s ancestors, the tour includes stops at the Old Post House, the North End Graveyard, the Bowden Square Dame School, and the legendary Herb McCarthy’s.

For more information or to register, visit southamptonhistory.org.

Rogers Memorial Library, 91 Coopers Farm Road in Southampton, will host a Community Shredding Day on Saturday, May 1, from 10 a.m. to noon. Bring your personal or household documents to the library parking lot and watch as they are shredded in the mobile shredding truck operated by Iron Mountain. There is a limit of three bags or boxes per family and business or office records, plastic, wet paper, metal, books, magazines, newspaper, catalogs, cardboard, photographs, film, CDs, electronics are prohibited.

Social distancing and mask guidelines will be followed. For more information, call 631-283-0774 or visit myrml.org.

The Town of Southampton Youth Bureau will be sponsoring a Virtual Talent Show on Friday, April 30, on the Southampton Youth Bureau’s YouTube channel, with the time of the show yet to be announced.

Performers in fifth through 12th grades who reside or attend school within Southampton Town are encouraged to submit a three-to-four minute video of a performance in singing, music composition, spoken word, dance, skits, comedy, magic or talent of choice to be featured. The show will include a gift card raffle for performers and trivia prizes for audience members tuning in. Video entries and registration forms are due Friday, April 16, and can be sent via email to pstrecker@southamptontownny.gov.

Space is limited and registration is available on a first come, first served basis. For more information, call 631-702-2425 or visit southamptontownny.gov/youthbureau.

Applications are now available for the Southampton Youth Bureau’s 18th Battle of the Bands. This year’s competition will be held on Friday, June 11, from 8 to 11 p.m., with a rain date of Friday, June 18. The location of this year’s concert has yet to be determined.

All applications and demo music must be received by 4 p.m. on Friday, May 14, and can be sent or dropped off at the Southampton Youth Bureau, 655 Flanders Road in Flanders. Label submissions: “Battle of the Bands — Youth Bureau”

Band applications and demo music may also be emailed to Peter Strecker at pstrecker@southamptontownny.gov.

Qualifying bands must have at least one high school student who resides in the Town of Southampton, and a band must consist of a minimum of three performing musicians. To download an application, visit southamptontownny.gov/youthbureau and click on the Southampton Youth Bureau’s online calendar. For more information, call 631-702-2425.

For the first time, Southampton Town beach goers will soon have the option to purchase their Parks and Recreation beach permits online. Southampton Town’s website recently debuted an update to the pre-season mail-in application offered in years past, streamlining the process to be both paperless and contactless.

Those looking to beat the lines and save time can visit southamptontownny.gov/BEACHPERMITS, enter the requested information, and upload their proof of residency or other necessary documents.

Online, pre-season sales are expected to run through May 15. Applicants who submit complete and correct documentation by May 1 can expect permits to be mailed no later than May 15. Applications received after May 15 may take up to four to six weeks for processing.

Patrons who prefer to buy a permit in-person may do so at the Parks and Recreation Department, located at 6 Newtown Road in Hampton Bays. A walk-up window will be available on weekdays, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and at all attended beach locations beginning Saturday, May 29. Please note that permits for the 2020 season remain valid through the end of June.

For more information, please visit the Parks and Recreation Department’s website at southamptontownny.gov/parksrec or call 631-728-8585.

Reduce single-use plastic in the environment and give back to those in need in the local community, all while running routine weekly errands at the local Stop & Shop. The Hampton Bays Public Library has been selected by the local Stop & Shop store leadership as the benefiting non-profit in the reusable Community Bag Program for the month of May.

The reusable Community Bag Program is an easy way for shoppers to give back to the local community and the environment as part of the regular shopping routine. Every $2.50 reusable Community Bag purchased sends a $1 donation to a nonprofit organization local to the Stop & Shop in which it was purchased.

As part of this ongoing program, every month at every Stop & Shop location a different local non-profit is selected to benefit from the sale of the reusable Community Bags. The Hampton Bays Public Library was selected as the May beneficiary by local store leadership at the store located at 194 West Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays.

“It’s more important than ever to help reduce single-use plastic in the environment,” said Susan LaVista, director of the Hampton Bays Public Library. “Nonprofits at the local level, like us, are in need of community support. This program offers the perfect solution to multiple issues of the world today. We hope you’ll support us in May by purchasing one — or two! — reusable Community Bags at our local Stop & Shop.”

For more information, visit stopandshop.bags4mycause.com/community-bag-resources.

Westhampton Beach Fire Department, 92 Sunset Avenue, will host an open house for volunteers as a part of this year’s RecruitNY statewide initiative, on Sunday, May 2, from noon to 4 p.m. Visitors will be able to learn about what it takes to be a volunteer firefighter in their community. Firefighters will be on hand to answer questions, demonstrate equipment, and offer tours of the Sunset Avenue Firehouse. There will be firefighting and rescue demonstrations and firefighters will be on hand to discuss the benefits of volunteering.

For more information, call 631-553-4622.

Nearly a year after COVID-19 restrictions required the Westhampton Free Library to close its doors to the public, the library announced that on May 10, patrons will once again be able to come into the library without an appointment.

To ensure the safety of its staff and patrons, the library will require social distancing, masks, a contact tracing log and temperature checks using a no-touch thermometer. Additionally, while the library will open on May 10, programs will remain virtual.

The library will also continue to provide materials and services via curbside appointments, even when its doors are fully open.

Library hours starting May 10 will be Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, visit westhamptonlibrary.net.

Pack your bags and join the Southampton Youth Bureau for eight weeks around the world! The Town of Southampton Youth Bureau is currently accepting applications for its Around the World Summer Camp at the Flanders Youth Center, 655 Flanders Road. Explore different cultures through food, crafts, stories, sports and weekly field trips! The program is from July 6 through August 26 and will be held Monday through Thursday, from noon to 5 p.m. Youth going into grades five through eight are eligible to participate — proof of grade is required (no exceptions). Camp registration fee is $600 for all eight weeks (Price includes cost of field trips, snacks and supplies). Space is very limited. For more information or to view the registration form, please call 631-702-2425 or visit southamptontownny.gov/youthbureau.

The New York Marine Rescue Center will host its annual 5K Run for the Ridley, in support of critically endangered sea turtles, on Saturday, May 1. Runners can participate virtually or in-person. Check-in begins at 7 a.m. with the race in downtown Riverhead at 8 a.m. Registration is $25 in advance; $30 the day of the race.

To register, visit runfortheridley5k.itsyourrace.com/event.aspx?id=3366

Spirit’s Promise Equine Rescue, 2746 Sound Avenue, Riverhead, will host Beginner Country Line Dancing in The Barn every Monday from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Guests will learn the basics of line dancing, as well as popular beginner dances that are done on Long Island. The cost is $12 for members and $15 for non-members. The classes will be held for six weeks and CDC guidelines will be in place, masks must be worn at all times and social distancing will be in place. All proceeds will go toward helping the horses at the farm and continuing programs. Registration is required and can be done by visiting bit.ly/3a4r0ZV.

For more information on Spirit’s Promise Equine Rescue, visit spiritspromiserescue.org.

The 25th annual East End Garden Festival will be held Tuesday, May 4, through Sunday, May 9, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Tanger Outlets in Riverhead, to benefit the Peconic Bay Medical Center and Operation International. The festival is sponsored by Riverhead Rotary.

Call Mary Eleln Wood at 631-874-0349 or visit RiverheadRotary.org.

Manorville Boy Scout Troop 221 will host its sixth annual Golf Outing on May 24 at The Woods at Cherry Creek in Riverhead. The proceeds will support a group of Scouts who will be attending Northern Tier High Adventure Scout Camp in northern Minnesota.

For more information, email event organizers Donna Robano and Kathy Wehrs at photonnut246@msn.com and kwehrs@optonline.net.