Quogue Community Notes

The second show in the Hampton Theatre Company’s ambitious five-play season at the Quogue Community Hall, “Frozen” by Briony Lavery, opens this week, and theatergoers are in store for what promises to be a riveting experience.

The play, which earned rave reviews and enjoyed much success in New York a few years back, explores the nearly impossible yet imperative path to forgiveness for a woman “frozen” by the death of her child. HTC artistic director Diana Marbury has the role of the mother; Birgitta Millard plays the psychiatrist trying to help her get on with her life, and Edward A. Hoffman plays the man responsible for the death of the child.

A feature story about the play appears in this week’s Arts & Living section on page B1. For reservations or ticket information, call 653-8955, or visit Hamptontheatre.org.

All the chatter among the birds at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge this week was about the annual Seed Sale fund-raiser for the Refuge and the Eastern Long Island Audubon Society coming up this weekend on Saturday and Sunday, November 22 and 23.

Savvy providers of savory treats for our avian amigos already pre-ordered their feeding supplies before November 10; those folks can pick up their orders this weekend. Meanwhile, for those without that much foresight, bird seed, bird houses, and great gifts for birders will be for sale in the Nature Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Start the season with plenty of seed, as the saying goes, and the birds will thank you all winter long. Call the Refuge at 653-4771 for more information.

Good news and bad news from the Quogue Library this week: The good news is that Harold Evans and Tina Brown will be giving a talk on “Turning the Tables! Inside the World of Journalism” at the library on Sunday, November 30, at 3 p.m. The bad news, in case you haven’t guessed it by now, is that the couple’s talk is already fully subscribed. But there may be hope for those who can’t attend: current planning at The Press calls for a staff reporter to cover the program and write about it for the December 4 edition of the paper.

At this time of thanksgiving, and as the cold weather settles in for a long season, all village residents are urged to remember that the library is holding a coat drive through December 15. There is a very real need among homeless New Yorkers and those struggling families who have to choose between buying new coats and putting food on the table.

The library will be collecting gently used winter coats for distribution to those in need right up to December 15. And, please remember too that, in conjunction with the coat drive and during the same time frame, the library is trying to help out local food pantries. All patrons with overdue items can bring in one non-perishable food item as payment for the fine on one library item until December 15. The offer applies only to fines, not to lost or damaged item fees or lost cards. And it’s okay to bring in food for the pantries even if you don’t owe any fines.

With the celebration of conspicuous consumption of comestibles we know as Thanksgiving upon us, home chefs and gastronomes will be glad to know that Have Your Cake Ltd., Quogue’s own gourmet bakery, will be opening its retail shop next week for the Thanksgiving holiday, offering pies, cakes, and sweet and savory tarts in addition to the usual array of marvelous muffins, spectacular scones, and celestial cookies and cakes in a wide range of cup sizes.

The Jessup Avenue shop will be open on Wednesday, November 26, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; on Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon; Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The pie list includes pumpkin, pecan, sweet potato, and apple. Holiday items range from apple tatin and cranberry pear crumble to caramel frosted pumpkin spice cake, frosted gingerbread cake and almond pear tarts. On the savory side, choose from mushroom/leek, Vidalia onion, and butternut squash tarts to complement your dinner, or to serve in lieu of leftovers for lunch or dinner after the feast day.

On the holiday nibbles list, look for white chocolate cranberry pecan cookies, coffee toffee chocolate cookies, cookie gift platters that also make great gifts, and decorated shortbread turkeys for the kids. All are encouraged to order early by calling 653-8233 to avoid disappointment and the inevitable weeping and gnashing of teeth.

And remember that Have Your Cake, Ltd. is open year-round at its main location north of the village center at 64 Old Country Road, and you can call the same number to order whatever strikes your fancy, whether there is a holiday on the horizon or no.

Visitors to the Quogue Library who have taken in the exhibition of abstract works by Roseline Koener in the library art gallery—and those who have yet to check it out—might be interested to know that there is a feature story about Ms. Koener and the “Textures of Joy” show in this week’s Arts & Living section. The show will remain on view through the end of the month.