Congratulations, Pierson grads, and Happy Summer.Now everybody, take a deep breath. If you think it’s been as busy as August gets around here, wait until the big Fourth of July weekend coming up.
Hooray for the Sag Harbor Yacht Club. It’s putting on a Grucci fireworks show on Saturday, July 5, at approximately 9:30 p.m. The annual event, named in honor of the late John A. Ward, a club member and Sag Harbor citizen, draws 20,000 people to the village, so find your place early. The best spots are at Marine Park, Havens Beach and Long Wharf, or aboard a boat. (Don’t go to the Yacht Club; only members and their invited guests will be allowed there.)
Take a few minutes on Friday, July 4, to pump yourself up for the show by reading the Declaration of Independence, a facsimile of which The New York Times publishes on the back page of the news section every year on July 4. What other business these days donates a valuable page of advertising space to American ideals?
If you admire the homes of Sag Harbor and always wanted to see inside a few, your big chance is coming up on Friday, July 11, when the Friends of the John Jermain Library will offer their annual Sag Harbor house tour.
A big event every year, it will feature five houses. They include a new shingle, stone and glass hybrid in North Haven; a hip-roofed beauty in the village that started life in 1790 and has gone through three major remodelings, one three years ago; a Sears, Roebuck prefab with a recent addition; a post-and-beam Timberpeg overlooking Sag Harbor Cove; and an 1840 Greek Revival-turned-Federal where tea will be served.
Tickets are $45 in advance at the interim library at 34 West Water Street and at the Wharf Shop on Main Street; they are $50 the day of tour at the new library only. For information, call the library at (631) 725-0049.
Chloe Dirkson, a Sag Harbor resident with her husband Colton and two sons, has a leading role in the world premier of “Galápagos,” a theatrical adaption of Kurt Vonnegut’s 1985 novel, at the Parrish Art Museum’s Lichtenstein Theatre, July 21 to 25.
The show, created by Tucker Marder and Christian Scheider, sounds like a lot of fun. Endorsed by the author’s estate, it’s a multimedia production featuring 26 actors including Academy Award nominee Bob Balaban, whom we’ve seen around Sag Harbor, too. Mssrs. Marder and Scheider previously collaborated on an adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s “The Murderer,” performed last August here at the Old Whalers’ Church.
If you’ve been around Sag Harbor a while, you’ll remember it was Christian’s mother, Brenda Siemer Scheider, who led the battle to save the Sag Harbor Cinema sign. His dad was the late, great Roy Scheider, a regular shopper at King Kullen in Bridgehampton not to mention the unforgettable police chief in “Jaws.”
This column isn’t meant for local business promotions but when there’s real news we’ll mention it here. Sag Harbor’s Apple specialist, GeekHampton at 34 Bay Street, has been designated an authorized iPhone repair service—the only one on the entire East End. Previously operating as “Twin Peaks Geeks,” business owners Sheryl Heller and Mike Avery have been offering technical and tutoring services since 1999. They opened their store on the waterfront in 2008 and have been authorized iPad and Mac specialists for years.
Acclaimed novelist Alan Furst will read from his latest novel, “Midnight in Europe,” at Canio’s Books on Upper Main Street on Saturday, July 5, at 5 p.m.
Praised for his historical accuracy and evocation of place, Mr. Furst’s new work is set in Paris, 1938. Cristián Ferrar, a brilliant and handsome Spanish émigré, is a lawyer in the Paris office of a prestigious international law firm. He is approached by the embassy of the Spanish Republic and asked to help a clandestine agency trying to supply weapons to the Republic’s beleaguered army—an effort that puts his life at risk in the battle against fascism.
The Wall Street Journal called it “suspenseful and sophisticated ... No espionage author, it seems, is better at summoning the shifting moods and emotional atmosphere of Europe before the start of World War II than Alan Furst.”
Coming up at Canio’s on Friday, July 11, at 5 p.m., Poet Alex Russo will read from his memoir, “Combat Artist: a Journal of Love and War.”
Canio’s is launching a monthly children’s story time, Canio’s for Kids, which will begin on Saturday, July 26, at 11 a.m. Retired elementary school teacher Sigrid Meinel of Hampton Bays will present a series of readings of favorite children’s books; her first selection will be “Chrysanthemum” by Kevin Henkes. Children’s story time at Canio’s is recommended for children age four and up. An adult must accompany them.
Zvi Gitelman, professor of political science and Preston R. Tisch Professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan, will discuss “Jews in Ukraine: Turmoil and Prospects” at the Conservative Synagogue of the Hamptons on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton on Saturday, July 12, after the 9 a.m. service.
Prof. Gitelman will talk about why Jews have been historically more inclined to Russia than to Ukraine; why contemporary Jews in Ukraine are now largely supporting Ukraine; and how the current conflict is differentially affecting Jews in both Russia and Ukraine.
Saturday morning services take place at the Unitarian Universalist Meetinghouse, 977 Bridge-Sag Harbor Turnpike. Services on July 12 will begin earlier than usual, at 9 a.m. A kiddush/light lunch will follow. All are welcome; to RSVP, email cshpres@gmail.com.
With the Big Weekend coming up, stand by for some amazing trick driving. We had a rare moment of road satisfaction Sunday when two motorcyclists passed us and a small line of cars—on a double yellow line and a curve—heading out from the roundabout in North Haven to Long Beach. The riders didn’t notice that two Southampton Town Police patrol cars were parked side-by-side on the shoulder. Got ’em!
Ahhhh, justice!
Staff Writer on Jul 1, 2014