It’s here. Memorial Day weekend is upon us. Synonymous with the start of the summer season, the weekend will see an influx of people traveling from the city (and elsewhere) to party and play across the Hamptons.
To all the people visiting: be safe, have fun and please respect our beautiful East End home that is so cherished and beloved. To all the locals: stay strong, stay patient and keep your eyes on the prize… which is Tuesday when a good chunk of people leave until the next migration comes on July Fourth.
Here’s a little taste of what to do for fun as we move into the weekend.
Drink, dance and do karaoke
Enjoy happy hour with Second Hands as they perform at Sagaponack Farm Distillery (369 Sagg Road, 631-537-7300) from 5 to 7 p.m. After, head to Almond Restaurant (1 Ocean Road, 631-537-5665) in Bridgehampton for “world famous” karaoke nights, hosted by DJ Carlos Lama, every Thursday beginning at 9:30 p.m. For late night fun, El Verano (10 Windmill Lane) in Southampton hosts a dance party with live music from DJ Twilo on Sunday, May 25 from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. If you’re looking for a place to party, the evening is sure to be a proper pre-summer weekend celebration filled with mezcal, mood lighting and movement.
Support your local farm and your local in need
Share the Harvest Farm (55 Long Lane, East Hampton) is officially back for the season! Open Thursday through Saturday (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), the farmstand offers a variety of fresh veggies, herbs and flowers plus small-batch goods and seasonally charged treats from local vendors. All proceeds from the stand help fund Share the Harvest Farm’s work in fighting food insecurity by growing and donating tens of thousands of pounds of produce each year to local food pantries, community organizations and neighbors in need.
Also kicking off this weekend is the annual Shelter Island History Center’s Farmers’ Market (16 S. Ferry Road, 631-749-0025), rain or shine, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There will be over 20 venders on hand, plus live music from Lisa & Tom to start the season right, plus some great informational tents on issues like community housing and senior citizen issues.
See Hampton Theatre Company’s latest play
Legendary playwright Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” caps off Hampton Theatre Company’s 40th season, with the play’s three-week running beginning tonight and continuing through June 8. For those not in the know, the play is the razor-sharp story about how middle-aged couple George and Martha draw the unwitting younger couple of Honey and Nick into their world of marital angst and verbal tirades. Tumultuous and gut-wrenching, the play is directed by longtime HTC contributor George Loizides with the cast headed by the theater’s founding members Andrew Bostford and Rosemary Cline. Performances will run on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., and on Sundays at 2:30 p.m. An additional matinee performance will be on Saturday, June 7, at 2:30 p.m. Two talkbacks with the cast will be offered following performances on May 30 and June 6. Tickets are $40 for adults, $36 for seniors, $25 for students, $30 for veterans and Native Americans. Hampton Theatre Company is located at 125 Jessup Ave. in Quogue. Click here for tickets or call 631-653-8955.
Paint, sip, celebrate the flag at SAC
Southampton Arts Center (25 Jobs Lane, 631-283-0967) hosts a paint and sip with Deborah Acquino in the studio space tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Designed for adults, all are welcome to join in for some creative fun with mixing colors and creating art. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn the basic techniques needed to blend and combine paint colors. Perfect for beginners or experienced artists who to love to create. Paint, brushes, canvases and drinks will be provided by SAC. $35, $30 for members. Register here. On Saturday, May 24, it’s the opening reception for SAC’s latest exhibition “Independency: The American Flag at 250 Years,” from 5 to 7 p.m.
Get into dancing and art at Guild Hall
Join in for a one-night-only celebration of history and future of tap dancing with Our Fabulous Variety Show’s “Tap: Revolution of Rhythm” at Guild Hall (158 Main St., 631-324-0806) in East Hampton tonight starting at 7 p.m. The performance covers the history of tap as a Black American art form and how it shares roots with step, jazz, hip hop and swing dances. Tickets start at $10. “Zigmund’s Show and Tell” session is on Saturday, a participatory program where guests are invited to bring their slides (the digital prints on panel) plus carousels (if they have them) to share and explore with exhibiting artist Almond Zigmund. Free to participate and runs from noon to 2 p.m. Also on Saturday, it’s an evening with Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown and Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe at 8 p.m. Hosted by Frank DiLella and tickets start at $25. On Sunday, May 25, Guild Hall hosts a silent disco dance party in the Furman Garden from 8 to 11 p.m. Wireless headsets will feature three different channels with DJ’s Mister Lama, Zigga Sun and Sits-a-Lot spinning some of your favorite tunes from disco to funk, ’80s and ’90s hip hop and rap and plenty of pop hits. Tickets are $15.
Celebrate MDW with music at Clubhouse
The Clubhouse (174 Daniels Hole Road, East Hampton, 631-537-2695) kicks off Memorial Day weekend with “Southern Nights,” featuring live country music on the lawn at the locale’s new beer garden starting tomorrow, May 23, from 5 to 8 p.m. No cover to attend. On Saturday, it’s Josh Brussell & The One Night Band on “Cover Night,” performing from 5 to 8 p.m. Also free. Clubhouse’s on-site nightclub space, The Room, along with Rose Gold, present “The Hamptons Summer Series: After Dark” also on Saturday at 9 p.m. Featuring music from musical duo NOTD, general admission is $30, with group discounts available at $27 per person. Click here for tickets. On Sunday, May 25, musician Joe Delia and some of his friends round out the weekend with “Local Night” on the lawn from 5 to 8 p.m. Free of charge.
Go fly a kite in East Hampton
This Saturday, May 24, East Hampton’s Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center kicks off their annual summer event “Kites for Kids” at Main Beach. From 2 to 5 p.m. kids of all ages are welcome to fly their decked-out kites to benefit the childhood center. Each kite is $12 and may be reserved online here. Participants are encouraged to decorate their reserved kites with stickers, ribbons, glitter and markers at the kite decorating station the day of the event. Free parking will be available. Join in for a family-friendly event for kids of all ages.
Aperitivo, afternoon tea and Taste of Peru at Baker House
The Baker House 1650 (181 Main St., East Hampton, 631-324-4081) hosts Aperitivo sunset cocktails every Thursday, Friday and Saturday starting tonight at 5 p.m. Indulge in curated cocktails in at the historic inn. Free to enter. The rich culinary traditions of Peru are celebrated this Saturday at Baker House with a sampling of authentic cuisine and cocktails. Seatings are available at 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. for a 2-hour reservation. Tickets are $100.
Support art, support good causes
A new exhibition is opening at Grenning Gallery (26 Main St., 631-725-8469) in Sag Harbor starting Saturday evening and continuing through June 15. Featuring the works of two classically trained painters, Kelly Carmody and Nelson White, there will be an opening reception on Saturday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. A little further down the road this season, the Shelter Island History Museum will be hosting “Generations of Shelter Island Impressionists,” an exhibition of paintings from White, along with his father Nelson C. White and his grandfather Henry C. White, celebrating a century of painting on The Rock. That exhibition opens June 28, so be sure to mark your calendars! An opening reception for the White Room Gallery’s “La Femme,” a celebration of art about women that is both sexy and empowering, is also on Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m. at its East Hampton location (3 Railroad Ave., 631-237-1481). A portion of the proceeds of sales during the exhibition (which ends June 8) will be donated to the Ellen Hermanson Breast Cancer Center.
