Giving back just feels good.
As the East End gears up for the Thanksgiving holiday later this month, plenty of Hamptons locales are making sure they’re highlighting the spirit of gratitude and giving back to its community members.
And to be honest, the timing couldn’t be better.
Now more than ever, local food pantries need help. As you’ve probably heard, due to the federal government being shutdown for the last month or so (time sure does fly when you’re busy working on your golf game, you know?), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is only providing half of the usual benefits for November, a decision based on court rulings ordering funding to resume. While the Trump administration has confirmed they will use contingency funds to provide partial payments, despite disagreeing with the court’s order, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about when full funding will be restored and causing significant strain on food banks across the country. We think that food is a right, not a privilege, so please donate to your local food pantry if you can.
On a lighter note, there’s great talks, discussions, dinners and live music and dance performances sure to entertain and engage.
Support your local food pantry
Earlier this week, WordHampton Public Relations announced they were helping to stock the Springs Food Pantry. All are welcome to donate non-perishable goods through Friday, Nov. 21, by dropping donations off to their office located at 26 Park Place in East Hampton. Call 631-329-0050 for more information. Additionally, the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton (376 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, 631-537-8250) also is continuing their weekly collection for their own food pantry (that they started during the pandemic), which gets dispersed to children and their caregivers. Every Thursday, including today, CMEE accepts donations from 5 to 6 p.m.
Hone in on your health in East Hampton
The East Hampton Healthcare Foundation will sponsor a free community Health Fair at the St. Luke’s Church Hoie Hall meeting room (18 James Lane, East Hampton) tomorrow, Nov. 7, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Highlights will include flu shots, glucose exams, blood pressure screenings, and applications for colorectal screenings. Also available will be appointments for no-cost mammogram and pap smear tests for uninsured women over the age of 40. Representatives and information will be on hand from health insurance organizations, Sun River Health Care, OLA of Eastern Long Island, SNAP (food stamp information and applications), mental health resources for children and adolescents (via YES COMPHS, Youth Enrichment Services Community Mental Health and Support), Meals on Wheels (information and applications), and the Town of East Hampton Human Services department. Attendees will also have the opportunity to speak with a family educator, and a nutrition educator from Cornell Cooperative Extension. Healthy refreshments will be served. The entire community is invited to attend. For more information, call 631-329-2425.
Bead amongst friends at Ma’s House
All are welcome to a beading workshop at Ma’s House in Shinnecock (159 Old Point Road, Southampton) Nov. 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. Sure to be an evening filled with creativity and community, attendees can bring their work-in-progress beadwork project, or start something new with the materials provided. All skill levels are welcome. RSVP is required as space is limited.
Celebrate and hear from a community pillar in Sag Harbor
“Knowledge Friday” is at The Church (48 Madison Street, 631-919-5342) in Sag Harbor beginning at 6 p.m. with Bonnie Michelle Cannon, executive director of the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center. A living legend of the East End, Cannon is widely considered a community pillar named the Southampton Press Eastern Edition Person of the Year in 2023, among other accolades and civic engagement efforts. To read up on her, click here. Tickets to the talk are $10 per person, free for members. “The best way to spread love is to be LOVE!” she says. Be like Bonnie.
Get jazzy at the Masonic Temple
Experience Santi Debriano & the Bembé Sextet — a powerhouse blend of jazz mastery and Afro-Caribbean rhythm that unites groove, soul, and spirit in one unforgettable night in Sag Harbor with Hamptons JazzFest. Enjoy bites from Tapovana Lunch Box and a full selection of drinks, all available for purchase. Join in for an evening of music, community, and connection at the Masonic Temple (200 Main St., second floor of the Whaling Museum). Tickets are $20.
Author Lance Richardson (left) will be on hand at both East Hampton Library and Rams Head Inn on Shelter Island to discuss his latest book on late Sagaponack resident, naturalist and fellow author Peter Matthiessen (right). (Photos courtesy of East Hampton Library)
Learn about (and toast to) a Sagaponack novelist
“Biography as Pilgrimage: On the Trail of Peter Matthiessen,” the final Tom Twomey series event for this year, is at East Hampton Library (159 Main St., 631-324-0222) on Saturday, Nov. 8, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Author Lance Richardson will discuss his new book True Nature: The Pilgrimage of Peter Matthiessen, which is the life and times of the late Sagaponack novelist, naturalist and trailblazing environmentalist Peter Matthiessen. Richardson will talk about his eight-year undertaking, including a 200-mile trek in the Himalayas, to write the biography of Matthiessen, whose work championed Native American rights and helped usher in the modern environmental movement. Admission is free to the talk and advanced registration is requested but not required. Click here to save your seat. On Sunday, Nov. 9, Rams Head Inn (108 Ram Island Road, Shelter Island, 631-749-0811) hosts an intimate dinner and conversation as part of their Fireside Chat Series. The event, which will feature a reading of True Nature followed by an insightful conversation between Matthiessen’s son, Alex, and Richardson will begin at 5 p.m. for a cocktail hour. Tickets are $75 and includes a starter, entree, dessert and glass of wine (a cash bar is also available).
Explore the lives of a late couple at Guild Hall
Site-Specific Dances presents “In Process: Love Letters — Cage to Cunningham” at Guild Hall (158 Main St., East Hampton, 631-324-0806) on Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. The dance/media performance work based on selected letters from Love, Icebox reveal the interwoven nature of composer and music theorist John Cage and dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham’s artistic and personal lives. The performance will be presented as a series of vignettes following the emotional arc of the letters combining media and live music with the dance ensemble. Tickets are $25 for general admission, plus fees. A talk with the creative team will follow the performance.
Make it to Montauk for music
At 3 p.m. on Sunday, gather at the Montauk Library (871 Montauk Highway, 631-668-3377)for Jiayi He’s Harmonica & String Ensemble, performing a stellar program of masterworks by classical composers such as Massenet, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Chopin; as well as music by contemporary composers including Ennio Morricone, Stevie Wonder, U2 and others. This special concert is suitable for family audiences. Not to be missed and free to attend.
