Around Town 1-24-14

Family Ties

Take Me to “The Jungle Book”

The Rye library invites families to join in reading Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” and an accompanying nonfiction work during January and February. Register in the Children’s Room, pick up your very own copy to keep of “The Jungle Book,” and begin keeping a journal of your family’s experience. When you have finished the novel, check out a nonfiction book about India or an animal in the story.

A celebration party will be held in March and one family will be chosen at random to win a basket of fun prizes.

For more information, call 231-3161.

Animal Care Training

Interested in volunteering at the Rye Nature Center? Take part in animal care training, January 22 from 4-5 p.m. No experience is necessary. Participants must be 14 years and older to participate. To register, e-mail Jeni Casinelli at jenicasinelli@ryenaturecenter.

Hiking Club

Pull on your hiking boots and explore the Rye Nature Center forest with the whole family, January 25 at 9:15 a.m. Free for members, $10 non-members.

Arts & Entertainment

Lively Sunday Brunch

Spend Sunday afternoon enjoying the sounds of the Gary Adamson Jazz Trio at Wainwright House, January 12 from 12-3 p.m. Enjoy a delicious brunch from Corner Stone Caterers.

The February 9 brunch features the John Fumasoli Trio.

Cost is $35 for members, $45 non-members, and $50 at the door. For reservations, call 967-6080.

WWII Film Series, Part II

Head to the Square House on two Sunday afternoons in January for two classic and powerful World War II films.

On January 12, watch “12 O’Clock High” starring Gregory Peck. The story follows U.S. Army aircrews flying daylight bombing missions in the early days of America’s involvement in the war.

“The Best Years of Our Lives” will be screened on January 26. The winner of seven Academy Awards, including best picture, best director, and best actor (Frederic March), the film traces the stories of three U.S. servicemen readjusting to civilian life after the war.

Screenings begin at 2:30 p.m. both days. Admission is $5 per screening, free for veterans and active military service personnel.

An Exhibit in Which Oil and Wood Really Mix

By Sarah Varney

“Remember When,” a solo show of oil paintings by Rye resident Regina Latkany opens at the Rye Arts Center January 18. The works incorporate postcards and other sources into — and even onto — oil paintings done on balsam birch panels. The artist traveled widely all over the world during the ’80s and ’90s, collecting old postcards along the way.

For Latkany, the evocation of memories is key. “It’s not necessarily what you’re looking at that’s important. It’s the idea of what life was like back then. The words are just as important as the pictures,” she said.

The works not only invoke memories, but also provoke questions in the mind of the viewer. In Looking Out to See a man stands on what appears to be the walkway along Oakland Beach, gazing out to sea. A postcard affixed to the work shows a bathing carriage trundling along a beach. These carriages were used to preserve the modesty of female bathers in the late 1800s. For Latkany, the work gives a glimpse of what beach bathing actually entailed for women at the time, along with a vision that could be Rye, with a central figure that is pining for a lost love.

Latkany came to conceptual art after a period of working in oil on canvas in the early 1970s. She began to experiment and found that conceptualism came more naturally to her. Marcel DuChamp pioneered the aesthetic, in which the relationship between multiple elements creates meaning, with his controversial work Fountain, 1917.

For Latkany, mother of five and grandmother of nine, is excited to have already sold one of the works in the show. Interior designer Carleton Varney bought San Antonio after seeing it on her website. He’s also told Latkany that he hopes to be at the opening. The reception begins at 3 p.m. The show runs until February 22.

Rye’s Talent on Display

“Raising the bar,” an exhibit of works in pencil, colored pencil, pen and ink, watercolor, and watercolor on plaster/paper by Rye resident Kent Iarocci is on display at the Rye library through January 23.

Talks and Workshops

New Year, New Sunday Schedule

In January and February the Square House will be open on Sundays from 1-4 p.m. Visitors will be welcomed with fresh-brewed coffee and freshly baked cookies and a special “behind-the-ropes” guided tour of the museum or a fascinating Gallery talk about the current exhibit, “Rye During World War II.”

For more information, call 967-7588.

Docking on eBay

Learn more about selling on eBay, January 11 at 10 a.m. at the Rye library. Jennifer Stevens, a longtime eBay seller and certified education specialist, goes beyond the basics about starting a business on eBay, increasing sales with proven techniques, finding new sources of merchandise, opening an eBay store, and tracking your sales.

Computer-Savvy Workshops

The Rye library is hosting two computer workshops this month. The first, “Your New iPad,” will be held on January 16. Learn iPad basic set-up and how to use e-mail and the Internet. Downloading and using apps, books, and music will also be covered. Attendees should bring their iPads to class.

On January 23, they are offering a demonstration of Windows 8, the Microsoft Operating System for all new computers. It looks and functions differently from all previous Windows Systems. If you have a laptop with Windows 8 bring it to class. Otherwise, watch the in-house presentation and use what you learn on your own computer.

Both sessions run from 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Hunger Is No Game

Join The Bread of Life Food Pantry for a viewing of “A Place at the Table,” January 14 at 7 p.m. at the Rye library. The film examines the issue of hunger in the United States through the stories of three Americans who struggle daily with food insecurity.

Following the film there will be a panel discussion and Q & A session. Agencies such as Westchester Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless will provide information to educate local communities about hunger locally and throughout Westchester County.

Give Me the British Countryside Life

Curt DiCamillo, a noted authority on English country estates, returns for his second lecture at the Jay Heritage Center, January 19 from 3-5 p.m. Following up on his whirlwind presentation on the “real” world of Downton Abbey this past fall, DiCamillo will draw listeners into the glamorous world of British horse, auto, and airplane racing through the centuries.

Learn about Goodwood House in Sussex, home of the Glorious Goodwood festival (thoroughbred horse racing), one of the highlights of the English social season, and Higham Park in Kent, one of the first centers of auto racing in the early 20th century.

Stories of lions, murder, and movies, all mixed carefully with soaring ambition and stunning houses filled with sublime art come together to reveal fantastic stories that we still marvel at. From James Bond’s ancestry to the Flying Duchess – it’s a world that would be recognized by everyone from Charles II to Evelyn Waugh.

Cost is $15 per person, $10 seniors, free for members. The lecture will be followed by refreshments. Visit jaycenter.org.

ESL Classes

Beginning January 22, Vincent Byrne will once again offer English as a Second Language classes at the Rye library on Wednesdays from 12:15-1:30 p.m. All interested to improving their English language skills in a relaxed and informal setting should call the library at 231-3161 or speak to a librarian.

Meet Author Annabel Monaghan

Join Rye author Annabel Monaghan to celebrate the publication of her second young adult novel “Double Digit”, the sequel to “A Girl Named Digit”, January 23 at 7 p.m. at the Rye library. Monaghan will discuss writing, math tricks, bumper stickers and all things Digit. Find out what Digit’s been up to since she started college at MIT, what’s happening with her boyfriend John (you’ll have to read the book!), and how her very own real-life Disney Channel movie is coming along.

Books will be available for sale and signing.

To the Milky Way and More

Is there a more delicious way to learn about the history of one of mankind’s favorite foods than sampling a selection of premium dark and milk chocolate? Chocolate lovers will find out at the Square House, January 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Rye resident Michael Jordan, who learned about chocolate from the Master Chocolatiers of Lindt, will share his knowledge in a fascinating illustrated talk. He will take the audience through the origins and ancient rituals surrounding chocolate, its discovery by Europeans, and its modern incarnations.

Learn the differences between chocolates from Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and other countries, and what to look for in a premium chocolate. The chocolates for the evening are courtesy of Lindt Chocolate of America.

Cost is $25 for Rye Historical Society members, $35 for non-members. For reservations, call 967-7588 or e-mail aford@ryehistoricalsociety.org.

If You’re Resolved to Lose Weight

Dr. Kurt Waples of Larchmont Wellness will present a series of three talks on weight loss at the Rye library. At the first meeting, January 25 at 11 a.m., Dr. Waples will explain how body fat is hormone-regulated and how by correcting your hormone balance you can lose those extra pounds.

Workshops in February and March will focus on nutrition and exercise as ways to control your weight.

Dr. Kurt Waples is a chiropractor, kinesiologist, and nutrition expert who is working to “create the new normal in health care.”

Children’s Corner

Snowy Storytime

Ages 5 and up are invited to listen to stories about snowmen and make a frosty craft, January 10 at 3:30 p.m. at the Rye library.

Special Ecology Club

Children with special needs children and their families can enjoy animal programs, hikes, and other science and sensory adventures, January 18 at 10 a.m. at the Rye Nature Center.

There is no fee, but pre-registration is required. For more information, e-mail christinesiller@ryenaturecenter.org.

Innovation Revolution

STEM meets ART and makes STEAM! The intersection of engineering, science, math, and technology is making its way to the Rye Arts Center through a series of new classes starting January 29. Using the latest in technology including 3-D printing, Little Bits electronics, Makey Makey Music, LEGO/K’Nex, and Scratch, ages 8 and up have the opportunity to create, build, make, design, and innovate.

New classes include learning how to make music using everyday objects linked to a computer, create animations and interactive stories and music using simple programming code, and make objects using the first 3-D printer in Rye.

Registration is ongoing. Visit ryeartscenter.org.

Teen Times

Practice Makes Perfect

Take a free practice ACT or SAT exam administered by Summit Educational Group at the Rye library January 18 from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Summit Practice Tests offer students a great opportunity to take a proctored test under simulated test conditions. Registration is required; call 800-MYTUTOR.

Mesmerize This

Middle and high school students can stop by the Rye library ’s Teen Room any time and enter the mesmerizing world of Minecraft, the amazing sandbox game of creation and survival.

To Your Health

All the Latest Advances

SPRYE will hold a mini health seminar, January 15 from 3-4:30 p.m. at Wainwright House. Dr. James Rosoff, Greenwich Hospital urologist, and Dr. Anthony Macera, Rye Brook audiologist, will bring participants up to date on the latest advances in their fields. The program is free.