Around Town

Compiled by Janice Llanes Fabry

<<This Weekend>>

Fragile Feathered Friends

It’s all about birds at Edith Read Wildlife Sanctuary on Saturday at 1. Discover what special traits, adaptations, and survival strategies they employ in order to survive nature’s challenges.

Up, Up, and Away

The Rye Free Reading Room and SPRYE present Academy Award winner Hayao Miyazaki’s film, “The Wind Rises,” on Saturday at 2:30. The dazzling animated film offers a bird’s-eye view of Japanese aviation.

Free and open to the public. Refreshments following the movie. 

Ecology Club

Children with special needs are invited to bring a family member or caregiver to the Rye Nature Center on Saturday from 3:30-4:30. Enjoy animal programs, hikes, and other fun science and sensory adventures.

No fee. For more information and to register, email marygillick@ryenaturecenter.org.

Jack-O-Lanterns

Rye Town Park and The Rye Arts Center are holding their first Pumpkin Painting Contest Sunday from 9-1 at the park. The fun-filled morning will include donuts, apple cider, face painting, and, of course, plenty of pumpkin painting.

The fee is $15. To register, call 881-4535 or email ssumma@townofryeny.com.

Archaeological I Spy

The Rye Free Reading Room is presenting “Spying on Antiquity” on Sunday from 2-3:30. Harvard professor of anthropology Jason Ur will discuss how images from CORONA, the United States’ first spy satellite program, have been used to study ancient landscapes in the Near east, Bronze Age Syria, Iron Age northern Iraq, and late Antique northwestern Iran.

<<Arts & Entertainment>>

Scratching the Surface

The Rye Arts Center is presenting “Surfacing,” an exhibit that showcases the paintings and sculptures by artist and Rye resident Jim Langley and Louisville, KY based artist Loren Myhre. Their works focuses on changing and embellishing surfaces.

Think Coastal

“The Natural Wonders of Rye” is on display at the Rye library until the end of the month. Photographer Cordia Murphy’s painting-like images reflect her relationship with the city’s beautiful coast.

<<Talks, Workshops, & Just for Fun>>

 

Orchids Made Easy

The Little Garden Club of Rye will host a talk about orchids at the Rye library on October 24 at 10:30. Carri Raven-Riemann, who owns OrchidPhile, a wholesale business, will offer lessons on nurturing and sustaining these flowering beauties.

The Heist

Pulitzer prize-winning author Stephen Kurkjian will be speaking at The Osborn on October 24 at 7:30. His book, “Master Thieves:  The Boston Gangsters Who Pulled Off the World’s Greatest Art” details the stunning and as yet unsolved theft from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 

The event is free and open to the public.  Books will be available for signing and purchase. To rsvp, email RSVP@TheOsborn.org. 

Have a Leading Edge

Learn all about Microsoft Edge at the Rye library October 26 from 10-12. The session will cover the new Internet program’s home pages, search functions, and easier reading of websites. Bring a laptop with Windows 10 if you have it.

Move Over Citizen Kane
The Bird Homestead nonprofit and the Westchester County Historical Society present “Citizen Jane: The Battle for the City” at the Rye Meeting House on October 28 at 3. The documentary retraces the epic clash between master builder Robert Moses and 1960s activist Jane Jacobs, who challenged his efforts to build a highway through New York City’s Greenwich Village and Washington Square Park.

Shoring Up Talent

Join the Sound Shore Writers Group for an open mic night at The Rye Arts Center on October 30 from 7-9:15. There will be readings and a celebration of writers supporting one another. All genres welcome to this free event.

War and Remembrance

The Rye library’s Thursday Afternoon Book Group is reading “The Madonnas of Leningrad” by Debra Dean and Yelena Shmulenson. A discussion will be held on November 2 from 1:15-2:30.

Seamlessly moving back and forth between the Soviet Union and contemporary America, the novel is a searing portrait of war, as well as of the hope that exists in the face of overwhelming despair.

Woman Empowered

Meet author Janet Benton at the Rye Free Reading Room on November 2 from 7-9. Her novel “Lilli De Jong” was called “a heart-smashing debut that completely satisfies.” Her work has appeared in “The New York Times,” “The Philadelphia Inquirer,” and many other publications. She has also co-written and edited historical documentaries for television.

“Lilli de Jong” is the story of an unwed mother in late 19th-century Philadelphia who will do almost anything to keep her daughter alive. Benton turns a laser eye to her subject, exposing the sanctimony, hypocrisies, and pervasive sexism that kept women confined and unequal in the Victorian era.

Freedom Fighter

The Rye library’s Friday Book Café is reading “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban” by Malala Yousafzai. A discussion will be held at an off-site location on November 3 from 9:30-11.

The story revolves around Yousafzai refusing to be silenced and fighting for her right to an education. In 2012, she was shot in the head at point blank range. Her miraculous recovery took her on an extraordinary journey as she became a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Landscape Makeover

The Rye Nature Center will show participants how to make their yards attractive, while saving money, November 3 at 9:30. Hosted in conjunction with the Friends of Rye Sustainability Committee, this free workshop is sponsored by Sustainable Westchester and will cover leaf mulching and other healthy practices.

<<Family Ties>>

Treats for All

Parents may enjoy a night out as the Rye YMCA watches the kids on October 20 from 6:30-9. There will be a snack and storybook activities revolving around “Five Little Pumpkins” for ages 3 months-5 years. There’s plenty of Halloween fun with a light dinner for grades K-6.

Fee for the younger set is $15 per child for family members, $20 for youth and non-members. For the older group, the fee is $20 per child for family members, $27 for youth members, $36 for non-members.

Email kellylewin@ryeymca.org with questions. Register at ryeymca.org.

Campfire, Canoeing, Climbing, and Crafts

The Rye YMCA heads to the YMCA Greenkill Retreat Center in Huguenot, New York, from October 20 at 7 to October 22 at 2. The trip includes a two-night stay in a heated lodge with five meals, hiking, and plenty of outdoor activities.

The fee for an adult with one child is $350, $500 for a family of 3, $650 for a family of 4. Transportation is not provided. Space is limited. Register at ryeymca.org. For more information, contact Kathy Lynam at 967-6363 or email Kathy@ryeymca.org.

Walk Through if You Dare

Join the Rye Free Reading Room for a special Halloween family event for ages 4 and up on October 26 from 6-7, October 27 from 10:00-11:30 and 3-5, and on October 28 from 2-4:30. The library’s Meeting Room will be transformed into a haunted maze. Wear your costumes.

Haviland’s Hocus Pocus

Ghosts, goblins, bumps and squeaks in the night await visitors to the slightly spooky Square House Museum October 27 and 28 from 5:30 to 8. Get ready to encounter other-worldly travelers awakening from a two-hundred-year slumber at old Haviland’s Inn during this family-friendly event.

Halloween-themed games and a Monster Mash dance will all be part of the fun. The cost is $20 per family. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

For information, call 967-7588 or visit www.ryehistory.org.

On Your Broomsticks

The Rye YMCA invites the whole community to a free Halloween Carnival and Open House on October 29 from 2-4. All ages can come in costume to play games, win prizes, enjoy healthy snacks, and have good old-fashioned Halloween fun.

For more information, email familyfun@ryeymca.org or call 967-6363.

Gym Games

The Rye YMCA’s first family Friday, on November 3 from 6:30-7:30, offers an evening of themed activities, crafts, snacks and fun for the whole family.

Free for family and youth members, $10 per person for youth members, $20 per person non-members. Register at ryeymca.org.

<<Teen Time>>

Pen to Paper

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the Rye library is holding a workshop led by Maureen Mancini Amaturo at Rye High School’s Media Center Reference Library on November 1 from 3-4. Students will focus on getting a story started and building a work in progress.

Writers will develop a routine and discover their inspiration in order to reach NaNoWriMo’s goal of getting 500 words per day on paper. A second part to the workshop will continue on November 8 from 3-4. For more information, visit ryelibrary.org.

<<Children’s Corner>>

Witch’s Brew

Elementary school children are invited to the Rye Nature Center for a Halloween adventure on October 26 from 11:15-3:15. Kids will search for the ingredients witches use for their spells, from spiders under logs to frogs in ponds. Then they’ll create concoctions in the Center’s mud kitchen.

Pre-registration is required. The fee is $70 per child for members, $80 non-members.

Winging It

Ages 3½-6 can learn how birds and butterflies begin their migration to warmer climates at the Rye Nature Center on October 27 from 9-1. Pre-registration is required. The fee is $70 per child for members, $80 non-members.

Make a Halloween Face

Get creative this Halloween at The Rye Arts Center on October 28. Ages 6-8 from 2-3 and ages 9-12 from 3-4 will use polymer clay to make pumpkin faces and then dress them in clay costumes. Instructor Terry Taylor will show students how to transform simple balls and coils of clay into one-of-a-kind pumpkins.

The fee is $15 and all supplies are included.

<<For a Good Cause>>

Bird by Bird

Join Friends of Rye Nature Center to help scientists track broad scale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance. Volunteers needed from November to April to submit data to Project FeederWatch. A training session will be held on October 28 at 9:30.

For more information, visit feederwatch.org or contact taroietaka@ryenaturecenter.org.

<<Save the Date>>

B.A.G. Improv

Ages 9 and up are invited to “Bring A Grown-up” to The Rye Arts Center for an improvisation class on November 4 from 2-3:30. Together, adults and kids will explore the exciting and hilarious fast-paced world of improv by playing games, doing exercises, and creating scenes.

No experience is necessary. The fee is $50. Register at ryeartscenter.org.

A Gathering of Light

The fine art photography of The Ground Glass will be on display at The Rye Arts Center from November 4 to December 2. An opening reception will be held November 4 from 1-3.

The Ground Glass is a Westchester-based association of fine art photographers founded in 1975 and with whom The RAC is collaborating once again. For more information, visit ryeartscenter.org or thegroundglass.org.

Stargazing at the Mansion

Join astronomer Jason Kendall at the Jay Heritage Center from 6-9 on November 12 (new rain date) as he presents the wonders of our nearest celestial neighbor through a telescope. After discussing the fall skies, there will be a brief outdoor presentation about the Apollo missions to the moon and future lunar exploration. Light bites and beverages will be served.

Admission is $15 per person, $40 per family.