Don’t Miss
Doing the Turkey Trot!
Burn off those Thanksgiving calories the fun way —at Rye Rec’s 36th annual Turkey Run and Paws Walk-A-Thon November 24. Adults with young children can participate in the 1-mile fun run/walk. Runners, joggers, and walkers can join the 3.1-mile or 5.2-mile races.
Check-in begins at 8 a.m. Registration is ongoing; call 967-2535.
Save the Date
Holiday Wreath Sale
The Ceres Garden Club will sell decorated wreaths and arrangements of winter greenery from the porch of the Square House on Saturday, December 1 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Enjoy homemade baked goods inside the museum.
The wreaths sell for $20, the basket arrangements of greenery are priced according to size, and the sweet treats are delicious and cost less than at your neighborhood bakery.
Proceeds go toward the Club’s hanging flower baskets that enliven Purchase Street each summer. This year, the Club planted more than 50 baskets with red and pink geraniums that bloomed and beautified Rye’s downtown from Memorial Day into October.
By supporting the Ceres Garden Club annual sale of holiday greens, buyers not only have the pleasure of decorating their homes this winter, but also the satisfaction of bringing color and charm to Rye’s Purchase Street next summer.
For more information or to pre-order, email Nancy Somma at nmsomm@optonline.net.
Help Helping Hands Celebrate Its 25th
Helping Hands for the Homeless and Hungry, Inc. will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary at Wainwright House on Sunday, December 2 from 5 to 7 p.m. A special invitation is extended to all past members of the Board who through their hard work and dedication allowed Helping Hands to get to this special occasion.
Founded in 1987, by an interdenominational group of concerned citizens, Helping Hands has provided dignity products, food, and financial support to food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters serving Westchester County’s neediest families. Over 20,000 school children have started the school year with new backpacks provided through the Empty School Bag Program each August.
For more information about the anniversary celebration, call Brigitte Sarnoff at 967-8683 or visit www.helpinghandsrye.org.
Tickets are $50 per person. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Reservations are requested.
Just for Fun
Thanksgiving Tourney
Before tackling turkey and pie, enter the annual Rye Racquet Club Thanksgiving Cup Tennis Tournament. Over the past two decades, this event has become a family affair, attracting both adults and juniors looking for fun, exercise, and competition over the holiday weekend.
The tournament, scheduled for November 22 and 23, includes mixed doubles, men’s and women’s singles and doubles, and 12-and-under and 16-and-under singles.
Entry fees range from $40-$60. The registration deadline is November 12. Babysitting is available for children 2 and up. For more information, call 835-3030 or email hiromi@ryeracquet.com.
Daddy & Me Animal Show
Fathers and their children can stop by the Rye Nature Center for an animal adventure December 1 from 9:15-10 a.m. Cost is $10 for members, $15 non-members.
This Weekend
A Display of Nature
Get ready for Thanksgiving with stories and a Gobble, Gobble craft project, Friday at 3:30 p.m. at the Rye library.
The excitement continues Saturday at 2 p.m., when participants will explore creative uses for colorful fall leaves. Local artist Susan Ordahl will demonstrate simple and lovely ways to display and preserve nature’s own works of art.
Bring your own leaves or use the ones provided. Pre-registration is required; call 231-3162.
Both programs are geared for ages 5 and up.
Kids Night Out
The Rye Y invites ages 5-11 to enjoy a night out on the town, Friday from 5:30-10 p.m. Children will have dinner at the Y, followed by a movie at the Port Chester Cinema.
Cost is $20. For reservations, visit ryeymca.org.
Add a Little Feng Shui to Your Relationships
Join feng shui expert Linda Boney at the Rye library Saturday at 11 a.m. for a fun, practical, and insightful look at how feng shui and feng shui Astrology can improve your relationships. Learn time-tested techniques to bring love into your life by making changes in your space.
Also learn an ancient astrological way, based on the I-Ching, to understand your character and how you relate to others. Start now to set the intentions for a love-filled and harmonious holiday and New Year.
Organize Those Memories
Adults and teens can learn all about iPhoto in time for the holidays at a workshop at the Rye Arts Center, Saturday from 12:30-2:30 p.m. The Apple program is a great way to keep track of your precious memories, as well as catalog projects.
The workshop fee is $30.
Volunteer Project & Turkey Watching
Help remove vines and install birdhouses along the Marshlands meadow Saturday from 1-3 p.m. Great for community service hours and school credit. Bring work gloves; hand tools will be provided.
On Sunday at 2 p.m., appreciate the beauty of the wild turkey residents, without putting them on your dinner plate.
Discovery Workshops
Ages 8 and up are invited to create a self-portrait in the style of Picasso, Saturday from 2-3 p.m. at the Rye Arts Center. Learning about the master’s process, students will create a Cubist work. Cost is $10.
Ages 7-9 will have fun making stuffed holiday table decorations, while learning the basics of hand sewing: pinning, fabric cutting, utility, and decorative stitches from 1-3 p.m. Cost is $35.
Step Back in Time
The Rye Historical Society and the Friends of Rye Nature Center will co-host a unique Thanksgiving program at the Square House, Saturday from 2-4 p.m. Participants will explore the tools, techniques, and foods typically used by the early inhabitants of the area, and taste a sampling of foods common to the Native American and colonial diet.
The cost is $10 per family. For reservations, call 967-7588.
Middle School Night
The Rye Y is open for basketball, swimming (swim caps required), working out, video games, and socializing with friends in the Teen Lounge Saturday from 7-10 p.m. Also try air hockey, pool, ping-pong, or foosball in the Game Room. Free for members, $5 non-members.
Interfaith Thanksgiving Service
Gather together for the 52nd Rye Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, Sunday at 3 p.m. at Church of the Resurrection. Colin Chapman of Christ’s Church will deliver the homily. Everyone is invited to stay after for a reception hosted by the Rye Women’s Interfaith Committee.
Food and monetary donations will be gratefully accepted for the Holy Rosary Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen in Port Chester.
Talks and Workshops
Turn the Page
The Rye Free Reading Room’s three book groups have announced reading selections for their next meetings. First up is the Current Events Group, which will discuss “The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids” by Madeline Levine. The meeting is November 27 at 6:30 p.m.
The Friday Book Café title for its December 3 at 9:30 a.m. meeting is “Olive Kitteridge” by Elizabeth Strout. Call the library for the offsite location.
The Thursday Afternoon Book Group will discuss “An Available Man” by Hilma Wolitzer, December 6 at 1:15 p.m.
Tis’ the Season to Decorate!
Ann Robertson, floral designer and owner of Dirt in Greenwich, will give you fresh inspiration in a workshop at the Rye library, November 28 at 7:30 p.m. Robertson will demonstrate how to build a centerpiece and wreath, as well as provide decorating advice for dining and living rooms.
Bring a photo of a space in your home so she can give you holiday decorating suggestions. Stay after for some holiday cheer.
Holiday Readiness
The Rye library is offering two workshops to help you get ready for the holidays. The first, a class on using your computer to create holiday letters, labels, lists, and envelopes, will be offered November 29 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Learn how to set up main and data documents and merge the two to manage your Christmas greetings.
The second class, which takes place December 1 at 2:30 p.m., will show you how to take great holiday photos with a digital camera. The session will cover basic digital terminology, settings, menus, and programs to ensure the best quality files are captured. Participants will also learn photo composition skills for recording special days and celebrations.
Arts and Entertainment
Modern Times
The Rye Arts Center’s new exhibit, “From Where I Stand”, presents an abstract vision of the world as seen through a colorful and diverse palette of works by 12 contemporary artists. An opening reception will be held November 18 from 3-5 p.m.
Using a variety of media, each artist has created their own language of color, form, and line to create compositions based on abstract visual references to the real world.
The exhibition is curated by Katharine Dufault, an artist who exhibits regularly both in America and abroad. “I wanted to bring a really great group of abstract artists to The Rye Arts Center. I felt this style of work had been quite underrepresented and that there would be a big interest in the work. It would show the range and accessibility of abstract art to a new audience who may not be familiar with the style beyond its name.”
Participating artists include Kiki Dufault, Roxanne Faber-Savage, Lis Fields, David Fox, Julian Hatton, William Holton, Henry Mandell, Jackie Meier, Lisa Pressman, Tess Recordon, Patricia Spergel, and Katharine Dufault.
The exhibit runs through January 5. For more information, visit ryeartscenter.org.
From East to West
Explore how Eastern painting influenced Western painting throughout the various modern art movements in a one-day workshop at the Rye Arts Center, November 30 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost is $75; supplies included.
Blooms on View
“Enduring Blooms”, a series of color photographs by nature photographer Nadia Valla, is on view at the Meeting House through Thanksgiving weekend. Last spring and summer, Valla, a member of the Little Garden Club of Rye, recorded the beautiful remnants of early 20th-century gardens at the Bird Homestead.
The Meeting House is open to the public, free of charge, Saturdays from 1-4 p.m.
Teen/Tween Times
Friday Night Shopping Spree
Ages 12-15 can visit the Palisades Center and get a jump start on their holiday shopping with the Rye Y November 30 from 4-10 p.m. Cost is $20 for members, $25 non-members. To register, visit ryeymca.org.
Fashion Illustration Workshop
Explore historic and contemporary designers from A to Z and learn about their contributions to the fashion industry at an Anatomy of Fashion workshop led by Maureen Amaturo at the Rye library, December 1 at 11:30 a.m.
Participants will select a favorite designer from reference sources and sketch a small collection inspired by that designer. They will also learn to create a “swipe” file.
Space is limited; call 231-3172. Participants should bring an 11×14 sketchpad, pencils, ruler, and a good eraser.
Twist & Shout
The Carver Center presents the 2nd annual 7th and 8th Grade Holiday Dance Party December 14 at Apawamis Club. Proceeds benefit the center’s middle school leadership skills and academic tutoring program. For more information, visit carvercenter.org.
Kids’ Corner
Children’s Flick
Ages 5 and up can watch “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” (PG) November 30 at 3:30 p.m. at the Rye library. Still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple, the animal friends from the earlier films make their way through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus reinvented Madagascar-style.
Abstract Art Explored
Ages 8 and up can delve into the abstract art and participate in a project inspired by the movement, December 1 from 2-3 p.m. at the Rye Arts Center. They will also spend time at the “From Where I Stand” exhibit, which opened recently in the Gallery. Cost is $10.
Ekphrastic Writing 101
Ages 8-12 are invited to join Maureen Amaturo for an Ekphrastic writing workshop December 1 from 1- 2 p.m. at the Rye Arts Center. In this form of writing, employed mostly in poetry but also in prose and essays, the author writes about another work of art, usually a visual art form. Ekphrastic writing is used to convey the deeper symbolism of the art form, an observation of what is happening in that work of art, a verbal description, a personal admiration, or interpretation.
A separate workshop for ages 12 and up will run from 2:15-3:15 p.m. The fee is $10.
The Great Outdoors
Marshlands Happenings
Join a Marshlands naturalist, and take a relaxing stroll of the habitats November 24 at 2 p.m.
Turkey Hike
Join a Rye Nature Center naturalist and search for local turkeys in the forest November 24 at 2 p.m. Cost is $5 for members, $8 non-members.
To Your Health
Reduce Your Stress
Wainwright House presents Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, a skills-based training course, November 28 from 7-9:15 p.m. The program includes meditation practices and cognitive approaches to self-management. Learn strategies to reduce everyday stress and manage chronic medical and psychological conditions.
A half-day practice session will be held December 2 from 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Call 967-6080.
