Around Town

Compiled by Janice Llanes Fabry

<<This Weekend>>

Mint Condition 

On Saturday from 2-4, ages 10-12 are invited to a treasure box workshop at The Rye Arts Center. Transform a simple metal mint tin into a beautiful box using various polymer clay-building techniques.

The fee is $40 with a discount for members. Register at ryeartscenter.org.

Once Upon a Time

Ages 3½ and up and their grown-ups can enjoy story time and themed crafts at the Rye library Saturday from 11-12. The fun morning activity is a great way for youngsters to develop pre-literacy skills and a lifelong interest in books and reading. 

<<Arts & Entertainment>>

Let the Good Times Roll

Wainwright House is hosting its annual Mardi Gras Masquerade Gala February 25 from 6:30-10:30. Guests, wearing Mardi Gras costumes or not, will enjoy a sumptuous New Orleans style dinner, an open bar, live music, and a reveler’s parade.

Proceeds will go to advance the holistic center’s mission and support its many programs.

Cause for Celebration

The Rye Historical Society hosts its annual spring history luncheon and boutique March 2 at American Yacht Club. Shopping opens at 11:15, lunch will be served at noon, and the featured presentation, “A Century of Struggle: Women’s Suffrage in the Empire State,” begins promptly at 1:15. 

Barbara Winslow, Professor Emerita of Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Brooklyn College, CUNY, will expound on the origins of the movement and the remarkable women who fought for and won the right to vote in New York State a century ago. 

Tickets are $150. For reservations, call 967-7588 or visit www.ryehistory.org.

Express Thyself!

Join The Rye Arts Center March 2 from 6-9 for a BYOB night of self-expression through paint. Participants will start with a simple still life and progress at their own pace from there. 

No experience necessary. The fee is $65. All supplies included. Register at ryeartscenter.org.  

Grand Funk

John Fumasoli & the Jones Factor will perform at The Rye Arts Center March 3 from 7:30-8:30. Guests will enjoy an evening of jazz standards and original compositions, along with high-energy funk and R & B.

The fee is $35 in advance, $40 at the door; $30/$35 for members.

Painting From Memory

The Rye Free Reading Room’s posthumous exhibit of Dominick Joseph Cerrone’s oil and watercolor paintings continues through February 27. A commercial artist, Cerrone was inspired by a trip to his parents’ hometown of Casalciprano long ago.

With photos

Impressions of East Africa   

An exhibit of works by Nenne Sanguineti Poggi is at The Rye Arts Center through March 4. The artist/journalist spent 30 years capturing the essence of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Drawing from countless influences, Poggi’s style ranges from figurative post-impressionism to pure abstraction.

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

And Sew on and Sew On

Bring your own project and spin a yarn at the Rye Free Reading Room February 28 from 2-4. Whether it’s needlework or fabric arts, work while you chat.

Need bookcovers

 

Hot Topics  

 

At The Current Events Book Group’s next meeting at the Rye library, February 28 from 6:30-8, they’ll discuss “The Half Has Never Been Told” by Edward E. Baptist. The author’s assertion is that slavery was woven inextricably into the fabric of early 19^th-century capitalism. John Dolan will lead what promises to be a great debate.

The Thursday Afternoon Group’s next selection is “The Headmaster’s Wife” by Thomas Christopher Greene. The novel brings to life the tight-knit enclave of a New England boarding school. The meeting is March 2 from 1:15-2:30.

The Friday Book Café will meet March 3 from 9:30-11 at an offsite location to discuss “Miss Jane” by Brad Watson. The novel, long-listed for the National Book Award, brings to life a forgotten woman in early 20^th-century Mississippi.

Mindfully Yours

The Healing Arts Collective will present a discussion on mindfulness at the Rye library March 2 from 7:30-8:30. Attendees will learn mind and movement practices to refocus and gain valuable life tools.

The Collective is a non-profit volunteer group of Rye moms and health and wellness professionals.

<<Family Ties>>

Spin, Spiral, and Split   

Rye Recreation invites all to put on their ice skates and enjoy a family fun day at Rye Country Day School February 20 from 2:15-4:30. Ages 16 and under must wear a helmet. 

How Sweet It Is

Learn all about tapping a tree and maple sugaring at the Rye Nature Center on February 25 at 1. Families will get a glimpse of the sugaring process in the Center’s own sugar shed. 

The fee is $10 per family for members, $15 non-members. Call 967-5150 for reservations. 

Families That Play Together…

Families will enjoy First Family Friday at the Rye YMCA on March 3 from 6:30-7:30. All ages will participate in “Get Fit” activities with crafts, snacks, and fun.

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

<<Teen Time>>

Dive Right In

Teens who are at least 15 years old by February 24 can sign up for an American Red Cross lifeguard course at the Rye YMCA, which will be held February 19, 20, 23, and 24. Among the requirements, participants must be able to swim 300 yards continuously and surface dive to a depth of 7-10 feet. 

The class will focus on skills needed to help remove victims from a pool in emergency situations, as well as first aid, CPR, and how to use an AED, like https://aedadvantage.ca/product/philips-heartstart-onsite-smart-adult-pads, in case of a cardiac emergency . Once trained and certified, participants will have the opportunity to apply for lifeguard duty.

The fee is $400 for members, $450 non-members. For more details visit ryeymca.org or call Vickie at 967-6363.  

<<Children’s Corner>>

Point Blank

The Rye Y invites grades 5-9 on a trip to Liberty Paintball in Patterson, February 20 at 9. Participants will be chaperoned by the Y’s teen staff and will play on their own reserved fields. 

No experience is necessary and all gear is provided. The fee is $130 for members, $155 non-members. Safety gear, equipment, transportation, and admission are included. For more details, visit ryeymca.org or call 967-6363.

Commander-in-Chef

The Rye Historical Society is offering an American Presidential Foods and Facts workshop for children ages 6 and up at the Square House Museum on President’s Day, February 22 from 10-12. Participants will learn fun trivia about our nation’s past leaders while making delicious treats favored by the founding families. Adapted historic recipes will be used.

The cost is $10 per child. Space is limited. Call 967-7588 to register.

Welcome, Young Readers     

The Rye library’s S.T.E.A.M.ers book group (grades 1 and 2) meets February 25 from 3-3:45 to discuss “Whoosh” by Chris Barton. It tells the story of inventor Lonnie Johnson and how he created the Super Soaker water gun, one of the top toys of all time.

The S.T.E.A.M. Rollers book group (grades 3 and 4) meets right after, from 4-4:45. Patricia Hruby Powell’s “Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker” will be discussed. This portrait covers Baker’s life as a passionate performer and civil rights advocate. 

Copies of the books are still available in The Children’s Room. Register at ryelibrary.org.

Ecology Club

Children with special needs are invited to bring a family member or caregiver to the Rye Nature Center on March 1 from 3:30-4:30. Enjoy animal programs, hikes, and other fun science and sensory adventures.

No fee. To register, email marygillick@ryenaturecenter.org. 

Team Building Through STEM

Preschoolers through fifth graders can head to the Rye Nature Center March 2 for a STEM challenge from 11:30-3:30. They’ll learn how to collaborate with teammates through the Center’s Con Edison STEM course. They will also learn how a water pump works and how to build earthquake-proof structures.

The fee is $70 for members, $80 non-members. Download a registration form at ryenaturecenter.org.

<<Save the Date>>

Women of the World, Invent!

On March 8, in celebration of International Women’s Day, The Rye Arts Center will hold a panel discussion by Women in Innovation from 6:30-8. Female leaders in their fields will discuss the trends in innovation technology.

Tickets are $5. Sign up on-line at ryeartscenter.org.

Urban Lives

An opening reception for The Rye Arts Center’s new photography exhibit, “A Way of Seeing: The Street Portraits of Cal Swanson,” will be held March 11 from 1-3. The artist captured people’s life stories as they wandered the streets of New York City through the 1970s and 1980s. 

Top of the Morning    

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a musical brunch at Wainwright House March 12 from 11:30-2:30. Singer/songwriter Christopher Brown will perform his unique blend of folk, country, and rock musical styles. Count on Corner Stone Caterers to provide a delightful meal. 

The fee is $50 per person. Space is limited. Reservations required at wainwright.org. 

Come Fly With Her

Meet the esteemed Priscilla “Pat” Blum, an Osborn resident and co-founder of the Corporate Angel Network (CAN), March 15 from 3-4:30 at Wainwright House. The 97-year-old licensed pilot was inducted into the Pioneer Hall of Fame and received the Katharine Wright Award from the National Aviation Association. CAN is a not-for-profit charity that arranges free treatment-related travel for some 3,000 cancer patients per year. The event is hosted by SPRYE.