Compiled by Janice Llanes Fabry

<<This Weekend>>

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Parks and Recreation

Bring the family to the Jay Heritage Center on Saturday from 9-1 for I Love My Park Day. Help the Center enhance one of New York State’s premier parks and historic sites. Participate in path and trail cleanup activities, as well as invasive species removal. Visitors can also assist with archaeology shovel testing and artifact screening at John Jay’s childhood home.

Meet at the front lawn of the 1838 Jay Mansion and bring gardening gloves, if possible. Wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and closed-toe shoes. Water and snacks will be provided.

Calling All Dads

Take the kids on a father/child animal adventure at the Rye Nature Center on Saturday from 9:15-10. The program is geared for ages 3-7.

The fee is $10 per family for members, $15 non-members.

Missing Link

The Rye library is holding a free presentation for job seekers using LinkedIn on Saturday from 10-11:30. Attendees will learn the value and features of the powerful job search tool on social media.

Brainstorm

Discuss works-in-progress with fellow writers, both new and experienced, at the Rye Free Reading Room Saturday from 11-12:30. Writing topics and the writing process with all its joys and challenges will be discussed.

The World Is Her Canvas

An artist’s reception for “The Wheel of Life,” an exhibit of works from around the corner to around the globe by Edith Halpern, will be held Saturday from 2-4. The show runs through May 30.

<<Save the Date>>

Life’s a Carnival

The Rye Historical Society is holding its annual spring benefit gala June 3 from 7-10 at a lovely private home in Rye. Gala committee co-chairs Claudine Hanley, Jennifer Molloy, and Jeanine Scott invite all lovers of history to “step right up and join the fun” at a memorable evening celebrating historic carnivals.

Tickets start at $185 per person. Visit ryehistory.org or call 967-7588.

Silicon Valley Sisterhood

The Rye Free Reading Room’s “Read in Rye” series continues June 8 at 7:30 with Heather Cabot and Samantha Walravens, authors of “Geek Girl Rising: Inside the Sisterhood Shaking Up Tech.”

The story of the female technologists who are building the next generation of tech start-ups and upending male stereotypes is also becoming a television series, produced by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos.

<<Arts & Entertainment>>

Easels, Palettes, and Corkscrews

Join The Rye Arts Center May 11 for an evening of self-expression through paint from 6-9. Participants may BYOB and will start with a simple still life and progress from there.

No experience necessary, but must be over 21. All supplies included. The fee is $65 (members receive discount).

Mother’s Day on the Sound

Wainwright House is holding a Mother’s Day Jazz Brunch featuring composer, pianist, and vocalist Jon Cobert, May 14 from 11:30-2:30. Corner Stone Caterers will provide a delicious celebratory dining experience with cocktails.

The fee is $50 per person. Reservations are required.

Zero in on Solutions

Wainwright will screen “Racing to Zero” May 17 at 7. This engaging documentary follows the successful efforts of San Francisco, which leads the nation in zero waste through a combination of recycling, repurposing, composting, and changing production and consumption patterns.

A discussion by Patti Wood, founder of Grassroots Environmental Education, will follow.

Young Portraits

The Rye Arts Center is holding an opening reception for a Rye Middle/High School art exhibit on May 18 from 6-8. The students’ artwork will be on view at select times.

Brewing Good Music

The Rye Arts Center’s Coffeehouse series continues at Le Pain Quotidien May 18 at 7. Guests will be introduced to new singers, songwriters, and bands as they enjoy the eatery’s specialties.

The cover charge is $10 for advance tickets, $12 at the door, plus food and drink.

Paper Chase

A workshop for adults and teens at The Rye Arts Center will focus on transforming sheets of paper into beautiful sculptures with dramatic effects May 20 from 1:15-4:15. Marna Chester will teach participants how to use Exacto blades, scissors, paper, and glue and will explore positive and negative spaces through shapes.

For a supply list, visit ryeartscenter.org. The fee is $55, with a discount for members.

Twangy Traditional Tunes

The Bird Homestead will present a concert with Breakneck Ridge Revue, a quartet with deep folk roots, at the Meeting House May 20 at 6:30. Andrew Revkin, who was a frequent accompanist of folk legend Pete Seeger, leads the group.

Admission is free, but donations are gratefully accepted.

Meet Your Makers

New technologies have opened the door to new art forms and media that are included in The Rye Arts Center’s Works By Makers installation. The exhibit includes Sound Art, AppEnabled Art, 3D Printed Art, Interactive Installations, Robotics, Paper Engineering, and much more. It runs through May 26.

Long Distance

The Rye Arts Center is presenting “Portals” by Shared Studios through June 30. Portals are gold spaces equipped with immersive audiovisual technology that allow visitors to come face to face with someone in a distant portal.

Before visiting, call 967-0700 for the schedule of sites and two-hour time slots, during which The Portal is connected.

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

Chair Pose

Join SPRYE for a free chair yoga class May 8 at the Port Chester-Rye Brook Public Library from 11-12. Yoga with the support of a chair offers all the benefits of yoga on a mat and enhances body, mind, and spirit. Wear comfortable attire and refrain from eating for about three hours before arriving. For more information, call 939-6710.

Safe in Cyberspace

Learn about Internet and email security at an information sessions at the Rye Free Reading Room May 11 from 10-12. A former IBM executive will explain how to reduce vulnerability to computer and Internet security problems by setting features in Microsoft’s Internet Browser. He’ll also fill you in on programs to help protect against malicious software, as well as useful removal tools. First-come, first serve. 

Food Matters

Wainwright is holding an evening of reflection May 11 from 7-8:30. Nutrition/Reiki/yoga expert Cora Ragaini will explain how food impacts energy levels, mood, and, ultimately, inner peace.

The fee is $25 for members, $30 non-members. Register by May 8.

Community Health

Learn all about Lyme disease at Rye City Hall May 12 from 8:15-10:15. Sponsored by the Rye YMCA’s Healthier Soundshore Coalition, the community event will cover prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and current trends.

A panel discussion will feature the president of International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, as well as doctors and patients. A continental breakfast will start off the morning. RSVP to denise@ryeymca.org.

Mother’s Day Stroll

Join a naturalist at the Rye Nature Center for Mother’s Day on May 13 for a walk among the flowers at 1. Learn to search for, identify, and preserve the wildflowers of the forest in our own backyard.

Join the Metamorphosis

The Bird Homestead, along with Central Westchester Audubon, will present “Butterflies in My Back Yard” by lepidopterist Victor DeMasi May 13 at 4 at the Meeting House.

A curatorial affiliate at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, DeMasi will discuss butterflies in our changing environment, touching on issues such as climate change and invasive plant species.

Admission is free. Donations will be gratefully accepted.

Around the Block

Join Maureen Mancini Amaturo for the Rye Free Reading Room’s two writing workshops at Rye High School. Both will help participants of every level get over their writer’s block.

Rhythm and Muse will be held May 16 from 2:45-4. Participants will learn to discover their muse. Stunt Writing will be held May 17 from 2:45-4 and will help writers find their voice and gain confidence in their communication skills.

Space Odyssey

Join SPRYE at Wainwright House on May 17 from 3-4:30 for “Are We Alone?” According to astronomy professor and SPRYE member Dinah Moche, life beyond earth is a very real possibility. Hear about new astronomical discoveries and exciting 21^st century space missions.

Moche, Ph.D., is an award-winning author and lecturer whose 27 books have sold more than ten million copies in eight languages. 

Excel in Excel

Learn the basics of how to use the versatile Excel spreadsheet program at the Rye library on May 18 from 10-12. Michael Negrelli will go through its many applications for home use.

Native Healing Arts

Cultural anthropologist Robert Vetter will engage participants in a spiritual journey at Wainwright House May 18 from 6:30-9:30. He will discuss how the indigenous healing in North, Meso, and South America thousands of years ago is relevant today. Some topics that will be covered include the power of prayer, music as medicine, spiritual cleansings, and herbal medicine.

The fee is $45 for members, $50 non-members. Register by May 15.

Blueprint for Happiness

Wainwright is offering a Deep Happiness by Design workshop May 20 from 9-4. Neuropsychologist David D. Nowell, Ph.D. will help participants discover their personal blueprints for sustainable happiness and master a system for moving beyond their busy lives to a steady joy with greater confidence.

The fee is $120 for members, $130 non-members. Register by May 17.

I’m Mad as Hell and I’m Not Going To Take It Anymore

The Rye Free Reading Room’s Current Events Book Group meets May 23 from 6:30-8 to discuss “Beyond Outrage” by Robert B. Reich. In this timely book, Reich argues that it takes citizens to ensure the government acts in the public good. He explores problems with our economy and democracy and how to fix them.

Copies of the book are available at the Circulation Desk.

<<Don’t Miss>>  

Visionary Artists

The Rye Arts Center is holding its spring gala May 12 at 7 at Doral Arrowwood. Co-chaired by Fiona and Ozgen Dogan, Lisa and Robert Miller, Judith and Bill Passannante, and Nicole and Rob Weber, “A Vision in Rye” will benefit the center’s charitable outreach programs that make art accessible to everyone throughout the Sound Shore region.

Honorees are artists Bob Clyatt and Brigitte Loritz, who have been involved with The Rye Arts Center for many years. The evening will include dinner, cocktails, music, and an auction.

Tickets are $195. For more information, visit ryeartscenter.org or call 967-0700.

The Heart of the Matter

All are cordially invited to Wainwright House’s annual spring luncheon May 18 from 12-2:30. This year’s Heart & Soul Awards honorees are the Rye YMCA and Hospice of Westchester for exemplifying the advancement of human kind, a mission dear to Fonrose Wainwright Condit, daughter of Colonel J. Mayhew Wainwright.

Co-chairs Holly Galgano and Rita Schubert are offering various ways of supporting Wainwright through journal ads and donations. A single reservation is $75. For more information, visit wainwright.org.

Along for the Ride

The Rye Library’s annual Vehicle Fair will be held rain or shine May 21 from 11-3 on the Village Green. It’s always an exciting day with trucks and cars to climb, ride, and explore. Also on the schedule: an all-aboard kiddie train, face painting, arts and crafts, tattoos, and a live DJ.

Sponsored by the library’s Auxiliary Board, tickets may be pre-purchased at www.ryelibrary.org for $35, including one free raffle ticket per family, or $40 at the gate.

<<Family Ties>>

Survival of the Fittest

The Rye YMCA is having a very active Family Friday May 12 from 7:30-8:30. A “human board game” will keep all ages moving with a fun variety of exercises.

The fee for family/youth members is $20 per family, non-members $30 per family.

<<Teen Time>>

The Stand-out College Application

A College Application workshop will be held at the Rye Free Reading Room on May 11 from 6:30-8. College Starter founder Jeff Hirsch will cover the importance of enhancing a student’s extracurricular profile and recommendation letters.

All participants will leave with guided materials to help support them when creating extracurricular profiles and completing self-reflection forms.

Test Through

On May 13 from 10:30-3, the Rye library will offer a mock SAT under real test conditions. On May 20 from 10:30-2:45, a mock ACT will be offered.

Both exams and detailed score reports are free. Test takers should bring water, a snack, pencils, and a calculator. Space is limited, so register at applerouth.com/signup.

<<Children’s Corner>>

You’re It

Grades 6-8 can head to Rye Recreation Park for archery tag May 12 from 5:30-7 or 7-8:30. Kids will enjoy extreme action, fun, and excitement in a laser skirmish adventure.

The program is open to residents only is $25, residents only. Space is limited. Pre-registration is required.

Kids Rule

On May 13 from 7-10 middle school students can enjoy a night of their own at the Rye YMCA. The teen staff will supervise an evening of activities, competitions, games, food, and camaraderie.

Registration is required at ryeymca.org. Free for members, $5 non-members. For more information, email Kathy@ryeymca.org.

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Nature Origami

Ages 6-8 can learn origami at a workshop at The Rye Arts Center May 20 from 12:30-2. Children will create their own origami models using animals and forms of nature and add details that will bring their models to life.

The fee is $35 per session. To register, visit ryeartscenter.org.

A Spoonful of Sugar

The Rye Historical Society invites ages 6 and older to the Square House Museum on May 20 from 12:30-2 to explore the role of rationing during World War I and II. After learning about various war efforts and taking a close look at wartime posters from the Society’s collection and other primary sources, participants will bake and enjoy a treat found in a 1918 pamphlet “Sweets Without Sugar”.

The cost of the program is $10 per child. Reservations are suggested. Call 967-7588.

In the Fold

Ages 9-11 can learn modular origami at a workshop at The Rye Arts Center May 20 from 2:15-3:45. Participants will use more than one paper to create beautiful geometric forms. First, they’ll be introduced to basic unit folds, then they’ll create 2D and 3D models

The fee is $35 per session. To register, visit ryeartscenter.org.

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Friendly Competition

The Rye library’s Tween Trivia Battle Book Club for grades 5 and 6 meets May 20 from 3-4 to discuss “The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle” by Janet S. Fox. Read the story and see who can hit the buzzer first. The story takes place during the 1940 Blitz when children are sent from their home in England to a private school in Scotland.

Pick up a copy of the book in the Children’s Room. To register, visit ryelibrary.org.