Around Town


Compiled by Janice Llanes Fabry

<<This Weekend>>

Beachcombers

Join the crew at Read Wildlife Sanctuary on Saturday at 10 for Volunteer Corps Workday. Help with invasive plant removal, trail work, beach cleanup, and more, weather-permitting.

Get in on the ACT

Take a full-length practice ACT exam under real test conditions at the Rye library Saturday from 10:30-2:45 or a practice SAT on March 24 from 10:30-3. Detailed score reports highlighting personal strengths and weaknesses will be available at www.applerouth.com the Friday after each test. The exam and reports are free.

Register at www.applerouth.com/signup. Call 371-8000 for more information. Test takers should bring water, a snack, pencils, and a calculator.

Duct, Duct, Spruce

Children ages 7 and up can learn the wonders of duct tape crafting at The Rye Arts Center Saturday from 2-3:30. Kids will be using simple techniques to make a wallet and will be designing their own stickers to spruce up their new billfolds.

Materials will be provided. The fee is $30.

Scene Stealers

Parents or caregivers and kids ages 9 and up will enjoy an improvisation workshop together at The Rye Arts Center on Saturday from 2-3:30. Explore a hilarious, fast-paced, and silly world of living in the moment. Create scenes with intergenerational exercises and games.

The fee is $25 with a discount for members. To register, visit ryeartscenter.org.

With photo of Peter Meineck

Strike a Nerve

The Bird Homestead and Meeting House nonprofit presents a talk on “Neuroscience and History” by Peter Meineck, Ph.D., Saturday at 3 at the Meeting House. He will offer practical demonstrations to show what modern neuroscience reveals about the lives of people in the past and the events that affected them. On the agenda will be cutting-edge research from brain imaging studies, cognitive science, and social psychology that are leading to exciting discoveries.

A professor of Classics at New York University and Founder of Aquila Theatre, Dr. Meineck received the 2009 NYU Golden Dozen Teaching Award and a 2010 National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman’s Special Award.

Free and open to the public, the program is made possible through the support of the Humanities New York’s Public Scholars program. For more information, call 967-0099.

Four-Leaf Covers

Enjoy Sunday brunch at Wainwright House while singer/songwriter and master storyteller Chris Brown performs from 11:30-2:30. Corner Stone Caterers will serve a lovely brunch with wine and champagne.

Along with Brown’s repertoire of rock & roll, folk, and country music, he will also add some Irish songs in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

The fee is $55 per person. Make a reservation at wainwright.org.

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

Enjoy some Irish tea with entertaining tales at the Rye library on Sunday from 2-5. Storytellers and listeners always welcome.

<<Arts and Entertainment>>

Teatro alla Scala

Watch some of the most popular operas ever recorded at Italy’s famed La Scala at the Rye library on Mondays from 12-3. Verdi’s “La Traviata” will be featured on March 12; Giordano’s “Andrea Chenier” on March 19; Puccini’s “La Faniculla del West” on March 26.

Paint Splatter!

Rye Recreation presents “Paint With Me,” a Ladies’ Night Out on March 15 from 7-9:30. Participants will create artwork while enjoying light refreshments. Step-by-step painting instruction for all levels will be provided.

The fee is $30 per person. Space is limited. Sign up by calling 967-2535 or visit ryeny.gov/recreation.cfm.

On a Modern Tour

Join The Rye Arts Center’s tour of the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation in Mount Kisco on March 21 from 11-1. Over 200 artists are featured in a collection made up of pieces by self-taught and contemporary artists.

The fee is $35. For more information, visit ryeartscenter.org.

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

Two Peas in a Pod

Learn to use the iPad and iPod setup and controls with new features in Apple iOS system 11 at the Rye library, part one on March 15 and part two on March 22, both from 10-12.

Former IBM executive Mike Negrelli specializes in teaching adults and senior citizens. He will cover WiFi, the Internet, emailing, reading books via iBooks, iTunes, podcasting, and viewing movies. First come, first served.

(with book cover)

Silver-Plated Suspense

Join local author and Rye Record contributor Mitch Silver in a conversation about his latest novel “The Bookworm” at the Rye library on March 15 at 7:30. Combining history with his own imagination, Silver has created a compelling tale of espionage that starts with World War II secret operations and leads to present-day London and Moscow.

The author will share the challenges he faced to stay true to the facts while inserting fictional characters, and red herrings, into a suspenseful and satisfying narrative.

Copies of the novel will be available for purchase and signing.

For Parents of Boys

Wainwright House and the Rye Youth Council have partnered to offer monthly day and evening meetings about raising boys. The upcoming dates are March 15 from 7:30-9 and March 16 from 9:30-11. An open forum will offer facilitated group discussion that is both supportive and enlightening. Participants may come with suggestions of topics of interest.

Suggested donation is $10. For more information, visit wainwright.org.

All About Yoga

Wainwright is offering a Jivamukti asana lab with certified teacher Sandhi Ferreira March 16 from 1-3.  This workshop will combine anatomy, alignment, and assists. Learn the alignment and energetics of the postures, as well as preparatory poses, options for modifications, injury prevention, and teaching techniques.

This workshop is open to experienced teachers, as well as to practitioners of all levels. The fee is $35 for members, $45 non-members.

Reap the Harvest

Learn all about sunflower seeds and how they work at Read Wildlife Sanctuary on March 17 at 1. Plant some seeds, then watch them grow at home.

Down Memory Lane

SPRYE is offering a talk on “Writing About History” at Wainwright House on March 21 from 3-4:30. The ever-popular historian and longtime Rye Record contributor Paul Hicks will share stories about some of his favorite local people from the past.

With pix

Women’s Suffrage Centennial

Celebrate the 100^th anniversary of women’s right to vote in New York by registering to vote at the Port Chester-Rye Brook Public Library on March 22 from 9-2. The League of Women Voters of Rye, Rye Brook and Port Chester will assist U.S. citizens living in New York State with voter registration forms.

Care Package

The Rye library is holding a discussion about Alzheimer’s and dementia with MaryAnn Ciambriello, who has over 30 years home-care industry experience, on March 22 from 10-11. She will cover the medical, financial, and business side of chronic neurodegenerative disease.

Attention, Naturally

Holistic Moms of Westchester is offering a presentation on ADHD at the Rye library on March 22 from 7:30-9. Suzanne Buchauer of the groundbreaking drug-free Davis Correction Program will discuss using one’s strengths and talents to overcome learning challenges.

Soaring Saga

Award-winning author Min Jin Lee will talk about her novel “Pachinko” at The Osborn on March 24 at 1. The bestseller is the epic tale of a Korean family living in exile in 20^th century Japan.

The event is free and open to the public. RSVP@theosborn.org or call 925-8218.

With book covers

Two for the Record Books

The Rye Free Reading Room’s Current Events book group will be reading Daniel Ellsberg’s “The Doomsday Machine” and meeting on March 27 from 6:30-8. When the author was busy photocopying the Pentagon Papers, he also collected information about the U.S.’s nuclear arsenal. He finally shares his experience and information with this book.

The Thursday Afternoon book group’s selection is “Road from Coorain” by Jill Ker Conway; the discussion is April 5 from 1:15-2:30. The memoir details the life of the author growing up in the Australian outback.

Copies of the books are available at the reference desk. For more information, call 967-0480.

<<Family Ties>>

Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?

Join a naturalist at the Rye Nature Center on March 17 at 1 to learn all about animals that lay eggs in the spring. Discover the life cycles of local animals, including birds, frogs, and salamanders.

The program is suitable for ages 5 and up. The fee is $5 per person for members, $8 non-members.

Mudslide

Families with children ages 5 and up can play in the mud at the Rye Nature Center on March 24 at 1. Learn about different types of mud and clay and use a variety of colors to camouflage yourselves into the forest.

The fee is $5 per person for members, $8 non-members.

<<Children’s Corner>>

Ecology Club

Children with special needs are invited to bring a family member/caregiver with them to the Rye Nature Center on March 17 from 3:30-4:30. They will enjoy animal programs, hikes, and other fun science and sensory adventures.

For more information, email marygillick@ryenaturecenter.org.

Wild Wings

Ages 3½-6 will have the opportunity to learn the secret of flight at the Rye Nature Center on March 19 from 9-1. Besides discovering how animals fly, they will meet the resident dove.

The cost is $70 per child for members, $80 non-members.

<<For a Good Cause>>

Craft Services

The Rye YMCA hosts its Crafty Crew every Tuesday from 11-12:30. Participants may work on individual or community craft projects. No experience is necessary.

All are welcome. RSVP to PennyCozza@ryeymca.org.

The Next Generation

The Westchester Region NAACP ACT-SO Coalition invites one and all to their 35^th annual community awards breakfast on March 24 at 8:30 at The Riverview in Hastings on the Hudson. The keynote speaker is Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League.

Honorees are Barbara L. Edwards, chair of the African American Advisory Board of Westchester County; James W. Cobb, chairman emeritus of ACT-SO; and Dr. Tahira Dupree Chase, Greenburgh Central School District superintendent.

ACT-SO, or Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics, is a major youth initiative that provides a forum for and recognizes African American youth who exemplify scholastic and artistic excellence.

Tickets are $65. RSVP by March 14 by calling Rye resident/ACT-SO Chair Ingraham Taylor at 391-5435 or emailing IngrahamTaylor@yahoo.com.

<<Save the Date>>

(with pix of Annabel)

A Little Wry History

The Rye Historical Society presents “Wry History,” its annual spring history luncheon and boutique at The Apawamis Club on March 28. Boutique shopping opens at 11, the luncheon will be served at noon, and the presentation begins promptly at 1:20.

This year’s guest speaker is Rye resident Annabel Monaghan, mother of three boys, author of a humor column in The Rye Record, and author of several books of fiction. In her writing, she seeks universal nuggets of truth and attendees will enjoy her refreshing look at this moment in history, reflecting on the life and times in our small town.

The cost of the program is $50 per person for members; $60 for non-members; and a table of 8 is $400. Reservations are required and may be made by calling 967-7588 or visiting www.ryehistory.org.

With pix

All Your Eggs in One Basket

Come One, Come All to The Osborn’s Jack Miller Easter Egg Hunt on March 31 at 11:15. This event is free and open to the public.

Arrive by 10:30 to park with a picnic blanket in hand. A $5 kids meal will be available.