Compiled by Janice Llanes Fabry
This Weekend
iPlay Along
The Rye YMCA continues its First Family Fridays tonight from 6:30-7:30. Beloved children’s music performer Graham Clarke will entertain parents and kids alike with his songs, humor, stories, and games. On hand will be his playful guitars.
Free for Family members, $10 for Youth and non-members. Space is limited. Register at www.ryeymca.org or email hillarysouthard@ryeymca.org.
No Needles Needed
The Rye Free Reading Room invites beginners and experienced handcrafters to Arm Knitting: It’s a Wrap Saturday at 10. Take home a cozy cowl or scarf created in just one session taught by Carol Costa from Michael’s in Port Chester. Just bring two skeins of chunky or super chunky yarn.
Blizzard Break
Family crafts and activities will warm everyone’s hearts at the Rye Nature Center’s Old-Fashioned Winter’s Afternoon Saturday from 12-3. The traditional event is a real crowd pleaser. Grown-ups and children of all ages will enjoy fire-roasted marshmallows, log-sawing contests, and more. Free admission.
Valen-tin
The Rye Free Reading Room invites teens to a Valentine crafts workshop Saturday from 2-4. Crafts expert Lavinia Wiggins will lead participants in transforming ordinary Altoid tins into delightful Valentine remembrances.
All materials will be supplied. Pre-registration is required. To sign up, visit www.ryelibrary.org, go to Programs and Events, choose the event, and click on the Register button.
Circle of Spiritual Powers
Join Wainwright House for a Medicine Wheel Ceremony on Saturday from 3:30-5:30. Susan Wright, author of “The Chakras in Shamanic Practices: Eight Stages of Healing and Transformation,” will take participants through a prayerful journey and all the elements of life’s challenges and power. Activities may include indigenous crafts and meditation. Fee: $25 members, $30 non-members.
Shaping Rye
The Rye Historical Society is hosting a special preview reception for members on Saturday from 6-8 to unveil “Immigration in Rye” and show the impact mass migrations of the 19th and 20th centuries had on the community.
Opening to the general public on February 10, the exhibit chronicles the role immigration played in Rye’s rapid population growth through archival documents, photographs, and artifacts. For more information, call 967-7588 or visit www.ryehistory.org.
Marshlands’ Annual Show
An exhibit of paintings, sculpture, drawings, and other artwork will be on display at the Marshlands Conservancy. An opening reception will be held on Sunday from 2-5. The works reflect the beauty of one of Westchester’s most striking nature preserves. The exhibit will remain on view on weekends from 10-4 through March 29. For more information, call 835-4466.
For a Good Cause
“Pocket Full of Kryptonite”
Tickets are now on sale for a concert to benefit the Carver Center February 28 at 7 at the Capitol Theater. American rock band the Spin Doctors will be performing. Guests may look forward to their 1980/1990s hits, plus cocktails, small plates, and a live auction. Attire is “concert cool.”
The Carver Center is Port Chester’s primary community-based organization, offering programs and resources designed to meet the educational, recreational, cultural and civic needs of underprivileged children, youth and adults. Visit www.carvercenter.org or call 305-6010 for more information.
Talks and Workshops
Ease in Motion
Eve Silver is holding workshops on the Alexander Technique at Wainwright House February 11 from 9:15-10:30 and 11-12:15 and the evening of February 12 from 7-8:15. Appropriate for all ages, the technique is a method of movement and re-education that teaches us to recognize and change long- term postural and movement patterns that interfere with our natural ability to move with ease and fluidity.
The workshop series permits one-time audits. Call 967-6080 or email instructor at evesilver33@gmail.com.
High Tech
SPRYE invites all to a tech workshop with Rye Youth Council students February 10 from 3-4 at the Rye TV Studio in Rye High School. Learn the ins and outs of your latest electronic devices and become proficient in the latest apps and games. Program is free. RSVP by calling 481-5706.
Data at Your Fingertips
The Rye Free Reading is offering a two-part computer workshop on February 12 and 19 from 10-12. Microsoft Excel is the most popular spreadsheet in use today for both business and home. These workshops cover setting up spreadsheets, entering data, formatting, using math formulas, saving files, and printing.
Illuminated Heart
What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than at Wainwright House? At a workshop that celebrates love, spiritual freedom, and joy, February 14 from 10-1, Sharifa Felicia Norton and Muinuddin Charles Smith will share practices for the transformation of consciousness. They co-founded the Light of Guidance Center of Sufi Studies in New York City.
The facilitators will use breath, light, mystical relaxation, and insight into ways of living most fully in our natural state. Sufi poetry and stories will enrich the experience. The fee is $54 for members, $60 non-members. Register at www.wainwright.org.
Journey to the Written Word
Author Carol Costa will help you unleash your creativity and put pen to paper in a workshop at the Rye Free Reading Room February 21 from 11-1. Utilizing techniques to get your creative juices flowing, Costa provides a supportive and comfortable environment. Bring a laptop, iPad, notebook, or lined paper … any medium that will free you up to create.
The Autoimmune Response
Dr. Kurt Waples will give a talk on autoimmune issues, the third leading cause of death in the United States, at the Rye Free Reading Room February 19 at 10. Why and what exactly is autoimmunity?
Why are women more susceptible? Find out how to decrease your risk for developing a disease and how to heal naturally, safely, and without medication.
A More Livable World
“Live and Let Live” authors Jim Conroy and Basia Alexander will offer an outside-the-box solution to ecosystem degradation February 21 from 11-12:30 at Wainwright House. Their lecture will focus on how people can collaborate with living beings to restore ecological health and connect with nature.
A book signing will follow. Admission is $25 for members, $28 non-members.
Memoir Down Under
The Thursday Afternoon Book Group is reading “The Road From Coorain” by Australian-American author Jill Ker Conway for its next meeting, February 12 at 1:15 at the Rye library. Copies of the books are available at the circulation desk, and everyone is welcome to join the discussions.
“I Will Not Eat”
Weight loss is much more effective when the subconscious mind reinforces will power. On February 21 at Wainwright House from 1-4, Janice Matturro will help dieters discover the power of the subconscious in achieving one’s weight loss goals. Fee: $68 for members, $74 non-members. Register at www.wainwright.org.
Save the Date
Artful Dodgers
Join Rye Recreation staff for an awesome night of dodge ball at the Osborn School gym on February 27 from 6-7:30 for grades 5 and 6, from 7:30-9 for grades 7 and 8. They’ll be playing and learning several variations of this fun game, including team dodge ball, Dr. Dodge Ball, Rescue Ball, and Bombardment. Space is limited. Pre-registration is required. The fee is $20. Visit www.ryeny.gov/ recreation.cfm.
Of Climatic Importance
Dr. Alexis Berg will discuss “How Does Land Surface Affect Climate?” at the Rye Meeting House on February 28 at 3. He will give an overview of how the land surface actively interacts with and has an impact on climatic conditions like air temperature and precipitation. He will also discuss how man-made changes to the land surface, such as deforestation, can contribute to climate change, sometimes in unexpected ways.
Dr. Berg is a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University. This is the final installment of the Bird Homestead nonprofit’s lecture series “After the Storm: Toward a More Resilient Shoreline,” funded, in part, by a grant from the John E. Streb Fund for New York of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Admission is free, but donations will be gratefully accepted. For information, email birdhomestead.meetinghouse@gmail.com or call 967-0099.
Arts & Entertainment
Movie Night
Join SPRYE for a screening of hybrid documentary “Nights,” based on the stories of Scheherazade, at Wainwright House February 18 from 3-4:30. The piece was co-produced by news/documentary cameraman Anthony Forma and Grahame Weinbren. Refreshments at 3, program begins at 3:15. Call 481-5706 to RSVP.
TGIF Tarot Party
This exciting and playful event at Wainwright House, on February 12 from 7:30-9:30, is designed for everyone from novices to long-time tarot friends. Beth Prins Leas will give everyone a tarot reading guaranteed to be a positive experience leaving one feeling empowered with new insights about his/her life’s journey.
Bring burning questions, a sense of humor, and a deck (or not) to find out what’s in the cards for you. Relax with light refreshments, wine, and good company. The cost is $40 for members, $44 non-members.
When in Rome
In 2014, Joseph Blumstein arrived in Rome to sketch and photograph the Eternal City, in the time-honored tradition of so many artists before him. He stayed for a year, and by the time he returned home to Rye, he was ready to paint.
The result — a number of large and colorful paintings and several sculptures—are now on view in the exhibition “Abstract with an Italian Accent” at the Rye Arts Center, through February 28.
“I am an abstract artist but I work from reality,” says Blumstein. He uses rich colors, bold lines, and a thick impasto of oil paint, to recall the sights, sounds, and emotions of the places he visited. “I’m trying to bring the feeling into it,” he explains.
In one of his paintings, <Pompeian Fresco,> the bold swaths of terra cotta and yellow ochre recall the colorful stucco walls typical of Roman architecture. In <San Giovanni in Laterano,> dusky purple, putty-gray, green, and hints of bright yellow, are etched with dark lines which call to mind Rome’s steeple-filled skyline at twilight. Blumstein admits to being influenced by Joseph Stella, an Italian-born painter who was best known for his fractured and colorful paintings of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The artist’s silver-painted fiberglass sculptures are surprisingly lightweight and are meant to recall the dark and ancient staircases he descended while exploring many of Rome’s churches. The experience of going underground, he said, made him appreciate the light and colors awaiting him when he returned to the street.
— — Margot Clark-Junkins
Close-Up
An exhibit of portraits by contemporary artist and Rye resident Alex Davitt continues at the Rye Free Reading Room through February 26. Specializing in both people and animals, Davitt has exhibited in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont. The self-taught artist captures the intensity and quirkiness of her subjects.
Family Ties
Daddy and Me
Fathers can drop in with their kids for a fun-filled animal adventure at the Rye Nature Center February 14 at 9:15. Fee: $10 for members, $15 non-members.
Sweet Valentine
Get a peek at the sugaring process in the Rye Nature Center’s own sugaring shed February 14 and 21 at 1. Learn how maple trees produce sap in all of nature’s glory and tap a tree the old fashioned way! Free for members, $5 for non-members.
Ecology Club
Families with special needs are invited to the Rye Nature Center February 21 at 9:30 to enjoy animal programs, hikes, and other fun science and sensory adventures. For more information, email marygillick@ryenaturecenter.org. No fee, but pre-registration is required.
Teen Times
Sainted History
On February 13, teens can create heart-shaped baskets and other Valentine’s Day decorations at the library. Square House Museum Educator Devon Pentz will also teach participants about the history of the holiday.
All materials will be supplied. Pre-registration is required. To sign up, visit www.ryelibrary.org.
Children’s Corner
Rockin’ and Rollin’
Popular children’s entertainer Graham Clarke has youngsters movin’ and groovin’ to the beat on Musical Tuesdays at the Rye Free Reading Room. The 45-minute programs are offered twice a month with the next concerts February 10 and 24 at 1.
Middle School Soiree
The Rye YMCA is open from 7-10 to middle school students on February 14. Supervised by the Teen Staff, the kids will enjoy Valentine cookie decorating, wrecking ball, pizza, basketball, and the game room. Email cindy@ryeymca.org.
Tween Book Club
The Rye Free Reading Room has a brand-new book group for tweens in grades 4-6. At the first meeting of the “I Read a Latte” club on February 21 at 3, there will be snacks and plenty of lively conversation about “The Night Gardener” by Jonathan Auxier.
Pick up a copy of the book in either the Children’s or Teen Room. To register, visit www.ryelibrary .org.
Don’t Miss
Spread Your Wings
Children, ages 4 and up, and their parents are invited to a Monarch Butterfly Garden Workshop, sponsored by the Rye Garden Club and the library, at the Rye Free Reading Room February 19 at 1. Over the past five years, 90 percent of monarch butterflies have died off. Help save the monarch
Participants will learn about native milkweed, the only food monarch butterflies eat, and plant seeds to sprout. In June, the seedlings can be brought back for a planting day in the Children’s Room Garden.
Pre-registration is required. Visit www.ryelibrary.org.
