Compiled by Janice Llanes Fabry
This Weekend
Happy Big Birthday, Rye Y
The Rye YMCA is celebrating 100 years in style, with a centennial gala Saturday from 6:30-11 at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College. The ever-popular Paul Reiser, comedian, author, and actor of “Mad About You” fame, is the evening’s emcee.
Celebrate the “Y” in “You” with star talent, cocktails, dinner, and silent and live auctions. Visit www.ryeymca.org or contact margaretmead@ryeymca.org.
Special Shabbat Service
Community Synagogue of Rye welcomes guest speaker Ruth W. Messinger, President of the American Jewish World Service, at Friday’s 7:45 Shabbat service. Her subject is “The Jewish Global Citizen: Pursuing Justice in the 21st Century.” Messinger has been honored by many national Jewish organizations and was named one of the world’s most influential Jews and religious leaders by The Jewish Daily Forward, The Jerusalem Post, and Huffington Post.
Memoir Writing
The Rye Arts Center is holding a two-part Memoir Writing Workshop from 12-3 this Saturday and November 1. Join Susan Hodara and Joan Potter, co-authors of “Still Here Thinking of You,” for in-depth and interactive sessions devoted to learning to pen your memories. Share your stories and find your voice.
Fee is $100. To register, visit www.ryeartscenter.org or call 967-0700.
Thrift Shop Sale
On Saturday from 9-1, Rye Presbyterian Church Thrift Shop will hold its semi-annual Super Saturday Sale to benefit local non-profit organizations. This is a special event that includes larger items such as bicycles, big toys, end tables, desks, and dressers. The ever-popular Designer Handbag Table is back, along with select items of clothing that are not available during the shop’s normal business hours, 10-1 on Thursdays. If you’re already thinking about the holidays, head to the Plan Ahead table, which will be laden with Christmas items.
Proceeds benefit Open Door Medical Centers, Rye Youth Council, Rye Presbyterian Nursery School, and Port Chester Carver Center. Shopping at the Thrift Shop is not only fun, but it’s also for many good causes. For further information, call 967-0842, ext. 22, or email CKuster@ aol.com.
Ecology Club for Families with Special Needs
On Saturday at 9:30, children with special needs are invited to bring a family member with them to Rye Nature Center and enjoy animal programs, hikes, and other fun science and sensory adventures. For further information about this free program, e-mail marygillick@ryenaturecenter.org. Pre-registration is required.
Keeping Memories Alive
Creative artist Lavinia Wiggins will lead a workshop for adults at the Rye Free Reading Room Saturday morning from 10-12. “Building a Personal Shrine” participants may honor a loved one by making an enclosure for displaying objects dear and near to their hearts. Participants should bring a few mementoes to be featured in their memory boxes. Class size is limited. Sign up in person or call 231-3161.
Where Rye History Resides
To celebrate Archives Month, the Rye Historical Society invites one and all to the Knapp House on Rye Beach Avenue on Saturday from 10-3. Learn the value of historical records, the importance of preserving them, and how they are stored. Find out about reference files, primary source materials, old maps, photos and digital records that make up a community’s vital history.
Sheri Jordan, Director of the Rye Historical Society, notes that New York State began celebrating archives in the late 1980s with special events and activities to increase public awareness of the importance and relevance of historical documents.
Sustainable NYC Shore
Climate and land-use expert William Solecki, CUNY Director of Institute for Sustainable Cities, will discuss “Climate Change and New York City: Lessons and Implications from Hurricane Sandy” at the Rye Meeting House Saturday at 3. Solecki, a professor of geography at Hunter College, has served on the Special Committee on Problems in the Environment (SCOPE) and as co-leader of several climate-impact and land-use studies in the New York Metropolitan region.
The lecture is part of the Bird Homestead nonprofit’s ongoing series, “After the Storm: Toward a More Resilient Shoreline.” The project is funded, in part, by a grant from the John E. Streb Fund for New York of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Donations will be gratefully accepted. For further information, call 967-0099 or email Anne Stillman at birdhomestead.meetinghouse@gmail.com.
Ghost Stories by the Campfire
Bring a flashlight, hot dogs, and your courage to the Rye Nature Center Saturday at 6. You’ll need them as your listen to stories and poems about Westchester’s haunted forest, houses, and caves. Stories progress from spooky to scary – you can discreetly retreat when they pass your comfort level. Marshmallows provided. The fee is $8 for Family members, $10 for non-members.
Finger-Licking Bingo
Rye Recreation Center has put together a winning combination this Saturday, of barbecuing and Bingo for grades 1 and up from 6:30-8:30. Win prizes while playing fun variations of Bingo and enjoying great food. No walk-ins; pre-registration required. Fee is $14 per person.
Sacred Circles
On Sunday from 1:30-5, Wainwright House is offering a Mandala and Yoga Workshop with Doreen Grozinger. She will start off with yoga and a guided meditation to quiet the body and mind before creating mandalas, using color, symbols, and shapes. This creative and healing process moves from the heart center outwards to gather insight.
The fee is $53 for members, $58 non-members. Register at www.wainwright.org.
Halloween Fun
Come in costume to play games, win prizes, enjoy healthy snacks, and have some good old-fashioned trick or treating fun at the Rye Y on Sunday, from 2-4. While activities are geared toward toddler and early elementary-ages, everyone is welcome.
No registration is necessary. Free for Family members, $10 for
Youth and non-members. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
For a Great Cause
Masquerade Party
Wainwright House, a holistic center since 1951, is celebrating life with a Black and White Masquerade Party on November 1 at 6:30. Enjoy cocktails, dinner, and dancing for $125 per person.
RSVP online by October 27 at www.wainwright.org or call 967-6080. Black-and-white attire suggested, masks optional.
Arts & Entertainment
Beaux Arts Bonanza
The Woman’s Club of Rye is hosting its 62nd annual art exhibit at the Rye Free Reading Room. Co-sponsored by the Rye library, the show runs through October 29 and features the exciting and eclectic works of local artists, who donate a percentage of their commissions to fund art scholarships for Rye High School students. For more information, call Melanie Ciraco at 437-7923.
Spirit Doodling
Join Victoria Friedman at Wainwright House November 2 from 10-12 for a meditative art workshop. The mindless expression of doodling often reveals a space of silence that opens the door to a wellspring of expression. Tap into an infinite creative source. Fee is $25 for members, $28 non-members. Register by October 30 at www.wainwright.org.
Mid-Century Master
Due to popular demand, the Rye Arts Center’s extraordinary solo retrospective of Rye’s own Irving Harper’s whimsical paper sculpture exhibit has been extended through January 24. The artist is known for his iconic contributions to the George Nelson Office, including the 1949 Ball Clock, Herman Miller logo, and the 1956 Marshmallow sofa.
New Gallery Show at Rye Library
“Thursday A.M. Take Two,” an exhibit of watercolor paintings by Rye Arts Center teacher Brigitte Loritz and her students, will be on display at the Rye Free Reading Room from November 5-26. A reception for the artists will be held November 8 from 1-4.
Many of the experienced watercolor students in Loritz’s Thursday morning art class have been painting together for over twenty years. The exhibit showcases their new work, as well as their teacher’s, and includes landscapes, still life, portraits, and architectural subjects.
Howdy, Pardner
Share your love of westerns and a bag of popcorn at the Rye Historical Society’s Square House Museum on November 9 at 2:30. The fall film series highlighting John Wayne’s prolific film career continues with John Ford’s “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” It doesn’t get better than the Duke co-starring with Jimmy Stewart, Lee Marvin, John Carradine, and Vera Miles.
Admission is $5. Seating is limited, so call 967-7588 to register.
SPRYE at the Museum
Join SPRYE for a visit to the Bruce Museum and be among the first in the nation to see the new exhibit, “Northern Baroque Splendor,” November 12 from 10:30-11:30. The collection of 17th century Dutch and Flemish paintings on loan from the Princely Collection, Vienna includes the work of 60 artists, among them Jan Breughel and Peter Paul Reubens.
Fee is $6, plus optional lunch at Greenwich restaurant.
Talks and Workshops
Justice for Minors
New York is one of only two states that prosecute adolescents as adults. The Hon. Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge of New York State, is of the view that “it is high time we change the way the justice system responds to 16- and 17-year-olds accused of non-violent crimes. Every year, as many as 50,000 youths aged 16 and 17 are arrested in New York and prosecuted in our criminal courts, overwhelmingly for minor crimes.”
Judge Lippman, whose judicial career spans four decades, will speak on this important matter at the Jay Heritage Center’s Van Norden Carriage House, October 28, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
In 2008, he received the William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence. He travels extensively around the country to share his views and experiences regarding judicial branch leadership and innovation.
For more information, contact Julia Nesbitt, Director of Racial Justice, YWCA White Plains & Central Westchester at 949-6227, ext. 106.
Putting a Green Thumb to Good Use
The Ceres Garden Club of Rye invites all those interested in gardening and the environment to attend its monthly Tuesday meetings from 12:30-2:30 at the Rye Rec Damiano Center. At the next meeting in November (DATE?), members and guests will create seasonal baskets and tray favors for nursing home residents. A variety of programs are planned throughout the year, including informative talks on flowers and eco-friendly landscaping, floral arranging shows and workshops, trips to plant centers and botanical gardens, work sessions on civic projects, and more.
If you’ve admired the hanging baskets of geraniums that decorate downtown Rye every summer and into the fall, you’ve seen the work of the Ceres Garden Club. Call Club President Ann Moller at 967-5419 to learn more about the meeting dates and topics. Men as well as women are welcome.
Up for Discussion
The Rye Free Reading Room’s next book group selections are in. The Current Events Group will read “Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country” by Andrew Bacevich and discuss it October 28 at 6:30. The Thursday Book Group will read “The Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson for its November 6, 1:15 gathering. The Friday Book Café will discuss “Orphan Train” by Christina Baker Kline November 7 at 9:30 a.m. Call 231-3161 for this meeting’s offsite location.
Evolution of Stone Walls
Andrew Pighills, who received his horticulture training in Great Britain with the Royal Horticultural Society, will discuss stone walls in the U.S. and UK at the Jay Heritage Center November 2 from 4-5. Having completed stone building apprenticeships with master stone artisans in the Yorkshire Dales, Pighills is passionate about his English garden heritage and the art of creating stone structures.
In 1822, Peter Augustus Jay took down wooden fences and defined the borders of the Rye meadow and view shed to Long Island Sound with stone ha-ha walls. These dry laid walls were based on similar landscape features found in countless English estates as well as at the homes of several Founding Fathers. Learn how this design element made its way from Great Britain to America in this fascinating talk. Free for JHC members, $5 for non-members.
Before Disaster Strikes
The Rye Y wants to help families be prepared for emergencies. At a workshop October 28 at 7, participants will learn the essential items that go into a three-day emergency kit and discuss ways to stay informed with a vital records kit, communication plan, and meeting place. A personal safety kit will be distributed to each family.
Longtime Rye resident Jeanne Temple, an AmeriCorps member working in Community Emergency Preparedness Corps, is the facilitator. She has completed Basic Community Emergency Response Team Training with the Westchester Citizen Corps Coalition. The program is free and open to the community.
Creature Comforts
On November 2, from 10:30-1:30, animal lovers may bring healing comfort to dogs and cats by making beds and toys at Wainwright House through its Paws on Pillows outreach program. No experience necessary. Items will be donated to the animal shelters in Westchester.
Getting to Why
At the next meeting of the Rye Storytellers’ Guild, “Pourquoi” stories will be featured. Societies from around the world have told such stories to make sense of the world. Perhaps a story might explain how a tiger got its stripes or why the sun rises in the east. They’re fun to listen to and fun to relate. All are welcome November 4 at 6 at the Rye library.
Gluten-free or Gluten-hype?
Dr. Kurt Waples will present a Wellness Update on gluten at the Rye Free Reading Room October 30 at 10. Might current concerns about gluten be hype? What is it anyway, and why are so many people leaving it out of their diets? What is the impact on our children?
Waples, a chiropractor, kinesiologist, and natural medicine practitioner, will answer all these questions and more.
Rye Library Does Windows
A two-part workshop on Windows 8 and 8.1 will be given at the Rye Free Reading Room from 10-2 on November 6 and 13. Learn the basics, the operating systems, their features, and how to minimize problems by updating programs and keeping virus protection current.
Those who have a Windows 8 or 8.1 laptop, should bring it to class with the battery fully charged; otherwise watch the demonstration and take home handouts.
Home, Green Home
Join interior designer Barbara Fina for a visual presentation at Wainwright House November 5 from 10-12. She will give participants the tools to transform their home environments into healthier, more sustainable, energy-rich places. Fina will send everyone home with practical and dynamic decorating ideas.
The fee is $40 for members, $45 non-members. Registration deadline: October 31. Visit www.wainwright.org.
All Dressed Up and Ready to Wear
Fashion stylist Tonia Taliafero will help women gain confidence in their appearance at a workshop at the Rye Free Reading Room November 6 at 10. Her innovative approach, which she calls “Art of Dressing,” centers on developing a positive internal dialogue that changes the way you look and feel. Tonia, who has a shop of the same name in Mamaroneck, focuses on helping women, no matter their age, weight, body type or lifestyle, take the guesswork out of dressing.
Smart Skills
Learn how to help your children develop into successful students at “On the Road to Somewhere” at the Rye Free Reading Room November 6 at 7. Smart Playrooms will offer strategies on how to instill a love of learning and risk-taking in young children. Get tips on helping them begin implement their ideas and solve problems through negotiation.
Just in time for the holiday gift-giving season, there will also be suggestions of which toys and materials are best. The folks at Smart Playrooms are all about smart design and smart play.
Universal Sounds
Through a progression of exercises, a Color and Sound workshop at Wainwright House on November 9 from 1-4 will unleash creative spirits. Facilitators Karen Siegel and Mary Ann McSweeney will explore how color influences thoughts, emotions, and body charkas, just as the world vibrates within a giant symphony of sound.
Participants may create mandalas and paintings to live music. Fee is $60 for members, $66 for non-members. Register at www.wainwright.org by November 6.
Just for Fun
Double Play Over Lunch
The Woman’s Club of Rye will host a Bridge/Mah Jongg Luncheon at Coveleigh Club November 6. Refreshments at 11:30, lunch at noon. What better way to spend an afternoon? Fee is $40 per person. Cash bar. RSVP by October 25 to: Kate Emanuel, 12 Sharon Lane, Rye, NY 10580. Walk-ins regrettably cannot be accommodated.
Family Ties
Meet Spooktacular Animals and Join the Costume Parade
Families with children ages 4 and up are invited to the Rye library to join Animal Embassy on October 30 at 6. Meet a variety of creepy crawlers, from tarantulas and centipedes to snakes and scorpions, and learn all about them. A spectacled owl will be a hoot, too!
Children should come in costume, as there will be a trick-or-treat parade through the library following the program with plenty of treats to take home and enjoy. Pre-registration is required at childrensservices@ryelibrary.org. Please include “Animal Embassy,” date, telephone, and child’s name and grade.
Daddy & Me Animal Show
Fathers can drop by the Rye Nature Center with their kids for a fun-filled animal adventure November 1 at 9:15. Fee is $10 for family members, $15 non-members.
The Great Leaf Hunt
Whether your kids have been bringing in leaves all month long or not, come celebrate the great leaf hunt at Rye Nature Center on November 1 at 3. If they haven’t brought in their leaves already, bring them in that day. Winners will be announced and prizes awarded while enjoying an afternoon of outdoor fun.
Teen Times
Halloween Duct Dynasty
Unleash your three-dimensional creativity and make a duct tape Halloween mask at the Rye Free Reading Room October 28 from 6-7:30. Richela Fabian, author of “Tape It and Wear It,” will demonstrate how to use the sticky stuff. Tape and scissors provided. Space is limited. Register in person or call 231-3172.
Children’s Corner
Movin’ and Groovin’
Children’s entertainer Graham Clarke continues to wow kids on Musical Tuesdays at the Rye Free Reading Room twice a month. Join him and his guitar friends Delores, Cinnamon, and Bluebell on October 28, November 4 and 18 at 1. Kids of all ages will be on their feet and be smiling from ear to ear.
For Idle Hands
Schools are closed on November 10 in honor of Veterans Day, but Rye Recreation is offering special workshops to keep kids busy. Grades K-5 can take part in Jewelry and Beading from 10-12. Fee: $35 for residents, $50 non-resident. Grades K-4 can build in Brick Kids from 1-3. Fee is $30 for residents, $40 non-residents.
Ready, Aim, Tag!
Rye Recreation is holding two sessions of Archery Tag for grades 6-8 at the Rye Middle School Gym on November 14 — 5:30-7 and 7-8:30. If your children liked the Rec’s Laser Tag events, wait until they try Archery Tag! Picture the intensity and excitement of dodge ball and paint ball using the skill-set of archery with patented foam-tipped arrows. Fun and safe, the event takes tag to a whole other level.
