Compiled by Janice Llanes Fabry
This Weekend
Tea and Biscuits
Children 3 and up and their parents are in for a special morning on Saturday from 9-10 when best-selling children’s author Alyssa Capucilli shares her stories at Wainwright House. Creator of the “Biscuit” series, Capucilli will also autograph books purchased that morning while families enjoy tea and light breakfast treats.
To register, call 967-6080 or visit wainwright.org. The cost of $8 per adult and $5 per child also includes a souvenir and raffle gifts.
Feathery, Furry Bonding
Fathers and their kids, ages 3-6, can drop in the Rye Nature Center for a fun-filled animal adventure Saturday at 9:15. It will be a morning to remember. The cost is $10 for family members, $15 for non-members.
Dickens of a Weekend
Spend a festive and free weekend at Wainwright House on Saturday and Sunday from 10-4. There will be arts and crafts for kids and live music. A choir, Irish dancers, and a marionette show will get everyone in the holiday spirit.
There will also be cooking demonstrations, caricature artists, souvenir photos, a raffle, and a marketplace offering unique handcrafted gifts. For further details, visit wainwright.org.
The Talent Among Us
An organization is as good as its members, and at The Rye Arts Center’s Member Exhibit you’ll have a chance to see just how good. The opening reception is Saturday from 1-3 in the Gallery. The show runs through January 9.
All in the Family
Paintings by Henny Johanna and photographs by Cheryl Selinka will be on display at the Rye Free Reading Room through December 29. Meet the talented mother and daughter at the opening reception Saturday from 1-3, and listen to the music of Johanna’s granddaughter, Heather LaRose, while you’re there.
“Sentimental Journeys” includes original paintings and photographs of their homeland, the picturesque island of Foehr in the North Sea off Germany’s coast.
Ghost of Christmas Past
Step back in time and experience a colonial Christmas at the Square House Museum Saturday from 7-9. The Rye landmark will be decorated for the season. Costumed docents will guide guests through the tavern room, kitchen, and second-floor rooms by candlelight — battery-operated, of course. Enjoy mulled cider and holiday cookies.
Festival of Lights
Congregation Emanu-El of Westchester invites families with young children – age 6 months to second grade and their siblings – to enjoy a morning service Sunday at 10. Experience a memorable Hanukkah celebration with latkes, crafts, music, and the lighting of the Menorah!
Paws on Pillows
Bring comfort to dogs and cats by making beds and toys at Wainwright House Sunday from 10:30-1:30. All the items will be donated to animal shelters in Westchester. No experience necessary. Call 967-6080 or visit wainwright.org for details.
Gift Giving and Merry Making
Bring new unwrapped books or toys for underprivileged children in Westchester to Rye Recreation Park on Sunday and enjoy holiday festivities as a family. A magic show starts at 4 and a bonfire and sing-a-long at 5.
Rye Recreation and the Rye Police Association are working together to support the United States Marine Corp Reserve’s Toys for Tots program to help make a memorable holiday for all.
For a Good Cause
Garland Greetings
The Little Garden Club of Rye is holding its holiday luncheon December 10 at Apawamis Club. Designer India Hicks, who encourages women to lead extraordinary lives, will give a talk at 10. A boutique with holiday merchandise and Katherine Hooker clothing will open at 10 as well. Lunch will be served at 12.
Proceeds are used to fund the club’s educational programs, scholarships, and civic beautification throughout Rye. Tickets are $150 per person for lunch, lecture, book, and boutique admission; $85 for lecture and boutique; $75 for lunch and boutique.
For information on the event or ready-to-bloom paperwhite orders, contact Cheryl Adler at cherylmadler@yahoo.com.
Arts & Entertainment
For the Birds
“On the Wing,” an exhibit of 80 exquisite photographs of birds by Nadia Valla, will be on view at the Meeting House on Saturday afternoons from 12-3. The exhibit’s setting is ideal as the Meeting House and the Bird Homestead are adjoining properties on the banks of the Blind Brook estuary that are a haven for over 50 species of birds, from white egrets to vibrant warblers.
A member of the Little Garden Club of Rye, Valla captures her subjects from a kayak where she can photograph wading birds and swimming ducks at eye level. Sometimes she prints her photos and reworks them with pastels or watercolors, transforming them into works of art.
For holiday gifts, unframed prints can be ordered for $75 each. Proceeds will go toward restoration of the stained-glass windows in the Meeting House.
Just Like the Ones I Used to Know…
The last of this year’s Rye Free Reading Room’s Musical Mondays lunchtime movies is “White Christmas.” Bring your lunch and enjoy the Bing Crosby classic on the library’s big screen December 7 from 12-2. Dessert will be provided.
‘Tis the Season
Families are invited to the Jay Heritage Center on December 9 at 3 for a special children’s holiday party. Enjoy a tree lighting ceremony, ornament decorating, caroling, and festive bites.
The cost is $15 per child. RSVP to jayheritagecenter@ gmail.com.
Ol’ Blue Eyes
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of Frank Sinatra’s birth at a “Sinatra Sings” concert at the Rye Free Reading Room December 12 at 2. Actor, singer, and storyteller Lou Del Bianco will share his favorite tunes.
Sing along with “Fly Me to the Moon” and “New York, New York.”
Del Bianco has performed all over the country, from the Tastes of Chicago to Carnegie Hall. His music video, “A Little Bit Clumsy,” is currently playing on the Learning Channel.
A Special Birthday Bash
Celebrate New York’s favorite native, Founding Father John Jay, with a 270th birthday party at the Jay Heritage Center December 12 from 2-5. Guests will also enjoy a holiday jamboree with a capella music by Princeton’s Tigressions and the Yale Spizzwinks. Also on hand will be winter refreshments and costumed tours of the 1838 Jay Mansion. Free for all.
SPRYE on View
The works of SPRYE members and volunteers at The Osborn are on display at the senior facility on Theall Road through January 6. Visiting hours for the general public are 10-6. Call 925-8218 beforehand.
Talks, Workshops, and Just for Fun
Tech Boost
Join SPRYE for a technology workshop December 8 from 3-4 at Rye High School. Rye Youth Council students will provide one-on-one help to perfect seniors’ skills on various electronic devices.
In Sync
The power of meaningful coincidences will be explored at Wainwright December 9 from 6:30-8. Attendees will learn to connect and utilize their personal unconscious as a guide to a heightened awareness at this workshop led by Gibbs Williams, Ph.D.
To register, call 967-6080 or visit wainwright.org. The cost is $35 for members, $38 non-members.
All is Calm, All is Bright
Stressed with a long shopping list this holiday season? Take a moment to relax and practice mindfulness at the Rye Free Reading Room December 10 from 10-12. True Edge Workshop founder Ellen Blaufox will demonstrate a variety of interactive exercises. Learn to use all your senses to create a more mindful and inspiring holiday season.
Windows of Opportunity
Computer teacher Mike Negrelli will lead Windows 10 workshops at the Rye library on December 10 and 17 from 10-12. The first will cover the new start menu and apps, while the latter will focus on the New Edge Internet browser.
Attendees with Windows 10-based laptops may bring them to class. For more information, visit ryelibrary.org or call 231-3161.
Beauty and the Beast
Holistic Moms Network will present a program on Personal Care Products and Safety at the Rye library December 10 at 7:30. Learn to identify unsafe ingredients in beauty products and find out who regulates them. Speaker Jane Sander’s informative presentation will be based on her work with Beautycounter.
The Wartime Rescue of Danish Jews
On December 16 from 3-4:30, join SPRYE at Wainwright House as Rye resident Howard Veisz tells the compelling story of “Henny and Her Boat,” about the sea rescue of 7,220 Danish Jews and 686 of their non-Jewish spouses. A Danish woman named Henny Sundo singlehandedly saved 300 Jews from the Nazis in her small vessel. Mr. Viesz is part of a group working to restore her boat, Gerda III, which is owned by New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage.
Curl Up With a Good Book
Two of the Rye Free Reading Room book clubs have announced their upcoming selections. The Current Events Group will read “My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel” by Ari Shavit and will meet December 17 at 6:30. The Thursday Afternoon Group will read “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” by Richard Flannagan for its next meeting, January 7 at 1:15.
Copies of the books are available at the Circulation Desk. Everyone is welcome.
Teen Time
Babysitters Club
Ages 11 and up can learn the skills to safely and responsibly care for children and infants at a Rye YMCA program at Rye Middle School on December 10 and 17 from 3:15-6:15. The fee for members and non-members alike is $100. For more details or to sign up, call 967-6363 or email julianne@ryeymca.org.
Family Ties
Pancakes with Santa
Enjoy a hot buffet breakfast and have a photo taken with Santa at the Damiano Center on December 12 at 10. If you would like Santa to give your child a gift (under $20), drop it off at Rye Rec by December 9.
Fee is $15 per registrant (children and adults), $17 non-residents. Space is limited. Register at ryeny.gov/recreation.cfm or call 967-2535.
Follow the Breadcrumbs Home
Ages 4 and up and their grown-ups can learn to build a gingerbread house at the Rye library December 12 from 11-12:30. Artist B. Smith will tell the “Hansel and Gretel” story that made gingerbread houses famous. There will be lots of candy for decorating and eating, too.
Space is limited. Call 231-3162 or visit ryelibrary.org.
Merry Marionettes
Families are in for a treat at the Square House Museum when the Robert Rogers Puppet Company presents “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” December 12 at 1. Based on the main character in a Hans Christian Anderson story from the late 1800s, the tale of a child’s caring tin soldier will warm all hearts.
For over 30 years international puppeteer Robert Rogers has inspired creativity in young audiences by creating and performing a repertoire of original puppet plays. He incorporates humor and song to address important social issues.
The cost is $10 per person. Reservations are recommended as space is limited. Call the Rye Historical Society at 967-7588.
Knights and Squires in Shining Armor
Children in first through fourth grades and their fathers or grandfathers can embark on an adventure to Medieval Times in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, with the Rye YMCA on December 13 from 2-4. There will be feasting and a grand live tournament of the best knights in the land.
Registration is available at the Y’s member services desk or at ryeymca.org. The fee of $60 for dads and $40 per child covers tax and server gratuity. Participants will meet at Lyndhurst Castle at 149 Polito Avenue in Lyndhurst at 1:45.
Children’s Corner
Young Readers Unite
Tweens in grades 5 and 6 are welcome to join the Rye Free Reading Room’s “I Read a Latte” book club at their next meeting, December 19 at 3. They will be discussing “Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy” by Karen Foxlee.
Children in grades 1 and 2 will read “Gingerbread for Liberty!” by Mara Rockliff and will meet on December 26 from 3-4.
Grades 3 and 4 will read “Seven Spools of Thread” by Angela Shelf Medearis and will discuss the book on December 26 from 4-5.
Copies of the books are available in the Children’s Room. Pre-registration is required at ryelibrary.org. For more information, call 231-3162.
Gymnast Night In
Ages 5 and up can enjoy a fun-filled evening at the Rye YMCA on December 11 from 7-9:30. Gymnastics (no experience necessary), group games, open workouts, and dinner will ball be included.
The cost is $25 for Family members, $35 for Youth members, $50 non-members. Register at ryeymca.org or email Kathy@ryeymca.org for more information.
Waxing Poetic
The Rye Nature Center invites ages 5 and up to make holiday crafts December 12 at 3. Kids will be using natural materials from the park to create candles and other fun decorations. The fee is $5 for members, $8 non-members.
Middle School Madness
On December 12 from 7-10, middle schoolers can head to the Rye YMCA for an evening of fun, food, activities, competitions, and games.
Supervised by the Y’s professional Teen Staff and led by the Camp, Family, and Teen Assistant Director, Second Saturdays are great for camaraderie, too. The fee is $5 for members and non-members. Register at ryeymca.org.
