Posts Tagged ‘culture’

There’s Plenty of Cultural Activities Happening in the Hamptons

There’s still lots to feed the cultural beast in you if you’re visiting the Hamptons this month. Here are some of the best for a range of interests from art to theater to music.

Bay Street Theater – A Musical under the Stars: Camelot

Courtesy Bay Street Theater

Bay Street Theater moves from its Sag Harbor location to an expansive open-air setting in Bridgehampton. The theater’s outdoor version of Camelot has been such a hit that it’s been extended through September 5. Broadway stars grace the performance which is set on an elevated stage in a socially distanced, Covid-aware setting. Masks are required and there is ample parking in the lot behind Carvel. Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot is a star among Broadway musicals with music that transcends generations. With memories of Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet in mind, the cast shines with outstanding performances by Britney Coleman (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Sunset Boulevard) as Guinevere and Jeremy Kushner (Rent, Jersey Boys) as King Arthur. Allan Dalla Villa’s Mordred, an evil troll like character, is a showstopper.

Calissa Restaurant – Calissa Sounds

Courtesy Calissa Restaurant

Calissa Restaurant in Water Mill adds a musical note to their shimmering Greek dining with performances on their outdoor stage. Set adjacent to the restaurant’s expansive, light-rimmed terrace, the very international experience concludes on September 3 with a collaborate DJ set by St. Lucia and RAC. Calissa Sounds bring live DJ entertainment under one open-air “roof” to create the ultimate Mykonos meets the Hamptons mashup music-driven experience. Reservations with table minimums can be made by visiting https://www.calissahamptons.com/calissasounds/. Have a meal with the likes of grilled branzino, horiatiki and lobster pasta or enjoy late-night bottle service in this magical setting.

Calissa  Restaurant – Broadway Out East

Joshua Henry at Broadway Out East, Calissa Restaurant © Meryl Pearlstein

The hugely popular Broadway Out East weekly program at Calissa has one more concert to go, with timing TBD, featuring Broadway star Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Annie Live!). Check out the restaurant’s website for updates. The good news is that the new program was such a success that it will become a permanent series next summer. The recent show by Joshua Henry (Hamilton, Carousel) was a wonderful mix of familiar show tunes and songs from his upcoming album GROW. Other performers this summer included husband-and-wife superstar team, Andy Karl (Pretty Woman, Groundhog Day, Rocky) and Orfeh (Pretty Woman, Legally Blonde).

Southampton Arts Center — Hamptons Fine Art Fair

Hamptons Fine Art Fair courtesy Hamptons Fine Art Fair

Southampton Village has evolved to become a thriving arts district on the East End. 70 galleries from around the globe will gather at the Southampton Arts Center for the Hamptons Fine Art Fair as a celebration and tribute to the region’s rich history as a haven for the creation and patronage of art. The SAC galleries and grounds will be transformed from Thursday, September 2 through Sunday, September 5 for the international art fair which also benefits the Southampton Arts Center.

The Parrish Art Museum

© Carl Timpani

There’s always something exciting happening at Water Mill’s Parrish Art Museum.

In addition to the Parrish Collection of more than 3,000 paintings, sculpture, works on paper, and mixed media, visitors can learn more about the artists and individual art works featured in Artist Stories. The series explores the dynamic history of artists of the region from the 1820s to the present through historic photographs, biographical information, a timeline and interactive map.

Music will ring out on the museum’s outdoor terrace on September 3 with The HooDoo Loungers who take their inspiration from the Gri Gri of Dr. John to the swingin’ rock n’ roll of Fats Domino. Blending it all together with a bit of classic soul and New Orleans Swing, the band brings it together for an inspired and original musical gumbo. This outdoor event requires all attendees to show proof of their vaccination status or recent negative COVID test (within 72 hours).

Stephen Talkhouse

Courtesy Stephen Talkhouse

If a rock or folk concert is more your thing, the intimate Stephen Talkhouse concert hall in Amagansett has a schedule of performances lined up for the coming weeks. Book online for The Wailers on September 3, female rockers Lez Zeppelin on September 4 and local favorite The Nancy Atlas Project on September 5. Each date also features a late-night addition of other rock ‘n roll bands. Check the website for the full concert program for upcoming weeks.

An Art Road Trip: Artists’ Homes and Studios to Visit in New York, Massachusetts and Maine

The Hudson River Valley and New England are especially rich in artists’ studios and homes, offering a behind-the-scenes opportunity to glimpse the motivations and settings that impacted creativity.

New York and Hudson River Valley

Edward Hopper House Courtesy Edward Hopper Historic House & Study Center

Edward Hopper’s haunting cityscapes are familiar to visitors to the Whitney Museum of American Art, but it’s his early home in Rockland County that provided much inspiration and context. The Nyack countryside gave him ample exposure to light and landscape, which he incorporated into his many depictions of city and country life in the 20th century. The Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center currently serves as an exhibition space for exhibitions relating to Hopper and works of various artists.

Where to Stay:

Courtesy Hotel Nyack

Hotel Nyack – Designed by the David Rockwell Group, Hotel Nyack is the first boutique, lifestyle hotel in Rockland County and part of the Joie de Vivre/Hyatt collection. The stylish rooms and spaces add a fitting design element to your art getaway.

Courtesy The Castle Hotel and Spa

The Castle Hotel and Spa – A short drive from Nyack,  The Castle Hotel and Spa in Tarrytown will inspire your creative muse with its original architectural elements. In an envious location overlooking the lower Hudson River Valley, the distinctive castle dates from 1897 and was designed in the style of a Norman fortification in Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

Thomas Cole’s Old Studio © John Thorn

Thomas Cole is synonymous with the Hudson River School. It was Cole who gave birth to America’s first significant art movement and his landscapes occupy an important place in museums like the National Gallery, New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. After a visit to Cole’s beautiful Catskill home with its sweeping views of the Catskill Mountains you might just be tempted to pause a while with your own sketchbook. The Thomas Cole National Historic Site features changing exhibits of landscape paintings.

Olana © Stan Ries

In nearby Hudson, Frederic Edwin Church, the second important painter of the Hudson River School, established his family home, studio and estate. Unlike his teacher Thomas Cole, Church is best known for paintings of exotic locales instead of the local scenery that Cole favored. Resembling a Hudson River School painting, the Olana State Historic Site covers 250 acres and includes Church’s Persian-inspired house with commanding views of the Hudson River Valley. On display are paintings by Church as well as other collected art.

The dining room at Manitoga © Vivian Linares

Manitoga/The Russel Wright Design Center in Garrison invites visitors to spend time contemplating Wright’s seamless merging of indoor and outdoor design. This famous house, created by industrial designer Russel Wright, seems to flow effortlessly into beautiful gardens with waterfalls, an example of the modernist design he introduced to the world. The setting was transformed from a ravaged industrial site into a spot for artistic creativity with miles of paths and views of the Hudson River.

Where to Stay:

Courtesy The Maker Hotel

The Maker Hotel – Newly opened in the artsy-Boho town of Hudson, The Maker Hotel is filled with vintage and current arts, crafts and works from local artisans and makers. A perfect complement to the artists’ homes in the Hudson River Valley, the hotel also has a notable dining room and fitness options.

New England

Chesterwood © Don Freeman

Another favorite area of artists, the Berkshires in western Massachusetts is the location of Chesterwood, the summer home, studio and gardens of lauded American sculptor Daniel Chester French. One of America’s foremost public sculptors, French created more than 100 monuments including the acclaimed Minute Man in Concord, Massachusetts and Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial. Many of the original plaster models and sculptures in bronze and marble can be viewed in his Stockbridge home. Visitors are welcome to wander the European-inspired gardens, particularly beautiful in the spring and autumn.

Frelinghuysen Morris House © Paul Rocheleau

The next town over, Lenox, is the site of Bauhaus-inspired Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio, the two-story white stucco and glass, modernist home of Suzy Frelinghuysen and George L.K. Morris, painters, collectors and founders of American Abstract Art. The house is notable for its contrast to the “cottage”-type architecture found in the area. The house museum displays an extensive collection of mid-century art including the couple’s own cubist works.

Where to Stay:

Courtesy The Inn at Kenmore Hall

The Inn at Kenmore Hall — The first summer arts colony in the Berkshires in the 1880s, Kenmore Hall in Richmond counted Daniel Chester French among its students. Today, the history-filled B&B has been lovingly restored with appropriate design and appointments for an intimate stay in a gorgeous setting near the attractions of the Berkshires.

Winslow Homer Studio © Trent Bell Photography

Winslow Homer was inspired by the rough coastlines of Maine, particularly those in the southern part of the state. His studio, located on Prouts Neck in Scarborough, is overseen by the Portland Museum of Art. If you walk along the peninsula and the beach, you’ll understand the chilly, rocky images that Homer painted. You might even recognize some the views from paintings at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Museum or Chicago Art Institute. Homer spent 17 years at this location, living in the simple understated structure and painting from a balcony overlooking the ocean. To visit the studio, you must first stop at the Portland Museum of Art – a chance to see some of the artist’s paintings – and then board a shuttle to Prouts Neck.

Kent—Fitzgerald Historic Home Courtesy Fitzgerald Legacy Archives, © John Lawrence

As early as 1850, Monhegan Island in Maine had become a magnet for artists. The headlands of the remote island and its wild, car-free setting were a draw for creative souls, appealing with their natural beauty and simplicity. Up steep Light House Hill, artist Rockwell Kent built a home and studio that was later used by artist James Fitzgerald and portraitist Alice Stoddard. Kent painted much of what he saw daily en plein air focusing on regional realism while Fitzgerald’s watercolor interpretations of the area were created from memory and sketched indoors. Kent’s famous Winter, Monhegan Island is a stylized depiction, on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Artworks created by Fitzgerald and Stoddard are shown in the nearby Monhegan Museum of Art & History.

Where to Stay:

Courtesy The Black Point Inn

The Black Point Inn – On a sweep of beach on Prouts Neck in Scarborough, the classic Maine resort is a look into the relaxed history of the area.  With its waterfront location, traditional Maine dining, and classic architecture, the inn will help you understand why Winslow Homer chose this location for his studio.

Pierce Cottage at The Island Inn © Meryl Pearlstein

The Island Inn You’ll understand why Monhegan Island appeals to artists when you stay at the inn. Overlooking the harbor with scenery that becomes the main event of the day, the Island Inn and its adjacent Pierce Cottage embodies simplicity, allowing the environs to remain the star of the show. Simple rooms and a popular porch with rocking chairs along with Adirondack chairs on the lawn invite you to relax after a day of exploring the island and the art.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation and writer Valerie A. Balint have created a guide that covers these areas and more, including detail and photos for 44 artists’ homes and working studios in 21 states.

August Festivals and Cultural Events Continue through End of the Month

While only a few more weeks of summer remain, there’s still plenty to do before the season is over. Several outdoor festivals are taking place throughout Manhattan in August, so you can shop and eat your way through various cultural hubs and make the most out of these last few weeks of warm weather. These street festivals offer hundreds of great exhibits, which include local arts and crafts, antiques, jewelry, and authentic foods.  

More on August Festivals and Cultural Events Continue through End of the Month

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