PICKING UP THE PACE OF THE 350TH CELEBRATION

Spring bulbs are coming up, and so is the pace of 350th anniversary events. Although the biggest one of all, the Oct. 10 historical parade through East Hampton Village, is almost half a year away, it is well along in the planning. To date, reports the parade chairman, Jim Brooks, no fewer than 64 organizations have signed on to enter floats or march.

It is not too late to join in. Any group that would like to take part but has not yet signed up has been encouraged to attend a meeting for participants next Thursday, at 5 p.m. in the Emergency Services Building on Cedar Street, East Hampton.

A word to the wise: The floats are being organized along a time line of local history - laggards may find themselves representing the Ice Age.

A video of the 300th anniversary parade in 1948 will be shown during the meeting, and a brief slide show as well.

The next installment of the 350th anniversary lecture series will trace the growth of the town's renowned art community from its beginnings in the late 19th century to the present. "From Barbizon to Bonac: East Hampton As An Art Colony" is Helen Harrison's topic on Friday, April 24.

Artists have come from all over to paint, photograph, and sketch the local landscape and to rhapsodize about the East End's singular light. Many have stayed.

Ms. Harrison, the director of the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in Springs, is an art historian specializing in modern American works and a reviewer and feature writer for The New York Times's Sunday Long Island section. Her talk, illustrated by slides, will begin at 7:30 p.m. at East Hampton High School.

It is underwritten by Dunemere Real Estate.

"Three Mirrors: Reflections of 1840s Sag Harbor," is another event that should intrigue students of the past. A panel discussion of Sag Harbor's Old Whalers Church in the context of its times, it will feature the architect who heads the church's current restoration; a noted architectural critic, and a scholar of the period.

The architect, Randolph Croxton, who is also overseeing the restoration of Manhattan's Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, is credited as a founder of the "green" architecture movement. He will discuss the church's architectural history, and review the status of the restoration.

The critic is Paul Goldberger, formerly of The New York Times, now covering cultural affairs for The New Yorker. He will talk about Minard Lafever's choice of the Egyptian Revival style in designing the church, in light of architectural styles of the era.

The scholar, Dr. Roger Wunderlich, a history professor at the State University at Stony Brook, will address 19th-century Sag Harbor's rapid growth. The Old Whalers Church was a major symbol of the village's prosperity.

The event, sponsored by the Old Whalers Landmark Restoration Campaign, will take place at the church on Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m. The audience will have the opportunity to ask questions and to tour the building.