The lifeguard stand was carted from Georgica Beach on Tuesday, nearly three weeks earlier than had been planned. “It was between the beaches at Two Mile Hollow, Main Beach, and Georgica . . . we had to close one,” said Ed McDonald, who manages the ocean beaches for East Hampton Village. “We are running into the same problem as restaurants and storeowners — our employees are going back to school.”

    Larry Cantwell, the village administrator, okayed the request to remove the stand from Georgica Beach, where tidal surges have consistently washed up to the parking lot. “It’s a relatively short beach with no altitude,” Mr. McDonald said, adding that the beach was often unusable at high tide. “If a tropical system were to move this way, it would only get worse.”

    He stressed that Georgica is not truly closed, although he has placed a no-swimming sign at the beach’s entrance. Full-time lifeguards will be on duty at the other village beaches until Labor Day, at which point they will work weekends only for the two subsequent weeks.

    “I hope we have enough lifeguards,” Mr. McDonald said. “If not, Two Mile Hollow will be next.”

    For those out there sulking at the recent lack of fireworks, a silver lining is in sight. At 8:30 p.m. on Saturday the East Hampton Fire Department will send summer out with a bang.

    The department’s annual fireworks display at Main Beach will begin at dusk. Picnickers will have a good portion of the beach to themselves as vehicles will be prohibited from Egypt Beach to Georgica Beach. Those with town beach driving permits will be allowed to drive on at Two Mile Hollow and Wiborg’s Beach.

    While the fireworks are free, volunteers affiliated with the Fire Department will be roaming the beach collecting donations to offset the cost of the show and support the department’s good works.

    The fireworks used to be held at Main Beach for Independence Day, but have been moved indefinitely to Labor Day weekend to protect the endangered piping plovers, which nest close to the fireworks site. By the end of summer, their chicks have left the nests and restrictions on fireworks in the area are no longer in effect. Although weather reports yesterday called for a clear Saturday, in case of rain the fireworks will be on Sunday.    M.S.

Books to Music

    Lee Knight will get kids of all ages singing and dancing during a Dream Big concert for all ages at the East Hampton Library next Thursday from 2 to 3 p.m. Ms. Knight sets favorite stories to music and invites kids to be part of the show.

    Also at the library this week, kids 4 and older will explore shapes and patterns in modern art and make their own abstract art using sponge-painting techniques tomorrow from 3 to 4 p.m. Kids the same age will learn about sharks while they handle shark jaws, teeth, and egg cases in a Long Island Aquarium program on Monday, 3 to 4 p.m.

    All programs are free, but reservations are requested.

Twirli-Giggles

    This week’s edition of Twirligig Tuesdays at the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton will bring Bari Koral and her band, whose catchy pop tunes will have everyone singing along. The band will sing tracks from its debut album, “Rock and Roll Garden,” which won Nappa Gold and Parents’ Choice award, as well as “Anna and the Cupcakes,” which was released earlier this year. The show will start at 6 p.m. Tickets are $17 in advance, $15 for members, and $20 at the door. The rain date is Wednesday.

Murder in Bridgehampton

    During an after-hours celebration to mark the end of the summer reading club at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton, kids entering seventh grade and above can take part in a murder mystery and play games, Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.

    Kids of the same age can make glow in the dark accessories during a workshop next Thursday from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

Gustafer’s Travels

    The Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor will feature performances of the classic fairytale “Little Red Riding Hood,” today, tomorrow, and Saturday at 11 a.m. 

    Straight from the sun, Gustafer Yellowgold will make his way to the theater for a three-day run starting next Thursday at 11 a.m. A character created by Morgan Taylor, who New York Magazine recently named Best Kids’ Performer, Gustafer is not a puppet. Rather, he is an animated alien whose curiosity leads him on a perpetual path of discovery while his story is told through song. There will also be performances on Friday, Aug. 24, and Aug. 25.

    Tickets cost $10, $9 for members and grandparents, and $5 for kids under 3.

Teen Art

    The Madoo Conservancy in Saga­ponack will offer an intensive one-week art class for teenagers starting on Monday.

    Led by Sarah Rustin-Faulkner, a decorative artist, students will draw and sketch in Madoo’s gardens, then progress to working on a more involved piece in their medium of choice. Classes will be held Monday through Friday, Aug. 24 from 10 a.m. to noon. Initial supplies are provided by the conservancy. The cost for all five classes is $225 or $200 for members.

Marionettes at Guild Hall

    Prince Steffon will find and rescue princess Aurora from her nearly 100-year slumber under the dominion of the evil fairy Balladonna on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Guild Hall. Told from the prince’s point of view, the National Marionette Theatre will present Tchai­kovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty” as part of Guild Hall’s KidFest series. Tickets cost $16 for adults, $14 for members, and $13 or $11 for kids.

    An arts and crafts workshop before the performance from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. will have kids 5 and older designing their own puppet theater. The cost is $10, or $8 for members.    

Bikes and Boards

    The final event in the Family Fest at the Montauk Playhouse Community Center will feature Team F.A.S.T., a medley of high-flying and adrenaline-pumping BMX, skateboarding, and street bikes, next Thursday at 7 p.m. Their hopping, balancing, gliding, and spinning show is for the whole family. Tickets are $15 and are available at montaukplayhouse.org or at the door.

Carnival for a Cure

    The Roar for a Cure family carnival will bring a rock wall, barbecue, obstacle course, batting cage, mechanical bull, dunk tank, mini golf, and even “GaGa pits” to the Ross School grounds on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.

    A D.J. will play music, and there will be a caricaturist, magician, and balloon artist on hand, as well as burgers, hot dogs, gourmet wraps, a quesadilla bar, and a fry station.

    Proceeds will benefit the Max Cure Foundation for pediatric cancer research. Tickets cost $125 for adults and $50 for children and can be reserved at maxcurefoundation.org/carnival. Kids under 2 will be admitted for free.

    Before the recent glut of fund-raisers hit Montauk, there were the Montauk Village Association’s annual benefits, which started in the 1960s and eventually included the popular Greenery Scenery Celebrity cocktail party.

    The group, which beautifies the downtown area with trees, shrubs, and flowering plants, and manages the memorial bench and tree program, originally held fashion shows at Gurney’s Inn and dinner-dances at the long-closed Deep Sea Club, sometimes netting hundreds of dollars, a good amount back then.

    In 1967, the Kirk Park Pavilion was dedicated and the Greenery Scenery party was held there. At that time the M.V.A. owned and maintained the park, which is located on the banks of Fort Pond. Although they remain caretakers, they have since handed ownership over to East Hampton Town, due to increasing costs of owning and insuring a public park.

    The party moved to the Akin estate for the next two years. By then, said Nancy Keeshan, the organization’s current president, the association had conceived of a “glorious summer party.” It was decided that the Montauk Manor, with its sweeping lawn and exceptional views, would be the perfect setting.    

    The first Manor party, in 1971, drew over 300 guests. The following year celebrity bartenders were added to the mix and the party grew in each year after. In the 1980s it attracted over 1,000 guests.

    Since then the event has taken on several incarnations, most notably Drinks by the Links at the Montauk Downs. But two years ago Greenery Scenery, the most popular of the association’s events, was reinstated, with a handful of local celebrities thrown in and put to work bartending.

    It will be held tomorrow evening from 6 to 9 at the Montauk Lake Club on East Lake Drive. This year’s honoree is Roberta Gosman Donovan, an owner and the host of Gosman’s restaurant. There will be food, an open bar, and a live auction with prominent artwork, surfboards, a fishing trip, a collage by Tony Caramonico, jewelry by Helen Ficalora, and lots more. Tickets are $100 in advance, available at Keeshan Real Estate on the south Plaza, or at the door for $110.

    When it was formed in 1961, the group was called the Montauk Civic Association. Ms. Keeshan said it should really be called the Montauk Village Garden Association, because “that’s what we really do.” She said the Civic Association’s first venture was to plant a small memorial garden on the green, with a flagpole and a design in the shape of a flag with red, white, and blue flowers. The M.V.A. has begun revitalizing the garden area, with work being conducted by James Grimes and his crew from Fort Pond Native Plants.

    “Even with their busy schedule they have made a push to get it done in August,” said Ms. Keeshan. “Private donations have funded the project, but we need more. Landscaping costs us $75,000 a year now.” She noted that the group no longer receives any money from the Town of East Hampton; all of it must be raised through fund-raisers and donations.

    In recent weeks it was the M.V.A. that orchestrated the removal of 16 dead trees from the downtown area. They lobbied the state for months to rid the hamlet of the dead and dying trees, which were often commented on and considered dangerous. It’s “been hard keeping those trees from dying,” said Ms. Keeshan, as the ground beneath them is layered with concrete, blocking water from the roots.

    The tree stumps will be ground up; the root systems will have to be removed. The concrete, especially to the east of the hamlet, will be broken up. It will be a fairly expensive project that the M.V.A. had hoped to complete with new trees by next summer.

    But since the dying trees were removed, the last of them on Friday, several residents have said they prefer the open space, and Ms. Keeshan agrees. “It gives the downtown area an open oceanfront look,” she said yesterday.

    Members of the Sag Harbor Gym on Bay Street can now look forward to having smoothies, juices, protein shakes, and salads before or after their workouts, following a decision by the village zoning board of appeals on Tuesday that a juice and smoothie bar is consistent with the spot’s primary use as a fitness center.

    Timothy Platt, the village’s building inspector, had asked the board to determine whether village code would allow a juice bar at the gym.

    Carlos Ramirez, a chef and entrepreneur, plans to rent space from the Hampton Gym Corporation to open Moose Smoothies. On Tuesday, his attorney, Carl Irace, argued that providing nutritional beverages is part of fitness center’s main use. Village code, he said, describes fitness centers as “facilities for exercise, aerobics, and nutrition.”

    “Nutrition,” he said, “is an essential part of fitness,” and it is customary these days for gyms, even smaller ones, to also offer healthy foods to its members. Today, he said, fitness training always involves nutrition. “It supports endurance . . . recovery from exercise.” As an example, he said that many trainers recommend a shake 30 minutes after a workout. People need to replenish electrolytes after exercise, he said. In the past, a soda machine may have sufficed, but he said fitness trainers now work with variations based on age, weight-loss goals, and conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. “That’s why gyms offer experienced and professional nutritional counseling.”

    He said there is already a juice bar in the Hampton Gym Corporation’s Southampton gym.

    In Sag Harbor, the juice bar, at just 170 square feet, will be 70 feet from the gym’s main entrance in a space now used for storage.

    Answering questions from the board, Mr. Irace said that the juice bar would require no additional parking and that the food and beverages served would be offered as a convenience to members only, as are the gym’s child care services.

    As copies of the plans were handed to the board, Michael Bromberg, a board member, warned Mr. Irace and Mr. Ramirez that only three board members were in attendance. “It is easier to get three out of five, than three out of three,” Mr. Bromberg said. Gayle Pickering, the board’s chairwoman, offered them the chance to request that the matter be adjourned, and gave other applicants in the audience the same option. Mr. Irace and Mr. Ramirez declined, and in the end, got the three votes they needed.

    Although Mr. Bromberg said that giving nutritional advice is different from handing someone a drink, he said “it sounds customary, other establishments have it.” Ms. Pickering agreed, saying, “I think it works for the gym.”

    Mr. Ramirez, who has lived in Sag Harbor for three years, is excited to get started, he said yesterday. He thinks it will be a month or two before he has the smoothie bar built. He will use recycled materials, he said, adding that the business will have a low carbon footprint. He said he has already purchased compostable cups, and will source local and organic ingredients whenever possible.

   Triggered by an ongoing stalemate with the Sag Harbor Police Benevolent Association after mediation failed to arrive at a new contract and facing a state cap on increases in taxes, questions have continued to hover around the Sag Harbor Village Board about whether it would be financially prudent to disband the Police Department or whether it should enter into an inter-municipal agreement with another policing agency, allowing the village to retain the department but reduce its size.

    On Tuesday, at a meeting of the board, Mayor Brian Gilbride reported that he had spoken with Anna Throne-Holst, Southampton Town’s  supervisor, and the Suffolk Sheriff’s Department about whether their departments could help cover the village. The Town of East Hampton had also called requesting information, he said.

    “At this point, I have to know from the board, do I continue going down this road looking at this?” the mayor asked. Behind closed doors, he and Beth Kamper, the village clerk, have been crunching numbers to find out exactly what each officer costs.

    “I continue to not want to go down this road,” Mayor Gilbride said, “but these costs are getting to a point we have to take a hard look. . . . With a 2 percent tax cap, there is not a lot of money to play with.”

    When Kevin Duchemin, the board’s newest elected member, who is a sergeant with the East Hampton Village Police Department, said he “would like to see one more meeting with the P.B.A. to hammer out this agreement,” the mayor replied, “We can do both.”

    Timothy Culver, a member of the board, said the issue ran deeper, however. “What is the right answer for the village? Is the P.B.A. contract the most efficient way to allocate the funds?”

    William Wilson, the Southampton Town police chief, and County Sheriff Vincent DeMarco are each willing to send up to two cars, 365 days a year, the mayor said, to police the village. He said he had had “a very good discussion,” and thought an inter-municipal agreement made sense “when you look at the numbers.”

    Robert Bori, the Sag Harbor harbormaster, entered the discussion later in the meeting. “You speak of two cars. Is that going to be in writing? If there is a heavy accident, are we still going to have the protection?”

    “As a former police officer, you have better insight than others,” Mayor Gilbride responded. “If something happened in Bridgehampton or Saga­ponack, [Southampton] cars would be shipped out,” but with the Sheriff’s Department “that’s not the case,” he said.  He had been assured, he said, that the sheriff’s personnel would be willing to walk the sidewalks and get to know the people.

    That the board was concerned about money rather than performance was clear during the meeting. Edward Gregory, a trustee, said, “It’s not personal. They’re very good. They do an excellent job.”

    As for the mayor, he said he “praised the officers time and time again.” But, he said, “I don’t think any of them will be without work for long” if the village lost “six or seven people. We keep the ability to have our own Police Department, and see,” he said.

    He added that the department’s chief, Tom Fabiano, “does an excellent job. Without Tom, we would have had this problem sooner.”

    Chief Fabiano also had something to say before the meeting was over. He approached the microphone in an out-of-character, somber tone. “With regard to the other departments being talked to,” he said, “I believe they have problems; they can’t cover their own areas.” He continued: “We have provided a great service . . . over 35 years.” He noted that he had been in the department through “a lot of mayors and a lot of trustees. When times were hard, it’s always, let’s get rid of these guys.” While agreeing that money had to be a concern, he said, “I look at that every time I buy a sign or a pencil. . . . It really hurts me to see that you’re doing this.”

    “Do you honestly believe that they can give you the quality of the service we are giving you?” the chief asked. He asked the board to wait and see the results of the impending arbitration. There was no response from the board.

    “It really hurts me to see this whole Police Department be abolished. We are doing far more than we did 15 years ago; our own court system, we’re making revenue here.” Then he added, “It’s disheartening after 35 years.” Walking away, with his head down, he repeated softly, “Thirty-five years.”

    Gordon Bowling, an East Hampton resident, has called for Andrew Goldstein, chairman of the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals, to recuse himself in a proposal pending before the board. The application was submitted by John and Suzanne Cartier, Mr. Bowling’s neighbors, who are seeking to construct an “accessory building with living accommodations” on their two-acre Main Street property.

    At a two-and-a-half hour hearing on the plan last month, mired in debate over interpretation, Mr. Goldstein mentioned that he was “good friends with John Cartier,” adding, “I don’t feel compromised in my ability to rule against him.”

    Mr. Bowling wrote to the board on July 31 questioning the chairman’s ability to be objective. In that letter, which he provided to The Star last week, he suggested that Mr. Goldstein recuse himself from future debate on the Cartier application “so as not to stain the reputation of the chairman, the Z.B.A., and the East Hampton government.”

“Most residents of East Hampton would agree with me that any chairman of the Z.B.A. who might be ‘good friends’ with an applicant should recuse himself from such cases,” he wrote. “Appearances matter and reputations matter. . . . In a small village like ours, conflicts inevitably occur, and this is the reason we have appointed alternatives.”

    In addition to his Z.B.A. position, Mr. Goldstein is the chairman of the Village Preservation Society, which was founded by Mr. Cartier, who is on its board.

    It is up to Mr. Goldstein to decide whether his relationship with the Cartiers warrants recusal. In 2010, he recused himself from the East Hampton Library’s expansion application subsequent to making strong statements at Z.B.A. and preservation society meetings against the project.

    At the second hearing, tomorrow, Mr. Goldstein is expected to state his intentions. 

    At the end of Friday’s East Hampton Village Board meeting, Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. came down on cycling groups who fail to yield to motorists or pedestrians. Mayor Rickenbach also admonished groups of runners who occupy more than their share of roadways. “Be civil, be cognizant,” the mayor said, adding that “some bicyclists and joggers are ignoring New York traffic law, which is not the way to behave.”

    He said increased use of the village parking lots compared to last year is a sign of increased traffic. “Everyone should take a deep breath,” he said. “In two weeks, we will return to normal.” He thanked the emergency service employees for coping well with heightened activity. “Kudos to them,” he said.

    The mayor requested that residents and visitors learn New York State traffic laws, which require cyclists to ride close to the right curb “in such a manner as to prevent undue interference with the flow of traffic” and not more than two abreast on public roads or shoulders. Pedestrians are required to use sidewalks when they are provided and safe to use. Where sidewalks are not provided, the law says a pedestrian must walk on the left side of the road facing traffic.

    The next session of Animal Rescue Fund classes for dogs and their masters is coming up. ARF will offer a recreational dog agility class, aimed at building trust between dogs and their handlers while giving both some exercise.

    Classes start on Saturday and go through Sept. 1, 4 to 5 p.m. for beginners and 5 to 6 p.m. for the intermediate course. The cost is $150 for five classes; class size is limited.

ARF’s Thursday afternoon puppy kindergarten starts next Thursday and continues through Aug. 30, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. The cost is $100 for four sessions.

    Both classes are at the ARF Adoption Center, 90 Daniel’s Hole Road, Wainscott. Matthew Posnick is the instructor. Registration online is at arfhamptons.org, or at the center.

    At its meeting to end the fiscal year on Tuesday, the East Hampton Village Board came alive during the final scheduled task — a discussion related to naming a private road off Montauk Highway.

    Kenneth Sheinberg, a resident on the street in question, said that his first choice was the name Little Plains Lane, but because there is already a Little Plains Road in Southampton, the board requested that he offer a different moniker.

    He presented the name Avocet Lane.

    “It’s a bird native to the area,” he said, after which his attorney, Carl Irace, whispered, “Anything that sounds nice.” Mr. Sheinberg reiterated his lawyer’s counsel aloud to the board, stating that he would be amenable to anything that sounds nice.

    Barbara Borsack, the deputy mayor, expressed concern that emergency services might be confused by the name, because of its short, homophonic syllables. She suggested naming the road Judson or Banister, paying homage to a former East Hampton Village mayor. The board bantered further about other possible options.

    Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr., eager to close the conversation, again asked Mr. Sheinberg, the only person present who lives on the four-property road, if Avocet is what he prefers. He said it was.

    Because there is often befuddlement surrounding instances of similar addresses on the East End, Anthony Long, a village police lieutenant, stood and requested that the board “make absolutely sure” that there are no streets named Avocet in East Hampton.

    Larry Cantwell, the village administrator, reminded the board that the resolution would be adopted on Aug. 15, and interested parties have until then to determine if Avocet is a viable choice.

    According to “Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification,” the American avocet primarily resides in the western United States, Florida, and occasionally makes a cameo as far north as Delaware.

Osborne Reborn

    The board approved a bond resolution Tuesday allowing the village to borrow up to $800,000 for the reconstruction of the Isaac Osborne House on Newtown Lane. Work on the 19th-century house is expected to begin early this month. According to Mr. Cantwell the space will be used for village offices.

    Before the start of the meeting, Mayor Rickenbach presented a plaque containing a vintage photograph of Hook Mill to Jim Fields & Sons for their donated time painting the windows on the restored early 19th-century landmark.