Montauk's Bill O'Connell, director of Hamptons Jazz Fest, is a Grammy nominee.

Holiday concerts in East Hampton, Water Mill, and Southampton, a diamond counterfeiter at The Church, plus jazz in Southampton and fusion in Sag Harbor

Holiday menu and takeout options include feasts of the seven fishes, smoked hams, lobster bouillabaisse, buche de noel, lobster roll kits, and more.

Klever Lopez, the new owner of John Papas Cafe in East Hampton, promises that, except for a few new dishes, nothing will change. A fixture in the kitchen there for more than 20 years, he knows the place well.

Citing the financial impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on many families, the East Hampton Kiwanis Club is seeking donations of new, unwrapped toys to be distributed to local kids in need for the holidays.

In New York State as of Monday, Dec. 13, masks will be required in all indoor public places unless businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement. The action comes amid yet another surge in Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, with Suffolk County's seven-day average of positive tests reaching 6.5 percent on Dec. 8.

The older I get, the less happy I am about the dark afternoons. Sunset brings us down. We have to fight, fight against the dying of the light.