Grind

As winter settles in on the South Fork, kids and adults can stay busy with nature-oriented activities.

With local positivity rates of the Omicron Covid-19 variant reaching close to 25 percent, East Hampton Town has announced five additional vaccination clinic dates in February. Those previously offered in January have been booked up.

Starting in January, the Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons will become a vaccination site operated in partnership with Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. It replaces the Parrish Hall vaccination site near the hospital and will allow for three times as many appointments each day.

The East Hampton Library is encouraging high school students to take on its 2022 winter challenge, which runs from Jan. 3 to Feb. 19.

The Jewish Center of the Hampton will be closed for three weeks, according to an announcement released on Dec. 23.

It's not too cold outside for a hike, right?

Experts from Stony Brook Medicine’s Post-Covid Clinic will present “Post-Covid: In It for the Long Haul,” a livestream event examining long-term effects and approaches to care, on Tuesday at 4:45 p.m.

Police departments here and across Long Island are on heightened alert at schools, following social media posts that threatened violence today, Friday. Those threats have now been deemed non-credible.

Does anything say 'happy holidays' like a large, plush llama?

John Hatleberg, widely considered the world's foremost counterfeiter of famous diamonds, will be the next speaker in Knowledge Fridays, the monthly lecture series at The Church in Sag Harbor, on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

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.

The Montauk Chamber of Commerce and the Montauk Visitors Center will hold a Montauk Holiday market on the downtown green on Saturday from noon to 4:30 p.m. Santa will be there from 3 to 4 p.m.

Attention holiday shoppers who like to keep things local: two chances are coming up this weekend to do just that.

The Southampton Town Planning Board will hold a virtual public hearing at 6 p.m. on Dec. 9, Thursday, to consider a request from Verizon for a special exception from the zoning code for a 153-foot-high cell tower along the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, on a 24-acre property.

Stony Brook Southampton Hospital kicked off a winterlong coat drive last week, asking for donations of new or gently worn coats, hats, gloves, and scarves to help people in need.

East End YIMBY (which stands for "Yes in my Back Yard") will be holding a rally in support of affordable housing on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the windmill on Long Wharf in Sag Harbor.

For those who have relatives or friends struggling with alcohol, Al-Anon meetings held at a handful of locations on the South Fork offer support. Adults meet at the Montauk Community Church on Sundays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Lunch meetings take place on Mondays at 12:30 p.m. at the East Hampton Presbyterian Church session house. There are also meetings on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 4:30 at Christ Episcopal Church in Sag Harbor. The Wednesday session is geared specifically toward parents of alcoholics. Masks are required.

There will be two free screenings Sunday of “Waterproof,” the 40-minute documentary released two years ago that focuses on East Hampton’s lifeguarding community, and in particular on John Ryan Sr.

The Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center announced this week it is seeking donations of shoeboxes filled with holiday gifts for girls and boys in the community.

The East Hampton Masons and the East Hampton High School Student Association are seeking vendors to take part in their upcoming walk-through holiday light show, to be held the weekends of Dec. 10 and 11 and Dec. 17 and 18.

Hanukkah begins Sunday at sundown. The holiday will be celebrated with different events across the South Fork, including menorah lightings, singing songs, making and eating latkes and sufganiyot (doughnuts), and religious services.

Those who overindulged on Thanksgiving dinner and dessert can "walk it off" with a moderately paced hike on Friday at 10 a.m. through the Long Pond Greenbelt, a post-Thanksgiving tradition from the Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt and the South Fork Natural History Museum.

There will be a blood drive organized by the New York Blood Center on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Bridgehampton School gym.

The Montauk Lighthouse Committee is gearing up for the return of the holiday Lighting of the Light on Nov. 27 at 4:30 p.m., and the Montauk Food Pantry is collecting toys for the children of migrant and seasonal farm workers.

Visiting hours and funeral arrangements have been announced for Zbigniew (Ziggy) Lutrzykowski, an employee of the Bridgehampton School for the last 10 years. He died on Saturday at the age of 48.

Springs School District parents wishing to get Pfizer vaccine shots for their children ages 5 to 11 can do so on Saturday, Nov. 20, at the school between 10 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. The vaccine clinic will also be open to children of Springs School staff members.

East Hampton Town Hall will be the site of a pop-up Covid-19 vaccination clinic for people 12 and up on Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vaccines will be administered in the main meeting room. Town Hall is at 159 Pantigo Road in East Hampton

Registration for a lantern-light tour of Main Street historic buildings on Dec. 3 is being taken by the East Hampton Historical Society, either on its website or by phone. These tours have limited attendance and fill up fast.

Those who wish to get in some outdoor recreation or compete for a cause in Montauk have a few opportunities coming up to do just that.

In the village, not only will veterans march Thursday morning at 10 in a short parade organized by the Everit Albert Herter V.F.W. Post 550, but they will also be honored with a longer parade organized by the village on Saturday morning.