Grind

By Lucy Peck and Ava Lipsky

Despite prolonged Covid-19 restrictions on in-person gatherings, local bookstores and libraries continue to offer virtual literary experiences for children and adults. East Hampton Village’s BookHampton is among them.

The Hamptons Shakespeare Festival has announced its first-ever virtual program, Camp Shakespeare Online.

East End Together Against Trump plans a protest for Saturday afternoon at the corner of Hill Street and First Neck Lane in Southampton.

The show “Successful Philanthropy,” hosted by Jean Shafiroff, a philanthropist who lives in Southampton and Manhattan, will air four times a week, welcoming powerhouses from various organizations in the Hamptons.

Pending suitable weather, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services vector control division will treat south-of-the-highway areas of Napeague and Beach Hampton with the mosquito-control pesticide Anvil early on Thursday morning.

The East Hampton Lions Club is hosting a blood drive on Tuesday at the American Legion in Amagansett.

Blood collection agencies in many states, including New York, are testing blood donations for Covid-19 antibodies and collecting convalescent plasma to help current coronavirus patients recover more quickly, according to the American Red Cross.

Tuesday's blood drive in Amagansett is from 11:45 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. Whole blood, platelets, and plasma can be donated.

August is prime time for spotting the wood-boring Asian longhorned beetle, an invasive pest that continues to be seen on Long Island.

Truth Training is hosting an online kettlebell-swinging challenge to benefit Project Most starting Aug. 3.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is encouraging people to participate in its annual Summer Wild Turkey Sighting Survey.

Live music returns to the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett Thursday night at 7:30 with G.E. Smith on guitar accompanying Joseph Arthur, a singer and songwriter.

Complimentary valet parking at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital is among many conveniences on hiatus during Covid-19, and Brett Pickett, president of the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, took note.

Twelve of the 28 South Fork water bodies tested by the Concerned Citizens of Montauk were found to have had medium to high levels of harmful bacteria, the organization said in last Thursday's water quality report.

Saturday will be a busy day at the Eastville Community Historical Society in Sag Harbor, where an artist's reception kicks off a new exhibit in the early afternoon and the annual fish fry cookout will take place later in the day.

The Southampton Arts Center will host a Unity Fest for the first time Sunday, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. The center’s grounds will be the scene of an array of multiculturally owned and run businesses and organizations, as well as musicians, motivational speakers, food, and art. 

The festival will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and that night at 8:40 the documentary "Killer Bees," featuring the Bridgehampton High School boys basketball team, will be screened, dedicated to the late Bobby Hopson, the team’s career scoring leader.

The East Hampton Library's Authors Night fund-raiser will carry on, going virtual over four nights in August.

This year, because of pandemic restrictions on gatherings, the format will be one-on-one interviews with authors, an exception being Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton, who co-wrote a memoir of Ms. Andrews's career and life, "Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years." Bridget LeRoy will engage them in conversation on Aug. 7 at 4 p.m. Time for questions will follow each interview.

After surveying many of their families and realizing there are financial hardships among them, officials at the Ross School in East Hampton have made a pitch to the school's wider community for donations.

The Suffolk County Department of Public Works announced Wednesday that it will treat sections of East Hampton and Fire Island in an effort to control mosquitos.

On Wednesday, the streets and boardwalks will be sprayed in Ocean Bay Park, Ocean Beach, and Seaview on Fire Island between 5 and 10 p.m. On Thursday, the county will be doing ground spraying in the Fire Island Pines, Water Island, Summer Club, and Atlantique on Fire Island between 5 and 10 p.m.

Main Street Tavern, a new restaurant in the space previously occupied by Indian Wells Tavern in Amagansett, will open for outdoor dining and takeout starting Thursday.

Local organizations are helping communities here grapple with race and identity through film screenings and conversations.

Racial Justice East End, Canio's Cultural Cafe, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Fork, and the Eastville Community Historical Society have come together for the Confronting Racism virtual film series. The movies will be shown on Zoom, followed by small group dialogues that create "space for honest, heartfelt conversation."

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone has announced an online job board for both employers and job-seekers, with employment fairs, hiring events, and career exploration -- a virtual employment center that he called a one-stop shop.

After hitting a low of 45 new cases per day in mid-June, confirmed Covid-19 numbers have moved slowly upward in Suffolk County.

There have been about 60 new coronavirus cases reported each day in July, with a high of 102 cases on July 13. Case counts reflect the date on which they were provided to New York State by reporting laboratories.

For Saturday night only, the Maidstone Hotel in East Hampton Village is offering a contactless takeout or picnic paella dinner prepared in-house by Fernando Saralegui of The New York Times-starred restaurants Alva and L-Ray.

Four poets will pay a virtual visit to the Shelter Island Library for a mini poetry festival on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. Reading from their work via Zoom will be Fran Castan, Carole Stone, George Held, and Gladys Henderson.

Visitors have been given the green light to return to nursing homes and long-term care facilities on a limited basis.

Eleven of the 39 South Fork water bodies regularly tested by the Concerned Citizens of Montauk were found to have had medium to high levels of harmful bacteria, it said in its most recent reporting.

The East Hampton Library is planning a virtual art exhibit to showcase the work of local teens, and has put out a call for entrants.

Hamptons Film Drive-In, in partnership with the Hayground School, will show Tina Fey's "Mean Girls," from 2004, as the Monday retrospective film, and Jordan Peele's "Get Out" as the Scary Wednesday film. 

East Hampton Town's Junior and Nipper Lifeguard programs for kids will begin this week with reduced capacity and new safety protocols in place.

The Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce has canceled the village’s annual HarborFest fair, scheduled for Sept. 12 and 13, because of the ongoing pandemic.

Upcoming events and news in Montauk.