Grind

Up for a challenge . . . for a good cause?

The bravest swimmers on the South Fork can answer the polar plunge call to raise money for charity by taking a winter dip on New Year's Day in Montauk, East Hampton, or Wainscott.

The first one of the day is on the beach at Gurney's Montauk Resort at 10:30 a.m. Donations collected during the Gurney's polar plunge will benefit the Retreat, a domestic violence shelter program based in East Hampton.

The East Hampton Trails Preservation Society will host three hikes this week in Montauk.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has signed into law a bill establishing protection and conservation areas for marine mammals and birds that live on the land and waters of Plum Island, Great Gull Island, and Little Gull Island.

To celebrate New Year’s Eve in a safe, alcohol-free environment, the South­ampton Town addiction and recovery committee will throw a New Year’s Eve party at Parrish Hall at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. The 2020 Clear Vision Party, as it’s called, will start at 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 and go until about a half-hour after the ball drops. There will be live entertainment and refreshments.

A menorah lighting will take place in Herrick Park in East Hampton Village on Friday at 4:30 p.m., organized by Chabad of the Hamptons with cocoa, chocolate coins, and raffle prizes. The event will be preceded by a parade of lights from the Chabad house on Woods Lane starting at 3:30 and an ice-carving demonstration at Herrick Park once the “menorahcade” arrives.

Shakespeare and Co.'s three-week residency at the school culminates in performances of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" on Thursday. All 78 students, ages 3 to 13, have had a hand in this year's production.

The Wainscott C.A.C. on Saturday announced that this year's business awards recognize Michael Del Piero Good Design and Wainscott Main Wines and Spirits for aesthetic and community-minded accomplishments.

The holiday festivities are in full swing with Santa likely showing up in your hamlet sometime over the weekend and plenty of places to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list, such as the annual Artisans Gift Show in Springs. In between all of that, catch a "Mixed Nuts" performance at Bay Street or take a dip in the ocean during the Polar Bear Plunge at Cooper's Beach in Southampton Village to raise money for Heart of the Hamptons, an organization which assists more than 1,500 people in the community each year. 

Friday, December 13 

Films and television offerings with East End connections found love from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which nominated several of them for their annual Golden Globes Awards.

If you are looking for farmland or you have farmland and want a farmer to work it for you, an upcoming Peconic Land Trust forum in Riverhead is for you. Next Thursday, Dec. 12, the Peconic Land Trust will review the Farmland for a New Generation New York program, which is coordinated by American Farmland Trust in partnership with the State Department of Agriculture and Markets, agricultural organizations, and land trusts. There will be specific information available to farmers and farmland owners on Long Island.

The Hampton Ballet Theatre School will bring holiday cheer to East Hampton with its annual production of “The Nutcracker,” which opens Friday at Guild Hall.

With 20 days until Christmas, it's time to get serious about holiday shopping, and with the many holiday fairs happening between Montauk and Southampton, it should be somewhat easy to do. Check out all the fairs, and more holiday festivities, like the Santa Parade and "The Nutcracker" performances, happening around town: 

Friday, December 6