Save the date! The St. James Fire Department Engine Company #1 will be spearheading a St. James Community Holiday Gift & Toy Drive-Thru at Gyrodyne/Flowerfield on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5 and 6 from 12 to 4 p.m.
Visitors will enter via the Gyrodyne entrance on Route 25A. Admission is free but please bring an unwrapped toy or gift card to donate.
Santa will be there on a Fire Engine (aka sleigh) to allow for parents to snap a photo of “the Big Guy” with their children, socially distanced of course! There will be live holiday music playing throughout the day, courtesy of Celebrate St. James and funded by a grant from the Suffolk County Department of Parks, and a mailbox in which kids can mail their letters to Santa.
All proceeds will be distributed by the Smithtown Township Emergency Food Pantry to families and children in our community so every child will have a happy holiday. (CDC COVID guidelines will be followed.) For more information or questions, email [email protected].
Turkeys waddle around Raleigh’s Poultry Farm in Kings Park as customers stop by looking for potential Thanksgiving meals. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Despite new state restrictions on gatherings, some local small businesses are thankful this year for all the support they’ve received at the start of the holiday season.
In pre-COVID times, a typical Thanksgiving dinner could host a dozen or even more people. But as of last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced new guidelines for the upcoming holidays, asking people to host small gatherings of 10 people or less.
Lisa Harris, the owner of Torte Jeff in Port Jefferson, said although they are down in sales, people are still buying Thanksgiving day pies. Photo by Margot Garant
But small groups aren’t stopping people from spending time with their loved ones — just less of them this year. And with the tradition of family get-togethers comes the big Thanksgiving meal, full of sides, pies and of course, turkey.
Cathy Raleigh-Boylan, co-owner of Raleigh’s Poultry Farm in Kings Park, said sales have actually increased this year, much to her surprise.
“There are a lot of people asking for small or medium sized turkeys, but people are still having Thanksgiving,” she said. “Even if they’re not having a large gathering, they still want a big bird and just have a lot of leftovers.”
The farm has been a staple to the Smithtown community for more than 61 years, she said, and usually people come from all over to pick up their Thanksgiving meats. This year is a little different, but not necessarily in a bad way.
“With COVID, we’re realizing a lot more people are eating at home with families and teaching the young kids how to cook,” she said. “Generations are going back a bit. As bad as COVID was, a lot more family time came out of it.”
Raleigh’s also sells pies, making it a one-stop shop for local Thanksgiving needs. “We’ve sold more pies than ever,” she said. “I think people just want to make Thanksgiving special this year. We can’t do a lot of things right now, so people are looking for some normalcy.”
Some people are opting not for the bird this year, and are switching it up. At Cow Palace in Rocky Point, owner Debbie Teitjen said there are other options they offer. “A lot of people are doing turkey breast or turkey London broil,” she said. “We’re doing tons of catering for smaller events and a lot of curbside catering.”
But Arthur Worthington, of Miloski’s Poultry Farm on Middle Country Road in Calverton, said many of his customers are choosing to size down.
“There definitely are still a lot of people going along with the tradition,” he said. “There are a lot of inquiries similar from years before.”
He said customers who still want the bird are preferring smaller ones for this year’s dinner.
“They’re looking for the 12 to 16 pound range, which is tough because everything we do with raising turkeys, we have to plan years in advance,” he said.
But over in Huntington, Nick Voulgaris III, owner of Kerbers Farm on West Pulaski Road, said it’s been busier than typically this time of the year.
Turkeys waddle around Raleigh’s Poultry Farm in Kings Park as customers stop by looking for potential Thanksgiving meals. Photo by Julianne Mosher
“This is normally the busiest time of the year for us,” he said. “We’re slightly above normal, which is a good thing especially during the current economic climate.”
Voulgaris said people are gravitating towards smaller birds for smaller groups, but as of right now, they have completely sold out of turkeys for the holiday.
“We’ve seen a 20% increase in sales over the last six months, or so,” he said.
While they’re out of birds for the upcoming holiday, they still have plenty of pies to preorder before Sunday Nov. 20, he said.
Lisa Harris, owner of Torte Jeff Pie Co. on East Main Street in Port Jefferson, said her shop has been down about 25% in sales from last year because gatherings are smaller, but people are still looking to celebrate with their favorite pies for the holiday.
“We’re selling less pies, but to the same amount of people,” she said. “We have definitely had a request for smaller pies.”
Although it’s a small hit to her business, she’s still happy people want to shop small. Some, she said, are starting new traditions ordering and bringing home her savory Thanksgiving Day pie.
“It’s everything you would have on Thanksgiving in a traditional pie,” she said. “That’s becoming really popular.”
To deal with COVID-19, Harris implemented online ordering through Nov. 20 on a new portal on the shop’s website.
It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is once again upon us and the holiday season is fast approaching. This time of year is a time to give thanks. With all that has happened, with all the senseless loss of life because of the pandemic, we are reminded in the midst of all of that how blessed we are.
Our human landscape has changed so dramatically this past year. However, it has reminded me even more profoundly that all life is sacred, all life is fragile and we need to be so much more attentive to each other. We need to focus on all the things that bring us together rather than the things that separate us. This holiday season should be about building new bridges and not new walls.
With the election season behind us, we have an opportunity to begin a new chapter in our American journey; an opportunity to reclaim our soul as a nation, heal our wounds, stand together and celebrate all that makes us great. We are a tenacious people, diverse but extremely talented and gifted.
In the midst of all this chaos, I have continually been humbled and inspired with the random acts of kindness and compassion from ordinary people in our neighborhoods. On their own initiative, countless student groups have done extraordinary things for the poor and homeless in our larger community. The doctors, nurses, first responders and all of the support staff in our hospitals have been courageous and heroic in their response to the virus. They are a living example of what commitment to public service and community is all about.
We have an incredible opportunity to stand in solidarity with each other and work to make a better tomorrow or we can feed the divisive rhetoric that has become infectious and remain complicit by our silence.
This Thanksgiving will be my 41st Thanksgiving in Port Jefferson. I am forever grateful for these past 41 years. I have seen a community of tremendous diversity and talent stand with each other through good times and bad, always looking to build upon the goodness and kindness in our midst. This experience has inspired me to stay the course and to do my best to help make our community a better place. Every day I see miracles of hope and transformation take place because of the collaborative spirit to reach out to the most vulnerable and broken among us.
As we celebrate the holiday season, no matter what our faith tradition, let this be a time for renewed hope, a time for compassion and renewed understanding, a time for realizing that each and every one of us, no matter where we’re from or what we do, have the power to make a difference that really does count.
May we all be blessed and renewed during the holiday season.
Fr. Pizzarelli, SMM, LCSW-R, ACSW, DCSW, is the director of Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson.
To quash guilt about Thanksgiving meal indiscretions, many of us will resolve to exercise to burn off the calories from this seismic meal and the smaller, calorically dense aftershock meals, whether with a vigorous family football game or with a more modest walk.
Unfortunately, exercise without dietary changes may not actually help many people lose weight, no matter what the intensity or the duration (1). If it does help, it may only modestly reduce fat mass and weight for the majority of people. However, it may be helpful with weight maintenance. Ultimately, it may be more important to reconsider what you are eating than to succumb to the rationalization that you can eat with abandon during the holidays and work it off later.
Don’t give up on exercise just yet, though. There is very good news: Exercise does have beneficial effects on a wide range of conditions, including chronic kidney disease, cognitive decline, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, fatigue, insomnia and depression.
Let’s look at the evidence.
Exercise for weight loss
The well-known weight-loss paradigm is that when more calories are burned than consumed, we will tip the scale in favor of weight loss. The greater the negative balance with exercise, the greater the loss. However, study results say otherwise. They show that in premenopausal women there was neither weight nor fat loss from exercise (2). This involved 81 women over a short duration, 12 weeks. All of the women were overweight to obese, although there was great variability in weight.
However, more than two-thirds of the women (55) gained a mean of 1 kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, of fat mass by the end of the study. There were a few who gained 10 pounds of predominantly fat. A fair amount of variability was seen among the participants, ranging from significant weight loss to substantial weight gain. These women were told to exercise at the American College of Sports Medicine’s optimal level of intensity (3). This is to walk 30 minutes on a treadmill three times a week at 70 percent VO2max — maximum oxygen consumption during exercise — or, in other words, a moderately intense pace.
The good news is that the women were in better aerobic shape by the end of the study. Also, women who had lost weight at the four-week mark were more likely to continue to do so by the end of the study. This was a preliminary study, so no definitive conclusions can be made.
Other studies have shown modest weight loss. For instance, in a meta-analysis involving 14 randomized controlled trials, results showed that there was a disappointing amount of weight loss with exercise alone (4). In six months, patients lost a mean of 1.6 kilograms, or 3.5 pounds, and at 12 months, participants lost 1.7 kilograms, or about 3.75 pounds.
Exercise and weight maintenance
However, exercise may be valuable in weight maintenance, according to observational studies. Premenopausal women who exercised at least 30 minutes a day were significantly less likely to regain lost weight (5). When exercise was added to diet, women were able to maintain 30 percent more weight loss than with diet alone after a year in a prospective study (6).
Exercise and disease
As just one example of exercise’s impact on disease, let’s look at chronic kidney disease (CKD), which affects 15 percent, or one in seven, adults in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (7).
Trial results showed that walking regularly could reduce the risk of kidney replacement therapy and death in patients who have moderate to severe CKD, stages 3-5 (8). Yes, this includes stage 3, which most likely is asymptomatic. There was a 21 percent reduction in the risk of kidney replacement therapy and a 33 percent reduction in the risk of death when walkers were compared to non-walkers.
Walking had an impressive impact; results were based on a dose-response curve. In other words, the more frequently patients walked during the week, the better the probability of preventing complications. Those who walked between one and two times per week had 17 and 19 percent reductions in death and kidney replacement therapy, respectively, while those who walked at least seven times per week saw 44 and 59 percent reductions in death and kidney replacement. These are substantial results. The authors concluded that the effectiveness of walking on CKD was independent of kidney function, age or other diseases.
Therefore, while it is important to enjoy the holidays, remember that food choices will have the greatest impact on our weight and body composition. However, exercise can help maintain weight loss and is extremely beneficial for preventing progression of chronic diseases, such as CKD.
So, by all means, exercise during the holidays, but also focus on more nutrient-dense foods. At a minimum, strike a balance rather than eating purely calorically dense foods. You won’t be able to exercise them away.
Dr. David Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com.
Calling all Santa’s and Hanukah Harry’s or those who just want to help make a difference this holiday season! For over fifteen years, Stacy from Stacy’s Finds/Pattern Finders in Port Jefferson has been part of a group of everyday people that answer the direct clothing needs and toy requests of 9,000 of Long Island’s less fortunate children living in homeless shelters, temporary foster care, Child Protective Services and domestic violence safe houses every year — and the numbers are still growing. This year especially, the expectation is of more children in need and fewer people being able to help. Last year her group answered the needs of fifty of the children.
Stacy will have actual letters from the children with their clothing sizes, requirements, and toy requests. You can purchase one item, or fulfill the needs of a child’s entire clothing and toy wish list. You may also drop off any children’s new clothing and new toys or gift cards for donations at the shop at 128 East Main Street Port Jefferson. Feel free to call Stacy at the shop with any questions at 631-928-5158.
Joan Harris’ woodland-inspired wreath won Best in Show in a previous year. Photo from SHS
The Smithtown Historical Society (SHS) will host a free Wreath Making Workshop at the Frank Brush Barn, 211 E. Main St., Smithtown on Friday, Nov. 20 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Get creative and ready your wreath for the holidays! Whether it’s to adorn your entry or be an entry in the SHS’s Heritage Country Christmas’ Community Wreath Contest, this is the perfect opportunity to meet up with others, share ideas & supplies, and piece together a winning wreath! Learn the tricks of the trade from master crafter Joan Harris. She will be on hand to assist and inspire you as you work to assemble your masterpiece. You bring the wreath & ribbons. Reservations required by calling 631-265-6768.
AMC Stony Brook 17, 2196 Nesconset Highway, Stony Brook presents a screening of Annie (1982) on Sunday, Nov. 22 at noon and 4 p.m., courtesy of Fathom Events.
Based on one of the most popular comic strips of all time and adapted from the smash Broadway musical, Annie is set in Depression-era New York City, where a spunky little girl (Aileen Quinn) lives in an orphanage run by the boozy, tyrannical Miss Hannigan (Carol Burnett). Annie’s hopes soar when multigazillionaire Oliver Warbucks (Albert Finney) decides to take in an orphan for a week to “upgrade his image.” She gets herself chosen, gradually Annie and her adopted dog, Sandy, ingratiate themselves, and eventually Warbucks adopts the girl. But his search for Annie’s missing parents turns up only the villainous Rooster (Tim Curry) and his venal girlfriend, Lily (Bernadette Peters), who conspire with Miss Hannigan to relieve Warbucks of both the girl and a hefty reward. It is left to Sandy, the other orphans and Daddy Warbucks to rescue Annie before it’s too late.
The sun is coming out on this special event that includes exclusive insights from Turner Classic Movies.
HOLIDAY MAGIC
Suffolk County’s largest drive-through light show opens in Calverton on Nov. 19.
The Riverhead Holiday Light Show, 149 Edwards Ave., Calverton kicks off this week on Nov. 19 from 5 to 9 p.m. and continues on Nov. 20 and 21 from 5 to 10 p.m., and Nov. 22 from 5 to 9 p.m.Runs through Dec. 30. The largest drive-through light show in Suffolk County features dozens of dazzling displays to delight the entire family! Tickets can be purchased online at www.riverheadlightshow.com for $23 or $25 at the gate.
Take a chance! You could win this "Cool as a Cucumber Melon" beauty box & canvas print and much more. Photo from FRA
In lieu of its annual Holiday Gift Fair, The Farmingville Residents Association has launched an online Holiday Gift Raffle at RallyUp. Take a chance to win some wonderful gifts for the holiday season at https://farmingvilleresidentsassociation.rallyup.com/fraholidaygifts2020 through Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. Drawing will be held on Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. Proceeds will help to support the FRA and the work that they continue to do in the community. For additional information, email [email protected] or call 631-260-7411.
Let’s Give Thanks & Help Ones In Need. Bryant Funeral Home is hosting their Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. Please bring non-perishable food to the funeral home located at 411 Old Town Road, E. Setauket, from now till November 21st from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Every 5 items you bring will earn you a chance to win one of three raffle prizes. All food collected will be donated to the local food pantries located at St. James RC Church in Setauket, Infant Jesus RC Church in Port Jefferson and St. Gerard Majella Church in Port Jefferson Station. Please call 631-473-0082 for further information.
Visitors will enter via the Gyrodyne entrance on Route 25A. Admission is free but please bring an unwrapped toy or gift card to donate.
Based on one of the most popular comic strips of all time and adapted from the smash Broadway musical, Annie is set in Depression-era New York City, where a spunky little girl (Aileen Quinn) lives in an orphanage run by the boozy, tyrannical Miss Hannigan (Carol Burnett). Annie’s hopes soar when multigazillionaire Oliver Warbucks (Albert Finney) decides to take in an orphan for a week to “upgrade his image.” She gets herself chosen, gradually Annie and her adopted dog, Sandy, ingratiate themselves, and eventually Warbucks adopts the girl. But his search for Annie’s missing parents turns up only the villainous Rooster (Tim Curry) and his venal girlfriend, Lily (Bernadette Peters), who conspire with Miss Hannigan to relieve Warbucks of both the girl and a hefty reward. It is left to Sandy, the other orphans and Daddy Warbucks to rescue Annie before it’s too late.
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