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Huntington’s Independence Day was remembered with reenactments by the Huntington Militia on Sunday, July 17.

The group hosted a Huntington Independence Day event at the Arsenal Museum in Huntington and Village Green

The main activity was a reenactment of the 1776 events in the Town of Huntington. The day also included a reading of the Declaration of Independence, musket and cannon drills, practice musket drills for children, period craft, cooking demonstrations and tours of the arsenal. 

Smithtown Township Arts Council has announced that the works of St. James artist John Hunt will be on view now through Sept. 9, 2022 at Apple Bank of Smithtown, 91 Route 111, Smithtown. The exhibition, part of the Arts Council’s Outreach Gallery Program, can be viewed during regular banking hours Monday – Thursday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Friday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

 A St. James resident for 45 years, John Hunt spent the majority of his life on Long Island with time away for military service and education. John holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from SUNY New Paltz and a Master of Fine Arts from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago.

“I have always had an interest in representational art and our surroundings,” said Hunt. “From the first time I flew in a plane and looked down at the landscape from a high altitude I became fascinated by the views I was seeing. Our normal relationship to the earth is from the ground and limited by our personal elevation. The view from a high altitude reveals patterns of man’s imprints on the earth as well as nature’s own from erosion or geological events or under ocean formations.”

“I have been able to travel to many areas in our country, especially in the western part of the states. The landscapes and topography are fascinating and prompt me to look at those areas from a greater elevation, so I refer to Google earth to explore the places I have visited from a vantage point way above the normal view. From that elevated position I search for patterns or formations that I find interesting and zoom in to select a view and adjust to arrive at a composition that I want to paint,” he said.

“STAC is grateful to Apple Bank for its continued support of culture in our communities. We are so happy to feature the talents of Long Island artists in this space!” said the press release.

For more information, call 631-862-6575.

Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth hosted the Town of Huntington’s 11th annual Anne Frank Memorial Ceremony on June 22. 

The Anne Frank Memorial Garden sculpture in Melville by artist Thea Lanzisero.

“We must counter the voices that seek to divide us and fight ignorance with education, which is why the Town honors the memory of Anne Frank every year and, through her voice, all those voices silenced through the Holocaust,” said Supervisor Smyth. “The iron wedding dress sculpture in the Anne Frank Memorial Garden appears vulnerable yet it has withstood the elements, and even acts of vandalism; its endurance represents the strength and fearlessness with which we must fight evil, ignorance and hate.”

Supervisor Smyth was joined by Councilwoman Joan Cergol, Councilman Dr. Dave Bennardo, Councilman Sal Ferro, Receiver of Taxes Jillian Guthman, Superintendent of Highways Andre Sorrentino, Senator Mario Mattera and Assemblyman Keith Brown at Huntington Town Hall, the rain location for the Anne Frank Memorial Ceremony, where the event streamed live on government access TV channels and on the Town’s website. 

Commander Harry Arlin and members of Jewish War Veterans Post #488 were joined by Commander Gary Glick of the New York State Jewish War Veterans and provided a color guard to present the colors for the ceremony. Rabbi Beth Klafter from Temple Beth David in Commack delivered the invocation; Hazzan (Cantor) Steven Walvick of East Northport Jewish Center performed two vocal musical selections; and Rabbi Yakov Saacks from The Chai Center in Dix Hills delivered the invocation. 

Guest speaker Gail Sheryn Kastenholz, a Huntington Station resident, Second Generation Survivor and Holocaust education advocate spoke about her parents’ experience as survivors of the Holocaust and how that formed her life path as an educator; she currently serves as a docent at the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center in Glen Cove. 

Attendees included Rabbi Lina Zerbarini of Kehillath Shalom Synagogue; members of the Tobay Hadassah in Oyster Bay; members of the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center in Glen Cove; and Town of Huntington Community Development Agency Director Angel Cepeda who is a Board Member of Voices for Truth and Humanity, a Holocaust education advocacy organization.

Refreshments for the ceremony, including those from Hummel Hummel Bakery in East Northport, were donated by Suffolk County Legislator Manuel Esteban. 

“The Holocaust was not that long ago. If Anne Frank were still alive now, she would’ve been celebrating her 93rd birthday this year,” said Councilwoman Cergol. 

“With each passing day it grows more and more critical to preserve the stories of those who managed to survive this mass genocide as well as those who did not. For our sake and for history’s sake, we gather for Anne Frank’s birthday to remember her and to recognize her immense contributions to for understanding our very much flawed human history through her writings but we also gather to affirm our vigilance for standing up for and protecting those in our modern society who suffer from continuing acts of hate. Let our Anne Frank Memorial Garden serve not just as an enduring reminder of what was lost and who is lost but also how much more we might lose if acts of bigotry go unchallenged,” she said.

The Anne Frank Memorial Garden, unveiled by the Town in June 2010 at Arboretum Park in Melville, symbolically captures the journey of Anne Frank’s life. It features a circular pathway that surrounds a garden, which leads to the sculpture of a young girl’s dress. The Memorial Garden serves as tribute to Anne’s legacy of wisdom and genuine belief in the goodness of mankind and human nature, despite the ugliness of war and discrimination.  

See video from the event here.

Visit your local farmers market to experience the range of fresh, local farm products, artisanal baked goods, specialty food items, hand-crafted items for home and body and so much more. Shop fresh, shop local, support your community! Above photos are from the Three Village Farmers Market on June 24.

Centereach

The farmstand at Bethel Hobbs Community Farm, 178 Oxhead Road, Centereach will be open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Oct. 15. 631-774-1556, www.hobbsfarm.info

Farmingville

◆ A farmers market will be held every Thursday through October from noon to 5 p.m. in the south parking lot of Brookhaven Town Hall, 1 Independence Hill, Farmingville. 631-451-8696

◆ Triangle Park, corner of Horseblock Road and Woodycrest Drive, Farmingville hosts a farmers market on June 18, Aug. 20 and Sept. 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 631-260-7411

Huntington

A farmers market will be held in the parking lot at 228 Main St., Huntington on Sundays, June 5 to Nov. 20, from 7:30 a.m. to noon. 631-944-2661

Lake Grove

Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove hosts a farmers market in the southwestern quadrant of the parking lot (adjacent to Bahama Breeze), Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. year-round, 516-444-1280.

Northport

Cow Harbor Park parking lot, at the corner of Main Street and Woodbine Ave. in Northport, hosts a farmers market on Saturdays, June 4 to Nov. 19 (closed Sept. 17), from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 631-754-3905

Port Jefferson

The Port Jefferson Farmers Market will be held at Jeanne Garant Harborfront Park, 101-A E. Broadway, Port Jefferson every Sunday through Nov. 13 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 631-473-4724

Rocky Point

Old Depot Park, Broadway and Prince Road, in Rocky Point, hosts a farmers market on Sundays, June 5 to Nov. 20, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. www. rockypointfarmersmarket.org  

Setauket

The Three Village  Farmers Market is held Fridays on the grounds of the Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Road, Setauket from June 3 to Oct. 28 from 3 to 7 p.m. 631-901-7151, www.tvmobilemarket.com

St. James

St. James Lutheran Church, 230 2nd Ave., St. James hosts a farmers market in its parking lot on Saturdays, June 4 to Oct. 1  from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. [email protected]

Wading River

The Shoppes at East Wind, 5768 Route 25A, Wading River holds a farmers market every third Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. now through Nov. 19. 631-929-3500

By Heidi Sutton

They say two heads are better than one. How about two really BIG heads? 

Two sculptures by artist Philip Grausman were unveiled on the grounds of the Long Island Museum (LIM) in Stony Brook last week. Grausman’s “Eileen,” 1993-1996, fiberglass, 10 feet high by 7.5 feet wide by 9 feet deep; and “Victoria,” 1999-2000, fiberglass, 14 feet high by 6.5 feet wide by 7.5 feet deep, will call the LIM home for a two year loan.

“The museum is thrilled to be able to bring fresh new art to our grounds, something for our visitors to enjoy and also something new to take in by the thousands of people who drive by our campus daily on Route 25A. Philip Grausman was prioritized as a great American figurative sculptor that we have wanted to work with for years, so we are so pleased to make this dream a reality. Budco Enterprises, Inc., from Hauppauge, donated their expertise and talent and did an amazing job installing these pieces,” said Long Island Museum’s Deputy Director Joshua Ruff.

‘Eileen’ by Philip Grausman will be on view at the Long Island Museum through July 2024. Photo by Heidi Sutton

Grausman’s earliest sculptures represented germinating buds and seeds, and this eventually led him to explore the underlying structure and form of the human head. A student of José Mariano de Creeft, a renowned sculptor of female heads and figurative forms, he trained at the Art Students League of New York and received his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan.

Grausman has participated in over 80 solo and group exhibitions at prestigious venues throughout the world and his work is included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT.

His artist statement reads, “Since the early 1980’s, I have completed a number of monumentally scaled sculptures inspired from portrait heads originally modeled from life. These large-scaled heads are not portraits in a conventional sense. Rather, I view them as landscapes, an association expressed through a shared sense of scale. Fiberglass allows me to create and exhibit on a large scale. The whiteness of the forms appeals to me and suggests a drawing experience where the white page is transformed by line and contour. Creating each portrait sculpture is like sight-reading an unfamiliar musical score. It is the hidden geometry and interlocking volumes that inspire me.”

You can visit these impressive sculptures and others on the museum’s sprawling 9-acre campus at 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook Thursdays through Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www. longislandmuseum.org. 

Long Island Vettes, a local Corvette club, hosted the inaugural Plycar Motorama All GM Car Show in Nesconset on July 10.

The show featured Buicks, Cadillacs, Chevrolets, GMCs, Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles from various decades.

During the event, funds were raised to benefit The Last Hope Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation. Attendees also enjoyed live music from VHS Cover Band.

The Northport Volunteer Fire Department’s 96th annual Firemen’s Fair opened July 11.

Summer fun seekers enjoyed carnival rides, games, festival food and more.

The fair continues until Saturday, July 16, and is open from 7 to 11 p.m. on the fire department grounds, located on Steers Ave, off of Ocean Ave in Northport. 

 

By Heidi Sutton

The Good Steer sign

The iconic neon steer sign has gone dark. A fixture in the community since 1957, the Lake Grove family restaurant The Good Steer closed its doors after service on July 9. The announcement was made on the restaurant’s Facebook page.

Owned and operated by the McCarroll family for 65 years, the restaurant located at 2810 Middle Country Road was famous for its  hamburgers, onion rings and rustic atmosphere.

“As they say, All Good Things must come to an end,” read the post. “We have truly enjoyed serving you for these past 7 decades but it is time for us to end this story.” 

Owner Robert McCarroll said it wasn’t an easy decision for the family to make and cited not being able to keep up with rising costs and a decline in customers as the reasons for closing.

Reaction to the news ranged from shock to sadness to gratitude with many past customers sharing their memories of visiting the restaurant over the years and wishing the McCarroll family the best.

“We will miss you all,” the post continued, “We will miss sharing the occasions, celebrations, and milestones of your lives and those of your families and friends that you chose to mark with a visit and a meal at The Good Steer. Our guests are more than just customers, they’ve been family to us, and we so very much appreciate that.”

The Setalcott Nation hosted their 15th annual Corn Festival & Pow Wow at Setauket Elementary School Saturday and Sunday.

The last two years the festival was not held due to the pandemic. For its return, the 2022 festival’s theme was “We Are Still Here.”

To celebrate Native American culture, attendees had the opportunity to see Aztec dancers and Taino dancers, listen to storytelling, flute players and traditional drums. Visitors were also able to participate in some of the dances.

Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook), lower right, was also on hand to welcome everyone.

The Village Chabad once again welcomed community members to its Jewish Summer Festival on July 10. The event took place for the first time since 2018 on the Chabad’s property on Nicolls Road in East Setauket.

In 2019, the Chabad held its grand opening celebration for its new building in place of the summer festival, which was held at West Meadow Beach in previous years. The last two years, the festival was unable to be held due to the pandemic.

Approximately 250 people attended this year, according to Rabbi Motti Grossbaum.

Attendees enjoyed a barbecue and activities, which included face painting and giveaways. Tali Yess provided the music, and The Red Trouser Show, from New Hampshire, also performed stunts for everyone.