One of my great joys of summer are the unique events each week like the “Pianofest” series, our Dan’s Papers events and the many fundraising galas.
But this week brought me to Fire Island to celebrate the community with our Fire Island News team and then, later in the week, at the delicious Chefs of the Hamptons. Then, I met many marvelous people supporting so many different important events around the Hamptons.
Thanks to my friend Lou Meisel, I was introduced to the remarkable Paul Schenly, who has dedicated his life to creating Pianofest, bringing protégés from around the world to the Hamptons.
One of the participants, Sergei Babayan, said, ”Pianofest is a place to dream and be idealistic. It was an amazing learning experience for my career.”
The young people performing must audition to be selected to be there to learn and then perform at various venues in the Hamptons.
When I went to the concert at the Southampton Cultural Center, I was transfixed by the young, brilliantly talented artists igniting the piano. I love to sit facing the keyboard and watch the artists’ fingers fly over the keyboard, bringing life to the notes of the composer’s work.
Paul, Pianofest’s brilliant leader, has created, nurtured and implemented the opportunities for the young students coming from music schools around the world.
For information on upcoming performances, visit pianofest.org.
After the concert, I had the added joy of attending a dinner party at the stunning, art-filled home of Annaliese Soros.
The gracious hostess had a delicious dinner served on her expansive green lawn only minutes from the village.
After dinner, her niece handed me “Dinner Party Disasters,” a book written by Soros with Abigail Stokes. It’s a fast read that made me laugh, “ooh” and “ahh” with every page I turned. An added pleasure to a remarkable evening!
Tuesday was a reunion of old friends Barbara Lehrer and Donna Corrado at my favorite Westhampton Beach restaurant Fauna in the former home of legendary chef Starr Boggs, who sold his beloved restaurant to David and Rachel Hersh.
Fauna has a superb menu with American food served inside or on their attractive outdoor tented terrace.
Although every dish I have there is perfectly prepared, I’m addicted to their popovers — they are not to be missed!
The next day, I took the ferry from picturesque and historic Bayshore to the Ocean Beach stop on Fire Island. Shoshanna McCollum, the editor of our Fire Island News, and Craig Lowe, our associate publisher/sales manager, greeted me at the charming harborside Island Mermaid restaurant owned and operated by Scott Hirsch for decades.
I was assisted by our events team, led by Toni, in greeting the community leaders we invited and thanking them for their support.
The ferry ride over and back made me feel transported. I loved the wind in my face and the warm air on my body.
It was a day of double treats: the party and the ferry ride!
The next day was made special because my grandsons Blake and Jonah joined my daughter Elizabeth and my son Josh to greet hundreds of people at the Dan’s Taste: Chefs of the Hamptons event at the spectacular Sí Sí at EHP Resort & Marina on the harbor in Easthampton overlooking the Three Mile Harbor Marina. The sky sparkled after the magnificent sunset and the lights on the boats brightened the marina.
We raised money for the Salvation Army’s efforts on behalf of the victims of the horrendous and heartbreaking floods in Texas and we thank, again, Robert Kraft for his generous $10,000 donation to the Salvation Army.
Friday night was a special Shabbos dinner hosted by the Druckers at their Ocean Resort at Bath and Tennis in Westhampton Beach.
A surprise guest was the remarkable evangelist Bishop Robert Stearns, who ignited the Hampton Synagogue last summer with his charismatic personality and commitment to Israel and the Jewish people. He spoke at the Druckers’ dinner and shared his continued support and his enormous national congregation’s continued commitment to the cause. It was a beautiful night on many levels.
With multiple events on Saturday, I got to three of them, but missed a gala supporting the Southampton Animal Shelter. I did get to see many friends at Ken and Maria Fishel’s pre-party for the polo matches held on their large, manicured property.
I was then off to the respected Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill. Located on Montauk Highway, the museum is distinguished by its large lawn filled with massive sculptures, including one created by my friend, sculptor Joel Perlman.
Inside are collections of many artists, but I was struck by the large room filled from floor to ceiling with portraits of real people touching each other — a most remarkable sight! It’s an installation of 110 faces of people from New Mexico called Shirin Neshat: Born of Fire. I felt compelled to visit it on my way to the cocktail party and again on my way out of the museum — it’s not to be missed!
After leaving the museum, I stayed in Water Mill because the traffic to go east to Bridgehampton to the ARC event was overwhelming, so I went to a benefit for Southampton Hospital held at a Showcase home hidden in the woods of Water Mill.
At the stunningly designed home, I met a representative of Theodore Alexander, a new furniture store coming to Manhasset on the Miracle Mile on Northern Boulevard. They were in the Hamptons to build their brand.
I also met Courtney Sempliner, a designer from Port Washington — the town next to Manhasset, where we run weekly newspapers — who had designed the house’s entry foyer. I felt the coming together of my two worlds!
What a week it was!
