Celebrate the Holidays in Downtown Oyster Bay!

Oyster Bay is about to have the most active and exciting holiday season in recent memory. Community leaders and public officials will be on-hand to mark completion of the $2.5 million rehabilitation of the Octagon Hotel on Thursday, December 2. This 1850's building, where Theodore Roosevelt conducted his campaign for Governor of New York, will house 6 apartments and 3 retail units. Join us for the Ribbon Cutting & Dedication at 4pm, to be followed by building tours and reception with free food and drink. The Octagon Hotel is located at 67 West Main Street in downtown Oyster Bay.

Late Night Shopping Downtown
Stores will be open late on Thursday, December 2, 9, and 16, to help satisfy all of your shopping needs. Find that unique one-of-a-kind gift. Downtown Oyster Bay has art, anqiues, crafts, collectibles, jewelry, toys, and more.

Free Gift Wrapping
Buckingham's Variety Store at 36 Audrey Avenue will provide free gift wrapping for any item purchased at an Oyster Bay or East Norwich store when a receipt is provided. This will be offerred Thursday, Dec. 2, 9, and 16.

Also enjoy the following special events to be held throughout the month of December.

Wednesday, December 1

Menorah Lighting at the Derby-Hall Bandstand in Townsend Park located at Shore and Audrey Avenues, starting at 5:30pm.

Thursday, December 2


Meet the Maker: Jane Cairns Irvine at Think Long Island First, 5pm-7pm
Renowned glass artist Jane Cairns Irvine will present her glass art at Think Long Island First at 36 Audrey Avenue. Jane runs a successful studio in Glen Head where she creates her own work and introduces students of all ages to the magic of fused glass.

1st Annual Holiday Stroll and Artwalk, 7pm-9pm
Enjoy a stroll through town and visit many of our artists and art galleries that will be open late to satisfy your holiday shopping needs.

Rob Zeller of the Teaching Studios of Art at 115 Audrey Avenue will be conducting a portrait demonstration form a live model, 7pm-9pm. The event is free and open to the public. Artwork of faculty artists Kristin Künc, Bennett Vadnais, Lor Shorin and Jane McGraw Teubner will be on display, as well.

Shangri-la Spa at 63 Audrey Avenue will be hosting a "Meet the Artist Reception" from 7-9pm. A collection of original monotypes and hand-pulled prints, all modern interpretations of the figure, will be on display now through Feb. 18.

Artwork from local area artists will be on display in the Oyster Bay Main Street Association storefront office at 17 Audrey Ave, from 7pm-9pm. Free holiday food and refreshments will be provided.

Friday, December 3

HPS Network Benefit Christmas Concert, 7:30pm
Free concert featuring traditional, modern, and Christmas favorites. Admission is free. Donations will be accepted to benefit the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome Network. To be held at the Oyster Bay High School Performing Arts Center, 150 East Main Street, Oyster Bay

Sunday, December 5

HPS Network Benefit Christmas Concert, 2:00pm
Free concert featuring traditional, modern, and Christmas favorites. Admission is free. Donations will be accepted to benefit the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome Network. To be held at the Oyster Bay High School Performing Arts Center, 150 East Main Street, Oyster Bay

Holiday Tree Lighting, 4:15pm
At the Derby-Hall Bandstand in Townsend Park located at Shore and Audrey Avenues

Monday, December 6

Holiday Party at Blue Water Spa, 5pm-9pm
To celebrate the holidays we are offering an evening of Fun Fun Fun! Mingle with your friends, Meet the Staff, learn about new services. We are offering the following FREE services: Candy Cane Facials, Clarisonic Facial Cleansing Station, Mini Lactic Facial Peels, Oxygen Eye and Lip Infusion, Make up Make overs. Discounts on all our products. Champagne and hors d'oeuvres. And we are raffling off a Microdermabrasion Series (6 treatments) worth $1000! Please call us to RSVP. 516-584-6800 We hope to see you there!

Thursday, December 9

Many stores will be open late!

Free Gift Wrapping
Buckingham's Variety Store at 36 Audrey Avenue will offer free gift wrapping for any item purchased at an Oyster Bay or East Norwich store.

Friday, December 10

Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony at Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park, 6pm
Gates will open at 5:30PM and the tree lighting will take place at 6:00PM sharp. This year, we will light the magnificent thirty-five foot Japanese Umbrella Pine, which is located on the south side of the Camilla Greenhouse. The event will feature several special guests, including Santa and carolers. Guests will have the opportunity to see the holiday decorations on the first floor of Coe Hall. In addition, guests will be able to view the spectacular poinsettia display in the Main Greenhouse. Don’t forget to visit our beautiful café in the Visitor Center and enjoy a great snack. Both the grounds and the building will be open until 8:00PM. Admission is free. For more information, please call 516-922-8600.

Saturday, December 11

Free Horse and Carriage Rides, noon-4pm
Rides will depart every 15 minutes on a first come, first served basis from the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum, 102 Audrey Avenue.

Meet St. Nicholas, 12:30pm-2:30pm
St. Nicholas will make a special trip from the North Pole to greet guests at Raynham Hall Museum, located at 20 West Main Street. Children who come with their families will receive stocking stuffer gifts and holiday refreshments. Admission is $12 per family.

Oyster Bay Historical Society Holiday Open House, 4pm-7pm
A program of gospel and seasonal music will be held at the Hood A.M.E. Zion Church located at 137 South Street. This will be followed by a Holiday Reception at the Oyster Bay Historical Society building, located at 20 Summit Street in Oyster Bay.

The Artist Club Gallery Opening, doors open at 2pm, reception 7pm-9pm
The newly opened Artist Club Gallery at 27 Berry Hill Road will have an exhibition featuring work by artists Michael Cavayero, Kathryn Gardner, Odile Montel, and Peter Weeks. This is a "silent auction" gallery where club memebrs can bid for work in person, by phone, or online.

Sunday, December 12

Free Horse and Carriage Rides, noon-4pm
Rides will depart every 15 minutes on a first come, first served basis from the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum, 102 Audrey Avenue.

Sunday Barn Brunch, 11am-3pm
Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park will hold a Sunday Barn Brunch in the Hay Barn. Live music by Mike Mattia & Friends will be provided. Food will be served buffet style with champagne cocktail. Price is $29.95 for adults and $15 for children under 10. Call Periwinkles Catering for more info 516-922-6700.

Thursday, December 16

Stores will be open late!

Free Gift Wrapping
Buckingham's Variety Store at 36 Audrey Avenue will offer free gift wrapping for any item purchased at an Oyster Bay or East Norwich store.

Saturday, December 18

Christmas with the Roosevelts at Sagamore Hill, noon-4pm
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site will host Christmas with the Roosevelts. Activities will include holiday music performed on a harp and flute by Musica Dolce at the park’s Old Orchard Museum and Christmas carols sung by Close Enough around Roosevelt Home. “Theodore Roosevelt,” as portrayed by James Foote, will share his reminiscences of how the Roosevelts celebrated Christmas, both at Sagamore Hill and in the White House. Ranger-guided tours of the Roosevelt Home will feature information about Christmases past and the festivities that the family enjoyed. Behind the Visitor Center, children will have an opportunity to work with a park ranger to make holiday crafts, and everyone is welcome to partake of complimentary hot cider and hot chocolate will be provided by the Friends of Sagamore Hill. 12 Sagamore Hill Road, Oyster Bay, New York. For further information, visit our website at www.nps.gov/sahi, or call 516-922-4788. Be sure to follow us on twitter for updates at http://twitter.com/SagamoreHillNHS.

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For those who would like to add an event to this list, please contact the Oyster Bay Main Street Association at (516) 922-6982 or visit http://www.oysterbaymainstreet.org/.

'Anonymous' Holiday Shopping Letter featured in Newsday

Oyster Bay offers 'stroll' for local shopping
Thursday November 25, 2010 12:45 PM By T.C. McCarthy

Oyster Bay is using a cheeky campaign to encourage its residents to shop locally this holiday season.

In a humorous letter distributed to drum up attention for the hamlet’s first annual Holiday Shopping Stroll, an “unknown shopper” discussed the monotony of rushing to packed shopping malls and encouraged residents to go to local stores throughout the hamlet for their holiday gifts.

The stroll begins Thursday, Dec. 2, when local shops will extend their business hours, according to a news release. Shops will be open longer on Dec. 9 and Dec. 16 as well. Tourist destinations like Raynham Hall and the Oyster Bay Historical Society will also be open until 7 p.m. offering free admission for visitors.

“We’re sending a message to the malls and big box stores that they can’t compete with us for unique gifts and a great shopping experience,” said Michele Browner, Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce president.

The campaign also supplied residents with a convenient and “scientifically accurate” chart that compares a holiday shopping experience at the mall to shopping at local stores. The chart breaks the experience down into the time it takes to shop, the items that would be available at each location and the atmosphere at each venue.

The anonymous shopper's full letter and associated chart are below.

Every year many of us gas up the family car and work our way through traffic, packed parking lots and long lines to do our holiday shopping. Somehow the malls have convinced us that it makes sense to drive passed our own local stores to partake in an annual shopping frenzy. Like bears picking off salmon, they have us blithely swim upstream participating in an unfulfilling, exhausting ritual. Is anyone looking at the gas prices when they leave town or the monotony of the mass marketed gifts in their trunks when they return?….and, by the way, how was that square burger and the dull cacophony of packaged “holiday” music? When did we lose the holiday spirit and succumb to the production line mentality? Here’s my answer. Let’s all put down the cell phone, take off the headphones to the MP3 player, turn off the GPS and drive slowly through the Hamlet….or better yet, walk and take a close look. Yes Dorothy, we do have quite a selection of stores now. Owned and operated by that good old fashioned institution: entrepreneurs. Collectively, it’s actually a brilliant cross section of unique gifts that make you feel like you’re actually passing on the spirit of the holiday versus filling your quota. We have art, antiques, crafts, confections, collectibles, jewelry, toys, etc. etc. etc. and a couple of chain stores to satisfy any lingering sense of guilt for enjoying the old fashioned hamlet shopping experience. We have a great little hamlet….great shops, great restaurants and it’s ours…and don’t forget the historical sites.

So here’s the dilemma. Embark on a journey to the mall (or big box store, for simplicity, we’ll call it the abyss) or shop right around the corner? For the efficiency experts out there, add up the time travelling to the abyss, finding (and possibly waiting) for a parking spot and walking to the entry of the abyss (take a reading on the stopwatch). Now go into the abyss and search out merchant units with the appropriate SKU’s; hope that whatever you’re looking for is there (admit it, you planned ahead) and wait on the line. After you purchased that item, stop the watch. Now multiply that times each merchant unit visit and add the time it took you to get there to begin with (you can drop the decimals for simplicity or round up or down if you’re feeling giddy). Rather daunting. And don’t forget to buy something, otherwise, like in the game of Monopoly, you can get sent back to the beginning and start all over again….and did I mention returns? OK, the fitness crowd will tell you it’s great for your quads…they got me on that one.

You have something in common with Teddy Roosevelt, Billy Joel and all your neighbors…you chose to live in the Oyster Bay area. We know the first two also set up shop in the hamlet. Maybe they know something? Come home to the hamlet this holiday shopping season. You’ll be glad you did. Go to the Chamber of Commerce (www.visitoysterbay.com) or Main Street Association (www.oysterbaymainstreet.org) web sites (or Facebook) to find out what’s going on.

Apologies to Paul Blart and the gas stations.

Signed,
The Unknown Shopper
(Name withheld to protect author from retribution from big box and mall reprisals)

Program for Octagon Hotel Dedication, Thursday, Dec. 2 at 4pm ANNOUNCED

Thursday, December 2, 2010, at 4pm
67 West Main Street, Oyster Bay

The Octagon Hotel is rapidly nearing completion of a $2.5 million rehabilitation. This 1850’s building that Theodore Roosevelt ran for Governor of New York State from will house six apartments and up to three retail units. Please join us for the dedication and ribbon cutting on December 2 at 4pm. Building tours and a reception with free food and drink will follow. RSVP for the event on Facebook and share this with your friends so we can have the best sized crowd possible. Thanks and see you there!


The Program

Welcome and Introduction………………………………………………… 4:00pm
John Bonifacio, President, Oyster Bay Main Street Association

Greetings from State of New York………………………………………. 4:05pm
Hon. Charles D. Lavine, Assembly District 13, State of New York
Hon. Michael Montesano, Assembly District 15, State of New York

Greetings from Nassau County…………………………………………… 4:08pm
Hon. Edward P. Mangano, County Executive, Nassau County
Hon. Judy Jacobs, Legislative District 16, Nassau County

Greetings from Town of Oyster Bay…………………………………… 4:10pm
Hon. John Venditto, Supervisor, Town of Oyster Bay
Hon. Steven L. Labriola, Town Clerk, Town of Oyster Bay

Comments from Members of the Project Team……………………. 4:15pm
Lou Baldino, Architect, Lou Baldino Architects

Comments from Partners…………………………………………………… 4:20pm
Alexandra Wolfe, Society for the Preservation of LI Antiquities
Natalie Naylor, President, Nassau County Historical Society
Ellen Roché, Immediate Past President, OBMSA

Blessing of the Building………………………………………………………. 4:25pm
Peter Casparian, Rector, Christ Church of Oyster Bay

Ribbon Cutting & Dedication………………………………………………. 4:30pm

Building tours and reception with free food and drink to follow.

For more information, please contact the Oyster Bay Main Street Association at (516) 922-6982 or visit www.oysterbaymainstreet.org.

Octagon Hotel Dedication & Ribbon Cutting, 12/2, 4pm

The Octagon Hotel is rapidly nearing completion of a $2.5 million rehabilitation. This 1850’s building that Theodore Roosevelt ran for Governor of New York State from will house six apartments and up to three retail units. Please join us for the dedication and ribbon cutting on December 2 at 4pm. Building tours and a reception with free food and drink will follow. RSVP on Facebook and share this with your friends so we can have the best sized crowd possible. Thanks and see you there!

RSVP on Facebook Today!

The Oyster Bay Main Street Association over the past decade has generated over $10 million of investment and improved over 40 buildings. We are the only Non-Profit on Long Island to follow the Main Street Approach® to downtown revitalization.

Concerts at Christ Church presents Strings of Pure Delight, 11/14, 4pm

Concerts at Christ Church
presents...
Strings of Pure Delight

Christopher Morringiello, lute





Chirsopher Morringiello, lute

This Sunday at 4pm
YOU ARE INVITED!
Don't miss our first concert of the season!


Sunday, November 14 at 4pm -- Christopher Morringiello, lute

Concerts at Christ Church proudly presents a delightful evening of exquisite music by virtuoso lutenist Christopher Morrongiello. A graduate of the Mannes College of Music and University of Oxford, Dr. Morrongiello has been actively promoting the lute and its repertoire in concerts, recordings, and even academic journals for more than fifteen years. He has performed for HRM Queen of England and was a prizewinner in the BBC Radio Two Young Musician of the Year Competition. He performs on an authentic gut-strung Renaissance lute, and gives an account of this beautiful instrument’s fascinating history, cultural significance, and playing technique.
This is a free concert

Sagamore Hill Announces Veterans Day Observance, 11/11

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, home of President Theodore Roosevelt, will observe the contributions of veterans to the United States Armed Forces on November 11, 2010 with free admission and lectures about the Roosevelt family’s military service.

The admission fee for touring Colonel Theodore Roosevelt’s home will be waived by order of the Director of the National Park Service: “From everyone in the National Park Service, I extend gratitude to all who have served in the U.S. armed forces and defended the people, freedoms, and resources of this country,” said National Park Service (NPS) Director Jon Jarvis as he announced the fee-free day. “In honor of veterans, entry to the national parks, which preserve many of our nation’s finest natural and cultural resources, will be free on Veterans Day, November 11. I invite everyone to take advantage of this opportunity and savor places that our veterans have kept safe for us.” Guided tours of the home are available on the hour from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Visitors must obtain free tickets at the Visitor Center prior to visiting the home.
There will also be two special free programs offered to the public on November 11th. At 11:00am there will be a ranger lecture on the Roosevelts in the Great War, and at 2:00pm there will be a ranger lecture on The Roosevelt family in World War II. Both programs will be presented under the tent behind the Visitor Center.

Winter Schedule: Sagamore Hill is currently on winter schedule: open Wednesday through Sunday, closed Monday and Tuesday. Tours of the home are limited to fourteen persons and are offered on the hour from 10:00am to 4:00pm. On busy days, especially weekends, tours often sell out by early afternoon. Please plan to come early in the day to take advantage of the Old Orchard museum, the nature trail and the grounds of the Roosevelt estate. Tour tickets are five dollars each and tickets are sold on a first-come-first-served basis for each day beginning at 9am. The grounds of Sagamore Hill are open year round from dawn to dusk.

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, located at 12 Sagamore Hill Road, Oyster Bay, New York, is a unit of the National Park Service. The site was established by Congress in 1962 to preserve and interpret the structures, landscape, collections and other cultural resources associated with Theodore Roosevelt’s home in Oyster Bay, New York, to ensure that future generations understand and appreciate the life and legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, his family and the significant events associated with him. For further information about any of this check out our website at www.nps.gov/sahi, call 516-922-4788.