Friday, February 25, 2011

Real Estate Networking After Hours, Thurs, 3/3, 5-7pm


The Oyster Bay Main Street Office at 17 Audrey Ave


The Oyster Bay Main Street Association is pleased to welcome building owners, brokers, and members of the business community to the Real Estate Networking After Hours event. Find out about space available in downtown Oyster Bay. The event will be held in the OBMSA Storefront Office at 17 Audrey Ave, on Thursday, March 3, and run from 5-7pm.

Members of the Oyster Bay Main Street Association and Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce will be on hand to answer any questions you have about opening a business in Oyster Bay.

For more information about space available in Oyster Bay, please visit the "About Us" section of the Oyster Bay Main Street Association website.

RSVP on Facebook today (and see who else is attending)!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Movies Return to Downtown Oyster Bay, The Great Gatsby, 3/11, 7:30pm

Movie goers came out in droves to see the screening of the classic film "Sabrina" on Friday, February 11. This was not just any ordinary theater. The offices of the Oyster Bay Main Street Association at 17 Audrey Avenue were transformed into a theater. It was the first movie screening in Oyster Bay since at least the 1970s when the Lyric Theater, also on Audrey Avenue, was closed.


Photo from the first Oyster Flix screening


Aromatic accents from the old fashioned popcorn maker on loan from Gooseberry Grove helped create a cozy environment for the silver screen buffs. The movie was the first in the OBMSA’s "Oyster Flix" series of classic movies filmed on or about Long Island.

The series continues on Friday, March 11th with our second movie "The Great Gatsby." A special treat is planned for that evening: Long Island resident Eve Griffin is the wife of the late Robert Griffon. He was the prop master for many famous movies, including "The Great Gatsby"! Mrs. Griffon has graciously offered to present a little talk before the movie is shown on the 11th. She will relate fascinating true stories about her and her husband's time in Newport with Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, and Sam Waterston, while "The Great Gatsby" was being filmed. She will even display actual props from the movie, that viewers can then have fun looking for while they watch the film!

At the conclusion of the movie, there will again be a "movie buff" speaker to spark discussion about the film. The evening is called for 7:30 p.m., but come earlier to meet your fellow movie lovers, have a drink with your popcorn, and get a good seat!

RSVP for "The Great Gatsby" on Facebook today (and see who else is coming)!

The third movie in the Oyster Flix series will be Friday, April 8th, when "North by Northwest" will be shown.

This film series is one of the initiatives of OBMSA’s Promotion Committee. The goal of this committee is to “create and support activities and events to generate excitement, local pride, and commerce in the historic downtown. Other Promotion initiatives include the "Oyster Bay Farmers’ Market" and "Oyster Bay Sundown" providing free outdoor concerts every First Thursday from June to September.

The Oyster Bay Main Street Association is dedicated to enhancing and promoting an attractive and thriving downtown, while maintaining its historic integrity. OBMSA is a 501 (c) 3 Non-Profit using the national Main Street Approach® to downtown revitalization. For more information or to become a member please visit www.oysterbaymainstreet.org or call (516) 922-6982.

Monday, February 21, 2011

The 'Best of Long Island' May be Found in Oyster Bay!



Oyster Bay had many winners represented as part of their "Best of Long Island 2011" competition. Planting Fields Arboretum at 1395 Planting Fields Rd received top billing as the "Best Public Garden on Long Island."

The Planting Field Arboretum in Oyster Bay is a former Gold Coast estate with more than five gardens, along with more than 200 beautiful acres of paths and greenhouses. They also show current innovative garden techniques and information on new plant selections.

Other winners included...

Coin Galleries of Oyster Bay with their flagship store at 90 South St in oyster Bay was included on both the "Best Gold Buyer" and the "Best Collectible and Nostalgia Store on Long Island" lists.

Coin Galleries of Oyster Bay has the widest selection of treasures on Long Island. Whether you’re trading something in or treasure hunting. Day after day, they provide Long Islanders with the best price for their possessions.
Photos of the welcoming interior of the Blue Water Spa.


Blue Water Spa at 21 West Main Street made a first-time appearance to the "Best Day Spa on Long Island" list. Owner Rachel Lozina was proud that the business has been such a success in a down economy, since opening in 2008. "We really care about our clients and they expect nothing but the best from us." Among the services they provide include massage, anti-aging facial treatments, body scrubs, and laser hair removal and waxing.

Finally, the Oyster Festival remains a perennial favorite to voters, and was named on the "Best Annual Event/Festival on Long Island" list.

The Oyster Bay Oyster Festival was started in honor of one of Long Island’s most successful residents-Theodore Roosevelt. The festival was started to celebrate Roosevelt’s 125th birthday, and was such a success that it became an annual event. Today it has over 300 food vendors, rides, entertainment and tours of historic ships and vessels. And don’t forget the oyster eating and shucking contest-an even that always draws a large crowd.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Artist Appreciation Day, Sat, Feb 19, 11am-5pm

We would like to invite you to spend an Artist Appreciation Day in Oyster Bay. We hope this will be a great opportunity for you to meet various talented Long Island artists, craftsmen, authors, and chefs, to discuss techniques, exchange ideas, and get inspired. We are thrilled just thinking about it!

On Saturday, February 19th, pack your car with friends & family and join us at the store anytime between 11 am and 5 pm. Meet the artists, pick up the map of town and coupons, tour the town, eat at a local restaurant, come back to the store, meet new visitors.

The guided tour of Oyster Bay starts at 2:30 pm and takes about 1 hour. It will be conducted by Isaac Kremer of the Oyster Bay Main Street Association. If you would like to participate please fill out the form on www.thinklongislandfirst.com. The tour starts at the store.

Self-guided audio tours are available, as well. Pick up the audio players at the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum at 102 Audrey Avenue, 11 am – 4 pm.

All the historical sites you may want to visit are listed on the Main Street Association's website and in the booklet we have ready for you. Some of them are:


  • Raynham Hall Museum – historical house dating back to 1770s
    20 West Main Street, 1 pm – 5 pm

  • Oyster Bay Railroad Museum – preservation of LI's railroad history
    102 Audrey Avenue, 11 am – 4 pm

  • Sagamore Hill – home of Theodore Roosevelt
    3.5 miles out of town, 10 am – 4 pm

  • Planting Fields Arboretum – grounds, greenhouses, Coe Hall
    1.5 miles out of town, 9 am – 5 pm



Visit the galleries in town, full list is published on Main Street Association's site. The Teaching Studios of Art at 115 Audrey Ave will have an art class in session and encourages people to drop by and visit throughout the day.


The raffle drawing will take place at 5 pm at the store. The lucky winner will enjoy a $50 gift certificate for a meal at Canterbury's Oyster Bar & Grill.

Various Oyster Bay restaurants offer discounts to our guests on the day:


  • Canterbury's Oyster Bar & Grill – 15% off lunch, 20% off dinner
    Oysters and American menu, lots of TR memorabilia
    46 Audrey Ave, 516.922.3614

  • Cafe al Dente – 15% off dinner (dinner service starts at 3 pm)
    Italian, family style
    2 Spring Street, 516.922.2442

  • Jack Halyards – 20% off lunch or dinner
    American Bar and Grill, American cuisine, lots of seafood
    62 South Street, 516.922.2999

  • The Homestead - 10% off lunch or dinner
    American, TR and Billy Joel have frequented its bar and lounge
    107 South Street, 516.922.9293





For your sweet tooth, the Chocolate Lady across the street at 49 Audrey Avenue offers a free chocolate with a purchase of hot chocolate.

Buckingham Variety Store, where Think Long Island First store is located, is offering a 20% discount.


RSVP on Facebook today! (and help get the word out to others)

Think Long Island First is dedicated to promoting goods made on Long Island by local artists and craftsmen. By selling things made locally, Think Long Island First lowers the environmental footprint by removing the long distance delivery of products. The company also lifts the barrier of anonymity and non-accountability by introducing to the general public not only the local products but also their makers.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Camellia Weekend at Planting Fields Featuring Camellia Expert, Charles Cresson, 2/26 and 2/27



Saturday, February 26th & Sunday, February 27th
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. in the Camellia House and Coe Hall


CAMELLIA HOUSE FREE WEEKEND ACTIVITIES
10:00am Camellia Greenhouse & Coe Hall open
11:00am Vincent Simeone talks about camellias
12:00pm Flautists performance
1:00pm Vincent Simeone talks about camellias
3:00pm Flautists performance
4:00pm Camellia House closes
All day How to paint camellias demonstrations
Periwinkles Café at Haybarn will be open 11:00am - 3:00pm


COE HALL MANSION WEEKEND ACTIVITIES
10:00am – 4:00pm, $5 per person

Members and children are free
Mad Hatter’s Tea Party for children and their families included
Children’s crafts and caricaturist at Coe Hall all day
2:00pm – Lecture in the Great Hall
Charles Cresson, camellia expert and horticultural
lecturer, "Growing Hardy Camellias"
Camellia costume jewelry by Kenneth Jay Lane for sale


Choosing Hardy Camellias for Spring and Fall
Recent breeding breakthroughs have transformed the fabled camellia from a southern jewel into a hardy landscape plant. These easily grown evergreen shrubs produce months of bloom in both spring and autumn. On Long Island they thrive in shade, tolerating heat and drought. Learn how to select and grow the best varieties in your garden.

Charles Cresson has been growing camellias outdoors in his garden, near Philadelphia, for 40 years and has been trialing the hardier introductions for over 20 years. He is also a garden designer, consultant, photographer and author. He studied horticulture at the University of Vermont and the University of Bath in England and has worked for the Royal Horticultural Society and W. Atlee Burpee Co. as well as several public gardens. He is the award winning author of 3 books, Charles Cresson on the American Flower Garden, Ornamental Trees and Rock Gardening. In 2001, Cresson was awarded the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Certificate of Merit.


CALL FOR INFORMATION: (516) 922-8682 or email: mbenes@plantingfields.org

Monday, February 7, 2011

Author Edmund Morris to Headline President's Day Celebration, 2/19, 1:30pm


On Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 1:30pm, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site in partnership with the Friends of Sagamore Hill and Eastern National will host Edmund Morris, best-selling author of the Theodore Roosevelt trilogy at Christ Church Parish Hall in Oyster Bay. Mr. Morris will discuss and read from his latest book Colonel Roosevelt and host a question and answer session. In addition, Mr. Morris will sign his book following the discussion. Copies of Colonel Roosevelt will be available for purchase. At the conclusion of the event, complimentary snacks and light refreshments will be available courtesy of the Friends of Sagamore Hill. Activities will conclude by 3:30PM. Information and directions to Christ Church can be found at www.christchurchoysterbay.org/ or by calling 516-922-4788.

Colonel Roosevelt, the final volume of Morris’s trilogy on the life of our 26th president, covers the last ten tumultuous years of TR’s life--years in which he hunted lions and elephants for the Smithsonian, ran for a third term in the White House (a nearly-successful effort that earned him a bullet in his chest), and became an apostle of US involvement in World War I. His first biography on TR, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, won the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award in l980. In 2001, its sequel, Theodore Rex, was a Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner and a bestseller. The two books have a combined one million copies in print.

Mr. Morris has written extensively for such publications as The New Yorker, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harper’s. In addition to appearing on national television, Morris has lectured at many venues, including Harvard, Princeton and Brown Universities, the New York Historical Society, the 92nd Street Y, the National Portrait Gallery and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He lives with his wife and fellow biographer Sylvia Jukes Morris in New York City and Kent, Connecticut.

Sagamore Hill Open on Presidents Day, Monday, February 21, 2011
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site will be open on President’s Day, Monday, February 21, 2011. During the winter, Sagamore Hill NHS is normally closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and all Federal Holidays, but the site will be open for the usual hours on President’s Day. Tours of the home go on the hour from 10am to 4pm. Tickets are five dollars each and sold on a first-come-first-served basis.

Because President’s Day is a school holiday and children will be home for the day it provides an excellent opportunity for them to visit the home of Long Island’s most famous resident and to learn about Theodore Roosevelt, his home and family. The site is offering some especially developed activities for children who want to earn the National Park Service Junior Ranger Badge.

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, and to ensure that future generations understand and appreciate the life and legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, his family and the significant events associated with him. Tours of the home are limited to fourteen persons and are offered on the hour on Wednesdays through Sundays from 10am to 4pm. Tour tickets are five dollars each and tickets are sold on a first-come-first-served basis each day beginning at 9 AM. The grounds of Sagamore Hill are open year round from sunrise to sunset. 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 @SagamoreHillNHS and on Facebook