Warm Up With THAW Fest

From East Hampton to Westhampton, the arts are alive on the East End this weekend. A unified arts community is the goal of the Hamptons Arts Network. The group of East End arts organizations — that includes Guild Hall, The Parrish Art Museum, The Watermill Center, Southampton Arts Center, and Bay Street Theater, to name a few — has joined together to bring the community THAW Fest (The Hamptons Arts Weekend Festival), starting Friday.

The festival comprises three days of performances, films, exhibitions, music, garden tours, workshops, community engagement, and family-focused events. Nineteen art organizations and venues will highlight the arts with a variety of programs.

Guild Hall in East Hampton will host a gallery talk with Alice Hope in its Woodhouse Gallery on Saturday at 2 PM. A production of Romeo and Juliet will also be held at Guild Hall throughout the weekend.

At the Pollock-Krasner House in Springs, you can find free screenings of documentaries and short films on Saturday, including the Oscar-winning spoof, Day of the Painter. The feature film, Pollock, also an Oscar winner, stars Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden. There will also be drop-in family workshops on Sunday.

The Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film Festival will screen two films: Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight on Friday at 8 PM at Southampton Arts Center, and I Know a Man, Ashley Bryan at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor on Sunday at 2 PM.

Bay Street will also show LARSENWORLD: LongHouse in East Hampton at 3 PM Sunday. The 23-minute documentary is a tribute to Jack Lenor Larsen and LongHouse Reserve.

On Saturday, enjoy free admission to LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton. There will be docent led tours at noon and 2 PM.

The Parrish Art Museum presents Poetry Night on Friday at 6 PM. The evening includes original poetry by nine writers, preceded by a solo flute performance by Marya Martin, artistic director of Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival.

Enjoy Bennie & The Jets, an Elton John tribute band at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor on Saturday at 8 PM. Gene Casey and the Lone Sharks will take the stage at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Saturday night.

THAW Fest activities at the Watermill Center this weekend include guided tours of its building, grounds, gardens, art collection, and study library. Reservations are required, email events@watermillcenter.org.

Southampton History Museum presents “A Whale of a Weekend” that includes three days of history and entertainment. The weekend entails self guided tours of the Rogers Mansion, where “Hunting the Whale: The Rise and Fall of a Southampton Industry” is on exhibit.

View “Mary Hellmann: Painting Pictures” and “Works by Dan Flavin” at the Dan Flavin Art Institute in Bridgehampton. Learn about the art of chess at the Southampton Arts Center. And take a tour of Thomas Moran Studio, offered by East Hampton Historical Society.

All of the above are just the beginning of what one can expect from this weekend’s THAW Festival. The Eastville Community Historical Society, The Hamptons International Film Festival, The Madoo Conservancy, Shinnecock National Cultural Center Museum, Southampton African American Museum, and Southampton Cultural Center are participating, too.

For a full schedule of events, visit www.hamptonsartsnetwork.org.

Jessica@indyeastend.com

@HamptonDaze