Oysterponds News: Orient Congregational Church’s Christmas Fair

Hard to believe we’re on the home stretch for 2015 and we’ll zoom from Thanksgiving to Christmas to the New Year in a nanosecond.

The Oysterponds Historical Society is revving up its engines for a month of fun. The Beach Plum Shop will open this Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. and continue with those hours for the next three weekends.

This weekend also brings national Small Business Saturday, a time to exhale after Black Friday. Local merchants will not only be open this day but will also share their profits. Old Orchard Farm Store will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will donate 10 percent of its revenue to the Oysterponds PTA. Local Lure at Orient Linen Company will be open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday and will donate 10 percent of sales to Poquatuck Hall. After that, it will be open Saturdays through Dec. 19. Orient Country Store proprietors Grayson Murphy and Miriam Foster will also donate 10 percent of Saturday’s sales or $350 to Poquatuck Hall. Please patronize these merchants.

Orient Congregational Church will hold a Christmas Fair next Saturday, Dec. 5, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Its monthly fellowship supper will be held Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 6:30 p.m. Please bring a dish to share. All are welcome.

The North Fork Chorale will stop in at the Congregational church for a Christmas concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6. Tickets can be purchased for $10 from any Chorale member, including Orienteers Anne Hopkins, Geoff Proud and Priscilla Bull. Our own Karen Bull Haley is the accompanist. Tickets can also be also be purchased at the door.

The Oysterponds PTA is bringing back its chinese auction Saturday, Dec. 12, at Poquatuck Hall from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Although they’ve already accumulated many good prizes, they’re seeking donations of more gifts and gift certificates, which can be dropped off at the school. Action proceeds will help fund enrichment programs and the sixth grade trip to Washington, D.C.

This Saturday, Nov. 28, at 4 p.m. there will be a performance by Theatreworks USA at the Greenport School. Floyd Memorial all North Fork libraries sponsor this family-friendly event. It is open to all and admission is free.

Floyd Memorial Library will present Tony Bettler and Maria Milne’s film “Captain Pat Mundus” on Sunday, Nov. 29, at 3 p.m. This film pays homage to a woman who has dedicated her life to the sea and now embraces Greenport’s working waterfront. This screening is co-sponsored by the East End Seaport Museum.

On Saturday, Nov. 28, the library invites teens to view the movie “Pride and Prejudice” at 3 p.m. The library is always buzzing. Check it out at floydmemoriallibrary.org and click on “newsletter.”

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect and give thanks for the many blessings we have here in Oysterponds and on the North Fork. We are surrounded by abundant beauty. There is nowhere else in the country that has more natural beauty than we have, stretching from the farms to the bay and Sound. The late Elsa Tuthill, mom of Ruthie and Lyle, always called Oysterponds “the diamond on the tip of the wand.” That’s such a great visual!

I’m grateful for all the hardworking employees and compassionate volunteers of our organizations. To name a few, we have the Oysterponds Historical Society, Orient Association, East Marion Community Association, Orient and East Marion fire departments and their auxiliaries, the school, the churches and Eastern Long Island Hospital — all of which are there for us.

My next column will be appear Dec. 10 and you need to get your info to me by the 6th. Meantime, please join me in an effort to understand why all this violence is erupting daily around the world and pray for those who have died in this senseless barbarity.

Contact Oysterponds columnist Carol Gillooly at [email protected] or 323-3899.