THAW Off With The Hamptons Arts Network

Just in time for the start of spring, Hamptons Arts Network (HAN) is inviting all to THAW FEST 2019, taking place throughout the East End from Friday, March 22 through Sunday, March 24.

THAW (The Hamptons Arts Weekend Festival) offers three days of tours, exhibitions, film, concerts, theater, workshops, community focused programming and more.

The celebration will launch on Friday with music from DJ Twilo and the chance to explore the galleries at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill from 7 to 9 p.m. and an All Star Comedy Show at Bay Street in Sag Harbor at 8 p.m.

Saturday will begin at 10 a.m. with a Decorative Arts Tour at Historic Mulford Farm in East Hampton, which will run through 3 p.m. Things really heat up at 11 a.m. when you can catch Goat on a Boat Puppet Theater at Bay Street, art exhibition and garden tours at The Madoo Conservancy in Sagaponack (also until 4 p.m.) and tours of the LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton (which will also run until 4 p.m.). Southampton History Museum in Southampton is joining forces with Amagansett Food Institute to present Local Bites from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., while The Watermill Center in Water Mill is presenting two free programs, public tours from 1 to 2 p.m., followed by In Process with Marina Rosenfeld from 2 to 4 p.m.

“Composer and artist Marina Rosenfeld will share new work in progress, developed at The Watermill Center,” Brian O’Mahoney, The Watermill Center Communications Manager, relayed about In Process. “Drawing on her prolific history creating dub plates, or acetate test LP pressings, as the basis for performances and installation works, the new work integrates turntablism, notation and photography and will be premiered in August as part of Time:Spans festival in New York.”

Guild Hall, in Association with Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreation Center, will host the Center’s Thinking Forward Lecture Series 2019: Straight Talk Real People with Charnele Brown and moderator Lynn Sherr at 3 p.m. The Dan Flavin Art Institute, Dia Art Foundation, in Bridgehampton will offer a public tour of Keith Sonnier: Dis-Play II and the Dan Flavin Art Institute at 4:30 p.m. and The Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival will present Chamber Music Concert: Two Piano Program with Shai Wosner and Orion Weiss at 5 p.m. The evening will wrap up with a Sip and Paint @ Eastville with Artist Michael A. Butler at Eastville Community Historical Society in Sag Harbor from 6 to 8 p.m., a Hamptons International Film Festival Field of Dreams Screening and Talk at Guild Hall at 6 p.m., Songs of the Silver Screen – Live Concert with Valerie DiLorenzo & Friends at Southampton Arts Center in Southampton at 8 p.m., and Foreigners Journey at Bay Street at 8 p.m.

“Bay Street Theater is pleased to bring an All New All Star Stand-Up Comedy Night and a concert with music from Journey and Foreigner,” Tracy Mitchell, Bay Street Theater Executive Director, expressed. “It’s a great way to celebrate spring with laughter and music, and working together with my fellow arts organizations!”

“HIFF is thrilled to be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the three-time Oscar nominated film Field of Dreams with a big screen viewing on Saturday of THAW Fest weekend,” HIFF (Hamptons International Film Festival) Executive Director Anne Chaisson said. “HIFF encourages parents to introduce their children to this now classic film, please join us for free with RSVP.”

Sunday will bring an open house, Pollock cookie decorating, Krasner-inspired collage to the Pollock-Krasner House, in East Hampton from 1 to 4 p.m., a Hamptons Doc Fest and Parrish Art Museum film screening and discussion, Kusama-Infinity: the Life and Art of Yayoi Kusama with a guest speaker from 2 to 5 p.m. and Center Stage’s Mamma Mia! to Southampton Cultural Center in Southampton at 2:30 p.m.

There will also be several exhibitions on view throughout the weekend. Eastville Community Historical Society is presenting Genesis & Transcendence: Michael A. Butler Solo Exhibition, while the Parrish has Parrish Perspectives: Renate Aller; Jean Luc Mylayne and Every Picture Tells a Story: New Installation of the Permanent Collection. TAKEOVER! Artists in Residence is on display at Southampton Arts Center and Madoo a History in Photographs: Celebrating 25 Years as a Public Garden can be seen at Madoo. The Dan Flavin Art Institute is presenting Keith Sonnier: Dis-Play II, while Southampton History Museum is showcasing Morris Studio: The Unseen Collection, Photographs of Southampton 1892-1940, and Guild Hall is highlighting the 81st Annual Artist Members Exhibition.

For those looking to make a day out of it, Hamptons Visitor’s Council has arranged a complimentary shuttle that will travel to THAW host sites on Saturday and Sunday.

“With the DJ Twilo dance party and Kusama film, we’re pleased to present two very different programs featuring equally outstanding women artists for THAW Fest, and to celebrate Women’s History month,” Corinne Erni, Curator of Special Projects, added. “We’re also thrilled to be opening two new exhibitions of monumental, magical photographs: Renate Aller: The Space Between Memory and Expectation, and Jean-Luc Mylayne: A Matter of Place. We hope a great number of community members, weekenders, and tourists, young and old, will take advantage of this special weekend to experience the Museum’s rich programming.”

The goal of Hamptons Arts Network (HAN), a consortium of not-for-profit organizations, is “to promote collaboration, partnerships, and shared programming among its members. As well, we advocate for the arts in the area of economic development, tourism, and education.”

For more information, visit ww.hamptonsartsnetwork.org.