The East Hampton Town Recreation Department’s multitude of summer programs for kids, from swimming to sailing to basketball and tennis, begin this week at locations across the town.
Most handy for working parents might be the summer crafts and games offered at the Springs Youth building on Old Stone Highway or at the Montauk School Mondays through Fridays through Aug. 23. Sessions are from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 12:30 to 4. Children can do morning and afternoon programs, but must take their own lunches and snacks, and must be registered in advance at the Parks and Recreation Department office behind Town Hall. The cost for a half-day program is 100 per week, $150 for two siblings, and $200 for three.
Free swimming instruction for ages 4 and up at all levels will be offered weekdays at 10 a.m. throughout the summer at different locations. The first session, running Monday through July 12, will be at Havens Beach in Sag Harbor. Parents should note that this beach is generally closed by the Suffolk County Health Department following heavy rainfall.
Lessons move to Maidstone Park Beach in Springs from July 15 to 25, to East Lake Beach in Montauk from July 29 to Aug. 9, and to Albert’s Landing Beach in Amagansett from Aug. 12 to 23. Sign-up is at the beach the first day. Children should show up with water shoes and goggles.
Sailing instruction for kids 12 and older (adults, too, if they’re interested) will start on Monday at Fresh Pond in Amagansett. The sessions run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, with new ones starting each Monday through Aug. 19. Sailors who already have experience with a 420 Solo can take part in sessions those same days at Fresh Pond, from 5:30 p.m. until the sun goes down. The cost of all sailing programs is $225 per week.
Tennis and basketball clinics are held at the Youth Park on Abraham’s Path in Amagansett through Aug. 22, at a cost of $45 for the summer for either one or $60 to take part in both. Tennis clinics are Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 to 6 p.m. for second through fourth graders, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 6 p.m. for fifth grade and up, and from 6 to 7 p.m. for kindergarten and first grade. Basketball clinics are on alternate days and times: Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 to 6 p.m. for kindergarten and first, 6 to 8 p.m. for fourth and fifth, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 6 p.m. for second and third, and 6 to 8 p.m. for sixth grade and up.
Boys in fourth through eighth grade can join in a basketball program on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at East Hampton High School this week through Aug. 9. The cost is $45.