The three-member board of the tiny Wainscott School voted unanimously last week to adopt a $3,458,857 budget for the 2013-14 school year. No members of the public were present.

    The proposed budget includes a $45,603 decrease in spending from last year’s $3.5 million. The proposed tax levy is $2,706,957.

    “We haven’t talked about the budget at all and we have to pass it tonight,” said David Eagan, a board member. “The rest of this agenda can be pushed aside. Let’s get to what we have to do.”

    Although it was nominally an open meeting, requests that copies of the proposed budget be made available were repeatedly denied. New York State’s Open Meetings Law requires that documents being discussed be available to all members of the press and public.

    The East Hampton Star sent a letter last Thursday morning to Stuart Rachlin, the Wainscott School superintendent, requesting a copy of the documents, but there has been no response. In the absence of such documents, the board’s discussion of the budget was nearly impossible to follow.

    The school currently has 15 students in grades K to 3. The district employs two full-time teachers and one full-time teacher’s aide.

    On May 21, the annual budget vote will take place at the school, between the hours of 2 and 8 p.m.   

    Since the East Hampton School District suspended three bus drivers and two mechanics in February, rumors and accusations have run rampant. Now, with two of the bus drivers opting for public disciplinary hearings, which began Tuesday, the district’s reasons and counter claims are coming out.

    Two of the bus drivers, Christine Vorpahl and Dawn Gallagher, have each been suspended without pay since March 20. Taken together, the two women face nine charges — charges that were largely unknown until Ms. Vorpahl’s public hearing began early Tuesday. The East Hampton Board of Education had voted to suspend the employees without pay at the March 20 board meeting, although they did not identify them by name.

    Ms. Vorpahl and Ms. Gallagher have retained legal representation from Thomas Horn of Sag Harbor and Lawrence Kelly of Bayport. Kevin Seaman of Stony Brook is representing the East Hampton district.

    On Tuesday, following opening statements by each side, the district called the first two of its 17 witnesses — Richard Burns, the district’s superintendent, followed by Bella Warren, a former transportation secretary. With a handful of witnesses planned for Wednesday, attorneys on both sides were unable to predict how long the hearings would stretch on.

    Though the original schedule had been for Ms. Vorpahl’s hearing to take place on Tuesday, followed by Ms. Gallagher’s hearing on Wednesday, that was promptly scrapped given the large number of witnesses.

    Mr. Horn, a labor attorney who has made a name fighting actions by East Hampton Town, said after Tuesday’s proceedings, that “good progress on our case” had been made. The district ­hadn’t shown “much of substance here. So far, none of the testimony has revealed anything that we didn’t already suspect.”

    Mr. Seaman said he was “very pleased.” He added: “These poor people, making a living driving a bus and they’re subjected to this coterie of supervisors who played favorites. They went after the weaker people.”

    He noted that while a settlement had been offered — paying Ms. Vorpahl through June — she ultimately turned it down, opting for the public hearing instead. Throughout Tuesday morning’s proceedings, Ms. Vorpahl remained expressionless.

    According to the charging document dated March 19, Ms. Vorpahl faces five charges including falsely identifying herself as a certified examiner of school bus drivers, gaining an unfair advantage with regard to overtime pay,  fostering a climate of intimidation, bullying, and ridicule within the transportation department, knitting and viewing non-work-related Internet sites during working hours, and failing to relocate a bus stop on Oakview Highway, thereby jeopardizing the safety of students. The district-appointed hearing officer, Thom­as Volz, is to recommend any penalties he deems warranted to the school board, which has the right to accept or deny them.

    In his opening remarks, Mr. Seaman described the transportation department as a “lord of the flies, renegade colony,” alleging that Ms. Vorpahl served as one of the “ring leaders,” subjecting colleagues to frequent bouts of ridicule and intimidation.

    “She’s run the gamut from every level of misconduct — from neglect of duty to inappropriate workplace behavior,” Mr. Seaman said. “As an employee, she has forfeited her right to be employed in the East Hampton School District because of her own conduct.”

    Mr. Horn’s opening remarks countered Mr. Seaman’s. “One of the things missing from Mr. Seaman’s list is my client ever being given an opportunity to explain or give her side of a story and the campaign that was against her going on behind the scenes with the aid of the administration. Clear from the evidence that every issue that’s talked about here in these charges relates back to supervision of the entire department, which was not the job of my client.”

    Prior to Tuesday’s hearing, Mr. Horn described the charges as “vague and overblown.” Of the charge related to knitting during working hours, Ms. Horn dismissed it, saying, “Stop me before I purl again.”

    During Mr. Burns’s testimony, he noted that Ms. Vorpahl had received far greater overtime compensation than many of her colleagues. While he said a normal amount might range between $1,000 to $3,000 a year, Ms. Vorpahl had earned $14,325 between July 1, 2012, and January 17, 2013. Ms. Gallagher, meanwhile, had received $9,321 in overtime.

    As of press time, the district had begun the process of questioning 15 bus drivers. Regina Astor, a former bus driver, said she had never been trained by Ms. Vorpahl, even though she had been listed on the certifying document as having been trained by her. Mr. Horn had begun his cross-examination.

    While all five of the transportation department workers were originally suspended with pay, a mechanic has since agreed to a settlement and subsequent resignation. Two additional, unnamed employees remained suspended with pay.

    The public hearings are expected to stretch into next week — and possibly far longer.

    It’s budget season, and the Springs School Board has voted unanimously to adopt a $25.4 million budget for the 2013-14 school year.

    Next year’s proposed budget includes a tax levy increase of 1.3 percent and a projected tax rate increase of 3.37 percent over last year. By comparison, last year’s $24.6 million budget included a 2.97 percent increase in the tax levy and a 3.19-percent increase in the tax rate, based on the previous year’s budget.

    Springs residents whose houses are valued at $600,000 paid $165 per household last year; this year those householders are projected to pay $180. Houses valued at $800,000 paid $220 last year; this year’s projected rate is only $20 more, or $240.

    In Springs on Monday night, at the fourth budget workshop of the year, about a dozen residents sat through a presentation that examined the proposed budget, a district-wide five-year overview, an examination of its fund balance, and the proposed tax rate and tax levy.

    “One of the goals was to develop a fiscally responsible budget to meet our educational goals. We believe we’ve done that this year,” said Eric Casale, the Springs School principal. “Even given our budget constraints, we believe we’re offering our students one of the most rigorous educational programs on the East End.”

    This year’s budget process stands in stark contrast to the prior year, when the school cut $792,000 from its preliminary budget. No cuts are planned for the coming year.

    Thomas Primiano, the school treasurer, noted that the projected budget represented a $123,017 reduction in spending from $25.5 million proposed at the first budget workshop in February. Despite such reductions, the $25.4 million budget represents a $782,380 increase in spending over the previous year.

    The budget includes a list of capital projects that will cost the district nearly $300,000. Among big-ticket items are a front vestibule and ramp at a cost of $75,000 and a parking lot and repairs along Ed Hults Lane for approximately $80,000.

    There is $642,000 for employee benefits, $231,000 for payroll, and a $354,000 reduction in East Hampton High School tuition after Springs negotiated a lower rate earlier this year. Come September, Springs also plans to add a sixth school bus “to meet our growing demand for more seats,” according to Elizabeth Mendelman, a board member. The school enrolled 667 students last September, but projects an enrollment of 695 this fall.

    Board members also debated whether to choose a Teachers’ Retirement System “pension-smoothing  plan” of 14 percent or go with 16.25 percent. While the lower-priced plan would save around $175,000, the district would essentially be borrowing money from itself that it would be forced to repay, with interest, in coming years. Both Springs and East Hampton ultimately rejected the plan, opting for a 16.25 percent rate for the coming year.

    “We’re in a cautious place, but feel we’re in a better situation than a lot of districts,” concluded Mr. Primiano.

    The budget will be made available to the public on May 7, followed by a public hearing on May 13. Finally, the budget vote and school board election, which has three candidates vying for two vacancies, will take place on May 21.

    The Amagansett School has a new principal. At its meeting on Tuesday night, members of the school’s board voted unanimously to appoint Robert M. Brisbane to the position.

    The appointment of Dr. Brisbane, who holds certifications in the areas of school district administrator and nursery, kindergarten, and grades one through six, is effective May 6. He will be acting principal through June 30, at which time a three-year contract will commence. The principal has been hired at an annual salary of $160,000.

    Dr. Brisbane holds a doctorate in education from St. John’s University and two master’s degrees in education administration and reading strategies and practices. He has worked as an assistant superintendent, a supervisor at the Nassau Board of Cooperative Educational Services, and as a middle school principal, assistant principal, and an elementary school teacher.

    A letter signed by Eleanor Tritt, the school’s superintendent, was sent home with students yesterday. In it, she wrote that Dr. Brisbane “embodies the nurturing, child-centered advocate that our district prizes. [. . .] I am confident that in a very short amount of time you will see that Dr. Brisbane will be able to focus on the needs of students, parents, and staff.”

    Parents, Ms. Tritt wrote, will soon have an opportunity to meet Dr. Brisbane and “to learn why we are so impressed with him and why we are looking forward to the impacts he will make on our school.”

    “We were very exited about bringing him on board,” Ms. Tritt said yesterday. “He’s excited about coming on board as well. I’m sure everyone will feel very comfortable with him very soon.”

    At the board meeting, Ms. Tritt also announced that all six of the current 10th graders who attended the Amagansett School will be among those inducted into the National Honor Society tonight at East Hampton High School. Peter Davis, Bryan Gamble, Conrad Kabbaz, Emma Newburger, Melanie Schwagerl, and Bridget Stonemetz are the Amagansett School’s inductees.

    “We congratulate these students and take great pride in their achievements,” Ms. Tritt said.   

   To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Amagansett School District’s founding, the school’s sixth graders have created the Then and Now project, which looks at the district from its creation to the present.

    The yearlong endeavor has given students a unique look at the past. With their teachers’ assistance, they have collected memorabilia, photographs, stories, and other cultural materials that chronicle the school and the hamlet’s history. Students worked together to conduct classroom research, visited the local history section of the Amagansett Library, and documented personal insight through live, in-class interviews with alumni to create a comprehensive and diverse look at the school.

    In a statement, Eleanor Tritt, the school’s superintendent, said that “The Then and Now project has been a rewarding experience for all those involved and has uncovered the many hidden gems that make the Amagansett School a success. Through the collaborative efforts of our students and the community we were able to produce this priceless piece of cinematography that contrasts where we have been with where we are today.”

    The multimedia production will be featured in a viewing for the community on May 8 at 1 p.m. in the school gymnasium. Alumni are invited to meet in the school’s library at noon to share a light lunch and conversation prior to the screening of the video.

    Those interested in attending have been asked to R.S.V.P. no later than Wednesday by sending an e-mail to [email protected] with the attendee’s name or by calling the school. Alternatively, a form can be printed from the district’s Web site, aufsd.org, and mailed to Then and Now, Amagansett School, P.O. Box 7062, Amagansett 11930.

    Superintendents or assistant superintendents from Springs, Southampton, Wainscott, and East Hampton will discuss the 2-percent tax levy cap, shared services and consolidation, unfunded mandates, security concerns, teacher evaluations, and other subjects during a meeting in Southampton on Monday sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons.

    The panelists will include Dominic Mucci, the Springs superintendent, Stuart Rachlin, superintendent of the Wainscott School, Richard Boyes, Southampton’s superintendent, and Robert Tymann, the assistant superintendent of East Hampton schools.

    The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at Rogers Memorial Library. It will be taped to air on SEA-TV, Southampton’s Channel 22. 

Super Happy Mega Blast

    “The Super Happy Fun Time Mega Blast Emerging Youth Artist Contest and Experience.” The title of this show, to be held on Saturday and Sunday at Ashawagh Hall in Springs, tells you a lot about what to expect. Organized by Hampton Photo Arts and Tonic Artspace and curated by Barbara Impereale of the Tuckahoe School, it will include work in a variety of mediums by artists ages 5 to 19. A reception will be held on Saturday from 5:30 to 10 p.m., and gallery hours will continue Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The registration deadline was Saturday, but there may be a few spots still available. Hampton Photo Arts in Bridgehampton can provide details for those looking to have their work included.

Keep the Goat Afloat

    Fans, or shall we say devotees, of the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre will want to mark their calendars for Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m., when the nonprofit children’s theater holds its annual Bambini Ball fund-raiser upstairs from its stage on East Union Street in Sag Harbor. Partygoers have been advised to wear their most fun and festive costumes for an evening that includes a light dinner, crafts, games, dancing, treats, a puppet show, and a special performance. Tickets cost $45, or $35 for members, and $10 or $8 for children. They can be purchased in advance online at goatonaboat.org. Earlier on Saturday, the puppet theater’s founder, Liz Joyce, will present “Little Red Riding Hood,” at 11 a.m. Tickets cost $10, $9 for members and grandparents, and $5 for children under 3. There will be no 3 p.m. show.

St. Patrick’s Treasure Hunt

    Montauk’s St. Patrick’s Day events this weekend include one especially for kids on Saturday. A Pot o’ Gold Treasure Hunt for 6 to 11-year-olds will start at 1 p.m. and have kids searching individually or in teams for treasures throughout the hamlet. Captain Kid Toys will award prizes for all who find treasures, including one for the team that finishes the hunt first. Registration can be done in advance at the Montauk Chamber of Commerce offices on Main Street or by e-mailing [email protected].

E=MC2

    An educator from the Long Island Science Center will be on hand at the Amagansett Library on Saturday to lead hands-on activities exploring the physics of toys. Using old-fashioned and more familiar toys, kids in kindergarten through sixth grade will learn about gravity, inertia, and kinetic and potential energy, then make a toy of their own. The program begins at 3:30 p.m. Space is limited and advance registration is required.

Why Is the Sky Blue?

    Children curious about the ways of the universe will find answers to some of their questions during a program about light and how it works on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton. The program, for children 8 to 10 years old, will include scientific experiments that explain some basic concepts of light, how it bounces off or is absorbed by different surfaces, and what part of the spectrum the human eye can see. Enrollment is limited and advance registration is required.

Busy Bunny

    Easter is not until the end of the month, but the Easter Bunny will be busy already this weekend. Egg hunts and egg decorating events begin on Saturday in anticipation of the holiday. The first is at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton at 10 a.m. for children 8 and under. It starts with a story time, and then convenes to the library’s lawn, where a floppy-eared friend will be on hand. In case of rain, the hunt will be postponed to March 30.

    Kids in seventh grade and above can drop in at the library during regular hours on Saturday through March 30 to make yarn eggs.

A Very Important Date

    A Mad Hatter Tea Party at the Children’s Museum of the East End on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. will include an outdoor egg scavenger hunt, hat decorating, and spring arts and crafts. There will be complimentary goodies, lemonade, and tea. The party is free for members, and $18 for others.

    On Sunday at 11 a.m., Sima at Sea, a storyteller, will read “Spring Is Singing.” There is no charge for the program, which is sponsored by Cultural Care Au Pair. Drop-in spring break workshops for kids 3 to 5 will be held every weekday next week. Kids will do creative play, cooking, art, and science and nature programs from 9 a.m. to noon. The cost is $80 per day, per child, or $75 for members. Advance registration is required. The museum is on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton.

Egg Scramble

    A mad scramble for eggs is guaranteed on Saturday at 11 a.m. on the nose as the Ladies Village Improvement Society hosts an egg hunt on the grounds of its Main Street, East Hampton, headquarters. The affair is for children 2 to 9, with a separate area specifically for the younger egg finders.

Eggs-Travaganza

    The Montauk Library has promised an “eggs-travaganza” for families, involving games and crafts, on Saturday afternoon from 3 to 4:30. Those who attend have been advised to take a smock or wear clothing they can part with, as things could get messy.

    On Tuesday, Chip Bryant, the Silent Clown, will perform at the library from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m., offering a blend of mime, clowning, juggling, magic, puppetry, and music. Registration has been requested for both programs but is not required.

Coloring Festa

    The Easter Bunny will be on hand Sunday at Cittanuova in East Hampton during the restaurant’s annual Easter Egg Coloring Festa from 9 to 11:30 a.m. There will be eggs galore and coloring materials for kids 3 to 8, and a raffle for some sweet treats. A suggested donation of $3 will benefit the Flying Point Foundation for Autism.

Crafts and Critters

    At the East Hampton Library, workshops throughout the week will help keep the schedule full for kids 4 and older. Who needs a paintbrush? Not the children who take part in Saturday’s workshop, when participants will paint with anything but a brush from 2 to 3 p.m.

    On Monday from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., kids can create crazy critters with real grass hair that will grow at home. Sock bunnies and spring cupcake decorating are on the agenda for Friday, March 29, with bunny-making from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and cupcakes from 1:30 to 2:30. For all workshops, kids under 7 must be accompanied by an adult. Bunnies will also be the focus of a story and craft time for kids 4 to 6 on Wednesday from 4 to 5 p.m. The library has requested advance sign-up for all programs.

So Much to Do

    Some school spring breaks have been done away with, but parents whose children are still on vacation next week can find workshops to keep the kids entertained and engaged at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill and the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, each offered Monday through Friday, March 29.

    The Parrish programs have a different focus each day — spring landscapes, Pop Art, still-life collage, spring printmaking, and garden-inspired sculpture — with sessions for 4 to 6-year-olds from 10 a.m. to noon, and sessions for kids 7 and older from 1 to 3 p.m. The cost is $40 per session or $30 for members. Advance registration required.

    Bay Street will have a kids theater camp for 8 to 12-year-olds from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Karen Hochstedler and Bethany Dellapolla will offer instruction in acting, singing, dance, and more. The cost is $385 per child. Advance registration is required through the theater.

Bluebird Watch

    Land development has left fewer tree cavities for Eastern bluebirds to nest in, but the birds take well to nest boxes like the ones in the field behind the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton. On Saturday, before taking 5 to 9-year-olds on a nature walk to observe the bluebirds, Crystal Possehl, a nature educator, will read them a book about a how a bluebird couple build their nest, feed their young, and get ready for winter. Then kids will make their own bluebird nests. The program starts at 10 a.m. Reservations are required, as space is limited.

Congressional Art Competition

    High school art students who plan to submit their work to the annual Congressional Art Competition have until Friday, March 29, to do so. The student submissions, which are coordinated by art teachers, will be included in an exhibit in the Lyceum Gallery at Suffolk Community College’s Montaukett Learning Center in Riverhead on April 5 and 6. The East End Arts Council will curate the exhibit, and a judge will select first, second, and third-place and honorable mention winners. Winners will be announced at a reception on April 6 from 2 to 4 p.m.

    Last year, Nicole Frank of East Hampton High School won for her painting “Abundance.” The winning work this year will be displayed in a yearlong exhibit in the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., with other winning pieces from around the country.

    Three parents of Montauk prekindergartners presented the Montauk School Board Tuesday with a petition asking the board to consider piercing the state-imposed 2-percent cap on tax levy increases so that the school can add a third kindergarten class next year and reduce class sizes in all grades.

    The petition, which was signed by 185 people, they said, asked that classes have no more than 18 students in kindergarten through third grade and 20 students in other grades.

    Tom Flight, accompanied by Amy Duryea-Kelly and Paul Tough, an author of “The School of Hard Knocks: How Children Succeed,” delivered the signatures to the board. Diane Hausman, the school board president, said that although the board would accept it, there would be no comment as the meeting was a budget workshop and not a regular board meeting, where community input is on the agenda.

    In a follow-up phone call, however, Ms. Hausman said the board took some offense to the petition, which stated: “Without direct action, the financial planning going into the 2013-14 Montauk School threatens the education of the town’s children at all grade levels.”

    “I take great exception to the word ‘threaten,’ ” Ms. Hausman said yesterday. “This board would never threaten the education of students in the Montauk School.”

    The school board has frequently mentioned that it must take into consideration the senior citizen population by keeping the financial figures within their range. At Tuesday’s meeting, Ms. Duryea-Kelly said 50 percent of the signatures she had collected in front of the Montauk Post Office one day last week were from senior citizens.

    “I was surprised. I thought I’d receive a lot more resistance, but I didn’t,” she told the board, adding afterward that the signers also included young parents.

    The board began discussing increasing class sizes in January. Parents came out in force to urge them not to, saying that larger classes have been proven to reduce the quality of a child’s education. Originally, the board was going vote to change the class size policy from 18 per class with a maximum of 24 to a maximum of 28 students.

    But when they actually voted and approved the resolution, it gave them the flexibility to change class size depending on each individual class and omitted actual numbers. At the time, one board member said that including the numbers seemed to be pitting parents against school officials.

    Prekindergarten classes, which are exempt from the changes, can have no more than 21 students. This year’s pre-K enrollment was so large that students were divided into four classes, with two morning and two afternoon sessions.

    Jack Perna, the school superintendent, and several teachers have gone on record saying they, too, prefer smaller class sizes. “I don’t know what you’re all hearing out there, but I have never veered from a smaller class size,” he said on Tuesday. He explained, however, that adding another class would cost the district at least $150,000.

    Ms. Duryea-Kelly said yesterday that the parents feel as if they’re not being heard and are powerless in the situation. “We feel as if they’re saying, ‘Yes, we hear you, but there’s nothing we can do for you,’ ” she said on the phone.

    The petition also states that the group realizes that piercing the tax cap would mean a “small” increase in taxes. “But this is a critical investment in the future of Montauk,” it reads.

    Mr. Flight offered a tax rate schedule that he said was based on prior tax estimates. With it were applications for the School Tax Relief (STAR) program, which reduces taxes for owner-occupied, primary residences for senior citizens and people whose combined income does not exceed $500,000.

    If the school were to try to pierce the 2-percent cap, the budget would have to be approved by at least 60 percent of voters. If it didn’t pass, it could be put up for a second vote, but if it were voted down again, the school would lose the ability to increase the budget at all for next year. Parents have said they believe they could get enough people to the polls to pass the budget the first time around.

    Moving on, the board combed through the budget for the third time since it was released earlier this month. There have been several changes over the course of the weekly meetings and workshops. One item that was questioned by the board was a $28,000 increase for security measures at the school.

    Mr. Perna pointed to the Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut and said he wanted more cameras installed, and possibly a vestibule so that visitors could not enter the school building until they were identified. The price quote was for $30,000, up from $1,700 in last year’s budget. He said that SCAN security had submitted the estimate, but he has since received two other bids that will also be considered.

    A teacher at Tuesday’s meeting asked the board to consider increasing the spending on the curriculum. Sue Nicoletti, who teaches fifth graders, said that teachers are using some textbooks from 12 years ago, mostly in social studies and science. Moreover, teachers need ongoing training. “I just want to make sure you’re aware of it,” she told the board.

    The 2013-14 budget as it now stands carries a $184,000 increase over this year’s budget, bringing it to $18.7 million. The board has until April 23 to adopt its proposed budget. The public budget vote and school board elections will be on May 15.

    At a school board meeting on March 12, Therese Watson announced that she will step down from the seat she has held for 29 years. As of yesterday, no one had filed the petition to run for the vacant seat. Petitions require 25 signatures and must be submitted to the district clerk by April 22. If no one comes forward to run, school officials will have to appoint someone to the board, Mr. Perna said.

Calling Teen Filmmakers

    The East Hampton Library will begin a monthlong teen film contest with a kickoff meeting on Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. The contest asks high school students working in teams or on their own to write a script and shoot a short film, music video, animated film, or experimental video, and then submit their finished work by April 30. Films will be screened and awards will be given out on May 1. Advance registration has been requested.

Comic Book Workshop

    Kids 8 and older who love manga and anime can learn to draw in that style during a manga comic book workshop starting April 6 at the Golden Eagle art store in East Hampton. The class will meet for four Saturdays from noon to 1:30 p.m. Participants have been asked to take their own sketchbooks. The cost for all four classes is $120. Advance registration is required.

Mad Scientists

    Young would-be scientists who don’t get the chance to hone their skills at home will be set free during a chemistry workshop on Saturday at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton. Tyler Armstrong, a nature educator, will oversee 8 to 10-year-olds as they mix together some safe household chemicals to learn about chemical reactions. Mess-proof clothes are a must. The workshop begins at 11 a.m.; participants must register in advance as space is limited.