East Magazine

In this age, when luxury commerce seems to be the very definition of life in the Hamptons, it's easy to forget that the South Fork once was a picturesque, if obscure, haven for artists, writers, and other bohemians. Sag Harbor, in particular, has seen more than its share of notable writers over the centuries, and we revel in remembering when its bars and sidewalks were peopled by Steinbeck, et al. Here, then, is a literary-centric walking tour of the little whaling village that launched a thousand novels.

If Wölffer Estate hadn’t claimed the name “Summer in a Bottle” for its iconic rosé, the cherry-lime rickey would surely be the first-place contender for that title. That’s why we were pleased to learn that Sip ’n Soda has begun selling its cherry-lime rickey mix in a bottle — year round, to boot.

The Star photo archive is an anachronistic system, a holdover, unchanged since the days when images were not digital collections of pixels traveling on ether, but material things printed on paper in a basement darkroom. And, to the delight of any reporter or editor who finds an excuse to wade, hip-deep, into the archive, there are — wedged in among the many mundane black-and-white photographs (too many mildly “arty” snapshots of ducks and decoys, wood fences and weathered barns) and among the treasures (rare glass-plate negatives of Amagansett whalers and candid shots of major literary lions) — lots of truly wacky souvenirs of days gone by.

Who hasn't fancied themselves an artiste? Laura Donnelly — known on the culinary scene for her delicious recipes and occasionally devilish restaurant reviews — was asked by EAST Magazine to try her hand at life drawing. Here's what happened.

For more than 30 summers in East Hampton, starting in 1936, girls from 3 or 4 all the way to 18 could be found in a studio property on Lily Pond Lane — out on the grass, capering, leaping, skipping, and reaching for the halcyon skies — as they learned the art of dance in a lineage that descended directly from Isadora Duncan, the legendary choreographer and pioneer of contemporary dance. This was Anita Zahn’s Summer School of the Arts, which lives on in spirit today in the Rainbowdance program in Boston, established by Dicki Johnson Macy, a former student of Zahn.

Jeff Aubry talks to EAST about his pro hoops career, the Next Gen Basketball Players Union, and life in Sag Harbor.

Trapeze lessons at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton have become something of a tradition (dating, if you want to go all the way back, to the 1970s when small students at Hayground’s hippie-dippie precursor, the Hampton Day School, flew through the air in phys-ed class). This year, the trapeze season wraps up in mid-September.

It's time for the Hampton Classic once again, where Ava Lynch, an up-and-coming teen equestrian from Wainscott, will saddle up with passion in her heart and ribbons in her sights. She gave EAST magazine a close-up look into the world of competitive riding. There’s a myth, Ava says, that competitive riding “is easy, that anyone can do it, or that it isn’t a sport. That’s just not true.”

Time for some relaxing high-summer fun: Grab some markers and celebrate all things July with East Magazine’s first-ever coloring page for grownups. We can’t promise it’ll cure a hangover, but there’s a reason why adult coloring books have been surging in popularity: Research has shown it can relieve stress and anxiety and boost your mood and motor skills. We think it makes a great rainy-day activity or a way to wind down after a long day battling the traffic and crowds. Don’t forget to snap a picture of your masterpiece for Instagram and tag East Magazine — we're @east_mag — and have fun looking for all the East-Hampton “Easter eggs” in there.

Whether it evokes sweet, sweet memories of disco days gone by or echoes of a bad hangover, news of the impending demolition of a famous Three Mile Harbor roadhouse probably provoked a few feelings. Stephanie Krikorian uncovers the colorful history of the building that was once Mellow Mouth and the Jag — a bastion of the East End’s lost nightclub culture

Is it a lingering trace of Puritan thrift, or a hangover from the days when families scoured the shore for flotsam and jetsam? We're not sure, but when it comes to our unwanted stuff — outgrown bassinet, overgrown ficus, plastic pool lounger about to be upgraded to teak — what goes around stays around, out here. J Brooke reflects on the salvage culture of the South Fork

Priscilla Rattazzi, photographer, bids farewell to life on Georgica Pond.

Kym Fulmer intentionally blurs the line between hands-on and digital manipulation, which is how she went about creating this month’s magazine cover. “I like to do work that is figurative and recognizable but also stylish and fun,” she says when asked to describe her style. “Whimsical is overused — but maybe a little childlike? Technically good, neat and clean and simple.”

You say ceviche, I say crudo . . . but what about aguachile, poke, and tartare? Bountiful are the ways to prepare uncooked fish from the briny depths of Long Island waters. Laura Donnelly takes it beyond tuna and offers a few gorgeously simple summer recipes.

Skaters these days, they’re spoiled for choice. It wasn’t so in 1977, when skateboarding — like other youth subcultures, from punk on the Bowery to DJ Kool Herc in the Bronx — was still very much D.I.Y. As The Star reported on August 11 of that year, boarders on the East End really only had two destinations when they wanted to ride: “unused swimming pools” and “smooth, paved hills” like that at Mako Lane, down which the blond-haired boys of summer would bomb on their Santa Cruzes, scaring the bejeezus out of the grownups.

The best table in the Hamptons isn’t a table, it’s your lap. Make a reservation with friends for bare feet in the sand, sunset over the bay, and drinks in a jelly jar. Nina Dohanos shares a few picnic-paradise memories and tips.

July feels like the right moment for a little disorderly conduct, maybe a few improprieties. Rowdy summers, dontcha know, are an East End tradition.

Things can get tense out there, with SO many TERRIBLY Important People jostling for elbow room in parking lots and expostulating on why they deserve the table with the sunset view. Here, THEN, are a few much-needed tips on public etiquette.

William Norwich — chronicler of society, appreciator of beauty — clocks the changes on the South Fork.

Heather Rose Rauscher of Wainscott designs a high-style home-and-fashion line based on gorgeous mash-up prints.

A payphone still stands in East Hampton, behind Town Hall on Pantigo Road. Pick up the receiver and you’ll get an actual, albeit staticky, dial tone. Got your quarters ready? Thanks to 20-plus years of inflation, you’ll need two. A working payphone, in 2023 — is this really happening?

Bruce Cullum may not be the very last rabbit hunter on the East End, but he’s one of very few that remain. A century ago, rabbit hunting was common.

Don’t happen to own a luxury power lobster yacht or a Clyde-built wooden ketch? Never fear. There are so many fun ways for the public to get out on the water — party boats for everyone!

Summer is fleeting and life is short. Grab the sweetness of the moment by indulging in farm-fresh berries. Eat them at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In salads and margaritas and barbecue sauce. Ku-plink, ku-plunk them on everything.

Just how damn crowded is it, anyway? Spoiler alert: No one actually knows! If the flawed 2020 census were correct, our population would only be about that of the town of Aberdeen, South Dakota, but if the town planning department is correct, East Hampton in summertime is somewhere between New Haven, Connecticut, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

It seems like the prerequisite to starting a luxury tequila brand is to be famous. George Clooney, Kendall Jenner, Eva Longoria, Michael Jordan, and Adam Levine have all done it; the list goes on. The guy behind Montaukila, however, has broken that mold.

You’d recognize a bright Lilly Pulitzer shift at 100 paces — but do you know who actually created those magical Palm Beach-to-Southampton prints?

Let's revive the midwinter house party, pre-millennium style.

As a weird cheating scandal rocks the game at its highest levels, kids take to chess in increasing numbers. Tom Gogola reports on opportunities for the next generation of players.

Here’s an old photograph that will call out — like the sound of echoing ice, crack! — to those who spent the winter afternoons of their adolescence cruising Town Pond on skates as the sun went down. It’s a Saturday or Sunday, we’d wager, and — judging by the Fair Isle sweaters, the fuzzy earmuffs, the cut of the jeans — probably around 1980.