Grind

Steven Ringel, the executive director of the East Hampton Chamber of Commerce, who helped launch the spring, fall, and summer fairs held in East Hampton Village, is leaving the post at the end of August, the chamber announced on Friday. 

Bacteria levels dropped to some of their lowest numbers all summer this week at many water bodies Concerned Citizens of Montauk tests, including some with consistently high levels like East Creek at Lake Montauk, which showed low levels of the enterococcus bacteria for the first time since March.

"This was a positive week for water quality!" Kate Rossi-Snook, an environmental advocate with C.C.O.M, wrote of the results. 

Saturday offers a chance to properly dispose of household hazardous waste. The Town of Southampton will hold a STOP day — for Stop Throwing Out Pollutants — at the Sag Harbor transfer station on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where did grandma's old, engraved table really come from? Randy Kolhoff, founder of Black Swan Antiques, might have the knowledge to answer some variation of that question at the Sag Harbor Historical Society on Friday.

An Antiques Show and Tell will let visitors ask Mr. Kolhoff, who's sold antiques for 13 years, about the origins of interesting or unusual objects they have at home. Mr. Kolhoff also owns Black Swan Meadows, part of the very popular Brimfield antique market in Massachusetts.

The Center for Therapeutic Riding of the East End, which offers riding opportunities to children and adults with cognitive, physical, or emotional disabilities, will begin its 10th anniversary celebration at the Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. Horses Changing Lives will be an evening of cocktails and hors d’oeuvres with a 1970s theme.

Bacteria levels continued to drop at some Concerned Citizens of Montauk testing sites this week thanks to drier weather earlier in the week, but harmful blue-green algae continue to affect Fort Pond. Testing results for the week showed a bloom only at the southern end of the pond; concentrations at the north end dropped below the State Department of Environmental Conservation's threshold for harmful blooms but remain at high risk. To be safe, people are still urged to avoid contact with the water until further notice. 

The Writers hope to add to their winning streak over the Artists on Saturday, after winning 12-8 in the 2018 Artists and Writers Softball Game.

As crowds swarm in for a beautiful East End respite, the cannabis craze accompanies them.

It starts on Saturday when Mandala Yoga in Amagansett hosts a launch of CBD-infused pet treats made by the Alchemist’s Kitchen. The next night, the Hampton Cannabis Expo will feature panel discussions about the future of cannabis and an open bar at The Clubhouse in Wainscott.

CBD, a non-psychoactive component of the cannabis plant, is legal as an oil, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved it as an additive to foods meant for human consumption.

Stephen Rosen of East Hampton, an astrophysicist and expert on cosmic radiation, will give a talk about the continuing significance of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity at the Cutchogue New Suffolk Library on Friday at 6 p.m. 

New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. is hosting a food drive for the month of August, teaming up with Island Harvest, a hunger-relief organization, to collect food for those in need. Items collected on the South Fork will go to the Bridgehampton and Southampton food pantries.

The annual Shoe-Inn warehouse sale will start Tuesday and run daily through Monday, and again from Wednesday, Aug. 21, through Aug. 25, from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. at the American Legion post in Amagansett.

Music for Montauk will kick off its summer series of outdoor concerts Thursday with “Brahms Gypsy Dances,” passionate quartet songs, accompanied by piano and strings, under a tent at Third House at Montauk County Park.

On Aug. 17 the selection will be Bach’s most festive Cantata No. 51, featuring strings, trumpet, keyboard, and vocals, with the operatic star Rachelle Durkin and trumpeter C.J. Camerieri. Both concerts, at 6:30 p.m., are free and family friendly. Concertgoers are encouraged to take picnics, chairs, and blankets.