Out of Here  Calendar of Events Outside Rye 

– Compiled by April Miller and Robin Jovanovich –

JUNE 8

Artistic Table Settings

An opening reception for “At the Table: Morning, Noon & Night,” an exhibition celebrating the table and our experiences at it, will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Clay Art Center in Port Chester.  Over 50 current and past members of the center will exhibit place settings and objects for and around the table. All the works will be for sale.

Also, at the opening, will be the launch of “Potluck: Recipes and Ceramics by the Artists of the Clay Art Center,” a cookbook featuring a collection of 245 recipes and images of artworks by members.

This is just one of many exhibits planned by the Center in celebration of its 50th anniversary. “At the Table” runs through June 16. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. or by appointment. For more information contact Leigh Taylor Mickelson at leigh@clayartcenter.org or 937-2047.

JUNE 9

Clay Culture

An opening reception for "Straddling Cultures" a ceramics exhibition featuring pottery and tiles influenced by Japanese and Indian design, will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. at The Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden in North Salem.

The pieces were created by Reena Kashyap, who is director of the Clay Art Center. Her work is influenced by Japanese ceramics, and the pieces on display mainly use Shino and Oribe glazes. Inspired by her Indian roots, she also works with a combination of oxides and wax resist typical of India.

The exhibit runs through Sept. 8. Call 669-5033.

JUNE 9

Celebrity Tag Sale

Gently used couture clothing, jewelry, home accessories, novelties, and electronics donated by Westchester political officials and news people can be yours at the Gilda’s Club Westchester Tag Sale, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All proceeds from the event will be used to fund the club’s many programs and activities that benefit Westchester and Fairfield County residents living with cancer and their families.

Gilda’s Club Westchester is located at 80 Maple Ave., White Plains. For more information, call 241-2910.

JUNE 9

Seeing Stories

In partnership with The Hudson River Museum, Katonah Museum of Art, the Westchester Library System and the Jacob Burns Film Center, The Westchester Arts Council is participating in “Open Books” from June through October. The program celebrates the art of children’s book illustration and the importance of reading.

The Council’s component, “Seeing Stories,” highlights the work of a group of richly talented book illustrators who call Westchester home. It opens to the public at noon. The exhibition will be on view through July 28 in the Arts Exchange, 31 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains. Call 428-4220.

JUNE 10

Fat Tire Festival

A Bicycle Poker Rally in which contestants ride the trails stopping at different stations to pick up a playing card, a Bike Limbo in which cyclists of all ages are challenged to see “how low they can go,” and a Slowest Rider Race are just some of the highlights of the 12th annual Fat Tire Festival, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Blue Mountain Reservation in Peekskill. There will be guided trail rides for cyclists of all skill levels and the opportunity to take the latest suspension bikes out for test rides on the trails.

Blue Mountain Reservation can be reached via Route 9 to Welcher Avenue. For more information, log on to www.wmba.org.

JUNE 12

Art in the Yard

Enjoy the beauty of Connecticut’s first art colony by creating your own artistic vision of Bush-Holley Historic Site, admiring the artwork of others or touring the grounds. Daily art workshops and demonstrations will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through June 14. The site is located at 39 Strickland Road, Cos Cob.

There is a fee for some workshops. For more information, call 203-869-6899.

JUNE 13

Art Tour and Reading

Following a tour of the newly opened exhibit, “Cleve Gray: Man and Nature,” at the Neuberger Museum, authors will read their poetry and prose, inspired by the natural world. The tour begins at 6:15, the reading at 7 p.m.

This first comprehensive retrospective of noted American painter Cleve Gray illustrates the full evolution of his practice as he developed his signature gestural style between 1970 and 2004.

The authors are affiliated with Inkwell, the journal of Manhattanville College, and Slapering Hol Press, the publishing arm of the Hudson Valley Writers’ Center. Admission is $6, $3 to Neuberger and Writers’ Center members.

JUNE 19

French Film

The Emelin Theater in Mamaroneck presents  “Avenue Montaigne”, an ensemble film revolving around Jessica, a naïve country girl who works at a bistro on Paris' chic Avenue Montaigne. Her glamorous clientele includes a popular TV actress, a wealthy art collector and a famed classical pianist whose stories intertwine through Jessica. The New York Times called this lighthearted French film "a bonbon."

“Avenue Montaigne” runs through June 24. In French with subtitles. Show times are 3 p.m., 5:30 p.m., and 8 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Sunday. Call 698-0098.

JUNE 23

Caramoor Opening Night

Caramoor International Music Festival opens its seven-week 2007 summer festival at 8:30 p.m. in the Venetian Theater. Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor Peter Oundjian leads the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and pianist Hélène Grimaud in Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83.  The program also includes Rossini’s Overture to Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Kodály’s Dances of Galánta. The 62nd season opening celebrates the conductor and his decade of artistic leadership.

Call 232-1252 or visit www.caramoor.org.

JUNE 24

Forward and Back at the Bruce

In conjunction with its new exhibit, “The Bruce Museum — A History of Change,” the museum will present a “Museum Director’s Panel Discussion” at 3 p.m. Current and former directors Peter C. Sutton, Homer McK Rees, Hollister Sturges, III, and John B. Clark will discuss the past, present and future of the Bruce.

The exhibit, which runs through Aug. 19, highlights the museum's nearly 100-year-old history and joins in the celebration of the recent publication of the Greenwich Library Oral History Project.

Call 203-869-0376, or visit www.brucemuseum.org.