The drive on Route 27 heading east, past East Hampton, past Amagansett, and into Montauk, certainly feels long, but the extra distance instantly pays off as you realize the air seems easier to breathe. The pace is noticeably slower, calmer, and provides the perfect backdrop for the new hotel and restaurant on Fort Pond, The Surf Lodge, owned by Jamie Mulholland, designed by Rob McKinley and managed by Summer Strauch, from MCM Hospitality, the group behind such hotspots as CAIN and GoldBar in NYC and the Bahamas. Opening weekend festivities at the Surf Lodge proved that the Lodge is more than a hotel, and will serve as a unique and desirable evening destination all summer long.
There is only one event you need to know about and attend this Saturday evening, June 28 - the first-ever Denim and Diamonds Gala at the Diamond Ranch in Water Mill, to benefit the American Cancer Society.
Here is why..
Alec Baldwin Half-Assed and Whole Hearted.
Calm down. When I refer to Alec Baldwin as half-assed, I am using the phrase literally. I am actually referring to half his ass, which was recently resting on a white wood chair at the 6th Annual Authors Night at the East Hampton Library. Baldwin is the event founding chairman and joined a select group of talented authors, who were organized by the Authors Committee Chair Barbara Goldsmith, and included Arlene Alda, Bryan Batt, Lorenzo Carcaterra, Laura Day, Paul Goldberger, Brad Gooch, Hilary Thayer Hamann, Jane Stanton Hitchcock, A.M. Homes, Sam Lipsyte, Kati Marton, Taylor Plimpton, Adam Ross, Gail Sheehy, Lewis Gross, Helen Simonson, Annemarie Iverson, Dava Sobel, Janice Spindel, Beth Ostrosky Stern, Katie Lee, Jill Martin, Jill Zarin, Alex McCord, Simon van Kempen, our very own Dan Rattiner, Victor Friedman, Jasmine Rosemberg and many more.
In May of 2002, I met "the Hamptons' most prolific Boswell," Dan Rattiner, at the Amagansett Farmers Market and agreed to write this seasonal weekly column, "Whispers." I can't believe that was nine years ago. Yet, in comparison, that is just a miniscule block of time considering the "Paper's" 50 years in existence. Despite the recent economic setbacks, the "Dan's" brand is alive and well, and the community that the paper has loyally served for decades recently came out to celebrate Dan's 50th Anniversary Celebration: 50 Years, 50 Artists at 230 Elm in Southampton.