This April, eat, drink, live and breathe the North Fork! From art auctions to concerts and a gourmet feast, there’s plenty to do as the weather warms up.
Join Grace & Grit for a special supper
Chef Adam Kaufer has curated a four-course menu for The Supper, a special event at Grace & Grit (55750 Main Road, Southold). The first course is a spring Caprese with asparagus, peas, burrata and mint; Soba noodles, seared scallops, dashi and scallions for the second course; choice of Osso Bucco with red wine demi and gremolata or Seared local fish with romesco sauce for the entree; and coconut panna cotta with pineapple caramel for dessert. Seating for this mouthwatering dinner event is extremely limited. Tickets are $125, buy them at ordergraceandgrit.com.
Meet a Long Island culinary legend
Long Island chef Tom Schaudel will give a free lecture at the Southold Town Recreation Department (970 Peconic Ln., Peconic). This free talk will cover Schaudel’s experiences using local ingredients and his history of running acclaimed kitchens on Long Island. Schaudel will also demonstrate his techniques that have made him so successful over the years. Find more information here.
See one million tulips burst into bloom
Okay, this is slightly off the North Fork but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the insanely colorful explosion that is the annual tulip festival at Waterdrinker Family Farm & Garden (663 Wading River Road, Manorville, 631-878-8653). The festival opens this month with breathtaking, vivid rows of tulips reminiscent of the Netherlands — right here on eastern Long Island. Visitors can stroll through the blooming fields, stopping along the way to pose with bicycles, windmills, clogs and other Dutch-inspired props. The farm also features activities for all ages, such as miniature golf, not-your-run-of-the-mill barnyard animals (think Nigerian dwarf goats, peacocks and Valais black-nose sheep) and fun wooden replicas of pirate ships, trucks and trains to explore. Be sure to visit the Long Island Farm Brewery next door, which typically brews up a Dutch Pilsner for the occasion. Stay tuned for details and an official opening date at water-drinker.com.
Find shades of pink everywhere
The annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Greenport is back at the end of this month. Walk through Greenport Village for the “Petal Tour,” as it transforms into a pink-and-white wonderland. Organized annually by AgroCouncil, this self-guided walking tour features numerous cherry blossom-inspired offerings and happenings at restaurants and businesses around town, as well as their annual 5K run. For more information, visit agrocouncil.org.
Snag a special one-of-a-kind piece of art
The retired church pews that once adorned the gathering hall at Southold’s Center for Advocacy, Support and Transformation (53930 Main Road, Southold) will soon get a refresh thanks to a partnership with North Fork Contemporary, a new nonprofit arts organization. Local artists, including Scott Bluedorn, Ellen Wexler, Verona Peñalba and others, have created beautiful works of art out of the pews and they will be auctioned to benefit CAST on April 13. Check them out at northforkcontemporary.org/auction-registration-form.
Run for kindness
Keep kindness alive at the first annual Kim’s Kindness 5K on April 13 from 8:30 to 11 a.m. at Mattituck High School (15125 Main Road, Mattituck). The race will not only raise funds for the Kim’s Kindness Foundation and the Kimberly Ann Be the Difference Memorial Scholarship Fund, but will also carry forward Kim Pawlowski’s legacy of spreading kindness and lending a helping hand to those in need. Registration is $30 for the 5K and half mile walk, and $10 for the kids’ fun run. Lace up
your sneakers and sign up at runsignup.com/Race/NY/Mattituck/KIMSKINDNESS5K.
Celebrate Earth Day with Slow Food East End
This event may be off the Fork, but it includes North Fork businesses and celebrates a special day. Slow Food East End’s annual Earth Day celebration on April 21 at 1 p.m. at St. Joseph Villa (81 Lynn Ave., Hampton Bays) will include food by Grace & Grit and Peconic Gold Oysters, music by Points East and educational demos for composting, seed sowing, cooking fish and more. Register for free here.
Walk with history
Walk in nature and learn a little something at Hallockville Museum Farm’s spring Walking History Tours. Beginning April 13, join historians Zach Studenroth and Richard Wines as they guide you through Hallockville’s pre-revolutionary Homestead Barn and its 1937 Naugles Barn. Throughout April, May and June, get the chance to see and hear history up close, and learn about historical farm equipment, native trees and plants as medicine. The tours are free for museum members and a pocket-easy $10 for nonmembers. Reserve your spot at hallockville.org/walkingtours.
Take in the Rites of Spring
The annual music festival, run by 2023 Northforker of the Year Paolo Bartolani, kicks off on April 14 at 4 p.m. with the Piano Marathon at the Jamesport Meeting House. Eight young musicians from Stony Brook University’s music program will tickle the ivories to the sounds of compositions by Joseph Haydn and Arnold Schoenberg. Tickets are $50 per person, and free for anyone under 25 years old. Reserve at ritesmusic.org.
Listen to the virtuosos of tomorrow
Perlman Music Program’s (73 Shore Road, Shelter Island Heights) Works in Progress concert will showcase the talents of PMP’s gifted young musicians on April 21 at 7 p.m. This concert is free! Visit perlmanmusicprogram.org for more.
