South O' the Highway (and the North too)

The annual Feast for Remembrance at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton brought out a huge crowd for the students' pre-Thanksgiving Day celebration. Following tributes by students, alumni, parents and faculty and a Capoeira performance organized by Arjun Achuthan, some 200 folks sat down to a multicultural feast featuring dishes indigenous to the participating families. Dishing up the turkey and trimmings were Mercedes Ruehl and husband David Geiser, Susan Ringo, Anna Throne Holst, Donna Imbarrato, Jon Snow, Brenda Siemer, Elizabeth Thunderbird Haile, Toni Ross, Lukas Weinstein and scores more.

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One of this year's 32 high-achieving, intelligent Rhodes Scholars is a Ross School graduate from Amagansett - Laurel Gabler. A recent Stanford graduate, Gabler interrupted her internship at a Thai hospital to receive the accolade after an extensive interview process, and she will begin her all-expense-paid studies at Oxford University in England in the fall of 2008, working towards a Masters Degree in Global Health Sciences. The former East Ender hopes to one day open a clinic in a developing country.

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Filming in Manhattan doesn't come cheap - not even for the high-profile, super secret upcoming Sex & The City movie. The highly anticipated film starring Amagansett's own Sarah Jessica Parker has allegedly been paying one hundred grand a day to shoot in beautiful Bryant Park, but it will all be worth it to conclude Carrie's romantic fate.

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Expecting Southampton mothers can now expect the finest facilities. On Wednesday, November 28, Southampton Hospital is holding a grand opening for its Kathleen D. Allen Maternity Center, a new wing complete with 13 single rooms equipped with private baths. The rooms are said to resemble hotel facilities rather than hospitals, with comfortable chairs, wooden cabinetry and renovated nurseries. The opening marks the completion of the first phase of a $5-million ground (and water) breaking maternity construction and renovation project, funded by private donations from the community.

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Longtime friends and Westhampton Beach residents Jonny Kuritsky, Dan Cohen, Michael O'Rourke and Mark Schindler rode their bikes more than 300 miles across Israel as part of Wheels of Love, a bike tour which raises money for the ALYN Children's Hospital, a non-denominational, nonprofit hospital in Jerusalem. Wheels of Love raised $3 million for the hospital this year alone. The event, which has been held for eight years, started with just nine people back in 2000.

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Hollywood's latest pals are longtime Hamptons residents Ralph Lauren and Jerry Seinfeld. The comedian and Bee Movie star recently said he's embraced the iconic fashion designer's life philosophy - "just keep it simple."

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Sila Calderone, the glamorous former governor of Puerto Rico, has become a trustee of the New York Public Library. Ms. Calderone toasted her new position at a dinner held in the Park Avenue apartment of Citibank executive Valentin Hernandez, where Hamptonite and socialite Denise Rich congratulated Calderone before yachting off to St. Bart, keeping it classy.

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The 3rd Annual Nick Monte Lifetime Community Leadership Award will be presented to Dan Rattiner of Dan's Papers for his community leadership throughout the Hamptons at Gurney's Inn on Saturday, December 1 at 5 p.m. For more information call Ingrid Lemme at (631) 668-1737.

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Sag Harbor resident Joann Ferrara was featured in two segments on the Today Show last week with her Dancing Dreams ballerinas. Her book, Ballerina Dreams, about her dance program for young girls with muscle disorders, is in bookstores now and Joann will be signing books at the Ross School Book Fair on December 8.

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Dr. Alexander Covey, director of East End Laser Care, has received congratulations from friends and colleagues for having been selected by the Castle Connolly Guide 2007 as one of the Top Doctors in New York, based on an extensive survey of over 12,000 doctors and hospital leaders. This is the fifth consecutive year he has received this prestigious award. Dr. Covey specializes in cosmetic and laser surgery with offices located in Southampton, Center Moriches and Manhattan.

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Lewis Lapham, editor of Harper's Magazine until 2006, just launched a new publication for the literati and intelligentsia, called Lapham's Quarterly. Subscriptions are available at www.LaphamsQuarterly.org for those interested in alternate takes on history and current events.

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