About Town: Weekend Events In and Around Rye

While Sept. 11 memorial events appropriately dominate the weekend goings on hereabouts, there’s also a number of other important events around town.

Friday

The Village of Rye Brook will hold a 9/11 memorial today sponsored by Rye Brook Seniors at the , 32 Garibaldi Place. The event begins at 12:45 p.m.

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Serve and Learn: Westchester Remembers 9/11 is a county-wide volunteer effort spearheaded by The Volunteer Center of the United Way. From 2-7 p.m. at the County Center in White Plains, NY, there will be on more than 100 non-profit agencies on-site recruiting volunteers. 

The Volunteer Center of United Way invites area residents to honor local 9/11 victims and heroes by engaging in service to help build a stronger community during the free call-to-action program.

The program is designed to engage people of all ages in a wide variety of one-time and ongoing volunteer opportunities involving hundreds of non-profits and corporations.

The goal is to make this tribute the largest in Westchester. Beyond matching volunteers and agencies, event will include numerous ways to help on spot, from a county blood and food drive to  a variety of hands-on opportunities.

Registration website: http://www.volunteer-center.org/volunteers/9_9volunteer.html

For more information, call The Volunteer Center at 914-948-4452 or e-mail Brenda Wilkins brenda@volunteer-center.org

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In order to increase awareness among staff and members about the Y’s new LIVESTRONG cancer survivor program, the issued free Y yellow LIVESTRONG T-shirts and wrist bands to staff to wear Friday, the first of several Friday “Wear Yellow to Work Days.”

The new free Y cancer survivor program includes group support, nutrition lectures, and a personalized work out program under specially trained instructors. Classes run Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:15 p.m. Program also includes free Y membership for seven weeks.

Y's pioneer program is staged in conjunction with national YMCA and Lance Armstrong Foundation, Armstrong being the cycling champion who is a cancer survivor who helped inspire the LIVESTRONG movement. Y is looking for more cancer support program participants.

Information: 967-6363.

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Saturday

There will be a public meeting on the Rye Town Dissolution Feasibility Study on Saturday, 10 a.m. at the Port Chester Community Center, 222 Grace Church St., Port Chester

Rye Town Supervisor Joe Carvin and PC Mayor Dennis Pilla will preside over public meeting so residents and taxpayers can learn about and provide feedback on a recently initiated study of the dissolution of  the Town of Rye and analysis of associated village governance and service alternatives.

Meeting will include a brief overview presentation by the non-profit Center for Government Research including a newly-launched project website (www.cgr.org/ryetown) that will be a key vehicle in facilitating public engagement as the study process unfolds.

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The first ever Slice of Rye Day features more than 40 stores, restaurants and organizations participating in 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. program designed to stimulate the downtown business district economy in and around Purchase St.

Slice offers discounts, services, surprises, more.

Here’s how Slice works: Would be participants buy $5 wrist band at Consignment Shop, 85 Purchase Street. Wrist band entitles buyer to goodies and specials at stores displaying Slice posters in their windows. Information: 921-1117.

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Sunday

Naturalists conduct Pond Discovery program at 2 p.m. at Rye’s . Participants are urged to wear old clothes so they can get down and dirty  with the frogs and the other smaller creatures within. Hand lenses provided. Information: 835-4466.

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The first of several Rye area 9/11 Memorial Ceremonies takes place at at 8 a.m. at the Pavilions at Oakland Beach.

American Legion Post 93 will assist with a wreath presentation along with a Rifle  Honor Guard and Bugler.

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A 9/11 Interfaith Memorial Service & Remembrance Ceremony will include prayers for a more peaceful future while remembering those who gave their lives during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and those who sacrificed themselves in the rescue and clean-up efforts; starting 4 p.m. at Lyon Park, Putnam Ave. and King St., Port Chester.

Names of family members, friends or acquaintances lost on 9/11 will be buried by a tree that will be planted in the park at the memorial service. Names should be placed in special boxes at one of the following locations: , and Port Chester Village Hall.

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Rye City 9/11 Commemorative Ceremony honoring residents who lost their lives at the World Trade Center starts at 3 p.m. at Locust Avenue Firehouse and proceeds to Memorial Gazebo on Village Green.

Program includes Pledge of Allegiance led by Rye Boy Scout Troop 2, a bagpiper tribute by Kevin Perry, a blessing by Fire Department Chaplain Andrea Raynor, and opening remarks by Mayor Douglas French.

Participants will then proceed to Memorial Gazebo on Village Green where Church of the Resurrection pastor Donald Dwyer will deliver an invocation.

Holly O’Neill-Melville, remarried widow of Sean O’Neill, will read the names of those from Rye who died with him in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center: Tommy Palazzo, George Morell, Teddy Maloney, Christopher Mello, Ward Haynes, Thomas Crotty, Benjamin Fisher, Yugi Goya, Takashi Kinoshita, Gary Kucheler, Francis McGuinn, Michael Simon and Allan Upton.

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Twilight at the Rising: 9/11 Ceremony, 6 p.m. at Kensico Plaza, Valhalla. The event is scheduled later in the day so those attending ceremonies elsewhere could still attend this county-wide event at the Rising Memorial whose architectural design was selected by, among others, Rye’s Rosellen O’Neill .