Last weekend was Septemberfest in Southampton Village, well attended and much enjoyed. Especially enjoyable was the music! I spent part of Saturday afternoon passing out schedule information in front of the Chamber of Commerce, and got to enjoy Nick Kerzner’s classic rock and original solo material. Friday’s kickoff party featured our old “Rhythm & Twang” favorites The Lone Sharks, and two other favorites were part of the line up on Saturday and Sunday: Mashup band New Life Crisis and smooth jazz Certain Moves. The chowder contest had run out of samples by 1:30 PM, with a closely contested victory declared for a Manhattan-style chowder from Paul’s Italian Restaurant (#6 for those of you who had mugs!). The Southampton Center opened with its first exhibition of Charles Addam’s work featuring his classic Addam’s Family cartoons, and the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers had created a display of all things Addams Family (look closely and you’ll see that Uncle Fester, on the left, has a glowing light bulb in his mouth) — brilliant!

Coming up beginning Thursday, October 10 and running through Monday, October 14, is the Hamptons International Film Festival. Now in its 21st year, The HIFF was founded to promote the vision of independent filmmakers from around the world. It’s always a star-studded occasion, drawing local film actors and directors such as Stephen Spielberg, Alec Baldwin, Mercedes Ruehl, Martin Scorcese and Renee Zellwegger, as well as those from Hollywood and abroad. While most of the venues are in East Hampton, there are two screens in Southampton’s theatre, as well as Sag Harbor’s one. Coolest thing: One of the featured films, Louder Than Words, is inspired by a true story that one of our repeat guests was a part of. They will be staying with us again, and are eager to see how the movie turns out (and see the actor who plays him)!

A big draw on the East End in autumn is agri-tourism; our pumpkin farms, corn mazes, wineries and farmstands are all in high gear. Particularly busy over on the South Fork is Hank’s Pumpkintown, located on Montauk Highway in Water Mill, right across the street from Duckwalk Vineyards.  Hank’s keeps getting bigger and better each year, with pumpkins, slides and all manner of climb-aboard things for the kids, as well as food, apples, and much more. If you’re visiting us and aren’t planning on sampling either, let us know so we can route you around the traffic!

I’m recovering from foot surgery, so will miss out on the corn maze this year, and miss seeing our guests in the next week or so until I’m cleared for takeoff. Chris is running the Manor with the help of Kristen and Deb while I’m off my feet, so you know you’re in good hands!