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In Hamptons Happenings

Why Art & Soul Hamptons Works

In Hamptons Happenings 9 Mins Read
Photo: Kurt. H. Leggard

Why Art & Soul Hamptons draws visitors to Southampton for a full weekend of Black art, culture, community and the Hamptons experience.

The Hamptons summer calendar is packed with galas, openings, dinners, concerts and parties, but Art & Soul Hamptons continues to find a way to stand out. 2025 was incredible, and founder Yaya Reyes continues to give us something different every year. For 2026, she did it again. While most Hamptons events last a few hours, Art & Soul invites you to experience something more. You arrive, but you do not simply mingle, take a few pictures and go home. Art & Soul Hamptons asks you to stay.

Photo: Kurt H. Leggard

That may be one of the reasons Art & Soul Hamptons continues to resonate with people who are willing to travel from across the country for an entire weekend in Southampton. Founder Yaya Reyes created a curated Hamptons experience where art, food, history, music, film, wellness and community unfold over three days. She also intentionally caps the guest list, giving attendees enough space and time to fully experience what has been planned.

We have become accustomed to events being measured by how many people can fit into a room. Art & Soul Hamptons takes a different approach. Limiting attendance changes the experience. You begin recognizing people you met the night before. A quick introduction on Friday may turn into a longer conversation on Saturday. By Sunday, you could find yourself having brunch with someone who was a complete stranger when the weekend started.

Photo: Kurt H. Leggard

The word “curated” is important when describing Art & Soul Hamptons. The festival is not simply curating art. It is curating an experience. This year’s festival moved guests throughout Southampton, including the Southampton Arts Center, Southampton African American Museum, Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation, 75 Main and Southampton Inn. Each stop offered something different while remaining connected to the larger weekend.

Come for the Weekend, Not Just the Party

Friday night could easily stand on its own as a great summer event, but that would miss the point. Come for the weekend, not just the party. The experience is designed to unfold over three days, giving guests a reason to stay in Southampton, explore the community and experience more of what the Hamptons has to offer.

Photo: Kurt. H. Leggard

Opening night at the newly reimagined Southampton Arts Center set the tone for Art & Soul Hamptons. The outdoor grounds created a relaxed atmosphere where guests could move around, experience ARTBOii’s exhibition, enjoy food and drinks, listen to music and actually have conversations.

The culinary tasting was definitely a highlight, featuring Chef Cheryl Grigg, Chef Sakari Smithwick, Chef Leighton Murdock, Chef Doug Gee and the Long Island Shucking Truck. I had a few favorites. The pulled pork and grits were delicious, the tacos from Armona Culinary were another standout, and Chef Doug Gee’s carrot cake was memorable.

The experience continued with a Wine Stylings tasting presented by certified sommelier, wine educator and author Charles Springfield, assisted by Lea Williams of Let’s Talk Wine. New England Sweetwater sponsored the sipping experience. Wellness and beverage activations included a juice bar from The Nourish Spot, a Bloody Mary Mix Bar from K Bloody Mary Mix, non-dairy Thai iced tea from PAIJA Tea Co. and a seamoss bar from Love You More Seamoss.

photo Kurt H. Leggard

Music also helped set the mood. Flutist Dwayne Kerr performed live, while Kurt Leggard photographed the red carpet experience. Guests later gathered for a screening of Crossroads, followed by a film talkback. The evening shifted back to music with Hamptons local favorite Rum Punch Mafia.

photo: Kurt H. Leggard

Even the swag bags became part of the Art & Soul Hamptons experience. There was a lot happening throughout the night, but it never felt like too much. Guests could explore at their own pace, stop for a conversation and decide what they wanted to experience next. That balance is exactly what made opening night work.

Hamptons Gift bags, Photo Kurt H. Leggard

Nothing Was Stopping This Party

Saturday gave Art & Soul Hamptons a completely different challenge. It rained all day, and plans had to change. Anyone who attends or produces summer events in the Hamptons knows that weather can quickly change everything. The rain changed the logistics, but nothing was stopping this party. The pivot actually led to one of my favorite experiences of the weekend.

photo: Kurt H. Leggard

Saturday evening brought Art & Soul Hamptons inside the Southampton African American Museum, where we experienced artist Damien Davis’ exhibition, Hedges and Edges. Davis took us into the history and cultural importance of the Black barbershop, not simply as a place to get a haircut, but as a place where people gathered, exchanged information, talked politics, built relationships and found community. The location made the experience even more powerful because the Southampton African American Museum occupies a building that was once a Black barbershop.

Photo: Kurt H. Leggard

Black Culture Is Already Part of Hamptons History

Before viewing Davis’ work, guests heard Brenda Simmons, co-founder of the Southampton African American Museum, share stories about Black families and businesses that helped shape the East End. She spoke about families who came from North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia for work and opportunity. They worked on farms and in local industries, opened businesses, raised families and created communities.

Photo: Kurt H. Leggard

Brenda also shared the story of her father, Noah T. Simmons, and the Cottage Inn in East Hampton. Her family history opened another window into the Black social and entertainment scene that existed here decades ago. Hearing those stories before seeing Davis’ work gave the exhibition even more meaning and reinforced something that Art & Soul Hamptons illustrates so well. Black culture is not being brought to the Hamptons as though it has never existed here. Black culture is already part of Hamptons history.

Photo: Kurt H. Leggard

They Are Purchasing an Experience

People traveled from New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Atlanta, Florida, Seattle and other parts of the country for Art & Soul Hamptons this year. They are not simply purchasing admission to an event. They are purchasing an experience. For someone visiting the Hamptons for the first time, Art & Soul offers an entry point that looks different from the version of the Hamptons often seen on television or social media.

  • The Hamptons lifestyle, with beautiful spaces, great food, cocktails, music and summer parties.
  • The Shinnecock Indian Reservation, through a private visit to Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio.
  • The Southampton African American Museum, connecting visitors to Black history on the East End.
  • Black artists and entrepreneurs, whose work and businesses are intentionally centered throughout the weekend.
  • Local history, including stories that many visitors, and even some residents, may not know.
  • Real conversations and connections, made possible by a smaller, intentionally capped guest list.
  • Community, which ultimately ties the entire Art & Soul Hamptons weekend together.

The vendors, sponsors and gift bags were also part of the Art & Soul Hamptons experience. Throughout the weekend, guests were introduced to businesses across food, wine, spirits, beauty, wellness and lifestyle, including New England Sweetwater, The Nourish Spot, PAIJA Tea Co., Love You More Seamoss and K Bloody Mary Mix. The VIP gift bags extended that experience beyond the weekend with products from brands including Miss Jessie’s, Stanley 1913 x NEST, Tea Forté, Cambridge Chemists, Purpose Jewelry, Brownkind, Bespoke Flowers and many others.

What I appreciated was that these partnerships did not feel separate from the event. They were incorporated into the Art & Soul Hamptons experience, giving attendees an opportunity to discover new products and businesses while giving participating brands direct access to an engaged audience. That is another part of the curation that works. You leave with more than a gift bag. You leave having discovered businesses, artists, food and experiences that you may continue supporting long after the weekend is over.

That combination gives Art & Soul Hamptons visitors a fuller picture of Southampton. Guests are also staying in hotels, eating in restaurants, visiting local businesses and spending several days discovering the East End. The cultural experience becomes an economic one as well, something Southampton African American Museum co-founder Brenda Simmons has also highlighted when discussing the festival’s impact on the village.

A Different Kind of Luxury

Art & Soul Hamptons also made me think about what luxury really means. In the Hamptons, luxury is often associated with exclusivity. Maybe luxury is also having enough space to enjoy where you are, meeting an artist and having time to hear the story behind the work, sitting down for brunch with people you met the night before, or spending three days discovering a community instead of racing from one event to another.

The capped guest list is an important part of the experience. There is a difference between being exclusive simply for the sake of exclusivity and intentionally limiting attendance so people can participate. Yaya has created an environment where guests are not simply standing in a crowd watching an experience happen around them. They become part of it.

By Sunday, Something Has Changed

A three-day Art & Soul Hamptons experience creates something a single event cannot. It creates time. Friday is about meeting people. Saturday gives you an opportunity to reconnect. By Sunday, relationships have started to form. The weekend concluded with the Bubble & Bloom Brunch benefiting the Southampton African American Museum, bringing the experience back to culture, history and community.

Five years into Art & Soul Hamptons, Yaya Reyes seems to understand what many people are looking for when they travel. They still want beautiful spaces, great food, music and fun, but they also want experiences that feel worth their time. They want to discover something, meet people, learn something and leave with stories they can take home.

That is why Art & Soul Hamptons works. It gives people a reason to come to the Hamptons for more than a party. It invites them to stay for the weekend, experience Southampton, discover Black history, support artists and businesses, make connections and enjoy themselves along the way.

Art & Soul Hamptons is not simply selling an event. It is curating a Hamptons experience that people want to come back to.

Real Talk. Real People. Real Experiences.

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In affordable housing

Who Will Do the Laundry? Fixing the Hamptons Housing Crisis

In affordable housing 4 Mins Read

Real Talk on Housing the Hamptons

The Hamptons is beautiful, but beneath the sunsets and sailboats, the East End is struggling with a housing crisis that affects everyone. This isn’t about traffic or celebrity real estate. It’s about where the people who keep this community alive can afford to live. Teachers, doctors, nurses, hospitality staff, and tradespeople are driving two hours each way just to make the Hamptons work. That is not sustainable, and it is not fair.

The Real Talk: You Can’t Build a Community Without People

If you live or work anywhere from Westhampton to Montauk, you can see the imbalance and a real housing crisis. Homes worth millions sit empty most of the year while workers struggle to find a one-bedroom apartment they can afford. A healthy community needs all kinds of people, not just those who can afford luxury real estate. The Hamptons runs on real people with real jobs, and we need real solutions to keep them here.

How Did We Get Here?

Rents across the East End have soared, with $3,000 to $6,000 a month now considered normal. The average worker earns $50,000 to $70,000 a year, which makes those rents impossible. Add in bridge closures, construction, and traffic, and workers spend more time commuting than being home with their families. We can and must do better.

The Good News: We Can Fix This Together

Here’s how we start making housing work for everyone on the East End.

  • Build smarter, not just bigger. Support mixed-income developments and creative reuse projects. Convert unused buildings, vacant motels, or municipal spaces into year-round workforce housing. This keeps local character and creates attainable homes faster.
  • Empower local housing authorities like TSHA. The Town of Southampton Housing Authority is showing that real progress is possible with projects like Watermill Crossing and Sandy Hollow Cove. Let’s expand those models across every East End town with public-private partnerships.
  • Incentivize landlords to accept housing vouchers. Create tax incentives and grants for property owners who rent to potential tenants using HUD or Section 8 vouchers. This opens doors for working families and helps stabilize neighborhoods with reliable, long-term residents.
  • Encourage homeowners to build accessory dwellings. Offer financial assistance, reduced permit fees, or tax rebates to homeowners who create small rental units on their property for essential workers such as teachers, doctors, nurses, hospitality, retail, and trade employees. These accessory dwellings help fill the desperate housing gap while giving homeowners a steady income stream.
  • Incentivize year-round rentals. Offer property tax credits or local grants for landlords who rent year-round instead of seasonally. This builds stability for tenants and ensures that local businesses can count on a consistent workforce.
  • Improve transportation and access. Reliable, year-round public transit and carpool programs can reduce commute times, cut costs, and improve quality of life for workers traveling from outside towns.
  • Change the narrative. Affordable housing does not lower property values. It raises community values by keeping neighborhoods diverse, strong, and thriving.

It’s Time to Stop Pretending and Start Partnering

Everyone says they support affordable housing until it is time to approve a project near them. Real talk: that has to change. The East End needs collaboration between towns, nonprofits, builders, and residents to turn words into action. When we all work together, we can create housing that reflects our values and supports the people who make this community work.

Imagine This

Imagine a Hamptons where teachers live near their schools, nurses have apartments close to the hospitals where they work, and restaurant staff can afford a place nearby instead of sleeping in their cars. Imagine seniors being able to downsize locally and young professionals buying their first home without leaving the area. That is not a dream. It is entirely possible if we start treating housing as a community priority, not a luxury commodity.

So, Who Will Do the Laundry?

We all will, together. Because this is not about charity. It is about community. When people can live where they work, they invest, they participate, and they stay. That is how you keep a community alive. The Hamptons does not have to lose its heart to wealth. It just needs to remember its people.

Real Talk. Real People. Real Solutions. The East End can do this if we choose to.

Ways to Take Action

  • Support local workforce housing projects from TSHA, CDC of Long Island, and other organizations.
  • Attend zoning and planning meetings and make your voice heard.
  • Encourage your town board to fund incentives for landlords who accept vouchers and homeowners who build accessory dwellings.
  • Volunteer or donate to Sag Harbor Food Pantry or Sag Harbor Helpers.

If you love the Hamptons, fight for the people who make it home. Real talk, real people



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In Eats

Who has The Hamptons Best Pizza?

In Eats 3 Mins Read

Hamptons Best Pizza (2025 update). It’s the ultimate comfort food, the go-to for gatherings, beach nights, and casual Friday dinners. But let’s be honest, everyone has strong opinions about what makes the perfect slice. For some, it’s all about the crust. Others swear by the sauce. And for cheese lovers? Well, cheese is life.

As for me? I need the trifecta: crust, sauce, and cheese in perfect balance. I lean toward a crisp, thin crust—it lets the toppings shine without being overwhelmed by dough. I’m not a fan of overloaded tomato sauce (you know the kind that makes the cheese slip off with every bite). Toppings? I love it all fresh basil and mozzarella, pepperoni with a little char, sausage and peppers, mushrooms… you name it. Hamptons Best Pizza

Now the question everyone asks me:
Who has The Hamptons Best Pizza in 2025?

While some old-school pizza lovers still argue that nothing compares to a slice from Queens or Manhattan (and yes, my husband still mourns the legendary Gloria’s Pizza in Flushing), I think we’ve got some real contenders right here on the East End. From family-run joints to wood-fired ovens and elevated gourmet pies, the Hamptons has serious pizza game.

This Hamptons Best Pizza list is curated based on personal visits, recommendations from locals, and buzz from social media, Yelp, and Google. My criteria? Traditional New York–style pizza, flavor-packed crust, balanced sauce, quality cheese, fresh toppings—and of course, taste.

FIni Pizza, located in Amagansett, NY

Hamptons Mouthpiece Picks for Best Pizza (2025 Edition)

  1. Fini Pizza – Amagansett
    Thin Crust perfection. I’m in love with the White Cheese pie with lemon zest and hot honey on the side. Yum! It is a bit expensive, I paid $39 for this pie, but it was worth it.
  2. Slice – Shelter Island
    Worth the trip across the water. Creative toppings, fresh ingredients, and a laid-back island feel.
  3. La Capannina – Wainscott
    Perfectly crisp crust, simple flavors, and fast service. Grab a pie and head to the beach.
  4. La Parmigiana – Southampton
    A Hamptons staple. Their traditional pies are hearty and satisfying every single time.
  5. Sam’s Restaurant – East Hampton
    Old-school Italian charm with consistently good pizza. Bonus: full Italian menu if you’re dining in.
  6. Francesca’s Restaurant & Pizzeria – Hampton Bays
    Reliable neighborhood favorite. Great for families and large orders.
  7. Tonino’s Pizza – Westhampton Beach
    Great for a casual slice or a full pie. Loved for their generous toppings and quick service.
  8. Springs Pizza – Springs
    This hidden gem has a loyal following. Try the white pie!

Real talk. I removed one spot because the second location just did not deliver like the original. Then they tried to convince me it was the same. It wasn’t. Same price, but the quality did not deserve to stay on this list. I’m always on the lookout to add more favorites, though.

Got a favorite that’s not on the list?

Email me at hamptonsmouthpiece@gmail.com with your suggestion for Hamptons Best Pizza. If I try it and love it, it might just make the next edition with a shoutout on all my social channels!

Because let’s be real—life’s too short for bad pizza. And in the Hamptons, we deserve the best. Real Talk, Real People

check out my other favorites :

BEST BREAKFAST IN THE HAMPTONS

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In Beach Information

Hamptons 2019 Beach Information

In Beach Information 3 Mins Read

Hamptons 2019 Beach Information- It’s that time of the year again to start thinking about summer vacations and Hamptons Mouthpiece is all about keeping you in the know. The Hamptons is a quick 1 day getaway from all areas in Connecticut, Westchester, NYC, LI(Nassau & Suffolk) and New Jersey. Renting in the Hamptons is an option that many people tend to do, it can be affordable you just need to do your homework to find those places. Remember when renting to always ask about a beach pass for many of the local beaches, the daily rates can add up and become expensive. If you are visiting for a day, there are some beaches where the fee is affordable but you might want to bring a couple of friends to share the expense.

If you would like to save on Parking Fees here are some suggestions:

  • Park outside of the beach Parking lot…Caution make sure you can park there legally, the tickets will cost you more than the daily beach pass and in the town of Southampton your car might be towed.
  • Biking to the beach is always an option and it is free
  • Go after 5pm when parking is free….NOTE*Lifeguard duty might be over
  • Hamptons Free Ride (Southampton and East Hampton)
  • Walk
  • Have someone drop you off

The Free Ride is an alternative to driving if you want to go to a beach in East Hampton, Montauk or Southampton. Service begins Memorial Day to Labor Day.

I asked my network for their opinions on the their favorite Beaches in the Hamptons…and I thought I would share the top 10 Favorites…These are all public beaches….For more information on these beaches SEE INFO LISTED BELOW*** Coopers Beach in Southampton and Main Beach in East Hampton made Town & Country Magazine 2019 once again “Top 15 Beaches on the East Coast”

Hamptons 2019 Beach Information

  1. Main Beach **East Hampton
  2. Coopers Beach**Southampton “Village Beach”
  3. Sagg Main**Sagaponack
  4. Ditch Plains**Amagansett/Montauk
  5. Wainscott Main**Wainscott
  6. Scott Cameron**Bridgehampton
  7. Indian Wells**Amagansett “Village Beach”
  8. Peters Pond Beach, Sagaponack
  9. Flying Point Beach, Watermill
  10. Mecox Beach, Bridgehampton?

Click on Links below: For 2019 Updated information on beaches in the Hamptons and beach passes.

Hamptons Mouthpiece, Hamptons Happenings
Photo credit: Photography by Kurt

SOUTHAMPTON TOWN BEACHES INFORMATION
SOUTHAMPTON VILLAGE BEACHES
WESTHAMPTON VILLAGE BEACHES   (2019 info to be posted soon )
EAST HAMPTON TOWN BEACHES INFORMATION
EAST HAMPTON VILLAGE BEACHES

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