Sag Harbor will hold a gathering Tuesday in the aftermath of fire

A “Candlelight Gathering” will be held Tuesday in Sag Harbor Village to honor the community and help it look forward following last week’s fire that destroyed Main Street businesses including the landmark Sag Harbor Cinema built in the 1930s.

There were no injuries and the origin and cause of the blaze has not been determined.

Tuesday’s event will be held at 4:30 p.m. at the site of the Christmas tree on the Long Wharf Village Pier at the intersection of Wharf Street and Bay Street. The event is meant to be something “positive” for the community to take part in and to look ahead to a new year, according to Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce President Lisa Field.

Field said the idea for the gathering came from Sister Ann Marino, director of Sag Harbor’s Cormaria Retreat, who she said wanted to do something to give people shocked by the tragedy a place to go and express their feelings.

Marino was unavailable for comment.

“We didn’t want to call it a candlelight vigil because of the implication of sadness; we wanted the community to get together as a positive thing – to show our gratitude for what we have,” Field explained. “There were lost buildings and businesses and people lost their homes but there were no lives lost and we’re grateful to the firemen and grateful to the community.”

Field said the gathering will give people a place to go who want to express their thanks, and a place for people to go who don’t know what to do with their feelings about the devastating blaze.

Mayor Sandra Schroeder said earlier this week that holiday shoppers and others were getting out and about downtown and that the village was “resilient.”

“We don’t know what to expect,” Field said when asked what was planned for the event. “So many people just don’t know what to say or where to say it. It’ll depend on how the group feels. If people want to pray, we’ll pray. If people want to be silent, we’ll be silent. If people feel like singing, we’ll sing.”

Everyone from within and outside the village community will be welcome, Field said. She added, “We’d love to have a good turnout and look forward to 2017 with hope.”