A&E digest

Four-day Warwick Valley Jazz Festival opens Thursday, Aug. 18, on Railroad Ave. Warwick — A four-day movable feast of jazz will begin Thursday, Aug. 18, as the second annual Warwick Valley Jazz Festival kicks off at 5 p.m. on Railroad Avenue, with shows until 11 p.m. On Friday evening, Aug. 19, jazz will be played at The Dautaj. On Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m., it can be heard at Utopian Direction Books and Art on the Railroad Green at 6:30 p.m., then it will head over to Coquito at 9 p.m. The Sunday Aug. 21, schedule is as follows: a jazz brunch as 11 a.m. at Coquito; outdoors in Railroad Avenue Courtyard at 1 p.m.; at Warwick Grove at 2 p.m.; back tot hr Railroad Avenue Courtyard at 4 p.m.; with a grand finale at The Dautaj at 7 p.m. Most shows are free. For more information, call 917-903-4380 or visit www.warwickvalleyjazzfest.com. Community Blood Services and the Renaissance Faire partner to save lives Sterling Forest — Blood donors in the region have several opportunities to get two complimentary tickets to the New York Renaissance Faire as a thank-you for being a lifesaving blood donor. Donors can get their tickets when they donate at the Warwick Valley Middle School, 225 West St., Warwick, on Thursday, Aug. 18, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; at Community Blood Service’s donor center at 575 Hudson Valley Ave., Suite 206, New Windsor, on Aug. 20 and 27 from 8 a.m.-noon; or at St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, Laurel Avenue, Cornwall, on Aug. 22 from 4-7 p.m. To schedule an appointment to donate, call 866-228-1500 or visit www.communitybloodservices.com to schedule online. Walk-ins are welcome but an appointment is recommended. Community Blood Services needs to collect 250 pints of blood each day to meet the transfusion needs of patients at the more than 25 hospitals it serves in New Jersey and New York. Karen Ferriday, director of community affairs at Community Blood Services, said all blood types are urgently needed to treat trauma victims, especially O negative, A negative and B negative, as well as AB male plasma. The New York Renaissance Faire is open rain or shine, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays (including Labor Day), through Sept. 25. Visit www.renfair.com for discount tickets and event details. Children under 5 are always free.