Town Column : Chilmark
By Jacqueline Sexton
Published: July 10, 2008
What energy crisis? Traffic jams and no-parking complaints dominated conversation all over the Island during the long, soggy July Fourth weekend. All the shops and eateries in Menemsha were teeming with vacationers, both in and out of cars. The library and the community center were packed with filmgoers and arts enthusiasts. As for the weather, the rain was welcome, but we could have done without all the heavy humidity.
Our sympathies go out to the family of Barbara Green, who passed away a week ago after a long illness. I remember her from the days when she volunteered in the library, when Dorothy McGuiness, Gladys Flanders, and Kathy Norton ran it. She always enjoyed taking part in local events and was a dedicated gardener. Condolences to her children - Bill, Margaret, Chuck, and Ted, and their families. She will be fondly remembered.
Congratulations to our Island performing arts star, Katie Ann Mayhew, who won the Boston Pops sing-off last week and soloed at the Pops July Fourth celebrations. Her poise, her stage presence, and, yes, her voice captivated everyone who heard her.
Tyler Shipway, son of Sarah and Charlie Shipway, spent a lot of last week celebrating his fourth birthday. On Thursday, his actual birthday, his grandparents, Ted and Judy Mayhew took him to Southwick Zoo in Mendon, the largest zoo in New England. On Sunday his mother's cousin, Terri Shawver and her daughters, Cassie and Hannah, brought Screech and friends to entertain Tyler and his friends at a birthday party at his Chilmark home.
Terri is an award-winning ventriloquist from Bedford, New Hampshire. One of her puppets, Grandpa Elliot, is a take-off on her late grandfather, Elliot Mayhew, whom many of us remember.
Bill and Julie Coleman are here with their daughter Chandra and her 14-month-old son, Luke. Julie is the organizer and leader of the popular women's walking tours. The next walking date is Thursday, July 17, at 9:30 am, at Peaked Hill Preserve. Everyone is welcome. Be sure to bring mosquito repellent and wear long pants and socks against ticks. For details, please call Julie at 508-645-2261.
Wendy Weldon will be showing her acrylics on canvas, "Mostly Barns" at the Shaw Cramer Gallery in Vineyard Haven with an artist's reception tomorrow, July 11 from 6 to 8 pm.
John Wightman is having his annual show at The Bank of Martha's Vineyard with a reception this Saturday, July 18, from 4 to 8 pm. He is showing color and black-and-white photographs and giclée prints. New this year is a Gladys Widdiss clay bead incorporated into the mat of photos signed by Ms. Widdiss.
Carol Brown Goldberg of Washington, D. C., and Menemsha will give a slide show and artist's talk at the library on Wednesday, July 16, at 5:30 pm. Ms. Goldberg has exhibited her work throughout the United States, Europe, and Russia. She is currently working on a sculpture project in Medina de Campo, Spain. The event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library; there is no admission charge. Everyone is welcome.
Ted Meinelt's cover for the community center program book is another in his longtime series of covers for the book. This year, it's a hungry, plaintive gull voicing his demands called "Chilmark Calling." There is so much going on at the community center, it's difficult to keep up with it all. And the latest is a series of talks by journalists on, for heaven's sake, journalism! Chris Wallace of Fox News will lead off tonight. Chris is the son of Vineyard Haven resident Mike Wallace of "60 Minutes."
The center's summer program committee is putting on a BBQ and the annual Joel Noe barn dance tomorrow, July 11. Next Tuesday, July 15, the Martha's Vineyard Chamber Music Society will host a performance with a reception following.
Best-selling mystery writer Linda Fairstein of New York and Menemsha will talk about her newest book, "Killer Heat," at the library, Thursday, July 16, 5 to 6 pm. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library, there is no admission charge, and everyone is welcome.
It's fund-raising season, and Margaret Penicaud's Martha's Vineyard Fish Farm for Haiti project is off and running with a double-header. A tennis tournament, all ages, all levels, is planned for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, July 17,18, and 19 at the Martha's Vineyard Resort (formerly the Jack E. Robinson Racquet Club) at 111 New York Ave., Oak Bluffs. Entry fee is $50 per player. On Saturday, for the sixth year, art and sculpture by Haitians will be on sale. Wine, music, and a silent auction. Entrance donation is $15. All proceeds go to the project, which has succeeded in establishing six tilapia ponds, a two-story schoolhouse, living quarters, a well, vegetable gardens, and a new women's quilt-making industry in a town on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Haiti has been called the poorest country in the hemisphere. For more information, call Mr. Penicaud at 508-693-0368.
Jen Morgan announces more dog days' entertainment for a worthy cause on Monday, July 14, at Balance. Ben Taylor and David Saw will perform to benefit the MSPCA. Tickets are $100 for dinner and a show. Doors open at 6 pm for cocktails and dinner at 7. For reservations or details, call Balance at 508-696-3000, or the MSPCA at 508-627-8662.
Lia Kahler will have a concert tonight at 7:30 pm at the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown to raise money to fight hunger here at home. There will be a silent auction of numerous outings and items, including limited-edition prints of Cape Pogue Light donated by Jules Worthington.
The summer book discussion group will meet at the library on Monday, July 21 at 4 pm to discuss "The Gathering" by Anne Enright, which won the Mann Booker award for Best British Fiction in 2007. Refreshments will be served.
