Town Column : Edgartown
Go Pats! Wow, it sure is a good year to be a sports fan from Massachusetts, isn't it? First the Red Sox won the World Series, now the Patriots are heading to the Super Bowl. The Celtics are doing great this season. It gives us all something to do in the gloom of winter. I'm not a huge fan of sports on television. I find it fairly boring, but even I have been tuning in this season. It's easy to catch the fever!
This morning marked the first annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Walk in Edgartown, as a handful of people braved the cold and gathered on the courthouse steps. The group walked quietly down Main Street to N. Summer Street to St. Andrews Church, where everyone observed the new plaque commemorating the African-American Heritage Trail and the creation of the Island chapter of the NAACP in, I believe, 1964, in response to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Inside St. Andrews the group watched footage of Dr. King's and other civil rights activists and enjoyed refreshments. It was a good start to an important new tradition. Sometimes it seems like kids get the day off from school but have no idea why. They view it as another day to play games or watch television and don't know the importance of figures like Dr. King. Hopefully this event will grow each year and inspire the same sort of social activism today. Without question, we've come a long way since the sixties, but I wouldn't say for sure that any of us have reached The Promised Land.
Saturday is the annual Chili Contest at the PA Club, sponsored by WMVY Radio. Grab your wallet and your spoons and come out and support the Red Stocking Fund and enjoy a great day. Really, we hand out spoons to everyone, but it is surprising how many people actually do bring their own spoons, many on chains around their necks. You can tell the experienced attendees from the newbies, that's for sure. It's wild. It's crazy. It's loud. It's delicious. And it is worth being part of at least once. I'll be there, working on behalf of the Red Stocking Fund, but enjoying the festivities just the same. I haven't worked out the details yet, but it's my hope to be able to raffle off a couple of Red Sox tickets for next season. No guarantees that I'll be able to pull that feat off, but here's hoping.
The Federated Church of Edgartown is sponsoring a spaghetti supper on Wednesday, Jan. 30, from 5 to 7 pm for the benefit of PeaceQuilts, a sister project of the Fish Farm for Haiti. There will be a quilt raffle, Haitian crafts, celebrity waiters, Fish Farm members. It should be a fun night! The cost is $7 for adults, $5 for children and $25 maximum for families.
Don't forget first Adult Round Robin Extravaganza on Feb. 8, 9 and 10 at Vineyard Youth Tennis! For details or to enroll, please call Vineyard Youth Tennis at 508-693-7762 or download your entry form at www.vineyardyouthtennis.org. All monies raised will benefit a scholarship program set up to send deserving youth of the Island to tennis academies in Florida.
The Martha's Vineyard Women's Network (MVWN) will host The Cure for Cabin Fever: Learn to Play Poker on Jan. 27 at The Wharf in Edgartown from 1 to 4 pm. Linda Gandel, Director of Owner Relations at the Harbor View Hotel & Resort will share her Texas Hold 'em poker skills. Admission is $15, no registration required.
MVWN is a professional businesswomen's network that provides continuing business education and networking opportunities for the purpose of promoting economic development on the Island.
The MVWN will also hold a breakfast meeting on Jan. 29 at the Baylies Room in the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown from 7 to 9 am. Jennifer W. Marlin and Margo Urbany-Joyce, both assistant financial planners with Ameriprise Financial, will address the concerns of women and their specific issues that may affect them in financial planning. Topics to be covered include setting financial goals, asset allocation and diversification and determining how much of a retirement fund is really needed. For information about becoming a member or a schedule of future MVWN events e-mail mvwomensnetwork@gmail.com or call 508-696-6344.
The Annual Martha's Vineyard 20-Miler will be held on Feb. 16. From highly competitive athletes looking for a test of their Boston readiness to dedicated recreational runners seeking to extend the length of their monthly long-run, the MV 20-miler offers the chance to combine a visit to one of the East Coast's most beautiful shore communities with a race on a fast, USATF-sanctioned course. Runners are encouraged to register early. The number of runners for this race is restricted to 500 maximum; it has sold out in years past. The race begins at 11 am at the Vineyard Haven Steamship Authority Terminal and course will officially close 4 hours later at the Oak Bluffs School. Due to the possibility of bad weather and the fact that volunteers are outside on the course, walkers are highly discouraged. Busses will be available for the return trip to the start and will transport equipment and guests to the finish area. Admission is $40 and includes tee-shirt and post-run refreshments.
That's all folks. Try to stay warm. Winter is flying by. Spring can't be far off, can it? I'm at least hoping for an early spring. I'm tired of being cold and gray, and I do mean me, not just the weather! One of these days I'll make good on my threat to move to the Caribbean! Have a great week.
