Calendar Shorts
Festival of lights
The Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center will hold a Hanukah celebration on Friday at 5:30 pm. The event will include a Shabbat celebration, latkes, Sufganiot, and gelts. Attendees are asked to bring a salad and non-perishable food for the Island Food Pantry. For more information, call 508-693-0745.
Celebrating John Morelli
Come to the Chilmark Community Center to celebrate the life of John Morelli, the beloved high school English teacher who died just over a year ago after a long battle with cancer. From 5 to 8 pm, the potluck dinner will be an opportunity to hear and share stories and memories with others who were touched by this inspiring individual. Bring a memory, a piece of writing, a song, or a poem. All are invited.
Staged reading: "Julius Caesar"
At 7 pm on Saturday, Dec. 27, and Sunday, Dec. 28, the Vineyard Playhouse will present "Julius Caesar," part of its series, Shakespeare for the Masses. The staged reading, organized and edited by Nicole Galland and Chelsea McCarthy, is free. For more information, call the box office at 508-693-6300, or visit vineyardplayhouse.org.
African feast
The Come Unity Feast, an African-themed festival held at the Chilmark Community Center last Saturday, included music, food by the Scottish Bakehouse, non-profit booths, and a film screening. Attendees gathered in a circle to learn and sing African songs led by Roberta Kirn, and Chappaquiddick resident Sidney Morris presented a slideshow of a road trip he took across the continent in the 1970s. Part fundraiser and part awareness raiser, the event helped raise money for Aquinnah resident Indaia Whitcomb's year of volunteer work with WorldTeach in Namibia.
Photos by Susan Safford
Making it up as they go
As part of their in-school programs, IMP Improv for Kids has been working with students (K-5) at the Chilmark School since September, incorporating classroom learning into improv and story theater games. On Thursday, Dec. 18, the school presented their work in the performance of three short plays: "Drop Around the World," which explores the water cycle; "Jean and Jeanette," the French version of "Hansel and Gretel;" and "Rooster's Off To See the World," a play based on the children's book by Eric Carle. The plays were performed in the style of story theater, wherein the students, provided with the story structures and roles, invented their own dialogue and interpretations. To learn more about IMP Improv for Kids, visit imp4kids.com.
Photos by Lynn Christoffers
Education expands
ACE MV, the adult and community education program, announces its winter session catalog. From January 12 to February 13, 37 classes are being offered, from Bioethics and Geology to Belly Dancing and Blogging. Three new class categories have been added: Island Living/Home and Garden, Parenting and Education, and Health/Fitness, and Self-Help. For complete information, visit acemv.org. Registration can be done online or at the high school on January 6 and 7 from 5 to 7 pm. Call 508-693-1033 ext. 240 or email lynn@acemv.org.
Holidays on ice
On Friday, Dec. 26, the Martha's Vineyard Ice Arena celebrates its 10th annual Alumni Hockey Games. Admission is free for the public as well as for players. The girls' game is 1:15 pm; the boys play at 2:30 pm. After the games, from 4 to 5:30, the rink opens for family skate, also free. To play, call the rink at 508-693-5329.
Gift of preservation
Help conserve Martha's Vineyard's natural beauty by giving gift memberships to The Trustees of Reservations, a statewide organization that owns and maintains five properties on Martha's Vineyard. Gift memberships starting at $45 ($35 for students and seniors) provide free access to the Trustees 100 reservation lands in Massachusetts, and discounts on hundreds of programs, events, and workshops. Memberships can be ordered online at thetrustees.org, or by calling 978-921-1944.
Dashing through the snow
Saturday, Dec. 27, will be the last day of hayrides in downtown Vineyard Haven. From 11 am to 2 pm, catch a ride at the Tisbury Marketplace or at Bowl & Board on Main Street. Sponsored by the Tisbury Business Association, the hayrides are free.
The Gold of Winter Finches (An excerpt)
We watch the snowflakes fly.
We bake with cinnamon and plunge our faces
into bath towels warm from tumbling dry,
and fragrant pillowcases.
With static in our hair
we grope the floors of cars for gloves we've lost-
or chip without them till the windshield's bare,
for now, of chiseled frost.
We visit friends, perhaps,
an hour after sunset flares and dies,
with warm lasagna pans upon our laps,
and let the hunger rise.
We learn to bide our turn,
for only May can make a goldfinch bright.
We learn to cultivate a dreaming burn
so woodstoves last the night.
Live nativity
Jeff and Janis Wooden, as Mary and Joseph, took part in the live nativity last weekend, which was presented by Faith Community Church at their summer location on County Road in Oak Bluffs.
Directed by Joseph Gervais with the set by Ben Nivala, it was a moving addition to the Christmas celebration.
