Town Column : Edgartown
By Caroline Beetz Fenske
Published: March 26, 2009
The Dairy Queen was packed full with kids on St. Patrick's Day. Buying an ice cream after school on opening day at the Bettencourt's store is a tradition for many Edgartown School students, and with it comes the widely-held expectation that this is just the first of many visits as the days grow warmer.
This past Friday I was fortunate enough to accompany my two sons, Charlie and Lukas, on a cub scouts overnight at the Museum of Science in Boston. Other scouts from town included James and Jack Murray, Riley Craig, and Nathan Lopez-Mata - now at the Tisbury School. The trip was an outstanding success; the cub scouts seemed to enjoy every aspect of the itinerary, from the Lightning Show, to kaleidoscope making, to sleeping beneath a triceratops in the dinosaur room.
David Kinney's book about the fishing derby, "The Big One: An Island, an Obsession and the Furious Pursuit of a Great Fish," will be released on April 8. Steven Spielberg, whose previous movies include "Jaws" and "Jaws II," recently bought film rights to the book. Ed Jerome, president of the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, has been very supportive of the author's work, and had a chance to review an advanced copy of the book this winter. While it is common for Hollywood to buy the rights to books, not all of them become movies. Just the same, the possibility of another major movie being filmed on Martha's Vineyard is exciting.
Artists Nancy Blank and Carl Mueller teach pottery classes to children ages 7 to 12 on Saturday mornings at the Featherstone Center for the Arts. The students learn to hand-build with clay, and to throw on the pottery wheel. The hardworking children produce beautiful pottery, including colorfully glazed bowls, pitchers, plates, wall hangings, whistles, and rattles. Nancy and Carl are also on-hand at open studio on Wednesday afternoons (all ages) and Thursday nights (adults). If you haven't experienced working with Nancy and Carl yet, you are missing out.
Bill Connolly, board member at The FARM Institute, thought it would be a good idea to remind Island families that early-bird registration for summer camp at the farm ends on April 1; sign up by this date to receive the deepest discounts. It is also time to register for summer sailing through Sail Martha's Vineyard. If you missed registration last Saturday, you can visit their web site (sailmv.com), download an application, and send it in.
Suzanne Slarsky Dael, an energy consultant working with the Vineyard Conservation Society, asked me to announce that Lights Out Martha's Vineyard 2009 will be held on Saturday, March 28, between 8:30 and 9:30 pm. So far, 2,398 cities in 83 countries have committed to turning their lights off for International Earth Hour, supported by the World Wildlife Fund to promote energy conservation. A Lights Out guided walk will take place at 8 pm at Felix Neck, focusing on the beauty of nature at night.
I am glad to hear from Donna Blackburn that attendance at Edgartown Library events has increased lately; she believes that information I have included in the column has been helpful. This Saturday afternoon the library is sponsoring an activity for young adults. Participants will have an opportunity to decorate and take home their own journals.
The third-graders at the Edgartown School have a "first" coming up. The children are going to take their first MCAS test beginning on March 30. The teachers are currently busy helping the children prepare for the reading portion of the test. In May they will have the math test administered. Best of luck to all of the Edgartown school students; try not to be nervous, and just do your best.
Make every day special.
