Nearly one year ago the Chilmark School PTO hosted its second annual Caribbean Night. Some referred to it as a great night out or even date night, and most referred to it as one of the best nights of the year.
Well, lucky for all of us , the PTO will be sponsoring this age 21 and up event once again. February 12 is the date we all need to mark on our calendars. That awesome cover band the Smokin’ Flamingos, personal friends of the Fenners and the LoRussos, will travel from the North Shore to perform and lend a hand to a worthy cause.
What’s the cause? Why, our school children, of course. Funds raised will go to all of the extras that make the Chilmark School such a unique and inviting place: Scholarships for trips on the Alabama and Shenandoah, theater class, and more. Not only will there be live music, but also both a silent and live auction will be part of this exciting evening. The PTO is looking for auction items.
If you are interested in contributing, please contact me or Hillary Noyes-Keene. We will be the go-to gals for coordinating goods. Last year’s items included fishing charters, topsoil, art work, antiques, and more. Tickets will go on sale soon and will be available through all school parents, online at TicketsMV and at Menemsha Texaco.
If you are looking for a weekly night out on the town without quite as much glitz and glamour then the Chilmark Church soup supper is just the place to gather with your neighbors, enjoy a piping hot meal, and some friendly conversation. The time is 5:30 pm on Tuesdays.
January 14 is teen night at the Chilmark Library. The ladies at the library know their teens, so there will be free pizza in addition to the 7 pm showing of “Scott Pilgrim Saves the World.” He meets the girl of his dreams but has to battle her seven evil exes. Yikes.
There has been some recent boat action in Menemsha. Al Gale has sold the Jane Lee and in her place is a currently unnamed vessel, formerly the Shearwater, which used to be a whale watch catamaran out of Nantucket. This vessel may not look all pretty and put together now, but with some work and a little bit of TLC, she surely will become a hard-working mussel machine.
Tim Broderick and Dan Broderick headed across the Sound in their fishing vessels Four Kids and Cachalot. Both have been hauled out in New Bedford where they will undergo a little repair and a once-over in preparation for fishing in the spring.
Some of you were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Liz Willette while she was here over Christmas break. Finishing up her senior year at Appalachian State University in North Carolina is the main focus for this 21-year-old lover of the Vineyard.
Zee and Bill Gamson just got back from more than two weeks in California, where they visited with their son, Josh, and his family. Their daughter, Jenny, joined them with her family, along with assorted nephews. The highlight of the trip besides the little Gamson-Knight girls (according to Zee, Maddy is 15 months and walking like a drunken sailor, and Reba is 5 years old and full of beans) was a stay in a big house in the wine country of Sonoma. They managed to fit in a trip to Lodi just before they left to see the amazing sandhill cranes that spend the winter at the mudflats. They are now happy to see the amazing chickadees and cardinals at their feeder.
Summer friend and neighbor Bob Nixon has been in the Gulf of Mexico for nearly two weeks on the research vessel Brooks McCall. An environmentalist and filmmaker, Bob is working with National Geographic and NOAA’s Sylvia Earle on the documentary “Mission Blue.”
Their research, a joint effort of many collectively known as Mission Blue, is part of an initiative to raise awareness about the condition of our world’s oceans. Their exploration in the Gulf will possibly determine some of the effects of the devastating deepwater oil spill that occurred last spring. To quote Mission Blue’s website, “With every breath we take, every drop of water we drink, we’re connected to the ocean. It is our life support system… a global call to action with a goal to raise public awareness, start conversations, and inspire people to help protect this vital natural resource.”
