Well, July is passing quickly, and at times it has felt more like August between the heat and the crowds. I can’t believe August is next week. I feel like I should have more done or be used now to doing too much…or something. This summer has been so intense and quick, I have a feeling it will be over before we know it, leaving tired bodies and scorched earth in its wake. And as always there is so much to do!
Today at 5 pm at the Old Town Hall, Phil Weinstein will speak on author Jonathan Franzen as part of the Aquinnah Public Library Speaker Series. Philip Weinstein is part-time resident of Aquinnah and the Alexander Griswold Cummins Professor of English at Swarthmore College. His talk titled, “Franzen in Time” explores the remarkable trajectory of a still-developing writer, Jonathan Franzen, as he has moved from high-cultural alienation to mainstream cultural alignment.
On Tuesday, July 31, author Linda Fairstein will discuss her new book, “Night Watch.” Linda divides her time between New York and Martha’s Vineyard and is a great speaker and a best-selling author of both fiction and non-fiction. Refreshments will be served at both events.
At the Aquinnah Cultural Center this week: On Friday, July 27, you can come view a wampum demonstration with Elizabeth Perry, Aquinnah Wampanoag, who will be making 19th-century style cuffs from wampum beads.
You will not want to miss the 6th Annual Native American Artisans’ Festival on Saturday, July 28, from 11 am to 4 pm.
The Festival this year will be held in the Aquinnah Circle. Native artists from many different nations will be in attendance which means many different beautiful, handmade things to buy including wampum jewelry, beadwork, paintings, pottery and clay work, leatherwork, and dreamcatchers. The Black Brook Singers and the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers will perform.
On Wednesday, August 1, you can stop by the Center for a house tour from 11 am to 4 pm.
This Saturday night is the White party on the SeaStreak Yacht hosted by Aquinnah’s Lexie Roth. It starts at 6:30 pm and tickets are available at aboveground Records, Alley’s, and the SeaStreak office.
The Gay Head Gallery has postponed the show, “MegaFauna: African Elephants, North Atlantic Right Whales and Wolves,” until 2013. The reason for the postponement is that several key artists were confronted with problems in regard to shipping with UPS. Megan is sorry that she had to postpone the show but some of the artists who would have exhibited in the Megafauna Show will now be part of the August 12 Show — “Endangered Land and Seascapes: the Intrinsic Value of Wild Nature” — that will benefit Vineyard Conservation Society and the Moshup Trail Project.
For those of you who don’t know, the Gay Head Gallery is on State Road, before the Aquinnah Town Hall and after the turn for Lobsterville, on the left. Open 12 noon to 6 pm daily, and by appointment. Closed Tuesdays. Call Megan Ottens-Sargent at 508-645-2776 for more information.
Danna Banana performs at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, July 31, at the West Tisbury Grange. Doors open at 7. Admission is $15, with tickets for sale at the door. For more information, visit wtlibraryfoundation.org.
Bruce Eckman and June Manning, the first two Martha’s Vineyard Community Services (MVCS) board members from Aquinnah, are inviting everyone from up Island, including houseguests, to a Pre-Possible Dreams Auction party at the Aquinnah Town Hall, on Wednesday, August 1, from 5 to 7 pm. The Possible Dreams auction itself is on August 6. Thousands of Islanders use services provided by MVCS, truly an Island treasure.
Aquinnah needs a representative to work with the negotiations committee as they enter into negotiations with five Massachusetts Teachers Association bargaining units in the fall. The process typically starts with the teachers and then works its way through the other smaller units. The Superintendent of Schools, James Weiss, is hoping that each town on the island can participate. The first organizational meeting of the group will be held on Tuesday, August 14, at 8:30 am in the Superintendent’s Conference Room in Vineyard Haven.
If you would like more information or would like to volunteer for this position, please call selectman Spencer Booker at 508-645-2413 or email aqbos@comcast.net.
If you are interested in leadership, promoting school spirit, dance, teamwork, tumbling and you will be in Junior High next year, now is the time to sign up for Jr. High Cheerleading. The program is open to all students who are in grades six to eight 8. Please call Sue Costello at 508-627-9568 or email her at costellofamilymv@comcast.net for more information.
I found this tidbit fascinating so I had to include it. Did you know that Martha’s Vineyard now has a Poet Laureate? Well, we do and that poet is Lee H. McCormack, the first Martha’s Vineyard Poet Laureate to represent our island. The position is a two-year term. The laureate is responsible for promoting poetry and educating the public about the merits of this high art form. Rachel Baird was chosen as the first seasonal Martha’s Vineyard Poet Laureate, it is her job to assist Lee in the summer months. Congratulations and best of luck Lee and Rachel.
There will be a graveside service for John W. Mayhew with full military honors at 4 pm on Saturday, July 28, at the West Tisbury cemetery. At 5 pm a memorial service will take place at Ag Hall on Panhandle Road, followed by a potluck dinner and an old-fashioned musicale. Potluck dishes may be dropped off at Ag Hall anytime after 3 pm — limited refrigeration and no warm up facility. Bring your instruments! Questions to drdeb@vineyard.net.
Happy birthday to Berta Welch, Joan LeLacheur, and Hollis Smith whose birthdays are Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday, respectively.
