You have only a few days left to register for Cycle Martha’s Vineyard. Register by midnight Labor Day and get a discount. The 100k and 50k excursions benefit Windemere. For more see cyclemarthasvineyard.org
The Vineyard Playhouse presents the final Monday Night Special at 7 pm at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center. Tickets in advance online www.vineyardplayhouse.org or at the door, if available. “In Development” is a new film exploring issues of identity and what defines who we are.
Bark for Life: Colleen Corr-Panek and Relay for Life invite dogs and you to Bark for Life on Saturday at Ocean Park as part of the MV Wind Festival. This fundraiser honors the caregiving of our furry family members. Partner with your canine best friend and make new friends while supporting the American Cancer Society. Join in laps around Ocean Park led by cancer survivors (canine and human), ask-a-vet, and demonstrations by local trainers. Pre-register at www.relayforlife.org/MVbarkMA or call Colleen at 508-922-4521.
On Tuesday evening at Flatbread from 4:30 pm, the West Tisbury Congregational Church celebrates the end of summer. All ages are welcome — everybody loves pizza. A percentage of pizza sales will benefit the church. Tables may be reserved at 508-691-1137 or simply come to support Flatbread, a generous Island business, as well as church fund-raising.
The Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival starts next Thursday. Enjoy four days of the best international feature and short films. It all begins with dinner at Saltwater and films at the new MV Film Center. See www.mvfilmfest.com/box_office.
The Fall Golf Tournament to benefit the MV Boys & Girls Club is September 8 at the Edgartown Golf Club. Space is limited. Register at the MV Boys & Girls Club, Edgartown Golf Club, or online at www.ticketsmv.com/event.
No more lobster rolls and delicious chowder at the American Legion this year. The volunteers want to thank everyone for the support. They hope to see you next year.
Louisa Gould has a new exhibit, a pre-show of New England artists of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. This highlights six artists who will be in the main show, with other Cape Cod artists, at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in late September. Two featured over the next week are Martha’s Vineyard artists Jeanne Staples and Liz Taft. Meet the artists and view the work from 5 to 7 on Saturday.
ACE MV will offer yoga training for K-12 teachers with college credit this fall. A reduced rate is offered if you apply before September 15. For more go to acemv.com.
Register now for the 5K Run/Walk on Sunday, September 16, to benefit the Vineyard Haven Library. The forms are at the Library. Runners and walkers of all ages are welcome. The fee is $15, with free tee shirts to the first 100 registrants. The race will go from the Library to the West Chop lighthouse and back.
If you enjoy Jane Austen, you must read P. D. James’ “Death Comes to Pemberley.” I think it is a delight. I’d bet Jane would have loved it, too.
The Vineyard Haven Library joins other Island libraries with a short course on A Century of American Short Stories this fall. Professor Phil Weinstein has taught these novels in his courses at Swarthmore. The lectures begin September 13 at 5 pm at the Aquinnah Town Hall, with three other sessions over the next few months. Sign up at the library for more.
The talks discuss Hemingway’s In Our Time, Flannery O’Connor’s Collected Stories, Raymond Carver’s Cathedral, and Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kittredge. Weinstein recommends A Good Man is Hard to Find, The Life You Save May Be Your Own, The River, The Displaced Person, Good Country People, The Artificial Nigger, Everything That Rises Must Converge, and Revelation. Copies of these are available at your library.
Ever wonder why the Garden Club announces beautification awards just at the time when the flower boxes on shops start to look bedraggled and not at all beautiful? They are picking the best ones now and in September. That means this is the time you should enjoy the lovely things your businesses do to make your town more attractive. Do you ever think to compliment the shopkeepers for doing this?
By next week school will be open. Watch for little ones too excited to look both ways.
Big bunches of birthday balloon wishes go out tomorrow to artist Millie Briggs. She is celebrating her 98th birthday. Also partying tomorrow will be Jessica Dolliver. Sunday belongs to Edwin Gould-Hart. Congratulations on Monday to another Island artist, Maggie Masek, and, of course, to the labor movement — the folks who brought you the holiday. Happy birthday to Melissa Gold and Janet Stiller on Wednesday.
Heard on Main Street: Stay calm. It’s almost over.
