Aquinnah

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The president has gone, you can drive down South Road again and the Fair is over. There is nothing left to do except work like crazy to get the last bit of August money and enjoy the downward slide to Labor Day, a mere two weeks away. I always feel that this week, while still busy, allows us all to catch our breath and gives us a reminder to spend time with our summer friends while they are still here.

Today at the Old Town Hall at 5 pm local author Tom Dunlop and coastal erosion expert Greg Berman will speak on the forces carving out our new island. This is part of the Aquinnah Public Library Summer Speaker Series. The program is free and refreshments will be served.

At the Aquinnah Cultural Center this week you can get a tour of the Edwin Devries Vanderhoop Homestead, a fully restored 19th-century Wampanoag farmstead that contains many original furnishings and household items from the family, on Friday, August 23, from 11 am to 4 pm. On Saturday, August 24, there will be a traditional Mishoon or Boat Making demonstration with Darius Coombs, Mashpee Wampanoag. Darius will demonstrate various techniques for Mishoon making that use fire as the main tool. The demonstration is free with admission. On Wednesday, August 28 tours of the homestead will be offered. The center also has two new exhibits: “Land and Life in Old Gay Head,” and “Aquinnah Wampanoag Whaling in the 19th Century,” which are incorporated throughout the house. For more information please call us 508-645-7900 or email aquinnahcc@gmail.com.

This Saturday at the Gayhead Gallery, Megan Ottens-Sargent will host Donald Barry, Executive Vice President of Defenders of Wildlife. Mr. Barry will give a talk titled: “Conservation Crossroads: Extinction or Recovery.. The event will be from 5–7 pm and will benefit Defenders of Wildlife. If you would like to attend please rsvp to Amy Moore at amoore@defenders.org or call 202-772-0209.

Sally and Ben Taylor and friends (many local musicians) will perform on Tuesday, August 27, 8 pm at the West Tisbury Grange, State Road, West Tisbury. The ArtCliff food truck will serve dinner on the grounds from 6 to 8 pm. Admission is $20, with tickets for sale at the door beginning at 6 pm on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 7. The concert benefits the West Tisbury Library Renovation fund. For more information visit wtlibraryfoundation.org.

There is only one screening left for the MV Film Festival:

Next Wednesday at 8 pm the film is A.C.O.D., and of course Cinema Circus will be up and running at 5 pm and Jan Buhrman will be cooking up great food all evening.

Also Joan LeLacheur is having an open studio of her wampum jewelry this Saturday, August 24, from 10 am to 5 pm at 42 Old South Rd. Call 508-645 9954.

Gail and Al Polsby, 34-year summer residents of Lighthouse Road, will be observing their 50th wedding anniversary on August 31. Their daughter Abigail, and her wife Julie Munger, and their son Dan, and his wife Karla Chrobak, will be coming in from Truckee, California, and Chicago, respectively, to help them celebrate. Happy Anniversary, Gail and Al!

Welcome to William Allen Anderson-Bologna the newest baby in Aquinnah. He was born on August 3 to parents Suzy and Nick. William weighed in at seven pounds, eleven ounces. I saw the parents out to dinner over the weekend and they both looked so happy and were getting treated to a night out sans baby.

Goodbye and good luck to Ella Mahoney who is off to school in New York City at the School of Visual Arts this Friday. Ella is extremely talented and very grounded and I wish her all the best. On a personal note, Ella has been my son’s babysitter since he was around 18 months old and I really don’t know what my family is going to do without her. Best of luck, Ella; we will miss you.

There are two birthdays this Friday: Noli Taylor and Trisha Mulligan. Happy Birthday, ladies!