Edgartown: the concept of binge watching

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I’ve been introduced to a new concept this weekend, courtesy of a sick teenager. It’s called binge watching, and it’s just what it sounds like, endless watching of every episode of a TV series. Yesterday Amelia and I binge-watched “The Flash,” and today it was “Once Upon a Time,” where the characters from all those famous Grimm’s Fairy Tales end up in modern times because of a curse. I’d prefer Amelia not be sick, and being inside during this nice stretch of weather is a bit of a bummer, but it’s been nice to have some “forced” downtime with my favorite girl child. And “Once Upon a Time” was actually quite engaging. I’d highly recommend it, though maybe in smaller chunks. Get outside and breathe some fresh air once in awhile!

The Anchors wanted to invite seniors to the Senior Fall Feast, courtesy of the Edgartown Patrolmen’s Association on Friday, Dec. 18, at 2 pm. Call 508-627-4368 to reserve your space. Other regular events include Mindful Knitting on Mondays from 4 to 6, Knitting for Hospice on Tuesdays at 10, Needlepoint on Thursdays at 2, Rug Hooking on Thursdays at 1, Mah Jong on Tuesdays and Fridays at 1, and Scrabble on Fridays at 1. For more information on Anchors happenings, check out their website at edgartowncoa.com.

Are you a grandparent raising grandchildren? The Martha’s Vineyard Family Center, in collaboration with the Island Wide Youth Collaborative, invites you to their Grandparents Group with special guests Kerry & Rick Bickford, LICSWs, and attorney Kathleen Snow on Saturday, Dec. 12, from 10 to 11:30. Information about trends and issues facing grandparents raising grandchildren will be shared over coffee and discussion. Preregistration for this group required. Please call 508-687-9182.

The Martha’s Vineyard Veterans Outreach Program invites you to the first annual All-Island Veterans Dinner at the Vineyard Haven American Legion on Wednesday, Dec. 16, from 6 to 8 pm. The dinner is open to veterans of all ages, groups, and eras, service members, and their families. This is a great opportunity to gather together and enjoy a meal created and served by Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School culinary students. Please RSVP by Dec. 12, to Bill Stafursky at 508-693-7900, ext. 223 or email bstafursky@mvcommunityservices.com.

Please join us this Saturday at the Edgartown School gym for the annual Edgartown Eighth Grade Craft Fair. The gym will be filled with local artisans for your holiday shopping convenience, and you can partake in some chowder, chili, hot dogs, baked goods, cotton candy, and hot drinks to support the eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C. We will also have some raffles going on. Come in and see us and support your local eighth grade and Island artisans!

This Friday night at 7 is the Wheels for Brian Auction at the P.A. Club. As I mentioned in the column last week, Brian Sullivan, brother of the Edgartown School’s music teacher, Kelly Sullivan, was hit by a car when he was 12 years old. Kelly’s mother is Brian’s sole caretaker, and is need of a new handicap van for him. They began fundraising for the van several weeks ago, and when Oliva Law Butler heard about it, she organized this auction. There will be some amazing auction items to bid on, from dressers by Long and Meehan to gift cards from the always generous J.B. Blau, to jewelry and auto detailing. It’s guaranteed to be a good time, plus you’ve got the chance to take home some amazing items, all while helping a wonderful family in need! Doors open at 6:30 pm.

If you need your annual fix of holiday dancing, RISE Vineyard Performing Arts’ annual holiday performance, “Season’s Greetings VI,” is this Sunday at 1 pm and 6 pm. The show finally outgrew its space, and will be held at the Performing Arts Center this year for the first time. I am completely biased, as Amelia and many of her besties are part of the RISE Co. program, making me, officially, a true “dance mom.” However, biases aside, this is always a great show. All proceeds from the show support Island youth dance scholarships courtesy of the RISE Above Access Program. These dancers give it their all every holiday season, and the show never fails to put you in the spirit!

This is my first public announcement of a new unit I’m doing in school with my sixth and seventh grade classes. Author James Howe came to speak on the Island about a month ago. You might know him as the author of “Bunnicula,” a personal favorite in the Gardner/Craig household. But he also wrote a number of other books, including “The Misfits,” about the trials and tribulations of growing up and not fitting in. This book, and its follow-up books, prompted a national movement called “No Name Calling Week,” and we in the Edgartown School computer lab have decided to embrace this in our class and implement it in our school, and hopefully Island-wide. Meghan Brown, a teacher in our Bridge Program and all-around exceptionally cool human being and friend, is my partner in crime in starting this program, and we are over-the-moon excited about it! Be on the lookout for more information here and elsewhere, and be a part of No Name Calling Week, happening Jan. 18 through 22, 2016.

As we head into this holiday season and start to fret about the “perfect” gift, remember these insightful words of Mother Teresa: “It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.”