There has been much talk in Aquinnah about the report in the Times last week that the Aquinnah Shop property was up for sale. Obviously people up here have very strong opinions about the Aquinnah Shop, as we all feel that it belongs to “us.” It is part of the fabric of the town, one of our places, and we want it to remain open and available to everyone. But although the Aquinnah Shop feels like ours in our hearts, it is not ours on paper. The possible sale of something so dear to many people has caused some very sharp talk in town. I know that the talk comes from a place of strong feelings and fear of losing something dear, but I also know that it does nothing to help the situation. It is my sincere hope that everyone directly involved can come to a mutually beneficial agreement in this situation. For the rest of us, I hope that regardless of who owns the property, everyone can still enjoy it.
Next Thursday, Feb. 18, Offshore Ale is holding a Dine to Donate event for Island Grown Schools. Pick up a coupon at the Chilmark School and head to the restaurant any time that day for lunch or dinner, and a percentage of your tab will be donated to IGS.
At the library this week: Story time will be on Thursday the 18th at 3:30. On Saturday, Feb. 20, at 10 am there will be a special story time in combination with yoga for kids. Susan Larsen will be teaching, and mats will be provided. From 11 am to 3 pm on Saturday, there will be a craft that relates to yoga. You can paint mandalas onto beach stones, a terrific centering stone when you want be calm and focused. There will be another kids’ film and pizza night the Tuesday of school vacation week, the 23rd. Kids can come and watch “Shaun the Sheep” at 5 pm and eat pizza. The film “Brooklyn” was rescheduled for March 1 at 5 pm.
At Pathways this Friday, there will be an evening of music from 6:30 to 9 pm. Performers include Nina Violet, Phil DaRosa, Alex Karalekas, and Adam Howell. Light refreshments will be served, and admission is free. Next Tuesday in honor of Black History Month, Pathways will host a reading by Wallace Bullock, who will read from his one-man play, “A Taste of JFK, Malcolm X and Adam Clayton Powell: Remembering the ’60s.” There will also be a short film about the civil rights movement screened, and a roundtable discussion afterward. The event starts at 7 pm.
With the completion of the Lighthouse move this past summer, there has been renewed interest in thinking about the many elements that make up the Aquinnah Circle and how they can work together more cohesively. This winter the Town’s Planning Board and Community Preservation Committee are sponsoring a visioning process with the assistance of two talented graduate students from the Conway School of Landscape and Environmental Design. Mariko McNamara and Ryan Corrigan facilitated the first visioning session last week, which was well attended, and brought some great input from all who attended. (A video of the discussion can be found on the MVTV website by selecting Video on Demand from the menu bar and typing the word “visioning” into the search box.) A follow-up visioning session will be held on Wednesday, March 2, at 7 pm at Aquinnah Town Hall. Please come and share in this process. For those who can’t be there, a short email survey is being prepared by Mariko and Ryan, which is being sent out this week by the Town’s Planning Board in the hopes of getting as much input from the community as possible. Watch for it on the town website.
