Happy Memorial Day weekend (also known as the official start of the onslaught), everyone! Please try and get some rest, as there will be none to be had from now through Labor Day. Everything at the Cliffs is open, including Paul and Theresa Manning’s new eatery, Cliffhangers (in the old Dreamcatcher spot). Juli Vanderhoop and her chef, Alex Jenkins, are doing quite well at Faith’s Seafood Shack. I haven’t tried it yet, but the food looks amazing. It’s really wonderful to have everything up and running at the Cliffs, and to have some old spaces reimagined and revamped. I’m all for as many delicious food options as possible up there.
The Outermost Inn had a busy opening weekend, as did Chilmark Tavern. I saw many of our summer Aquinnah folk here for the season, including Paula and David Eisenberg, and Barry and Dottie Sullivan, who welcomed a new grandson this past winter. Chilmark Chocolates is doing the smart thing and taking a break from now until June 2, when they will reopen.
Joan LeLacheur is having an open studio this Saturday, May 28, from 10 am to 5 pm at her studio, 42 Old South Road. Joanie will be selling her wampum jewelry and Susan Shea’s handmade art cards. Contact Joanie at Joanlela57@gmail.com. Or call 508-645-9954 for more information.
At the library today, Thursday, May 26, at 3:30 pm, Story Time will be held, and at 4 pm the After-School Club will be held. On Saturday, Story Time is at 10:30 am, and there will be a Kids’ Craft from 11 am to 3 pm; they’ll be making paper-tube bees.
There will be a free dental clinic at the Town Hall on June 3. Call 508-696-0020, ext. 14, or go to mvhealthcareaccess.org to register. You can also go to the Town Hall and get all the forms and register there.
The Martha’s Vineyard Museum is still looking for lighthouse guides for the Gay Head Light this summer. Shifts are available daily July through mid-October from 10:30 am to 4:40 pm. Go to mvmuseum.org and click on the jobs page for details.
And Monday, May 30, is Lighthouse Day. Come to the Old Town Hall at 6 pm for a potluck celebration. Please bring a side dish or dessert.
This was too delicious not to include in the column: Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary needs volunteers to study the mating and spawning habits of the Island’s horseshoe crabs. What I like most about it is that it can only be done at night (of course!), on the beach under a full or new moon. The June mating survey dates for Sengekontacket and Tashmoo are June 3, 5, and 7 (new moon) and June 18, 20, and 22 (full moon). If you are interested in volunteering, call 508-627-4850. They also need volunteers for nest counts.
Happy birthday, Nancy Benoit, who will be celebrating on Sunday. While in Menemsha this past Sunday, my husband chatted with Paul Manning, who was out patrolling the strip of Aquinnah land there. Afterward, my husband noted that it seems like kind of a waste of gas and time to make one of our police officers drive all the way down to Menemsha, and he suggested that perhaps we should just deputize Buddy Vanderhoop and have him do it. This may actually be creating more problems than the one it solves, but the idea tickled me nonetheless.
