Chilmark is in full bloom, fragrant, and oh so very green. School gets out for summer this week, and we will continue to feel the swell of summer visitors. I attended the June 16 ceremony honoring Chilmark’s first Town Hall, built in 1844, used until 1897, and originally on Middle Road. A bronze plaque was affixed to a stone which will be placed back into the stone wall along Middle Road commemorating the site of the original town hall. The event was attended by a small group, including former Chilmark Historical Commission chair Harriette Otteson, who read aloud a short history of the building. Jane Slater provided Humphrey’s donuts, and Town Hall provided the coffee. If you are interested in seeing a vintage framed photograph of the original building, it is hanging in our present town hall. I’ll let everyone know when the stone is placed back into its original wall, but for now you can visit it on the front lawn of Chilmark town hall.
Laurie David hosted a meet and greet with Islander Ewell Hopkins, who is running for state representative for the Cape and Islands. Ewell Hopkins is down-to-earth, a father of three with three generations living under the same roof, and happens to be the president of Martha’s Vineyard’s Democratic Party. He is interested “in the humanity of all of us,” and wants to create a vibrant activist community. Please consider getting involved in his campaign to represent our voices. Check his Facebook page to see what he’s up to, or message him there, and be sure to vote on Sept. 8.
Edward Miller and Monina Von Opel hosted a lovely lunch for all the artists who have donated work to our hospital. Amazing to see so many Island artists together relaxing, enjoying friends, and being on the “receiving end,” as Alison Shaw pointed out, since artists here are always donating to so many causes. Thanks for a great afternoon.
I hope our town assessor, Pamela Bunker, enjoyed a wonderful birthday last Thursday, June 16. Congratulations to Steve Flanders on the June 11 wedding of his daughter Genevieve Flanders to Zachary Tong. I spoke with Bill Edison just a few days after he had arrived back in Chilmark for the summer from his California home, and am so very sorry to learn of his wife Lydia’s death; heartfelt condolences go out to Bill and his extended family.
The Chilmark General Store hosts its first Dine & Shop to Donate Day, Thursday, June 23,
to celebrate the end of the school year and the start of summer — a percentage of all food and grocery sales will benefit Island Grown Schools. Summer hours are now daily 7 am to 7 pm. For more information, visit chilmarkgeneralstore.com or islandgrownschools.org.
Put on your dancing shoes and head to “Public Dancing Allowed” at the Yard on Thursday, June 23, beginning at 7 pm with DJ Rekha, known for pioneering merging bhangra and Bollywood sounds with contemporary electronic dance music. Suggested donation $15. Also be sure to check out the performance offerings this week at dancetheyard.com.
Head over to the Gluten-Free Potluck Picnic at Native Earth Teaching Farm on Friday, June 24, from 6:30 to 9 pm. Please bring celiac-safe dishes and your own place settings, $5. Also on Sunday, June 26, from 10 am to 3 pm, come back and enjoy the first Bug & Bee Appreciation Festival, a free event with cooking demos, honey tasting, music, plant sale, crafts, vendors, and kids’ stuff. For more information or questions, call 508-645-3304.
Barbara Leiner’s show of abstract paintings, “unearthed,” can be seen at the Chilmark library from June 25 to July 15; stop by her opening on Saturday, June 25, from 3 to 5 pm. On Wednesday, June 29, join international health expert and leading authority on women’s wellness and menopause Dr. Mache Seibel for his book talk, “The Estrogen Window: The Breakthrough Guide to Being Healthy, Energized, and Hormonally Balanced through Perimenopause, Menopause and Beyond.”
The Chilmark Flea Market starts up on Saturday, June 25, and will happen Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm weekly.
The Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival begins on Saturday, June 25, showing Viggo Mortensen in “Captain Fantastic” at 8 pm, preceded by live music and dinner by the Mangkhu Food truck. Check tmvff.org for the summer lineup.
Stop by Kara Taylor’s first opening of the season on Sunday, June 26, from 5 to 8 pm for her “Bouquets” show. The gallery is located at 24 South Road next to Grey Barn.
Yoga, yoga, yoga — classes resume with Primo Lombardi at the Chilmark Community Church meeting room on Tuesday, June 28, meeting every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:15 to 10:30 am. Daily yoga is offered at the Yard beginning Saturday, June 25, Monday through Friday from 7 to 8:30 am, Saturdays from 8 to 9:30 am, and Sundays from 9 to 10:30 am. And beginning July 5, Sherry Sidoti will teach FLY Yoga Vinyasa on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:15 to10:30 am (*8:30 am if raining) at the CCC.
If you love the late Chilmarker Stan Murphy’s paintings, be sure to get to Featherstone Center for the Arts’ Stanley Murphy Retrospective by David Murphy on Tuesday, June 28, from 7 to 9 pm, or just stop by and see the show, up through July 14.
Come and get your Lobster Rolls to Go at the Chilmark Community Church on Tuesdays from 4:30 to 7 pm, $20. Come back at 8 pm to hear the Vineyard Sound perform.