Wow! Last week’s local election of Kent Healy for selectman. I remember talking with Maureen right after Kent announced his candidacy, and she said she hoped someone would vote for him. We certainly did. Congratulations, Kent. That said, I want to thank Richard Knabel for his years on the board. He worked very hard for our town, and always worked for our best interests.
Congratulations, too, to Elaine Barnet and Wendy Nierenberg, new library trustees. I am sorry that Rob Hauck was not elected, as he has been a tireless supporter of our library. He has done a great job organizing the monthly art exhibitions, and I hope he will continue doing that. Too bad there weren’t three open positions.
All of a sudden it’s spring. Daffodils and forsythia are out in all their glory. Enjoy this golden time.
Ghost Island Farm is open on weekends. It was a treat to see Rusty in his chicken suit, waving at all passersby. And Sarah at the register. And lots of friends who came in to shop for gorgeous, fresh salad greens, spinach, arugula, kale, chard, eggs. I made delicious deviled eggs for Easter with chives from my own garden.
I ran into Kanta Lipsky at Ghost Island. She had just returned from the Upper West Side of New York, where she and her sons attended the Lipsky family Seder. Thirty-one relatives gathered around the table, coming from Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Berkeley, Rhode Island, and Martha’s Vineyard. Kanta had picked up her son, Jonah, in Providence, for the trip. Adam Lipsky and his girlfriend, Alisa Javis, came from Berkeley. Alisa came home with Kanta to spend this week working with Krishana Collins at Tea Lane Farm.
I walked over to the firehouse Sunday morning for the children’s Easter Egg Hunt. It was presided over by the big, pink Easter Bunny and Beth Kaeka. Lots of kids. It is truly one of my pleasures to watch the generations of fire department kids, now parents or grandparents, and their new babies. It was a lovely day to be out hunting eggs in the field, and everyone had a good time. I was interested to note the 21st century version of Easter baskets. No more standard woven baskets. One was a stuffed pink rabbit, upside-down, with a hollow “stomach” to hold the eggs. Other notable ones were a baseball and a fire truck. Life is always changing.
Katie Carroll sent an email request for photographs, letters, handwritten personal notes and mementos from the community regarding their connections with Jill Rosenkranz and Eleanor Neubert, two Chilmark School teachers of long tenure who are retiring at the end of this school year. Meg Athearn and Kendra Buresch are in charge of gathering all this together for a book to be presented to each retiree. Please get your submissions in by May 5. You may send them to rosenkranzneubert@gmail.com or to Dropbox or Google (get information from Meg or Kendra). Or just bring something to Mary Ambulos in the school office, where she can scan it for you. There are parents who had these teachers, and some of them are watching their own children in Jill’s or Eleanor’s classes. Lots of memories there, and wonderful stories to be told.
The Polly Hill Arboretum will host a program this Friday evening led by organic farmers, who will discuss their use of no-till techniques to maximize carbon in the soil, to improve production, and to reduce the carbon dioxide in the air. The program begins at 7 pm at the Ag Hall. On Saturday, a Daffodil Show and Spring Celebration is planned for 10 am to 2 pm. There will be a guided walk, a display of different daffodil varieties in the Far Barn, a flower arranging class (must preregister), arts and crafts, and botanical drawing. Bring a picnic to enjoy on the lawn. I hope the weather is as perfect as this past weekend.
Felix Neck will host a series of workshops, encouraging us to “Become a Citizen Naturalist.” The weekly series will run through April, May, and June. Check out the opportunities, and sign up at 508-627-4850 or felixneck@massaudubon.org.
Support Featherstone Center For the Arts and enjoy an evening out at Lucky Hank’s this Friday, from 5 to 9 pm. A portion of proceeds from your dinner will be donated to Featherstone. Call 508-939-4082 for reservations. A special show of wearable art will open at Featherstone from April 28 to 30. Take a look at the show and at the new barn going up on the property.
James Langlois is the featured artist at ArtSpace at the Vineyard Playhouse. His exhibition, “Mostly Black and White,” will open with an artist’s reception this Saturday evening, April 22, from 5 to 6:30 pm. Look carefully. James’s works are more than meets the eye at first glance. They are layered with images and meanings to be discovered, beautifully designed and rendered in their complexity. It will be a powerful show.
Earth Day is this Saturday, and the Annual Beach Cleanup is scheduled to take place as usual. Go to work at your favorite beach at 10 am, then gather at the Harbor View at noon for a party.
On Sunday afternoon, April 23, Grace Church will host a free concert at 4 pm. Phil Dietterich will conduct and David Rhoderick will be the organist for a performance of Handel’s “Messiah,” Part 3. Soloists are Molly Conole, David Behnke, Martha Hudson, Dorian Lopes, and Becky Williams.
At our West Tisbury library this week: The Lego Club for all ages will meet Saturday afternoon at 2:30 pm; a Community Poetry Reading hosted by West Tisbury poet laureate Emma Young will be this Sunday afternoon at 3 pm; Monday, April 24, at 11:30 am, Kanta Lipsky will lead a free workshop focusing on “ways to strengthen our connection to the earth and increase our body’s ability to maintain good balance.” At 7 pm Monday evening, join David Kish for a music documentary and discussion. On Wednesday, April 26, an episode of “Martha’s Vineyard Signs Then and Now” will be shown at 4 pm.
Healthy Aging Martha’s Vineyard announces the appointment of India Rose as its new executive director. Contact her at 508-685-0484 if you are interested in volunteering for a workgroup committee or program. Information is on the group’s website, hatfmv.org, or on Facebook.
Mark your calendar for the celebration of Jack Wildauer’s life, to be held next Sunday, April 30, 2 to 4 pm, at the Ag Hall. I’ll remind you in next week’s column. It’s a potluck; sweets and desserts are requested.
Phil DaRosa will open “An Evening with Dwight and Nicole” at the Katharine Cornell Theater next Friday, April 28, at 7:30 pm. Dwight and Nicole are a touring duo who have performed several times on the Vineyard. A portion of the event’s merchandise sales will benefit Island Grown Schools. Check out info@tpspresents.com for more information.
I love the fragrance of hyacinths in the spring, and have always planted the ones I buy in pots for Easter decorations. Last fall I saw bulbs of a pale yellow variety, bought them and planted them outside my studio, then forgot all about having done so. Watching them come up this spring, I wondered what they were and where they came from. They are the softest yellow, just right with the bright yellow ‘Sweetness’ daffodils and dark blue wood hyacinths in that bed. What a surprise bulbs and a faulty memory have proven to be.
