Aquinnah: Porch pizza

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The Aquinnah Shop was bustling on its opening weekend. They were of course busy on Saturday, with the weather being so nice, and Sunday brunch was packed for Mother’s Day. I saw many moms being celebrated; Deb Metros came from off-Island to spend time with her son and daughter-in-law and baby. My neighbors, Jim and Kathy Newman, were there, as were Paul Manning and his terrific mother, June. Paul’s daughter, Kayla Darcy, was also there with her daughter, who is growing up at an alarming rate. Wasn’t she just a baby?

The Chilmark Store will be opening this Thursday, May 16. See everyone on the porch after school for pizza? The next day, Friday, you can come next door to the Chilmark Tavern for its first night of the season. The Outermost Inn will open the following week.

The Aquinnah Public Library is hosting a “Kids’ Singing Group” on Tuesdays from 5 to 5:30 pm. Its regular schedule is in effect as well: Story Time on Thursday at 3:30 pm and Saturday at 10:30 am, Kids’ Craft from 11 am to 3 pm on Saturday, and the Afterschool Club on Tuesday at 4 pm. The next meeting of the book group will be on Thursday, May 23, from 3 to 4 pm, to discuss Jillian Cantor’s “In Another Time.”

Tonight, Thursday, is the Martha’s Vineyard Cancer Support Group’s annual spring fundraising gala, “An Evening Under the Stars,” at Farm Neck, from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. The evening features hors d’oeuvres, a buffet dinner, silent auction, music by Mike Benjamin, and a cash bar. All proceeds from the event will support the group’s mission of helping Island cancer patients and their families with medical and other treatment-related expenses. For further information and to purchase tickets, please call Annemarie Donahue at 508-627-7958.

The U.S. Coast Guard Station in Menemsha, along with members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Spouses Association, and Air Station Cape Cod, will host its first annual open house on Saturday, May 18, to kick off the start of National Safe Boating Week and to honor Armed Forces Day. The open house will run from 10 am to 1 pm, and will include tours of the station, its boats, and facilities. A helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod will be landing at 11:30 am. This is a family-friendly event that welcomes all residents of Martha’s Vineyard. It will be held at the Coast Guard Station in Menemsha at 20 Edy’s Island Way. Parking for the event will be in the Home Port Restaurant parking lot, and streetside where legally available. This is a rain-or-shine event.

A reminder that Martha’s Vineyard Community Services will be hosting Electronics Disposal Day this Saturday, from 9 am to 2 pm, on the MVCS campus across from the high school. Get all the old electronic junk out of your house in one fell swoop. It’s a great way to kick off the summer.

Mike Selletti has left Aquinnah for a new adventure in North Carolina. Mike has done a lot of service both within the tribe and around the Island. I’m sure whatever project Mike embarks on in N.C. will bring him new growth and skills. I, for one, will miss his friendliness, sense of humor, and positive outlook. Good luck to you, Mike!

Happy birthday to Aquinnah Witham, who celebrates on Friday, and Allison Cameron Perry, who celebrates on Sunday. I feel like Aquinnah should get some kind of prize on her birthday, as she has the same name as our town, but I can’t think of what that prize should be. Maybe we should all just be super-nice to her.