Sunday on the beach, Lucy Vincent, with Island families, Islanders getting their first beach day since the summer began and many, many dogs in tow. There was a small Stonehenge created by a 14-year-old. Where a four-feet cairn towered alone a week ago, small cairns on neighboring rocks had sprouted. I loved seeing a mother/daughter duo, maybe 70s/50s, clad in wetsuits return after an afternoon of boogie boarding. Coolers, beach chairs, and tents dotted the beach keeping clear social distance between groups for another half mile or so past the pond.
My heart goes out to Carrie, Caitlin, and Emily Keating on the death of photographer/father Ed Keating. Condolences to their extended family and friends. The Keatings summered in Chilmark for many years, even taking a booth at the Chilmark Flea for a few seasons. Ed will be missed by many.
It is sad that Chilmark General Store is closed for the season, but they did a great job! The Galley’s last day is Sunday, Oct. 3, open daily 11 am to 3 pm.
Native Earth Teaching Farm is offering a Wednesday Farm School from 9 am to 1 pm for homeschoolers, pre-schoolers, and their adults for eight weeks running through to Nov. 18. Drop-ins are welcome. Learn more at nativeearthteachingfarm.org.
Chilmark library walk-in hours are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 10:30 am to 5 pm, Wednesday, 10:30 am to 5:30 pm, and Friday, 10:30 am to 1:30 pm. Appointments are still required for browsing the Children’s Room and for computer use. Join the monthly virtual Writing for Young People group on Saturday, October 2 at noon and share your work, critique, and discuss favorite books, experience the joy that is creating stories for kids. All levels are welcome. Facilitated by Tracy Thorpe, programs coordinator at the Chilmark Library. Try a virtual Poetry Drop-In with Donald Nitchie on Wednesday, October 6 at 4pm with in-class writing exercises using poems as models. All levels and abilities are welcome. Email tthorpe@clamsnet.org for the Zoom link. Take and Make Thursdays continue with some pinecone critters. For more info contact the library at 508-645-3360 or chilmarkma.gov/chilmark-library.
Stop by the paintings of Wendy Weldon, Rob Hauck, and Marie Louise Rouff, up through October at the West Tisbury library. If you’re not comfortable going in person see wtlibraryvirtualgallery.org.
This year’s Gayhead 10K is virtual through the month of October wherever you are in the world. Learn more and register at gayhead10k.com.
If you haven’t listened to the Cleaveland House Poets read, join our virtual reading on Monday, Oct. 4, from 4 to 5:30 pm thanks to the Vineyard Haven library. For a link to the Zoom event, contact amcdonough@clamsnet.org. Our latest anthology is available at Bunch of Grapes, Cronig’s, Edgartown Books, Featherstone Center for the Arts, and the M.V. Museum store.
Enjoy Story Walks for kids of all ages at Menemsha Hills from 7 am to 7 pm, self-guided. This month’s book is “Breathe and Be” by Kate Coombs, with illustrations by Anna Laitinen. Pages are posted along the Harris Loop trail starting from the parking lot and ending at Prospect Hill (about a mile hike there and back). Learn more at thetrustees.org/place/menemsha-hills/.
Island Folk Pottery’s Sculpture Trail is open daily 9 am to 5 pm. The store hours are Wednesday to Saturday, from 11 am to 5 pm, and Sunday, 2 to 5 pm.
Kara Taylor Gallery is open through Oct. 10, be sure to see her wonderful new work before she takes off for Capetown, South Africa.
The last Community Engagement Meeting to discuss development opportunities for the Peaked Hill Pastures property is available at the town’s website at bit.ly/39ImKPq.
Peaked Hill Studio yoga and Foot Work classes continue outdoors, weather permitting, otherwise in the new studio. Learn more and sign up at PeakedHillStudio.com. Check MollieDoyleyoga.com for her October schedule.
The Chilmark Community Church’s Sunday, 9 am, services are held outdoors on the patio behind the main church building and on Zoom, connect with us02web.zoom.us/j/8902984151.
Check It’s a Chilmark Thing on Facebook for up-to-date information about our town and Island.
Have a good week.
If you have any Chilmark Town Column suggestions, email Valerie Sonnenthal, vsonnenthal@gmail.com.
