Sunday was gloriously beautiful, and in the afternoon, my father peacefully died. As a family we are figuring out the many details that need to be attended to, including remembrances, services, and his obituary. My faith gives me strength, and helps me hold us all tenderly in the light. I am comforted by a recording of “Holy Mother” performed by Eric Clapton, Luciano Pavarotti, and the East London Gospel Choir on replay, and the help of friends and family.
Friends are wonderful, and we are so deeply grateful. This morning, Rebecca Gilbert of Native Earth Teaching Farm wrote and asked if she could help me with this column, and I am so very grateful to her.
Bill O’Callaghan and Heather Goff’s Island Folk Pottery, Tiles, and Sculpture Trail, 16 Marion’s Way, Chimark (off Tabor House Road), is open for the season. Wednesdays to Saturdays from 11 to 5 pm, and Sundays, 2 to 5 pm. The trail is open daily from 9 until dusk.
Ingrid Goff’s shop, Tending Joy, is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 11 to 5. It’s on State Road, just before the fork for North Road.
And at Rebecca’s Native Earth Teaching Farm, the collaboration with Rick Bausman’s Milokan Center is full of spring energy. The regular visits from the Woods School at the Allen Farm have been fun for all. Most cultures use drumming, singing, and dancing as tools of agriculture, but we weren’t raised that way, so the children are helping us figure it out. They played samba to wake up the soaking pea seeds, danced around the lettuce and radish seeds before planting them in the community garden, and decided that the rain stick would be a good choice of instrument, since “seeds love rain.” Aren’t they brilliant?
There will be an informal bonfire, drum jam, and potluck from 4 to 8 pm for May Eve, Sunday April 30, and Afrojazz every Sunday from 2 to 6 at the Milokan hoop house and playable drum museum, next to the community garden at Native Earth Teaching Farm. They will also be hosting a mini retreat on “Composting Grief” on Saturday, May 6, from 1 to 7, with Marcia and Kathleen from Creative Grief Work in Boston. For more information, call Rebecca at 508-645-3304.
Daffodils are one of the few things nothing, not even hungry deer, is willing to eat, and they are in full swing now in Chilmark, most famously around the old gas pump on North Road. Those daffodils were planted by Fannie Jenkinson many years ago. Don’t cut the greens, which are storing sun energy for next year’s blossoms — they will be gone before it’s time to mow.
Note that this week at Pathways, doors open at 6:30 pm. On April 14, 7 to 9 pm, Pathways features the Island Collective, consisting of Island-based singer-songwriters and musicians Kate Taylor, Phil DaRosa, and David Saw, and Rebecca Correia, who divides her year between New Bedford and Nashville, an accomplished musician with more than 200 songs under her belt.
The otherwise (mostly) solo performers united around a vision to perform on a shared stage in Nashville, which they have now done twice. The most recent was in November 2022, to a packed room at the popular venue Fox and Locke, in Liepers Fork, which is known for presenting some of Nashville’s finest talent at its live music shows. The performers are now regrouping to recreate that experience for the first time on Martha’s Vineyard. The performances this evening will consist of solos, and a few collaborations, with musicians trading songs and backing one another up.
The Island Collective is working toward performing together in other venues, regionally and beyond. A collaborative song, “Love Is Contagious,” by Kate Taylor and Rebecca Correia (rebeccacorreia.com), was released approximately four months ago. Graham Smith will be compositing original digital art created with live video during performances.
And on April 15 at Pathworks, from 7 to 9 pm, join the Convertibles for an exploration of musical styles and influences: Latin grooves from U.S. greats Horace Silver, Dizzy Gillespie, and more; Brazilian bossa nova and choro; and music from Cuba, Uruguay, and Argentina. The Convertibles are Rich Giaimo, guitar and vocals, Becky Williams, piano and vocals, Mike Alberice on drums, and Steve Turner on bass. They will be joined by special guests Dan Waters, performing original works and Brazilian classics, and Steve Tully, on flute and saxophone.
If you have any Chilmark Town Column suggestions, email Claire Ganz, cganz@live.com.
