Working to sustain and maintain the beautiful Campground in Oak Bluffs, with its charming and colorful architecture and storied history, is part and parcel of Kelly Feirtag’s job as general manager of the MV Camp Meeting Association (MVCMA). No small task, but it’s not her first Grand Illumination by a long shot.
Feirtag, 36, has always loved Oak Bluffs, having first come to the Island for summer vacation with her best friend’s family when she was 13 or 14. By the time they were 16 or 17, they began spending summers working on the Island before going back home to Baltimore in the fall. Then when college rolled around, Feirtag found herself living in a dorm at Savannah College of Art and Design with other students from the Island, cementing her connection even more.
She graduated and ended up in New York and LA as a business consultant with companies like Apple, LVMH, Starbucks, and Google. Feirtag helped build their creative teams, recruiting and developing operations, and acting as a fixer for businesses in trouble. “I was lucky to have an incredible CEO who brought me into every meeting he took. You can’t put a price on that kind of exposure,” she says. Somehow she even managed to go to culinary school after work. But the pull of the Island was always there.
“I do remember coming to the Campground, it is such a magical place,” Feirtag said when we talked last week at her office in Trinity Park, then she laughed a little. “Before I was 21, I tried to get into the Ritz and I got my ID taken away — and then years later I ended up managing it.”
Spending time on the Island some summers ago, Feirtag met Ritz owners Larkin and Jacqueline Stallings, and they were looking for someone to pull the Ritz together a bit and bring back its identity. Even though her experience had not included running a bar, she found herself managing the Ritz and truly enjoying the career move. Feirtag is also the co-founder of Ladyfest MV, the music festival on Circuit Avenue that supports the Island’s domestic violence support program.
“I did that for three years and I had the best boss in the world and the best staff and it changed the trajectory of my career,” Feirtag said. “It was really an honor to do that. It was a gift to do it.” She moved back to LA for a couple years after leaving the Ritz and then Larkin recommended her to the recruiter searching for someone to fill the position at the MVCMA.
“I was looking for a new project and that’s how I ended up back here,” Feirtag said. “And so I feel like it’s really rare that you get to help out two iconic Martha’s Vineyard establishments. You spend the first year getting to know the place and second year learning where to make improvements, and I was handed such a good base here. They have amazing events and programs, beautiful facilities, plus a best in class staff. It’s all about making small tweaks to the different aspects of this job for the benefit of the whole.
“I’ve made lifelong connections with some of the residents who treat me like family. They threw me a bridal shower when I didn’t even plan one for myself. I’ll never forget that.”
Feirtag and her husband divide their time between the Island and Brooklyn, where he works for Mount Sinai, spending most of their time here. He is originally from Camden, Maine, also a tourist area, so he feels right at home on the Island, Feirtag said. And summer means nonstop effort scheduling all the events and activities, and keeping residents and visitors happy.
The summertime event calendar at the Campground is extensive — yoga, a flea market, art shows, Sunday Services, bible study, concerts on the lawn, family movie nights, community sing, the Cottage Tour — and then there’s managing the residential leases and commercial leases for the 32-acre property. There’s the gift shop and museum, and it’s a National Historic Landmark, not to mention August’s Grand Illumination — on August 14 this year. There are some 300 cottages at the Campground, many with multiple people on the leases. “There may be five people on it and you have to get all of the signatures and they may be all over the world,” Feirtag said. “Plus, it’s a massive tourist destination, and we’re also a residential community and religious nonprofit. We’re a little bit of everything”
The MVCMA has worked long and hard to restore the ironclad outdoor Tabernacle to its original glory, and next they’re raising funds to maintain an endowment to ensure that the structure remains looked after for years to come.
Along that theme, Feirtag has put together a concert fundraiser at the Tabernacle coming up on Saturday, August 10, at 7 pm — the musician Jewel performs with the Island’s own Willy Mason opening for her. Proceeds will go to help pay for the new roof at the Tabernacle, just now finished, Feirtag said.
“The juxtaposition of Jewel and Willy Mason …. They really complement each other,” Feirtag said. “He is a big name in his own right.”
Lining up entertainment at the MVCMA is right up Feirtag’s alley; it’s something she managed during her time at the Ritz.
“I’m hoping this means we get big names coming back to the Tabernacle every year again. It’s one of the ways I can help keep improving this place. Bringing big names and more people to the Campground for our events brings financial support for our community.”
I asked who she would like to see play at the Tabernacle and her eyes lit up: “My dream is Bruce Springsteen…maybe Jackson Browne, Brittany Howard, Maggie Rogers…Bruce, though, that would be the coolest.”
Feirtag said she’d also like to see more diversity, bringing R&B singers, hip-hop, and reggae musicians to the Tabernacle.
“The reggae scene has always been present here, but I’d love to see it pushed forward even more,” she said. “At our sunset concert series, we’ve made an effort to bring in more diverse music, different ethnicities …our board has done a lot of work moving that forward. We have a Social Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion taskforce and we just did a workshop on DEI space and antiracism. We’ve had a good turnout, and will have two followup workshops happening in the next couple of weeks. We have more work to do, but I’m proud of the momentum.”
Feirtag’s position, with tentacles that seem to stretch in all directions, brings the best of all of her combined career experience to the forefront.
“This job has so many aspects to it, maybe that’s why it might be a good fit for me,” Feirtag muses. “I have a little experience with a lot of things. At some point I’ll have to slow down — but not yet.”
For tickets to see Jewel with opener Willy Mason and to learn more about the MVCMA visit mvcma.org.
