Updated April 8th.
Chabad on Martha’s Vineyard has nailed down a new location in Chilmark for its annual and popular Jewish Culture Festival held in August, if they’re able to find supplemental parking elsewhere.
Chabad said in a recent Chilmark select board meeting, they’re planning to bring their festival to Point Inner Way to an exclusive 5-acre property owned by New York tech-company Glocap founder Adam Zoia. The home made headlines in recent years for its $1 million per month seasonal rental cost and for its size in bucolic Chilmark.
The Jewish festival started in 2023 and in past iterations featured local Jewish artists, headlining musicians, and hundreds of Jewish Islanders in attendance. This year, they’ve reportedly confirmed comedian Elon Gold as a headliner.
After exceeding their allowance of 350 tickets sold at last year’s event by about 300, Chabad decided to move the festival out of West Tisbury after the town did not allow for the requested amount of attendees for this year.
Chabad is still working on parking after Rabbi Tzvi Alperowitz brought the request to the Chilmark select board on Tuesday night to use a lesser-known town-owned lot that had previously been used as a baseball field. And the Chilmark select board, citing the busy time of year, rejected the request.
Alperowitz pushed back against their decision, and said he’d be open to cap participants at 500 or 600 in an effort to minimize traffic potential, but the select board didn’t budge. During one of the busiest weeks of the summer, the board said they were unwilling to add to the possible congestion on the streets and weren’t open to using a lot that hadn’t been used for parking before.
“This town area hasn’t been used for parking and there’s a reluctance to open the door for this type of use,” select chair James M. Malkin said.
Updated to reflect the confirmation of venue is contingent on parking.
The island of no strikes again you need a better reason than it has not been done before.
Totally agree
The event is much loved and a great
Addition to summer events
I’m not sure of this location, however, haha, and good for Chilmark, traffic is not the only problem. Events this size are.
This is much safer. Good idea.
spell error correction
Maybe change your name to the Christian Chabad Church (CCC), and you will get Island co-operation?
Sounds like the owner of the “exclusive” Chilmark property is more inclusive than either Chilmark and West Tisbury combined.
Keep the religious bias out of this. Come on, reality check! State Road, Chilmark can not handle this and shouldn’t need to endure this in a quiet, peaceful neighborhood on a country road that is challenged without any events. Remember, the hours we waited to pass President Clintons birthday on State Road?! back in the 90’s. Why do people want to make here, like there? There are many event places all over this country and world that would welcome this and have parking lots and could easily accommodate…why destroy the precious peace we pay such a high price to enjoy? Why do you want to make here like where you came from? Quiet summer nights with stars in the sky, please don’t take it away. Billionaire with your million dollar rental, please, try walking in our shoes for a minute. We used to see the milky way on summer nights.
Thank you. Someone with a heart AND a brain to answer this . . . people seem intent on ruining what little is still left of MV.
Why not use shuttles to bring people out to the property? Doesn’t seem like that much if tough fix.
Apparently the town doesn’t want to use the obvious easy parking and shuttle bus solution. In the past, Chilmark figured out it could accommodate parking for hordes watching sunsets at Menemsha, by providing VTA shuttles every evening all summer long between Tabor House Road dump lot and the Menemsha beach.
This is not a congestion issue. It is something else. If it were for Save the Whales or Climate Change initiatives it would get approval.
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