Spring is blooming, the snow fence is down in Menemsha, and Larsen’s Fish Market is preparing to open on May 1, their hours will be 10 am to 6 pm. Abe Pieciak dropped off a new work at the Copperworks, and we are impatiently waiting to hear from Iggy’s.
The Chilmark School invites us to join in their May Day Celebration on Thursday, May 1. The Maypole Dance starts at 9 am, followed by a morning circle around the flagpole at 9:30.
The cool days and rain give us a memorizable daffodil season, one where the early golden blooms are still lovely and the whites are beginning in earnest.
Spring used to include trips to Everett Poole at his chandlery for supplies and advice on how to finish and repair almost anything. He taught me to straighten my shoulders, never give up, and ask for help; many are happy to share their expertise, and some will lend a hand.
Thank you to the Charter School and Vineyard Conservation Beach BeFrienders for coming over to help clean up the beach. It is a long path, and they brought up 160 pounds of lobster traps, Styrofoam panels, fishing lines, bottles, cans, oyster nets, balloons, a shoe, tires, toys, pieces of metal, foil, and plastic.
It is a huge help.
The evening of “Maritime Memoirs” stories at Pathways was captivating, and reminded me how important it is to share the truth of our experiences, and how lucky we are to have at our center a fishing village. Thank you, Mark Allen Lovewell and Molly Conole for opening the evening, Nat Benjamin, Brad Abott, Matthew Stackpole, Julia Kidd, Caitlin Jones, Cole Powers, James Wellen, and Christina Colarusso.
Pathways has a way of connecting us, and composer Tony Tobia’s extraordinarily rich compositions and invitation to voice the wonderfully varied personal experiences they sparked makes you realize how talented our performers and those in the audiences are. Maybe a movie will come from these compositions.
As Laurisa Rich remarked, Lydia Fischer’s lyrics are anthems we need, and her voice control and range are fabulous. I found her on SoundCloud and an old YouTube BIRN Alive! video. I am looking forward to buying plants, and appreciate buying her vegetables, but streaming her anthems songs is a whole ’nother thing.
Even though it was late, we needed an encore from Douglas Rush.
Pathways’ closing celebration is Friday, April 25, at 6:30 pm. Lexi Weeg and J.J. Slater will play at 7. At 8, cake and champagne toasts to Marianne and the fabulous team of Keren Tonnesen and Scott Crawford.
While we ramp up for summer, we can revisit these events on Pathways Arts Vimeo.
The family of Ron Rappaport invites us to save the date for a celebration of his life and impactful legacy, on Saturday, May 31, at 3 pm at the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society, 35 Panhandle Road in West Tisbury.
I am grateful for your presence.
If you have any Chilmark Town Column suggestions, email Claire Ganz, cganz@live.com.
