A monthly newsletter dedicated to Island events and eats by Jenna Sylvia with culinary contributions by Marnely Murray.
Small business Saturday, culinary edition
Small Business Saturday falls on Nov. 28 this year, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and it’s the perfect time to strengthen the Island’s local economy by promoting the importance of small businesses. Because the reality is that supporting local businesses isn’t just about shopping, it’s about investing in the well-being of…
Grapevine: Between beach chairs and beanies
Although the first day of fall is technically on Sept. 22, to me, Nov. 1 feels like a much bigger…
Three Questions with Emily Coulter
At Morrice Florist in Vineyard Haven, owner Emily Coulter brings an artistic eye and a love of seasonal blooms to…
Harvest, in Islander hands
October on this Island has a rhythm to it, and this year that rhythm runs…
The weddings that weathered the storm
September rolled in with peace and subtlety. The light was golden, the beaches were still…
Three Questions with DJ Dern
For DJ Dern, music has always been about connection. From growing up surrounded by the sounds of his close-knit Jamaican…
Three Questions with Jessica Shai
For those working in the Vineyard’s event world, summer is a season of beautiful celebrations, complicated logistics, long days, and…
The Last Supper of Summer
Figuring out what to title the articles I write is always the hardest part –writing 1500 words is easy. It’s…
The Island after August
September is here, and you may have had that moment when you realize the summer rush is slowing. It isn’t…
Behind the Season
Views from the Dish Pit at Sweet Life –Erin Ryerson Coastal Events MV preparing for a big event –Jenna Sylvia…
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A monthly newsletter dedicated to Island events and eats
Jenna Sylvia
Jenna Sylvia is an Island native with a deep love and appreciation for the place she now calls home again. Sylvia grew up working in restaurants and events on Martha’s Vineyard. She then studied journalism at Keene State College in New Hampshire and went on to work in hospitality and events in Boston, before moving back to the Vineyard to work at the Martha’s Vineyard Times. She went on to found an event production company serving the Massachusetts Cape and Islanders – Coastal Events MV. She believes in the beauty of bringing people together, but also the fundamental importance of local journalism.
Marnely Murray
Marnely Murray returns to the MV Times food pages ten years after first writing for us, bringing back her deep love of local kitchens, farms, and the back of the house people that make things delicious on this island. She is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York, who then moved to Martha’s Vineyard for a restaurant job where she met her husband and settled down into the rhythm of seasonal cooking on Martha’s Vineyard. She was the pastry chef at a private golf course in Edgartown for 12 years, while also writing a food blog called Cooking with Books on and off for over a decade working with national brands such as Cabot Cheese, King Arthur Flour, and Sabra Hummus, among others. She dines out at least 2-3 times a week, when supporting local restaurants becomes not her job, but her way of life. Originally from another island, the Dominican Republic, she brings her knowledge, hunger for good food, and thirst for culinary knowledge to us by way of The Grapevine. In 2026 and beyond, she’ll partner with Jenna Sylvia to help guide the newsletter into food-forward waters, celebrating how Martha’s Vineyard eats year-round.