JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

Chilmarkers can save gasoline and shop in town this holiday season. Many shops will remain open weekends. The kickoff for the holiday shopping will be a flea market at the community center on Dec. 8 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Coco Adams asks all vendors of crafts and handmade items to come out and sell their holiday wares. There will be antiques and attic treasures, too. Ethel Sherman will be there with her favored jellies and jams. Please call Coco at 508-645-3414 for details.

Roberta Morgan will have her Harbor Craft Shop on Basin Road open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through the season.

The West Tisbury Congregational Church will hold their annual greens and crafts sale on Dec. 8 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. They will offer a soup luncheon beginning at 11:30 p.m.

The up-Island end of the North Road will be closed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Nov. 26 to 30 for repaving so plan accordingly.

Scott McDowell says he is home from his summer vacation. He is a busy charter fisherman out of Menemsha all summer so now is his summer. He spent two weeks visiting various islands in the British Virgin Islands where he enjoying snorkeling and sailing. He had the usual Vineyarder’s experience of coincidently meeting another Vineyarder, Allen Fortes. I guess we all favor islands for vacations.

Scott is a metal sculptor and will be at his studio/shop for the rest of the winter. You can find him there by chance or appointment.

The library invites us all to the monthly movie screening on Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. The movie this month is Ocean’s 13. Admission and popcorn are free.

The Chilmark Book Group will meet at the library on Nov. 29 at 4 p.m. for a discussion of the book The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud. All are invited and refreshments will be served.

We send condolences to the Frank Biondi family on the recent death of Frank’s brother, Michael J. Biondi of Greenwich, Conn. The Biondi family have been Vineyard seasonal residents for many years and have many friends here who are thinking of them at this time.

Chilmark Library Director Ebba Hierta is offering the public an opportunity to use the library Web link to Consumer Reports ratings and reliability reports on all products. It might help with your holiday shopping. You can use any computer and go to the Web site consumerreports.org and sign in with the user name, chilmarklibrary and use password: chilmarklibrary.