BETTYE FOSTER BAKER

508-696-9983

(bdrbaker@comcast.net)

It is a long-held piece of Oak Bluffs tradition that those who summer here year after year upon returning each year are in reality coming to another family reunion. That’s how close friends and families have become here over the years and it is a deep feeling of connectedness worth preserving that spans generations of both blacks and whites. For example, we are introducing yet a new generation of grandchildren to this community who will be affirmed for their humanity, their potential and ability to accept and pass onto their progeny this unshakable belief that communities thrive when they understand and honor their past as a means of preserving their future. So it is here and I hope it will be for future generations. There will always be celebrity in our town and that is good. Magazines and newspapers write about us, films are made about us, perhaps not always getting it just right, but nevertheless recognizing that Oak Bluffs presents a unique character unlike that of Idlewild, Mich. whose brand was black culture and entertainment, or Sag Harbor, N.Y.

Oak Bluffs has its own brand. A combination of multiculturalism, intellectualism, and a focus on civic duty. Celebrated cultural and social interactions, concentrated in a circumscribed group identity through segregation, have become dispersed overtime as African Americans achieve greater freedom and access to education and economic opportunity. It is here where the forces of historical reference allow a community to remain in the comfort of simply being together and to include others in a kind of shared understanding, regardless of race, and that is not only liberating, but also healthy.

As I look at my calendar, it is nearly impossible to believe that we are perched on the middle of that summer family tree branch whose days multiply so rapidly and whose inevitable end causes such anxiety. We do not want to even think how fast the time is sailing past and for now let’s pretend we’re on “kid time.” Children never think time passes quickly. For them it is slower than molasses and that is why they never stop asking the perennial question, “How long before we get there?”

With my granddaughter spending the month with me I am into “kid time” with a vengeance. I can’t remember what it was like not to have an activities calendar that includes tennis, swimming, the library reading program, play-dates, five o’clocks with Ami, the cocker spaniel across the street, and daily trips to the beach. For me, rain is a relief these days.

I have become a quasi-expert on children’s summer recreation on the Island. A good example is Niantic Park on Wamsutta, open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The place is bustling with kids. Tennis and basketball are the main attractions, but the monkey bars also get a serious workout. The basketball court is filled with players of all ages enrolled in the basketball camp. It’s so 21st century, seeing co-ed groups play.

Nick Barnard and Will Joyner are the tennis pros, and they are excellent at what they do. Nick is a junior at Colgate University, majoring in environmental geography and Will is a graduate of William and Mary. Nick had three players in tow as they worked on racquet skills to get the ball over the net successfully. Another instructor had eight players. There are so many children who want to play tennis that they are adding two more youth clinics! I wonder if seeing the brilliant Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, win both singles and doubles championships again at Wimbledon and the great Roger Federer reclaim his title is a factor here?

Mothers and grandmothers, family guests and nannies stand outside the fence discreetly coaching their charges on with an occasional cheer to boost confidence. Olivia and Louis Baxter’s grandson, nine-year-old Jordan Baxter, was handling a racquet for the first time, but seemed to already have that pro potential. Then there was nine-year-old Beatrice Pforr, who lives in the Camp Ground with her parents and two older siblings, who was enjoying the lesson in spite of another six-year-old, Julianne Walker, who was so thrilled to make contact with the ball that she could barely stop jumping up and down.

I’ve been talking with grandmas around town and they are tired but overjoyed to spend time with the “little people.” Diane and Craig Welburn, who live on Tuckernuck, have had their four grandchildren at the compound since June 21. Eight-year-old Jordan Holeman and her brother, five-year old Jalen Holeman, along with cousins, three-year old Cameron Welburn and her brother Craig Welburn, the third generation of “Craigs” at 22 months. Their mother, Eugenia Livings Welburn, is also here. In deep reflection, Diane said, “There is no love like the love between a grandparent and a grandchild.” She is so right.

Of course, there is life after the grandchildren’s visit. It comes in small doses and begins when we reach under the bed for the bag and help the darlings pack to return home. We can eat meat again, recycle at our own pace, answer fewer questions — take a nap!

Andrea Taylor, daughter of the late and beloved Della Brown Hardman, has, in conjunction with Island entities, created a stellar series of programs for the fifth annual Della Brown Hardman Day in Oak Bluffs, culminating in a spectacular jazz tribute to President Obama in words and music on July 25, 4 to 6 p.m. in Ocean Park. The program will feature Columbia law professor Patricia Williams, also a columnist for The Nation, and saxophonist, composer and painter Oliver Lake. Many of Della’s family members will be here.

Friday, July 24, at the East Chop Lighthouse at 7 p.m. there will be a sunset concert featuring the Spirituals Choir, with Jim Thomas as director.

Friday, July 24, Savor the Moment high school essay contest winners will be announced.

Saturday, July 25, at 2 p.m., the Savor the Moment 2010 Calendar, published by the Oak Bluffs Library to honor Della Brown Hardman will be released. This is the second year that the library has held a contest to select images for the Savor the Moment calendar. Contest judges were photographers Alison Shaw and Don Alexander Goss, and Francine Kelly, director of Featherstone Center for the Arts. Photographs were judged on the artful representation of the Savor the Moment theme during all four seasons on the Island.

Della was such an inspiration to all who knew her and this year’s activities will be extraordinary. For more information visit Della Hardman Day Event on Facebook or dellahardmanday.com.

Here is a sampling of offerings in Oak Bluffs this week.

Sunday, July 19 at 10 a.m. at Union Chapel, The Very Rev. James Kowalski, Dean of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, New York, N.Y., will sermonize. Rev. Kowalski was elected by its board in March 2002, just after Sept. 11 and just before a devastating fire struck the Cathedral a month after that election. Restorations and strategic repositioning were completed in 2008. It was rededicated on Nov. 30, 2008, beginning the launch of what may be the most exciting chapter in the cathedral’s history since its cornerstone was laid in 1892. The theme of Dean Kowalski’s message asks the question: What are the foundations of our faith and values that anchor us in troubled times, as persons and as nations? Union Chapel is located at the south end of Kennebec and Circuit avenues in Oak Bluffs. The service begins at 9:45 a.m. and welcomes everyone to its non-denominational service. Informal summer attire is acceptable.

Sunday, July 19 at 9:30 am, Tabernacle Sunday service: Rev. Dr. James Kidd, who now resides in Oak Bluffs will be the speaker. Rev. Dr. Kidd retired from the United Church of Christ in Hartford, Ct.

Tabernacle, Friday, July 17 at 8 p.m. the Vineyard Sound will present theirannual concert. Tickets are $15.

Tabernacle, Monday, July 20 at 7 p.m. family movie night will feature The Wizard of Oz. There will be a free-will offering.  All are welcome to join the fun and see this classic film.

Tabernacle, Thursday, July 23 at 3 p.m. Come out to the special children’s event, The Airborne Comedians. This group will keep the children and adults laughing as they entertain with jokes and juggling. All are welcome. Admission is free.

Wednesday, July 22 at 6 p.m. Kristin Buck of the Visiting Nurses Association invites all to join in the fun at the annual clambake at the Field Gallery in West Tisbury. This fundraiser benefits the Vineyard Nursing Association which serves the entire Island. All proceeds benefit home health care on Martha’s Vineyard. Tickets are $125 each or a table of eight for $900. There will be live and silent auctions. Entertainment will be provided by Vineyard Sound. This traditional New England clambake is offered with compliments from the Martha’s Vineyard Clambake Company. Call 508-696-0785 for tickets or information. Tickets can be purchased online at ticketsmv.com.

Saturday, July 22 through August 5 at Craven Gallery, Breakdown Lane in Vineyard Haven. Artist Jo-Anne Bates, longtime summer resident of Oak Bluffs, will show her monotypes, a process where she layers colors and texture. Jo-Anne is renowned for her high energy, spontaneous and colorful use of textures, line and movement to create the unexpected. A reception will be held at the gallery on July 25 from 5 to 7 p.m. Other artists will be featured as well.

Cottagers Corner, July 23 at 10 a.m: The Cottagers children’s art program begins July 23. There will be classes on August 4, 11, 13, 18, 20 at the same time. Cottagers Corner is located on 57 Pequot avenue across from Hartford Park.