HOLLY NADLER

508-274-2329

(hollynadler@gmail.com)

Does any other town in the world feel as unreal as Oak Bluffs in early May?

You walk your dog past the pale pink bowers and towers of the Oak Bluffs Inn. You glimpse, beyond a Victorian pink-and-blue fence, a real live bunny nibbling grass under a splash of lavender wisteria and white tulips. Hello, Beatrix Potter!

Hair by Dana is gone! The space is cleaned out right down to its well-honed hardwood floorboards. Why did no one tell you? So you place a call to your friend Gwyn, who knows everything, and she reveals that Dana will now be making folks gorgeous at her home studio off Monroe avenue. When you ask the knowledgeable Gwyn what or who is going into Dana’s now-empty storefront on Circuit avenue, she draws a blank.

That space has already hosted two dazzling stores: First it was Vineyard Lights with its hats, scarves and gowns straight out of an Isadora Duncan set, plus jewelry, ceramics, and other wonderful whatnots. Next Jellyfish took over, with ultra-cool Hawkin’s graffiti-art walls, T-shirts and designer jeans (you were supposed to live and walk around in them without washing them for a full month). Hawkin and his business partner, Gareth, had a 50-inch flat-screen TV screen blasting sports events, and for several years running, Jellyfish, even without being a bar, was the most happening place around. And then it was Hair by Dana. And then? Over and out.

We’re still waiting to exhale while Primo Lombardi finishes up work on what used to be the Now and Then Store, then a few other boîtes, then Argonauta, then L’Elegance, then, any day now, Primo’s yoga center. (And suddenly you realize, man, it’s a bit cumbersome to have so long a memory.) Primo and his wife, Mary, have renovated the building with interior steel beams, stylish new windows, and a fab lookout tower on top. You ask Primo if you can live in the tower, and he says “No.” Bummer.

Down at the lower end of the street, you notice that Smoke ‘n Bones has a new lease on life that is less “Here, have a dripping pork chop!” to “Try one of our crêpes,” and “Yes, we have some vegetarian dishes.” A super nice family is running the joint — papa, mama and at least two grownup daughters; hang on, more details to follow.

Finally, as you reach the end of the street, your dog still hasn’t performed his morning mission, you’re beginning to reel from all the changes around town. You start to wonder if our selectmen shouldn’t purchase Edvard Munch’s The Howl at Sotheby’s as our personal summer iconic image, when you notice a message on the normally blank marquee of the Island Theatre: I Want You To Know That All Will Be Well.

You’ve always loved the affirmation of 14th century mystic Julian of Norwich, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

You find out that an Island psychotherapist, Julia Kidd, has arranged for messages to be installed in 11 locations around the Vineyard, each for a two week viewing, and this one is ours. Julia e-mailed to tell you that a woman who lives across the street from All Will Be Well gazed out her window one morning in a dreary frame of mind, saw the message and brightened up. She crossed the street, not to kill the messenger but to thank her.

So, venture out, why don’t you, to inspect the sign while it lasts. Even when it’s gone, take a hint from Dame Julian and remember that all shall be well (and she said this during a century of plague, the pope’s escape from Rome to Avignon, famine, and Catholics burning the heck out of Protestants, until Protestants got a chance to burn Catholics back).

Right-face to Oak Bluffs business: At the Oak Bluffs library, the good folks are collecting donations for the Animal Shelter, so please bring dog and cat food. Plus librarian Rosemary Knowlton Hildreth has put together a display of animal inspiration books, such as Dewey, The Library Cat, a true story about a kitten tossed like a used tissue in an overnight book drop on a frosty Midwestern night, saved the next day by librarians and transformed into a celebrity cat.

Also at the library, on Saturday May 5, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., the book drive will take place, so bring your cast-off yet readable treasures. Caveat dumptor: Take a look at the library’s Facebook page to see a picture of what not to donate. Over the weekend someone deposited a truckload of rotting, moldy, beyond-redemption books. The town had to pay big strapping workmen to haul them to the landfill. The takeaway from this sad story: You can dispose of crummy books, one at a time, when they get too icky, just so long as they’re not folios from Shakespeare’s original plays. (Or the Earl of Oxford’s.)

Early Bird registration is now open for the first ever One Day University: Arts, Culture, Sustainability hosted by ACE MV. The all day event, on June 23 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., will include choices from 13 workshops, eight roundtable discussions and over 20 exhibits that will explore creative ways to enhance sustainable living. Workshops presenters cover a wide range, including The Yes Men on social justice actions, Barney Brawer on becoming a change agent, World Savvy on sustainable communities, Island experts John Abrams addressing business in a new economy, and Jon Previant of the Farm Institute, David White of the Yard and many others.

A lunch of local foods prepared by Kitchen Porch will include table discussions with the Pit Stop, Biodiversity Works, Martha’s Vineyard Shell Recovery Group, Health Education Collaborative, Island Grown Schools, the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, The Farm Project, and Raging Indifference. Over 20 exhibitors will be part of an interactive gallery tour in the morning and throughout the day. Register now to get your choice of workshops at Early Bird prices. Download a brochure at acemv.org/onedayu.html. For details and registration visit acemv.org, call 774-310-1131 or e-mail odu@acemv.org.