More fog over this past week and more rain as well but lawns are a rich thick green for the season. Happy Cinco de Mayo on Friday.

Chilmark Chocolates reopens on May 4. The Chilmark Tavern will open on May 18 and the Outermost Inn opens on May 19. Cliffhangers and all of the shops at the cliffs will be open by Memorial Day weekend.

The children at Chilmark School held their traditional May Day activities with a dance around the Maypole. Thank you to the fifth grade class in Chilmark for presenting May Day baskets to elders in Chilmark and Aquinnah. My basket was brimming with baked goods, soaps, daffodils, a tulip, candy and hand cream. Thank you for carrying on this tradition and for your Christmas and Valentine cards for up-Island elders as well.

Mother’s Day is in the plans for this week at the Aquinnah Public Library. On Saturday May 6 at 10 a.m. it is story time and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. is kids craft: Mother’s Day cards.

Town meeting is on Tuesday, May 9 at 7 p.m. Voting is on Wednesday, May 10 from noon to 7 p.m. I would appreciate your support at town meeting for articles regarding the Community Services CORE Program as well as the First Stop Program for our elders. There are approximately 2,000 elders in Aquinnah, Chilmark, and West Tisbury.

On Friday, May 5, the Island Wide Youth Collaborative in partnership with the Immigration Resource Center of the Community Action Committee of Cape Cod and the Islands will bring expert legal advice to those on-Island needing assistance with immigration issues. An immigration attorney will be in the office from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is available to provide advice and assistance with forms. An appointment is required to speak with the attorney. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 508-693-7900, ext. 400 (English speaking), or ext. 410 (English and Portuguese speaking).

The American Red Cross will hold blood drives this week at two locations on two different days. On Thursday, May 4, they will be at Alex’s Place at the YMCA from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m., and on Friday, May 5 at the Regional High School in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. As one who requires transfusions on occasion, I would encourage you to donate — you just might save a life.

Your help is needed to develop priorities for the newly formed Massachusetts Shellfish Initiative on Friday, May 5, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theater in Vineyard Haven.

It will be Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, May 6 from 10 a.m. to noon at the YMCA. Programs are free, open to the public and fun for the entire family. There will be games, an obstacle course, a chance to decorate a derby hat, free swim in the pool (bring your cap if you have one), lots of goodies, derby treats at the café, and T-shirts. View one of the Oak Bluffs ambulances as well as a fire truck. Enjoy.

Don’t miss the annual kid’s trout derby on Saturday, May 6, from 6 to 9 a.m. at Duarte’s Pond off Lambert’s Cove Road, sponsored by the Martha’s Vineyard Rod and Gun Club, which stocks the pond with hundreds of trout. Awards, prizes, and hot breakfast are included in this free event.

There will be a lecture by Linda Rinta and discussion about native bees on May 9 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Agricultural Hall. Free and open to the public.

The Martha’s Vineyard Cancer Support Group invites you to its annual fundraising gala Evening Under the Stars on Thursday, May 18, from 5:30 until 8:30 p.m. at Farm Neck. The evening includes appetizers, buffet dinner, dessert, silent auction and a cash bar. All the money raised goes directly to Island cancer patients and their families to help with various costs of their treatments. For information and tickets, call Annemarie Donahue at 508-627-7958. The group meets every Wednesday at noon at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center library.

Congratulations and all the best to Genc Brinja, who became a naturalized American citizen on April 26 in Boston. He was accompanied on his journey by Timothy Carroll. On Saturday family and friends gathered at the home of Marshall and Katie Carroll to celebrate Genc’s citizenship. Cheers and welcome to America.

Congratulations to Sean and Linnea Guinan on the birth of their daughter Aquinnah Maeve Bowen Guinan, who was born at the South Shore Hospital in Weymouth on May 1 at 12:21 p.m., weighing in at 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and 21 inches in length. Congratulations to Craig (Spa or Spazzini) Tharpe on the birth of his first grandchild. Aquinnah’s name references her mother’s place of birth, her father’s Irish heritage, and her maternal great-grandmother’s last prayer for her granddaughter. We will look forward to their arrival in Aquinnah at the home of Spa, Anya, Finn, and Yossi for her Vineyard debut.

Yossi and Finn Monahan enjoyed their spring vacation with their father Michael Monahan and a trip to Antigua. They had a great time.

Happy 45th anniversary wishes to Michael and Pamela Dolby as they celebrate on May 6. Happy 11th anniversary wishes to Lang and Irina Gerhard as they celebrate on May 6.

Happy birthday wishes this week to Bill Smith as he celebrates a milestone on May 4. Tim Carroll will celebrate on May 6 and shares the day with his cousin Alexandra Taylor. Caleb Caldwell will party on May 7, as will Heather Hamacek (her mom only reads Lynne Irons’ Gazette column!). Mark Lovewell and Rob Decker share the day on May 9. May 10 is a day of celebration for Phyllis Meras, Paul Cotton, Lenny Polucci, Madeline Cookie Gazaille Perry, and Bonnie Ciancio Parent. Robin Robinson and Lucas Batzer share the day on May 11. Jyl Manning, Marjorie Vanderhoop Galbraith, and Serel Garvin share May 12.

Send Aquinnah news to junemanning152@gmail.com.