For some, a birthday is just a day on the calendar and an occasion to indulge in cake. For others it’s an opportunity to really whoop it up or, perhaps, reflect and take stock of achievements, growth and challenges from the previous year. No matter how you celebrate or how you are celebrated, birthdays are a perfect excuse to not only eat cake, share stories and reflect, but to dote on that special someone just a little extra.

Celebrating her very first birthday just a few short days ago was Miss Sadie Coutinho. Parents Jenna and Cody, big brother Henry, grandparents Linda and Robert and great-gram Margaret Maida, along with more family and friends, reveled in the joy this sweet girl has offered up over the past 365 days. Now that she’s on her feet and toddling around, life is going to get even more exciting.

Celebrating this upcoming week is Lindsey Scott. The big 5-0 is is a great opportunity to share some of those cheesy quotes like, “you’re proof 50 is fierce and fabulous” and “congratulations on half a century of making the world a little brighter.” As an aside, it seems Barbra Streisand’s song The Way We Were topped the charts on the day Lindsey was born.

World events were prolific in 1968, but closer to home there was a new baby being welcomed and doted on by Dorothy and Ralph Packer. Jan. 17 was a Wednesday, Capricorn was the star sign, Judy in Disguise by John Fred and the Playboys was the top song in the U.S., The Beatles’ Hello Goodbye topped the U.K. chart and little Deborah Packer was the newest member of Generation X. Life for the Packers was about to get even more exciting with child number three in the mix.

Will Dolan — youngest offspring of Tory and Will — of Chilmark and Siesta Key, Fla. made his way around the world to Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia to be excitedly greeted by friends Brooks Carroll and Tegan Fenner. He has settled in to the relaxed lifestyle with a new-to-him surfboard and plans to venture into waters unlike those here on the East Coast.

Adam Knight has put some effort into making custom lures. Hand crafted and meticulously painted with an attention to detail, these pieces meant to lure in fish certainly dazzle the fisher people.

Alex Karalekas — Potluck Jam creator, coordinator, advertiser and all-around guy — put together, as the teens say, an “epic” line up of performers this past weekend. Attendees filed in after filling all of the parking spaces at the Chilmark Community Center, the bank, library, post office and school. Food — from Kulture Club MV Kombucha to venison stew and everything in between — lined the tables and was quickly consumed while performers prepped the sound system, equipment, instruments and voices. Willy Mason, Isaac Taylor, Lexi Roth, Brad Tucker, Nancy Jephcote, Paul Thurlow and many, many more took the stage to dazzle the crowd.

If you missed the Jam, there’s another opportunity in the center of town to gather and revel in song. Chilmark Community Church is the venue to be at on Sunday, Feb. 4. If you stop by you’ll be rewarded with a double feature. Starting at 5 p.m. an assortment of performers will take the stage for Offerings of Music and Light. Then, after a brief intermission and reception, Mark Lovewell and Molly Conole will wow the room with a continued opportunity to chase away the winter blues. They’ll get up front with their voices, wit and charm at 7 p.m.