All must come out to see Miss Maybelline’s Nocturnal Flights of Fancy at the Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse on Church street in Vineyard Haven. Developed by the brilliant Oak Bluffs playwright Kathleen McGhee-Anderson, the play stars Tonye Patano, Jamiel Burkhart and others. It involves a spirited centenarian and lifelong Oak Bluffs resident who forges a friendship with an autistic teenage neighbor. This is a must-see production.

Ronald and Charlene Carroll of Oak Bluffs greeted scores of family, friends and guests at the wedding of their daughter Robin to Keith Middleton last Saturday in Boston. The ceremony was held in Hyde Park under the beautifully decorated tent in the sprawling yard of younger brother Ronald. The rain threatened to slow down the proceedings but a very excited and celebratory crowd pushed out the rain and ushered in the bride and groom with the dazzling sun. This couple have been close friends for several years as like turned to love and love to a lifelong commitment.

Both pledged to honor their vows as Paul Laurence Dunbar whispers, in Invitation to Love: “Come in the twilight soft and gray, Come in the night or come in the day, Come, O Love, whene’er you may, And you are welcome, welcome.”

Recently the NAACP in collaboration with media partner PBS Vegas announced that our very own Prof. Henry Louis (Skip) Gates Jr. will be the 2024 Spingarn medal recipient when they convene in Las Vegas, Nev. for their upcoming 115th national convention. This medal acknowledges the highest or noblest achievement by a living African American in any honorable field during the preceding year or years. Skip has published numerous books, produced and hosted an array of Emmy-nominated documentary films and is most visibly known for his groundbreaking genealogy series: Finding Your Roots on PBS.

Congrats to dear friend of the Island who brings his programs each year to his summer public classroom to the Vineyard.

The Charles Ogletree Public Forum Series unfolds in earnest on July 31 and programming is planned for eight forums through August 22. The first event will take place on July 31 and has been designed by Clinee Hedspeth, former modern and contemporary art specialist with Phillips Auction House of New York. Ms. Hedspeth was recently recruited by the new mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, to become commissioner of the Chicago department of cultural affairs and special events. She will be holding a not-to-be-missed conversation with artist Fabiola Jean Louis on Reimagining Black Female Beauty: The Work of Fabiola Jean Louis. A Haitian American artist working in photography, paper textile design and sculpture, Fabiola is currently Gardner Artist-in-Residence in Boston at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. This will be a dynamic interactive discussion.

Tom and Joyce Dresser plan to present a discussion on their new book, A Culinary History of Martha’s Vineyard on Monday, July 22 at the Oak Bluffs senior center across from Niantic Park. The talk begins at 2 p.m.

Paradise on earth is living the Vineyard experience! Enjoy it as life is fleeting.
Randall Edward Taylor: Rest in Peace!