The Vineyard Playhouse continues its Shakespeare-out-of-doors tradition this summer by presenting an all time audience favorite, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This production opened on July 15 and runs through August 15 at the Tisbury Amphitheatre at the Tashmoo Overlook on State Road in Vineyard Haven. Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 5 p.m. plus Sunday August 15 at 5 p.m.

Let Loose the Imagination

Want to take a right turn in this left brain world? How about dipping a toe in the creative waters by attending a faculty reading and reception that opens up the inaugeral year of the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. But this isn’t just about sitting back and enjoying the ride. It’s an invitation to join the circus. The institute still has a few spots left in its weeklong seminar running from July 26 to July 30.

Church Treasures

The West Tisbury Congregational Church will offer its third, popular summer sale of collectibles and treasures on the church grounds in the center of town on Saturday, July 24. The sale runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

This is the weekend of the 24th annual Monster Shark Tournament and as many as 120 recreational fishing boats are expected in Oak Bluffs harbor. They’ll ply the waters south and east of the Vineyard in pursuit of the biggest shark, but only a few fish will be brought ashore.

This event has drawn much attention in recent years, including from animal rights activists, who complain about wasteful killing of sharks in recent years.

Big Drum Means Big Fun

The fourth annual Native Artisans’ Festival, where all are invited to meet native artists and purchase their works (clay and pottery, wampum and silver jewelry, beadwork and more), will be held on Saturday July 24, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Aquinnah Cultural Center (Vanderhoop Homestead) at the Aquinnah Circle on the Cliffs.

Enjoy native food cooked by Sly Fox’s Den and music and social dancing with the Wampanoag Nation Singers throughout the day. For details, call 508-645-7900.

Fury of the Ferry

A staged reading of The Sound and the Ferry, a new play by Says You! regular and Island seasonal resident Arnie Reisman, is the Monday Night Special for this week, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 26, at the Vineyard Playhouse on Church street in downtown Vineyard Haven.

It takes place, of course, on the Vineyard, where the ferry arrives in May, 1974 and leaves in October 2001. Some of the same folks are still on it. There is terror in the air. Sharks are still in the water. This is a comedy!

The Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music concerts on Monday at the Whaling Church in Edgartown and at the Chilmark Community Center on Tuesday will feature Stephanie Chase and Joanne Kurkowicz, violins, violist Lila Brown, cellist Matthias Naegele and pianist Delores Stevens.

In celebration of Robert Schumann’s 200th anniversary, the ensemble will play Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat, opus 44. Also on the program are Ludwig van Beethoven’s familiar String Trio in G, opus 9, #1, and Joaquin Turina’s Quator, opus 67.

A documentary of a ballet odyssey, Dancing Across Borders, screens on Sunday, July 25, at 4 p.m. at the Capawock Theatre on Main street in Vineyard Haven, with filmmaker Anne Bass attending to join discussion after the screening.

Ever wonder what to do with the riches earned at the summer lemonade stand? S.L. Hudson has the answer in her new young adult novel, Strike Zone, the Games of Baseball and Money. The book is both a coming of age story and a financial seminar for young earners. Hudson will be reading from her book and leading a discussion at Edgartown Books on 44 Main street in Edgartown, this Friday, July 23 at 4 p.m.

For several weeks now I have been complaining about the heat and lack of significant rain. Why should this week be any different? It is difficult for me to maintain a cheerful attitude when everyone is hot and crabby.