Casting Calls

An Island of Women, an original musical, has begun rehearsals ahead of a premiere in June. Two singing roles are open, for women between 16 and 30. The roles are Hannah Norton Vincent, a young wife whose husband is at sea whaling, and Grace Mayhew, who is working in a Fall River mill while she waits for her fiancé to return from sea. Both are important roles with singing.

For details, call 508-627-2529 or e-mail mvhistory@earthlink.net.

Fanny Howe of West Tisbury was honored last week with the 2009 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, awarded annually by the Poetry Foundation to a living American poet for lifetime accomplishments that warrant extraordinary recognition. The $100,000 that accompanies the award is one of the largest literary prizes in the nation.

Boston winemaker turned Burgundy prodigy Alex Gambal will make his debut on Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday, May 13, at the Sweet Life Café before heading to the Nantucket Wine Festival for his already sold-out tasting event the following night.

The evening is a benefit wine dinner for the artists-in-the-schools program at The Yard, which brings extraordinary performers now to every Island school for special student workshops.

Dine Out, Sleep In

Ready to escape before summer arrives? Winnetu, the South Beach resort in the Katama is offering a rare escape for winter-weary Islanders throughout the month of May. Islanders who eat at Lure restaurant on any Wednesday or Thursday may stay the night in a one-bedroom suite at Winnetu for free. A minimum of two entrees must be ordered. Children under 12 eat for free. Each suite accommodates two adults and three children.

What better way to celebrate Earth Day than by rolling up your sleeves and helping Felix Neck get ready for spring? Saturday, April 25 is Mass Audubon’s Statewide Volunteer Day, and Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary needs volunteers of all ages to help from 9 a.m. to noon. After working up an appetite, volunteers will be treated to a barbecue lunch.

The Vineyard Conservation Society’s Earth Day Beach Clean-Up saw volunteers taking to beaches around the Island last Saturday, April 18. Among the many organizations to dedicate their afternoon to the effort was the Martha’s Vineyard Surfcasters Association. The association put their work in on the familiar strand of South Beach, hauling refuse of all shapes, sizes and material out of the sands and away to a proper disposal.

It’s possible to put two and two together and come out with a number not exactly four. Ann Coleman Allen of West Tisbury bears the last name of one of our original settler families, and she teaches courses on Vineyard history. One could reckon, therefore, that her interest in the subject stems from the irresistible pull of family genealogy.

Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer is a sweet and delicious way to raise “dough” to battle breast cancer. More than 100 restaurants and bakeries, including Mediterranean Restaurant and Sweet Life Cafe in Oak Bluffs, will bake unique desserts the week leading up to Mother’s Day, May 4 to 10. One hundred percent of sales from the special dessert benefit breast cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Anne Mayhew of Sandpiper Rentals Inc. has successfully completed the Realtor e-Pro course to become one of a select few real estate professionals to earn the prestigious certification offered through the National Association of Realtors.

The course is designed to provide real estate professionals with the technology tools needed to assist consumers in the rental, purchase or sale of a home.

More than 70 per cent of consumers begin their real estate research on the Internet.

Savings Bank Grants

This month the Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank Charitable Fund joined the Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank to award $13,000 in grants to eight local nonprofit organizations and community groups. The grants will help fund programs in the arts, education, health care, veterans affairs and youth.