Welcome Weston

Carrie Fyler and Matthew Taylor of West Tisbury announce the birth of a son, Weston Matthew Taylor, born on Oct. 5, 2010, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Weston weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces at birth. He also is welcomed by his big sister, Story.

They’d chewed through the conch ceviche. They’d done the pot-roasted homegrown rabbit with Vineyard apple and sage sauce over garden-dug fingerling potatoes. They’d downed beach plum jelly, beach plum syrup, beach plum soy aioli and beach plum compote on dishes sweet and savory, and even Concord grapes on a vindaloo.

By the time the 33rd and final entry in Monday’s Wild Food Challenge was placed before the tasting panel at Détente, the three judges were relieved to find it was a digestif.

The Douro River runs through the middle of Portugal. It cuts west to east from the Spanish border until it spills into the Atlantic Ocean. Steep rugged cliffs, rising up four to five hundred metres, flank the route of the river. The heat in summer on those cliffs climbs to 120 degrees or more. There is no shade. The soil is baked dry. To walk upon it is to sink into layers of dust. It is a land not fit for people or for many other living things. And yet within this inhospitable terrain, not navigable by car or tractor or any other motorized accessory, lies the heart of the port wine industry and a grape so hardy its roots can tunnel up to 30 metres deep into the rocky soil in search of water.

After scores of Islanders took up the offer of a free stay at the Winnetu Oceanside Resort last off-season, the Katama hotel is reviving the special deal. During selected dates, Island residents who order a meal at the resort’s Lure Grill can get a night in a one-bedroom suite for the price of the meal. That is, pay for two adult entrees and enjoy a room that can accommodate up to two adults and three children; all can enjoy the heated pool, tennis courts, fitness facility, fireplace, cocktail lounge or the South Beach surroundings of the Winnetu.

“Three, two, one. Fire in the hole!” The first attempt was a misfire after the trebuchet balked, but the crowd remained patient. “Let’s try this again,” said the operator. “Three, two, one. Fire in the hole!” A pumpkin sailed through the air, landing in a field at the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society in West Tisbury.

“Boom!” cried the onlookers as the pumpkin went splat.

BACKING INTO FORWARD. By Jules Feiffer. Nan. A. Talese / Doubleday, 2010. 464 pages, photographs. $30 hardcover.

Jules Feiffer is one of our icons in the hall of fame that includes Mike Wallace, Beverly Sills, Bill Styron and Walter Cronkite. Island icons are colossi in the big wide world, and brand-makers of the Vineyard as a place that harbors the rich and famous and give-backers to the community. The billionaires who build bulgy houses come and go.

Eating chocolate is often compared to generating the swoony feelings of being in love, but true chocolate aficionados deny this. Chocolate is better, they maintain. Stronger. The passions it generates are far more urgent.

Consider this: You stand before a candy store case of chocolates, and the array overwhelms you. Chocolate-covered marshmallows, chocolate-covered almonds, fruits, buttercream, caramel. You brace both hands against the counter, you sigh, you wish you could order one of everything, but that would turn your stomach into an exploded Bunsen burner.

Art Sale

The Louisa Gould Gallery will be holding an end of season sale from Thursday, Oct. 7 through Monday, Oct. 11.

Most of the art will be on sale from 10 to 30 per cent off. Louisa Gould will also offer her photography at a 40 per cent savings. The sale is only for inventory in the gallery; it does not apply to special orders.

The Louisa Gould Gallery is located at 54 Main street in Vineyard Haven. For more details, call 508-693-7373.

Rosin Up That Bow

Seven years ago, the Irish fiddle player Oisin Mac Diarmada came to Martha’s Vineyard to play with his newly formed group Teada. It was the band’s first concert in the United States. Islanders in attendance that evening were rewarded with not just an outstanding evening of traditional Irish music. They also witnessed the birth of a band that would go on to earn top ten album honors of 2006 by MOJO magazine.

Pottery Throw Down

Enjoy both the creative process and the result at Candy Shweder’s fourth annual Up-Island Pottery demonstration this Saturday, Oct. 9 from 4 to 6 p.m.

It’s an open studio event with Candy throwing clay at the wheel and deep discounts around the room. There will be wine and cheese too. The word’s still out on whether it will be okay to throw the delectables. The Up-Island pottery studio/barn is located in Chilmark. To get there take Middle Road to Fulling Mill Road and follow the balloons.