Artists in Residence

The Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School will host an informational gathering on Monday, Feb. 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. for people interested in sharing their skills and talents in the school’s Artists in Residence program.

Introduction to Spinning

Introductory classes to spinning with Anna Marie D’Addarie are being offered at the store at the Island Alpaca Farm, Oak Bluffs.

All ages are welcomed. Materials and practice wheels are provided.

The class price is $125. Each class consists of two sessions for a total of eight hours. Wheel rentals are available for use after class for two weeks for an additional $50. A $25 credit can be applied towards any wheel purchase at the end of rental period.

Cancer Society Benefit

The Vineyard Tennis Center will host Love At First Set, a tennis doubles tournament in honor of Mebbit Morano, Tami Pine-Willett, and Mary Walker, who all lost their battle with cancer in the past year and a half.

Scots around the world paid tribute to the birthday of the poet Robert Burns through dinners and toasts in what is widely known as the Burns Supper. Vineyard Scots and their friends had their own event Saturday night at the Oyster Bar and Grill on Circuit avenue in Oak Bluffs.

The evening of toasts, music and levity honored the significance of both the 249th birthday of the bard and the 21st anniversary of the Scottish Society of Martha’s Vineyard.

In 2001, Oak Bluffs harbor master Todd Alexander and his wife, Kara Gelinas, were on vacation in Southeast Asia when they met Roma, a 14-year-old girl who was selling water and souvenirs during the day instead of going to school.

Roma had no official schooling. Her family could not afford it.

Partners HealthCare will honor employees at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center today, Friday, Feb. 1 in the 12th Annual Partnership in Excellence Awards.

Partners owns the hospital and nursing center. This is the first year the Vineyard hospital and Windemere employees are eligible for nomination.

Vineyard Voters Back Obama, Romney in State Primary

Bucking the state trend on Tuesday, Vineyard voters squarely backed Sen. Barack Obama with 55 per cent of the 5,288 Democrat votes cast, while Sen. Hillary Clinton picked up 40 per cent. The result is a mirror image of Massachusetts numbers which put Senator Clinton at 56 per cent and Senator Obama at 41 per cent.

To the untrained eye the scene was this: two adults on stage, one speaking in an English accent, the other in a cross between a buccaneer’s snarl and a schoolyard bully. Five kids looked expectantly at their director, an adult on hands and knees, who crawled dramatically across the Vineyard Playhouse stage. The cast watched seriously for a good half-minute before all, director included, erupted into uncontrollable, side-clutching giggles.

James H.K. Norton is a retired history professor, farmer and Island historian. He is also a humanist and social ethicist.

And lately he has become a clear set of Western eyes to view the war-torn countries of south Asia. Mr. Norton has spent 50 years studying the cultures of Afghanistan, India, Iran and neighboring Middle East countries.

He is also a 10th generation practical Islander, and this informs his view of the world. “[The late Gazette editor] Henry Beetle Hough once told me it’s important to be small,” he said in a recent interview.

The voices of several Vineyard residents will be featured in the upcoming documentary film Zeb: Schooner Life, which is being produced by Detrick Lawrence Productions of Edgartown.

The film tells the story of Zeb Tilton (1866-1952), a legendary schooner captain from the Vineyard and his iconic vessel, the Alice S. Wentworth. Covering the history of schooners, the schooner trade and its legacy, this film is scheduled for release later this year, with an Island premiere in June.