On a Wednesday evening in July, members of Island groups the IMPers and the newly re-formed WIMPs walk through Grange Hall in West Tisbury seeking that proof of spontaneity which is customary to any improv show: suggestions from the audience.

“We need a playwright,” they say.

Confident he has the perfect answer, a little blond-haired boy shoots up his hand and yells, “Harry Potter!”

The performers accept Tennessee Williams, but the kid fights on.

“A musical?” Harry Potter.

Every summer the Vineyard Playhouse presents a Shakespeare play in the al fresco amphitheatre at the Tashmoo Overlook in Vineyard Haven, and those in the know about one of the very “funnest” things to do in the high season, are on hand to appreciate it.

Twenty years ago, a quiet nonprofit organization celebrated its 20th anniversary in signature humble style.

The pencilina is like an instrument from Dr. Seuss’s The Butter Battle Book. It’s got bass and treble necks with movable bridges and open strings which can be plucked, played with a bow and manipulated with drumsticks. It is mounted with four bells: a fire bell, a doorbell, and two brass telephone ringers.

It is a pleasure this season to see an exhibition of paintings in which the subject is a serious exploration of an artist’s personal landscape. The show of paintings by Sherrill Blalock opening tonight with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Louisa Gould Gallery is such an exhibition. Appropriately named Cabinet of Curiosities, the paintings represent a complex psychological story of the artist’s view of the world.

Lori, Jonas and Rabbi Joshua Plaut are hosting two special summer art happenings featuring a new photography show entitled Sparks of Splendor: Portraits of Jewish Women From East to West. Exhibition and artist’s receptions occur on Sunday, August 3 and Sunday August 10, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. in West Tisbury.

Alison Shaw Gallery Fine are photography of Alison Shaw. Open Wednesday through Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m., or by appointment at 88 Dukes County avenue, Oak Bluffs, tel. 508-696-7429 or alisonshaw.com.

Current exhibit: Black and White continues through August 8.

Abode Gallery and Shop Paintings, photography and sculpture. Open by appointment at 224 Oak Lane, West Tisbury, tel. 914-830-9288 or vineyardabode.com.

By JACK SHEA

Echoes of the Roaring Twenties (think Cotton Club meets The Great Gatsby) will surface this Sunday, August 3, at the Starbuck’s Neck home of Susan and Jim Swartz when Vince Giordano and his 11-piece Nighthawks jazz band serenade at Sunday Brunch And All That Jazz, an inspired fund-raising idea from noon to 4 p.m. to benefit the YMCA.

On a sunny August morning in 1990, a retired lawyer living on the Vineyard was setting up his presentation for that year’s All Island Art Show at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs.

“I’m getting back into the spirit of Martha’s Vineyard,” he told a Gazette reporter at the time. It was a comment the reporter said reflected the atmosphere of the day. And it’s a sentiment, according to Gazette records, that has marked the last half-century for the All Island Art Show, which opens for its 50th year Monday at the Tabernacle.

What do windsurfing, fashion design and the YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard have in common? Water. Nevin and Stina Sayre of Vineyard Haven have a lot of experience in and around the water, and their belief in its importance to the Island population has inspired them to host a fundraising party for the YMCA on Wednesday, August 6.