The Base at the YMCA is hosting a community open stage on Fridays in September. All ages are welcome to perform music, dance, spoken word, poetry, comedy (clean, please) and more. Each week, sign up begins at 6 p.m. or call 508-696-7171 to reserve a spot. The Base is an alcohol-free alternative to hear and play music. Some instruments are available on site or musicians can bring their own.

This is a week to remember. On Tuesday a subdued ceremony was held in Lower Manhattan and around the country to remember the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center on another sunny September morning eleven years ago that left such deep scars on the American psyche.

The low-key green and white signposts that mark properties owned by the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank so often belie the grandeur of what lies at the end of a short trail. Think Aquinnah Headlands, Poucha Pond, Waskosim’s Rock, to name just a few.

So the property purchase announced by the land bank last week sounded, well, underwhelming: just under twelve acres of nondescript wooded land off the Edgartown-West Tisbury Road.

And the cry rings out, “A.P. did it!” I think
he’d be tickled. It’s an honor bestowed on each and every one of us on our way down to the cemetery. A.P. built most of the houses on the island. For 40 years he was the town builder, mason, plumber, architect, electrician and building inspector. Since his death he has become solely responsible for every single piece of bad building ever perpetrated on this rock. He has singlehandedly absolved every one of us of our sins. He is a saint, the patron saint of scapegoats.

They provide invaluable service to people in need, offering free air transportation for patients and their families to medical appointments off-Island. Now, for a small price you can nibble on hors d’oeuvres and support their worthy cause.

Amy E. Kirkpatrick and John Petrosinelli of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a son, John Kirkpatrick Petrosinelli, born on Sept. 8 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. John weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces at birth.

Harry Duane would have loved every minute of it.

The late giant in the Vineyard Haven sailing community was certainly present in spirit for the 35th running of the annual George Moffett Race last Saturday, when a robust fleet of sailboats turned out in weather that was even more robust to race in a 20-mile course from East Chop to Falmouth to Oak Bluffs to Edgartown and back. In the end, all agreed — it was a memorable day of sailing in nearly every way.

On Wednesday morning, the jungle of hop plants at the end of Hopps Farm Road in West Tisbury stood 20 feet high, well above Alan Northcott’s head.

Atop a ladder he sliced the string connecting the vine away from the bamboo trellis that the hop plant had climbed along. Down below he handed the vine to the friends, neighbors and brewers who had gathered to help him harvest the hops, soon to be incorporated into an Offshore Ale one-of-a-kind brew: Hopps Farm Road Pale Ale.

Sarah Wilbur’s headstone (April 15, 1792 to March 20, 1875) is in a small graveyard with several unmarked stones just off the Vineyard Haven-Edgartown Road, almost hidden behind the “County Road Oak Bluffs Next Right” sign. I don’t know who Mrs. Wilbur was — or indeed, if in fact she is actually buried there, understanding there is a ceremonial graveyard in Sengekontacket in remembrance but without remains. There’s a family graveyard along Barnes Road near Featherstone. On land owned by the State of Massachusetts, where the John T.

The Oak Bluffs Community Preservation Committee is hosting an Island-wide meeting with Stuart Saginor of the Community Preservation Coalition on Wednesday, Sept. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Sailing Camp, located on Barnes Road in Oak Bluffs.

Mr. Saginor will present the latest news about the Community Preservation Act, including a review of the new CPA legislation, as well as projections on the CPA Trust Fund and projects around the state.