The Chappy Community Center held its annual meeting last Saturday, August 11, with a large group of subscribers in attendance. I heard a few things that I think the Chappy community should know. First, subscriptions to the CCC are down. This is a surprise, since the CCC provides so many activities and programs in the summer, as well as throughout the year. Second, numbers of kids taking sailing lessons are down, mostly because kids have “aged out.” Once they become 16, they get summer jobs and don’t have time for sailing.

We are starting to get much-needed rain, but Mother Nature is doing it rather loudly. The lightning show was great (if you like that) and the thunder kept a lot of people up. Oh well, guess we can’t have it all. Happy birthday to all who celebrated their day this past week. Big balloons go out to Deborah Silva who celebrated her day August 14; Joseph Davies, August 15, and Bethany Felix, who celebrates her day today, August 17.

Creative Drama Grants

Phyllis Vecchia Creative Drama has been awarded grants from the Martha’s Vineyard Center for the Visual Arts and the Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank Charitable Fund.

Chamber Music Concert

The Russians are back! Grammy-nominated St. Petersburg String Quartet will close the 42nd season of the Chamber Music Society with concerts

on August 20 at the Whaling Church in Edgartown and Tuesday, August 21, at the Chilmark Community Center. Both performances begin at 8 p.m.

Fresh off a tour which included an appearance at Carnegie Hall and a six-concert series at Bargemusiche in Brooklyn, the string

The Plays the Thing, for a Few More Days

Come this fall there will be much regret when you begin to understand just how much parting is sweet sorrow when you know not from what light through yonder window breaks. But fear not, for my purpose is, indeed, a horse of that colour. In other words, if music be the food of love, play on, and play on the Vineyard Playhouse’s Outdoor Shakespeare Festival does, but just for one more weekend.

Gould Goes Abstract

August is the month of abstract at the Louisa Gould Gallery in Vineyard Haven. The new art show, which opened this week, features the abstract imaginings of six artists as they interpret The Emotions of Color and Passions of Gesture. The artists include Wendy Weldon, Marsha Staiger, Joan Konkel, Laura Roosevelt, Roberta Gross and Craig Cahoon. The show continues through August 29.

Chicken Alley Art Sale

Once again it is the time of summer for the Chicken Alley Arts and Collectibles Sale. This year’s sale will be held Sunday, August 19, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Cindy Kane Show

Artist Cindy Kane knows how to mix things up. Literally. Her latest exhibit entitled Inheritance currently on exhibit at the A Gallery in Vineyard Haven is a prime example of the artist’s journey into the paradoxical, eclectic world of today.

Ms. Kane’s mixed media exhibit brings together the many compartments of her life — motherhood, concern for the environment and global warfare and her interest in ancient artwork. She creates pieces that depict a world in flux and tumult.

Next Friday, August 24, Angela Davis and Gina Dent will present a lecture at Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs entitled Reports from Palestine. The talk begins at 5:30 p.m. and tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door.

Jazz Great Plays the Tabernacle

Wynton Marsalis is, well, Wynton Marsalis, one of the premier jazz trumpeters of our time. Mr. Marsalis is also a composer, teacher, music educator and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York city. He has been awarded nine Grammys and one of his jazz recordings won the Pulitzer Prize for music.