My first cousin Nathaniel and I used to spend every waking hour together in the summertime. Our mornings were at the Chilmark Community Center running after perfect spirals from the Rev. John Taylor on the football field. Players were encouraged to be barefoot and the game was not over until the noon whistle was no longer audible to our eagerly searching ears.

They come from all over the country, staying for one or two weeks or up to a full month. They explore Edgartown from their home base at the former Point Way Inn. Some of them work in their rooms, others find a nesting spot in one of the many elegant downstairs parlors. For dinner they might bring home scallops from the Net Result, ingredients for a pasta Siciliana, and share the meal pot-luck style in the formal dining room, which is two stories high and lit up like a stage set.

Our Island Club is now in its eighth year and during this time it has distributed over $300,000 to local charities. This year alone it gave away $50,000 to over 180 different organizations including the food pantry, hospice, the museum, the shellfish group, schools, churches, arts programs; nearly every corner of the Island benefited.

The Hebrew Center in Vineyard Haven is hosting The Long Point 5 on Sunday, May 19, at 4 p.m. The quintet of Vineyarders will perform music ranging from jazz of Duke Ellington and Jelly Roll Morton, rags of Scott Joplin and a little Argentinian tango. The group consists of John Schilling on trumpet, Jim Athearn on trombone, Julie Schilling on clarinet, Bud Larson on flute and Jeri Larson on keyboard.

Martha’s Vineyard Community Tennis will sponsor an adult beginning tennis clinic at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 18, on the clay courts of Farm Neck in Oak Bluffs. The clinic is designed for people 18 years or older who have never played or have very little tennis experience. The cost is $15 and lunch is included. Racquets and balls will be provided but those with racquets should bring them.

The Island’s littlest musicians take center stage as the All-Island Spring String Concert begins at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 20, at the Performing Arts Center at the regional high school.

The concert is free and offers a chance for all the Island elementary schools to showcase their talent at the world premiere of Rock On by Nancy Jephcote. As per tradition, the evening ends with a Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star finale.

Mother’s Day weekend and the beginning of spring are coming together for one extravaganza taking place all over Edgartown. The Pink & Green weekend runs from May 10 to 12 and is celebrated with shopping, noshing and even dancing at numerous locations. Sponsored by the Edgartown Board of Trade, the colorful weekend gets the season going for local businesses while offering special deals and events for visitors and year-rounders. It all starts this Friday and ends sometime after the Mother’s Day brunches and the last second-look at the boutiques on Sunday.

Ah spring! In addition to green grass and blossoming trees it also brings us pets caught in the Vineyard Shuffle of limited rentals. Forced to move to make room for summer visitors, tenants are often faced with having to relinquish their pets due to the no-pet policies of landlords. If in need, the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard stands ready to find new homes for your furry friends. At the moment we have a new mother tabby cat who delivered her five kittens under a house in Edgartown. Mama cat looks sleek and well-fed. She must have been someone’s pet.

Tea, tulle and flowers look beautiful together at Featherstone this weekend. On Saturday, May 11, as the Garden Tea Party and Fashion Show takes place from 2 to 4 p.m. On Sunday, May 12, from 4 to 6 p.m. there will be an opening reception for The Art of Flowers Show.

Youngsters can travel back to the days when whalers and sailors engraved images on whale bone as part of the Edgartown Board of Trade’s Pink and Green Weekend. Since it is a Pink and Green Weekend, youngsters will carve their own scrimshaw art out of pink and green soap. The scrimshaw event is offered at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum Library, 59 School street in Edgartown, beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 11. Reservations are required for an accurate count of materials. Cost is $5 per child.