In 1912 Phidelah Rice and his wife Elizabeth opened the Phidelah Rice School for the Spoken Word, a summer school for acting, at Trinity Church adjacent to the Tabernacle. The school was moved in 1914 to Arlington avenue in East Chop and a playhouse was added in 1924.

When I woke up the other morning and there was seven inches of snow on my deck I thought I was dreaming. But with the sun out and the temperature rising, it made shoveling a little easier and less precise. Mother Nature sure is teasing us this spring.

Several Vineyard winter sport athletes have been named to All-Star teams in their respective conferences.

In boys’ basketball, captains Izak Browne and Jack Roberts earned Eastern Athletic Conference honors for the second year in the row. Girls’ basketball captain Jennie Lindland also repeated as an All-Star, and was joined by senior teammates Katie Stewart (also a captain) and Maggie Riseborough.

The fisherman were out at the Mill Pond in West Tisbury this past Sunday in search of trout, giving hope that this winter’s curtain call will soon be ending. The water is getting warmer and the resilient trout that hunkered down for the cold months in our ponds and streams now swim about and feed alongside the newly replenished stocks brought in each spring from hatcheries on the mainland.

Mansion House Health Club just sprinted toward the future, in heart-healthy fashion, of course. The gym recently purchased new high-tech equipment, including elliptical units, treadmills, stationary bikes and crossover equipment with 19-inch touch screen displays that allow users to track fitness goals, surf the web, watch TV, check emails and connect to mobile devices while working out.

You can take your ospreys and pinkletinks, your snowdrops, too. Nature is not the only harbinger of spring. Bring on the horses — The Flying Horses.

On Saturday, March 30, at 11 a.m. the nation’s oldest platform carousel opens for its 138th season.

The Harbor View Hotel is hosting a five-day detox retreat from April 8 to 12. The retreat is part of a program offered by Dr. Roni DeLuz, a registered nurse and naturopathic doctor who holds a PhD in Natural Health. The program features special content on Lyme and other chronic diseases. The Lyme Center of Martha’s Vineyard is offering one scholarship for the retreat.

The Martha’s Vineyard Food and Wine Festival fall 2013 festival will take place on Oct. 17 to 20. This year MVFWF is supporting Island Grown Schools.

The festivities begin with Fresh Off the Farm, a special farm-to-table tasting at the agricultural hall in West Tisbury, followed by seminars, food demonstrations and a grand tasting in downtown Edgartown on Mayhew Lane.

Renee Balter will be the featured artist for the month of April at the Vineyard Haven Public Library as part of their Art in the Stacks program.

Have you made plans yet for the April school vacation? The Minnesingers have — they are headed to Croatia to perform five concerts.