Sunsets this week have been especially spectacular, making late in the day a must time to venture outdoors or just stand at the window and gaze deeply to the west, as dark shades of pink, orange, red and gold flood the low edge of the horizon beneath wide blue sky streaked and dabbed with white clouds. And just when you think it has ended, there is an encore, as light and colors grow more intense, illuminating the landscape below like a richly-painted oil on canvas that has sprung to life.

Oak Bluffs Art Stroll

On Saturday, August 11, this month’s Arts District Stroll in Oak Bluffs takes place. The stroll is from 4 to 7 p.m. and is an opportunity to check out all of the galleries along Dukes County avenue as they roll out the welcome mat, not to mention snacks and drinks.

The Alison Shaw Gallery is hanging a show full of brand-new work as well as celebrating The Chappy Ferry Book by author Tom Dunlop with photographs by Alison Shaw.

A few days after hanging the Port Hunter sign on Main street in Edgartown, new restaurateurs Patrick and Ted Courtney received a visit from an old-timer. The man showed the brothers numerous old photos of the space including one that featured the front of the brick building and a sign mounted on steel with white lettering which spelled out First National. The sign was almost identical to their new sign, down to the font size and style.

“It kind of came back around... It was nice,” Ted said. “We felt like we were doing the right thing.”

The Vineyard is getting set for its own Seafood Throwdown to take place at the West Tisbury Farmers’ Market this Saturday, August 11, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

The competition is basic in its demands: two chefs are let loose on the farmers’ market, able to use anything they find on the premises, with one required ingredient to be revealed at the time of the competition. They create a meal on the spot and then at 11:30 the judges taste the results and declare the winner.

It all begins with the drum circle. At first it’s just a few folks sitting behind their drums, striking the beat ever so softly. But the scene is being set at Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs and quickly it begins to build as the audience streams in, no need for money or tickets, not on this night.

Some of the earliest encaustic wax painters were probably the Greeks, who used the technique to fill in cracks in the hulls of their ships and to decorate their walls with murals.

Today, artists such as Debra M. Gaines still practice the art of encaustic painting, a process whereby beeswax is melted and pigment is introduced into the mixture. Ms. Gaines will be conducting an encaustic painting demonstration at the Louisa Gould Gallery, 54 Main street, Vineyard Haven on Monday, August 13, at 6 p.m.

Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar got his start playing in bands such as the Kingbees and the Flying Machine. There was another skinny, long-haired fellow in Flying Machine named James Taylor who, at the time, was like Danny — just another Vineyard summer dink with a guitar and a melodic voice. Kootch and JT, the early incarnation of the Chilmark Potluck Jam.

Music, poetry and sharks.

It’s not a frequent combination, but on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Martha’s Vineyard poet laureate Lee H. McCormack will read a poem at JawsFest to draw attention to the plight of sharks and to protect aquatic ecosystems. The anticipated audience exceeds 5,000 people, which would rank this event the most attended poetry reading in Island history.

Mr. McCormack will be joined by Wendy Benchley, widow of Jaws author Peter Benchley, who is president of the Board of Shark Savers.

This Sunday, August 12, artist Samuel Close will be putting the finishing touches on one of his works featuring the Edgartown Lighthouse at the Island Art Gallery located at 66 Main street in Vineyard Haven from 4 to 6 p.m. The piece is to be raffled-off, and 100 per cent of the proceeds will go to the Martha’s Vineyard Museum.

At the open air market in Oak Bluffs last Sunday, Billy O’Callaghan sat in a lawn chair at the back of his tent crafting a small gray whale out of clay. A woman moseyed into his tent and examined the small clay figurines and the charming driftwood furniture. “These are fantastic,” she exclaimed. “Just beautiful.” The artist, an Irishman with graying hair and kind blue eyes, nodded in appreciation. A construction worker by trade, Mr. O’Callaghan has lived on the Island for 26 years.