Partners HealthCare will honor employees at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center today, Friday, Feb. 1 in the 12th Annual Partnership in Excellence Awards.

Partners owns the hospital and nursing center. This is the first year the Vineyard hospital and Windemere employees are eligible for nomination.

Vineyard Voters Back Obama, Romney in State Primary

Bucking the state trend on Tuesday, Vineyard voters squarely backed Sen. Barack Obama with 55 per cent of the 5,288 Democrat votes cast, while Sen. Hillary Clinton picked up 40 per cent. The result is a mirror image of Massachusetts numbers which put Senator Clinton at 56 per cent and Senator Obama at 41 per cent.

To the untrained eye the scene was this: two adults on stage, one speaking in an English accent, the other in a cross between a buccaneer’s snarl and a schoolyard bully. Five kids looked expectantly at their director, an adult on hands and knees, who crawled dramatically across the Vineyard Playhouse stage. The cast watched seriously for a good half-minute before all, director included, erupted into uncontrollable, side-clutching giggles.

James H.K. Norton is a retired history professor, farmer and Island historian. He is also a humanist and social ethicist.

And lately he has become a clear set of Western eyes to view the war-torn countries of south Asia. Mr. Norton has spent 50 years studying the cultures of Afghanistan, India, Iran and neighboring Middle East countries.

He is also a 10th generation practical Islander, and this informs his view of the world. “[The late Gazette editor] Henry Beetle Hough once told me it’s important to be small,” he said in a recent interview.

The voices of several Vineyard residents will be featured in the upcoming documentary film Zeb: Schooner Life, which is being produced by Detrick Lawrence Productions of Edgartown.

The film tells the story of Zeb Tilton (1866-1952), a legendary schooner captain from the Vineyard and his iconic vessel, the Alice S. Wentworth. Covering the history of schooners, the schooner trade and its legacy, this film is scheduled for release later this year, with an Island premiere in June.

Chicks With Poker Chips

The Martha’s Vineyard Women’s Network hosts a poker afternoon on Sunday, Jan. 27, at The Wharf in Edgartown. From 1 to 4 p.m. Linda Gandel, director of owner relations at the Harbor View Hotel, will share her Texas Hold ’em poker skills. Admission is $15, and no registration is necessary.

The network is a professional businesswomen’s group on Martha’s Vineyard, providing continuing education and networking opportunities.

Join a Jamaican Feast

An Indian feast earlier this month and, now, a five-course dinner from Jamaica: enjoy dinner on Saturday at the Dr. Daniel Fisher House while supporting the International Travel Fund at the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School.

Island Grown Gourmets

The Island Grown Initiative brings together the culinary arts students from Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School and chef Dan Sauer from the Outermost Inn to prepare a winter meal using local ingredients. The event is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. at the high school.

Tickets are $25 and go to support the culinary arts program. They are available at down-Island Cronig’s Market and SBS. For more information, get in touch with Noli Hoye of Island Grown Initiative at noli@islandgrown.org.

The Big Chili Contest

If you’ve been bragging about your secret family recipe, and know you have the chili the world has been waiting for, now’s your chance to prove it.

Join some of the best chili chefs around on Saturday, Jan. 26 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Portuguese-American Club in Oak Bluffs for the 22nd Annual mvyradio Big Chili Contest.

The Bodhi Path of Martha’s Vineyard will host a weekend teaching series with the Venerable 5th Dilyag Sabchu Rinpoche called Calm Abiding Meditation: A Mind Transformed on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 26 and 27 from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 to 4 p.m. both days. The suggested donation is $15 to $20 per session.

The Martha’s Vineyard Bodhi Path is located at 21 Laurand Drive, off Waldron’s Bottom Road in West Tisbury. For details, call 508-696-5929.