Saturday, April 20, 2019

Community Meeting on Renewal of the Vineyard Haven Harbor Cultural District



Tisbury cultural organizations, businesses, artists, and other stakeholders are invited to participate in a community meeting on Wednesday, May 8th at 5:30 PM at the Vineyard Haven Public Library, in preparation for the renewal of state designation of the Vineyard Haven Harbor Cultural District. The meeting, hosted by the The Tisbury Vision Forum and Vineyard Haven Harbor Cultural District Partnership, will gather input for goal-setting for the district, review the District's leadership and key achievements, and will include a presentation on a recent wayfinding study completed by the Tisbury Planning Board.

A Cultural District is a specific geographical area in a city or town that has a concentration of cultural facilities, activities, and assets in a walkable, compact area that is easily identifiable to visitors and residents and serves as a center of cultural, artistic, and economic activity. The goals of the Cultural District initiative, set out in 2010 legislation, are to attract artists and cultural enterprises, encourage business and economic development, establish the district as a tourist destination, preserve and reuse historic buildings, enhance property values, and foster local cultural development. Once awarded, a Cultural District designation stays in effect for five years and may be renewed.

The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) approved the designation of the Vineyard Haven Harbor Cultural District in 2014, making it the first state-designated Cultural District on Martha's Vineyard. Founding partner organizations included the Vineyard Playhouse, Martha's Vineyard Museum, Martha's Vineyard Film Society, Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center, Vineyard Haven Public Library, Martha's Vineyard Times, Martha's Vineyard Chamber of Commerce, Bunch of Grapes Bookstore, Gannon and Benjamin. There are now more than forty Cultural Districts statewide, including the Aquinnah Circle Cultural & Historic District on Martha's Vineyard.


Friday, April 19, 2019

“The Public” Free Film Screening At the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center


On Sunday, May 5th at 7:30pm, the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society and Island Libraries will offer a free screening of the newly released feature film “The Public," at the Film Center in Vineyard Haven. The film stars Emilio Estevez, who also wrote the screenplay and directed an ensemble cast including Alec Baldwin, Jena Malone, Christian Slater, Gabrielle Union, Taylor Schilling, Jacob Vargas, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Jeffrey Wright.

"The Public" depicts an act of civil disobedience that turns into a standoff with police when homeless people in Cincinnati take over the public library to seek shelter from the bitter cold. This David versus Goliath story tackles some of our nation's most challenging issues, homelessness and mental illness and sets the drama inside one of the last bastions of democracy-in-action: your public library.

This special free event is made possible by the generous support of the Martha’s Vineyard Library Association, the Friends of all the Island Libraries, and the MV Film Society. Don’t miss this one time screening! Admission is free, so please consider bringing nonperishable donation to the Island Food Pantry.

THIS EVENT IS NOW "SOLD OUT"

FREE TICKETS are now available on the MV Film Society web site, at
https://mvfilmsociety.com/2019/04/the-public-in-collaboration-with-mv-library-association/

Sunday, April 14, 2019

Kanopy Free Streaming Film Service


http://vhlibrary.kanopy.com

The popular on-demand film streaming service Kanopy is now available for free through Vineyard Haven Public Library. Library cardholders can access Kanopy and sign up to start streaming films instantly by visiting http://vhlibrary.kanopy.com. 

Kanopy showcases more than 30,000 of the world’s best films, including award-winning documentaries, rare and hard-to-find titles, film festival favorites, indie and classic films, world cinema, The Great Courses, PBS and thousands of independent filmmakers. Films can be streamed from any computer, television, mobile device or platform by downloading the Kanopy app for iOS, Android, AppleTV, Chromecast or Roku. Currently users are limited to 4 films per month.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

Researching Your Family History: A Three-Part Genealogy Course

The Martha’s Vineyard Library Association presents a special three-part Family History Course on three Mondays in May from 1-3 PM: 5/6, 5/13, and 5/20. This course will be led by Dr. David Martin of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society, and each session will be held at a different Island library.

The course schedule is:

Part 1: 1 PM Monday, May 6—West Tisbury Library
General Introduction to Genealogy:
covering how to find vital records, church records, using the Internet for research, recordkeeping, wills, land deeds, city directories, and more.

Part 2: 1 PM Monday, May 13—Edgartown Library
Immigration and Migration for Genealogists:
covering immigration trends to the USA, places of origin, migration trends across the USA, passenger lists, naturalization, and more.i

Part 3: 1 PM Monday, May 20—Vineyard Haven Library
Using the Census for Genealogical Research:
covering the different kinds of Federal censuses (population, agricultural, manufacturing, etc.), state censuses, how to find and collect useful information for family histories, and more.

This course is free and open to the public. Registration is required.  Please register for the entire course or for individual sessions by calling the West Tisbury Library: 508-693-3366.

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Art in the Stacks: Margaret Emerson

The Friends of the Vineyard Haven Library are pleased to present "Ocean Moment," an exhibit of paintings by Margaret Emerson. The exhibit will be on display on the lower level of the library, during regular library hours throughout the month of April, 2019.

Margaret Emerson is a painter and poet living in Chilmark. Her work has been displayed at ArtSpace, the All Island Art Show, Art in the Garden, the MV Garden Club, Old Sculpin Gallery, and The Island Gallery (Kennedy Studios). This show is about the water that surrounds us on Martha's Vineyard, and the feelings it evokes in our everyday lives.

The Vineyard Haven Public Library's "Art in the Stacks" space features rotating monthly exhibits and is managed by the Friends of the Library. The library also has a permanent collection of artworks that are displayed throughout the year, including 12 paintings by Vineyard artist Captain John Ivory. Artists interested in showing their work may contact the library at (508) 696-4210.