Judith Merion performs Bach & Ravel

The Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to welcome local pianist Judith Merion for a live performance of the Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach and Sonatine by Maurice Ravel. Judith will play the Steinway piano generously donated by Laurene Krasny Brown. This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, October 20th, at the Vineyard Haven Public Library, located at 200 Main Street in Vineyard Haven. Free and open to the public, no registration required.

Judith Merion has been playing piano since she was 5 years old. She studied with Frances Ferdman at Settlement Music School; Harvey Wedeen at Temple University; Inessa Zaretsky; and Lisa Weiss. She has concertized at Settlement Music School, where she also taught. She has also performed at Summertrios, Newbridge on the Charles, Waterstone, the MV Hebrew Center, and numerous library and house concerts. It gives her enormous joy to be able to share the music she so loves with people in the place she so loves. 

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.

 

Storm Cancellations, September 25th-September 26th

The library will be closed on Saturday due to expected weather conditions.

Due to the forecast storm, some library events have been changed:

• The Teen Smash Brothers Pizza Party, scheduled for Friday September 25th, has been postponed until next week, Friday October 2nd from 5-7pm
• The Author Talk with Lesley Mahoney O’Connell, scheduled for 4pm Friday September 25th, has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.
• The Friends of the Library meeting on Saturday September 26th at 10:15 will meet on Zoom only, contact the library for login information.

Special Family Events: Puppet Variety Show, & Circus Act

Two Special events next week!

Interactive Puppet Show, 10:30 am Wednesday 9/30!
Join us for an interactive puppet variety show with songs, silly stories, and audience participation, performed by Mary Wilson of Pitter Patter Puppets!

“To the Moon and Back” Circus, 10:30 am Saturday 10/3!
Back by popular demand! Joy and Aaron perform Fantastic juggling, acrobatics, clowning, physical theater, comedy, & more! Great family entertainment by circus performers with 20 years of international experience, this show will have you laughing and clapping!

Programs are subject to change, please check our online calendar and Facebook page for updates. 

Thank you to the Friends of the Library for sponsoring our Children's programs!

Climate Conversations - Oct. 3-17

A series of panel discussions at Island libraries this fall will build on the 2022 Vineyard Climate Action Plan, with each town exploring one of the plan’s six main themes. For more info, contact MVC Climate Resilience Planner Sakiko Isomichi at isomichi@mvcommission.org.

Oct. 3, 2-4PM - Menemsha’s Working Waterfront (Chilmark Library)

•  Shelley Edmundson, MV Fishermen’s Preservation Trust
  
•  Peter Neilley, Menemsha Commercial Dock Working Group
  

Oct. 7, 3-5PM - Caring for Our Coastal Ponds (Oak Bluffs Library)

•  Sherry Countryman, Lagoon Pond Association
•  Amy Salzman, Chilmark Pond Foundation

Oct. 10, 2-4PM - The Island’s Energy Transition (Edgartown Library)

•  Mark Sawer, Edgartown Energy Committee
•  Garrett Burn, ACE MV
•  Hollis Kelly, Vineyard Power
•  Mariel Marchand, Cape Light Compact

Oct. 14, 5:30-7:30PM - Flooding and Island Infrastructure (Vineyard Haven Library)

First Session

•  Kirk Metell, Tisbury Department of Public Works
•  Alex Kryska, Steamship Authority
•  Mike Alberice, Tisbury Wastewater

Second Session

•  Chris Scott, Safe Harbor
•  Jamie Houle, University of New Hampshire
•  Sakiko Isomichi, MVC

Oct. 15, 5-7PM - Food Forests and Island Food Security (Aquinnah Library)

•  Noli Taylor, IGI
•  Mary Sage Napolitan, IGI
•  NaDaizja Bolling, Aquinnah Cultural Center

Oct. 17, 3-5PM - Community Lessons from the 2026 Blizzards (West Tisbury Library)

•  Martina Thornton, Dukes County
•  More to be announced

History BINGO: The Vineyard in the Revolution!

The Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to welcome local historians Norah Van Riper and Bow Van Riper for a fun, fast-paced game of BINGO with a twist. This event will be held on Tuesday, October 13th, at 6:00 PM at the Vineyard Haven Public Library, located at 200 Main Street in Vineyard Haven. Free and open to the public, no registration required.

In honor of America’s 250th birthday, this edition of History BINGO is all about the American Revolution on Martha’s Vineyard. Come play along and learn about the facts, the fictions, and the in-betweens of the Revolution here on the Island!

Itinerant historian Norah Van Riper has been in the museum and living history trades for the better part of twenty-five years. Her focus is primarily on historical agriculture and domestic life in New England before the Industrial Revolution, however, she’s known to dabble in a number of other subjects and periods. Her real passion lies in giving voice to the forgotten and misunderstood people of the past. She lives in Vineyard Haven.

A historian for 40 years (so far) A. Bowdoin "Bow" Van Riper received his BA from Brown University and his MA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. He taught at the college level for more than 20 years and is the author, editor, or co-editor of 22 books and over 100 articles. He has been Research Librarian at the Martha's Vineyard Museum since 2014. A third-generation washashore, Bow first came to the Island in 1963, at the age of 3 months, and moved here permanently in December 2011. He lives on the shores of Vineyard Haven Harbor in a 19th century house where, as far as he can tell, nothing of historical significance ever happened.

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.

Memento Morrie with photographer Heather Pillar

Mitch Albom with Morrie on Tuesday October 3, 1995 © Heather Pillar

The Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to welcome photographer and teacher Heather Pillar for a presentation about her photographic collaboration with Morrie Schwartz, subject of the best-selling memoir “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom. This event will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, September 19th, at the Vineyard Haven Public Library, located at 200 Main Street in Vineyard Haven. Free and open to the public, no registration required.

In 1995, Heather Pillar collaborated with Morrie Schwartz to document Morrie during the last six months of his life struggling with ALS. The project illustrates Morrie's philosophies about death and dying through photographs Pillar made of him interacting with family, friends, and caregivers. Over a quarter-century later, Morrie's wisdom resonates with people around the world largely due to the best-selling memoir “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom. Morrie's warmth and vitality comes through in each photograph to illustrate love, loss and the power of community. Morrie taught people, including Heather, how to live fulfilling lives with love. “It is by facing fears of death that we learn how to live.” 

"Memento Morrie: Images of Love and Loss" published by Daylight Books will be available for purchase before and after the talk. The book includes 44 duotones and four outstanding essays from professionals in their own fields plus short stories from interviews with Morrie’s friends and family. Some images are paired with Morrie’s now famous aphorisms giving imagery to the bittersweet themes of end-of-life: building a caring community; friends; family; caregiving; self-care; spirituality; and death and beyond.

Heather Pillar, photographer and teacher, has lived, taught and photographed in seven countries over four continents during the past 25 years. Her personal and collaborative photographic projects reveal her ongoing interest in women, girls' education, and aging. Heather's photographs have been exhibited internationally as well as published in numerous newspapers and magazines, such as People Magazine and The Boston Globe, and in the books “The Wisdom of Morrie,” “Tuesdays with Morrie,” and “Morrie: In His Own Words.” Her work has also appeared on television (CBS Sunday Morning, Today Show) and online (NPR, Next Avenue [AARP], PBS’s Inside E Street). She is the author of “Memento Morrie: Images of Love and Loss” (Daylight Books, July 2024).

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.

Open Mic Night: Where Dreams Come True!

Do you dream of performing on stage? 

The Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to announce a monthly Open Mic Night in collaboration with the Vineyard Haven Harbor Cultural District. The Open Mic Night will be held in the library’s new Community Room at 6:00 PM on the third Thursday of the month, beginning September 17th.

Each attendee may perform 1-2 songs or pieces in a genre of their choice, be it music, dance, drama, or the spoken word. Free and open to the public. Sign up on arrival. No registration required.

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.