Town "Vision Planning" Survey at the Library

The Tisbury Planning Board is preparing to conduct a community-wide "vision planning" process to help prepare the town to manage its future. To begin the process, community members are invited complete a brief survey, now available at the Vineyard Haven Library.

Vision planning is a process by which a community envisions the future it wants and plans how to achieve it. Through a series of facilitated community workshops, participants will discover common values upon which to base a vision plan and guide future actions. The plan will establish manageable community goals and an action plan to accomplish the vision.

Why now: the town will face a number of important issues in the coming years. A Vision Plan created with broad community participation will establish a framework to guide town decisions and enable us to take advantage of future development and funding opportunities.

Participation: Your voice is important. Residents, property owners and businesses are encouraged to participate in the planning workshops.

Schedule: Workshops will begin in late summer and run through the fall. Surveys will be available at the Vineyard Haven Public Library through the month of August.

Evening Lecture Series: August Events

All programs at the Vineyard Haven Public Library are free and open to the public. Please join us!


Tuesday August 5, 7pm
Evelyn Barish: The Double Life of Paul de Man
Author Evelyn Barish will discuss her landmark biography that reveals the secret past of one of the most influential academics of the twentieth century, who was later revealed to be a Nazi collaborator and anti-Semite.


Wednesday August 13, 7pm
Josh Ruxin: A thousand hills to heaven : love, hope, and a restaurant in Rwanda
In his new book, Columbia professor Josh Ruxin tells the tale of picking up and moving to deepest Rwanda, where he helped revitalize a village and fell in love with a little restaurant called Heaven. Join us to hear Josh's story of living in Rwanda, building a village from the ashes, then constructing a restaurant from scratch—and, during it all, beginning his own family.


Tuesday August 19, 7pm
Marsha Winsryg: African Artists Community Development Project
For the past 10 years, the African Artists Community Development Project (AACDP) has been helping the Mama Bakhita Center for disabled children. Periodically they visit the teachers, parents, Franciscan Sisters and children who live and work at the Center. This presentation is a report of their latest visit accompanied by Rick Bausman (drumming) and Jane Norton (yoga) and Cynthia Bloomquist, and a quick overview of the AACDP’s evolving projects in Zambia. Presented by Marsha Winsryg, founder.


Tuesday August 26, 7pm
Michael Tougias: Rescue of the Bounty
Why would a seasoned skipper sail an aging ship near the path of an approaching monster hurricane? Co-authors Michael Tougias and Douglas Campbell examine Captain Robin Walbridge's mystique through those who knew him. The result is this harrowing tale of shipwreck in Superstorm Sandy, including a breathtaking rescue by US Coast Guard pilots far from land in the midst of a storm. Michael will present the story of his book, Rescue of the Bounty through slides and his own narrative.

Ladybug Girl Visits Island Libraries

Ladybug Girl, the picture book character created by David Soman and Jacky Davis, will be visiting all the Island libraries in the weeks ahead, in a series of programs organized by the Martha's Vineyard Library Association. For details, please call your local library.

Ladybug Girl (a full-sized costume with a hardy volunteer inside) will be enlivening library story hours on the following schedule:

Saturday, July 26th, 1pm
Aquinnah Public Library

Monday, July 28th, 11am
Chilmark Library (At the Chilmark Community Center)

Tuesday, July 29th 10am and 11am
Vineyard Haven Public Library

Wednesday, July 30th 10:30am
Oak Bluffs Public Library

Thursday, July 31st 10:30am
West Tisbury Public Library

Friday, August 1st 12pm
Edgartown Public Library

Art in the Stacks: Art Quilts from Haiti

The Friends of the Vineyard Haven Library are pleased to present an exhibit of art quilts from Haiti, on display on the library’s Art Wall on the lower level throughout the month of July. "Art in the Stacks" is an initiative of the Friends of the Library to provide artists an opportunity to show their work, and for library patrons to enjoy art throughout the year.

This month's exhibit has been put together by PeaceQuilts, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, economic development organization relieving poverty in Haiti by establishing and supporting independent, member-owned, women's sewing cooperatives in Haiti. Currently PeaceQuilts works with approximately 100 women organized into cooperatives in Lilavois, Damassin, Saut-D'eau, and Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince. PeaceQuilts provides training, materials, supplies, marketing assistance, and educational opportunities.

Local author Nora Nevin and photographer Harvey Beth have contributed to a recent book about the project, “Patience to Raise the Sun: Art Quilts from Haiti and their Power to Change Women’s Lives.” The book is available for checkout from the Vineyard Haven library and other CLAMS libraries.

Would a Whale Fit in the Library?

Cynde McInnis, owner of The Whalemobile, will be bringing her life-sized (43 ft.) inflatable whale, Nile, to Tisbury on August 6 at 4 pm, as part of the Vineyard Haven Public Library’s summer reading program. Because the whale is too big to fit in the Library, the program will be held at the Tisbury School Gym.

The presentation begins with a slide show introducing students to the toothed whales and baleen whales that are found off the coast of Massachusetts in the Gulf of Maine. Sounds of each species and videos of humpbacks are included. After the assembly, students will meet Nile, a 27-year old humpback whale whom McInnis has seen almost every summer since 1994. They can go inside of the inflatable whale and see ways in which whales are similar to humans. Students will learn about Nile’s migratory path, how many calves she’s had, as well as how researchers learned this information. Artifacts such as baleen, teeth and bones are available for children to see and feel. At the end of the presentation, students will learn about what they can do to keep the oceans safe for all the animals.

2014 is McInnis’ 21st season with Cape Ann Whale Watch out of Gloucester, MA as Lead Naturalist and Education Director. She has studied whales in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. She brings her passion for whales as well as her vast knowledge of these animals into schools to help shape future generations of ocean advocates.

The Whalemobile aims to captivate students and help them connect with the oceans, both emotionally and intellectually. Children will come away with knowledge of and a fascination for whales that will be a spark that inspires them to care about the oceans and the environment around us.

This free program is supported by a grant from the Anderson Foundation to the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public library.

Free Concert with the Long Point Five

On Wednesday July 23rd at 7pm, the Long Point Five will perform a free concert at the Vineyard Haven Public Library. The Long Point Five is an Island repertory ensemble composed of John Schilling on trumpet, Jim Athearn on trombone, Julie Schilling on clarinet, Bud Larson on flute and Jeri Larson on piano. Their repertoire is diverse and spans genres from early Dixieland jazz and American standards to classical and contemporary works; all arrangements are written by Bud Larson. Please join us!