Great Decisions 2026: Join America's largest discussion group on world affairs!

The Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to announce the launch of its annual foreign policy reading and discussion group, Great Decisions. Organized by the Foreign Policy Association, Great Decisions is America's largest discussion program on world affairs, providing interested library patrons the opportunity to learn about and discuss in a thoughtful and courteous manner some of the most critical global issues facing America today. Click here to register.

The group meets weekly for a total of eight sessions to discuss a pre-determined set of topics selected by a panel of foreign policy experts. This year's discussion group will be held at 6:00 pm on Wednesday evenings, from February 5th through March 25th. Meetings will be held both in-person and via Zoom. Those attending in-person will meet at the Tisbury EMS Facility, located at 215 Spring Street, opposite the far end of the Tisbury School playground. 

In advance of each meeting, participants will read one article from the briefing book and watch one 30-minute video on the topic of the week (video link to be provided). Discounted briefing books will be available in the coming weeks for purchase at the library’s 15 Church Street location for $25, payable to the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Library. Copies of the briefing book will also be available for in-library use at no charge. Alternatively, participants may purchase their copy on the Foreign Policy Association's website here.

One week prior to each session, registrants will be sent an email indicating which article in the briefing book to read and providing a link to the video segment for the week. A Zoom link will be provided for those participating virtually.

The dates and topics for 2026 are as follows:

Session 1: America and the World: Trump 2.0 Foreign Policy
Wednesday, February 4, from 6:00-7:00 pm
Trump’s return has marked a break from 80 years of U.S. foreign policy leadership, embracing an “America First” approach. This chapter explores the risks of isolation and diminished influence in relation to Trump 2.0 foreign policy.
By G. John Ikenberry

Session 2: Trump Tariffs and the Future of the World Economy
Wednesday, February 11, from 6:00-7:00 pm
Trump’s aggressive trade and tariff policies have shaken global economic norms. What’s the rationale behind this radical shift in economic policy, and what are the implications for multilateral trade and geopolitics?
By Michael Mastanduno

Session 3: U.S.-China Relations
Wednesday, February 18, from 6:00-7:00 pm
Relations with China remain tense, with tariffs, military modernization, and pressure on Taiwan. Does Trump have a coherent China policy, and will his tariffs on Rare Earth minerals be effective? What are America’s strategic options?
By Oriana Mastro 

No session Wednesday, February 25 due to Blizzard!

Session 4: Ruptured Alliances and the Risk of Nuclear Proliferation
Wednesday, March 4, from 6:00-7:00 pm
U.S. alliance skepticism may drive countries like Japan and South Korea to reconsider nuclear options. What are the implications of the Trump administration’s rethinking of the U.S. alliance system for regional and global security? Will this new uncertainty alter the way allies and rivals in various regions make decisions about security and nuclear weapons?
By Gideon Rose

Session 5: Ukraine and the Future of European Security
Wednesday, March 11, from 6:00-7:00 pm
With reduced U.S. support for NATO and Ukraine, Europe faces strategic uncertainty. The Trump administration has signaled an intention to reduce its security role in Europe. What are America’s stakes in NATO and Europe’s strategic dilemmas, and how might Europe respond?
By Thomas Wright

Session 6: Multilateral Institutions in a Changing World Order
Wednesday, March 18, from 6:00-7:00 pm
Can multilateralism survive amid shifting global power and rising nationalism? This chapter examines the future of global cooperation across trade, health, and finance.
By Scott Bessent (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Session 7: U.S. Engagement of Africa
Wednesday, March 25, from 6:00-7:00 pm
Africa’s geopolitical role is growing. What lessons can the U.S. learn from China’s presence there, and how might it strengthen ties, especially with leading nations like Nigeria? What tools of statecraft might the U.S. bring to its engagement with Africa?
By Jendayi E. Frazer

Session 8: The Future of Human Rights and International Law
Wednesday, April 1, from 6:00-7:00 pm
As democracy and human rights retreat globally—and the U.S. pulls back—how can civil society and legal norms remain effective in a divided world? What is the role and force of international law in this era of impunity?
By Jose Enrique Alvarez

For more information, please call the VH library at (508) 696-4211 or send an email to vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org.

Complimentary Tickets for Film Screening of THE LIBRARIANS, at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center

The Friends of the Vineyard Haven Library have made available a limited number of complimentary tickets for interested patrons to attend a film screening of the award-winning documentary feature, THE LIBRARIANS, followed by an in-person discussion with director Kim Snyder and producer Maria Cuomo Cole. This event will be held at 7:30 pm on Thursday, August 7th at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center, located at 79 Beach Rd in Vineyard Haven. Interested patrons may collect their tickets at the library’s new satellite location at 15 Church Street. Tickets are free but pre-registration is required. 

Librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy and our First Amendment Rights. As they well know, controlling the flow of ideas means control over communities. In Texas, the Krause List targets 850 books focused on race and LGBTQia+ stories – triggering sweeping book bans across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate. As tensions escalate, librarians connect the dots from heated school and library board meetings nationwide to lay bare the underpinnings of White Christian Nationalism fueling the censorship efforts. Despite facing harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalizing their work – the librarians’ rallying cry for freedom to read is a chilling cautionary tale. 

Academy Award nominee & Peabody Award-winner Kim A. Snyder’s latest feature documentary, THE LIBRARIANS made its World Premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and has already garnered multiple festival awards  (Best Doc Sarasota and Dallas and Audience Award Milwaukee). Her most recent short, DEATH BY NUMBERS was nominated in 2025 for an Academy Award, and has received multiple festival awards. DEATH BY NUMBERS is the first Oscar Nominated film about gun-violence to be co-created by a gun-violence survivor, writer Sam Fuentes. Snyder’s documentary, US KIDS premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, winning 14 subsequent festival awards. Her short film, LESSONS FROM A SCHOOL SHOOTING: NOTES FROM DUNBLANE, premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and was awarded Best Documentary Short followed by the DocDispatch Award at the 2018 Sheffield DocFest and a Grierson Award nomination. LESSONS is a Netflix Original.

Prior, Snyder directed the Peabody award-winning documentary NEWTOWN, which premiered at Sundance 2016.  NEWTOWN screened at premiere festivals worldwide and was theatrically released followed by a national broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens and Netflix. Snyder’s other works include the feature documentary, WELCOME TO SHELBYVILLE, nationally broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens in 2011, and over a dozen short documentaries. Kim’s award-winning directorial debut feature documentary, I REMEMBER ME was theatrically distributed by Zeitgeist Films. In 1994, she Associate Produced the Academy Award-winning short film TREVOR, which spawned The Trevor Project, a leading national not-for-profit addressing LGBTQ teen suicide. Kim graduated with a Masters in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and resides in New York City.

Maria Cuomo Cole is the Peabody and Emmy award winning producer recognized for making social impact on highly relevant issues with compelling artful storytelling. She has most recently produced the Academy Award® nominated DEATH BY NUMBERS documentary short film, THE LIBRARIANS (Sundance 2025, PBS/Independent Lens) feature documentary, and US KIDS (Sundance 2025) feature documentary — all in collaboration with Director / Producer Kim A. Snyder. The film team partnered on LESSONS FROM A SCHOOL SHOOTING: NOTES FROM DUNBLANE and NEWTOWN, which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, also directed by Kim A. Snyder. Filmed over the course of nearly three years, NEWTOWN documents a traumatized community fractured by grief and driven toward a sense of purpose. After broadcast on PBS, the film was theatrically distributed across the country, and later by Netflix International. 

In 2015, Cole executive produced THE HUNTING GROUND, directed by Kirby Dick, which investigates the epidemic of sexual assaults on college campuses. This Emmy and Peabody Award-winning film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, aired on CNN and was released on Netflix in 2016. Cuomo Cole worked with the same team as an executive producer of the 2014 Oscar®- nominated, THE INVISIBLE WAR, about the epidemic of rape and sexual violence in the U.S. military and served as a catalyst for federal policy reforms. THE INVISIBLE WAR won two Emmy® awards and a Peabody. Cuomo Cole’s 2010 documentary, LIVING FOR 32, about the tragic gun shooting on the Virginia Tech University Campus, was short-listed for an Academy Award®, aired on Showtime and was distributed by BBC Worldwide. The film achieved significant social impact at screenings in numerous festivals, and on The National College Campaign to End Gun Violence.

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

Friends of the Library Virtual 5k Fundraiser

 

Registration is now open for the Friends of Vineyard Haven Public Library's 28th annual 5k Run/Walk to benefit the library! Due to the library renovation project underway, this year will be a virtual, run anytime, run anywhere, event. The suggested donation of $25 will help the Friends continue to support library programs and services in the coming year.

Virtual participants can run or walk a 5k anytime between July 26th, 2025 and September 30th, 2025. Participants can run or walk the traditional 5k route from the library at 200 Main Street to the West Chop Lighthouse and back, or on any 5k course of their choosing. 

Register today on RunSignUp.com!

Sign up for 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten!

Book by book, step by step, help your child get ready for school and start a lifelong love of reading and learning!

Did you know that by reading, writing, talking, singing, and playing with your child that you can help foster their reading development? 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is a program that encourages all families and caregivers to read 1,000 books with their young children before they enter kindergarten.

When you register your child for “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” at Vineyard Haven Public Library, you will receive a log to record your child’s progress. In the log, there are lots of tips to help parents and caregivers to read, write, talk, sing, and play with their children in meaningful ways that will help them to be ready to read when they enter kindergarten!

Studies have shown that families who start reading aloud to their children at birth help to strengthen their language skills and build their vocabulary – two important tools for beginning to learn to read when they enter kindergarten. By participating in 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, you will be introduced to the Association for Library Service program called Every Child Ready to Read. Every Child Ready to Read has targeted pre-literacy skills and identified fve practices, or activities, that can help children enter school ready to learn to read.

How the Program Works

• Visit the library to register your child, at any age before they enter kindergarten, for this free do-it-at-home program
• Your child will receive a reading log to record the books you read together
• This month when you visit the library to register, you can also pick up some free board books and other rewards, while supplies last!

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can sign up for this program? Any child from birth until kindergarten.

Do I have to read books from the library? You can read books from anywhere, not just library books.

Can I count books that are read to my child in school, or by a nanny or day care provider? Yes! Any and every book your child hears counts for this program.

What if my child wants to read the same book over and over? Repetition is key to learning. Each time you read the book, it counts.

My child likes to listen to books on the computer/iPad/eReader/etc. Can I count them? As long as your child listens to the whole book, it counts.

Will I have time to read 1,000 books with my child? It's easy! 3 books a day for 1 year = 1,095 books. 1 book a day for 3 years = 1,095 books

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten was started by the 1,000 Books Foundation, whose objectives are to promote reading to newborns, infants, and toddlers and to encourage parent and child bonding through reading. The 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program at the Vineyard Haven Public Library is funded by the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public Library.

The Way We Wore: Island Textiles & Fashion Before 1850

At 6:00 PM on Tuesday, March 18th, local historian Norah Van Riper returns to the Vineyard Haven Library for another interactive program about Martha's Vineyard History, entitled “The Way We Wore: Island Textiles & Fashion Before 1850.” This event will be held on the upper level of the library, with refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library. 

Today, wool and linen are considered luxury fabrics, but for most of Western history, they were the fibers that everyone of every social status wore and used on a daily basis. Sheep arrived on Martha’s Vineyard with the earliest English colonizers and flax became an important crop on their farms. The sheep were so successful that wool became the Island’s premier cash crop for nearly two hundred years! But what changed, and why? This interactive program demonstrates (almost) the entire process of taking raw wool and flax and turning them into useful textiles by hand. This program is presented in historical costume from a modern perspective. 

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

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

Art in the Stacks: UNSEEN CONNECTIONS

Hoft Farm Road 8x10 oil, Rebecca Everett

The path, 6x8, oil, Lynne McCauley

Almost Home, 5x8, oil, Judith Drew Schubert

The Friends of the Vineyard Haven Library are pleased to present a cooperative exhibit featuring Island-inspired oil paintings by Lynne McCauley, Rebecca S. Everett and Judith Drew Schubert. This exhibit will be on display in the lower level of the library during regular library hours from today through the end of March.

Featured artists, Lynne McCauley, Rebecca S. Everett and Judith Drew Schubert, connected through an online art course, led by renowned instructor and artist, Ian Roberts. The three Vineyard-based artists discovered each other while participating in the virtual course alongside over 600 other students worldwide. Judith found Lynne in their small critique group, while Rebecca spotted Ann DuCharme (who is unable to participate in the exhibit due to other commitments) through the platform’s geographic search feature.

For the past nine months, the four have been meeting regularly to critique and discuss the challenges of painting and being productive artists. The insights, support, and understanding found in their meetings and growing friendships have become an invaluable part of their artistic lives.

Lynne McCauley is dedicated to exploring the interplay of color and light in landscapes, still life and abstract compositions. With a background in design, she has refined her skills through workshops and master classes, including studies with Ian Roberts, Margaret McWethy, and JSS Civita in Italy. Deeply inspired by atmospheric perspective, Lynne translates fleeting moments into expressive paintings, aiming to evoke emotion and energy in her viewers. Whether painting en plein air or in the studio, her work is a dynamic reflection of her artistic vision.

Rebecca S. Everett, a Harthavener, has spent her life immersed in the beauty of the island. As an undergraduate at MICA, she discovered her visceral love for oil painting, in a 1981 course by Raul Middleman. Encouraged by her cousin Bill Abbe, a renowned island painter, Rebecca honed her artistic voice focusing on the Vineyard landscape. Working en plein air and in the studio, her compositions capture the island’s light, texture, movement, and color with a deep sense of place. 

Judith Drew Schubert is a professional fine art painter based on Martha’s Vineyard, primarily working in oils. Painting en plein air is the start, if not the finish, to most of Judith’s warm season landscape or seascape compositions. However, with New England weather, her Oak Bluffs Arts District studio offers her the light, space and warmth to continue painting in the cold dark of winter. Judith has found that her long career as a fabric designer has translated well into seeing flow and design in land, sea or animal compositions.

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. 

Traditional Storytelling for Adults with Nancy Binzen

Rescheduled from January! 

At 6:00 pm on Wednesday, February 26th, the Vineyard Haven Library welcomes storyteller Nancy Binzen for a wildcrafted evening of traditional folktale and myth from around the world–especially for adults. 

Storytelling isn’t just for children. Traditional storyteller Nancy Binzen will entertain us with two to three tales, including the myth of the Red Bead Woman from Siberia and the tale of the Selkie Bride from the Orkney Isles. Both stories are centuries old and revolve around a woman discovering and reclaiming her true identity, although their journeys are quite different.

Nancy Binzen has a BA in Theatre Arts, a Certificate in Storytelling from Dominican University, and has studied with noted mythologist, Martin Shaw. She’s been telling traditional tales for 25 years and is a seasonal Vineyard Haven resident. 

This event will be held on the upper level of the library, with refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library. For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or send an email to vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org. 

Virtual Author Talk: Extreme Survival with Michael Tougias

Interested patrons may register here. 

The Vineyard Haven Public Library and the Edgartown Free Public Library are pleased to co-host a virtual book talk and slideshow with New York Times bestselling author Michael Tougias on his recent book, Extreme Survival: Lessons from Those Who Have Triumphed Against All Odds. The program will be held at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, February 25th via Zoom. This program is generously funded by the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public Library and the Friends of the Edgartown Public Library.

Tougias describes Extreme Survival as the culmination of his life’s work of interviewing and researching the toughest survivors over the past three decades. Some of these survivors from history include: John McCain, Mary Rowlandson (captive during King Philip’s Indian War), Howard Blackburn, Captain Bligh, Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, mountain man Hugh Glass, Admiral Byrd, Shackleton, WWII pilot James Whittaker, Teddy Roosevelt, JFK (PT109), USS Indianapolis survivors, and many more, from mountain climbers to early explorers of the new world.

Drawing from over 100 of these interviews and historical accounts, Tougias will share what he has learned about decision-making, survival, and resilience, and discuss how these lessons can inspire all of us when facing life challenges. Tougias will also touch on his newest book, The Power of Positive Fishing, a chronicle of 25 years of striped bass fishing off Cape Cod.

Michael Tougias is the author of 30 bestselling and critically acclaimed nonfiction narratives, including seven survival and rescue books. Some of his books include The Finest Hours (now a Disney movie), A Storm Too Soon, Overboard, and The Waters Between Us.  He is also the author of the True Rescue book series and the True Survival book series, both for middle grade readers.  

For more information, please contact the Edgartown Library at (508) 627-4221 or programs@edgartownlibrary or the Vineyard Haven Library at (508) 696-4211 or vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org.

Author Talk: The Oyster Book by Dan Martino

At 6:00 pm on Tuesday, February 18th, the Vineyard Haven Library welcomes local author and oyster farmer Dan Martino for a discussion of his newly published book, The Oyster Book. This event will be held on the upper level of the library, with refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library. The Oyster Book peels back the fascinating global history of the oyster and examines its place in our culture and food system. The book also provides an overview of the current state of oyster farming and a glimpse of the promising environmental solutions oyster farming offers in this age of food challenges and climate change.

Local author Dan Martino is an internationally renowned oyster farmer, who owns and operates Cottage City Oysters, the first oyster farm in Oak Bluffs history, and the first open ocean oyster farm in New England. Dan and his brother Greg founded Cottage City Oysters in 2014, with the mission of "growing the best damn oysters that we can in the most environmentally positive way possible." After farming the ocean for over a decade, Dan decided to compile his knowledge into his first book, The Oyster Book. For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or send an email to vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org.

Great Decisions 2025 Reading and Discussion Group

Interested patrons may register here.

The Vineyard Haven Public Library's annual foreign policy reading and discussion group begins at 6:00 pm on Thursday, February 6th and will meet weekly for a total of eight sessions. Great Decisions is America's largest discussion program on world affairs. In advance of each meeting, participants read one article and watch a 30-minute video on a particular topic that has been chosen by a panel of foreign policy experts. 

The dates and topics for 2025 are below. Note that February meetings will take place in the library with a Zoom option, while March meetings will likely be entirely virtual. 

Session #1: 6 pm, Thursday, February 6th, in-person and via Zoom 

American Foreign Policy at a Crossroads (Author: G. John Ikenberry)

The U.S., polarized and divided, faces a world overflowing with challenges, dangers, and uncertainties. Conflict and disorder have become the defining features of world politics. This chapter will explore the contours of the U.S. foreign policy debate as it plays out in a world of multiple and escalating crises and domestic polarization

Session #2: 6 pm, Thursday, February 13th, in-person and via Zoom 

U.S. Changing Leadership of the World Economy (Author: Daniel Drezner)

Under President Biden, the U.S. has advanced new ideas about trade, technology, industrial policy, competition with China, and the organization of the world economy. For most of the postwar era, the U.S. has tied its global leadership to cooperative agendas aimed at creating a more open-world trading system, but that has apparently come to an end. What are America’s options and opportunities as a leader of the world economy? How will America’s “foreign policy for the middle class” and strategic competition with China impact its leadership role? How can the postwar rules and institutions of the world economy be made safe for economic nationalism and great power competition?

Session #3: 6 pm, Thursday, February 20th, in-person and via Zoom 

U.S.-China Relations (Author: Thomas J. Christensen)

Washington’s relations with Beijing have reached an ominous low ebb. Both American political parties have identified China as the country’s preeminent geopolitical challenger and, in the eyes of many, a systemic threat. What is driving this deterioration of Sino-American relations, and what are America’s strategic options in the face of Chinese power and ambition?

Session #4: 6 pm, Thursday, February 27th, in-person and via Zoom 

India: Between China, the West, and the Global South (Author: Leslie Vinjamuri)

India is an emerging major power in world affairs, occupying a pivotal position between China, the United States, and the Global South. Its population size, economy, and geopolitical location ensure that it will be an influential voice in debates and political struggles over global order. What are India’s choices and opportunities for regional and global leadership? How will it maneuver between China and the United States, and what is its role as a voice of the Global South? What opportunities exist for Washington to work with India?

 

Session #5: 6 pm, Thursday, March 6th, via Zoom only

International Cooperation on Climate Change (Author: Josh Busby)

The 2015 Paris Agreement established a UN-sponsored framework for negotiations on climate change and global warming. In subsequent COP meetings, experts and political leaders have come together seeking common cause for this growing global crisis. What is the future of these efforts, and what have they yielded? What is the U.S. role in fostering cooperation on climate change? In a divided country, what are the possible futures for American policy leadership?

Session #6: 6 pm, Thursday, March 6th, via Zoom only

The Future of NATO and European Security (Author: Kori Schake)

European security is more uncertain than it has been for decades. Putin’s Russia has launched a war with Ukraine on its doorstep, and America’s uncertain role as leader of NATO and security provider has been called into question with the failure of Congress to pass supplemental military support for Ukraine. What are Europe’s options, and how might developments on both sides of Western Europe – in Ukraine and across the Atlantic – impact its choices? What are America’s stakes in NATO and Europe’s strategic dilemmas?

Session #7: 6 pm, Thursday, March 6th, via Zoom only

AI and American National Security (Author: Julie George)

The AI revolution is the leading edge of a larger high-tech revolution which promises to transform the world. Experts argue that international cooperation is needed to expand the opportunities these new technologies hold while protecting societies from their dangers. What are the key policy debates in this area, and what are the opportunities and limits on global AI rules of the road? How will the AI revolution impact American national security? What are its policy options to secure the benefits of AI and guard against its dangers?

Session #8: 6 pm, Thursday, March 6th, via Zoom only

American Foreign Policy in the Middle East: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead (Author: Daniel Kurtzer)

The war in Gaza has brought the region to a crossroads. What are the possible outcomes of the war, and how might the United States use its influence to shape a long-term settlement that leaves both Israel and the Palestinians in a better position? How might Arab states in the wider region be brought into a settlement? What are America’s interests in the Middle East and how can it advance them?

Interested patrons may register here. Limited to 25 participants. Discounted briefing books are available for purchase at the library for $25, payable to the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Library. Copies of the briefing book are also available for in-library use at no charge. Alternatively, participants may purchase a copy on the Foreign Policy Association's website here. 

One week prior to each session, we will send all registrants an email indicating which article to read in the briefing book and providing a link to watch the video segment for the week. We will also provide a Zoom link for those participating virtually. 

This discussion group series is made possible by the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Library. For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or send an email to vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org. 

Traditional Storytelling for Adults with Nancy Binzen

At 6:00 pm on Wednesday, February 26th, the Vineyard Haven Library welcomes storyteller Nancy Binzen for a wildcrafted evening of traditional folktale and myth from around the world–especially for adults. 

Storytelling isn’t just for children. Traditional storyteller Nancy Binzen will entertain us with two to three tales, including the myth of the Red Bead Woman from Siberia and the tale of the Selkie Bride from the Orkney Isles. Both stories are centuries old and revolve around a woman discovering and reclaiming her true identity, although their journeys are quite different.

Nancy Binzen has a BA in Theatre Arts, a Certificate in Storytelling from Dominican University, and has studied with noted mythologist, Martin Shaw. She’s been telling traditional tales for 25 years and is a seasonal Vineyard Haven resident. 

This event will be held on the upper level of the library, with refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library. For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or send an email to vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org. 

Founding Foods: Seasonal Eating on Martha’s Vineyard from 1642 to 1850 with Norah Van Riper

At 6:00 PM on Thursday, January 9th, the Vineyard Haven Library welcomes local historian Norah Van Riper for an interactive program entitled, “Founding Foods: Seasonal Eating on Martha’s Vineyard from 1642 to 1850.”  

What did Islanders eat in the days before refrigeration and takeout? Norah Van Riper will delve into the complex reality of the way Martha’s Vineyard’s inhabitants fed themselves in the earliest days of English colonization–before the Industrial Revolution and its advances in technology and transportation up-ended seasonal and local patterns of eating. 

This interactive program features an array of unusual historical foods, recipes, preservation techniques, and samples of dishes available on Martha’s Vineyard in days gone by. The program will be presented in historical costume from a modern perspective.

Norah Van Riper, itinerant historian, has been in the museum and living history trades for the better part of twenty-five years. Though her focus is primarily on historical agriculture and domestic life in New England before the Industrial Revolution, 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

This event will be held on the upper level of the library, with refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library. For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or send an email to vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org.