Chilmark: A Long Talk, Yoga Barn, Flea Market, lobster rolls, and Vineyard Sound

Father’s Day was hard, and brought to mind memories of playing the chicken game on the freshly mown, sweet-smelling, uneven and sloping lawn in front of our farmhouse. It was Johnny Gilbert and his daughters Rebecca and Lissa against Dad, my sister Jennie, and me. One child stood on the sidelines cheering, while the other rode on her father’s shoulders, trying to push the other child off. Our dads were acrobats, dodging and twisting as they held us up, never letting us fall. There was much laughter. I like to think now we are standing on their shoulders reaching forward into our lives with laughter, courage, and curiosity.

RediscoveryBy Kofi Awoonor, 1964

When our tears are dry on the shoreand the fishermen carry their nets homeand the seagulls return to bird islandand the laughter of the children recedes at night,there shall still linger the communion we forged,the feast of oneness whose ritual we partook of.

There shall still be the eternal gatemanwho will close the cemetery doorsand send the late mourners away.It cannot be the music we heard that nightthat still lingers in the chambers of memory.It is the new chorus of our forgotten comradesand the halleluyahs of our second selves.

We can only know bits and pieces of one another, and summer expands our community, bringing delightful chance encounters and sometimes deep connections that might surprise our family or friends.

“Who is the stranger? Who is kin? What do we owe each other? What, in the inferno, is not infernal?” –Teju Cole and Fazal Sheikh, “Human Archipelago”

The Chilmark Community Center and the town of Chilmark are offering “A Long Talk About the Uncomfortable Truth” to the Chilmark community. A Long Talk is an antiracism empowerment experience. It is an honest conversation about how we can all do more than just personally not being racist. This series of two workshops will be held on Monday, June 26 and Thursday, June 29, both from 7 to 9 pm at the Chilmark Community Center. The workshops are designed to engage participants in an ongoing conversation focused on truth, understanding, and problem solving, leading to individual and cooperative activism. Chilmark hopes many people will join them in this conversation. Participation is free, but advance registration and pre-work are required. To register, go to chilmarkcommunitycenter.org. For more information on the program go to alongtalk.com. I have registered, and hope you will too.

The M.V. Yoga Barn’s full summer schedule has started. There are classes for beginners through advanced, and a free community class on Friday nights, 5:30 to 7 pm.

The Chilmark Church’s Children’s Fair was successful, and everyone who attended enjoyed themselves. Julie Flanders led the charge, and it would not have been possible without the help of Kathie Carroll, Emily Broderick, Pam Goff, the Rev. Charlotte Wright, and Mariah and Jessica Campbell. And a huge thank-you to the Pond View Farm ponies, Crystal and April, who handled our chaos and the rain so aptly. Thank you also to Sarah Doyle and Carrie, who handled all the pony details.

Chilmark Community Church’s Chilmark Flea Market, 142 North Road, across from the old schoolhouse, is open from 9 am to 2 pm Wednesdays and Saturdays. The oldest outdoor venue on the Island, the “Flea” has evolved into a market like no other. High-quality handmade items from Vineyard artists and craftsmen, antiques, imports, and vintage finds.

The Chilmark Church will begin selling lobster rolls every Tuesday, 4:30 to 6:30 pm starting June 27. Stop and pick up a four-ounce container of lobster salad, roll, and a bag of chips for $20. Cookies and soda are also for sale.

Longtime male a capella choir Vineyard Sound returns at 7 pm every other Tuesday. Next show is on June 27 at Chilmark Church.

Worship at Chilmark Church at 9 am Sundays, in person or on Zoom. Services are led by the Rev. Dr. Charlotte Wright, with new music director Sean McMahon. Fellowship and refreshments follow.

Over at the Chilmark library, on Wednesday, June 28, at 5 pm, Mache Seibel, M.D. on “Working Through Menopause.” Dr. Seibel, an international health expert and leading authority on women’s wellness and menopause, will talk about how working through menopause affects women, businesses, and the bottom line. He is a 20-plus-year member of the Harvard Medical School faculty, editor of Hot Years magazine, and recipient of multiple awards for speaking, writing, media coverage, research, and music, and has been featured in People, Discover, and on Today, MSNBC and Fox. It’s free and in-person, sponsored by the Friends of the Chilmark Library. Email [email protected] for more information.

If you have any Chilmark Town Column suggestions, email Claire Ganz, [email protected].