Things to Do: It's Mid-January on Martha's
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The New Year was off to a cold start when we were hit with the famous “Bomb Cyclone” storm that effected the entire east coast. The island actually got more of a slushy snow mix and then temperatures plumetted and we were hit with a deep freeze that turned us into pretty much one massive ice skating rink!. It effected travel and schools for a day or two but the ice hockey players were happy out on the ponds and it certainly kept the plumbers busy!
Ferry reservations opened up on January 11th and wow that was a flurry of activity as summer visitors clamored to get the prime Saturday to Saturday boat reservations. An unfortunate glitch in the Steamship Authority website that sent it down for most of the day sent everyone into a bit of a tizz , but as always it worked out in the end and those on waitlists will have to cross everything in the hopes of getting what they want. Last week the board of the Steamship Authority voted to ban cable news networks from the on board and terminal TV screens, a great start (or end) to your escape to MV to de-stress from the world... see more here from Boston Magazine
The weekend of January 20th has some winter activities in store for us including cultural, arts and musical events, nature walks and talks, sports games and plenty of exercise classes.
A puppetry workshop and show is being held by the Sandglass Theater at the Yard. The venue for this is at “The Artist Studio” on Pennywise Path in Edgartown, the event is over two days, Friday evening from 4-7pm and Saturday from 1-3:30pm. Read about it here. http://www.dancetheyard.org/
January is a perfect month to practice some self-care especially after the excesses of the holidays and it’s a great opportunity to reflect and take time to work on ourselves. The Vineyard offer hundreds of options for exercise with yoga workshops, spinning classes, Pillates, Cross-fit and so much more. Check out the local papers or MVOL.com for lisits. Many yoga studios offer weekend retreats, incorporating detox and general well being and the YMCA continues to serve the island offering all kinds of classes, certifications and activities. It’s a good time to get back into tip top health.
Winter can sometimes be a bit long (read "boring"!) for our islands youth, but the YMCA Teen Center is a great resource to keep them busy providing a much needed hang out space with live music, movies etc. Some teenagers will take advantage of the classes the Y offer to become certified in lifeguarding so that they can work at keeping everyone safe on our beaches in the summer. The next lifeguarding certification is during the Feb Vacation.
Winter sports play a big part in keeping kids occupied both as spectators or participants, and this weekend the girls Varsity basketball team play at home to Bishop Freehan in the High School Gym. The final of the Elementary School Basketball is also at the high school this weekend when the MV Public Charter School play Oak Bluffs for the title. School sports are always fun to watch and there’s a great Island following and atmosphere at games.
Photo Ralph Stewart
There are always interesting events and discussions for nature lovers on Martha's Vineyard, and this weekend there are several for all ages. "Winter Birding" talk is at the Edgartown Library and you can learn all about “Conifers: Special Trees of Winter” at the Polly Hill Arboretum at 9am on Saturday. Over on Chappaquiddick there’s a “Winter Beach Safari” exploring the beaches and nature over on Cape Pogue from 9 til 11.30am – more dates run through February.
“Connecting With Nature” for kids is at the West Tisbury Library Saturday afternoon - a talk for children, by Saskia Vanderhoop of Aquinnah based Sassafras Earth Education . http://westtisburylibrary.org/
The Oak Bluffs Library is firing up the mobile pizza oven for a pizza party on Saturday! The Vineyard Fementers are making sourdough pizza from 11- 12! http://oakbluffslibrary.org/
The Vineyard Library’s are an excellent year round resource for amazing events and happenings on the island
Pathways opens its doors again a the Chilmark Tavern with music from Local musicians on Saturday 20th – from 7-9pm for the calendar of events for Pathways Winter Gathering Space check out their website here https://pathwaysmv.org/
For more resources of things to do check out these links