Arts & Entertainment

Galleries, Theatre, Dance & Movies

Martha’s Vineyard is home to many visual and performance artists. Many galleries dot the Island, from Aquinnah to Edgartown, and when an artist opens a new show it is often celebrated with a Sunday afternoon reception at the gallery. Check the local papers for times and locations.

Martha’s Vineyard offers a great variety of entertainment choices; we hope that you will take advantage of the many productions, performances, and artistic displays presented throughout the year.

Arts Councils

Each town has an arts council that promotes and maintains the arts and humanities in that town. Contact them through the town halls.

Non-Profit Organizations - Arts & Entertainment
Art Galleries, Dealers & Consultants

Arts & Society

PO Box 4485, VH
508-696-0539; John Crelan, artistic director.
E-mail: jcrelan@yahoo.com,
www.artsandsociety.org.
A non-profit and tax exempt organization founded in 1979, provides concerts and concert dramas featuring established living composers as well as emerging talents. Also presents the world’s oldest celebration of James Joyce, Bloomsday, and an annual recital by pianist Russell Sherman.

At The Movies

508-627-6689 (MOVY)

Entertainment Cinemas Edgartown 1 & 2

65 Main Street, ED
508-627-8008
www.entertainmentcinemas.com

Martha's Vineyard Film Society

PO Box 4423 VH
508-696-9369
E-mail: rich@mvfilmsociety.com
www.mvfilmsociety.com
www.mvfilmfest.com

The Drum Workshop, Inc.

PO Box 2262, VH
Rick Bausman, 508-627-3786.
Multi-faceted, multi-cultural, participatory, hands-on experiences for groups of all ages and abilities.

Featherstone Center for the Arts, Inc.

PO Box 1145, OB
508-693-1850;
www.featherstonearts.org
a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Featherstone is on Barnes Road, half a mile north of Edgartown/Vineyard Haven Road and offers year-round educational programming including classes, instructional studio programs, music lessons, lectures, art library, discussion groups, exhibits, concerts, gallery shows, and performances. A brochure of activities is available by calling Featherstone at 508.693.1850 or you may visit the web site. There is free programming for teens during the school year and adult volunteers may use the facilities at a nominal rate. Children’s Saturday Arts during the school year and Summer Art Camp for ages 7-9 and Children’s Summer Arts for 10- 12 are offered for young children. In addition to a full schedule of classes during the summer, Featherstone offers the Tuesday Lecture Series at 7:30 pm and Musical Mondays with concerts by Island musicians from 6:30-8 pm. Bring a blanket and a picnic supper and enjoy the music on the ground of Featherstone. The office and gallery are open year-round from 2-4:30 pm daily, and weekdays during the winter. Gallery shows change every few weeks in the summer and seasonally in the off-season. Opening receptions for shows are on Sunday from 4-6 pm. Featured summer gallery shows include an Architecture Show, a Vineyard Collectors Show, Vineyard Gallery Show, and International Show. Featherstone operates through its annual appeal, local grants, and its 100% contributing board.

Flying Horses Carousel

Oak Bluffs Avenue, at the foot of Circuit Avenue, OB
508-693-9841
America’s oldest (1876) continuously operating carousel, and a National landmark. Rides only $1, or $8 for a book of ten. Open Easter Saturday through Columbus Day. Hours limited in spring and fall; Summer hours, daily 10 am to 10 pm.

Island Community Chorus

Peter Boak, director.
Incorporated in 1998, the chorus grew out of the annual presentation of Handel’s Messiah. The main goal of the Chorus is to bring quality choral productions to Martha’s Vineyard. Concerts have included major works by Handel, Rutter, Poulenc, and Vaughn Williams; and lighter works from a variety of composers including talented Island musicians. The Chorus has performed at the High School Performing Arts Center, the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, the Tabernacle, and various Island churches. Requirements for singers include a sincere interest in goals of the Chorus, as well as a commitment to rehearsal time. Voluntary dues are $30 twice a year, depending on participation; however, finances should not preclude participation. Rehearsals are on Mondays at 7 pm at the high school. Please check local newspapers for exact schedules, as rehearsals are set based on concert dates. For more information contact Mary-Jean Miner at 508.696.8589.

Island Theatre Workshop, Inc.

PO Box 1893, VH
Lee Fierro, 508-693-5290.
Year-round theater organization offering productions and classes for adults and children (dramas, musicals, & original plays). Branches include The Theatre Guild, the Children’s Theatre, the Apprentice Players, and the Young Director’s Studio.

Last Night, First Day Martha’s Vineyard

PO Box 1409, VH
508-693-0085 ext 71.
www.mvy.com

MV Chamber Music Society

508-696-8055.
www.mvcms.vineyard.net
The MVCMS is committed to bringing music to Islanders year-round. In addition to their 12-concert summer series, the Society also presents winter concerts and music enrichment programs in the schools and the community at large. Advance listings of the performers and the program are announced in newspapers and on radio stations. Each of the concerts in the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society Summer Festival is performed twice: Monday evening at 8 pm at the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown; and Tuesday evening at 8 pm at the Chilmark Community Center. Tickets are $20, and are available at the door. Students are admitted free. All venues are wheelchair accessible.

MV Country Dance Society

PO Box 3085, WT
Tom Hodgson,
508-693-5627
508-693-7446 or Sandi Atwood,
508-693-9374
Holds monthly contra dances; preserves and promotes traditional New England country dancing and music.

Martha’s Vineyard Film Society/Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival

Richard Paradise, President,
PO Box 4423, VH
508-696-9369
E-mail: rich@mvfilmsociety.com;
www.mvfilmsociety.com.
Year-round film screenings of older classics, newer independents, foreign language films, and documentaries. The International Film Festival in September draws hundreds to premiers and screenings of world-class films.

Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival

Thomas Bena, Director.
PO Box 592, CH
508-560-1332
E-mail: thomas@mviff.org
www.mviff.org
Now in it’s 7th year, the MVIFF features a 3-day winter festival in March and a weekly summer series on Wednesdays in July and August. The summer series features a children’s film followed by a community meal, live music and a film for adults. Filmmakers are often on hand to discuss the film.

The Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center

Edgartown Road, PO Box 1385, OB
508-693-1033 x 250.
This modern, fully equipped 791-seat theater is centrally located, air conditioned, and provides parking.

Phyllis Vecchia, Creative Dramatics, Inc.

PO Box 1025, VH
508-696-8738.
Creative dramatics program offered in preschools, after-school programs, in-school programs K-5, libraries, birthday parties, scout troops, community centers and summer camps. Also offers programs for children with disabilities and inter-generational work with seniors.

Soul Aesthetics

PO Box 4803, VH
Phone/fax: 508-696-9665.
E-mail: mvsoul@hotmail.com.
Co-directors: Tara Bright and Sangeet Grace.
Year-round cultural arts council dedicated to the celebration, promotion, and preservation of the arts within the African Diaspora community on Martha’s Vineyard. Through the expression of the aesthetic, culinary, healing, literary, performing, and visual arts, inspirational stories of the African experience in the Western Hemisphere are told.

The Tabernacle

PO Box 1176, OB
508-693-0525
Erected in 1879 on the grounds of the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, this open air structure hosts a variety of events throughout the months of July and August including concerts, community sings and the annual All Island Art Show.

Vineyard Bellydance and Revue, Inc.

PO Box 365, VH
Patricia Szucs, Treasurer 508-693-4308
Once-a-week class in Middle Eastern dance, held Sept. - June.

The Vineyard Artisans Festivals

PO Box 774, OB
Andrea Rogers, President
508-693-8989
fax: 508-696-5316
E-mail: artisan02557@yahoo.com
www.vineyardartisans.com
The mission of the Vineyard Artisans Festivals is to promote Island Art and Craft. We have grown from 65 original artisans in 1995, to over 120 today. My commitment is to continue to provide a link between the Island Community and the Arts, providing an opportunity for both new and established artisans to show and sell their work. The Vineyard Craftsmen is a non-profit group that together with the Vineyard Artisans awards scholarships to students at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.

Vineyard Haven Band, Inc.

PO Box 2187, VH
508-645-3458
Frank Dunkl and Martha Child.

Vineyard Playhouse

PO Box 2452, 24 Church St., VH
508-693-6300
E-mail: info@vineyardplayhouse.org.
www.vineyardplayhouse.org.
M. J. Bruder Munafo, producer and artistic director. Small professional non-profit theater operating year-round. Also offers educational programs for children and adults.

The Yard, Inc.

PO Box 405, CH
Patricia Nanon, Founder;
Wendy Taucher, Managing Director/Curator of special projects;
Lois Welk, Artistic Director
508-645-9662
www.dancetheyard.org
Celebrating its 37th year, The Yard, a colony for dance artists was founded in 1973 by Patricia N. Nanon. The Yard gives professional artists, emerging choreographers and dancers the opportunity for concentrated work; exploring new choreography and dance theater potential in a supportive environment while in residency. Since its founding, more than 600 artists have collaborated on more than 125 new works. The Yard has produced annual performances in New York City, presents monthly summer concerts at the Patricia N. Nanon Theater in Chilmark, offers special performances for Martha’s Vineyard students and senior citizens, and supports an Artist-inthe- School program in the Martha’s Vineyard public schools, along with Community Dance classes and special events at The Yard.