Chilmark finally felt the heat! The temperature went up dramatically on Wednesday this week. I didn’t hear too many complaining. The beaches were busy and so were the parking lots and the food places. All good signs of a summer well underway.

Please note that the Squibnocket beach and parking lot will be closed to the public on June 27 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. while the parking lot is repaired and re-covered. No entry or parking will be allowed until the new surface is hardened. Thanks for your consideration.
 
A major milestone of the summer is the first day of the annual Chilmark Community Church flea market. It will begin on Wednesday next at the Jenkinson field on North Road. Reports are that the spaces are all rented out and a crowd is expected to shop the treasures displayed. The sale continues every Wednesday and Saturday through Labor Day.
 
The church also offers lobster rolls on Tuesday evenings at the church. They are available from 4 until 7 p.m. They have a popular reputation for delight, so include a lobster roll in your vacation plans.
 
Bob and Emma Shalhope are back at their Menemsha home after a two-week visit to Italy. They shared a villa near Florence with their son Bob and his family and their daughter Adelaide and her husband. The family reunion and the experience of living in Italy were exciting and rewarding. Later this summer Bob and his family will come from Denver for their annual vacation.
 
Ed and Susan Weber and their children, Owen and Anna, came from Union, Me. for a week’s vacation on Larsen Lane. Teri and Doug Hise of Camden, Me. joined them for the weekend past. Susan’s parents are Chuck and Marjorie Phillips of Larsen Lane.
 
Bill and Amy Bohsing of Granville, Ohio, are here for their annual two-week vacation in Chilmark. Amy has been coming regularly for 40 years and Bill for 28 years. They stay on Night Heron Lane and love our town.
 
Congratulations to Jessica Carlson, daughter of David and Catha Carlson of New York and Peaked Hill. She graduated from Milton Academy on June 8. She was awarded the William Bacon Lovering Award and the Performing Arts award for outstanding acting, production and audiovisuals. A short film she made will be shown at the Chilmark Film Festival this year. Jessica will be working this summer for the Film Festival and she will attend Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. in the fall.
 
Home Port Restaurant will open for the season on June 25 with the Back Door opening at 11 a.m. and dinners beginning at 5 p.m. The Beach Plum Inn is offering breakfast from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. and bites from noon to 4 p.m. Dinners are offered from 5 to 9 p.m. All these services are open to the public at Beach Plum Inn; follow the signs and you will find parking available.
 
Please note on your July calendars the following production to be held at the Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs for the benefit of the Vineyard Playhouse on July 27 at 8 p.m. Chilmark resident Monina von Opel is presenting a performance written and performed by Daniel Beatty called Through The Night. It promises to entertain and engage the audie nce. Tickets can be purchased at ticketsmv.com/beaty.
 
 Don and Susan Luce have come from Downingtown, Pa. for a visit to the family home on Chowder Kettle Lane. Don’s mother, Jean Luce, formerly of Marion, Ma., is also with them. She now resides in Douglassville, Pa.
Bob and Kathy Barrett of Rochester, N.Y. are at their summer home on the Menemsha Crossroad. Kathy Swanberry, also of Rochester, is with them.
 
Congratulations to Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School graduate Natalie Poole. She is the daughter of Matt and Patty Poole of Chilmark. She is off to the University of Massachusetts in the fall.
 
The Martha’s Vineyard Library Association starts its annual summer reading program on June 30 with Mister G live in concert at the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury. The program begins at 11 a.m. The reading program is called Dream Big @ Your Library, and readers will earn coupons for treats from our local businesses.