Who is Maynard Silva, anyway?

Certainly, he is a classic blues man.

Island born and raised, Mr. Silva has appeared on stages on and off the Vineyard for nearly 40 years, his voice a familiar throaty growl.

His public persona is the sheen on a core of enormous strength and wisdom, shaped by time and pressure.

Maynard Silva is the sum of the elements of his life code: tradition, humility, the value of relationships and of mentors. And he has a wriggling delight in our inexhaustible opportunities to experience joy in life.

After logging many long hours on the couch and mindlessly devouring one too many buttery bags of popcorn, the votes are in. No, not for the Oscars, but for the official selections of the eighth annual Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival. The brains behind the wintertime event are so excited about the roster they have decided to host a special kick-off screening more than a week before the festival officially begins.

While filmmakers were picking up Oscars in Los Angeles, guests at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society party Sunday night t the Oyster Bar Grill also picked up a statue — an Academy Award brought by an Islander whose father won the prestigious statue in 1948 for a short film documentary while serving in the Army Signal Corps..

High school senior Rebecca Swartwood sits casually on an artist’s stool, remarkably poised and well-spoken. She exudes an inner confidence, without the bravado often associated with youth. She brims with enthusiasm at the life she sees ahead of her, with art an integral but not overriding part of a well-considered career path.