On Saturday, March 9 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., ACE MV will hold at reading at the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore in Vineyard Haven. The reading will feature students from the writing classes of Cynthia Riggs and Nancy Aronie. Featured readers are Cynthia Riggs, Amy Reece, Lisa Belcastro, Catherine Finch, Taffy McCarthy, Kanta Lipsky, Anna Conathan and Joyce Wagner.

As the controversy over a reality show hitting Vineyard shores swirled around the Island last week, potential cast members defended their decision to audition for the docu-soap in order to depict “the real Vineyard.” News of the slated reality show, which goes by the working title The Vineyard, spurred pointed criticism on social media and the Gazette website, with hundreds of Islanders and visitors alike saying they feared the show would portray a false, glossy representation of Island life.

Editor’s Note: Olive Tomlinson spoke with Linsey Lee, oral history curator for the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, about her recollections of Liz White’s Shearer Summer Theatre, one of the first summer theatre groups on the Island after World War II. An actress who felt stymied by the stereotyped African American roles available to her on Broadway, in the summers Liz returned to Oak Bluffs where her family owned and operated Shearer Cottage, a popular inn for vacationing African Americans.

It’s school vacation week on the Island; all is quiet, cold and a bit heavy with the near-constant threat these days of evermore snow. Those unable to escape to warmer climes may be in need of a pick-me-up. And even those happily stay-cationing are entitled to a bit of indulgence.

"My Mom is trying to ruin my life!” The phrase has been uttered, screamed and moaned countless times through the ages. And now it’s being sung from the stage of a New York city theatre — by way of Martha’s Vineyard. On Feb. 16, the WorkShop Theatre Company in Manhattan began performances of My Mom Is Trying to Ruin My Life, a musical theatre adaptation by MJ Bruder Munafo and Kate Feiffer of Ms. Feiffer’s popular picture book for children.

“What is it?” a student asked at an Island Grown Schools taste test this month. “It’s a potato,” said the IGS school coordinator, who was giving out little samples of roasted potatoes with rosemary for the students to try. “A what?” asked the student. “You know, French fries are made out of them,” said his friend standing nearby. “Oh, French fries, I know French fries,” the young student said. “Would you like to try it?” asked the coordinator. “No, no,” said the student, shaking his head decisively.