In 1040 AD a Danish king by the name of Harthacnut took control of the English throne through a massive display of military force. He then sustained his power as king by re-instituting an oppressive war tax, called the “heregeld.” The heregeld drove England into poverty and, when towns around the country began to revolt against the tax, he ordered his vassals to destroy these towns and murder their own people.

For many, life on Martha’s Vineyard revolves around the beaches. But those seeking a little more stimulation than the sand under their feet should look no further than the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center’s Summer Institute. Every year the Summer Institute presents a variety of films and speakers and this year’s series begins this weekend.

On Sunday night the documentary Hava Nagila opens up the film series. The movie explores the history of the quintessential bar mitzvah song and takes a deeper look at Jewish cultural identity as a whole.

Charlie McDowell knows how to wear pastel, effortlessly. He also knows how to eavesdrop which is how he came upon this new skill. But most importantly, the young author knows how to write.

Mr. McDowell will read from his new book Dear Girls Above me, a roman à clef about how thinking like a couple of girls turned a single guy into a better man, at the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore in Vineyard Haven on July 7 at 7 p.m.

Summer on the Vineyard, riding the wave of July 4th with the traffic, the roundabout and the endless cashing in on another winter of Island absence with three platefuls of fun, one wonders sometimes whether civility has been jettisoned. Perhaps then an evening with Amor Towles the author of Rules of Civility is in order. Mr. Towles, a summer resident of West Chop, will speak on July 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the Federated Church.