On Saturday, Feb. 18, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. the annual NAACP and Martin Luther King membership and awards dinner takes place at the Grill located at 227 Upper Main street in Edgartown. The evening features a conversation on civil rights with Lucy Hackney, Rose Styron, and Betty Rawlins.

The awards this year are being presented to Karen Achille, Armen Hanjian, and Connie Texeira for their commitment and service over the years to the Vineyard community.

The Bunch of Grapes Bookstore is starting up a book club and leading off with The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Ms. Skloot’s book deals with a woman whose cells have been unwittingly used for scientific research since the 1950s. The themes explored include the birth of bioethics and the dark history of experimentation on African Americans.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks appeared on more than 60 Best of the Year lists.

The book club meets at 4 p.m. on March 7 at the store located at 44 Main street in Vineyard Haven.

Daffodils on the Way

American Cancer Society volunteers are pre-selling bouquets of daffodils at various Island locations as part of an annual fund-raising effort. The bouquets cost $10 and will be delivered in March. Proceeds from the sales support cancer research, programs and services, including free transportation from Woods Hole to areas of the Cape, and free nights of housing in Boston for those who must travel for cancer treatments.

The second of the Sail Martha’s Vineyard dinner and lecture series at the Black Dog Tavern takes place on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. The speaker is Dan O’Connor from Life Raft and Survival Equipment Co. located in Tiverton, RI.

Mr. O’Connor’s talk is titled Safety at Sea. His presentation will focus on what saved the crew members from the s/v Rambler during the 2011 Fastnet Race.

West Tisbury selectmen postponed their order to destroy two Akitas for another week with the condition that the owners come up with a plan to turn over ownership of the dogs to a third party.