African American Film Festival on Martha's Vineyard

It is never too early to think ahead.  In August Martha’s Vineyard will once again host Run & Shoot  Filmworks African American Film Festival.    Even though the film line-ups are not yet available,  plan ahead and rent a house or reserve a hotel room so that you will be on the island during the festival.

For more information visit Run & Shoot at  http://www.mvaaff.com/


The Secrets of Martha's Vineyard Blog contains helpful information and stories about Martha's Vineyard by The Larrier House a private summer rental on Martha's Vineyard.  The blog is based on the article A Summer of Grace Heals the Soul - Published by the Vineyard Gazette 2010 written by Sharon-Frances Moore.

African American Film Festival on Martha's Vineyard

It is never too early to think ahead.  In August Martha’s Vineyard will once again host Run & Shoot  Filmworks African American Film Festival.    Even though the film line-ups are not yet available,  plan ahead and rent a house or reserve a hotel room so that you will be on the island during the festival.

For more information visit Run & Shoot at  http://www.mvaaff.com/

The Secrets of Martha's Vineyard Blog contains helpful information and stories about Martha's Vineyard by The Larrier House a private summer rental on Martha's Vineyard.  The blog is based on the article A Summer of Grace Heals the Soul - Published by the Vineyard Gazette 2010 written by Sharon-Frances Moore.

Winter Jazz on Martha’s Vineyard

Jazz is often referred to as the only original American art form.   The names of all of the African Americans who sculpted  jazz music are too numerous to list.

I knew I had turned the corner to adulthood when I started to appreciate modern art, began to enjoy the taste of licorice and when the complicated jazz rifts my Dad listened to became a melodious journey of musical master pieces pleasing to my ear.

Every Tuesday night at the Offshore, located in Oak Bluff on Martha’s Vineyard you can hear jazz played by locals Jeremy Berlin and Eric Anderson.   The restaurant has a fireplace, food specials, and house brewed beers/ales. So go in and relax.

The town of Oak Bluffs is just a three minute ride from The Larrier House --a summer rental on Martha’s Vineyard.  Offshore is an additional 4 minute drive.

The Secrets of Martha's Vineyard Blog contains helpful information and stories about Martha's Vineyard by The Larrier House a private summer rental on Martha's Vineyard.  The blog is based on an article written by Sharon-Frances Moore.

Winter Jazz on Martha’s Vineyard

Jazz is often referred to as the only original American art form.  The names of all of the African Americans who sculpted  jazz music are too numerous to list.

I knew I had turned the corner to adulthood when I started to appreciate modern art, began to enjoy the taste of licorice and when the complicated jazz rifts my Dad listened to became a melodious journey of musical master pieces pleasing to my ear.

Every Tuesday night at the Offshore, located in Oak Bluff on Martha’s Vineyard you can hear jazz played by locals Jeremy Berlin and Eric Anderson.   The restaurant has a fireplace, food specials, and house brewed beers/ales. So go in and relax.

The town of Oak Bluffs is just a three minute ride from The Larrier House --a summer rental on Martha’s Vineyard.  Offshore is an additional 4 minute drive.


The Secrets of Martha's Vineyard Blog contains helpful information and stories about Martha's Vineyard by The Larrier House a private summer rental on Martha's Vineyard.  The blog is based on an article written by Sharon-Frances Moore.

Valentine’s Gifts Can Deliver More than Just Sugar High

Recently a friend asked me for Valentine’s Day suggestions for a weekend on the Vineyard. I knew she was looking for restaurants and gift ideas. Instead, I sent her four love stories which led to suggestions for showing love on the Island in ways that are not traditional

*Every summer morning en route to camp on the Upper West Side of Manhattan my mother, sister and I would pass a group of homeless people keeping warm by congregating on the large grates in front of the Eighth avenue side of Madison Square Garden.


My mother always said good morning to everyone there. One man stuck out from the rest of the crowd. As he packed his belongings into a bag to get ready for his day, he always spoke to us in a gruff voice.


Then one morning I heard him say good morning to my mother in a voice that sang out happily. He even called my sister and me little princesses. I was shocked.


Later that evening my mother asked me if I had noticed something different about the people on the grate. I thought really hard. Yes, there had been a difference. A woman was with the gruff-voiced man.


My mother told me that the woman was his girlfriend or maybe his wife.


“But he’s homeless,” I said. “How did he get a girlfriend or a wife?”


My mother said that before I started commuting with her the gruff-voiced man and his girlfriend had always been together on the grate. My mother could tell by their mannerisms that they were new to the street.


“Many people are just a paycheck or a mishap away from being homeless,” she said.


My mother thought the woman’s presence gave the man joy and most likely hope too. A few days before my sister and I began going to camp, the woman had stopped coming around and the man began to look more and more distraught and disheveled.


“This morning the woman arrived back into his life,” my mother said. “What you heard in his voice was love and love is everywhere. It is not reserved for the rich or for people who in live in homes. Everyone deserves to be loved and to have love in their lives.”

*A friend was served her divorce papers on Valentine’s Day. Vowing never to love again, my friend retreated into a world of single isolation until a coworker asked her out to lunch. The coworker listened and helped her find peace in her situation. A year later that simple lunch conversation gave my friend the courage to fall in love again. She is now in an 11-year relationship that is still going strong.

*My friend looked at his brother’s anguished face and knew that offering his kidney to his sister-in-law who had gone into renal failure during the honeymoon was the right thing to do. He stepped forward and gave his kidney in love and compassion.

*My friend’s parents met in college. She was a New Yorker and he was a son of the windy city. They went to the town hall in the middle of their second semester of college and were secretly married. Then he went back home where he lived with his parents and she went back to her dorm. No one knew about the marriage until a reporter assigned to cover weddings skimmed the city hall records and published the couple’s names. The bridegroom’s mother learned of the wedding when her friend called to wish her congratulations. Neither set of parents was happy. But the couple endured, raised two children, enjoyed successful careers and just celebrated their 43rd year of marriage.

Before I gave these stories to my friend I sent a draft to my father. He told me they were too heavy for the holiday. He reminded me of a small handkerchief with embroidered hearts he gave me as a child, flowers given to my mother and candy to my sister on Valentine’s Day. The joy he saw on our faces was our loving gift to him. “Nothing is wrong with light and fluffy,” he said.


My father has a point. Light and fluffy is great. However, to focus only on the light and fluffy does a disservice to Valentine’s Day by limiting its potential. After all, love is as complex and mysterious as life itself.


And so in this spirit, while pondering my friend’s request for Valentine’s Day recommendations and remembering these stories, I began to think of ideas to help those who might be at odds with love.


For example, this Valentine’s Day you could volunteer with Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, Habitat for Humanity or Island Affordable Housing and help support an Island family in need. Or you could take someone in crisis out to lunch or coffee and just listen and offer a compassionate shoulder to cry on.

Signing up for a donor’s card or being tested as a possible bone marrow donor is another way to show love. So is modeling love and a healthy relationship for others, perhaps by becoming a scout leader or helping at the Martha’s Vineyard Boys’ and Girls’ Club.

As a nod to my father, I also gave my friend a few more traditional suggestions about what to do for Valentine’s Day on the Island. After all, every relationship can benefit from a night out holding hands too.



Sharon-Frances Moore
Friday, February 11, 2011
© 2011 Vineyard Gazette


The Secrets of Martha's Vineyard Blog contains helpful information and stories about Martha's Vineyard by The Larrier House a private rental on Martha's Vineyard.  The blog is based on an article written by Sharon-Frances Moore.

Valentine’s Gifts Can Deliver More than Just Sugar High

Recently a friend asked me for Valentine’s Day suggestions for a weekend on the Vineyard. I knew she was looking for restaurants and gift ideas. Instead, I sent her four love stories which led to suggestions for showing love on the Island in ways that are not traditional

*Every summer morning en route to camp on the Upper West Side of Manhattan my mother, sister and I would pass a group of homeless people keeping warm by congregating on the large grates in front of the Eighth avenue side of Madison Square Garden.


My mother always said good morning to everyone there. One man stuck out from the rest of the crowd. As he packed his belongings into a bag to get ready for his day, he always spoke to us in a gruff voice.


Then one morning I heard him say good morning to my mother in a voice that sang out happily. He even called my sister and me little princesses. I was shocked.


Later that evening my mother asked me if I had noticed something different about the people on the grate. I thought really hard. Yes, there had been a difference. A woman was with the gruff-voiced man.


My mother told me that the woman was his girlfriend or maybe his wife.


“But he’s homeless,” I said. “How did he get a girlfriend or a wife?”


My mother said that before I started commuting with her the gruff-voiced man and his girlfriend had always been together on the grate. My mother could tell by their mannerisms that they were new to the street.


“Many people are just a paycheck or a mishap away from being homeless,” she said.


My mother thought the woman’s presence gave the man joy and most likely hope too. A few days before my sister and I began going to camp, the woman had stopped coming around and the man began to look more and more distraught and disheveled.


“This morning the woman arrived back into his life,” my mother said. “What you heard in his voice was love and love is everywhere. It is not reserved for the rich or for people who in live in homes. Everyone deserves to be loved and to have love in their lives.”

*A friend was served her divorce papers on Valentine’s Day. Vowing never to love again, my friend retreated into a world of single isolation until a coworker asked her out to lunch. The coworker listened and helped her find peace in her situation. A year later that simple lunch conversation gave my friend the courage to fall in love again. She is now in an 11-year relationship that is still going strong.

*My friend looked at his brother’s anguished face and knew that offering his kidney to his sister-in-law who had gone into renal failure during the honeymoon was the right thing to do. He stepped forward and gave his kidney in love and compassion.

*My friend’s parents met in college. She was a New Yorker and he was a son of the windy city. They went to the town hall in the middle of their second semester of college and were secretly married. Then he went back home where he lived with his parents and she went back to her dorm. No one knew about the marriage until a reporter assigned to cover weddings skimmed the city hall records and published the couple’s names. The bridegroom’s mother learned of the wedding when her friend called to wish her congratulations. Neither set of parents was happy. But the couple endured, raised two children, enjoyed successful careers and just celebrated their 43rd year of marriage.

Before I gave these stories to my friend I sent a draft to my father. He told me they were too heavy for the holiday. He reminded me of a small handkerchief with embroidered hearts he gave me as a child, flowers given to my mother and candy to my sister on Valentine’s Day. The joy he saw on our faces was our loving gift to him. “Nothing is wrong with light and fluffy,” he said.


My father has a point. Light and fluffy is great. However, to focus only on the light and fluffy does a disservice to Valentine’s Day by limiting its potential. After all, love is as complex and mysterious as life itself.


And so in this spirit, while pondering my friend’s request for Valentine’s Day recommendations and remembering these stories, I began to think of ideas to help those who might be at odds with love.


For example, this Valentine’s Day you could volunteer with Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, Habitat for Humanity or Island Affordable Housing and help support an Island family in need. Or you could take someone in crisis out to lunch or coffee and just listen and offer a compassionate shoulder to cry on.

Signing up for a donor’s card or being tested as a possible bone marrow donor is another way to show love. So is modeling love and a healthy relationship for others, perhaps by becoming a scout leader or helping at the Martha’s Vineyard Boys’ and Girls’ Club.

As a nod to my father, I also gave my friend a few more traditional suggestions about what to do for Valentine’s Day on the Island. After all, every relationship can benefit from a night out holding hands too.



Sharon-Frances Moore
Friday, February 11, 2011
© 2011 Vineyard Gazette


The Secrets of Martha's Vineyard Blog contains helpful information and stories about Martha's Vineyard by The Larrier House a private rental on Martha's Vineyard.  The blog is based on an article written by Sharon-Frances Moore.

8 flims by Spike Lee shown on Martha's Vineyard

Edgartown library will show two Spike Lee movies every Sunday for the month of February. Showings start at 1:00 p.m.  Movie cost-free! Snack cost- free! For more information call 508-627-4221

The Library is a short drive from the Larrier House -- a summer rental on Martha's Vineyard.


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The Secrets of Martha's Vineyard Blog contains helpful information and stories about Martha's Vineyard by The Larrier House a private rental on Martha's Vineyard.  The blog is based on an article written by Sharon-Frances Moore.

Vineyard Holiday and Winter Traditions

In mid-December I was chatting with a woman I had just met in Vineyard Haven in the way strangers talk when waiting for their holiday gifts to be rung up at the cash register. Suddenly she stopped the banter and said, “You should come to a party someone told me about.”

The woman explained that she had heard about this woman who was having a dinner party for 12 consecutive nights. Each night’s menu was to reflect one of the nights from the Twelve Days of Christmas. The parties were open to anyone who wanted to drop in. Best of all, they weren’t potlucks. In fact, all the host asked was that, if able, attendees bring a canned good for the Food Pantry or money for the Red Stocking Fund. “You should definitely come with me,” the woman repeated. I felt a tidal wave of panic crash down on me. This woman had just invited me to my own holiday party.


Growing up my childhood home was always filled with the aromas of good food and the sound of laughter and boisterous voices. The smell of chestnuts and sweet popcorn from New York city street vendors lofted up to our home and blended with the roasted meats and side dishes my mother prepared for anyone who might pop in. Her policy was to keep the door open to old friends and any person that might show up. As a result, her bustling home was a great place to be during the holidays. She had various Christmas traditions and often said that the key to a good tradition was the ability of a person to keep the spirit of the old tradition intact while weaving in something new.


I had been thinking about that memory and wondering how to give back to this Island and the people who during the summer had given me great solace and new friendships. I wondered how I could weave a new Vineyard tradition in with my mother’s one of plenty of food and a seat for whoever popped in. I came up with 12 nights of parties that reflected the Twelve Days of Christmas.


I approached my friend Polly, a fellow washashore, and asked if she wanted in on the Twelve Day party. She jumped aboard and became the pastry chef and cohostess for each night. With the acknowledgment that the Twelve Days of Christmas runs from Christmas to the Epiphany, we marshaled ahead with planning to have the parties before Christmas in order to attract the most people possible. With help from chef Daniel Campbell from the Boat House, a menu was created for each night. Eleven of the 12 meals were to be prepared by me and one night by Chef Campbell providing me with a break.


Invitations were handed out, e-mailed and posted at church. Polly coined a catch phrase for the party: Bring a friend or make one.


Never knowing who would show up made each party intriguing and wrought with anxiety. Some nights guests were boisterous teenagers and young children hungry for food and fun. Other evenings there were small groups of adults and quiet conversation.


A couple from the Pennsylvania mountains who retired to the Vineyard were both humorous and generous. The wife was a good baker and started to bring desserts each night, carefully tying them to the menu. There was a third generation Islander and plumber who made it 10 nights in a row but missed the last two to go hunting. There were handymen, ministers, children under four and plenty of folks over 4 0. A father and his son who run a farm up-Island came a few nights. A former computer company president stopped by as did the executive director of an Island nonprofit. A couple who hold their own traditional Christmas party in Edgartown that they sponsor every year for the West Tisbury Church came to support my new tradition.

Some nights were masterpieces of food pairing with the appropriate theme. Partridge in a pear tree night boasted steaks sauteed with pepper and onions in a pear sauce with wild rice, pear and mushroom soup, pear cider, pear infused vodka and pear and apple crisp. A little girl wore a shirt with a pear silk screened on it. Her brother carried a hand made flag emblazoned with a crayon colored picture of a pear. A woman arrived in a pair of pear-colored pants she had pulled from her closet saying she had been waiting for just the right occasion.


The French hens were easy and there was an ice cream bar as a salute to the eight maids a-milking. For the nine ladies dancing, there were tea sandwiches with shrimp and cucumbers and lady finger cookies for dessert.

Other nights were tough to match. Turtle doves had to make do with chili and baked potatoes, but there were homemade turtle candies for dessert. The lords a-leaping got a ham and the pipers piping a full turkey dinner with all the sides.

But perhaps my favorite night was number 13. The Twelve Day party was finally over and I sat on my sofa exhausted and happy not to have to cook. Then I heard a knock at the door. When I opened it I found an expectant partygoer, his hands filled with gifts and asking what was for dinner. Evidently he had lost count of the days. I thought of my mother and her tradition of opening the door for anyone who might pop in and happily extended the party another night.

[ Article was originally published in the Vineyard Gazette under the title of Mom's Tradition Lives on With Daughter written by Sharon-Frances Moore]

The Vineyard is a good place to start a new holiday or winter tradition.  Some Vineyarders have traditions that include ugly sweater parties, island-wide scavenger hunts, pot lucks and ginger bread house competitions.  The Larrier house wants to know your traditions. Share them on the Larrier House Facebook page or on the comment section of this blog. 


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The Secrets of Martha's Vineyard Blog contains helpful information and stories about Martha's Vineyard by The Larrier House a private rental on Martha's Vineyard.  The blog is based on an article written by Sharon-Frances Moore.

Super Bowl Party on Martha’s Vineyard-All you can eat for cheap

If you are looking for a place to watch the big game The Larrier House suggests Sharky’s in Edgartown starting at 5:00pm.  The restaurant is offering “all you can eat wings, apps, hot dog bar, fry bar, sundae bar and a chance to win a $500 iPad.”

Where are you watching the game?  Let us know.  Go to the Larrier House Facebook page or the Secrets of Martha’s Vineyard Blogger site and write in the comment section and share.

What is your favorite supper Bowl food? Go to the Larrier House Facebook page or the Secrets of Martha’s Vineyard  Blogger site and post it on the comment section.

Sharky’s is only a 10 minute ride from The Larrier House a rental property on Martha’s Vineyard.   

The Secrets of Martha's Vineyard Blog

The Secrets of Martha's Vineyard Blog contains helpful information and stories about Martha's Vineyard by The Larrier House a private rental on Martha's Vineyard.  The blog is based on an article written by Sharon-Frances Moore and published by the Vineyard Gazette in August 2010 called A Summer of Grace.

The African American Heritage Trail of Martha's Vineyard, MA

Black history month is here.  If you are interested in the African American history of Martha's Vineyard visit http://mvheritagetrail.org/ 

According to their website the site is " a chronicle of the experiences of African-American people on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, USA. AAHTMV is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to research and education. Includes locale-related pages on people and events on the Trail."


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The Secrets of Martha's Vineyard Blog contains helpful information and stories about Martha's Vineyard by The Larrier House a private rental on Martha's Vineyard.  The blog is based on an article written by Sharon-Frances Moore and published by the Vineyard Gazette in August 2010.