This condo, located in the heart of Oak Bluffs ,is the perfect place to enjoy your Vineyard vacation. Offering 2 bedrooms with 2 baths this is the perfect retreat for a romantic getaway or a fun filled escape for your small family!

You cannot beat the location!  The shops and  restaurants of down town Oak Bluffs are located     just steps away!  There is no need for a car,    although parking is available, because even the    beach is within walking distance.

Offering a quaint and charming atmosphere, which the private deck located on the second story, as well as the garden patio enhances, this rental will help you fully enjoy your Martha’s Vineyard vacation.

Providing all the amenities you would come to expect from your vacation rental this condo would surely be one of the highlights of your Martha’s Vineyard vacation! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding this rental or any other vacation rental on Martha’s Vineyard!

Okay, so it’s not quite warm enough to hit the beach, but the fun on Martha’s Vineyard really doesn’t stop when the cool breezes start to blow. This Saturday, September 19, is Oak Bluff’s annual Tivoli Day Festival. Marking the end of the summer, this party is one big neighborhood celebration meets huge street fair.

Live music, awesome food from local restaurants and arts and crafts for the island’s artisans fill the streets. Not to be missed, many of the Circuit Avenue merchants will be offering bargains left over from their summer stock. Tivoli Day is a always a family event and super kid friendly, with the children’s parade taking the top spot as one of the best parts of the day! The island’s youngest decorate bikes, wagons and, sometimes even their pets – before taking to the streets to show off their finery.

Oak Bluffs is known for the picturesque and charming Cottage City, a wonderful neighborhood of gingerbread cottages just beyond Circuit Ave. where Tivoli Day takes place. Whether it’s your first or fiftieth visit to OB, make sure you take time to take a stroll through to see the colors as they hold the warmth of summer just a little longer than the rest of the island!

Admission is free and the festivities run from 12-5 pm. FYI, the rain date is September 20. For more information contact Dennis daRosa at 508-693-0110 or dendarosa@yahoo.com.

If you’re looking for an Oak Bluffs vacation rental, please contact me!

So here we are on Martha’s Vineyard, surrounded by water and aquatic life…but it’s kind of hard to see! I mean crabs and clams and starfish abound, but what about all of the other life that hangs out in the depths below? Thankfully, the new aquarium in Oak Bluffs (right downtown!) lets us see everything.

Waters of the World features sharks, stingrays, jellyfish, invertebrates, alligators, anaconda, eels, barracuda stingrays and many other exotic fish. They also have special exhibits that showcase the aquatic life and ecosystems from areas around the globe like: the  Caribbean, the Nile River, the Amazon, the Everglades and the Great Barrier Reef.

Visit the touching pools, watch the sharks being fed and make sure you check out the retail store where you can start your own home aquarium.  Visit www.watersoftheworld.org for details, hours and directions.

It’s only fitting that the Grand Illumination in Cottage City, Oak Bluffs lands just days before President Obama and his family arrive for their Martha’s Vineyard vacation. Over a century ago, this wonderful tradition was created to welcome the Governor of Massachusetts to the island.

This Wednesday night, August 19, 2009, as the sun sets in Oak Bluffs, the gingerbread cottages at the old campmeeting grounds, hundreds of colorful Chinese and Japanese lanterns are lit – effectively ‘illuminating’ the houses, the ground, the ocean-salty air. Visitors and islanders, newcomers and old friends walk around the campgrounds and sit on porches chatting, enjoying and taking in the sights.

Music can be heard from the center of Cottage City as a Community Sing and a band concert happen in the Tabernacle -the ‘physical and spiritual center of the Campground.’ Built in 1879, the Tabernacle and the community hold weekly church services and many musical events all summer. It’s a beautiful place to listen to music – especially with the glow of lanterns surrounding and adding to the music!

For more information about the Martha’s Vineyard Campmeeting Association and the Grand Illumination, visit their website.

And to book the perfect Oak Bluffs rental, contact me!

Martha’s Vineyard attracts talent – of the spiritual, artistic and musical variety – every summer. A few weeks ago, I was lucky to see the Drepung Loseling Tibetan Monks perform. As part of their foundation with Richard Gere, they travel the world, bringing the culture of Tibet wherever they go.

On the Vineyard, they held daily meditation and a series of lectures on everything from meditation from depression and stress to practicing universal kindness.  The famed multiphonic singers performed traditional temple music and mystical masked dances at the Oak Bluffs Tabernacle. The incredible show featured elaborate costumes, traditional instruments and their unique singing.

The monks also constructed a sand mandala painting of Green Tara, a female Buddha that represents prosperity and accomplishment, by extraordinarily pouring millions of grains of colored sand into place over a period of days. Below is an incredible video of the monks at work:

The monks have made the Vineyard a regular stop on their tour – they’re bound to be here next year! I can’t wait…I hope you’ll make it out to the island for a little beach time and a healthy dose of mediation and culture.

“Featherstone, the island’s only year-round non-profit arts center, celebrates 13 very fruitful years of bringing art, in a myriad of forms, to island audiences and participants. With gallery shows, workshops, art camps, evenings of music and film, and fundraising events, Featherstone has been the living beating heart of the Vineyard art scene for over a decade now.”

And it’s where I found myself for yet another magical Musical Monday night. Musical Monday’s feature great musicians and harbor an enveloping community on Featherstone‘s outdoor stage every week from 6:30-8:00 p.m. for $7!

This past week was a fantastic concert. Imagine an old fashioned, small community get together. You bring your lawn chair, blanket, dinner, family and friends. We packed a picnic dinner complete with fried chicken, slaw, pasta salad, potato salad, wine, lemonade and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. The kids ran around and played some catch while we enjoyed Jemima James along with Willie Mason, her son, Kate Taylor (James’ sister) and her nephew, Jethro.

The setting is intimate and warm…and beautiful. We drove out of Featherstone just in time to witness a beautiful sunset over the tree line.

Here’s the Musical Mondays lineup for Summer 2009:

July 13 Tristan Israel, Nancy Jephcote & Paul Thurlow

folk, country, blues and original tunes

July 20 Johnny Hoy & The Blue Fish

July 27 Barking Daisy featuring Christine McLean, Ray Frazio & Chris Seidel:

eclectic mix of music from the 50’s to today

August 3 Kevin Keady

folk and Americana

August 10 Mike Benjamin Band

rootsy Americana music

Check it out!!!

]]> http://www.mvonthespot.com/2009/07/musical-mondays-at-featherstone-oak-bluffs/feed/ 0 http://www.mvonthespot.com/2009/06/a-taste-of-the-caribbean-on-the-island-of-marthas-vineyard/ http://www.mvonthespot.com/2009/06/a-taste-of-the-caribbean-on-the-island-of-marthas-vineyard/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:37:27 +0000 admin http://www.mvonthespot.com/?p=467

Deon’s, a fantastic Vineyard restaurant, has moved from Chilmark to Oak Bluffs this season giving folks easier access to its extraordinary food. Also, moving to Oak Bluffs means that alcohol will be served on the premises as Chilmark is a dry town and Oak Bluffs is not.

With his family, Deon hails from Anguilla but makes Martha’s Vineyard home. He’s brought his Caribbean flair to this island, however – and his “Contemporary, Caribbean Fusion” is sooo good. It really is a perfect match…I mean, we have more fresh fish here than you can shake a net at.

Here’s a sneak peak at the 2009 summer menu…

Reggae Mussels with coconut rum, madras curry, soft herbs, thyme, fennel & celery~

Conch Fritter Calypso with avocado, pesto, sprouts, jakanoo sauce~

Miso Crusted Swordfish with sweet batata fries & braised asparagus~

Cinnamon Braised Lamb Rack with Merlot ver jus, green beans and yucca puree

They’re open for dinner and Sunday brunch and you can find Deon’s Restaurant right on the main strip in Oak Bluffs, 53 Circuit Ave. 508.696.0001

And…We’ve got some great vacation rentals just a leisurely walk away from your dinner table! Contact me for more info.

I have a bounty of beautiful, classic Martha’s Vineyard houses available for summer vacation rentals…and I also have some rare gems. This house right on the Lagoon in Oak Bluffs is not a dime-a-dozen! Here are the  highlights:

Original. For starters, there’s a triceratops skull in the foyer! The owner of the house found it on an archaelogical dig. There’s also a very cool swing in the living room. And the design elements throughout make this house one of a kind.

Water, water everywhere. This contemporary house sits right on the Lagoon in Oak Bluffs, giving you 500 feet of private beach. It also has a gorgeous pool in the back yard and a hot tub. Of course, being in Oak Bluffs, you’re never far from the ocean – it’s just a short drive away.

Sunlight. Someone once told me they just wanted to rent land and not a house because they didn’t want to miss a second of Vineyard sunshine. Well, this is the house for you sun worshipers. There are almost as many windows as there are walls! The whole house is light, bright and vibrant.

Contact me for full information on this incredible rental!