N MAGAZINE June 2026

NVINEYARD WIND

BESTSELLING AUTHOR SYNAGOGUE AT THE LIFESAVING STATION

TURBINE GRAVEYARD? ANN PATCHETT

AT THE NANTUCKET BOOK FESTIVAL THE TODAY SHOW’S

FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVES

Custom Nantucket gear, available exclusively at our island store.

Make Your Next Move

25 Beacon St., #4 | Beacon Hill

$8,995,000 | 3 bed, 3 bath, 1 half bath

Manuel Sarkis: M 781.801.0610

Megan Francese: M 413.347.2051

22 Joy Street | Beacon Hill

$3,895,000 | 4 bed, 3 bath, 2 half bath

George Sarkis: M 781.603.8702

Megan Francese: M 413.347.2051

61 Huntington Road | Newton

$1,700,000 | 4 bed, 3 bath, 1 half bath

Timothy Martin: M 347.881.6487

Nautilus Lane | Nantucket

$4,750,000 | 5 bed, 4 bath, 2 half bath Web# 73474120

17 Pond View Drive | Nantucket

$4,499,000 | 3 bed, 2 bath, 1 half bath Web# 73440767

Nicole Tirapelli: M 312.296.8048

Craig Brody: M 617.519.1480 195 Lincoln Road | Walpole

$2,895,000 | 5 bed, 5 bath, 1 half bath Web# 73490881

Manuel Sarkis: M 781.801.0610

Megan Francese: M 413.347.2051

863 Main Street | Reading

$1,599,000 | 4 bed, 4 bath Web# 73486266

Steven Novak: M 617.955.2224

13 Park Place | Mattapoisett

$1,995,000 | 7 bed, 4 bath Web# 73423439

Danielle Cormier: M 508.287.5224

768 Lynn Fells Pkwy. | Melrose

$929,000 | 3 bed, 2 bath Web# 73490524

Zechariah Cook: M 978.875.0940

BOSTON | CAPE COD & ISLANDS

617 621-1455 | LDa-Architects.com lda_design

ARCHITECTURE LDa Architecture & Interiors

BUILDER JJ Delaney, Inc. PHOTOGRAPHER Sean Litchfield

10686 Eton Way

5 BEDS | 5 FULL AND 1 HALF BATHS | $9,995,000

Designed for carefree beachfront living, this home’s unique layout places the living room, kitchen, and primary suite on the second level, opening to a covered porch that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. Below, a private courtyard framed by garden walls features indoor and outdoor lounging areas set around an expansive pool courtyard, capturing afternoon light and sunsets. Furniture included in Price.

The Landing is the neighborhood retreat designed for residents, offering a resort style atmosphere creating community and connection. Located in the heart of the neighborhood, The Landing raises the mast with island influenced serenity and thoughtfully planned curated spaces for time with family, friends, and community enjoyment. The clubhouse is both a retreat and an extended backyard for gatherings, among residents. Designed and furnished bringing resort style amenities to a cozy neighborhood setting.

The Landing

PRESERVING NANTUCKET’S PAST, THOUGHTFULLY REIMAGINED FOR TODAY

The home at 6 Gull Island Lane is a meaningful piece of Nantucket’s architectural and cultural heritage, with roots tracing back to around 1800 when it was built by Thomas Gardner Jr. for his daughter, Hannah Gardner, on the occasion of her marriage. Remaining in the care of the Gardner and later Sheffield families for over a century, the property reflects the enduring legacy of Nantucket’s early families and the island’s commitment to preservation.

Today, this historic residence has been meticulously restored with a deep respect for its original character. Every detail has been thoughtfully considered to honor the home’s past while seamlessly introducing modern comforts. The result is a rare balance of authenticity and livability—featuring six bedrooms, seven wood-burning fireplaces, and beautifully maintained grounds including a garage, patio, and rose garden—all set along a charming, restored cobblestone lane that echoes Nantucket’s storied past.

Please contact us for additional information and pricing.

KATHY GALLAHER

Broker

508.560.0078

kathy@maurypeople.com

MARY TAAFFE

Broker

508.325.1526

mary@maurypeople.com

Meet the talented group of writers and photographers who helped make this issue possible.

BY THE NUMBERS

A numerical snapshot of Nantucket this season.

N TOP TEN

All the places you need to be and see.

NECESSITIES

Put these items on your summer wish list.

NDULGE

KID’N AROUND

How to keep your kiddos entertained this summer.

NBUZZ

All the news, tidbits and scuttlebutt that’s fit to print, courtesy of the Nantucket Current.

NEED TO READ Tim Ehrenberg gives his summer reading list.

Bush Hager

Photo by Kit Noble

Dirt biker Sergio Rondon

Full Throttle

PUBLISHER &

Bruce A. Percelay

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Brian Bushard

ART DIRECTOR

Paulette Chevalier

DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING & PARTNERSHIPS

Emme Duncan

CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Kit Noble

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER

Brian Sager

ADVERTISING COORDINATOR

Lola Piuggi

NANTUCKET CURRENT

Jason Graziadei, Editor in Chief

David Creed, Deputy Editor

JohnCarl McGrady, News Reporter

CONTRIBUTORS

Darya Afshari Gault

Mary Bergman

Madeline Bilis

Jurgita Budaite

Tim Ehrenberg

Petra Hoffmann

Jen Laskey

Wendy Rouillard

John Stanielon

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Charity Grace Mofsen

Chris Tran

PUBLISHER N. LLC

CHAIRMAN: Bruce A. Percelay

Over the past 20+ years, N Magazine has established itself as Nantucket’s leading luxury lifestyle publication and the most powerful advertising vehicle on the island. Renowned for its compelling content, stunning photography and premium production, each issue is hotly anticipated and becomes a permanent collectible in homes around Nantucket and beyond. Accordingly, N Magazine provides businesses with residual exposure unlike any magazine or newspaper of its kind.

To learn more about the many advertising opportunities available with N Magazine, contact Emme Duncan, Director of Advertising and Partnerships, at emmeduncan@n-magazine.com.

Rosa Rugosa Ring rosa Rugosa Earrings

READING

Between the Lines

The Nantucket Book Festival’s featured speaker, Jenna Bush Hager, delivers a deeper message than simply the joys of books and the celebration of their authors. At a time when the learning process and brain development of children are being so heavily influenced by electronic devices, social media, video games and artificial intelligence, the simple act of reading is being supplanted by something far less beneficial.

Indeed, in our conversation with Bush Hager, The Today Show host indicated that she herself does her best to restrict phone use for her children, but the pressures of the digital world on young people is inescapable. The latest concern for parents of young children and even college students is the impact of artificial intelligence, which can circumvent the learning process and fresh thinking for people of all ages. When the answers to virtually any question can be attained by the press of a button, it discourages the organic discovery of new information and original thought. For those who are now the last members of the analog generation, we see the learning habits that were an essential part of our education are now being

threatened by the progress of technology.

N Magazine adopted a strict policy that AI journalism will never appear on these pages, but given the ease with which digital publications can be almost instantly created, readers must be vigilant as to the quality of content, given the fact that stories may be written by machines versus human beings.

BRUCE A. PERCELAY Publisher

Bush Hager is to be lauded for celebrating the art of reading at a time when opening a book is considered by many to be anachronistic. The explosion of digital influence on children and young adults makes events that rely on human creativity—like the Nantucket Book Festival and the Nantucket Film Festival—all the more important.

Sincerely,

Bruce A. Percelay Publisher

Brian SAGER

Brian Sager is a longtime member of the Artists Association of Nantucket, the owner of Sager Fine Art Gallery in Cohasset, Massachusetts, and works as the fashion photographer behind NVogue in each issue of N Magazine. A lifelong sailor with more than 10,000 miles of offshore sailing under his belt, his photography also has a distinct focus on water and the marine world. He received the Artist Association of Nantucket’s Photography Award in 2020. He has worked with N Magazine since 2013.

Madeline BILIS

Madeline Bilis is a freelance writer and editor based in Boston, who has been writing for N Magazine since 2024. An award-winning lifestyle journalist, Bilis covers real estate, travel, design, architecture, hotels, cities, dining, the outdoors and more. She’s also the author of a hiking guidebook called 50 Hikes in Eastern Massachusetts. Most recently, she spent four years editing real estate, money and lifestyle features as Apartment Therapy’s deputy lifestyle director, and has served as an editor at Travel + Leisure and Boston Magazine, where she has highlighted the best of New England and beyond.

JohnCarl M c GRADY

JohnCarl McGrady is a reporter for the Nantucket Current with a focus on local politics. A lifelong Nantucket resident, McGrady graduated from Nantucket High School, and recently graduated magna cum laude from Williams College with degrees in political science and English. He believes in the importance of robust local journalism and the pursuit of truth. In this issue of N Magazine, he writes about the legal battle between Vineyard Wind and the manufacturer of its turbines, GE Renewables, and the future of offshore wind.

INTERIORS

$

3.7

14,109 Million this year.

Pounds of trash collected in the 2026 Nantucket Litter Derby.

The price of the M/V Monomoy, the Steamship Authority’s newest vessel 30

110

Antique vehicles in the 50th annual Daffodil Festival Car Parade.

New restaurants opening on South Water Street: The Dive and Bloom Bar.

Consecutive marathons Desnoyers ran the morning of Marathon Monday this year $ Million $

5.66

The peak price of a gallon of gasoline on Nantucket this spring.

2

3:25:51

David Desnoyers’ time in the Boston Marathon—the fastest of Nantucket’s 10 runners.

29

Years Kim and Bill Puder owned Faregrounds Restaurant, which reopened under new management this spring.

Events for Spring 10

5/27-31

NANTUCKET FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL

Enjoy some of the finest wines from around the world at the annual Nantucket Food & Wine Festival, taking place the weekend after Memorial Day at venues around the island. Whether it’s a wine tasting, luncheon, a cheese seminar or an oyster shucking, the Wine Festival has something to offer for everyone. nantucketwinefestival.com

6/5-20

TWN’S EUREKA DAY

Bennett Hall

Opening June 5, Theatre Workshop of Nantucket’s Eureka Day takes you into the progressive Eureka Day School in Berkeley, California, amidst an outbreak of the mumps that turns into a farcical crisis. The dark comedy won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. theatrenantucket.org

6/7-8

SAM SYLVIA GOLF TOURNAMENT

Sankaty Head Golf Club

The 33rd annual Sam Sylvia Golf Tournament is the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club’s premier charity event, bringing men and women to Sankaty Head Golf Club for a day on the links, with proceeds supporting the organization’s early childhood education, academic and athletic programming, as well as staff development and summer camp. Don’t miss the welcome cocktail party on June 7. nantucketboysandgirlsclub.org

6/12-18

AAN PLEIN AIR NANTUCKET

A great way to spend time outdoors, the Artists Association of Nantucket’s 15th annual Plein Air festival invites artists to seek inspiration from Nantucket’s harbors, landscapes and seascapes, with freshly painted works on display and for sale at the Cecelia Joyce and Seward Johnson Gallery on Federal Street. nantucketarts.org

6/11

PASCON DREAMCATCHER

Nantucket Yacht Club

Join the PASCON Foundation for a night of incredible food, raffle prizes and a private auction at the Nantucket Yacht Club—the best way to support Palliative & Supportive Care of Nantucket, a specialized health care program for families living with serious illnesses. pascon.org

6/11-14

NANTUCKET BOOK FESTIVAL

Whether it’s a beach read, mystery or biography you’re looking for, the Nantucket Book Festival has you covered with a series of author readings and workshops featuring world-class authors like Ann Patchett, Jenna Bush Hager, Tayari Jones, Lois Romano and Norah O’Donnell. nantucketbookfestival.org

6/26-28

NANTUCKET WELLNESS FESTIVAL

Dreamland

Back for its second year, the reimagined Nantucket Yoga Festival offers a series of inspiring and empowering events at the Dreamland, designed to promote mindfulness, meaningful connection and movement. nantucketwellnessfestival.org

6/20

SHOOT FOR THE STARS

Great Harbor Yacht Club

Join Nantucket Sports & Therapeutic Accessible Recreation (S.T.A.R.) at the Great Harbor Yacht Club for an empowering night as the organization fundraises for its life-changing programs for children with special needs—programs that build children’s confidence, developmental skills and independence. nantucketstar.org

6/17-22

NANTUCKET FILM FESTIVAL

Celebrating 31 years this June, the Nantucket Film Festival showcases the best of the best in independent film and screenwriting, with six days of feature and short film screenings, panel discussions, workshops and talks with industry insiders and some Hollywood stars, including Chloë Sevigny and director Paul Feig. nantucketfilmfestival.org

6/26

NHA BASKETS, BUBBLES & BOURBON

Now with a bourbon tasting, the Nantucket Historical Association’s annual fundraiser celebrates the maritime tradition of Nantucket lightship baskets, featuring a curated selection of work from island artists and craftspeople. nha.org

6/27

RACE FOR OPEN SPACE

Milestone Cranberry Bog

On your marks, get set, go! The Nantucket Conservation Foundation’s annual fundraiser invites runners and walkers alike to a race around the Milestone Cranberry Bog and into the vast network of conservation properties that make up the Middle Moors. Register in advance for the 5K, 10K runs, or a 2-mile walk. nantucketconservation.org

ROBERTO DEMEGLIO

FINE JEWELRY TRUNK SHOW

JUNE 9 - 13 NANIS

FINE JEWELRY TRUNK SHOW

JUNE 16 - 19

LOQUET

FINE JEWELRY TRUNK SHOW

JUNE 23 - 28

SARA WEINSTOCK

FINE JEWELRY TRUNK SHOW + PERSONAL APPEARANCE

JUNE 30 - JULY 5

IRENE NEUWIRTH

FINE JEWELRY TRUNK SHOW

JULY 13 - 18

MARLA AARON

FINE JEWELRY TRUNK SHOW + PERSONAL APPEARANCE

JULY 21 - 26

DAVID WEBB

FINE JEWELRY TRUNK SHOW

JULY 28 - AUGUST 2

& MORE

SHORT SLEEVE EMBROIDERED COLLARED DAY DRESS

This tailored shift dress by Oscar De La Renta pairs a structured silhouette with intricate floral embroidery, finished in a fresh saltwater shade with a subtle coastal charm. Crafted in Italy from fine wool, it features a crisp collar, short sleeves, and a soft V-neckline for a polished take on summer dressing.

MARISSA COLLECTIONS

@shopmarissacollections marissacollections.com

Properly made and perfectly proportioned, the FIELDBAR Gin Trunk is the modern cooler for those who refuse to compromise. 25.4-quart capacity, hardcase construction, and 50 hours of “champagne cold” performance.

CENTRE POINTE

@centrepointenantucket • 28centrepointe.com

WISH LIST SUMMER

AVA INITIAL TIE BRACELET

The Ava Initial Tie Bracelet is a playful, personalized piece from M. Flynn’s signature Ava collection, featuring a 14K gold and diamond initial on an adjustable cord. Easy to wear and layer, it’s a thoughtful gift or everyday staple, available in any letter and a range of cord colors.

NANTUCKET RUBY GRAPEFRUIT VODKA SODA

The most refreshing canned cocktail you’ll sip this summer, the Ruby craft can is made with 100% real Triple Eight Vodka and grapefruit. Whether you’re at the beach or in the backyard, this is a cooler no-brainer.

TIDE BEACH TOY KIT

Everything you need for endless play in the sand and sea! And when it’s time to pack up, simply store it all in the included mesh bag for easy, sand-free transportation.

SMOL

@playsmol • playsmol.com

TRIPLE EIGHT DISTILLERY @tripleeightdistillery tripleeightdistillery.com

EMBROIDERY FLOWERS

SHORT SLEEVE BUTTON-DOWN

Made of 100% organic cotton with mother of pearl buttons and intricate embroidery, this stylish button-down from Portuguese Flannel is the perfect addition to his summer wardrobe. Lightweight, breathable, and just right for taking from the beach to the bar.

MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP @ackreds • nantucketreds.com

FROM OUR ISLAND TO YOURS

Award-winning Archipelago Gin brings a taste of the tropics to Nantucket’s shores.

Peter Westfall escaped the Russian Revolution and arrived in Manila in 1918. Leading the team at San Miguel’s Royal Soft Drinks Plant, he was credited with introducing Royal Tru-Orange in 1922—a citrus staple that remains a Philippine household name today. Exactly 100 years after his grandfather’s milestone, Matthew Westfall distilled a new chapter. Following a global career in diplomacy and international development banking, he returned to his family’s roots to found Full Circle Craft Distillers Co., the first authentic craft distillery in the Philippines. Now eight years in, Full Circle has garnered global acclaim, exporting to 18 countries while honoring the artisanal excellence Westfall’s grandfather embraced a century ago.

For Matthew and his wife Laurie Jimenez-Westfall, the venture has come full circle in more ways than one. A Brookline native, Matthew’s bond with Nantucket spans decades. This May, the Westfalls are bringing their world-class collection to the Nantucket Wine & Food Festival. Their award-winning ARC Gin can be found at island mainstays like Hatch’s, Murray’s, The Islander, Epernay and The Sconset Bookstore, and on the backbars of the Sea Grille, Summer House, The Nantucket Hotel and The Nantucket Yacht Club.

What inspired you to launch a distillery?

Matthew Westfall: Full Circle is woven from three threads: my grandfather’s pioneering spirit, the storied history of the Philippines, and the vibrant tapestry of tropical botanicals found across the archipelago. As a third-generation resident fascinated by this lineage, I gravitated toward building upon this heritage while celebrating the very best of our adopted island home.

What guided your creation of the Archipelago spirits brand?

Westfall: It began with a singular vision: to build a premium global spirits brand without compromise, anchored by timetested traditions. We invested in state-of-the-art German copper stills and spent two years perfecting our recipes using fresh botanicals sourced from family farms across Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, ranging from local citrus (pomelo, dalandan and calamansi), to mango and exotic fragrant flowers (sampaguita and ylang-ylang).

What sets your spirits apart?

Westfall: Authenticity and precision. We distill in small batches on hybrid copper stills to exacting standards. The result has been remarkable acclaim, from 93-point ratings by Wine Enthusiast, to VinePair naming ARC one of “30 Best Gins” of the year. Consumers increasingly care about provenance; they recognize the profound difference between mass-produced industrial products and honestly handcrafted spirits.

How would you describe the connection between Nantucket and the Philippines? Do you see this company as part of that legacy?

Westfall: It is a fascinating 200-year story of migration and craftsmanship. In the early 1800s, Nantucket whalers ventured as far as the Sulu Sea, frequently recruiting “Manila men”—skilled Filipino sailors—to fill their ranks. Their presence was common enough that Herman Melville introduced them as oarsmen in Moby-Dick. It’s a unique historical arc: Nantucket first sought the Philippines for whale oil; then, Filipino immigrant Jose Reyes revolutionized the island’s most famous souvenir, the lightship basket; and today, our ARC spirits have landed on the island, bringing it full circle. We aim to elevate the craft cocktail experience by bringing an exquisite tropical soul to the world’s finest bars and hotels.

It’s a mission anchored on a grandfather’s spirit and a tradition of craftsmanship. What better place to share that story than here on Nantucket?

Matthew and Laurie Westfall at their distillery

Rare Harborfront Estate in Monomoy

Harborfront in Monomoy | Offered at $34,500,000

Set on 1.25 acres in Monomoy, 52 Monomoy Road is a rare harborfront estate with sweeping views across Nantucket Harbor to Town, Brant Point, and Coatue. The property offers 10 bedrooms across a seven-bedroom main residence and separate guest accommodations, along with a waterside boathouse, approximately 175 feet of direct waterfront, and a private sandy beach. Distinguished by irreplaceable grandfathered features that could never be replicated today, this is one of Nantucket’s most exceptional waterfront offerings.

1.25 Waterfront Acres 10 BR | 7 Full, 2 Half BA Approx. 175’ Direct Waterfront Private Sandy Beach

Waterside Boathouse

Guest Accommodations

Rare Grandfathered Features

When Katherine Jetter met Michal Kadar at the Couture Jewelry trade show in Las Vegas, she was blinded by Kadar’s three tiers of gold feather earrings. Jetter, a jewelry designer who also carries other designers’ jewelry at The Vault Nantucket, ran to Kadar’s booth to introduce herself. The rest was history. This year, The Vault is celebrating 10 years, and is carrying Michal Kadar’s jewelry, called CADAR. “Michal’s jewelry has always had two key traits: movement and a level of gold polish that is exceptional and exceeds the standard seen in most gold collections,” Jetter said. N Magazine caught up with Michal Kadar to discuss her collection.

How did CADAR get its start?

Kadar: CADAR really began as something deeply personal. It was born from a need to create things that would last. I had spent years in fashion, and I loved it, but fashion moves so fast. I wanted to create something more permanent and meaningful. The name CADAR comes from my own name, Kadar. My heritage, my roots, and my story—told through gold.

What drew you to jewelry?

Kadar: Jewelry never leaves you. It becomes part of who you are. It holds memory, it tells a story, it lives on your skin and moves with you every day. I wore my engagement ring every single day and one morning I looked at it and thought: how can I make this feel new again? That question became the TU Ring, a solitaire with an interchangeable jacket. That moment of wanting to transform something familiar into something surprising—that is really the essence of how I think about jewelry. It is not a static object. It is a living thing.

GOLD

STANDARD

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THE VAULT NANTUCKET

CADAR Shines at The Vault Nantucket

based on a story. My roots and my culture are in almost every piece. My personal style is a melting pot of vintage, bohemian, the Middle East, and East Asia. But above everything, I want the jewelry to be timeless. That is why I work only in yellow gold and diamonds. Certain colors

belong to seasons and trends, and I don’t want my pieces to belong to a moment. I want a woman to wear something I designed today and feel the same magic in it 20 years from now. The idea that jewelry is something you covet, something that fulfills a deeper desire guides every decision I make.

How do you capture movement and emotion in your jewelry?

Kadar: I think about jewelry the way a fashion designer thinks about fabric. Gold is my textile. I study how a piece will drape on the body, how it moves when a woman walks, how it catches the light at different angles. The Feather earrings, for example, took us a full year just to develop the prototype in New York before we even sent it to our artisans in Italy. Another six months before we got the movement exactly right. When I see a piece of jewelry move flawlessly, I am completely mesmerized by it. That is what I am chasing every time. I want the piece to feel like it was always part of you, like a second skin.

When Olivia Messina was 26, she suffered a stroke. Messina, who had no prior medical history, was vacationing on Nantucket with her family when the neurological symptoms set in. A stroke was the last thing on her mind.

Her parents rushed her to Nantucket Cottage Hospital, where doctors quickly realized she would need advanced care at an off-island facility. In a matter of minutes, she was transported—along with her mom—on a Boston MedFlight helicopter to Boston, where it was discovered she had a genetic blood disorder and a previously undiagnosed PFO that would require heart surgery.

“Having Boston MedFlight’s services available on Nantucket meant everything to me in a moment when every second truly mattered,” said Messina, who made a full recovery and will be running the Falmouth Road Race for Boston MedFlight, the region’s leading nonprofit critical care transport organization.

Messina is one of over 110,000 people who have been transported over 40 years by Boston MedFlight for emergency care at regional hospitals. On average, the organization transports nearly 7,000 patients a year by air and ground, bringing the expertise and resources of an

CRITICAL CARE CONNECTORS

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE AND COURTESY OF BOSTON MEDFLIGHT

Linking Nantucket to specialized emergency care when every second counts for more than 350 patients each year.

intensive care unit directly to patients, wherever they are, and regardless of their insurance or ability to pay.

On Nantucket, Boston MedFlight transported 362 people— nearly one a day—off the island over the last fiscal year—an 11% increase from the year before. It doesn’t matter what level of care is needed or who the person is to be transported in an emergency. Last year, that meant not only year-round and summer residents, but day trippers spending just an afternoon on the island.

“The island is fortunate to have access to high-quality care—but no hospital can do everything for every patient,” said Boston MedFlight CEO, Maura Hughes. “While we don’t always think of Nantucket as rural, in the height of summer— or in a critical emergency—that short distance off the mainland can quickly become a real challenge. That’s when we’re here to help, getting patients where they need to go, especially when ground transport isn’t an option.”

Even more, Boston MedFlight, which relies on donor funding, has never turned a patient away over their ability to pay. The organization, which bills insurance when available, ensures that patients are never left with a large bill—receiving reimbursement if services are covered, while others pay only what they can. Roughly 30% of patients transported off Nantucket received free or subsidized care.

SCAN TO LEARN MORE:

“[Boston MedFlight] turned a frightening situation into one where I knew I was going to get the help I needed quickly,” Messina said. “That experience is exactly why I’m running the Falmouth Road Race for Boston MedFlight now—to give back to an organization that truly saves lives and gives people like me a fighting chance when it matters most. Their compassion, calmness, and extraordinary care carried me and my family through the scariest day of our lives.”

Madaket

SWING INTO SUMMER WITH PEACHTREE KIDS

On the sunny side of Nantucket’s cobblestoned Main Street, Peachtree Kids & Monogram is a bright, inviting destination for timeless children’s style. Their thoughtfully curated collections blend classic pieces with fresh, current fashion for infants through size 14, including clothing, swimwear, shoes, accessories, jewelry, toys, and our signature “Nantucket” rollneck sweater. We proudly feature a variety of small, women-owned, sustainable, and beloved local brands, including Joy Street Kids, Nantucket Kids, Maddie & Connor, Timo & Violet, Minnow, The Beaufort Bonnet Company, Oso & Me, Chappywrap, Bits & Bows, Piping Prints, Barnaby Bear, Nanpuppets, Nikki Rene, and Liliput Vintage. For beach days and island adventures, they also carry Native water shoes for infants through big kids, up to size 6. At the heart of the shop is our in-store monogram and embroidery studio, where everyday pieces become keepsakes. From classic initials on a sweater to a child’s name stitched onto a favorite dress, backpack, or baby gift, each item is personalized with care. Visit www. peachtreekidsnantucket.com for the latest Nantucket kids’ calendar. Open daily from 9am to 6pm at 19 Main Street. Follow along at @peachtreekidsnantucket.

EXPLORE, DISCOVER, AND LEARN WITH THE MARIA MITCHELL ASSOCIATION

Explore, discover, and spark your curiosity this summer with the Maria Mitchell Association! A visit to the MMA is a handson adventure for the whole family, inviting visitors of all ages to dive into science, nature, astronomy, and Nantucket history. From interactive exhibits and live animals to outdoor exploration and stargazing, each experience is designed to keep families engaged, learning, and having fun together. Beginning Thursday, June 11, the MMA will open for the 2026 summer season at five unique locations: Maria Mitchell Aquarium (32 Washington Street), Hinchman House Natural Science Museum (7 Milk Street), Historic Mitchell House (1 Vestal Street), Vestal Street Observatory, (3 Vestal Street), Loines Observatory (59 Milk Street Extension). Throughout the summer, the MMA offers a full lineup of science and history programs for all ages. Families can enjoy favorite experiences like Feeding Frenzy at the Aquarium, Ravenous Reptiles at the Hinchman House, and Stargazing at the Loines Observatory. To make the most of your visit, consider becoming a member for exclusive perks and access. For the full program and events calendar, visit mariamitchell.org @ maria_mitchell_association

LET YOUR CHILD’S CREATIVITY SHINE AT AAN!

The Artists Association of Nantucket is a vibrant hub of creativity, offering a full schedule of engaging summer programs for young artists of all ages. Morning sessions feature Adventures in Art and Clay Sculpture camps for ages 6–9, each inspired by a new weekly theme. In the afternoons, Exploring Art welcomes children ages 4–5, while older students (ages 10–14) can dive into studio classes like Animation Fun, Drawing, and Let’s Create with iPad Procreate. For those interested in ceramics, students ages 10–14 and teens can explore both hand building and the fundamentals of wheel throwing. All classes take place in AAN’s fully equipped studios at the Visual Arts Center, 24 Amelia Drive. Young artists will experiment with drawing, painting, ceramics, printmaking, crafting, and construction, building creative confidence, resourcefulness, and persistence along the way. These programs not only develop new skills and forms of self-expression, but also foster meaningful friendships. AAN classes are designed to spark imagination through hands-on projects and exploration across a variety of media. Join us for a summer filled with creativity, learning, and fun. To register, please visit www.nantucketarts.org or call  (508) 228-0722

DISCOVER THE NHA THIS SUMMER

Be sure to visit the Nantucket Historical Association’s Whaling Museum this summer. The family-friendly Discovery Center is the perfect spot for imaginative play, hands-on learning, and rainy-day

fun. New this year, families can join the Family Connections Tour, a guided experience through several museum galleries, including the 2026 special exhibit, The Wider World and Scrimshaw. Through visual and tactile elements, families will explore Nantucket’s connection to the Pacific world, the art of scrimshaw, and the diverse cultures encountered along historic whaling routes. The tour concludes with a take-home craft activity. Did you know the Nantucket Historical Association also offers family memberships? For more information and to book your visit in advance, please visit NHA.org.  Island families enjoy FREE admission year-round. @ackhistory

CREATE THIS SUMMER WITH BARNABY’S TOY & ART Inspiring Young Artists on Nantucket Since 2021 Barnaby’s is welcoming their sixth season with over 100 thoughtfully curated art classes for children of all ages. Each class is led by professional educators and artists who inspire creativity while guiding technique in a warm, supportive environment in downtown Nantucket. Whether your child joins a scheduled class or simply drops in to create, Barnaby’s offers a space where imagination comes to life throughout the day. Children are invited to Drop In & Create daily from 1:30pm to 3pm for a fun, flexible art experience. In addition to our in-studio experiences, Barnaby’s offers the finest selection of toys on the Island and Barnaby’s Art Kits for all ages, carefully chosen and designed to spark creativity at home or on the go! Barnaby’s fosters imagination, sparks creativity, builds friendships, and lots of smiles! To learn more or to register for classes, please visit www.barnabysworld.com or  @barnabystoyandart.

ENJOY THE ARTS WITH NISDA Create outdoors in Wauwinet this summer with Nantucket Island School of Design & the Arts! NISDA offers Kinder, Youth, Family Generations Together, and Teen classes, as well as private tutorials for family and friends. Through arts and crafts, folklore, and nature study, Kinder and Youth artists will explore world cultures, Nantucket traditions, and the island’s natural environment. Kinder Artists will “Sail Around the World,” creating with stamps, paint, papier- mâché, clay, collage, textiles, photography, kites, masks, puppets, and costumes. Every Friday, families can join Generations Together, a multigenerational art-making workshop for all ages. Youth Artists will explore painting, mask making, and nature drawing, while teens can join the Studio Arts Program, with offerings in clay, photography, painting, textiles, and more. Mark your calendar for the 51st Annual Sandcastle Day at Jetties Beach on July 11, 1:00–4:00 PM. Ribbons for all! Register at www.nisda.org, @nisda_art, or 508-228-4265.

REPORTED BY THE NANTUCKET CURRENT

After years of debate, there will be a new Our Island Home senior facility. Voters at the Annual Town Meeting approved a $137 million appropriation for a new 45-bed skilled nursing facility that would be constructed at the Sherburne Commons campus off South Shore Road. The proposal also includes housing for staff, replacing the outdated Our Island Home building at East Creek Road.

The costly new facility has divided voters and government officials alike for years. The Select Board had recommended in favor of the project, emphasizing that if voters didn’t support it, the island would be without skilled nursing care, as it was highly unlikely a private company would open a facility on-island.

GENOMICS PIONEER

PROJECT EXPANSION

NEW OUR ISLAND HOME FACILITY FINALLY APPROVED GETS RED LIGHT OVER PLAYING FIELDS SCONSET EROSION

CRAIG VENTER, GONE AT 79

Pioneering scientist and Nantucket summer resident J. Craig Venter, who decoded the human genome, passed away at the age of 79. One of the most accomplished scientists in history, Venter was remembered as a relentless researcher who changed biotech and transformed genomics. The race to decode the human genome landed Venter on the cover of Time Magazine in July 2000. In 2009, he was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Barack Obama in recognition of his contributions to genome sequencing and synthetic biology. Venter, who owned a home in Tom Nevers, was a Vietnam War veteran who served as a Navy hospital corpsman, an experience that shaped his later scientific ambitions.

Town Meeting voters denied an article allowing the Select Board to lease the land below the eroding ’Sconset Bluff to the ’Sconset Beach Preservation Fund (SBPF), a major hurdle for the privately funded erosion-control project as it seeks to expand its geotubes by 3,000 feet. The Select Board had unanimously endorsed a draft license agreement with the SBPF, which still needs state permitting to proceed with the expansion. “This may not be a forever solution, but it’s something that really needs to happen now with the extent of the erosion,” Select Board Chair Dawn Hill said.

The license agreement is the latest in a series of deals between the town and the SBPF, and would require the SBPF to fund the expansion of the coastal hard-armoring structure, gain assent from all impacted property owners for a potential future removal plan and create additional stairs providing public access to the beach below the bluff. The expansion—from 950 feet to roughly 4,000 feet—has already been approved by the Conservation Commission, though that decision is under appeal in Superior Court.

TOWN ENDS TURF WAR

Another contentious proposal for nearly $26 million worth of renovations at the Nantucket High School athletic fields, including a turf field to replace the grass field at Vito Capizzo Stadium, was approved at Annual Town Meeting. The article required a twothirds majority. It came as turf fields have come under fire over the potential impact of so-called forever chemicals that opponents claim are in the synthetic field. (Proponents of the field, including town consultant Weston & Sampson, refute that claim.) Amid the protracted debate over those chemicals—known as PFAS—the Board of Health considered a moratorium on turf fields on the island, though it backed away from the moratorium following a packed and highly contentious board meeting in April where students and parents largely opposed the measure. Nantucket already has multiple synthetic turf fields, including at the town’s Nobadeer Fields on Nobadeer Farm Road.

COAST GUARD

RESCUES TWO FROM CAPSIZED BARGE

Coast Guard Station Brant Point and the Harbormaster’s office responded to a barge that capsized in the water April 20 with two people on board. Brant Point Master Chief John Lowell told the Nantucket Current that both people were pulled from the water and rescued, and that no one was missing. “We were heading out for training and the barge happened to capsize right in front of us,” he said. “Luckily, our crew was right here and were able to grab both of the people from the water. All safe and no one missing, thankfully.”

The rescue came just hours after the Coast Guard completed its annual tradition of hanging the daffodil wreath on the Brant Point Lighthouse the week before the Daffodil Festival. Lowell said it is unclear how the vessel capsized, and he happened to look over just as it was capsizing.

POWER PLAYERS

Six Nantucketers were honored by Boston Magazine in the publication’s annual list of the 150 most influential Bostonians. Those islanders included Barr Foundation co-founder Barbara Hostetter (#8), Fidelity Investments Chair and CEO Abigail Johnson (#9), bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand (#26), whose latest television adaptation The Five Star Weekend comes out this summer, and N Magazine and Nantucket Current publisher Bruce Percelay (#28), who launched Nourish Nantucket last year, and Boston Celtics lead owner Bill Chisholm (#74), and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution board of trustees chair Paul Salem (#118).

LEGALIZES CANNABIS DELIVERY

A law signed by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey in April legalized limited delivery of cannabis products to consumers statewide, potentially upending the town of Nantucket’s crackdown on a delivery service affiliated with local dispensary ACK Natural. Town officials have been embroiled in a dispute with ACK Natural over a delivery service operated by Social J, a licensed marijuana courier, in partnership with the dispensary. The town went so far as to issue two cease and desist letters to ACK Natural, citing a Nantucket bylaw that prohibits the delivery of cannabis products. But that bylaw may now be moot.

AT ODDS OVER

GREAT HARBOR YACHT TOWN OFFICIALS

HAZY CONDITIONS: STATE CLUB LICENSE

After the Nantucket Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board called out the Great Harbor Yacht Club for allegedly failing to comply with its state permit to develop the downtown waterfront, that board is now in hot water with other town officials. In a memo issued this spring, the town’s Natural Resources Department pleaded with the advisory board to back down from its pressure campaign against the yacht club. That memo is now causing another stir. “That letter is a ‘sit down, shut up and don’t bother me,’” Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board member Bob DeCosta said. The advisory board argued that the Washington Street yacht club has not been properly hauling vessels from the water in cases of emergency, has failed to appropriately advertise required public access and does not provide a fueling station. Great Harbor contends that it does haul vessels when needed and has adequate signage, but cannot feasibly provide fuel.

Tim Ehrenberg, of “Tim Talks Books” and president of the Nantucket Book Foundation, gives his picks for the Nantucket Book Festival.

WRITTEN BY TIM EHRENBERG

ANN PATCHETT WHISTLER, TOM LAKE, & BEL CANTO

Ann Patchett is my literary fairy godmother. My tagline has always been this: I would read Ann Patchett’s grocery list, her doodle pad or the pages she throws out. But when you read something like Whistler, her newest novel on shelves June 2, you realize how her books are like works of art, much more than a grocery list. I read fiction to find the truth in our human existence, and there are myriad truths in Whistler. I adored the characters and their backstories.

Patchett has an entire list of books to fall in love with and cherish. My other favorites are Bel Canto, the 2001 PEN/Faulkner Award winner about a fictional hostage situation in South America, and Tom Lake, a story about a mother who tells her daughters of a youthful romance with a famous actor at a summer theater camp. All of Patchett’s books give you the old-fashioned feeling that someone is sitting you down to tell you a story, and I am all ears for Ann Patchett. I will be in conversation with Ann Patchett on Saturday, June 13, at 11 a.m. at the Methodist Church for the Nantucket Book Festival.

JENNA BUSH HAGER & THOUSAND VOICES BOOKS

Ever since Jenna Bush Hager launched “Read With Jenna” on The Today Show in 2019, I have considered her one of my personal book whisperers. Her enthusiasm for literature and her inclusive and diverse selection of books are unmatched. Her newest venture, Thousand Voices Books, is providing some of the freshest books I’ve read in a while because “one story can spark a hundred conversations that inspire a thousand voices.” Love is at the center of them all. We have romantic love in Into the Blue by Emma Brodie, a book unlike any I’ve read before; sisterly love in Juliet Faithfull’s Liar’s Dice; and our love of summer traditions in Shannon Garvey’s June Baby, an elevated beach read perfect for the upcoming Nantucket summer season.

I will be in conversation with Jenna Bush Hager and the Thousand Voices authors on Friday, June 12, at 4 p.m. at the Methodist Church.

For even more book recommendations, follow @timtalksbooks on Instagram. All books available at Mitchell’s Book Corner and Nantucket Bookworks or online at nantucketbookpartners.com.

SCAN HERE to connect with @TimTalksBooks

RICHARD RUSSO EMPIRE FALLS, BRIDGE OF SIGHS & UNDER THE FALLS

I must have been living under a rock because I had never read a Richard Russo book before Winfrey picked Bridge of Sighs for her book club fall. Russo was always in my “to read” pile, but I got around to it. I have corrected that literary injustice and have since devoured six of his incredible novels, and I’m thrilled to welcome him to the Nantucket Book Festival this year. Bridge of Sighs is probably my favorite. Russo manages to make even a character’s trip to the supermarket a moment to remember. His characters feel like people you know: friends, family, neighbors and members of your own community. Empire Falls is equally outstanding. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and I wish I could read it again for the first time. Look for his newest book, Under the Falls, this August—it’s another story that perfectly captures the nuances of working-class, small-town American life with humor, empathy and deep realism. You can see Richard Russo on Friday, June 12, at 2 p.m. with Chrissy Brown at the Methodist Church.

BELLE BURDEN STRANGERS: A MEMOIR OF MARRIAGE

You would be hard-pressed to find a buzzier memoir this year than Belle Burden’s Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage. Featured on almost every broadcast this spring and now optioned for a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Burden’s story is not an uncommon one. Imagine if your spouse of 20 years, with no warning or explanation, walked in the room one day and said they were leaving you. What follows is a raw, honest, deeply moving story of heartbreak and resilience that makes every reader feel vulnerable, reflecting on love, loss and self-identity after trauma.

Belle Burden will be in conversation with my podcast co-host and bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand on Friday, June 12, at 1 p.m

ISAAC FITZGERALD AMERICAN RAMBLER ADRIANA TRIGIANI THE VIEW FROM LAKE COMO

Over the last decade, I have enjoyed connecting with an author on stage just as much as I have enjoyed reading their book. Hearing the voice that created a story you love or a character you resonated with is pure joy. That’s what the Nantucket Book Festival is all about. You won’t find better, more entertaining personalities on stage than Isaac Fitzgerald and Adriana Trigiani. The way they talk about writing and reading—their passion for storytelling and their art of the written word—is truly something to witness. Both authors focus heavily on family in their new books, diving into their personal histories. Isaac Fitzgerald’s American Rambler retraces the path of Johnny Appleseed all while blending Fitzgerald’s own reflections on grief and sobriety into the story. Adriana Trigiani’s The View from Lake Como is a heartfelt and humorous story about an Italian American woman discovering her heritage and family secrets. Don’t miss Isaac Fitzgerald with Wendy Hudson on Thursday, June 11, and Adriana Trigiani with Sara DiVello on Saturday, June 13.

RUTA SEPETYS A FORTUNE OF SAND, SALT TO THE SEA & BETWEEN SHADES OF GREY

I have revered Ruta Sepetys’ books for years. She is always my top example of an author whose books are placed in the young adult section of bookstores, but whose stories are meant to be read by people of all ages. I recommend Salt to the Sea, about the little-known tragedy of a German ship sinking in the Baltic Sea in 1945, and Between Shades of Grey, the story of a 15-yearold Lithuanian refugee in 1941. Sepetys’ newest book, on shelves just in time for the festival, is her adult debut, A Fortune of Sand, set in 1920s Detroit during the Prohibition era with a Great Gatsby vibe and secret Nantucket connection. It’s wonderful to welcome Sepetys, one of the 2025 Nantucket Book Foundation’s Visiting Authors in Schools, back to the island for the festival.

Ruta Sepetys will be talking with Mary Haft on Saturday, June 13, at 2 p.m. at the Methodist Church.

TAYARI JONES KIN PATRICK RYAN BUCKEYE ANGELA FLOURNOY THE WILDERNESS

I recommended Kin in the Spring 2026 issue of N Magazine favorite books of the year so far. It’s an unforgettable novel about two motherless girls growing up in the American South in the 1950s. Buckeye was my favorite book of 2025, and I featured this moving novel last year in the September issue. It’s an all-consuming epic that you won’t be able to put down. The Wilderness was another favorite book of mine from last year, as well as one of Barack Obama’s top books of 2025. It follows five friends over two decades.

I will be in conversation with Tayari Jones on Saturday, June 13, at 5 p.m. at the Methodist Church, while Patrick Ryan will be in conversation with Ann Patchett on Saturday, June 13, at 4 p.m., and Angela Flournoy will talk with Shantaw BloiseMurphy on Friday, June 12, at 10 a.m.

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NOT YOUR MOTHER’S PASTA

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD PHOTOS COURTESY

La Padrona chef Amarilys Colón cooks at the Nantucket Wine & Food Festival

When Amarilys Colón’s family moved from Puerto Rico to Belmont, Massachusetts, when she was six years old, she found comfort in the kitchen, making arroz con gandules and tostones with her mom. Today, she heads one of the most acclaimed restaurants in Boston.

OF LA PADRONA

“I’m finding myself needing to reflect and get back to basics,” said Colón, the executive chef of La Padrona, a Michelinrecommended high-end Italian restaurant in Boston’s Back Bay. “It’s going back to the trip I took with the company before we opened the restaurant. We started off in Piedmont, went down south and ended in Naples. It was a beautifully inspiring and yet so simple and warming experience. It’s really the foundation of what La Padrona tries to do.”

Her path took her to Vicki Lee’s, where she was the bakery’s front-ofhouse manager, to Figs in Beacon Hill, where she prepared salads and calamari as a garde-manger, and then to Porto

in the Back Bay, where she climbed the ranks from line cook to sous chef to executive chef, working alongside James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur Jody Adams. It was Adams who brought her on at La Padrona as executive chef.

In a city well known for Italian American cuisine, La Padrona stands out. Lauded as “Boston’s new Italian masterpiece” by Forbes, the restaurant was recommended by the Michelin Guide last year, putting it on a short and coveted list of Boston restaurants to earn recognition from Michelin, the gold standard in the restaurant industry. Dishes include gem clams and bone

marrow, Wagyu beef carpaccio, rabbit ragu fazzoletti and a 40-ounce bistecca alla Fiorentina, for $225.

“You might not see meatballs on the menu at La Padrona, but you are going to see beautifully composed bucatini with a smoked pomodoro sauce that tweaks it and elevates it and takes it somewhere different but super familiar,” Colón said.

Colón will be participating in the Nantucket Wine & Food Festival’s Island Gala at Bartlett’s Farm and the GAJA Wine Dinner. She shared a simplified version of La Padrona’s signature tagliatelle Emilia-Romagna for our June issue.

TAGLIATELLE EMILIA-ROMAGNA

PARMESAN CREAM

INGREDIENTS:

• 600 grams heavy cream (21 ounces)

• 3 sage stems with leaves

• 160 grams Parmesan rinds, roughly chopped (5 ounces)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine cream, sage and Parmesan rinds in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, whisking regularly to keep the cheese rinds from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Strain.

TAGLIATELLE

INGREDIENTS:

• Dried pasta of choice, cooked to al dente in salted water

• Parmesan cream

• Grated Parmesan

• Salt

• Lemon Juice

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Over medium-low heat, put 2 ounces of Parmesan cream and bring to a simmer.

• Add 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese and mix together.

• Reduce for a few minutes until the cream thickens slightly. If the sauce is too thin, add more Parmesan cheese.

• Season with salt and lemon juice.

• Once the cream is to the desired consistency, add cooked pasta and stir until pasta is completely coated with Parmesan cream.

• Plate and finish with more grated Parmesan.

• Optional: Add a touch of high-quality balsamic vinegar for a fun twist.

SPRING WITH A TWIST

WRITTEN BY JEN LASKEY

Three fresh sips for the season’s soft opening.

There’s a version of Nantucket that only exists for a few weeks in late May and early June, when the perfume of lilacs is in the air, restaurants are still accepting walk-ins and there may even be a few open seats at the bar. It’s high time to take a beat and enjoy the calm before the summer rush—ideally with something fresh and flavorful in your glass. The seasonal classics are back in rotation, but Nantucket’s drink purveyors are also serving up some exciting new sips, from a Kölsch-style ale and a “Baby Barolo” to a margarita with a savory twist.

DEVIL’S PURSE BREWING CO., HANDLINE KÖLSCH, KÖLSCH-STYLE ALE

($9/16-ounce can at B-ACK Yard BBQ)

Recommended by DENISE CORSON, owner, B-ACK Yard BBQ

It’s no secret that B-ACK Yard BBQ has a great selection of craft beers. The staff runs 10 taps, including one nitro, serving a rotating selection of seasonal brews along with a wide variety of craft beers in cans. Denise Corson, owner of B-ACK Yard BBQ, said her go-to beer for this early summer season is the Handline Kölsch from Devil’s Purse Brewing Co., a craft brewery just across the Sound in South Dennis. “The Handline Kölsch captures everything we love about this time of year,” Corson said. “It’s light and crisp, with a subtle citrus note that makes you think of flowers just breaking the surface.”

Photo by Denise Corson

Kölsch is a delicate, pale golden style of beer that originated in Cologne, Germany. The Handline Kölsch is brewed with American Vanguard hops (descended from the German Hallertau hop) and produced in the German style by fermenting Kölsch ale yeast at low temperatures. The lightness makes this beer surprisingly versatile for the table. “It goes great with the meatier items on our menu, but it can also complement a lobster roll,” said Corson. At just 5% ABV, it’s also an easygoing pairing for a picnic, or even just a blanket in the sand.

E. PIRA & FIGLI, CHIARA BOSCHIS, LANGHE NEBBIOLO, 2021

($110/bottle, $27 glass at Company of the Cauldron)

Recommended by JORDANA FLEISCHUT, wine director, Company of the

Cauldron

If you get excited by wines from boutique producers that overdeliver for the price, Company of the Cauldron wine director Jordana Fleischut highly recommends the 2021 E. Pira & Figli Langhe Nebbiolo from estate owner and winemaker Chiara Boschis. “Boschis is a legendary wine pioneer who treats her 11-hectare organic estate with obsessive care,” said Fleischut, a Wine & Spirit Education Trust advanced sommelier. “This wine is a masterclass in small-production soul.”

In the wine world, Boschis is known for her role as an influential—and the only female—member of the Barolo Boys, a group of winemakers who revolutionized Nebbiolo production in the Langhe in the 1980s and ’90s. Her Langhe Nebbiolo is produced in the same area and with the same grape (100% nebbiolo) as E. Pira & Figli’s acclaimed Barolos, but it’s aged for a shorter period and made in a lighter, fresher style. Langhe Nebbiolo is meant to be enjoyed young. “For those who crave a chillable red, this is a ‘unicorn,’” said Fleischut. It’s a lively wine with fine tannins and firm structure. “In the glass, it’s a shimmering garnet bursting with notes of wild strawberry and rose petals.” The wine’s high acidity makes it an ideal pairing for butter-poached proteins, grilled meats, burgers, pizza, hearty salads and garden-fresh seafood and pasta dishes.

LIME LITE ($18 at Lemon Press)

Photo by Ryan Reppert

Recommended by RIAN REPPERT, General Manager, Lemon Press

A light and savory spin on the margarita, Lemon Press’s Lime Lite features a standout ingredient—fresh-pressed celery juice. “The celery juice gives the cocktail a crisp, clean finish that makes it lighter and more elevated than a traditional margarita,” said Rian Reppert, the general manager of Lemon Press. “It’s the kind of drink that feels both hydrating and indulgent at the same time.”

Reppert recommends pairing the Lime Lite with dishes that have a little heat and a lot of brightness, especially those with fresh, herb-forward flavors, like Lemon Press’s chicken shawarma wrap with tangy lemon tahini and spicy tomato-chili salad. “With the Tajín rim on the cocktail, the citrus and spice play off each other in a really balanced way,” she said. But it doesn’t just shine with food. “The Lime Lite is a perfect ‘golden hour’ cocktail,” Reppert said. “It’s something you sip outside in the sun that easily carries you from a late lunch into the early evening.”

RecipecourtesyofLemonPress • Makes1serving • Glassware:Rocksglass

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ounce blanco tequila

• 1 ounce Cointreau (or triple sec)

• 1 ounce fresh lime juice

• 2 ounces fresh-pressed celery juice

• Tajín Clásico Seasoning

• Dried lime wheel

INSTRUCTIONS

• Rim a rocks glass with Tajín Clásico Seasoning.

• Add all liquid ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake well until chilled and lightly frothy.

• Strain over fresh ice into the prepared glass and garnish with a dried lime wheel.

ALL THINGS FAIR

KEEPING FAIRGROUNDS RESTAURANT ALIVE

After several years of uncertainty over the fate of Faregrounds Restaurant, an island institution called the “last reasonably priced restaurant on Nantucket” by The Daily Mail, the mid-island restaurant will remain open. Ethan Devine, whose family previously operated the Veranda House Hotel when it was known as the Overlook, purchased the restaurant last year. After a few weeks of renovations over the off-season, the restaurant reopened this spring with a slightly new name: Fairgrounds.

as Christopher’s, and in 1997, Bill and Kim Puder purchased it, calling it The Faregrounds and Pudley’s Pub, named after their pot bellied pig. It was during this time that then-senator Joe Biden made it a family tradition to order Thanksgiving dinner from the restaurant.

“Alexis and I hope to continue the legacy of a community-oriented restaurant that Bill and Kim have kept going for 29 years, and before them so many great Nantucketers like Mr. Holdgate and the Menards and the Barretts and the Malaveses,” Devine said in a statement to the Nantucket Current, mentioning his wife Alexis. “It’s a long list of great people who have kept The Knotty Pines going under many different names over the years.”

In addition to its reasonably priced menu, Fairgrounds has a long history on Fairgrounds Road. The former site of the town’s fairgrounds, the restaurant opened in 1948 as The Knotty Pines BarB-Q, offering not only smoked meat but live piano music that became its staple. In 1972, it rebranded as The Pines, and in 1974 it became The Roadhouse, where jazz music dominated. In 1984, it was renamed

But after deciding to sell the restaurant in 2022, it was unclear if the restaurant— one of a declining number of year-round restaurants— would keep its doors open. Last year, an eight-lot housing subdivision was proposed to replace the restaurant. The plan would combine the property with an undeveloped lot at 25 Fairgrounds Road to create an eight-lot subdivision on a new cul-de-sac running through the development. “This moment comes as bittersweet, as owning and operating the restaurant since 1997 has been one of the great joys of our lives and we have cherished serving the island’s community and hosting charitable events for over 25 years,” the Puders said at the time. “However, at the present time, we are excited to see what the future provides for us as we embark on the next chapter of our lives.”

But the deal fell through. That’s when Devine stepped up. “Bill and Kim have been so generous in working with us to help keep this a restaurant,” Devine said in his statement. “It isn’t easy to pass the baton and keep a restaurant operating through a change in ownership.”

“I have been looking for a business to get into since we moved back, and when I saw that Faregrounds became available again, I jumped at the opportunity,” Devine added. “Our family loves food, which is good because this is definitely an all-hands-on-deck type of business.”

Ethan Devine

Bill & Kim Puder at Faregrounds. Photo by Sarahbeth Maney | The New York Times/Redux

All the Care You Need is Right Here

• Walk-in Urgent Access clinic for non-life-threatening conditions, open daily

• Shortest Emergency Department average wait-time in the state of Massachusetts

• Primary Care providers accepting new patients

• Seasonal Care Coordination for part time residents

• Convenient outpatient services such as Lab, Imaging, Physical Therapy

• Virtual Urgent Care available 24/7

• Sought-after specialists who provide dozens of services such as Orthopedics, Neurology and Cosmetic Dermatology

“Accessing medical care on Nantucket has never been easier for year-round and seasonal residents. We offer patients the best of both worlds: the world-class resources of the Mass General Brigham system, paired with the comfort and familiarity of a small community hospital.”

– Amy Lee, MBA, MBHA, MJ, FACMPE President and Chief Operating Officer, Nantucket Cottage Hospital Top 100 Women-Led Business in Massachusetts

Nantucket Cottage Hospital is a community-supported nonprofit organization.

The Healing Power of

HUMAN INTERACTION

WRITTEN

BY BRIAN BUSHARD PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THE NANTUCKET WELLNESS FESTIVAL

NEUROSCIENTIST BEN REIN AT THE NANTUCKET WELLNESS FESTIVAL

Every time Ben Rein approaches a stranger for a conversation, he is chipping away at not only his risk of mental health conditions like depression and anxiety, but also dementia, heart disease and diabetes. It might sound far-fetched, but talking to strangers could do as much for our brains as diet and exercise do for our bodies, according to Rein, a professor of neuroscience at SUNY Buffalo and the author of Why Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection. “People generally have a sense of what is going to happen to their body if they eat, or if they don’t sleep enough, or if they don’t exercise,” he said. But they don't have a great sense of what happens to their minds when they talk to strangers.

Rein will be speaking on the power of friendship and community as one of nearly a dozen speakers at the second annual Nantucket Wellness Festival, the relaunched Nantucket Yoga Festival, set for June 26-28 at the Dreamland. “There’s a lot of evidence that people who are more isolated are at higher risk of mood conditions like depression, anxiety and suicide, but there’s also a higher risk for dementia, stroke, heart disease and diabetes,” he said.

“[Talking to strangers] is an incredibly powerful and accessible free tool that we can all be using.”

– Ben Rein

The theory, according to Rein, is that isolation triggers a stress response in our brains. Our brains are wired to reward us for sticking together, he said, because at one point in our existence, that was critical to survival. On the other hand, our brains punish us for being alone, setting off an internal alarm signal that manifests as a stress response when we’re isolated. A prolonged stress response over years of social isolation is associated with higher levels of inflammation, which, in turn, makes people more vulnerable to downstream health effects like heart disease, strokes, dementia, atherosclerosis and diabetes.

Neuroscientist Ben Rein

The solution, it turns out, is as easy as talking to strangers or meeting with people in person as opposed to over Zoom, a phone call or a text message. “When we phone call instead of meeting up in person, we can’t see someone’s facial expressions,” he said. “There’s no touch, no smells, no body language—so you’re activating your brain to a lesser extent and engaging fewer of the benefits of interaction, because our brains are wired to reward us for being around others. But if your brain thinks you’re interacting with the iPhone and not another human being, then you’re not going to reap the same benefits.”

“If your brain thinks you’re interacting with the iPhone and not another human being, then you’re not going to reap the same benefits.”

– Ben Rein

Rein’s talk fits into a wider theme of community at the Wellness Festival, according to festival organizers Joann Burnham and Holly Ruth Finigan. Each talk will focus on a different topic—from sound healing to yoga. “We don’t really want to be vulnerable and approach others, but there’s a lot of research showing that not only are people friendlier than we expect and that they are more prone to talk to us and less prone to reject us than we think they will be, but also that we feel way better after interacting with strangers, and the stranger feels better too,” Rein said. “It’s an incredibly powerful and accessible free tool that we can all be using.”

Nantucket Wellness Festival Organizers Holly Ruth Finigan and Joann Burnham. Photo by Charity Grace Mofsen

The Nantucket Wellness Festival's theme of community comes through in events like author talks, sound healing and yoga.

INTERVIEW

BY

BRUCE A. PERCELAY

READING THE FINANCIAL TEA LEAVES

A CHAT WITH NANTUCKET'S SUMMER VISITOR ANDREW SORKIN

Just weeks before the Great Depression, investors, bankers and politicians could not control their optimism about the economy of the Roaring Twenties. The crash that ensued reshaped the American economy for decades to come. Nearly 100 years later, Andrew Ross Sorkin, author of the book 1929, believes a new artificial intelligence bubble could bring the United States into another recession if the proper precautions aren’t taken.

Sorkin, a regular visitor to Nantucket, is a financial columnist for The New York Times, a co-host of CNBC’s Squawk Box and the founder of DealBook, The New York Times’ financial news service and summit. He has also spoken at The Nantucket Project and has written several books, including the bestseller Too Big to Fail N Magazine caught up with him for the second installment in our newest feature, Financial NSights, to discuss Wall Street’s obsession with AI, the rampant investing in new technologies and the downstream effects for Americans.

Your book 1929 suggests that an economic crash is inevitable, but you stay away from predicting when it will crash. For investors, how do you apply your warning to a long-term investment strategy?

ANDREW SORKIN: I resisted the temptation to predict the next one, because anyone who tells you they know the timing is usually selling something. What the archives convinced me of is that excess always finds a way to punish itself, usually long after the people who warned about it have lost their credibility. So what do you do with that? You don’t sit in cash waiting for the apocalypse; the people who did that after 2009 are materially poorer for it. But you do keep a margin of safety. The most useful exercise any investor can do is ask themselves honestly: What will I actually do if my portfolio is down 40%? Write the answer down now, while you’re calm.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ANDREW SORKIN

Betting against the American economy and the stock market has not paid off for pessimists; however, do you think this is the time to allocate resources that are either totally defensive or are located in other countries?

SORKIN: Betting against America has been one of the great losing trades of the past century, and I’m not inclined to reverse it lightly. The words “this time is different” are, as Sir John Templeton said, the four most expensive words in investing. What I would say is that concentration risk in U.S. mega-cap technology has quietly become one of the biggest portfolio decisions most Americans are making without realizing they’ve made it.

Looking at AI, could businesses become so efficient with AI that they lay off a significant percentage of their workers? If that’s the case, would those layoffs eliminate their target demographic for efficiently created goods because they no longer have the income necessary to buy them?

SORKIN: This is the Henry Ford question, and it’s a good one. Ford paid his workers enough to afford the Model T, not out of charity but out of cold self-interest. If a company automates away its own customer base, it’s won the battle and lost the war.

By 2030, if layoffs from new technologies are significant, what do you see as the social and economic impact?

SORKIN: The honest answer is we don’t know. The history of technological transitions is that they destroy jobs faster than they create them in the short run and create more than they destroy in the long run, but the transition period can be brutal, politically and socially. What worries me more than the economics of it is the question of meaning. Work isn’t only income; it’s identity.

The unemployment rate among recent college graduates is higher than the general population, and a recent study found 40% of college graduates are accepting jobs that don’t require a degree. Is this part of a trend of people working in trades versus education-based jobs?

SORKIN: The four-year-degree-as-default model was built for a mid-20th-century economy that no longer exists. What kind of work is durable? Work that’s physical, relational or judgment-intensive in ways a model can’t replicate. That holds its value. I’d rather my kids learn to fix something—both with their hands and their minds—than only memorize something.

Author Andrew Sorkin

What is going to happen to four-year colleges with the proliferation of AI?

SORKIN: Elite institutions will be fine. They sell networks, credentials and signaling. The schools I’d worry about are the ones in the middle—the $65,000-a-year private colleges without either the brand or the endowment.

With so many AI platforms, how many search engines can survive?

SORKIN: Search as we knew it is already over, and I’m not sure most people have fully internalized that. When you ask a model a question, you don’t get 10 blue links; you get an answer. That’s a fundamentally different business.

Do you feel that places like Nantucket that cater to the very highest end of the economic ladder are essentially immune from the economic forces felt in other real estate markets?

Do you see the spike in oil prices lasting beyond the eventual resolution of the Iran conflict?

SORKIN: Probably elevated, and for reasons beyond the immediate conflict. The Strait of Hormuz disruption has forced a repricing of risk into every barrel, and that kind of repricing doesn’t reverse neatly.

SORKIN: No market is truly immune. 2008 taught us that the highest end can correct sharply too. What’s true about a place like Nantucket is that the buyer pool is global, largely cash, and driven by lifestyle and trophy dynamics that don’t track interest rates in the normal way.

The potential demise of Iran as a powerful terrorist troublemaker may cause a sea change in the Middle East and beyond. How might this go well for the region and the world, and conversely, not so well?

SORKIN: I’m skeptical of scenarios where everything goes right and equally skeptical of scenarios where everything goes wrong. The truth is almost always lumpier and more surprising than either.

light of Iran and other geopolitical issues we are now facing?

SORKIN: There’s a real disconnect between the geopolitical picture and the equity multiple, and historically those disconnects close—usually not in the direction anyone wants.

If the mid-term elections shift the political balance heavily in favor of Democrats, how do you see that impacting the economy, particularly those at the high end of the income ladder?

SORKIN: I’d be cautious about taking a strong view on an election that is still a ways away.

Are our best days ahead of us or are they in the rear-view mirror?

SORKIN: I’m an optimist, though friends would call me a constructive worrier. The American capacity for reinvention is the most underestimated force in the world economy. That said, the country I spent years inside for 1929 had something we have less of today: a set of shared civic institutions capable of absorbing shock. The technology is ahead of us; the politics and social cohesion are the open questions.

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AN OPEN BOOK

INTERVIEW BY BRUCE A. PERCELAY

The Today Show’s Jenna Bush Hager at the Nantucket Book Festival

Jenna Bush Hager comes from one of the most powerful families in the world. When she was seven years old, her grandfather George H.W. Bush was inaugurated as the president of the United States. She was taking classes at the University of Texas at Austin when her parents, former President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, moved into the White House. To say her childhood was unique would be an understatement.

This spring, she interviewed all four living former presidents for a segment on NBC’s The Today Show, where she is the co-host of Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, with Sheinelle Jones. “The beauty about democracy, Jenna, is that it’s self-correcting,” George W. Bush told his daughter in the interview, about the unifying power of the democratic process and the freedom of the press, even in deeply divided times.

Bush Hager has lived by that mentality as a journalist. She has also sparked an interest in the world around her as an author. Over the past decade, she’s put pen to paper with the Read With Jenna Book Club through The Today Show, as well as Thousand Voices, a publishing venture through Random House Publishing Group. This June, she’ll be speaking at the Nantucket Book Festival. N Magazine caught up with Bush Hager ahead of her trip to Nantucket to discuss her unique connection to the White House, her book club and the importance of reading in the modern world.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Jenna Bush Hager has launched the Read With Jenna Book Club through The Today Show, as well as Thousand Voices to promote new authors and emerging voices.

You’ve created a persona of warmth and neutrality at a time when the media rewards outrage and division. Do you get the sense that audiences are craving a different type of on-air personality at a time the country is so split?

JENNA BUSH HAGER: It’s not a persona; it’s just who I am. I act the way I act on camera the way I do at home with my kids and with my friends and colleagues. I can’t worry about what people want or don’t want. I can just be myself. It’s so much easier to be who you are and be truthful.

People want positivity, optimism and hopeful stories. One of the great things about The Today Show is that we have access to all of these extraordinary everyday people who are doing incredible things in our world and lifting up their neighbors. We understand what a privilege it is to put goodness into the world.

TheTodayShow is uniquely durable at a time of slumping television ratings. What is it about TheToday Show that captivates viewers?

BUSH HAGER: We work for an institution. I remember sitting in my grandparents’ house in Midland, Texas, seeing Willard Scott on television. All of us are very much aware that this place has been here forever. We are part of a bigger story. That’s one of the reasons why every morning when we walk into 30 Rock at the crack of dawn when it’s still dark outside, we’re so grateful for where we work and who we work with. When you’re part of a brand that has a storied history like The Today Show and NBC News, you know that you’re keeping the seat warm. All of us feel that way and feel so grateful for where we work.

less as a culture, but I also know that people want book recommendations. Authors need a spotlight. I have one; I work at The Today Show. I have the ability to highlight debut and diverse voices—voices that aren’t always heard and books that I just love. It’s been this incredible privilege to get to share stories with our audience. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.

What goes into the process of choosing books?

BUSH HAGER: Mainly I want a story that’s good. I want something that’s propulsive, interesting and discussible. I founded a book club, so conversation is something we think about. I also want newer voices that haven’t been published before, because I know how hard it is [for new authors]. I want books that are propulsive, fun and flashlight-under-the-covers late-night reading, and I also like things that have depth so they can be discussed.

How important is it to encourage children to read, especially in today’s digital world?

“

Technology can be scary, but it’s up to us as parents to encourage our children to fall in love with reading.”

– Jenna Bush Hager

BUSH HAGER: It’s the world we live in. We also have to look at ourselves as adults who are looking down at our phones instead of into the eyes of our children, because what does that say to them? I did a piece when I first came back from maternity leave for The Today Show that said there was all this anecdotal evidence of kids feeling as though they were less important or not interesting because their parents were looking down.

Why did you go down the route of launching a book club?

BUSH HAGER: My mom was a librarian. She started two book festivals. My grandmothers both loved to read, and I know the importance of storytelling. We’re reading

It is the world we live in, and sometimes it can feel really scary. There’s also a place for books. There’s a place for reading. I read to my son every single night, and because he’s my youngest—and because my 13-year-old [daughter] now doesn’t want me to read to her every single night—I’ve realized it’s short-lived. [I try to] enjoy every single moment of those really special moments, because at some point, he’s going to want to read chapter books like his older sister, without me. Technology can be scary, but it’s up to us as parents to encourage our children to fall in love with reading.

How has artificial intelligence disrupted the learning process?

BUSH HAGER: If we had the answer, we would be psychic. We just don’t know. It’s too early to understand the repercussions [of artificial intelligence]. It’s up to parents to guide their children and make sure they know why research is important and why understanding criticalthinking issues is something we need to do as humans. I wish I had the answer to that question, but I do know there are other things we can be doing as parents to encourage critical thinking.

As a young girl, your sister asked when other grandparents would have their inauguration parties. How can a president remain relatable to the public?

BUSH HAGER: The reason why my sister [Barbara] said that is because my grandfather was an unbelievably humble man, and he made each of his grandchildren—and he had many—feel like we were his favorite. This was a time before social media, before cellphones. When we were with him, he acted like we were the most important thing in the entire world, and my parents did too. Why Barbara thought that all grandfathers’ inaugurations were like bar mitzvahs and [that] we celebrated grandfathers in this country is because he never acted like he was better than anybody else. He lived for many years, and we always watched as he was unbelievably kind. The truth is losing somebody in the public eye can be very hard and you’re publicly grieving. It’s not something many people understand, but it’s also very beautiful because we got to learn about all of the acts of service and kindness that he did without even telling

“When you’re part of a brand that has a storied history like The Today Show and NBC News, you know that you’re keeping the seat warm.”

– Jenna Bush Hager

his children and grandchildren. He wasn’t about broadcasting whatever he was doing; he was about kindness, humility and decency, which are all characteristics I’m hoping to pass on to my children.

You just interviewed four former presidents. Is there a commonality among them?

BUSH HAGER: What I was left with after interviewing all four of them is that they’re all optimistic about the country we live in and still grateful for our country and the freedoms that 250 years ago were allowed to us via the Constitution. They all said that. I left feeling hopeful in this experiment called America.

If you could recommend one book, what would it be?

BUSH HAGER: The book that first moved me and made me realize that I wanted to start a national book club, which I did seven years ago, was The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. I loved everything she wrote. I reread it multiple times. That book made me realize books have the power to help create empathy. They’re a catalyst for conversation and empathy and compassion, which is such a powerful tool.

I’m excited to be on Nantucket for the Nantucket Book Festival because it is a small festival that represents what all of these festivals do in bringing people together, bringing thought leaders and authors, and allowing for engaging conversation, which we need now more than ever.

Photos Courtesy of Thousand Voices

MICHAEL J. LEE

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Patching Things Up

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD PHOTOGRAPHY BY EMILY DORIO

Bestselling author Ann Patchett at the Nantucket Book Festival

I’m in a blender, that’s where I am.”

That’s how bestselling author Ann Patchett describes the book tour she has embarked on for the release of her highly anticipated novel Whistler. Like many of Patchett’s novels, Whistler, at its core, is about family and rekindling relationships, telling the story of an adult woman who reconnects with the man her mother was briefly married to, whose relationship burned bright and fast. Patchett will be speaking about the new novel at the Nantucket Book Festival this June.

Ann Patchett, whose newest book Whistler, comes out June 2, will be speaking at the Nantucket Book Festival this year.

You can’t get away [from family] so you have to deal with your problems,” said Patchett, the author of critically acclaimed novels such as Bel Canto, Commonwealth and The Dutch House Her settings are often places that are hard to escape, either physically or emotionally. “It’s the same reason why I write so much about family,” she said. “If you hate your job, you can quit. People always talk about leaving their family, but they never really do, even if they haven’t spoken to their parents in years. They’re like a hook in your mouth.”

Patchett has spent time in places that feel inescapable as well. Sometimes they serve as inspiration. In the early ’90s, she spent winters in Provincetown, where she won a fellowship to the Fine Arts Work Center and wrote her debut novel, The Patron Saint of Liars. “Provincetown was, in so many ways, just one of the happiest times in my life,” said Patchett, who now lives in Nashville, where she owns Parnassus Books. “I used to go back and teach at the work center some summers for a week, but I found it really disturbing to see all those people in the deadest town in the whole wide world, and then you couldn’t park on Commercial Street in the summer.”

“It’s like whiplash, like two different places,” she added. “I like those environments, like Nantucket in the winter, where you can’t get away from your problems, so you have to deal with them. That’s just very fertile ground for fiction.”

That idea has come through in a number of Patchett’s books, launching her into literary superstardom. She was a National Book Critics

Circle Award finalist and won the PEN/Faulkner Award for her breakout novel, Bel Canto. She has won the Carl Sandburg Literary Award from the Chicago Public Library Foundation, and was recognized by Time magazine in 2012 as one of its 100 most influential people in the world.

But that fame never really sunk in. Writing, she said, remains business as usual. When asked about how she plans a new book, she said she doesn’t think of big themes. Instead, she simply takes inspiration from the day at hand. “I don’t ever think I’m going to write about those themes [of family or inescapable environments],” she said.

“In fact, it’s just the opposite. I will think that I’m not going to write about those things anymore, and then I finish a book and think, ‘Oh, well, look, there those themes are,’ because it’s me and it’s my subconscious, and that’s what I go back to, even if I think I’m not doing it.”

“I like those environments, like Nantucket in the winter, where you can’t get away from your problems, so you have to deal with them. That’s just very fertile ground for fiction.”

– Ann Patchett

As the owner of a bookstore, business for Patchett also means sifting through hundreds—if not thousands—of books a year that she will put up on the shelves. She chooses some of those books for her book club, which has swelled to 2,000 members. “The UPS truck comes to the house every day and comes to the bookstore several

times a day,” she said. “Everybody wants me to read their [pre-publication novel].”

But at the end of the day, she can only read so many of them. If a book doesn’t have her attention after a few pages, she’ll give up on it. And with so many author talks, book signings, book clubs

“It’s ... why I write so much about family. If you hate your job, you can quit. People always talk about leaving their family, but they never really do.”

– Ann Patchett

and boxes and boxes of advanced reader copies, she finds herself looking for an escape. In a 2014 essay for The New York Times, she reflected on escapism from her time in Provincetown: “There were so many hours in every day and so few ways to spend them that after trying to figure out how to write a novel all day, I’d drive to Race Point Beach to look at the stars.”

Those quiet moments of solitude—like winter in a resort town—serve as the inspiration she needs. “I write more now that I don’t have any time and my life is flooded with books,” she said. “I don’t understand that, but I think that it’s true of a lot of writers [who are] bookstore owners. You’re just so submerged in that world of literature.”

Ann Patchett will be in conversation with Tim Ehrenberg on June 13 at the Methodist Church for the Nantucket Book Festival. Her new book, Whistler, comes out June 2.

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WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD

TPHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN SAGER

A Look Inside the Last Lifesaving Station

he red gabled Lifesaving Station is like a lens to a previous time on Nantucket. The Gothic-style station was commissioned in 1874 and designed by federal architects on the site of former Humane Society houses, just a few years after developers carved out the area and named it Surfside. At first, the station—iconic with its high steep roofs and observation tower—served as a beacon for mariners battling the dangerous shoals, fog and surf south of the island. Tourists vacationing at the nearby Surfside Hotel— which had only recently been brought over by barge—would watch the surfmen patrol the beach and perform rescue drills as a form of entertainment.

Today, it’s the last of Nantucket’s four lifesaving stations still standing, and one of only a handful of nearly identical buildings left around the country. After serving for decades as a lifesaving station, and then a youth hostel, the historic station had fallen into disrepair, and was one step away from being carved into private

lots. Following a tumultuous multi-year bidding war, the building has been restored. Its fate has also been made clear. Under new ownership, the property will soon become the home of Nantucket’s Jewish Congregation Shirat HaYam.

“Something that is historical, that has stood the test of time, that has been so integral in being a part of the island and being of service to the island, that’s a sacred space, as well,” said Surfside resident David Gregory, a Shirat HaYam member and former NBC News anchor who purchased the property last fall. “The potential for that as a place of worship struck me. What a great combination of purposes that could serve.”

The building is unique for a number of reasons, including its ornate Gothic style gable roof and its decorative truss work—a combination not seen in many places on the island. Gregory and his wife Beth Wilkinson have always admired the property. “It evokes a

The Surfside Lifesaving Station in 2026 (left) and 1906 (right). Historic image courtesy of the Nantucket Historical Association.

The couple purchased it for $4.5 million late last year, capping off a six-year period of uncertainty over what would come of the historic building. Egan Maritime Institute had initially tossed its hat in the ring for the former hostel, proposing an exhibition space and educational center that would complement its Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum. There were also bids from private developers, including Blue Flag Partners, the Boston-based development company run by Nantucket resident Terry Sanford. Blue Flag’s $3.55 million offer beat out a bid from Egan Maritime, where Sanford’s brother, Matt Sanford, served as the president of the board.

Terry Sanford said at the time he envisioned an updated hostel and luxury hotel units on the property. “From a residential

Former NBC anchor David Gregory, who purchased the property late last year to be used as the first home of Nantucket's Congregation Shirat HaYam

Hollis Webb and Kevin Green, graduates of Boston's North Bennet Street School, completed a renovation project on the property, which has a preservation restriction from the Nantucket Preservation Trust.

perspective, you could carve this up, and given what’s going on in the residential market, there’s a lot of interest there,” Terry Sanford told The Inquirer and Mirror in 2020. “But it’s not what we’re interested in with the property. I’m not going in that direction.”

But Blue Flag’s plans never came to fruition. In 2023, the company rented the former hostel to the town for much-needed lifeguard housing. The town even hatched a plan to buy the property for $6 million and use it for employee housing, but the deal was contingent on town meeting support, and voters at the 2024 Annual Town Meeting soundly defeated the measure. With the deal falling apart, Blue Flag announced it would walk away from the property. “Ultimately, we aren’t going to be able to give the Star of the Sea the level of attention that we believe it deserves at this time, so we are seeking a new steward who will carry forward our vision to back the grandeur of this one-of-a-kind property,” the company stated at the time.

Before it sold the property, Blue Flag hired island preservation architect Hollis Webb for extensive renovations to the building. That meant carving white oak in Webb’s shop, replacing old wooden pieces, and repurposing others. “It had been neglected as a youth hostel, but the history of the building itself is really cool,” said Webb, the owner of King Post Preservation, Inc., who

led the restoration project. “The ornate gable archwork was obviously collapsing from the street. Once I had an opportunity to work on that building I jumped on it.”

Congregation Shirat HaYam has started a fundraising campaign for continued renovations to the historic structure to prepare it for use as a synagogue, though with a preservation restriction held by the Nantucket Preservation Trust, no owner of the building can make exterior changes to the structure. Mary Bergman, the executive director of the Nantucket Preservation Trust, has called the building her favorite of

any historic building on Nantucket. It’s just as much a piece of Nantucket’s architecture as a gray shingled house is, she said.

“It’s unique now only because we’ve allowed so much of the rest of the island to become so standardized and suburbanized by moving structures to the middle of nonconforming lots,” Bergman said. “Like everything, it’s interesting because of its irregularities and its character.”

Above: A member of the U.S. Lifesaving Station patrols the Atlantic in the 1870s. Below: The crew at the Surfside station in 1906. Courtesy of the Nantucket Historical Association

“The idea of a permanent place to go home really matters for building a sense of community, not just for the Jewish population, but for all of Nantucket.”

– David Gregory

“Like everything, it’s interesting because of its irregularities and its character.”

– Mary Bergman, executive director of the Nantucket Preservation Trust

Restoring the trusses and gables. Photos by Hollis Webb

For Gregory, the purchase marks a new chapter. The Congregation, which was established in 1983, has never had a permanent home, and for years has held services in various places of worship around the island. “The idea of a permanent place to go home really matters for building a sense of community, not just for the Jewish population, but for all of Nantucket,” Gregory said. “In terms of building community and building legacy, it is important for the congregation to know that for the Jewish families that are here in the summer and for a smaller number that are here full time, that there is a place where the community can gather, that there can be events, weddings, prayer, a place for a rabbi or a visiting speaker. It helps fill what the congregation is able to do.”

A Thriving Nantucket Depends on ALL of Us

For more than 20 years, the Community Foundation for Nantucket has partnered with community leaders to address our island’s most critical needs.

Our grant making helps provide access to affordable childcare, after school programs, behavioral and physical health services, shelter and food for those in need, and enrichment for our island’s seniors

Through generous donations to The Nantucket Fund, we award grants annually to fund critical programs and initiatives, support community convening, and promote informed philanthropy. With your support we can do more.

From left: Deb DuBois, The Warming Place; Rachel Mandle, Sherburne Commons; Jamie Foster, Nantucket Boys & Girls Club; Sunny Daily, CFN; Jennifer Frazee, A Safe Place.

Photographer: Kit Noble

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

Nantucket’s new adult baseball league

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD

And they’ll watch the game, and it’ll be as if they’d dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick, they’ll have to brush them away from their faces.

—

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN SAGER AND SHANE RILEY

James Earl Jones, Field of Dreams

PHOTO BY SHANE RILEY

When Shane Riley stands on the pitcher’s mound, he has a clear view of the ocean and the setting sun behind the third base line. The outfield backs up to the vast expanse of scrub oak in Madequecham. But the field has deteriorated significantly since its heyday, with overgrown and deeprooted weeds taking over first base, and the infield dirt crusting over into a thick layer that plays more like uneven cement. Up until last fall, the field was not seeing much use.

Riley, a former high school ace pitcher, moved to Nantucket in 2021 and made the field one of his first stops as he toured around the island. He was devastated when he saw it but couldn’t stop thinking about the potential this place had. Last fall, he posted on Facebook asking if anyone would want to meet at the field to play catch. He was overwhelmed by the responses. After a quick outing, he teamed up with Bret Samboy and launched the idea of an adult fast-pitch league, something Nantucket has a long history of, but like the field, it had fallen by the wayside. After hundreds of hours of work by the town and the new league, the Tom Nevers baseball field is back in playing condition. It's a brand new ballgame.

Hundreds of hours have been put into getting the diamond at Tom Nevers ready for action.

“The people cutting your grass or painting your walls, they’re playing in this league. The league is being played by people in the community.”

– Shane Riley

It’s humbling,” Riley said. “I was out there the other night sitting on the pitcher’s mound looking out over the water and got emotional. We’re doing this. It’s cool. The people cutting your grass or painting your walls, they’re playing in this league,” he said. “The league is being played by people in the community.”

Samboy also grew up playing baseball. After high school, he played first base at SUNY Albany. When he moved to Nantucket, he continued playing in adult fast-

pitch baseball leagues off-island, commuting to Boston to play for the East Boston Knights in the Yawkey League and the Expos in the Intercity League. But the commute became a hassle, so he stepped away. “I miss playing baseball,” he said. “I had always wished we had a league on the island. It would make my life easier.”

But the impetus for the league was not just to make his own life more convenient. Samboy also thought it would be welcomed by the community—and he was right. Out of left

A new pitcher’s mound was brought in for the league.

field, the Nantucket Island Men’s Senior Baseball League now has over 75 members. Starting this April, they’ve been meeting on Friday and Saturday nights, and Sunday double headers, for fast-pitch baseball. “It’s a loved sport across ethnicities and generations,” Samboy said. “It’s America’s pastime. Everyone loves baseball. Everyone also knows how expensive Nantucket is and how expensive it is to do anything out here. This is something the community can get behind and easily do at a low cost. It’s nice to be able to do something affordable and fun.”

INSIDE BASEBALL

Baseball has a long history on Nantucket. The first printed reference came in 1870, when The Inquirer and Mirror reported a game was held “between a picked nine of the Nantucket boys and a nine from Boston.” The Nantucket squad won that game by a lopsided score of 52-27—a score that would even be considered high in football—including a 24-run fifth inning.

Over the next few decades, several teams were formed on the island that played regularly on Sunset Hill and the Fairgrounds—teams like the off-island Strangers and the local Natives, or the east end Siasconsets, who often fell victim to the Nantucket team. “The base ball match was like nothing in the heavens, or on the earth, or in the waters beneath the earth,” The Inquirer and Mirror reported in a game recap in 1879. “Neither side alarmed anybody by its skill; but if the Siasconsets shall succeed in playing as badly for the rest of the season they will establish a claim to be the champion muffers of the continent. They probably do not covet that honor.”

As the years went by, leagues formed and fell. One adult league played as recently as 20 years ago. A Dominican Softball League has played for over a decade on summer Sundays in Tom Nevers, featuring nearly 50 men from the Dominican Republic who moved to the island for work but always made time for the game they grew up playing.

Samuel Taveras, a carpenter and former high school baseball player who moved to the island from the town of Cabrera in the Dominican Republic, has been part of Nantucket’s Dominican Softball League for several years. Playing baseball in the Dominican Republic is akin to a rite of passage for young men. Taveras said it’s in his blood. Today, baseball remains not only a form of entertainment for him but a way to keep part of the Dominican identity alive.

Samboy and Riley plan to have four teams in the new league at Tom Nevers.

Photos by Brian Sager

Of the 75-plus members who signed up for tryouts with the new league, roughly two-thirds are from the Dominican Republic. “Not only do we love baseball, we also need something where we can enjoy ourselves here on the island, and what better way than baseball?” Taveras said. “It is a bridge [between cultures]. I’m from the Dominican Republic and I can meet good people from everywhere [playing baseball].”

Samboy has been a spectator at some of those softball games where several players caught his eye. “I’ve watched some of them play and you can tell they are really good baseball players,” he said. “I’ve always wondered what if there was a wood bat league, would they come over and play? Sure enough, they started coming out to the practices.”

SWINGING FOR THE FENCES

Earlier this spring, Samboy and Riley took batting practice late one afternoon. The sun started to set over the horizon, making it harder and harder for the batter to make out the ball coming in, and making it harder for the pitcher to see the outline of home plate. But despite the setting sun, they kept playing. Baseball—which has a reputation as the slowest organized sport in the country and the only one constrained by innings and not time limits—has a way of slowing down time. The late New Yorker writer Roger Angell once wrote, “All you have to do is succeed utterly; keep hitting, keep the rally alive, and you have defeated time. You remain forever young.”

Samboy’s goal is to field three to four teams for the league’s first year this summer. While on paper, it’s a wood bat men’s league affiliated with the Men’s Senior Baseball League, it is open to women, and so far, one woman has signed up to play. Once the league starts up, their plan is to

by Brian Sager

“Kids on the island who play Little League and Babe Ruth [League] know they have some place to play after high school or college.”

– Bret Samboy

Photos

More than 75 people have signed up for the Nantucket Island Men’s Senior Baseball League as of early May.

schedule a home run derby and all-star game. The idea is to make these games into events that anyone can come watch. Peanuts, Cracker Jacks and the like.

“I hope it’s well received. I hope it’s something that can carry on for years,” Samboy said. “Kids on the island who play Little League and Babe Ruth [League] know they have

some place to play after high school or college if they’re still on the island.” Riley had the same thought. “The community is saying they can’t wait to bring picnics out and watch ball,” he added. “I’m a lonely guy out here, so to be able to do something for the community is pretty solid. How long it lasts, I can’t predict. But I hope it’s here after I’m gone.”

As the sun rises on a crisp early fall morning on Nantucket, many islanders are still sound asleep in their beds, but scallopers are already waist-deep in the harbor, dragging their dredges across the harbor floor in hopes of a first good haul. The harbor is still, the air sharp with salt, and the faint diesel hum of working boats carries across the water.

For Captain Bob DeCosta, the quiet ritual is more than a livelihood. It’s a family tradition that has spanned three generations. His father taught him how to fish in the ’70s, just as DeCosta now takes his own son out on the water. “I can’t imagine not scalloping,” said DeCosta, who operates a charter fishing boat in the summer. “I enjoy getting up early in the morning, being on the water, watching the sun rise and the tranquility that comes with it. After a full summer charter, it’s very peaceful. It’s almost like I’m not even really working.”

But the fishery DeCosta inherited doesn’t look like the one his father knew. Two decades ago, 250 fishermen worked on a fleet of 100 boats. Today, the fleet has shrunk to 50-70 fishermen on 25-30 boats. It’s an expensive job with low returns: Rigging a boat is costly, while scallop prices remain stagnant at $12 to $14 a pound. “The winter scallop fishery is the last real struggle for commercial fishing on Nantucket,” DeCosta said. “We don’t have the market we used to have. It’s become more of a niche item, a specialty item than a more robust market.”

Scalloping is one of the island’s last ties to its working waterfront. Whaling has long vanished, but scalloping preserves a piece of the island’s maritime culture. “Once scalloping is gone, we’ll just be known as a destination for tourists. It won’t be known as a water-related community anymore,” DeCosta said. Nantucket’s bay scalloping industry is one of the last of its kind. Similar fisheries on Martha’s Vineyard and Long Island have dwindled to nearly nothing.

The loss is visible not only in the water, but on land. Reconciling the memory of what once was, DeCosta recalled, “If you weren’t afraid of hard work, you could make a good living scalloping in the winter.” Many families on-island had a scallop shanty tucked away in their yard. Neighbors would open scallops together in garages or backyard sheds. Families who worked in restaurants would supplement the extra income once the summer crowds disappeared. “Every kid after school used to open scallops for extra money,” he said.

Now, scallops face a multitude of health regulations that have reshaped the industry. Today, strict health codes require scallop openers to have a three-bay sink, 180-degree water, refrigeration and a dedicated handwashing station. Backyard shanties simply can’t meet these regulations. “It’s much harder to find openers these days,” DeCosta admitted. Without the pool of neighborhood kids or part-time workers, many scallopers are left to do the job themselves. That means a day on the water is only half the work.

After four or five hours of dredging for shellfish, most commercial scallopers have to

shuck the scallops themselves. Meanwhile, the number of bushels harvested during the scalloping season has significantly dropped within the last decade. The annual yield has swung from a high of 20,000 bushels to a low of 3,500 over the last 10 years, according to the town’s Brant Point Shellfish Hatchery. In the 1980s, on the other hand, the island was seeing as high as 100,000 bushels harvested. Even with an extended season this winter, scallopers pulled a fraction of that total, ending the season at 7,500 bushels, with fewer than a dozen commercial scallopers sticking it out to the final day of the season—though the dozen commercial scallopers who stuck it out to the final days of the season called it a successful year for the harvest, with larger scallops than previous years.

Tara Riley, Nantucket’s shellfish and aquatic resources manager, oversees the Brant Point hatchery, which works year-round to raise larval shellfish to replenish the harbor. “It takes a lot of space to grow shellfish and the algae that they eat,” Riley said. “We’ve had to be pretty creative and efficient through using different kinds of technology that a lot of hatcheries don’t have.” She added that protecting the harbor starts with

awareness: “You need to change your mind. There needs to be a whole mindset that changes about what’s important here and what’s important to Nantucket. The water is beautiful blue, and it’s clear, and you can’t really notice the changes that are happening unless you are looking underwater on a regular basis.” She continued, “And once you start doing that, it’s pretty evident that there’s a problem.”

Since 2011, the Nantucket Land and Water Council has also been working on harbor restoration, focusing on a multitude of initiatives, such as eelgrass meadows. Eelgrass serves as an essential habitat for bay scallops, but in recent years it has significantly decreased due to environmental factors such as nutrient loading. Restoration efforts began in 2018, when volunteer divers painstakingly transplanted eelgrass shoots from healthy areas of the harbor to a half-acre site off Monomoy. “It was incredibly laborintensive,” said RJ Turcotte, waterkeeper for the Nantucket Land and Water Council. “We were physically transplanting eelgrass by hand. Currents can sweep seeds away, crabs can eat them or they might not grow.

threshold. “That’s simply climate change,” Turcotte said. “We can’t control the temperature. But there are things we can control.”

Those factors, he explained, are often small. Nantucket doesn’t have factories dumping pollutants into the water. Instead, it’s what Turcotte calls “death by a thousand cuts”—fertilizers from lawns, soap rinsed off boats and stormwater runoff from driveways. Scallop and environmental advocates have argued that the runoff of fertilizer from grass lawns loads the harbor with nutrients like nitrogen that cause excessive algae blooms and choke out eelgrass.

“We have to buy in on what we do as individuals; that is what is going to make the difference,” Turcotte said. “We need to keep up with how quickly the place is growing and developing. Everyone needs to buy in that it’s your harbor too, and that it’s going to take you to help keep it healthy and keep the scallops around.”

“It’s death by a thousand cuts.”

In 2022, Nantucket residents came together and voted to ban fertilizer islandwide. Along with the ban, the town has worked on expanding the sewer system into Monomoy and Shimmo to

decrease septic runoff into the harbor.

“The community is huge,” Turcotte said. “We couldn’t do this without people from all corners of the island.” Turcotte and the Land and Water Council have high hopes for an eelgrass management plan, and that with continued community commitment, Nantucket can retain its eelgrass so the island can continue to experience the joy of scalloping for generations to come.

According to DeCosta, one thing is certain: “[Scalloping] is truly one of the last of the island’s unique businesses. Things change and evolve. The island has changed in the last 40 years and so has the fishery. We’re still hanging in there and we’re still doing it, and hopefully for another 40 years we’ll still be doing it.”

Gardening is hard enough; try doing it at the bottom of the ocean.”

Although surveys show the sharp declines faced by scallop populations over the last decade have plateaued, climate change poses a constant threat.

Once harbor waters reach 75 degrees Fahrenheit, eelgrass becomes stressed and stops reproducing.

Every year, Nantucket Harbor sees more days that cross that

– RJ Turcotte, Nantucket Land & Water Council

An Eco-Friendly Alternative to Fresh Cut Flowers

Fresh cut flowers are pretty to look at but are bad for the environment. From high water requirements to pesticide usage to high transportation and refrigeration costs, to damaging microplastic floral foam for creating arrangements, fresh flowers actually hurt the environment.

The Silk Solution provides real-touch floral arrangements that are reusable and can be customized for your event or gala. Popular in Europe, our guilt-free flowers are leased and reused, reducing waste and environmental damage.

For further information visit us at silksolution.com

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WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD

Sergio Rondon’s road to redemption

Sergio Rondon has spent thousands of hours on his dirt bike, racing over 40 mph on dirt tracks, over jumps, sharp turns and treacherous terrain, so when he took his bike to visit a friend in Dorchester, he wasn’t thinking too much of the rainy weather and slippery Boston roads. The car came out of nowhere. Rondon’s bike slid sideways on the road as he tried to avoid the car, but he was unable to get traction on the road. He collided at full speed with the car, launching the bike mid-rotation into the air as it flipped over itself. Rondon broke every rib on the left side of his body, ripped open his knee, dislocated his collarbone and hit his head on the landing, giving him a major concussion. Then he lost consciousness.

Rondon, who was only 20 years old when he suffered the accident, spent months in a cast and in physical therapy, but he made a full recovery. “To be honest, the moment my ribs were fine, I was back on a bike,” said Rondon, who lives on Nantucket. “I had a pretty nasty scar. It was so ugly, even the people who treated me didn’t want to see it.”

It took eight months before he got back on his bike. Now, two and a half years after the accident, he’s riding his bike almost every week, navigating the winding half-mile course of jumps and berms east of the Nantucket Memorial Airport. He’s also part of a growing community of young dirt bikers on the island. “I still have a little bit of fear of breaking my legs. But at the same time I don’t [have that fear] because I know I’m doing what I love, so it doesn’t matter what happens,” he said. “It pushes me to be better so I don’t hurt myself. I try to be the best I can so I can go race and not hurt myself because I have more control.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Dirt biker Sergio Rondon

Rondon grew up watching dirt bikers on the back roads of a small town in the Dominican Republic. “I was always fascinated by them,” he said. “I would tell my buddies I wanted to ride, but it wasn’t really possible to buy a bike. That’s $5,000, that’s a lot of money.” When his family moved to Nantucket, he procured an old 1985 Kawasaki his friend had lying around and

On the track east of the airport, you’re bound to see at least one biker on any given day. Since the Nantucket Land Bank laid it out over 10 years ago, the track has become one of the conservation organization’s most popular properties.

taught himself to ride by watching dirt biking videos. It was a lot of trial and error. He fell a lot at first. But he was persistent. Later on, he bought a Honda 300 Rally, a desert bike that he would take through the dirt bike track on Nantucket and on races in the Dominican Republic.

“It’s honestly the most mind-clearing thing you could experience,” he said, standing at the dirt bike track. “You’re not thinking about anything but the bike. You’re in the air and nothing else is going on through your brain except the bike and the trail you’re on.”

Unlike the miles of dirt trails crisscrossing the Middle Moors, the Land Bank track provides a safe space for bikers to pick up speed and hit jumps without fear of hitting dog walkers or someone on a leisurely stroll.

Rondon recovered from a devastating injury in Boston to competing on Nantucket

For Rondon, it’s also become an escape from the stress of the world. When he hits the throttle, he can forget about his day job. Biking at speeds of 35-40 mph requires tremendous focus. As soon as he’s going, all he can think about is the trail ahead of him. “I talk to a lot of people struggling through mental health,” he said. “When I struggle with my own mental health, I hop on a bike. I tell people to hop on a bike, just go out and ride it, and it takes those problems away from life.”

baseball and a ball could hit your head,” he said. “It’s what you want to risk and where you want to take a risk.” There’s no doubt that Rondon would take that risk over and over again at the dirt bike track. He’s also hoping to continue racing in the Dominican Republic in the winter and around New England throughout the year. “It clears your head,” he said.

As for the inherent risk of dirt biking, Rondon argues there’s a risk in everything. “You could be playing

“When I struggle with my own mental health, I hop on a bike," Rondon said.

Hunger on Nantucket is Real.

The high cost of living poses a challenge to island residents from teachers and nurses to Coast Guard members and service industry workers. Without those who make Nantucket work, the island simply cannot function.

Nourish Nantucket is addressing the hunger crisis on the island by coordinating 14 food agencies along with our new Food Hub. With your support, we can end hunger on Nantucket once and for all.

For further information scan the code, visit nourishnantucket.org, or call Meg Browers at 508-825-6872.

A Lighter Footprint

How Respoke transforms vintage designer silks into handcrafted footwear

WRITTEN BY MADELINE BILIS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN SAGER

Respoke co-founder Chris Bartick

When Respoke was founded in 2016, it began with a simple question: What if the singular beauty of an Hermès scarf could transform run-of-the-mill espadrilles into eye-catching shoes? The answer became a brand. Respoke, short for “repurposed bespoke,” is built on the idea of creative reuse. Each pair of espadrilles incorporates existing scarves and materials through a unique upcycling process, resulting in an eco-friendly shoe that’s one of a kind.

“We’re trying to hold on to something that already existed and push it forward in a new, exciting way, rather than hacking down trees and destroying the planet just to make something as cheaply as possible,” said founder Chris Bartick.

Bartick opened the first Respoke location in Provincetown with his former business partner, Michael Tonello. Tonello, once a fashion stylist, was an avid collector of designer silk scarves and had been spending half the year in Spain. During his summers there, he noticed the classic field shoes everyone was wearing—espadrilles—looked pretty bland. Combining the shoes with the scarves felt like a natural next step.

After their initial launch, Respoke’s handcrafted espadrilles soon found their way to Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus, thanks in part to Bartick’s and Tonello’s fashion industry connections. It wasn’t long before the original shop grew to more locations. Respoke’s Nantucket outpost opened on Straight Wharf in 2021.

“When I started exploring other places, Nantucket was the most logical [choice],” said Bartick, who has since taken over the company. “I love being on island and being in the store. It’s my favorite store to stand in because we’re on the water and there’s so much life—with everyone just getting to the island and people going to Cru.”

Left: Blazers are sewn, hand dyed and embellished with designer scarves.

Right: The Eperon Roy Bow Slides, made with two Hermès scarves.

Below: Teserra Stratta Classic Espadrilles.

Re by Respoke espadrilles are handmade using recycled plastic bottles.

Since its founding, Respoke has expanded beyond espadrilles to mules, wedges, slides and sneakers, which range from $425 to $695 and up. The company’s commitment to sustainability is also woven into every step of production. Each pair begins in a familyrun workshop in the Spanish province of La Rioja, where craftspeople wind jute to form the shoe’s base and heat natural gum rubber to create the outsole. “As much as possible, we’re using natural materials,” Bartick said. A cotton canvas upper follows, which is combined with a boldly patterned scarf. The scarves, which include not only Hermès but other iconic designers like Ferragamo, Gucci and Alexander McQueen, are found around the world at auctions, in stores, at estate sales, “and then some secret sources,” Bartick said.

“We happen to be able to have artisans who are keeping the skill set alive.”

– Chris Bartick

Cobblers then hand-sew the shoe’s upper to its lower part, finishing it by stitching a rounded net-like design on the toe piece. With most other espadrilles, this step is done by machines. Bartick notes that few people know how to complete this specific type of hand-stitching—the artistry is passed down through generations.

“We happen to be able to have artisans who are keeping the skill set alive,” Bartick said. Many of them will sit on their back porch with their neighbors or family members and sew with views of rolling hills in the distance. “This is more than just sustainable scarves,” Bartick added. “It’s sustainable culture.”

The sneakers have an even more uncommon production process. They’re made from vulcanized rubber (rather than plastic), which is melted and poured into a mold. The

craftsperson who makes the rubber outsoles does so in a cave in Spain because it maintains the same temperature and humidity levels year-round. “It can be 30-something degrees in the winter or very hot in the summer, but the cave remains constant, which I find so interesting and cool and natural,” Bartick said.

The fine art on the walls of each store is created by Bartick—he uses remnants of shoe materials to make collages with acrylic paint. Each one centers around the store’s location; Nantucket’s shop features works with images of Brant Point Lighthouse, seagulls, windmills and other island motifs.

And while Respoke has grown to five locations across the U.S., the selection at each boutique is different. “Here, every single shoe is unique,” Bartick said. “So you’re getting something that really could only be purchased on Nantucket.”

A Chat With

RASHIDA JONES & WILL McCORMACK

INTERVIEW BY BRIAN BUSHARD IMAGES COURTESY OF THE NANTUCKET FILM FESTIVAL

Actor Rashida Jones and writer Will McCormack are being honored this year at the Nantucket Film Festival.

Rashida Jones and Will McCormack have worked together as actors and writers since 1999. Jones is a Golden Globe nominated actress and filmmaker who played Ann Perkins in NBC’s longrunning sitcom Parks and Recreation and Karen Filippelli in The Office, while McCormack has written several short films and features, and won an Oscar for his short feature, If Anything Happens, I Love You, about parents’ grief after the loss of their daughter in a school shooting. Jones and McCormack are currently working on a new animated feature, Tom & Jerry, and will be honored this June at the Nantucket Film Festival.

What drew you two together as writing partners?

JONES: Maybe it’s that we’re not a couple

MCCORMACK: My whole life, I wanted to be a writer, and never had the courage to write, and felt like maybe I’m not. Then I met Rashida and we started to work together, and I really credit her with giving me confidence. When you’re with someone and you’re aligned creatively, you’re able to express ideas and not feel insecure about them and feel like they have a landing spot. For someone to accept them creatively and see you, I think it makes a big difference and I think it was just fun too.

JONES: I think that we're compatible in our contrast and in our similarities, and in the way we work, in the way we think and what we want to put out into the world. It’s like no other partnership I’ve ever had in my life. We’ll take breaks, we go do other things, and then we always come back to each other, because we have this destined creative life together.

The Nantucket Film Festival has been a producers’ and writers’ festival from the beginning. When you’re selecting new projects, what kind of stories are you looking to tell?

JONES: We’ve gone through so much together. We’ve gone through being single and young and ambitious. We’ve both gone through marriage, kids, parents dying, and we have a tendency to find what’s funny and fundamentally human about those experiences. I think we look for that in projects. If there are things that we’re adapting or producing, or shepherding and we’re not doing things we’re doing ourselves, I think we’re looking for that little kind of nucleus where you’re like, ‘That's it.’ That’s an emotion that is encapsulated in such a beautiful way that we’ve never seen it done exactly that way on screen, either in television or film.

MCCORMACK: I think we’re both into heartache, heartbreak and longing. Whether it’s Celeste and Jesse Forever, a short documentary swim lesson, or The Invite, I think that there’s so much longing, heartbreak and heartache just in being alive. I think that we’re always looking for the surprise and the humor within that. Stories have met us at certain times in our lives that have been crucial and revelatory, and I think that if you’re open to it, the story will meet you, and you just have to open your arms. Hopefully that continues to happen, but I feel like projects have come into our lives when we felt attuned to meet them, and that’s an exciting process. As a storyteller, you just have to keep your eyes and ears and heart open, and listen.

What is the story behind If Anything Happens, I Love You?

MCCORMACK: Rashida and I had worked at Pixar, and we love animation. It’s a great medium to tell stories. I’ve always been interested in how animated stories can impact us. I was becoming a father at the time, and it was just incomprehensible to me that you could send your kids to school and they could not come home. I couldn’t do the math on that. I had heard about that forever, but becoming a father at that time, it hit me in a whole new way.

I wanted to write about something that was impossible to write about, because I think when that happens, interesting stories can emerge.

It’s been reported that Parks and Recreation was on the brink of cancellation nearly every season. How did it survive and become such a fan favorite?

JONES: To me, Parks and Recreation is the greatest job of my life, because it didn’t feel like a job. It gave me a life and a whole group of friends, and we’re all still really good friends. I can attribute that to the fact that we weren’t this big swinging success. We were fighting for our lives, and we were all holding on to each other

and really valuing every single moment we got to be together. The thing that we were making—we weren’t sure how long we’d be able to make it. Not to be overly didactic, but it is a testament to a lot of people who come up to me and say, it’s the first show that they’ve binge watched with their kids, their teenage kids.

“I’m concerned that television isn’t set up for shows like this to be made in this way anymore.”

– Rashida Jones

I’m concerned that television isn’t set up for shows like this to be made in this way anymore. We were given many, many shots. We were considered a failure, and still, somebody liked us enough. Somebody thought the show was good enough to keep going, not because we were a commercial success, not because we hit it right out of the gate…It was because somebody believed in us and thought we were great. I really hope that somebody in Hollywood continues to be brave enough to make decisions based on quality and not just on profit growth models and algorithms, because if not, we’re never going to get shows like that anymore.

Has streaming changed the way you write or produce new shows?

JONES: Of course. We have to be aware of the nature of our business and the evolution or devolution of our business. For us, our metrics are the way we like to work and what we like to work on. We’re old enough—that’s how we work. We hope that what we make can connect with an audience, and maybe it’s a smash hit, and maybe 10 people really love it. But I think the goal now is to just be able to continue to make things. It feels like this idea of having a monoculture where you can capture everybody with the thing that you make. There’s a lot of luck involved in that. And in a way, for us, I think it’s more important that

people connect deeply with something and keep thinking about it way after they’ve seen it, more than actually just being like a big old hit that people eat and binge very quickly and then move on.

MCCORMACK: Ultimately, like Rashida said, if it’s exciting to us, we hope that it’s going to be exciting to an audience, and that’s usually how we roll.

At the same time, you’re working on a Tom & Jerry feature? How did that come about?

MCCORMACK: I can’t say too much about it, but I will say that it will surprise people. It’s the greatest buddy duo of all time, Tom and Jerry. I think the movies that were inspirations for us for the screenplay were Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Toy Story and The Odd Couple. They’re up to their hijinks and shenanigans of course, but I think people will be surprised because there’s also heartache and longing embedded.

Is it hard to find heartache in a story that’s originally so goofy and lighthearted?

JONES: No, I think Will and I can find pain in everything. That’s where we first bonded. Life is filled with pain, and then you have humor to deal with the pain, and then there’s more pain, there’s more humor, there’s more pain, there’s more humor. There are no better characters to illustrate that than two completely different species that are stuck with each other. What’s a more relatable story right now in the world?

Could Vineyard Wind Become a Turbine Graveyard?

WRITTEN BY JOHNCARL MCGRADY

KIT NOBLE

The legal battle between Vineyard Wind and its turbine manufacturer

On April 8, Vineyard Wind issued a warning: Without intervention, the offshore wind developer might be forced to abandon its 62-turbine wind farm southwest of Nantucket, leaving behind what it described as a “dormant wind farm graveyard.”

“Vineyard Wind will face imminent and potentially fatal irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction,” the company wrote.

GE Renewables (GER), the subsidiary of international energy giant GE Vernova tasked with developing and manufacturing Vineyard Wind’s colossal 800-foot turbines, was threatening to pull out of the project entirely. Without support from GE Renewables, the project’s “very survival” was threatened, Vineyard Wind claimed in a lawsuit filed this spring.

“Only GER is able to perform the remaining work necessary to bring the performance of the GER turbines up to the capacity and reliability standards required for Vineyard Wind to supply power to Massachusetts consumers,” the offshore wind developer stated in the lawsuit. “Even if it were doable, however, it will be virtually impossible to find a turbine supplier that would be willing to take GER’s place.”

For now, a Boston judge has blocked GE Renewables from exiting the project and ordered the energy company to continue fulfilling the terms of its contract with Vineyard Wind while litigation plays out. But if GE Renewables is

ultimately able to exit the project, it is unclear what might happen to the wind farm—part of a group of offshore wind farms proposed along the Eastern Seaboard—or to Nantucket.

HOW WE GOT HERE

There is no money set aside to decommission the turbines. The federal government waived the requirement to supply the funds while Vineyard Wind was under construction. At the time, the liability was estimated at $191 million.

Five years ago, the American offshore wind industry was booming. Former President Joe Biden had made renewable energy one of the cornerstones of his presidency, handing out large grants and spurring billions of dollars of development off the East Coast. For proponents, the promise was tantalizing: an endless renewable source of clean energy that could power tens of millions of homes.

With this promise on the horizon, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management granted a waiver of the required decommission funding to “reduce Vineyard Wind’s upfront financial assurance burden, thereby facilitating the Project’s financing process and enabling Vineyard Wind to invest the available capital in planning and construction.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

“This has been an epic fail in all directions.”

–

In the waiver, the bureau cited Vineyard Wind’s “robust insurance policies,” use of “proven wind turbine technology” and “predictable income.”

“Granting this departure protects the environment, and public health and safety, to the same degree as if there were no approved departure,” the bureau wrote at the time.

Now, the industry is nearly dead. Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has put offshore wind in his crosshairs, reconsidering a slew of permits issued by the Biden administration, stopping wind farms already under construction and stripping funding from related infrastructure projects. The Trump administration characterizes offshore wind very differently, seeing it as an economically inferior impediment to natural gas and oil and a threat to national security. Meanwhile advocacy groups like Nantucket’s ACK for Whales have slammed the development of offshore wind for environmental reasons.

ACK for Whales sees the latest lawsuit filed by Vineyard Wind as an admission of what the organization has argued all along. “This has been an epic fail in all directions,” ACK for Whales representative Amy DiSibio said of Vineyard Wind’s

lawsuit against GE Renewables.

Facing strong political headwinds, many offshore wind companies have abandoned projects, watched development stall or sold their rights to the large lease areas set aside for wind power back to the federal government, making it a precarious moment for the American offshore wind industry. If Vineyard Wind survives, it could chart a narrow course for offshore wind companies looking to capitalize should a future presidential administration reopen the Atlantic.

GE Renewables, which manufactured the turbines, threatened to pull out of the project

Vineyard Wind completed construction on its 62-turbine wind farm earlier this year

Amy DiSibio, ACK for Whales

“Vineyard Wind will face imminent and potentially fatal irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction.”

– Vineyard Wind statement

If the project is abandoned and the turbines are not torn down, there is always the chance of a collapse, like the blade failure in 2024 that spread debris across Nantucket’s south shore during the peak of the summer. This is one way in which offshore wind differs from onshore wind. At an abandoned wind farm on land, a collapse would likely only affect the installation’s immediate surroundings, but in the water, it’s at the mercy of the currents.

Still, some anti-offshore wind advocates see the project folding as better than the alternative. “I hope that’s the problem we have because that is solvable. This is a problem we can solve. It is better to find out this is a fool’s errand when there are 62 turbines in the ground than when there are more than 1,000,” DiSibio said. “I’m hoping this project fails.”

Vineyard Wind claims GE Renewables owes them over $500 million because of the blade failure, including costs associated with replacing other potentially defective blades, and has been withholding payment to recoup the losses. GE Renewables denies this and says instead that Vineyard Wind owes it more

than $300 million in unpaid bills.

“There is no basis for VW’s nonpayment. Among other reasons, GER has supplied VW with replacement blades corresponding to the Removed Blades, so there simply is no legitimate basis on which to offset previously paid amounts,” GE Renewables’ executive project director Sebastian Mertens wrote in a court filing. “In GER’s view, the provision of replacement blades constitutes the contractual remedy for any alleged defects in the Removed Blades.”

So far, the courts have backed Vineyard Wind. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Peter Krupp wrote in his temporary injunction this spring that the contract between the parties indicates that disputes over unpaid funds must be resolved by a project engineer, and that the engineer sided with Vineyard Wind.

If the project is ever left behind, however, Nantucket does not have the money set aside to tear the turbines down. Neither does Vineyard Wind or GE Renewables. Instead, the obligation might fall on the state or federal government. Or, more likely, the issue will end up in court.

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Ruta Sepetys

John Vaillant

Tayari Jones

Off the beaten path

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD

IPHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN SAGER AND KIT NOBLE

NANTUCKET’S PLEIN AIR ARTISTS

llya Kagan’s office for the day is beside the easel he’s set up in the heart of the Middle Moors. Kagan, a plein air painter since 1989, is by himself, watching as the wispy cirrus clouds drift by slowly overhead and the afternoon sunlight turns a warmer shade of orange. Plein air painting, or painting outdoors, a style made famous on Nantucket 100 years ago by landscape artist Frank Swift Chase, is fundamentally a solitary and cerebral experience, Kagan said.

“That’s the nature of plein air,” he said. “When you’re working in the studio, you have all the time in the world to fix things up and move things around, but when you’re en plein air, you’re looking at something, it’s moving and the light is changing on it. It’s like live music versus studio music. Studio [recordings] have a nice finish, but live music has spontaneity that makes it more direct and more interesting.

“You can’t help but change. Change is inevitable,” Kagan added. “When I find myself coming back to the same subject, I’ll try to interpret it the way I did when I was 20 but I’m different now. The way I see darks and lights has changed. James Taylor said that everyone wants to hear him play ‘Fire and Rain,’ but you have to bring something new to it or else it becomes a trope. It’s just the same thing over and over again.”

Kagan is one of dozens of Nantucket painters participating in the Artists Association of Nantucket’s Plein Air Festival this June. Some artists, like Kagan, bring a more traditional perspective to interpreting the natural world around them when they paint outside, giving each painting a unique look while staying true to the familiar surroundings they’re painting. Other artists, like Katherine Miller, take an abstract approach.

Abstract artist Katherine Miller

“[Plein air] is like live music ... live music has spontaneity that makes it more direct and more interesting.”

– Illya Kagan I “

t’s not like an anatomy course,” she said about her approach to painting. “It’s not about representing exactly what you see. I never know exactly what the painting will look like. I think I have good intentions about what the painting may look like.”

Miller is not technically a plein air artist, though she takes inspiration from the style. Rather than paint outside, she photographs natural landscapes and brings those photos to her studio, blows them up and hangs them on the wall. Then she paints what she sees in those photographs. “It’s almost like an intellectual investigation of the landscape,” she said. “It’s a deconstructed, abstract landscape. They’re still recognizable, but it’s not like looking at a hydrangea.”

bed of his truck, where he has set up an easel, a canvas and either watercolor or oil paints. A watercolor painter, he pivoted to oils after he found a

and purple and start to put some other paint in, and it all just seems to grow as I go along. The mind takes over.”

Plein air paintings often take a few weeks to complete. In order to capture the same light and shadows, painters need to be patient, returning to the same light at the same time of day as they started painting. “I was sitting in my truck painting, and my son said to me, ‘Let’s go fishing today. It’s a beautiful day,’” Goulding remembered. “I always feel in my mind that’ll be the one day that someone would have come up for a $10,000 painting. I’m just like that. I just paint and paint

In ’Sconset, Marcus Goulding takes inspiration primarily from the historic cottages, vegetation and people in the village. Most of his work is done in the

Leave-It at the town landfill.

“Things just come into my head,” Goulding said. “I’ll suddenly see things in it. I just make a mess of black paint

summer comes and you think, ‘Wow, I’ve done a lot of painting this summer, probably seven days a week.’”

The 15th annual Plein Air Festival is scheduled for June 12-18 and is free and open for artists of all levels to participate. Freshly painted works will be hung daily for sale at the Cecelia Joyce and Seward Johnson Gallery on Federal Street.

Illya Kagan on Easy Street. Photo by Kit Noble

Support Local Artists

American Classics

PHOTOGRAPHER: BRIAN SAGER

EDITORIAL STYLIST: PETRA HOFFMANN

HAIR STYLING: JOHN STANIELON OF DARYA SALON + SPA

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SCARF: CENTRE POINTE

JEWELRY: THE VAULT

Stop & Smell the

ROSES

IMAGES COURTESY OF THE NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION'S ARCHIVES

The roses that have adorned the cottages in Sconset and ornate gardens in town for well over 100 years are ready to bloom once again.

Blooming roses cover the Moby Dick cottages, 1950s

Blooming roses cover the Moby Dick cottages, 1950s

An arched trellis on Quince Street, 1920s

Ellen Ramsdell in her rose garden, 1960s

Roses on Academy Lane, 1920s

A Sconset couple poses by a rose archway, 1930s

The China Closet on Ocean Avenue, 1930s

Roses at The Chanticleer in Sconset, 1960s

A rose-covered breezeway on Mill Street, 1950s

Blooms over Centre Street, 1900s

Wild roses growing in Polpis, 1890s

The rose garden at Ayers Garden, 1960s

Sunset Lane, 1944

The Sconset House in blooming roses, 1963 Sconset rose-covered cottage, 1940s

Roses and hydrangeas around the entrance to the Woodbox Restaurant, 1944

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Author Elin Hilderbrand and Tim Ehrenberg of @TimTalksBooks

Join Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of 30+ titles and the “Queen of the Beach Reads,” and Tim Ehrenberg, Nantucket’s most voracious reader and creator of the popular @TimTalksBooks on Instagram, as they hit the airwaves for Season 4 of the smash podcast produced by N Magazine. With over 2 million episode streams, tune in as our hosts talk with the who’s who of their publishing industry and bring books to life in a brand new way for podcast listeners!

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50TH ANNUAL NANTUCKET DAFFODIL FESTIVAL

After a washout in 2025, the 50th annual Nantucket Daffodil Festival could not have had nicer weather, as over 100 vintage cars and trucks paraded from Main Street to 'Sconset for a wholesome tailgate picnic.

SCALLOPALOOZA

Following the conclusion of a successful commercial scalloping season, the Nantucket Shellfish Association held its second annual Scallopalooza celebration at Cisco Brewers this April. The family-friendly event was co-sponsored by the Brant Point Shellfish Hatchery, the Nantucket Natural Resources Department, the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club and the Nantucket Harbormaster’s office. It featured scallop samples made by 11 different Nantucket chefs, along with live music, raffles and shellfish education stations.

FLOWER POWER

The Nantucket Historical Association’s Whaling Museum came alive on the Thursday of Daffodil Weekend for the organization's annual Flower Power party, where guests dressed in their finest shades of yellow, white and orange.

featured wedding

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Band: Hudson Horns and Sounds Buono • Rentals: The Event Rental Co. • Paper Suite: Sesame Letterpress & Design and Bella Figura • Rehearsal Dinner: Great Harbor Yacht Club

Bride: Hayes Marcus • Groom: Nicholas Puljic • Venue: Fleur Nantucket • Photographer: Georgie Morley Photography • Florist: Mary Beth Ferro Floral Design

Caterer: Nantucket Catering Company

Cake: Dani Coleman

Bridal Hair: Melissa David

Bride's Dress: KYHA

Groom’s Tuxedo: Ralph Lauren

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