This Week on Nantucket
July 17 - July 24
–In This Issue –
•Complete Island Calendar
•The I&M Ice Cream Survey
•MusACK: All-Time Favorite
•Wine Cellar: Napa’s Finest Published by The Inquirer and Mirror
BARTLETT’S FARM
NEW DATES
July 18th - July 21st
Antique French Fine Arts
Arader Galleries
B Viz Design
Callaghans of Shrewsbury
Morning Preview: July 18th Friday 9:00 - 10:30 Benefiting the Nantucket Historical Association
Show Hours: Friday 11 - 6
Saturday 9-6, Sunday 9-5, Monday 9-4
ANTIQUES COUNCIL
James Butterworth - American Antique Wicker
D. M. DeLaurentis Fine Antique Prints
David Brooker Fine Art
Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge, Inc.
Finnegan Gallery
J. Austin, Jeweler
Cavalier Galleries
Lawrence Jeffrey
Paul Madden Antiques
The Ann Parke Collection
Peace and Plenty Antiques
Roberto Freitas American Antiques
Roger D. Winter Ltd.
S J Shrubsole
Silver Art by D & R
Spiral Haus
Eve Stone Antiques
The Nemati Collection
An International Organization of Antiques Dealers www.antiquescouncil.com For Information: thenantucketshow.com
Vock and Vintage
William Cook Antiques
Yew Tree House Antiques
Thursday, July 17
Nantucket By Design
Through Friday. Nantucket Historical Association. An annual celebration of art, design and history hosted by the Nantucket Historical Association. This event brings together world-renowned designers, artisans, and skilled craftspeople to showcase the timeless elegance of Nantucket’s design heritage through panels, keynotes, master classes, social events and more. Visit NantucketDesign.com for tickets and more information.
Yoga on the Bandstand
7:30 a.m. Children’s Beach Bandstand, Harborview Way. The Nantucket Office of Culture and Tourism hosts an hour of yoga on the bandstand.
Dance Party in the Garden
9:45 a.m. Atheneum Garden, 1 India St. Cory Morgan leads an energetic, joyfilled dance time for babies and children with songs, silly dance moves and fun challenges like Freeze Dance and the Cha-Cha Slide. Bring a blanket. Canceled in the event of inclement weather.
Island Calendar
Behind the Seams
10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. Organized by the Nantucket Historical Association, “Behind the Seams: Clothing and Textiles on Nantucket” presents more than 150 objects from the NHA’s costume and textile collections to tell stories of making, meaning and island identity.
Historic Downtown Walking Tour
10:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday, Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. Walk through historic downtown Nantucket with a museum guide and discover the unique history of the island. The tour transports visitors on a journey through Nantucket’s past and tells the story of the rise and fall of the whaling industry, the rise of tourism and the impacts the island’s economy had on social and racial development.
Live Music: Vertical Horizon
1 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Washington, D.C.-based alternative rock band Vertical Horizon will perform. $25 cover.
THURSDAY, PAGE 14
File photo
The Nantucket Triathlon will draw nearly 1,000 competitors to Jetties Beach Saturday morning.
I scream, you scream: The I&M ice cream survey
By Francesca Giangiulio fgiangiulio@inkym.com
We will be taking no further questions at this time . . .
It’s July. the boats are full, drivers are honking, and there’s no table open for you at Nautilus.
It’s safe to say the summer season is well under way. And what better way to get in the spirit of summer than with a nice, cool, refreshing ice cream cone?
Ice cream is the quintessential New England summer treat, and Nantucket has plenty to offer. From 50-year-old island institutions to tucked away hidden gems, we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to finding your perfect frozen sweet treat this summer.
• The Juice Bar, town: You can’t deny that The Juice Bar has become nearly synonymous with Nantucket itself. It’s one of the first things people see when they come to the island, if they take the Steamship. The wood-shingled structure with its giant waffle cone sign has gone through some changes over the years, but one thing has stayed the same: the homemade ice cream.
The Juice Bar opened in the late 1970s, and for over 50 years has been serving homemade ice cream, drinks and baked
Let’s Eat!
goods. It currently offers more than 40 flavors, including vegan and non-dairy options, so there’s bound to be something you like. They also have almost-daily special flavors, which they post on Instagram.
When I went, the special flavor was Purple Haze, a raspberry cake batter ice cream with dark chocolate chips. The Juice Bar chocolate chips are the best on island. I’m a huge dark chocolate fan, and the ones it uses are a perfect combination of bitter with a hint of sweetness. They also have a wonderful smooth texture as they melt in your mouth with the ice cream.
A single scoop in a waffle bowl was $12 and some change (the waffle bowls are $3.50 extra this year). For a single scoop though, this seems to be the way to go. A single scoop in a regular dish is nearly $8 and you get about half as much ice cream.
I prefer the waffle bowl to the cone because there’s not as much drip or mess. It was just the right amount of warm when I got my ice cream. I like to break some bits off and sprinkle them on top for a good crunch. The ice cream was smooth
EAT, PAGE 22
Photo by Francesca Giangiulio
The Juice Bar’s Purple Haze – raspberry cake batter ice cream with dark chocolate chips in a waffle cup – was the special flavor last week.
Photo by Francesca Giangiulio
Toasted coconut ice cream with gummy bears at Millie’s Market in Madaket.
Photo by Francesca Giangiulio
Salted caramel ice cream and fresh chocolate chip cookie at Jack & Charlies on Straight Wharf.
All Time Favorite evolves beyond pop punk roots
of All Time Favorite All Time Favorite, formerly Pop Disaster, returns to The Chicken Box for the first of two sets of summer 2025 shows this weekend.
By Kendall Graham kgraham@inkym.com
It’s not often a band willingly ditches a name that paid tribute to its earliest musical influences.
But for All Time Favorite, formerly known as The Pop Disaster, the change was both a logistical necessity and an opportunity to redefine who the band is.
The name-switch came about a year ago after Duncan Jewett, the band’s longtime guitarist and bassist, realized the confusion their original moniker was causing.
“There was a band from the Philadelphia area that (recently) came out and they had the same name,” said Jewett.
At that point, bookings were becoming cumbersome.
“(That band) was also specializing in pop punk and those kinds of genres. And then it started within this 30 to 90 day span that our clients were confusing them with us, and vice versa.”
That was all the push the band needed to rethink its identity, and to shed a label that no longer quite fit.
“It was perfect timing as we were considering a rebrand around that time anyway,” Jewett said.
The rebrand also came about due to several internal changes: the addition of a female vocalist, Keleigh Kearney, and the expansion of the band’s sound to include more genres than just rock.
Their original name, The Pop Disaster, was a tribute to the same-named 2002 co-headlining tour by seminal pop punk
bands Green Day and Blink-182, whose ethos Jewett and the group, including lead vocalist, guitarist and bassist Ethan “Ryder” Hartwell and drummer Jack Knight wanted to emulate at first.
“The format has just changed so much,” he said. “Now we’re doing club music, dance music, a little bit of country and all sorts of fun party stuff that’s just completely different than what it was before.”
“A lot of people will still reference the old name just because that’s what they’re used to. But our format now is not really anything like it was before.”
Courtesy
MusACK
All Time Favorite has changed not only its name, but its signature sound.
The Boston-based cover and wedding band will return to the island last week for its fifth season of shows at The Chicken Box, tonight through Saturday.
It will return in August and September, bringing an evolved sound that’s expanded beyond the pop-punk spirit that first inspired its members.
That evolution is partly due to the additional vocalist and the band’s commitment to versatility. Whether its performing at casinos, ski resorts, weddings or clubs, the focus is on reading the room and adapting the music to the crowd.
“We know the audiences we play to well enough that we know exactly what we have to play beforehand,” Jewett said.
“A lot of bands will play maybe 10 or 12 songs in an hour-long set, but we try to get as many as 30 songs into our sets. And they have to be pre-rehearsed and pre-scripted to be executed well.”
That level of planning helps create the sense of momentum that keeps audiences dancing. Rather than pause for requests or banter, All Time Favorite prefers a “pre-written flow,” seamlessly blending songs and styles.
It’s an approach that comes in handy during the busy wedding season, when the band shifts from rowdy club nights to meticulously-orchestrated private events.
“Weddings are a lot of work,” Jewett said. “It’s much more of a tailored menu.”
“We do everything from helping with the ceremonies to the sound and lighting, running the mics for the officiants and helping to coordinate any DJ segments or cocktail hours. And then there’s all the paperwork.”
While weddings make up a significant part of the band’s year, around 10 to 15 each season, the summer run at The
Chicken Box is a welcome change of pace.
“It’s a bit of a relief to play more casual venues like the Box,” Jewett said. “Most of the technical logistics are taken care of.”
The club has become a cornerstone of the band’s annual calendar. After years of playing there, Jewett said it still feels unique compared to the other stops on their circuit.
“We play colleges, corporate parties, we do weddings and private events, but the Box is really the whole package,” he said.
“The crowds are always fun, for sure, and with the staff and ownership, the stage and the sound engineers, it’s just a really fun-sounding venue that’s pretty hard to beat.”
While they are based in Boston, All Time Favorite has been broadening its reach in recent years, booking shows in Washington, D.C., New Jersey and other mid-Atlantic spots.
“We’ve been doing interviews for some larger agencies that’ll really help expand our travel,” Jewett said. “We’re looking for just a little wider of a region than what we have now.”
Despite the increasingly crowded field of cover bands vying for the same weddings, festivals and resort gigs, All Time Favorite tries not to overthink it.
“Everybody kind of claims to be the best of the up-and-coming bands, but we just try to be good at what we do, and try to be a little different from everybody else the best we can,” Jewett said.
All Time Favorite plays Thursday, July 17 through Saturday, July 19 at The Chicken Box, 6 Dave St., taking the stage around 10 p.m. Cover charge at the door. 21 and over only.
Courtesy of All Time Favorite
The heart of Napa’s Cabernet excellence
By Peter McEachern I&M Columnist
A few years ago, I visited the Culinary Institute of America for a week-long intensive study of the wines of Napa Valley. Driving to the area from San Francisco was quite dangerous, as I was trying to focus on the road while being distracted by the many well-known wineries that, even today, my palate for Cabernet Sauvignon can never forget.
That transformative week deepened my appreciation for what makes this region so extraordinary.
Sweet spot
In the center of Napa Valley, where the valley floor spreads to its widest point between the Mayacamas and Vaca mountain ranges, lies one of California’s most revered wine regions: the Rutherford Bench.
This small but mighty appellation of just 6,650 acres has earned a reputation as the definitive terroir for world-class Cabernet Sauvignon, producing wines with the distinctive character known throughout the wine world as “Rutherford Dust.”
While other varieties are grown here, Cabernet Sauvignon reigns supreme in Rutherford. The appellation’s unique combination of climate, soil and geography creates what many consider the ideal conditions for this noble Bordeaux variety.
As one industry expert noted, Rutherford “shines in the fruit-forward, really ripe fruit characteristics” with “never too hot, never too cold” conditions that create “a nice environment to grow grapes.”
Photo by Ashley Harp
A glass of Cabernet Sauvignon overlooking a vineyard in Napa.
Courtesy of Peter McEachern
A Napa Valley vineyard at sunrise.
Wine Cellar
A compelling experiment in storytelling
By Genevieve Frable Contributing Writer
“You are here.” How many times in a person’s life will they see these three small words beside the red pin on the maps located in malls, museums, cities and airports?
They form a simple statement, this is where you are standing right now.
But, take them off the grid of the map to let them hang in the air and they become an affirmation of who you are, where you are and a reminder to be present in that space.
It is fitting then that these three words should be blown up into big capital yellow letters and placed on the front cover of a book.
So many phrases and sentences with various levels of meaning would make great book titles and this title does an excellent job of conveying both the physical orientation that takes place for the characters in this book as well as the reorientation they undergo in this one day in their lives.
Edited by Ellen Oh, “You are Here: Connecting Flights” is a compelling middle-grade novel that tells the story of 12 kids whose paths cross in about 2022 in a Chicago airport during a severe bout of bad weather.
It is seamlessly written by 12 award-winning authors including Grace Lin, who wrote the Newbery Honor book “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon;” Linda Sue Park, author of the Newbery Medal book “A Single Shard” and “A Long Walk to Water;” and Christina Soontornvat, whose books “A Wish in the Dark”” and All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team” were both given the Newbery Honor Award.
Led by Oh, co-founder of We Need Diverse Books, all the authors draw from their own stories and unite to explore and celebrate the lives of Asian Americans.
Within this one book there is one story, and within that one story there are 12 stories and 12 individual voices, each one distinctly unique.
Each author writes one of the 12 chapters from the point of view of their own character while at the same time telling a piece of the larger story.
Within one chapter, a character interacts with those written by other authors or witnesses the events that befall another character.
In this way we see one event from multiple viewpoints while at the same time learning each character’s back story and
personality.
The airport is a brilliant selection of setting on the part of the authors and plays a major role in every narrative throughout the book.
Airports are fascinating places, especially international airports like this one set in Chicago. They are hubs where people from all over the world and all walks of life gather for a few hours as they pass through on their way to somewhere else.
There is so much possibility in these centers of activity, so what better place is there to have the lives of 112 different characters intersect than in an airport?
Part of the excitement in reading “You Are Here” is finding every point of connection between the linked narratives.
One character may wave, smile or even talk with a character who has yet to be
introduced, leaving us to connect the dots later.
It also becomes a part of the challenge to identify each character as they are introduced and locate them in the colorful crowd of kids that spans both the front and back covers.
Above all, this book is about finding your voice and the courage to stand up for yourself and others when someone says something hurtful, racist or otherwise wrong.
One at a time, each of the kids learns something about themselves and finds the strength to speak up, leading them to a final stand where they stand united with the support of their families and other strangers in the airport.
It is also about kindness and connecting with others, showing us how even the smallest act of kindness can bring joy to many.
Courtesy of Ellen Oh
Ellen Oh, editor of “You Are Here: Connecting Flights” and co-founder of We Need Diverse Books.
The west end comes alive at the height of summer
By Neil Foley I&M Columnist
In the summer urge to go-go-go and maximize these beautiful days, taking time to slow down and enjoy a scenic walk is incredibly valuable.
The west side of the island has been alive with the season. It holds some of my favorite places and treasured walks through stunning habitats.
It is among these stunning views that I find myself noticing the tiny details and the smaller pieces of diversity and life which make Nantucket so special.
Travel down Madaket Road past the landfill, the two culvert crossings and out toward Millie’s. Turn left on South Cambridge Street at the sign for Tristram’s Landing and travel down the dirt road to the park at Long Pond Landing.
This brilliant boardwalk and pier were
built by the Nantucket Land Bank in 2022 to highlight its properties around Long Pond and allow for easy launching of kayaks and small boats.
Cross the white bridge over Long Pond and stay right at the fork onto Red Barn Road. There is a single-track trail on the left side of the road which heads into the former FAA property purchased by the Land Bank in 2015.
The path lined by young pine trees provides a tunnel that draws you further toward the expansive sandplain grassland complex along the south shore.
Once you emerge into the open and encounter a sandy road, take a left on it to head north toward the grove of pitch pines surrounded by open grasslands.
Photo by Neil Foley
A bee pollinating wild indigo flowers on the island’s west end.
Photo by Neil Foley
A resting pearl crescent butterfly.
Walk with Neil
Photo by Neil Foley
(Thursday, continued from page 3)
Sconset Walking Tour
3 p.m. 1 New St., Sconset. Join Nantucket Preservation Trust executive director Mary Bergman as she shares her knowledge of this unique fishing settlement at the eastern edge of the island. The 75-minute tour focuses on the early “whale houses” as well as the village’s boom as a seaside resort and actors colony at the end of the 1800s. Tickets at nantucketpreservation.org
Live Music: Dub Apocalypse
4 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Boston-based instrumental dub reggae band Dub Apocalypse will perform.
Good Trouble Lives On March
5:30 p.m. Children’s Beach, Harborview Way. A protest, march and community picnic on the anniversary of Congressman John Lewis’ passing in support of civil rights and voting rights. Hosted by Indivisible Nantucket.
Island Calendar
Peace, Propaganda and the Fight for Israel’s Future
5:30 p.m. Location with RSVP. Gil Hoffman, executive director of HonestReporting, who served 24 years as the chief political correspondent and analyst of the Jerusalem Post, will speak. RSVP by e-mailing rabbi@nantucketchabad.com or calling (508) 292-2892.
“Singing in the Rain Jr.”
5:30 p.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. The Dreamland Stage Company presents “Singing in the Rain Jr.,” adapted from the original Hollywood screenplay for young audiences. Visit www.nantucketdreamland.org for tickets and additional times.
NISDA
Thursday Night Fete
6 p.m. Nantucket Island School of Design and the Arts, 23 Wauwinet Road. Join NISDA for an evening of live music open mic “en plein air” with Island Tunes and food trucks. Visitors are invited to participate in the “No More Empty Bowls” project for the benefit of the Nantucket Food, Fuel, and Rental Assistance Food Pantry fundraiser. No clay experience necessary. $10 suggested donation.
&
Classical Music Concert
7 p.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. Students, alumni and faculty of Philadelphia’s prestigious Curtis Institute of Music will perform a concert of music by Manuel de Falla, Mozart and Samuel Barber. Free.
“Million Dollar Quartet”
7 p.m. Bennett Hall, 62 Centre St. Theatre Workshop of Nantucket presents “Million Dollar Quartet,” a fictional adaptation of the night in 1956 when music legends Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley came together for a once-in-a-lifetime jam session at Sun Records. Through Aug. 23. Visit www.theatrenantucket.org for tickets, additional times.
“What the Constitution Means to Me”
7:30 p.m. Nantucket Performing Arts Center, 5 North Water St. Closing night. ACK Theatre Company presents Heidi Schreck’s “What the Constitution Means to Me,” starring Nina Hellman and Jeremy Shamos. Visit www.nantucketperformingarts.org for tickets.
Live Music: Cheat Codes
8 p.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. Los Angeles based electronic, dance, pop and country band Cheat Codes will perform. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org
Owl Prowl
8 p.m. Maria Mitchell Association, 4 Vestal St. Join MMA field ornithologist and I&M columnist Ginger Andrews to listen for the calls of nocturnal animals and birds and watch for owls as they begin their nightly activity. Tickets on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Full Moon Nature Walk
9 p.m. Location provided upon registration. Maria Mitchell Association executive director Joanna Roche leads a peaceful one-hour walk up to two miles on uneven terrain under the light of the full Moon. Discover the legends and narratives of the past and present. Enjoy the tranquility of the quiet night sky and learn about our moon’s current themes and its symbolism. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Live Music: Bombargo
10 p.m. The Gaslight, 3 North Union St. Indie pop band Bombargo of Saskatchewan, Canada, will perform. 21 and over.
Live Music: All Time Favorite
10 p.m. The Chicken Box, 6 Dave St. Boston-based party band All Time Favorite will perform. 21 and over. Additional shows Friday and Saturday. Tickets at www.thechickenbox.com
Live Music: Local Notes
10 p.m. The Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Nantucket’s own rock and roll band Local Notes will perform.
Friday, July 18
The Nantucket Show
Through Monday. Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm, 33 Bartlett Farm Road. The Antiques Council presents The Nantucket Show 2025, a carefully curated selection of dealers from across the United States and abroad exhibiting antiques, jewelry, contemporary and traditional fine art and decorative objects.
Island Calendar
Friday Funday
10:30 a.m. Children’s Beach Bandstand, Harborview Way. The Nantucket Office of Culture and Tourism hosts Friday Fundays through Sept. 12.
NHA on the Road
2 p.m. Our Island Home, 9 East Creek Road. The Nantucket Historical Association brings artifacts and stories from its “Behind the Seams” exhibition to Our Island Home.
Live Music: Talking Dreads
4 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Led by ex Tom Tom Club member Mystic Bowie, this reggae- and Caribbean-infused homage to The Talking Heads performs. Second show at noon Saturday.
DreamBig 2025
5:30 p.m. Sconset Casino, 10 New St., Sconset. The Dreamland hosts its annual summer fundraiser, Salon by the Sea, with a program and entertainment curated by The Nantucket Project. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org
Becoming American
6 p.m. Inquirer and Mirror, 1 Old South Road. I&M columnist and retired Nantucket High School history teacher Peter Panchy will discuss “Becoming American,” the foundations of democracy and the current state of presidential politics.
Thought Leader Stephanie Ruhle
6 p.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, an advocate for women and voice for social equality, talks American politics with Bill Cohan as part of the Weekend at the Atheneum fundraiser. Tickets on Calendar page of www.nantucketatheneum.org
Live Music: Sean Lee
8-10 p.m. Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Nantucket singer-songwriter Sean Lee will perform. Second show Saturday.
Live Music: DJ Pete Ahern
10 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. Nantucket DJ Pete Ahern will man the turntables. 21 and over.
Saturday, July 19
Nantucket Triathlon
6:30 a.m. start, Jetties Beach, end of Bathing Beach Road. Nantucket’s largest athletic event of the year draws nearly 1,000 athletes to Jetties Beach for a sprint-distance swimming, cycling and running competition. Sold out, but spectators welcome. More information at acktri.com
Nantucket Clean Team
8 a.m. Handlebar Café, 15 Washington St., and Madaket Beach, public parking lot at end of Madaket Road. The Nantucket Clean Team meets weekly from spring through fall to clean up trash around the island. Bags and pickers provided.
Farmers & Artisans Market
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Cambridge Street, between Federal and South Water. Sustainable Nantucket hosts a market of fresh local produce, island cottage-industry artisans and food. Weather permitting. SATURDAY, PAGE 16
CHILDREN’S BEACH 2025 SUMMER EVENTS SCHEDULE
Mondays with Magic Mark Mondays at 10:00am, July 7 - September 8 Trivia Tuesdays Tuesdays at 1:00pm, July 8 - August 26
Friday Fundays Fridays at 10:30am, July 9 - September 12
Yoga on the Bandstand Monday–Saturday, 7:30am through September 1
SATURDAYS AT CHILDREN’S BEACH
Capoeira with Werdum
Saturdays at 9:00am, July 12 - September 6
Nanpuppets with Lizza
Saturdays at 11:00am, July 12 - September 13
SUNDAY NIGHT CONCERT SERIES 6:00pm - 7:15pm
July 20 - Rebecca Chapa
SCAN TO VIEW FULL CALENDAR OF FREE EVENTS AT CHILDREN’S BEACH Nantucket Department of Culture & Tourism • 508-228-0925
(Continued from page 15)
Capoeira with Werdum
9 a.m. Children’s Beach, Harborview Way. Werdum Nantucket presents instruction in capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art that blends elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality.
NanPuppets
9:30 a.m. Moors End Farm, 40 Polpis Road. Join Lizza Obremski and her puppet friends for a morning of educational entertainment for all ages. $10. Bring a blanket.
Book-Signing: Judy Lannon
10:30 a.m. Mitchell’s Book Corner, 54 Main St. Author Judy Lannon will sign copies of her novel, “Callahan’s Cottage.”
Historic Bike Tour
10:30 a.m. Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. Strap on your helmet to explore historic locations on the periphery of town you may have missed, all while escaping the hustle and bustle of downtown Nantucket. Led by a Nantucket Historical Association guide. Approximately two hours. Tickets on calendar page of www.nha.org
NanPuppets
11 a.m. Children’s Beach, Harborview Way. Join Lizza Obremski and her puppet friends for a morning of educational entertainment for all ages. Free, but donations welcome.
AAN Summer Gala
5:30 p.m. Great Harbor Yacht Club, 96
Island Calendar
Washington St. The Artists Association of Nantucket celebrates its 80th anniversary and honors photographer Michael Gaillard. Tickets at nantucketarts.org
Sunday, July 20
Bird Walk
7:45-10 a.m. Maria Mitchell Association, 33 Washington St. Explore Nantucket’s avian landscapes and hidden nooks with local bird guide and Inquirer and Mirror columnist Ginger Andrews. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Breathwork and Meditation
11 a.m. Location with registration. Experienced instructor Andrew Viselli leads this 60-minute session of guided meditation, reiki and subtle movement to relax, calm and empower. Register on events page of www.nantucketconservation.org
Live Music: Hitch & the Giddyup Noon, Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Hitch & the Giddyup move nimbly between original bluegrass, soulful Americana and honky-tonk country.
Live Music: Morrisey Blvd
3 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. New Bedford-based high-energy rock band Morrisey Blvd will perform.
Live Music: Allen Stone
6 p.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. Soul and R&B singer Allen Stone will perform as part of the Weekend at the Atheneum fundraiser. Tickets on calendar page of www.nantucketatheneum.org
Live Music: G. Love & The Juice
10 p.m. The Chicken Box, 6 Dave St. Philadelphia-born G. Love, an island favorite returns to The Chicken Box. 21 and over. Tickets at thechickenbox.com
Live Music: MayQueen
10 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. New York City-based all-female indie rock band MayQueen will perform.
Monday, July 21
Guided Bike Tour
8 a.m. Location with registration. Join avid cyclist and Nantucket Conservation Foundation Trustee Jim Meehan for a guided trek along the trails and dirt roads of the Middle Moors or Ram Pasture. Helmet and mountain bike required. Free with registration on events page of www. nantucketconservation.org
Summer Town Forum
10 a.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. The Nantucket Select Board and town manager Libby Gibson continue a summer tradition of discussing island issues and answering questions.
Walk: The west end comes alive at the height of summer
(Continued from page 12)
The sandplain grasslands are shining in hues of green with tinges of yellow from upturned leaves of red huckleberry and small blooms of baptisia, aka wild indigo, whose small yellow flowers turn inky black when they set seed.
Ripened lowbush blueberry can be found in short patches among the taller grasses.
With red-tinged edges to the leaves, the small and sweet fruits of this perennial shrub are perfect treats for those with a careful eye and nimble fingers.
Just be sure to respect the plant and the land it grows on by taking a small percentage of the available fruit, leaving some for the next person down the trail and some for the birds to spread seeds across the island.
Moth diversity in this part of the island is bountiful in shape, size and color. Watch your footfalls closely as thousands of tiny, yellow chain-dotted geometer caterpillars inch their way around the landscape.
Come late August these small yellow larvae will amass in clouds of tiny white moths with salt-and-pepper wings, lifting like fog from patches of young scrub oak.
Horned Sphinx moth caterpillars cling to stems of small shrubs and tiny pearl crescent butterflies flit actively from the road edges.
Above it all, large and vibrant eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies dance in striking yellow and black, looking for large flowers to sip from.
I have been impressed by the plethora of swallowtails I have seen this summer.
It may be anecdotal, but I still appreciate their presence and hope that their abundant activity is rewarded with a beautiful wood lily to sit and drink from.
Ticks are nothing to overstate this time of the year. Not just on this property, but across the entire island.
Our unfortunate abundance and presence of every flavor of tick-borne illness can scare many into avoiding Nantucket nature walks like this.
You can easily adorn yourself with layers of protection, both physical (pants tucked in or wearing tick gaiters) and chemical (permethrin-treated clothes, picaridin, peppermint oil soap).
Please be aware that even the best shield can fail, so washing your clothes and checking yourself immediately afterward are the best protection against a
trip to the urgent care clinic.
At the next four-way intersection, take another left and head west again toward Long Pond.
The old roads converge here and cross part of the Coast-to-Coast Trail’s last section.
Follow the guided markers back through Land Bank property, down the meandering path enveloped by tall shrubs of sweet pepper bush.
The trail here spits you out adjacent to the Long Pond bridge.
Linger momentarily to appreciate the sound and sight of freshwater cattail reeds swaying in the summer breeze.
Then get home and do your obligatory tick check. Better to be safe than sorry.
Neil Foley is the interpretive education coordinator and ecologist at the Nantuck-
File photo
Nantucket summer favorite G. Love returns to The Chicken Box Sunday.
Hands on History
10:15 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday through Aug. 28. Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. A short presentation with visual and tactile elements connecting to Nantucket history, followed by craft-making connected to that day’s talk. Free with museum admission.
Live Music: Paul Loren
4-7 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. New York City singer-songwriter Paul Loren will perform. Second show Tuesday.
Meet the Artists: Yevgeny Kutik and Max Levinson
5:30 p.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. A free and informal meet and greet with violinist Yevgeny Kutik and pianist Max Levinson before their Nantucket Musical Arts Society concert Tuesday. Free.
Live Music: Foggy Roots
6 p.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. Nantucket’s own roots reggae band, Foggy Roots, plays the Dreamland’s Harbor View Room and deck. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org
Island Calendar
Stargazing at the Observatory
9:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Loines Observatory, 59 Milk St. Join professional astronomers from the Maria Mitchell Association for a guided tour of the night sky, including the moon, planets, star clusters, nebulae and more. Register on calendar page of www. mariamitchell.org
Live Music: DJ Lay-Z-Boy
10 p.m. The Chicken Box, 6 Dave St. Boston-based DJ Lay-Z-Boy mans he turntables. 21 and over.
Live Music: Pan Arcadia
10 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. New York City-based Pan Arcadia mixes blistering and relentless guitar rock with touches of soul and funk. 21 and over.
Tuesday, July 22
Folger’s Marsh Kayak Paddle
9 a.m. Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum, 158 Polpis Road. Nantucket Conservation Foundation coastal
ecology research technician Jisun Reiner and environmental educator Isaac Hersh lead this kayak tour through the vibrant ecosystem of Folger’s Marsh. Free, but space is limited. Register on calendar page of www.nantucketconservation.org.
Milestone Center Site Tour
9 a.m. Milestone Cranberry Bog, Off Milestone Road. Tour the future home of the Nantucket Conservation Foundation’s Milestone Center and hear from NCF president and CEP Cormac Collier about plans for staff housing and a LEED-certified research and education facility. Free, but registration required on events page at www.nantucketconservation.org
Music in the Morning
9:45 a.m. Atheneum garden, 1 India St. Led by local musician and teacher Cory Morgan, this fun-filled 45-minute session invites kids to explore rhythm, sound and song through clapping, instrument play. Bring a blanket. Canceled in the event of inclement weather.
Book-signing: Cynthia Weiner
10:30 a.m. Mitchell’s Book Corner, 54 Main St. Author Cynthia Weiner will sign copies of her book, “A Gorgeous Excitement.”
Preservation Trust Summer Lecture and Luncheon
11 a.m. White Elephant Village Ballroom, 19 North Water St. Join Nantucket Preservation Trust for its 2025 summer lecture and luncheon with interior designer Marshall Watson, author of “Defining Elegance” with a background in theater design, acting and gardening. Tickets at www.nantucketpreservation.org
Nanpuppets
11:30 a.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Join Lizza Obremski and her puppet friends for a morning of educational entertainment for all ages.
A Walk Down Main Street
3 p.m. 11 Centre St. An overview of Nantucket in its heyday focusing on the portion of Main Street between the TUESDAY, PAGE 18
(Continued from page 17)
Pacific National Bank and the Civil War monument. Learn about the street’s development and the area’s early residents and architectural styles. Tickets at nantucketpreservation.org.
Lecture: Nantucket Threads
5:30 p.m. Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. The Nantucket Historical Association hosts Isabella Rosner, curator of the Royal School of Needlework, discussing “How the NHA Turned Me Into a Textile Historian.” Free, but registration required on calendar page of www.nha.org
A Night of Comedy: Rob Schneider
6:30 and 9 p.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. The Dreamland hosts “Saturday Night Live” alumnus and comedic actor Rob Schneider. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org
Classical Music: Yevgeny Kutik and Max Levinson
7 p.m. St. Paul’s Church, 20 Fair St. The Nantucket Musical Arts Society presents violinist Yevgeny Kutik and pianist Max Levinson in the third installment of its summer concert series. Tickets $30 at the door.
Island Calendar
Live Music: Kind-hearted Strangers
10 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. Nashville-based rock and roll band Kind Hearted Strangers will perform. 21 and over. Second show Wednesday.
Live Music: Ripe
10 p.m. The Chicken Box, 6 Dave St. Born in Boston but now based in Los Angeles, funk and alt-pop band Ripe will perform. 21 and over. Second show Wednesday. Tickets at www.thechickenbox.com
Wednesday, July 23
Van Birding Trip
7:45 a.m. Linda Loring Nature Foundation, 110 Eel Point Road. Seth Engelbourg and Libby Buck of the Linda Loring Nature Foundation point out birds from the climate-controlled comfort of the LLNF’s van, equipped with large observation windows. It also makes short stops to observe in the field. Free, but registration required on calendar page of www. llnf.org
Book-signing: Elin Hilderbrand and Jessica Soffer
11 a.m. Mitchell’s Book Corner, 54 Main St. Best-selling island author Elin Hilderbrand will sign copies of “The Blue Book,” and Jessica Soffer will sign copies of “This is a Love Story.” The first 115 people will get a ticket for the signing when they arrive in line. Line begins forming at 10 a.m.. Only books purchased at Mitchell’s will be signed.
NHA Collections Tour
4 p.m. Gosnold Center, 89 Bartlett Road. The Nantucket Historical Association curatorial team leads a behind-the-scenes tour of it special collection of paintings, furniture and Nantucket artifacts.
Illuminating Hope and Grace in the Face of Hardship
4 p.m. Online at www.nantucketatheneum.org. Rex Ogle talks about his struggles to navigate sixth grade as chronicled in his book “Free Lunch.”
Live Music: Buckle & Shake
4-7 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Nantucket’s own alt-country band Buckle & Shake will perform.
Farm Fresh Feast
5:30 p.m. Mt. Vernon Farm, 168 Hummock Pond Road. This year’s Farm Fresh Feast, Sustainable Nantucket’s signature fundraiser, features a NantucketGrown menu created from locally sourced ingredients by chef Mark and Eithne Yelle of Nantucket Catering Company. Tickets at sustainable-nantucket.org
Cultural Arts Lecture
7 p.m. Nantucket Island School of Design and the Arts, 23 Wauwinet Road. NISDA hosts a special evening celebrating the creativity of Judith Brust, whose colorful abstract monoprints merge art with natural elements and found material. $10 suggested donation.
Film for Thought
7 p.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. The Inquirer and Mirror and Dreamland present the documentary “76 Days Adrift,” followed by a Q&A with executive producer Ang Lee. Free for members. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org
The Power of Creativity
7 p.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. Award-winning photographer, jour-
nalist and author Kike Calvo will explore how creativity can be a catalyst for connection, storytelling and meaningful change. Free.
Thursday, July 24
Native Plant Landscaping Tour
9 a.m. Nantucket Conservation Foundation office, 118 Cliff Road. Nantucket Conservation Foundation plant research ecologist/botanist Kelly Omand gives a tour of the NCF office grounds showcasing the makeover of the office landscape, from removal of invasives to building a biodiversity meadow and garden beds. Free with registration on calendar page of www.nantucketconservation.org
Dance Party in the Garden
9:45 a.m. Atheneum Garden, 1 India St. Cory Morgan leads an energetic, joyfilled dance time for babies and children with songs, silly dance moves and fun challenges like Freeze Dance and the Cha-Cha Slide. Bring a blanket. Canceled in the event of inclement weather.
Island Calendar
Book-signing: Amy Poeppl
10:30 a.m. Mitchell’s Book Corner, 54 Main St. Author Amy Poeppl will sign copies of her book, “Far and Away.”
Sconset Walking Tour
3 p.m. 1 New St., Sconset. Join Nantucket Preservation Trust executive director Mary Bergman as she shares her knowledge of this unique fishing settlement at the eastern edge of the island. The 75-minute tour focuses on the early “whale houses” as well as the village’s boom as a seaside resort and actors colony at the end of the 1800s. Tickets at nantucketpreservation.org
Discerning the Truth with Marie Lu
4 p.m. Online at www.nantucketatheneum.org. Explore the intricate world of “Legend” with Marie Lu as she encourages readers to look beyond the surface and reveal hidden secrets.
Live Music: Wim Tapley & The Cannons
4 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Americana and pop band Wim Tapley & the Cannons will perform. Second show Friday.
Live Music: The Wails: A Beatles Tribute
6 p.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. Celebrate the 1960s with Nantucket’s own tribute to the Beatles, led by Cole Corper, Ty Fleischut, Merrick Brannigan and Jeff Cutts. Tickets at www. nantucketdreamland.org
“The Haves and Have-Yachts”
6 p.m. Dreamland Studio Theater, 17 South Water St. The New Yorker’s Evan Osnos will discuss his “dispatches on the ultra-rich” – the result of eight years reporting on wealth and class in America – with Michael Schulder, creator and host of Wavemaker Conversations. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org
NISDA Thursday Night Fete
6 p.m. Nantucket Island School of Design and the Arts, 23 Wauwinet Road. Join NISDA for an evening of live music open mic “en plein air” with Island Tunes and food trucks. Visitors are invited to participate in the “No More Empty Bowls” project for the benefit of the Nantucket Food, Fuel, and Rental Assistance Food Pantry fundraiser. No clay experience necessary. $10 suggested donation
Stargazer Gala
6 p.m. Tom Nevers Field, end of Tom Nevers Road. Saddle up for a night at the MM Ranch for the Maria Mitchell Association’s biggest fundraiser of the year. A fireside feast by Island Kitchen, music from the Ben Allen Band, line dancing, mechanical bull riding, Texas Hold’Em and a custom hat bar by Gigi Pip. Tickets on calendar page of www.mariamitchell. org
Live Music: Foggy Roots
10 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. Nantucket’s own alt-country band Foggy Roots will perform.
Live Music: Legends of Summer
10 p.m. The Chicken Box, 6 Dave St. Boston-based party band Legends of Summer will perform. 21 and over. Additional shows Friday and Saturday.
Michael Potter as Johhny Cash
Joe Hebel as Elvis Presley
Sean McGibbon as Jerry Lee Lewis
Mia Massaro as Dyanne
Ross Griffin as Sam Phillips
Christopher Wren as Carl Perkins
Cellar: Rutherford Bench and Napa Valley Cabernet excellence
(Continued from page 8)
The varieties
Rutherford is widely regarded as the sweet spot for Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley, and this variety dominates the landscape. As Freemark Abbey’s veteran winemaker noted, there’s been “more of a focus on the Bordeaux varieties” over time, explaining, “It really has become a case study and a natural evolution to what Rutherford does best: the Bordeaux varieties like Cabernet and Merlot.”
The appellation’s terroir creates Cabernet Sauvignons with remarkable consistency and character. This area is where some of the most expensive and award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon blends are found, producing lush, full-bodied and fruit-forward wines.
While Cabernet Sauvignon is king, Rutherford also produces exceptional Merlot, particularly in the pockets of clay in the east. The region’s diverse microclimates allow other Bordeaux varieties, including Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Sauvignon Blanc also finds a home here, especially in the fertile soils next to the Napa River. Red varieties, however, clearly dominate the plantings and the region’s reputation.
Historical geology
The story of Rutherford began 140 million years ago. The valley’s distinctive geography is relatively young, however, only about 2 million years old.
The most famous geological feature, the Rutherford Bench itself, was formed through dramatic geological events, including tectonic plate movement and volcanic activity, with the erosion and subsequent intermingling of this parent material forming complex and highly varied soil compositions in the alluvial fans that emerge from the hillsides and spread out onto the valley floor.
These alluvial fans are deep, welldrained, stony soils that are moderately fertile. They sit at the base of the mountains on both sides of the valley.
The western benchland enjoys particular protection from the hot afternoon sun by the Mayacamas Mountains, while the well-drained soil composition includes gravel, loam and sand with volcanic deposits and marine sediments from the Franciscan Assemblage, a unique complex of diverse igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock.
This unique geological composition creates ideal growing conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon. The benchland’s deep, well-drained soils and protection from
the hot sun fill the wines with nobility and elegance, along with distinctively grainy tannins that some associate with “Rutherford Dust.”
Why “Bench”?
The term “Rutherford Bench” comes from geology, where a “bench” or “benchland” refers to a long, relatively narrow strip of relatively level or gently inclined land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and below it. The famous “Rutherford Bench” is a stretch of the Napa Valley, about three miles long, starting in Oakville and heading north to Rutherford. The bench sits in the middle of the valley floor, surrounded on two sides by small hills.
Interestingly, as one geological expert notes, “geologically speaking, there is no Rutherford Bench.”
Technically, it’s an alluvial fan rather than a true geological bench. The name, however, has stuck because this relatively flat, elevated area resembles the terrace-like formation that geologists call a bench.
It perfectly describes this distinctive landscape feature that makes the terroir special for growing wine.
Rutherford enjoys a moderately warm climate, with summer temperatures commonly in the mid 90s. Early morning fog still marginally influences the climate.
The western bench area is cooler and less affected by late afternoon sun, which is tempered by afternoon marine winds. Located at the widest part of Napa Valley, the vines enjoy the most sun of any valley floor appellations, making for phrenologically ripe wines with soft tannins and dense fruit.
The viticultural history of Rutherford traces back to the 19th century. Still, its modern reputation was forged by visionary winemakers in the early 1900s.
Georges de Latour was the first to import grapevines with phylloxera-resistant rootstock, when he purchased four acres of land near Rutherford in 1900 and
named it “Beaulieu” or “Beautiful Place.”
The birth of Rutherford Dust
Perhaps the most forceful proponent for growing and producing Bordeaux grapes in Rutherford was Beaulieu Vineyards’ legendary winemaker, André Tchelistcheff.
Starting in the 1930s, the Russian expatriate carved out a place for BV’s Cabernet in the long history of Rutherford and even coined the term “Rutherford Dust.”
In 1941, Georges de Latour released his 1936 Private Reserve from Rutherford, bringing the region international recognition. It was the first Napa Valley wine to be considered a premier-cru-level bottling, paving the way for Napa Valley to specialize in Bordeaux-style wines.
Historic foundations
Rutherford’s most famous winery, Inglenook, dates back to 1878, when a Scandinavian sea captain, Gustave Niebaum, decided to call Rutherford home and build a world-class winery.
In 1876, Morris Estee founded Hedgeside Vineyards, which would go on to become the very first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon in the Napa Valley. Inglenook was founded in 1879 by Niebaum, who made it his mission to improve the Napa Valley’s wine reputation.
The Rutherford AVA, officially recognized in 1993, is home to some of Napa Valley’s most prestigious producers. Founded in 1994, just a year after the AVA was approved, the Rutherford Dust Society is built upon an even longer tradition of winemaking and viticulture in the center of Napa Valley that traces back to the 19th century.
• Beaulieu Vineyard (BV) remains one of the most historic Napa Valley wineries, setting an early standard for quality and innovation in Napa Valley since 1900. The winery continues to produce its flagship Georges de Latour Private Reserve
Cabernet Sauvignon, maintaining its position as a cornerstone of Rutherford tradition.
• Inglenook stands as the most historically significant estate. Francis and Eleanor Coppola purchased the property in 1975 and have spent 40 years reuniting the original vineyards, returning winemaking operations to the chateau and restoring Inglenook’s illustrious heritage with the help of renowned wine consultant Stephane Derenoncourt and managing director and winemaker Philippe Bascaules.
• Staglin Family Vineyard represents the modern era of Rutherford excellence. The Staglins purchased their Rutherford Bench estate in 1985, a culmination of a longtime dream to make wine a family business. The 60-acre property is ideally located and boasts an extraordinary diversity of soils. With an uncompromising commitment to quality, they aim to produce world-class wines that reflect the distinctive character of this historic Rutherford Bench estate in Napa Valley.
• Opus One, while technically located in neighboring Oakville, sources fruit from Rutherford vineyards and represents the pinnacle of Bordeaux-style winemaking in the region.
Other wineries making wines from vineyards in the “Rutherford Bench” include Heitz Martha’s Vineyard and Bella Oaks, Freemark Abbey (Cabernet Bosche), Robert Mondavi (reserve Cabs) and, more recently, Opus One.
Other notable producers include:
• Alpha Omega Winery: Founded in 2006 by Robin Baggett, it sources fruit from stellar vineyards such as Beckstoffer and Newton, with talented winemaker Jean Hoefliger crafting the wines and consulting winemaking superstar Michel Rolland working with the winery since 2006.
• Frog’s Leap Winery: One of the first Napa wineries to practice dry farming or farm organically, receiving its organic certification in 1989.
• Caymus Vineyards: Released its first vintage in 1972 and remains a benchmark producer for Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon.
• Honig Vineyard & Winery: Louis Honig bought a 68-acre ranch in Rutherford and planted it to Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc in 1964, with their first Cabernet released in 1989.
Terroir in a glass
The “dust” of Rutherford is one of Napa Valley’s most concise terms, evoking a specific place and a complex set of flavors in four simple letters. The wines from
Photo by Pedro Costa Simeao
A vineyard in the Napa Valley on a summer day.
this benchland site consistently deliver flavors of tobacco/cigar box, silky tannins and a supple palate texture often referred to as “Rutherford Dust,” the area’s signature.
Winemakers describe this character in poetic terms. Freemark Abbey’s veteran winemaking director Ted Edwards explains: “Imagine going for a walk in the foothills of the Mayacamas, and as you walk down the path, you are crunching over dead leaves and branches, kicking up dust. It’s a combination of forest floor aromatics.”
The Rutherford appellation produces wines distinguished by their signature soft, round mouth-feel and “dusty” tannins. The soil, composed of gravel, loam, sand and several diverse microclimates, contributes to the fruit’s unique character, producing wines of particular merit.
A living legacy
The Rutherford Bench continues to evolve while honoring its prestigious
past. As Frog’s Leap general manager Jonah Beer notes, “Today’s Rutherford vintners have explored more. They’ve found the pockets of clay on the east to grow Merlot, fertile soils next to the river for Sauvignon Blanc and smaller alluvial fans that dot the AVA, giving us even more diverse styles of Cabernet Sauvignon than ever before.”
This small appellation, representing less than 1 percent of California’s wine production, continues to set the global standard for Cabernet Sauvignon excellence. The unique convergence of geology, climate and human passion that defines the Rutherford Bench ensures its wines will continue to embody that ineffable quality, the dust that settles into every glass, carrying the essence of one of the world’s greatest wine regions.
Peter McEachern is the general manager of the Nantucket Yacht Club. He has been buying wine, creating wine lists and running wine tastings since 1983. He can be reached at peter@nantucketyachtclub. org
All Villanova alumni, parents, students, families and friends are invited to a summer social with the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, University President.
Thursday, July 31, 2025 | 3:30–5:30 p.m.
Millie’s 326 Madaket Road
RSVP by visiting vuevents.villanova.edu/nantucket2025
We hope you can join us!
Fairfield University President
Mark R. Nemec, PhD
invites alumni and parents to the Nantucket Cocktail Reception
Wednesday, July 30, 2025 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Location will be provided with confirmation.
Space is limited.
R.S.V.P. by Friday, July 25, 2025 to ose@fairfield.edu or (203) 254-4000 ext. 2927
(Cellar, continued from previous page)
Photo by Lynn Ward
SERENITY NOW: The sun rises over Nantucket Harbor as seen from the Town Pier earlier this summer. More summer photos at www.ack.net
Eat: The Inquirer and Mirror’s definitive summer 2025 ice cream guide
(Continued from page 4)
and easy to scoop. It had a strong berry flavor, but you still get that hint of real creaminess.
Because The Juice Bar has become so well known (for good reason), the lines are always a little bit ridiculous. Obviously, weekend nights are going to be the worst but you could find yourself waiting up to 30 minutes just as easily on a Monday or Tuesday.
When I want Juice Bar, I prefer to go in the afternoons. Don’t get me wrong, I have spent my fair share of nights waiting way too long for too little ice cream. But it is great quality, the flavors are always fun and exciting and it’s a classic part of the “Nantucket experience.”
• Jack & Charlie’s, town: Jack & Charlie’s is one of the newer spots downtown for ice cream, but its built a reputation offering much more than just a creamy sweet treat.
I remember when it opened in 2021 as a fairly humble ice cream shop. It’s since massively expanded its menu offering coffee and espresso drinks, and recently added the drink of the summer (strawberry matcha) to the menu, breakfast sandwiches, smoothies, boba tea, açai bowls and more.
With some stiff competition just around the corner, I think it’s great it’s found a niche with more casual breakfast options (something the island seems to be lacking right now with no more Downyflake, RIP).
Jack & Charlie’s gets its ice cream from Gifford’s Ice Cream, a Maine-based company that’s been around since the 1980s. Gifford’s uses fresh milk and cream from local Maine dairy farmers, according to its website. The Jack & Charlie’s website, however, implies its ice cream is made in-house.
On my visit, I tried the sea salt caramel and a fresh chocolate chip cookie. The cookies had just come out of the oven and the smell was too good to resist. The cookie was crisp on the edges and soft and gooey on the inside.
The ice cream had chocolate caramel melts mixed in, which is where a lot of the salted caramel flavor came from. The ice cream itself had an ice-y texture and was slightly grainy.
I’ve seen Jack & Charlie’s get some pretty big lines during peak summer nights. It’s good for grab-and-go–breakfast or if you want a quick ice cream fix, but if there’s a long line, you might as well wait for the guaranteed Nantucket-made ice cream.
• Soda Fountain at Nantucket Pharmacy, town : The old-fashioned soda fountain is a time-honored small town tradition. After some ownership uncertainty, the pharmacy is due to reopen soon and soda fountain is back up and
McKenny said he has a lease with the pharmacy for at least three years, so it looks like the old-fashioned, Americana flare of the soda fountain is here to stay (for now).
• Island Kitchen, mid-island: Island Kitchen opened in 2012 and almost instantly became a hit among islanders and visitors for its fresh, simple and innovative food. A few years after opening, owner Patrick Ridge expanded not only the seating capacity at the restaurant but also took over the building next door to open an ice cream parlor.
Just like the restaurant, Island Kitchen ice cream advertises a fresh, homemade, simple yet luxurious product. The interior is warm and inviting, the employees are friendly and there’s a decent amount of seating and parking.
Island Kitchen offers a variety of unique flavors. It’s rare that the same flavors will be available each time you go, but you can usually count on its classics like Cobblestone Brownie and Cranberry Vanilla. I tried the Blueberry Pie flavor, which is one I hadn’t seen before at IK. It was velvety and smooth. There was a strong blueberry flavor from the ice cream and the jam swirled in. I loved the big chunks of graham crackers. They were crisp and not soggy. I like when you can taste the cream in ice cream, and that’s definitely prevalent at Island Kitchen while still delivering a good punch of other flavors.
Island Kitchen consistently surprises me with its flavor offerings. On another recent visit, they were serving Cardamom Orange and Chai flavored ice creams. It’s a unique experience every time you go, and for $7.25 a scoop, you get a fair amount of ice cream.
Fair warning: The parking lot can get crowded in the evenings with traffic from the restaurant, and since the ice cream is small-batch, some flavors will sell out. The ice cream counter also offers homemade waffle cones and a variety of classic toppings. You can make any flavor a frappe for $14.
running. The soda fountain and lunch counter are operated independently from the pharmacy and currently run by Will McKenny and Nicole Tirapelli.
The soda fountain is exactly what you picture when you think of old-fashioned soda counters. Round green leather bar stools, linoleum countertops and vintage menu items like egg creams, malteds and black cows highlight the menu.
I ordered the classic root beer float, served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and a bottle of IBC root beer. I’m not a huge carbonated-drink girlie, but what better
way to embrace a soda fountain than a classic root beer float? It was sweet, creamy, refreshing and had that perfect spicy-syrupiness associated with root beer.
The soda fountain also offers regular scoops and cones (its also serve Gifford’s ice cream), classic sandwiches like the BLT, chicken salad and a pastrami Reuben, coffee and pastries along with cookies from Something Natural.
Everything is pretty reasonably priced with sandwiches around $12 and ice cream and shakes running $6-$14, but beware there is limited seating at the counter.
• 3 Way Scoops, mid-island: Conveniently located on Old South Road, 3 Way Scoops is a great option for those mid-island who don’t want to deal with downtown crowds or parking hassles.
3 Way serves a wide variety of ice cream flavors and has dozens of topping options. It also serves Gifford’s ice cream, but changes up the flavor offerings and occasionally posts specials on its social pages.
I ordered the weekly special Cookie Curveball, which was coffee ice cream with dark chocolate chunks and cookie pieces. At $6 for a single scoop, it was a good size, but I would’ve liked to have some more of the mix-ins for texture variety. The flavor of the ice cream wasn’t as strong or creamy as the homemade op-
Photos by Francesca Giangiulio
Top: The always rotating menu of flavors at Island Kitchen. Bottom: The root beer float at the Soda Fountain in Nantucket Pharmacy on Main Street.
tions on-island.
3 Way Scoops also serves specialty shakes and sundaes. Both are pretty reasonably priced for Nantucket (around $15) and definitely worth it in terms of quantity for price. It also has the ACK Swirly, the 3 Way Scoops version of a Dairy Queen Blizzard. You choose your ice cream and mix-ins to get swirled together in their soft serve machine, then add any toppings you want like whipped cream, hot fudge, cherries and more.
3 Way Scoops has tons of parking and a spacious outdoor patio with plenty of picnic tables for you to enjoy your ice cream on site. And it’s conveniently located right next to Yezzi’s if you’re craving a tasty, North Shore-style roast beef sandwich along with your ice cream.
• Millie’s Market, Madaket : On the west side of the island, you have the Millie’s Market to satisfy your ice cream cravings. Located right next door to Millie’s restaurant, the beach shack sells beach equipment, toys, light snacks and beach food, beverages, keg beer, Millie’s merch and (of course) ice cream.
The market serves a dozen flavors of Gifford’s ice cream for just under $6 a single scoop. My younger brother worked at Millie’s Market for many years, so I have a soft spot for it. When visiting him at work, I’d always order toasted coconut with gummy bears. It’s a decent amount of ice
cream and the cheapest price for a single scoop on Nantucket, but for $1.25, I don’t think the extra topping was worth it.
The toasted coconut is creamier than some of the other Gifford’s flavors. If you’ve ever gotten a frozen coconut bar from an ice cream truck, it tastes exactly like that. The toasted coconut also has chocolate dusted coconut shavings mixed in which add a nice nutty flavor and texture.
Millie’s has an outdoor area next to the parking lot with picnic tables and umbrellas to enjoy your ice cream, or you can easily walk just down the road to Madaket Beach.
• Sconset Market, Sconset: Jumping all the way to the eastern-most edge of Nantucket, we have the Sconset market. It is the quintessential neighborhood market with farm-fresh veggies, artisanal jams and other small-batch, “fancy” products.
Its ice cream counter also serves Gifford’s. I decided to try the peanut butter pie – peanut butter ice cream with chunks of peanut butter cups and graham cracker ribbon – because I hadn’t seen it on any of the other menus.
It had a strong, natural peanut butter flavor with big chunks of peanut butter cup. The graham cracker was less noticeable. The peanut butter added a nice level of creamy smoothness to the ice cream, which was a little ice-y.
It’s $6.75 for a single scoop and you do
Stocking Wine Cellars for 28 Years
get a good amount of ice cream. The real draw of coming to the Sconset Market, though, is the fresh baked goods. It has a specialty chocolate counter with all the classics like chocolate covered pretzels, toffee bark, turtles and chocolate shells. Every day it makes fresh pastries, cakes and other baked goods. The French baguette and Sconset cookie are a must-try. There’s a patio area with plenty of bike racks and picnic tables to sit at. You’re also just around the corner from the beautiful Sconset cliff walk.
• Surfside, town: Kind of an honorable mention . . . Surfside sells a variety of soft-serve desserts in addition to its coastal Tex-Mex cuisine. On the corner of Easy and Broad streets, it’s conveniently located less than a block from the Steamship Authority.
It serves chocolate and vanilla soft serve in cups, cones and on cookie sandwiches. The soft serve is $6.95, with extra charges for waffle cones ($2) and chocolate dip ($1.25). It also has cookie sandwiches ($9.95) and all the classic ice cream toppings ($1.25 extra).
A fan favorite is the ice cream nachos, which is soft serve on top of waffle cone chips drizzled with your choice of hot caramel or hot fudge ($10.95). Surfside also has what it calls a “cyclone:” your choice of soft serve with one blended-in topping ($8.95). I got the swirled soft serve in a cone with
the chocolate dip. It tastes like a classic boardwalk soft serve and you can easily walk to the Easy Street park and enjoy your treat while looking out at the harbor. $6.95 is a bit hefty for soft serve, but I will say they do load up the cone pretty well. The chocolate dip, though, made the experience a bit messy. My cone melted quickly in the summer heat. I don’t know what I looked like eating this – I don’t really want to – but I know it wasn’t cute.
A big pro for Surfside is that it’s one of the only restaurants (along with our old faithful, Stubby’s) that’s open until 2 a.m.
On Fridays and Saturdays in the summer, Surfside is open for late-night from 9 p.m.-2 a.m.
There’s ice cream available in every area of the island. No matter where you are, you’ll be able to satisfy any sweettreat sugar cravings. Whether it’s the easy-breezy post-beach scoop or the iconic, check-off-the-bucket-list stop, each spot on Nantucket offers its own unique charm, vibe and personality.
For the best balance of price, quality and variety, my pick is Island Kitchen. With small-batch creativity, creamy richness and an ever-changing lineup of exciting flavors, it’s a place that keeps me coming back again and again (and still craving it even after a week of ice cream as my main food group).
