This Week on Nantucket, October 8-15

This Week on

Nantucket

October 8 - October 15

Published by

The Inquirer and Mirror

– In This Issue – • Island Calendar • Let’s Eat! Football Food • MusACK: Even Honer Levitates • Walk with Neil: Windswept Bog in Fall

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This Week On Nantucket

Thursday, October 8, 2026

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Island Calendar

Thursday, Oct. 8 Bird Banding

8 a.m. Linda Loring Nature Foundation, 110 Eel Point Road. LLNF master birder Libby Buck leads this immersive experience at the environmental organization’s bird-banding station. Register on calendar page of www.llnf.org

Keeping the Art in Earth: Mural Making

8 a.m. University of Massachusetts Field Station, 180 Polpis Road. Join field station executive director Yvonne Vaillancourt and AJ Paprocki for special access to and observation of Folger’s Marsh, combined with mural-making. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Cobblestones and Commerce

Through Oct. 12. Various businesses around town. Pick up a shopping bingo card at a participating Chamber of Commerce business or the Chamber office at Zero Main St. Spend at least $10 to receive a participation stamp. Each stamp equals a chance to win prizes. Return card to Chamber office.

Keeping the Art in Earth: Herbariums

10 a.m. Artists Association of Nantucket Visual Arts Center, 24 Amelia Drive. AAN artist-in-residence Charlie Usadi leads this two-day workshop exploring the arts, science and history of botanical collections. 18 and up. Register at www.nantucketarts.org/ classes

Keeping the Art in Earth: Hammer Art

1 p.m. Gardner Farm, 181 Hummock Pond Road. Join the Nantucket Land Bank for a walk through Gardner Farm to collect plant species and use hammers to release the pigments onto blank cards for any occasion. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Keeping the Art in Earth: Sand Canvas

3 p.m. Smith’s Point (exact location provided upon registration). Nantucket Walkabout guide Peter Brace leads this low-tide walk on Smith’s Point to discover a daily mosaic of marine life. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

THURSDAY, PAGE 14

File photo

The Maria Mitchell Association will hold its annual Aquarium Release Day Saturday.

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This Week On Nantucket

Thursday, October 8, 2026

Are you ready for some football . . . food?

By Francesca Giangiulio fgiangiulio@inkym.com It’s that time of year again. After a fast and furious summer, the turtlenecks are back, the pigskin is being thrown around and the lucky socks are not coming off. Although we lovingly say our island is 30 miles off the coast of “America,” there are still plenty of opportunities to watch your favorite games and a slew of enthusiastic fans packing the bars to join you. Here’s where to go for your next game day revelry on Nantucket. Kitty Murtagh’s I don’t know what could possibly be better

Good Dish on a crisp autumn afternoon than a tall pint of Guinness and a steaming crock of onion soup. At Kitty Murtagh’s, Nantucket’s only Irish pub, you can find game-day favorites like wings and cheese pretzels as well as Irish specialties like Guinness stew, Irish curry and even a full fry-up that’s served with black and white puddings (not the sweet kind!) The onion soup is hearty and homey with a rich beef broth, covered in a thick layer of crisp and melty Swiss cheese. The croutons

EAT, PAGE 30

Photo by Francesca Giangiulio

Photo by Francesca Giangiulio

The Brotherhood of Thieves offers its classic pub-style menu on two levels: Downstairs in the whaling bar and upstairs in the Cisco Surf Bar, a primo spot to grab a burger and a pint and catch the game.

Cisco Brewers may be most famous for its craft beers and distilled spirits, but it’s also a great spot to catch college or pro football games on fall weekends. In the mood for some tailgate food? They’ve got that too, from a rotating variety of food trucks, including Millie’s, Lobster Trap and Lemon Press, to raw bar from YOHO, 167 Raw and Hang Ten.

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Urgent Access Urgent Access at Nantucket Cottage Hospital offers easy and convenient medical care for non-life-threatening conditions and is located in the Anderson Building on the hospital campus at 57 Prospect Street. Walk-ins only, no appointments needed.

FALL HOURS: • Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. • Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. • Closed Sundays in the off-season

Urgent Access is not considered to be an Urgent Care Center by health insurance plans, therefore your co-payment benefits for urgent care services typically will not apply. Instead, your visit will likely be billed as a physician office visit.

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This Week On Nantucket

Thursday, October 8, 2026

Evan Honer takes an unscripted approach to Flannel Jam

Photo by Harrison Hargrave

Singer-songwriter Evan Honer has built his career as an independent artist while also founding Cloverdale Records, building a roster of dozens of musicians and over 100 releases. By Kendall Graham kgraham@inkym.com

MusACK

For singer-songwriter Evan Honer, the magic of a live show lies in the unscripted, the little surprises and moments of spontaneity in intimate crowds that keep both the artist and the audience in rapt anticipation. That may make the upcoming Levitate Flannel Jam a particularly nice fit. The fall music festival returns to Cisco Brewers Monday for an encore to the larger Flannel Jam celebration in Marshfield. Sharing a single stage and sounds rooted in folk, Americana and bluegrass, the lineup also features Sierra Carson and Timmy Skelly alongside Honer, with Steph Strings, Sam Burchfield and Nantucket’s own Doug & Co. rounding out the afternoon.

The Nantucket edition of the festival has the loose, end-of-season vibe Honer said can change the way he approaches a show. “It inspires me to play less of a scripted show,” he said. “That setting brings out more randomness that makes the gig so much fun.” Honer’s career has taken a series of unexpected turns, beginning shortly after he first began releasing music in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was still a college student and Div. 1 swimmer in Southern California when his version of Tyler Childers’ “Jersey Giant” took off online in 2022. The recording has racked up over 200

million streams and earned an RIAA Gold certification, helping transform Honer from a student playing local gigs into a full-time touring musician. His debut album, “West On I-10,” arrived at his college graduation day, followed by “Fighting For” and most recently, “Everything I Wanted.” But having a cover song provide his initial breakthrough carried its own complications. “Thankfully, I had released a few songs before ‘Jersey Giant’ and had an extremely small fanbase,” Honer said when asked whether he ever felt pressure to prove his original songs deserved the same attention. “I do still feel like that, though.” His sound has expanded along with his audience. While Honer emerged as a largely acoustic singer-songwriter, “Every-

thing I Wanted” pushes further into alternative-pop territory, with electric guitars, strings, horns and pedal steel widening the landscape around his songwriting. The method behind those songs, however, hasn’t changed quite as drastically. “For the most part, I am writing the same way,” Honer said. “There have been a few songs that I had written differently, like producing and writing the song at the same time. That is something that’s very new and scary for me.” At the center of Honer’s songwriting is a deceptively tricky target: making someone feel something. “I think it probably is up to the person,” he said. “I feel like there could be the best song ever written and some people simply would not connect to it. I think it’s a combination of

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Singer-songwriter Evan Honer, whose music has expanded from stripped-down acoustic songwriting into a broader indie and alternative sound, will perform at the Nantucket Levitate Flannel Jam Monday, Oct. 12. really good writing and conviction in a voice that makes me feel something.” Honer has also taken an unusually handson approach to the business surrounding his music. Rather than signing with a major label, he founded the independent Cloverdale Records, which has grown to include dozens of artists and more than 100 releases. The decision, he said, was informed by conversations with musician friends who had already entered traditional label deals. “It started before I really even started releasing music. I would talk to some of my friends that were in label deals and 90 percent of them had negative things to say,” Honer said. “The major label side of the music industry is sort of predatorial. They’ll sign these artists at such an early stage in their career and the artist has no idea what they’re signing.” His advice to emerging musicians is to maintain independence as long as it remains practical. “I think that artists should try their best to fund the making of their own music, content at first, and then when you feel ready think about signing a deal or just staying independent,” Honer said. For him, the shift from making music be-

cause he loved it to making music because it had become his livelihood has required its own adjustment. “The hardest part is your hobby turning into your full-time job,” he said. “It is a very weird thing. College never felt like real life so going into this as your full time is a trip.” Songwriting has become one way to make sense of a life that changed faster than he could necessarily process it. “I find myself realizing this quite often,” Honer said. “I think it is a great way to process whatever I’m feeling.” Judging whether the result is any good is another matter. “Deciding it’s good is the hardest thing,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll listen to a song I just wrote and I’ll be in a slightly bad mood and I’ll hate the song. My mood is dependent on whether I think a song is good. That makes it extremely hard to know if a song is good.” At Flannel Jam, at least, Honer seems willing to relinquish a little control and see where the afternoon takes him. Evan Honer performs at the Nantucket Levitate Flannel Jam Monday, Oct. 12 at Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Music begins at 1 p.m. Tickets at levitateflanneljam.com/tickets

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This Week On Nantucket

Thursday, October 8, 2026

Fare winds: wild mushrooms and earthy wines

Courtesy of Peter McEachern

Wine and mushroom country: Oregon’s Willamette Valley. By Peter McEachern I&M Columnist In 1986, I lived for a stretch in Parma, Italy, in the food-mad heart of Emilia-Romagna, and the meal I have never forgotten was not in the city at all. It was up in the hills to the south, at an old trattoria out at Cafragna, on the edge of the wooded Boschi di Carrega – a family place that had fed the district since before the war. We went in autumn, and the whole menu that night was porcini: shaved raw into a salad, grilled like a steak, folded through a risotto, tucked into the pasta and set beside the meat, course after course of the great cep from the surrounding woods. I had not known a single mushroom could carry an entire dinner. It can, and that night it did. It taught me more about this ingredient than any book has since.

Wine Cellar That corner of Italy is porcini country: Borgotaro, whose very name is a byword for the mushroom, sits in the same province of Parma, and it makes the point that opens this week’s column. For a series that has spent its first weeks on cargo and crossings, the wild mushroom is a bracing change of subject: the most local and ancient food there is, gathered by hand from the damp ground beneath the trees, and no food on Earth has a more natural love of wine. The two speak the same language: the earthy, forest-f loor note the French call sous-bois, the smell of damp leaves and cool earth that a great red develops as it ages.

CELLAR, PAGE 28

An edible mushroom in its natural element.

Courtesy of Peter McEachern

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YOU can Help Fulfill a Child’s Wish List this Holiday Season!

Inky Santa is Nantucket’s answer to helping families who are struggling during the holidays provide Christmas gifts for their kids. Through donations from island businesses and seasonal and year-round residents, Inky Santa is able to make Christmas a little merrier for island families. First begun in 1985 by firefighter Tom Holden and his wife Betsy as a Toys for Tots program, it was joined the following year by The Inquirer and Mirror, when former editor and publisher Marianne Stanton saw that using the reach of the newspaper could expand the message of need and increase donations. That partnership has endured ever since to the benefit of island children. Over the last 41 years, Inky Santa has worked to ensure that no island kids go without on Christmas morning.

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This Week On Nantucket

Thursday, October 8, 2026

Farewell to another summer: Windswept in the fall

A bumblebee fueling up on rich goldenrod flowers before the autumn chill. By Neil Foley I&M Columnist The island fared well during the first nor’easter of the season. Unfortunately, it coincided with a weekend filled with weddings, canceling boats and no doubt stranding people on either side. For me, I love the days on Nantucket when the winds howl and no boat crosses the sound. There is nowhere to go, no highways to wander or mainland conveniences to envy. We are all “stuck’” here and forced to enjoy the simplicity and beauty of the island and the churning ocean that surrounds us. After the strong rains, the restored wetlands at Windswept Bog are full. The almost five inches of rain have settled in pools and move through connected channels and me-

Photo by Neil Foley

Walk with Neil andering stream beds. The sustained regrowth of vegetation around the site has turned 40 acres of freshturned wetland soil into a lush and vibrant place to walk and watch for wildlife. To see this process in action, I will take a moment to give a shameless plug for the documentary of this restoration that premiered at the Dreamland and on YouTube in September. From the main parking lot at Polpis Road, I walk down the forested corridor under the copper brown canopies of tupelo. On a passing breeze I smell the fragrant fox grapes still clinging in bunches to their woody vines. Not every patch around the

WALK, PAGE 31

Photo by Neil Foley

The sad state of “the magic beech tree” in a woodlot near the old cranberry bogs.

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The Inquirer and Mirror HALLOWEEN PARADE and COSTUME CONTEST SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31 Contest registration begins at 3 p.m., Parade begins at 4 p.m. at the fountain on Main Street Prize for Best Group Costume and more!

Your furry friends can win too! Enter your pet’s Halloween photo at ack.net/contests from Oct. 1 - Oct. 29 Winner of the pet contest will lead the parade in town! The I&M is proud to continue this annual event in partnership with Town of Nantucket Office of Culture & Tourism and the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce and these additional sponsors

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This Week On Nantucket

Thursday, October 8, 2026

“Dead Beat” a disturbingly good dark fantasy By Sierra Hurd Contributing Writer

In Leigh Bardugo’s much anticipated “Dead Beat,” a dark fantasy set on the campus of Yale University ends with a bang. In “Ninth House,” the first novel in the series, we meet Galaxy “Alex” Stern, the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. A high-school dropout raised by a hippie mom in Los Angeles, Alex spent years in a haze of drugs and dead-end jobs, and eventually became the sole survivor of a horrific incident that left most of her friends dead. When she is plucked from her hospital bed and given a second chance, she is dropped into a world of ardent academics, secret societies and enough elitism to choke on. Alex is given this opportunity because the eight secret societies on Yale’s campus are steeped in occult magic. They are monitored by a ninth society called Lethe, which intends to use her singular ability to see ghosts or “grays” to its benefit. It is her job as Lethe’s new “Dante” to assist in these arcane activities and study under her “Virgil,” Darlington. But when Darlington disappears under suspicious circumstances just a couple months into Alex’s tenure, and then a girl is murdered on Yale’s campus, it becomes clear that the societies’ arcane activities are more sinister than anyone anticipated. While the dark academic setting and occult magic aspect of this series drew me to pick it up, it is Bardugo’s characters that would not let me go. Alex is one of the toughest and most ruthless characters I’ve ever read. Every time life knocks her down, she gets back up and gives that energy back tenfold. Pair that tenacity with her deeply flawed worldview and her capacity for love and sacrifice, and Alex is a force to be reckoned with. Darlington, too, contains hidden depths beyond his appearance as a charming, spoiled rich kid obsessed with knowledge and the occult. While we learn about him mostly through flashbacks in the first book, it becomes clear that his life has been far from perfect, and his naive belief in discovery has led him into trouble before. Unite those two with Pamela Dawes, an easily startled but clever introvert and doctoral student who keeps Lethe running; Abel Turner, a deeply principled and ambitious detective acting as liaison between the police and Lethe; and Tripp Helmuth, a pampered and clueless but kind frat bro from another campus society who is “just happy to be here,” and you’ve got yourself an ensemble cast of unlikely allies. It is the relationships between these characters

Best-selling author Leigh Bardugo

Good Reads who grow closer as they face seemingly insurmountable odds that had me spellbound. The plot is a puzzle box in itself, and the hows and whys of it all are too much to get into in this column, but it is safe to say that in “Ninth House” and “Hell Bent,” Alex and the rest of Lethe solved a series of murders in New Haven, found the horrific origin of the magic steeped in their town and walked the Gauntlet multiple times in order to enter Hell and rescue Darlington. Unfortunately, they left the doorway into Hell open, and now demons creep through New Haven feeding on human souls. Alex and her friends must now find and trap the demons, uncover a way to close the doorway and avoid being forced into servitude by a vampire, a demon prince or the head of the Lethe board. Oh, and throw in the mystery of the group of four students that walked the Gauntlet back in 1933 and what they promised Hell in exchange for their lives. With opposition coming from all sides, readers can expect a horror-soaked finale that continues the momentum of the previous books. To me, the real magic of this story is that it becomes both more strangely fantastical and more disturbingly human with each turn of the page. As we look demons in the eyes and prepare to send them back from whence they came, we also take a step back to see the evil around us that invited those demons into our very lives: humans just like you and me.

And as Bardugo forgoes a tidy rescue in favor of a major reckoning for all those monstrous, powerful elites in Yale’s secret societies, we’re made to believe in a world where the good and righteous will defeat that evil against all odds. Not because it’s a guarantee – as is so often the case in fantasy tales – but because, like Alex Stern, it will just never, ever give up. As Bardugo herself said of “Dead Beat,” “this one is for the weirdos.” It certainly won’t be for everyone. For

many, it will be too gruesome, for others too dense or confusing. But for the weirdos she wrote it for, “Dead Beat” is a strong send-off that will leave you satisfied, a bit unsettled and raring for a good fight. And if you’re a fellow weirdo and haven’t yet picked up this series, delay no longer. When you get to Hell, tell them I sent you. Note: This series deals with heavy topics, including violence and gore, substance abuse, murder and sexual assault. Please check the trigger warnings before reading.

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This Week On Nantucket

Thursday, October 8, 2026

Island Calendar

File photo

The Nantucket Half Marathon kicks off Sunday, starting and ending at Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm. (Thursday, continued from page 3)

Main Street Preservation Tour

3 p.m. 11 Centre St. The Nantucket Preservation Trust leads this tour that offers an overview of Nantucket in its heyday and focuses on the portion of Main Street between the Pacific National Bank and the Civil War monument. Learn about the street’s development and the area’s early residents and architectural styles. Register on events page of www. nantucketpreservation.org

Sconset Preservation Tour

3 p.m. 1 New St., Sconset. Explore scenic Sconset with the Nantucket Preservation Trust and learn about the history of this unique fishing settlement at the eastern edge of the island. Register on events page of www.nantucketpreservation.org

Children’s Chess Club

4 p.m. Atheneum gallery, 1 India St. Young chess players of all abilities are encouraged to check out the Atheneum Chess Club. Intended for grades two-six.

Live Music: Doug & Co.

4 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Nantucket’s own jam band Doug & Co., inspired by the Grateful Dead, will perform.

Scalloping Field Trip

4 p.m. Location provided upon registration. Maria Mitchell Aquarium manager Chelsea Petrik leads this excursion to collect and observe bay scallops, learn about their biology and the challenges they face. Valid shellfish permit required to take home scallops but not to attend the field trip. $50. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Evening Art

5 p.m. Maria Mitchell Association Natural Science Museum, 7 Milk St. Artist Nikoline Bohr offers participants the opportunity to explore art through natural history and island culture, focusing on Great Point Lighthouse. $45. Register on calendar page of www. mariamitchell.org

“Global Hands, Local Art”

5:30 p.m. Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. The Nantucket Historical Association will screen a short documentary film highlighting its efforts in sustainable built heritage through the lens of the recent Whaling Museum Candle Factory north wall restoration project. Followed by a panel discussion. Free, but registration recommended on calendar page of www.nha.org

“Sea Dogs: Canines in Maritime History”

5:30 p.m. Nantucket Shipwreck and Lifesaving Museum, 158 Polpis Road. Explore the many ways dogs have made their mark on maritime history, from working aboard ships to providing companionship, protection and even saving lives. Free.

Owl Prowl

5:45 p.m. Maria Mitchell Association, 4 Vestal St. I&M columnist Ginger Andrews leads this search for owls and other nocturnal animals and birds. Intended for adults and children 8 and up. $30. Registration required on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Philosophy Club

6 p.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. Deep thinkers and ponderers wanted for thoughtful and engaging conversation.

Sip and Stitch 6 p.m. Erica Wilson, 25 Main St. An evening of creativity, conversation and community. All are welcome, whether you’re a seasoned embroiderer or threading your first needle. Free.

“Love Letters” 7 p.m. Bennett Hall, 62 Centre St. Theatre Workshop of Nantucket presents the “Love Letters,” a play of emotional richness starring John Shea and Lea Thompson. Through Oct. 11. Visit www.theatrenantucket.org for tickets and additional dates and times.

Karaoke 10 p.m. The Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Channel your inner rock star on The Rose & Crown stage.

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Island Calendar

Live Music: Jamie McLean Band

10:30 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. The Jamie McLean Band, which mixes New Orleans soul, Middle America roots, Delta blues and New York City swagger, will perform. 21 and over.

Friday, Oct. 9 Nantucket Edit Fashion Weekend

Through Oct. 11, various locations around town. Three days of fashion, conversation, shopping, hospitality and philanthropy. Tickets and more information at www.nantucketedit.com

Nantucket Bird Walk

7:45 a.m. Maria Mitchell Association, 4 Vestal St. Island bird guide and Inquirer and Mirror columnist Ginger Andrews leads this exploration of the island’s avian landscape. Loaner binoculars available, Wear sensible shoes, dress for the weather. Registration recommended on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Fall at the Farm

9 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm, 33 Bartlett Farm Road. Fall workshops, pumpkin painting, games and decorations.

Dharma Yoga 10:15 a.m., Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm, 33 Bartlett Farm Road. Joanne Burnham of Dharma Yoga leads this session to strengthen and lengthen, enliven and invigorate, soothe and calm. Visit www.dharmayoganantucket.com to register or for additional dates and times.

Marine Story Hour 11 a.m. Maria Mitchell Aquarium, 32 Washington St. An MMA educator will read a marine- or science-themed book, introduce one of the MMA’s animal friends and finish with an activity related to the book. Registration recommended on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Nature Storytime 11 a.m. Hinchman House Natural Science Museum, 7 Milk St. A Maria Mitchell Association educator reads a nature or science themed book, introduces one of the MMA’s animal friends and finishes up with an activity related to the story. Free, but registration required on calendar page of www. mariamitchell.org

Elin Hilderbrand’s

Winter Street

an adaptation for the stage by Justin Cerne

November 24 to December 6

theatrenantucket.org

Native Plant Sale

9:30-11:30 a.m. 220 Milestone Road. Meet the Nantucket Conservation Foundation’s native plant and botany team and take home some native plants grown from seeds in the NCF greenhouse.

Veronica Beard Gives Back

3-6 p.m. Veronica Beard, 11 South Water St. Fifteen percent of the proceeds from the Veronica Beard clothing boutique will benefit the Maria Mitchell Association.

Nature Photography Exhibition

4 p.m. Location provided upon registration. Island photographer Riley Wynn leads this golden-hour expedition on a Nantucket Conservation Foundation trail to capture and appreciate seasonal changes through the camera lens. Register on events page of www.nantucketconservation.org

Scalloping Field Trip

4 p.m. Location provided upon registration. Maria Mitchell Aquarium manager Chelsea Petrik leads this excursion to collect and observe bay scallops, learn about their biology and the challenges they face. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Self-Defense Class 4 p.m. Atheneum gallery, 1 India St. Jules Embry-Pelrine of the Nantucket Martial Arts Alliance leads this free self-defense class for children ages 8-12. Registration required on calendar page of www.nantucketatheneum.org

Wines & Rinds 4 p.m. Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm, 33 Bartlett Farm Road. A relaxed, guided pairing of the farms favorite wines and cheeses.

Live Music: Doug Osborne 4 p.m., Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Americana and acoustic rock singer-songwriter Doug Osborne will perform.

No More Empty Bowls: Historic Transferware 5:30 p.m. 1800 House, 4 Mill St. Decorate a ceramic bowl to be donated to Nantucket Food, Fuel and Rental Assistance’s No More Empty Bowls fundraiser using historic decoration techniques and one-of-a-kind decals. Register on calendar page of www.nha.org

FRIDAY, PAGE 24

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This Week On Nantucket

Thursday, October 8, 2026

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Activities: Absolute Sport Fishing 19 Straight Wharf (508) 325-4000 ACK Surf School 64 Nobadeer Ave (508) 246-7872 Albacore Charters Slip 1010, Straight Wharf (508) 228-5074 Albacore Charters Slip 1010 Straight Wharf (508) 228-5074 Altar Rock & The Moors 50 Altar Rock Rd Althea K Sport Fishing 50 Easton St (508) 325-2167

Cook’s Cycles Nantucket 6 S Beach St, Ste B (508) 458-8042

Linda Loring Nature Foundation 110 Eel Point Rd (508) 325-0873

Nantucket Historical Association 15 Broad St (508) 228-1894

Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge 107 Wauwinet Rd (508) 228-5646

Lisa Lynn Charters Town Pier, 34 Washington St (508) 221-6124

Nantucket Information Bureau 25 Federal St (508) 228-0925

Critter Cruise Straight Wharf, Slip 1018

Lost Farm Wildlife Sanctuary Hummock Pond Rd (508) 228-9208

Nantucket Island Tours 42 Straight Wharf (508) 228-0334

Masquetuck Reservation 15 Quaise Pasture Rd (508) 228-2884

Nantucket National Wildlife Refuge 107 Wauwinet Rd (978) 443-4661

Mass Audubon’s Sesachacha Heathlands Barnard Valley Rd (508) 228-9208

Nantucket Tug Company 34 Washington St (831) 251-8018

Cross Rip Outfitters 26 Mizzenmast Rd (508) 221-1201 Discover Nantucket Tours 77 Easton St (917) 716-5973 Discovery Playground at Hinsdale Park 54 Old South Rd Easy Riders Bicycle Rentals 65 Surfside Rd (508) 325-2722

Ara’s Tours 6 Fair St (508) 228-1951 Bamboo Forest 52 Madaket Rd

Endeavor Sailing Adventures Straight Wharf, Slip #1015 (508) 228-5585

Barrett’s Tours 25 Federal St (508) 228-0174

Gail’s Tours, Inc. 28 Longwood Dr (508) 257-6557

Bill Fisher Outfitters 20 N Cambridge St (203) 962-8867

Herbert T Sport Fishing Slip 14, Straight Wharf (508) 228-6655

Captain Tom’s Charters F St, Madaket (508) 228-4225

Island Bike Company Inc. 25 Old South Rd (508) 228-4070

Cisco Beach Hummock Pond Road

Island Experience Transportation Nantucket, MA (508) 221-4590

Cisco Brewery Tours 18b Federal St (508) 325-5929

Thursday, October 8, 2026

Just Do It Too 1013 Straight Wharf (508) 228-7448

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Nantucket Bike Shop 4 Broad St (508) 228-1999 Nantucket Bike Tours 77 Easton St (917) 716-5973 Nantucket By Water Slip 1011, Straight Wharf (508) 228-7037 Nantucket Community Sailing 4 Winter St (508) 228-6600

nantucketconservation.org 508-228-2884 Nantucket Fishing Hither Creek (508) 325-1575

Nantucket Walkabout 15 Washington St (508) 422-7466 Next Level Watersports 24 Washington St (508) 680-3343 Sandy Pedals Bikes 65 Surfside Rd (508) 680-4497 Sanford Farm 118 Madaket Rd (508) 228-2884 Sconset Bluff Walk 27 Bank St, Siasconset Sea Nantucket Paddle Sports Rentals and Tours 76 Washington St (508) 228-7499 Seabilly Fishing Charters Public Pier, F St (617) 943-1990 Serengeti Nantucket Tom Nevers Rd (508) 228-2884

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Your Destination for all things Nantucket Smith’s Point Madaket, MA Starr Fish Charters 34 Washington St, Slip 71 (508) 221-0298 Steve Tuna’s Beach Fishing Adventures Nantucket, MA (508) 325-5587 Swain’s Travel Inc. 35 Old South Rd, #2 (508) 228-3201 The Creeks Preserve 2 Milestone Road (508) 228-7240

Cavalier Ebanks Galleries 10 Federal St (508)325-4405

The Gallery at Four India Street 4 India St (508)228-8509

East End Gallery 3 Old North Wharf (508)228-4515

The Scrimshander Gallery 38 Centre St (508)228-1004

Eric Holch Gallery 5 Pine St (508)246-7653

Health & Wellness:

G.S. Hill Gallery 40 Straight Wharf (508)228-1353

HOSTETLER GALLERY 42 Centre St. 740-571-8180

Island Chiropractic Dr. Nicholas Ouellette, DC, PSP Chiropractic Physician 4 Bartlett Road • 508-325-4777 Primary Spine Practitioner nantucketchiropractic.com

Proudly serving the Nantucket community for over a decade, ACK Infusion (469) 235-7864 Dr. Ouellette provides comprehensive, compassionate Chiropractic care that goes beyond pain relief. ACK Natural Cannabis Dispensary Expert whole body joint and soft tissue care 19 Spearhead •Drive • Doctor-guided nutritional consultations & protocols (508) 901-5225 • Professional-grade supplement dispensary

MAST • Tailored exercise prescription Collective Wellness 49 Fairgrounds Road Custom-scanned orthotic inserts 35 B Old South•Road (508) 534-8378 (978) 771-8857 • Ergonomic assessments for you and your business.

Supporting your body’s ability to heal, move, Nantucket Aesthetics and thrive — naturally. EZIA Athletic Club

Topspin Fishing Charters Town Pier, 34 Washington St (508) 246-6210

hostetlergallery.com

Tupancy Links 157 Cliff Rd (508) 228-2884

John Rugge Antiques Shop 5 India St (508)332-4256

Val’s Cab and Tours 5 Fairgrounds Rd (508) 228-9410

Marcus Foley | Thomas Macy Gallery 12 Straight Wharf (508)332-9833

508-228-2689 • fairwindscenter.org

Nantucket Cycling & Fitness 25 Youngs Way (508) 901-5230

Windswept Bog 301 Polpis Rd (508) 228-2884

Pete’s Fresh Fish Prints 17 Old South Wharf (508)325-1842

Glistn Nantucket 5 Old South Road (774) 485-9605

Nantucket Energy Therapy 35 Old South Road (508) 901-3558

Young’s Bicycle Shop 6 Broad St (508) 228-1151

Pierce Galleries Inc. 5 S Water St (508)228-1789

Great Harbor Yacht Club 96 Washington Street (508) 325-5200

Nantucket Healing Arts 16 B Amelia Drive (203) 628-5827

Galleries:

Quidley & Company Fine Art Galleries 26 Main St (508)228-4300

Health Imperatives Nantucket 20 Vesper Lane #3 (508) 228-9189

Nantucket Health Club 10 Youngs Way (508) 228-4750

Artists Association of Nantucket Gallery 8 Federal St (508)228-0294

1 Hooper Farm RoadLong Keeping Nantucket Community Healthy All Year 117 Orange Street (508) 221-4705 (508) 901-9251 4 Bartlett Road • 508-325-4777 nicholasouellettedc@gmail.com Nantucket CBD

110 Pleasant Street www.nantucketchiropractic.com (508) 825-9100

Sylvia Antiques 15 Main St (508)228-0960

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Nantucket Holistic Health 37 C Old South Road (508) 228-7577

Brass Lantern Inn 11 North Water St (508) 228-4064

Surfside Somatics 6 Holly Street (508) 901-9608

Carlisle House Inn 26 North Water St (508) 228-0720

The Copper Rose 16A Amelia Drive (508) 221-5023

CHAPMAN HOUSE 20 N Water St (855) 652-0137

The Green Lady Dispensary 11 Amelia Drive (774) 333-3875

Cliff Lodge Bed & Breakfast 9 Cliff Rd (508) 228-9480

The Westmoor Club 10 Westmoor Lane (508) 228-9494

Cliffside Beach Club 46 Jefferson Ave (508) 228-0618

Lodging:

Faraway Nantucket 29 Centre St (877) 279-1405

21 Broad Hotel 21 Broad St (508) 228-4749 29 Fair Street Inn 29 Fair St (508) 257-4577 29 India House Bed & Breakfast 29 India St (508) 228-0308 76 Main Ink Press Hotel 76 Main St (508) 228-2533 Anchor Inn 66 Centre St (508) 228-0072 Blue Iris 10 Hussey St (844) 970-3677 Brant Point Courtyard 15 Swain St (508) 228-0241

Greydon House 17 Broad St (508) 228-2468 Harborview Nantucket 24 Washington St (508) 301-7551 Hotel Pippa 5 Chestnut St (508) 228-5300 Jared Coffin House 29 Broad St (800) 248-2405 Life House Nantucket 10 Cliff Rd (508) 338-9816 Martin House Inn 61 Centre St (508) 228-0678 Seven Sea Street Inn 7 Sea St (508) 228-3577

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Sherburne Inn 10 Gay St (855) 652-0137 Ships Inn 13 Fair St (508) 228-0040 The Barnacle Inn 11 Fair St (508) 228-0332 The Beachside Hotel 30 North Beach St (833) 670-2164 The Brant 6 North Beach St (508) 960-6528 The Centerboard Nantucket 8 Chester St (508) 825-5954 The Chestnut House 3 Chestnut St (508) 228-0049 The Cottages at Nantucket Boat Basin 24 Old South Wharf (866) 838-9253 The Nantucket Hotel & Resort 77 Easton St (866) 807-6011 The Nantucket Inn 1 Miller Ln (508) 228-6900

The Veranda House 3 Step Ln (855) 652-0137 The Wade Cottages 35 Shell St (508) 680-1272 The Wauwinet 120 Wauwinet Rd (508) 228-0145 The White Elephant 50 Easton St (800) 445-6574 Union Street Inn 7 Union St (508) 228-9222

Nightlife: Brotherhood of Thieves 23 Broad St (774) 325-5812 Cisco Brewers 5 Bartlett Farm Rd (508) 325-5929 Dreamland 17 S Water St (508) 332-4822 Nantucket Tavern & Gazebo 1 Harbor Square (508) 228-1266

The Periwinkle Inn 9 North Water St (508) 228-9267

Sandbar at Jetties Beach Bar & Restaurant 4 Bathing Beach Rd #2234 (508) 228-2279

The Regatta Inn 78 Centre St (855) 652-0137

Sister Ship 29 Centre St (508) 257-1318

The Summer House Cottages 17 Ocean Ave (508) 257-4577

The Chicken Box 16 Dave St (508) 228-9717

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Your Destination for all things Nantucket The Club Car 1 Main St (508) 228-1101

Emma Ross Hair & Beauty 19 North Beach St (508) 228-0436

Nantucket Holistic Health 37 Old South Rd C (508) 228-7577

The Gaslight 3 N Union St (508) 228-6464

ES Beauty Lounge by Gen 35B Old South Rd (844) 666-0878

The Muse & Pizza Joint 44 Surfside Rd (508) 228-6873

Gigi Hair Studio 35C Old South Rd (508) 680-1394

Ocean Day Spa at The Nantucket Hotel 77 Easton St (508) 272-7703

The Rose and Crown 23 S Water St (508) 228-2595

Glistn Nantucket 5 Old South Rd (774) 485-9605

The Tree Bar 6 Oak St #3527 (508) 325-8696

Hair Concern 35 Old South Rd, Unit 4 (508) 228-4864

Salons & Spas:

Huna Bodywork with Allison 6 Toms Way (774) 812-8999

A Cut Above 14 Macys Ln (508) 228-4288 ACK Beauty & Barbershop 57 Old South Rd (508) 680-1188 BE ACK Salon 19 Washington St (508) 901-9630 Beauty Bar 3 Hanabea Ln (508) 228-1905 Color Up Nails & Spa 31 Old South Rd (508) 825-5505 Daiva Salon 56 Pleasant St (508) 325-4091 Darya Salon & Spa 7 South Beach St (508) 228-0550

Island Glow Nantucket 2 Sanford Road (508) 680-4715 L and R Barbershop 7A Hanabea Ln (774) 325-6836 Lavender Farm Wellness 6 West Creek Rd (508) 332-3382 Life Massage 13C Amelia Dr (508) 221-5412 Monarch Face & Body 37 Old South Rd (508) 680-1416

On Glaze 8 West Creek Rd (508) 228-6245 Rachel Dixon LLC – Massage & Wellness 4 Bartlett Rd (508) 364-2380

Wilbert Barber Shop 15 Amelia Dr (508) 208-7477

Shopping: Alice Walk 18b Federal St (508) 680-2423 Annie & the Tees 19 S Water St (508) 228-5505 ASHA Nantucket 18 Federal St (508) 221.6180 Assemble 18 Federal St (508) 680-1845

6 Amelia Dr. • 508-228-3446 rjmillersalons.com

Atlantic Nantucket 4 India St (508) 228-7776

Scissorhands 68 Old South Rd (508) 901-1417

Beau & Ro Nantucket 4 Federal St (508) 901-5792

Sisters’ Salon & Spa 117 Pleasant St (508) 228-7720

Byrdie by Nina Liddle Design 11 Washington St. (77) 333-3604

Suzanne’s Hair Design 78 Surfside Rd (508) 228-7444 Valero Salon & Spa 68 Old South Rd (508) 221-1648 White Elephant Spa by Darya 50 Easton St (508) 638-3440

Breezin Up 48 Main St (508) 325-4622 Cartolina 22 Centre Street (508) 228-4900

1 Hooper Farm Rd 508-221-4705

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This Week On Nantucket

Cattivo Nantucket 20 Centre St (508) 680-1215

Faherty Nantucket 0 Candle St (774) 325-5161

Centre Pointe 22 Centre St (508) 228-4900

For Now 48 Centre St

Charleston Shoe Co. 4 S Water St (508) 901-9134 Clorinda Antinori 58 Main St (508) 825-5321 Commonwealth 16 Federal St (508) 901-9222 D Dream & Poeta 26 Center St (508) 742-8328 Dairy Boy 14 Federal St (508) 901-2159 David Chase Inc 56 Main St (508) 325-8678 DAWN 2 Harbor Sq (508) 901-5406 DÔEN 32 Main St (877) 756-7353 Ellsworth + Ivey 34 Main St (774) 333-3661 Erica Wilson Inc 25 Main St (508) 228-9881 Erin Hielle Nantucket 0 Main St (508) 901-5561

Four Winds Gifts 8 Straight Wharf (508) 228-1597 Grace Geier 16 Straight Wharf #1 (603) 667-5862 Gypsy 20 Federal St (508) 228-4404 Hepburn 3 Salem St (508) 228-1458 Hill House Home 33 Main St Hospital Thrift Shop 17 India Street (508) 228-1125 Inkerman Nantucket 13 Centre St (508) 825-5865 Island Treasures Retail Store 128 Old South Rd (508) 228-0789 J. McLaughlin 1 Salem St (508) 325-6351 Julia Amory 28B Easy St (774) 325-5490 Ladybird Lingerie 7 Centre St (508) 228-6093

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Legit 12 Old South Wharf Levitate Surf Shack 39 Straight Wharf Lilly Pulitzer 5 S Water St (508) 228-0569 Long Wharf Supply Co. 31 Centre St Marissa Collections 25 Centre St (774) 325-5193 Milly & Grace 2 Washington St (508) 901-5051 Mitchell’s Book Corner 54 Main St (508) 228-1080 Monelle 32 Centre St (508) 680-1316 Murray’s Toggery Shop 62 Main St (508) 228-0437 Nalu 14 Cambridge St (508) 325-6110 Nantucket Bookworks 25 Broad St (508) 228-4000 Nantucket Clothing Company 6 S Water St (508) 228-3356 Nantucket Peddler 37 Straight Wharf (508) 325-5654

Nantucket Surf Club 21 S Water St (508) 325-2792 Peachtree Kids & Monogram Shop 19 Main St (508) 228-8555 Peter England Nantucket 3 Old South Wharf (508) 241-8301 Polo Ralph Lauren 16 Main St (508) 228-9451 REMY 2 Old South Wharf (617) 840-5898 Res Ipsa 3 India St (508) 955-2288 Respoke 41 Straight Wharf (508) 413-3221 Sal Amore 8 Washington St Sara Campbell 5 S Beach St (508) 680-1626 Seconds Shop 32 Sparks Ave (508) 228-6677 Serenella 9 S Beach St (508) 228-3400 Southern Tide Nantucket 34 Main St (774) 325-5171 STAUD 38 Center St (774) 485-2094

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Page 23

Your Destination for all things Nantucket Stephanie’s Nantucket 42 Main St (508) 228-0624

University of Nantucket 14 S Water St (508) 228-4795

Jewel in the Sea 6 Straight Wharf (508) 228-2448

Trinity / E. Townsend Watch Collection 50 Main St (508) 220-7557

Steplane 29 Centre St (617) 455-2318

Valentina Kova 44 Main St (508) 257-2006

Jewelers’ Gallery 21 Centre St (508) 228-0229

Water Jewels 14 Centre St. (508) 228-0825

Summer Shades 16 Straight Wharf (508) 325-5530

Veronica Beard Nantucket 11 S Water St (508) 556-9936

Joy West Collection 14 South Water St

Farm & Market:

Sunken Ship 12 Broad St (508) 228-9226

Vineyard Vines 2 Straight Wharf (508) 325-9600

Lemon & Line 43 Straight Wharf

Bartlett’s Farm 33 Bartlett Farm Rd (508) 228-9403

The Black Dog Nantucket 40 Straight Wharf (508) 325-5411

Jewelry:

Melissa Dudley Designs 10 Main St, Sconset (508) 221-9521

Moors End Farm 40 Polpis Rd (508) 228-2674

Anna P. Jay 5 Washington St (508) 680-3518

Nantucket Estate Jewelry 1 Orange Street (508) 280-1958

Pumpkin Pond Farm 25 Millbrook Rd (508) 221-2254

Barbara Harris Water Jewels 14 Centre St (508) 228-0825

Pageo Jewelers - Nantucket 46 Main Street (508) 343-8628

Sconset Market 4 Main Street, Siasconset (508) 257-9915

R Simantov 1 Old North Wharf (917) 324-4410

Sustainable Nantucket 14 Federal St (508) 228-3399

Seaman Schepps 47 Main St (508) 325-5806

Nantucket Meat & Fish Market 21 Old South Rd (774) 333-5176

Susan Lister Locke Jeweler 28 Easy Street (508) 221-0531

167 Raw Nantucket 167 Hummock Pond Rd (508) 228-2871

The Love Shack by LOLA 10 Old South Wharf (774) 325-5982

Pip & Anchor 14 Amelia Dr (508) 413-9940

The Dress Code 9 Centre St (508) 680-1716 The General Store by Roller Rabbit 44 Centre St (917) 692-0316 The Rainbow Fleet 167 Orange St (508) 680-1159 The Shop by WHEAT Nantucket 5 S Water St (774) 382-6787 The Skinny Dip: A Summer Collective 23 Old South Wharf (508) 901-5870 Townpool 53 Main St Trish Wescoat Pound 33 Main St (774) 317-5790 Tuckernuck 23 Centre St

Blue Beetle 12 Main St (508) 228-3227 Craftmasters of Nantucket 7 India St (508) 228-0322 Hart 25B Washington St (854) 333-7670 Heidi Weddendorf Jewelry (774) 236-9064 Icarus + C° 19 Old South Wharf

The Vault Nantucket 33 Centre Street (508) 825-6764

Jessica Hicks 2 Union St

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This Week On Nantucket

Thursday, October 8, 2026

Island Calendar

Courtesy of Artists Association of Nantucket

The Artists Association of Nantucket’s annual Wet Paint Weekend wraps up Sunday with a live and silent auction at the Nantucket Yacht Club. (Friday, continued from page 15)

Wet Paint Weekend Reception

Keeping the Art in Earth Wrap-up Party

7-9 p.m. Cecelia Joyce & Seward Johnson Gallery, 8 Federal St. The Artists Association of Nantucket kicks off its annual Wet Paint Weekend honoring Illya Kagan with a reception at its Johnson Gallery.

5:30 p.m. Hinchman House Natural Science Museum, 7 Milk St. Join the Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative in celebrating art and science at this Keeping the Art in Earth wrap-up party.

Teen Game Night

6 p.m. Atheneum gallery, 1 India St. Teens and tweens are invited to play a selection of Nintendo Switch games like Just Dance and Mario Party and more. The games will rotate and are first-come, first-served.

Miss Mitchell’s Comet Party

7 p.m. Loines Observatory, 59 Milk St. Join the Maria Mitchell Association for bourbon and brownies to celebrate the 179th anniversary of Maria Mitchell’s discovery of a comet from the roof of Pacific Bank. $25. Registration required on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Live Music: Sean Lee 8 p.m. Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Nantucket singer-songwriter Sean Lee will perform.

Stargazing at the Observatory 8 p.m. Loines Observatory, 59 Milk St. Professional astronomers from the Maria Mitchell Association lead this tour of Nantucket’s night sky. Tickets at www.mariamitchell.org. Registration recommended.

Karaoke 10 p.m. The Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Channel your inner rock star on The Rose & Crown stage.

Live Music: Maxxtone

10 p.m. The Chicken Box, 6 Dave St. Springfield-born party band Maxxtone will perform. Second show Saturday. 21 and over.

DJ Pete

10:30 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. Nantucket’s own Pete “DJ Pete” Ahern will man the turntables.

Saturday, Oct. 10 Nantucket Clean Team

8 a.m. Handlebar Café, 15 Washington St., and The Muse, 33 Surfside Road. The Nantucket Clean Team meets Saturdays from spring through fall to pick up trash around the island. Pickers and bags provided.

Farmers & Artisans Market

8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Cambridge Street, between North Union and South Water streets. Sustainable Nantucket hosts a market of fresh local produce, island cottage-industry artisans and food. Weather permitting.

Organ Crawl

9:30 a.m. start. Various churches around town. The 35th annual Nantucket Organ Crawl returns, featuring five churches, six pipe organs and a uniquely island experience of music, architecture and history. Featured organists include Carson Cooman, Jeffrey Cutts, Kezia Duarte, Mark Lawlor and Isaiah Williams. Free, but donations welcome.

Aquarium Release Day

10 a.m. Maria Mitchell Aquarium, 32 Washington St. Join MMA aquarium manager Christina Norman and her team in releasing the assortment of marine life they collected at the beginning of the season back into Nantucket Harbor. Free, but registration recommended on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Wet Paint Art Hop

10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Cecelia Joyce & Seward Johnson Gallery and various locations around town. Artists Association of Nan-

SATURDAY, PAGE 26

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Page 26

This Week On Nantucket

Island Calendar

(Saturday, continued from page 24)

tucket member artists paint in the open air, including a demonstration by Wet Paint honoree Illya Kagan at 11 a.m.

Cinema for the Very Young

10:30 a.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. The Dreamland will screen a sensory-friendly Rated G or All Ages film/series whose title will not be announced in advance. Free. All children in attendance must be accompanied by a parent or caregiver throughout the 90-minute program.

Family Connections Tour

10:30 a.m. Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. Museum guides bring the NHA’s 2026 exhibit, “The Wider World and Scrimshaw,” to life with visual and tactile elements. Concludes with a take-home craft activity. Free with museum admission. Register on calendar page of www.nha.org

Farm Talk: Joann Burnham

10:30 p.m. Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm Hayloft, 33 Bartlett Farm Road. Joann Burnham of Dharma Yoga will focus on breathing techniques, flowing movement and different meditative styles.

Historic Bike Tour

10:30 a.m. Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. The Nantucket Historical Association hosts this two-wheel exploration of historic properties on the periphery of town. Adults, $65, island adults, $55. Register on calendar page of www.nha.org

Live Music: Dusty 45s

12:30 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Honky-tonk, surf rock and swing band Dusty 45s will perform. Second show 3 p.m. Sunday.

Weekend Crafting

Noon, Maria Mitchell Natural Science Museum, 7 Milk St. Join MMA staff for nature-inspired crafting, where young makers and their families can explore the wonders of the natural world through hands-on projects. $20. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Sensational Science

2 p.m. Maria Mitchell Association Natural Science Museum, 7 Milk St. Join MMA staff to take a deep dive into the microscopic world, investigate shark biology, make agar art or collect plankton. $20. Registration recommended on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Live Music: Brookfield

4:30 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Northern Ohio acoustic rock band Brookfield will perform.

Nantucket Shorts Festival

5 p.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. An evening of storytelling through short films ranging from two to 10 minutes representing the heart and soul of Nantucket through the lens of local professional and amateur filmmakers. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org

Nantucket Edit Fashion Show and After Party

6 p.m. Moors End, 19 Pleasant St. Models wearing the styles of some of Nantucket’s finest boutiques take the runway for an island fashion show. Followed by a gala after-party. Tickets at www.NantucketEdit. com/tickets

Karaoke

movement, music and hands-on discovery. $15. Additional session Saturday. Registration recommended on calendar page of www. mariamitchell.org

Live Music: The Slips

Noon, Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Nantucket’s own The Slips will perform.

Ravenous Reptiles

1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Hinchman House Natural Science Museum, 7 Milk St. Join MMA staff as they feed the hungry animals at the museum. $20. Registration recommended on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Live Music: Cranberry Alarm Clock

10 p.m. The Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Channel your inner rock star on The Rose & Crown stage.

3-6 p.m. Sandbar, end of Bathing Beach Road. Nantucket’s favorite Beatles tribute band, Cranberry Alarm Clock, will perform.

Live Music: Buckle & Shake

Tour de Conexiones Familiares en Español

Thursday, October 8, 2026

Levitate Flannel Jam

1 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. A celebration of fall in New England. Music by Evan Honer featuring Sierra Carson and Timmy Skelly, Steph Strings, Sam Burchfield and Doug & Co., the release of Levitate’s fall flannel line, hot spiced cider, seasonal draft beer. Tickets at www.ciscobrewers.com

Wet Paint Silent and Live Auction

5 p.m. Nantucket Yacht Club, 1 India St. The Artists Association of Nantucket will host its annual wet paint silent and live auction. Open to the public. Ticketed dinner with Wet Paint honoree Illya Kagan to follow. Tickets at www.nantucketarts.org

Worst Oscar Snubs: “Raging Bull”

10:30 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. Nantucket’s own alt-country band Buckle & Shake will perform.

3 p.m. Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. The Nantucket Historical Association hosts its weekly family connections in tour in Spanish. Free.

7 p.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. The Dreamland will screen 1980’s “Raging Bull,” starring Robert De Niro Cathy Moriarty and Joe Pesci, as part of its Worst Oscar Snubs Ever movie series. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org

Sunday, Oct. 11

Local Double Feature

Tuesday, Oct. 13

Beginner’s Ukulele

10:30 a.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. The Dreamland will screen a sensory-friendly Rated G or All Ages film/series whose title will not be announced in advance. Free. All children in attendance must be accompanied by a parent or caregiver throughout the 90-minute program.

Bird Walk

7:45 a.m. Maria Mitchell Association, 4 Vestal St. Island bird guide and Inquirer and Mirror columnist Ginger Andrews leads this tour of the island’s birding hot spots. Tickets on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Nantucket Half Marathon

8 a.m. start, Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm, 33 Bartlett Farm Road. The course travels 13.1 miles over sandy roads, bike paths, lightly traveled streets and patches of sand, making it one of the most scenic long-distance running races in the country. Kids fun run. Register at runsignup.com/Race/MA/ Nantucket. Spectators welcome.

Social Birding

8 a.m. Nantucket High School parking lot, 10 Surfside Road. All are invited for a few hours of social birding. Dress for the weather and be prepared to carpool.

Yin Yoga

4 p.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. A double feature of Nantucket filmmaker John Stanton’s “The Last Bay Scallop” and “Last Call,” followed by a Q&A with Stanton about his films and the island they document. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org 5:30 p.m. Nantucket Community Music Center, 56 Centre St. No instrument? No problem. Ukuleles available. All ages welcome. Free.

Live Music: Dusty 45s

10:30 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. Honky-tonk, surf rock and swing band Dusty 45s will perform. 21 and over.

Monday, Oct. 12 Indigenous Peoples Day Mah Jongg Monday

9 a.m. Location provided upon registration. Stretching-style yoga suitable for all ages to help you move better throughout the week. Register on calendar page of www. nantucketconservation.org

10 a.m.-noon, Nantucket Boys & Girls Club, 61 Sparks Ave. A weekly gathering that combines friendship, community and philanthropy. Open to all levels. $20 donation.

Mini Movers

1 p.m. 1800 House, 4 Mill St. Have an unfinished chair, basket, beading or stitching project? Bring any project you are working on to this open session and work in the company of other creative people. Free.

11 a.m. Hinchman House Natural Science Museum, 7 Milk St. Young children and their caregivers are invited to wiggle, dance and explore the animal kingdom through

Drop-in Craft Gam

Cinema for the Very Young

Somatic Yoga

12:30 p.m. Atheneum gallery, 1 India St. A 45-minute yoga session of slow, focused movement, concluding with full body relaxation. Bring your own mat. Space is limited. Registration required on calendar page of www.nantucketatheneum.org

Golden Age Films: “Touch of Evil”

1:30 p.m. The Dreamland will screen 1958’s “Touch of Evil,” starring Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh. Free for seniors. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org

Main Street Preservation Tour

3 p.m. 11 Centre St. The Nantucket Preservation Trust leads this tour that offers an overview of Nantucket in its heyday and focuses on the portion of Main Street between the Pacific National Bank and the Civil War monument. Learn about the street’s development and the area’s early residents and architectural styles. Register on events page of www.nantucketpreservation.org

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Page 27

Island Calendar

Sconset Preservation Tour

3 p.m. 1 New St., Sconset. Explore scenic Sconset with the Nantucket Preservation Trust and learn about the history of this unique fishing settlement at the eastern edge of the island. Register on events page of www.nantucketpreservation.org

Beading for Seniors

3:30 p.m. Saltmarsh Senior Center, 81 Washington St. Make something for yourself, for a special occasion or a gift. Visit www.ncea-saltmarsh.org to sign up. Free.

Open Arts Night

6:30 p.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. Open mic combined with arts and crafts. Work on any kind of art project while listing to home-grown local entertainment, or take the stage yourself. Free.

Trivia

9:30 p.m. The Rose & Crown, 21 South Water St. Test your knowledge for a chance to earn bragging rights and gift cards.

Wednesday, Oct. 14 Birding Field Trip

7:45 a.m. Linda Loring Nature Foundation, 110 Eel Point Road. Explore Nantuck-

et’s birding hot spots and observe birds in their natural habitat. Binoculars, a spotting scope and field guides available to borrow. Free, but registration required on calendar page of www.llnf.org

Scalloping Field Trip

4 p.m. Location provided upon registration. Maria Mitchell Aquarium manager Chelsea Petrik leads this excursion to collect and observe bay scallops, learn about their biology and the challenges they face. Valid shellfish permit required to take home scallops but not to attend the field trip. $50. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Native Replanting

1 p.m. Location provided upon registration. Nantucket Conservation Foundation native plant propagation manager Stacey Cooper leads the replanting of native island species in Windswept Bog, helping return the property to a healthy, sustainable ecosystem. Register on events page of www.natnucketconservation.org

Live Music: Buckle & Shake

4 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Nantucket’s own alt-country band Buckle & Shake will perform.

Teen Trivia

4:30 p.m. Atheneum gallery, 1 India St. An evening of trivia just for teens. Bring a friend or come alone and test your skills. Snacks.

Evening Art

5 p.m. Maria Mitchell Association Natural Science Museum, 7 Milk St. Artist Nikoline Bohr offers participants the opportunity to explore art through natural history and island culture, focusing on Sankaty Head Lighthouse. $45. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

Game Night

5:30 p.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. Tabletop board and card games, including Mag-ACK The Gathering and drop-in Dungeons and Dragons. Intended for adults and teens. Free.

Knitting Group

6:30 p.m. Atheneum first floor, 1 India St. Curious about learning how to knit? The Atheneum’s veteran knitters can get you started. Stymied by a challenge in your project? The group can help with that. Free. Drop-ins welcome.

Film for Thought: “The Last Dive”

7 p.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. The Inquirer and Mirror and the Dreamland will screen the 1980 documentary “The Last Dive,” chronicling Terry Kennedy’s unlikely relationship with a giant manta ray named Willy as part of their Film for Thought series. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org

Stargazing at the Observatory

7:30 p.m. Loines Observatory, 59 Milk St. Professional astronomers from the Maria Mitchell Association lead this tour of Nantucket’s night sky. Tickets at www.mariamitchell.org. Registration recommended.

Karaoke

9:30 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. Channel your inner rock star on the Gaslight stage.

Thursday, Oct. 15 Scalloping Field Trip

4 p.m. Location provided upon registration. Maria Mitchell Aquarium manager Chelsea Petrik leads this excursion to collect

THURSDAY, PAGE 29

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Thursday, October 8, 2026

Cellar: Wild mushrooms and earthy wines to kick off the fall season (Continued from page 8D)

What to pour

Put them together, and they finish each other’s sentences. So this week, we walk into the great woods of the world and then find the bottles that belong beside what we carry out. A tour of the great woods Every serious mushroom has a homeland: a wood or a valley that made its name. The most exalted is Piedmont, in northwest Italy, where the hills around the town of Alba are the world capital of the white truffle: that staggeringly aromatic, garlicky, honeyed tuber, worth more by the ounce than almost anything else you can eat, hunted each autumn by dogs through the very hills that grow the Nebbiolo of Barolo and Barbaresco. Hold that thought. The grape and the fungus growing side by side is not a coincidence we intend to waste. Across the border in France, the limestone oak country of the Périgord is the ancestral home of the black “diamond” truffle, dug in the dead of winter. For the porcino – the noble cep, the “little pig of the forest” – the names to know are Italian: the chestnut forests of Tuscany’s Garfagnana and Casentino, and above all the valley of Borgotaro in the Apennines, already so famous for its porcini in the 19th century that emigrants carried the trade across the Atlantic. France calls the same mushroom the cèpe de Bordeaux and hunts it through oak and pine, while the golden chanterelle turns up in mossy woods from the Alps to Scandinavia. Farther afield, the misty forests of Yunnan in China are the most biodiverse mushroom country on earth. Across the Slavic forests of Eastern Europe, whole families still take to the woods each autumn as their grandparents did. Nor need you cross an ocean to join them. The Pacific Northwest – the wet conifer forests of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia – is one of the richest wild harvests anywhere, giving up chanterelles (the Pacific golden is Oregon’s official state mushroom), matsutake, porcini and spring morels. Closer to home still, our own New England woods offer chanterelles and inky black trumpets, hen of the woods clustered at the foot of old oaks and porcini under the pines: proof that you need not fly to Alba to eat like this. You may need only good boots, a wet October and a careful eye. Fresh, dried, under oil and frozen Very few of us will ever forage our own, and the fresh season is heartbreakingly short, so most of the mushrooms we cook with reach us preserved, and the form changes both the dish and the wine it wants. Fresh is the fleeting glory: delicate and perfumed, best treated seared in hot but-

Courtesy of Peter McEachern

Pinot Noir grapes growing in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. ter and left to speak for itself, and matched with the most elegant wine you can manage: a fine Pinot that will flatter it rather than flatten it. This is the form for the star turn. Dried mushrooms – porcini above all – are the workhorse of the pantry. Drying does not diminish the porcino: it concentrates it, deepening the flavor into something meatier, darker and far more savory than the fresh. Soak them for 20 minutes in warm water, and use the strained soaking liquid too. It is pure liquid umami. Because dried mushrooms bring such intensity to a sauce, a ragù or a risotto, they can stand up to a bigger, more structured red than fresh ones ever could: a Nebbiolo, a good Sangiovese, a sturdy Rhône. This is also the form that travels: a bag of dried porcini keeps for a year, and has carried these woods around the world for centuries. Mushrooms under oil – sott’olio, the Italian antipasto standby – are blanched and then preserved in oil, usually with a little vinegar, garlic and herb, which leaves them tangy and bright. That acidity is the key to the pairing: skip the tannic red altogether and reach instead for a crisp white, a dry rosé or a glass of something sparkling, whose freshness answers the vinegar and cuts the oil. They belong on the antipasto board or a slice of bruschetta. Frozen mushrooms, finally, are the honest convenience: they soften and weep a little as they thaw, so they are wasted on a delicate sauté but perfectly good cooked straight from frozen into a soup, a stew or a sauce, and there they take the same hearty red the dish would have wanted anyway.

The common language Why do mushrooms and wine get along so effortlessly? Two reasons, one poetic and one chemical. The poetry we have already met: mushrooms taste of the forest floor, and so, with age, do the world’s great reds, a mature Burgundy breathing dried leaves, damp earth and truffle is speaking the mushroom’s own dialect. Match earth to earth, and the pairing sings by sheer resemblance. It is the surest proof of the oldest rule of pairing – that what grows together goes together – and the mushroom has a further magic: its umami can make a modest red taste deeper and dearer than it is, the food flattering the wine as much as the wine flatters the food. The chemistry is subtler and worth knowing because it steers you clear of the obvious mistakes. Mushrooms are rich in umami, the deep savory “fifth taste,” and umami does peculiar things to wine: it softens a red’s tannins and coaxes out its fruit, which sounds all to the good, and often is. But that same savory intensity also exposes and amplifies anything harsh. Hence, a big, tannic, heavily-oaked red set against a delicate plate of chanterelles or shaved truffle turns clumsy and bitter, the oak and tannin trampling aromas far more fragile than themselves. The lesson is plain: reach for reds that are earthy, savory and moderate in tannin, and – best of all – a little mature. This is the one corner of the table where an older, gentler bottle almost always beats a younger, bigger one.

Which points, again and again, to one grape above the rest: Pinot Noir. A silky red Burgundy, or a fine Pinot from Oregon’s Willamette Valley, is the textbook partner for sautéed wild mushrooms: light on tannin, high in fragrance, earthy to its core. For chanterelles and the lighter woodland dishes, an elegant village Burgundy is bliss. For button or oyster mushrooms, even a gulpable cru Beaujolais will do, and for heartier porcini, reach for something with a touch more grip: a Nebbiolo, a savory Sangiovese, an older Rhône. And truffles? Here, the homeland writes the rule. The white truffle of Alba wants Nebbiolo: a Barolo or Barbaresco grown in the very hills the truffle came from, its high acid and fine, perfumed tannins lifting the aroma rather than burying it. It is one of the great homecomings in all of food and wine. For white truffle shaved over eggs or pasta, an aged Champagne or a mature white Burgundy is the luxurious alternative. The black truffle of the Périgord, bolder and earthier, takes happily to Pinot, Nebbiolo or an old Syrah. And do not overlook the whites: a creamy mushroom risotto or soup calls for a rich white Burgundy – a Meursault, say – while morels in cream have a classic and unexpected soulmate in the dry, nutty, oxidative vin jaune of the Jura, a match worth trying at least once. One more of the table’s great savory wines deserves a place here. Dry sherry – a nutty amontillado, or a crisp fino – is a marvel with mushrooms sautéed in butter and a little garlic, its saline, toasted depth meeting their umami head-on. The Spanish have married the two for centuries. The one thing to avoid is the obvious American reflex: a big, oaky Cabernet will flatten the woodland delicacy you worked so hard to find. On the table The season’s matches, from woodland to cellar: sautéed wild mushrooms with red Burgundy or Oregon Pinot Noir, chanterelles with an elegant village Burgundy, porcini with Nebbiolo or Sangiovese, a creamy mushroom risotto with a white Burgundy such as Meursault, morels in cream with a Jura vin jaune and – if you are lucky this autumn – white truffle shaved over almost anything, with a Barolo from the hills next door. The provision locker You need not spend Barolo money to drink earth. A simple Bourgogne Rouge – basic red Burgundy, often $15 to $25– gives you Pinot Noir’s forest-floor character at a weeknight price, and a young Langhe Nebbiolo, the

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“baby Barolo” from the same Piedmont hills, does the same for a plate of porcini. Either is the ideal bottle to keep on hand right through mushroom season, ready the moment someone comes through the door with a full basket. Ship’s notes Cook them for the wine, not merely for the plate. Never wash wild mushrooms. They drink water like a sponge. Brush them clean instead. Then sauté them in very hot butter so they brown and caramelize rather than steam, because that seared, savory depth is precisely what bridges to an earthy red. A little butter or cream and a pinch of salt in the dish will round off a wine’s tannins and pull the whole pairing together. Pour your Pinot with the faintest chill on it – fifteen minutes in a cool room – to keep it fresh against the richness. From the galley Chef Chris Freeman’s counsel for the month is a simple one: let the mushroom be the mushroom. A proper wild-mushroom sauté begins with a screaming-hot pan and a little patience – no crowding, no stirring,

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until every piece is deeply browned – and only then a knob of butter, a sprig of thyme, a whisper of garlic and a splash of the very wine you mean to drink, reduced to a glaze. Spooned over grilled toast, or folded through soft polenta or risotto, it is autumn on a plate, and a standing invitation to a bottle of Pinot. There is something fitting in ending a month at sea with a walk in the woods. The fresh wild mushroom is the anti-cargo: nothing shipped, nothing traded, nothing that crossed an ocean: only the ground offering up something extraordinary to anyone patient enough to look for it. Pair it with a wine that tastes of the same earth, and you close a very old circle: the forest floor in the glass meeting the forest floor on the plate. It may be the most honest pairing there is. Next time, the cheese board: the definitive guide to cheese and wine, and why almost everything you have been told about red wine and cheese is wrong. Fare winds, and full glasses. 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

Island Calendar: Saturday (Thursday, continued from page 27)

Children’s Chess Club

and observe bay scallops, learn about their biology and the challenges they face. Valid shellfish permit required to take home scallops but not to attend the field trip. $50. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org

4 p.m. Atheneum gallery, 1 India St. Young chess players of all abilities are encouraged to check out the Atheneum Chess Club. Intended for grades two-six.

Toddler Story Time

6 p.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. Deep thinkers and ponderers wanted for thoughtful and engaging conversation. Led by reference library staff member James Grieder. All are welcome.

9:30 a.m. Atheneum gallery, 1 India St. Children up to 3 years old and a caregiver are invited for short stories, finger plays and songs designed to foster pre-literacy skills.

Preschool Story Time

10:30 a.m. Atheneum gallery, 1 India St. Children 3 and up and a caregiver are invited for new and classic stories, fingerplays and songs.

Philosophy Club

Live Music: Patton Magee 10:30 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. Americana singer-songwriter Patton Magee will perform. 21 and over.

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This Week On Nantucket

Thursday, October 8, 2026

Eat: Are you ready for some football . . . food? Game-day bites (Continued from page 4)

soak up all the wonderful juices from the broth and the onions. Kitty’s also serves “Irish nachos,” a slight twist on the stadium classic with potato skins replacing the tortilla chips for a bit of added starchiness. TVs line the bar area for clear sight lines of your favorite games. The front of the pub houses two pool tables, so you can get in the competitive spirit, or let out some anger if your team loses. B-ACK Yard BBQ Barbecue isn’t exactly the first cuisine you think of when you come to Nantucket. Since opening in 2014, however, B-ACK Yard BBQ continues to prove that a good old-fashioned barbecue joint is exactly what this island needs. Inside has the rustic feel you’d expect from any barbecue place with lots of high tops and a wide wood-paneled bar. It’s lively and loud in the best way possible, especially on football Sundays when the bar area is shoulder-to-shoulder. If you can’t be at the game, B-ACK Yard is a good next choice for those on-island. B-ACK Yard smokes all its meats inhouse: everything from ribs and brisket to kielbasa and chicken. What makes this place special – and one of the reasons it’s consistently named one of the best BBQ spots in Massachusetts – is the wood they smoke with. Since the start B-ACK Yard Barbecue has used recycled whiskey and rum barrels from Triple Eight Distillery, the liquor arm of Cisco Brewers, for its smoking. The pulled pork sandwich is a house favorite. On my visit, five people at the bar (including myself) were indulging in the piled-high hand-held sammie. B-ACK Yard BBQ offers three house-made sauces: sweet, gold and hot. The bartender recommended gold with the pork and I could not have agreed more. It has a bit of a mustard-y tang that blends really well with the sweet pulled pork. Rose & Crown If you can’t get your hands on the smoky, fresh barbecue at “Back Yard,” might I suggest the smokehouse burger from Rose & Crown? The island institution celebrated 50 years last summer, and it continues to be a nighttime hot spot, especially on karaoke nights, and a popular local watering hole. Since the beginning, Rose & Crown has committed to being a casual and affordable dining option on Nantucket. Over time, the local pub has become known for its specialty burgers, particularly the Smokehouse that’s served with smoked Gouda, bacon, crispy onions and a tangy sweet barbecue sauce. They also offer other game day favorites like nachos, wings and pretzel bites.

Rose & Crown has all the makings of a classic dive bar with its dark lighting, heavy wood booths and vintage island memorabilia covering the walls and ceiling. TVs surround the bar area and a large projector screen hangs at the front of the main dining room, so you can see every nail-biting moment up close. Cisco Brewers If you’re looking to soak up some late-afternoon sun before we return to the dark ages of 4 p.m. winter sunsets, Cisco Brewers is the place to be. Another island institution that celebrated 30 years last summer, the brewery has always been the place to go for good beer, good vibes and good people. TVs are spread throughout the courtyard with one in each of the drink sheds and a fourth hanging by the tiki bar. In the colder months, when the tent goes up, TVs hang from the side walls. At the brewery, you can enjoy all your Cisco favorites from the seasonal reserve beers to classic cocktails like the Rum Punch or the new Apamaro Spritz. Snacks and food are available from a variety of vendors. There’s the Lobster Trap daily and other food trucks from Millie’s, Lemon Press and Eat Fire Pizza on rotation. The raw bar also cycles through three local vendors: YOHO, 167 Raw, and Hang Ten. My favorite snacks are fresh oysters from the raw bar and sweet potato fries from The Lobster Trap or pork nachos from Millie’s. Brotherhood of Thieves The whaling bar and tavern has been serving up pub favorites for over 50 years. The downstairs bar is a great place for a game on a dark and stormy night, while the upstairs Cisco Kitchen & Bar offers a more lively viewing experience with multiple TVs around the surf-inspired bar and even a projector screen in the late-Autumn, early-winter months. I, for one, can’t wait for the return of the winter menu with the famous chicken nachos and French onion soup. But in the meantime, BroHo is serving up a plethora of game-day snacks like boom boom shrimp and cheesesteak egg rolls. The burger at Brotherhood is always a good bet. I tend to switch between the Cisco — a hearty and salty choice with blue cheese, bacon and balsamic — and the Reverend Foster, a classic with caramelized onions and special sauce. Whether you’re here year-round or just visiting, Nantucket has what you need to turn your game-day viewing experience into a real event. So throw on your jerseys and head outside. Maybe you’ll meet some fellow fans of your favorite team. But even if you don’t, a little friendly competition never hurt anyone.

Photos by Francesca Giangiulio

Top: Kitty Murtagh’s game-day pub fare includes French onion soup and Irish nachos. Bottom: The pulled-pork sandwich at B-ACK Yard BBQ.

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Photo by Neil Foley

A cluster of fragrant native fox grape hangs on to catch the last of summer’s warmth.

Walk: Windswept in the fall (Continued from page 10)

island has been picked clean by jelly-makers or hungry birds. I do not even think it possible to strip all of the abundant fruit across Nantucket, so the smell will linger in the crisp autumn air for some time. Along the edges of the wide trails, a few distinct species of goldenrod are exploding with vibrant blooms of yellow and gold. Bumble bees and European honeybees meander from cluster to cluster, fueling up before the weather turns cold and their dormancy begins. I stand upon the small hill overlooking what was the center bogs where a flat monoculture of vines has been replaced with a broad diversity of plants along a shallow gradient. There are still cranberry vines weaving through the property, but you cannot tell until you get down and investigate at the bog level. Over at Milestone Cranberry Bog, the harvest has just started and the tradition carries on. By all indications it should be another great crop, so the island will not want for this classic native fruit. The harvest days are over here at Windswept. What remains of the berries clinging to the vines will stay put, unless gobbled up by a hungry deer or Canada goose. I take the trail behind me and down the hill, walking over the low-profile boardwalks. To the left there is a dense woodlot which

adds a much-needed wind break to this aptly-named property. I walk the open path between the bog and the woodlot searching for signs of turtles or other critters. Finding none, I turn into the woods. A large American beech tree tucked into a wooded lot holds a special place in my memories. It is scarred and carved with hundreds of names, initials, years and hearts. Having led many scavenger hunts and kiddo tours to climb the wide spreading limbs of this beech, it has taken on the moniker “the Magic Tree.” Unfortunately, the magic has not protected it from a tough couple of years. Similar to many other beech trees on-island, its leaves were afflicted by beech leaf disease, causing them to shrivel and toughen. While weakened, a strong storm last winter cracked this remarkable tree in half and brought a cluster of massive limbs down to the ground. I fear that with this one-two punch that the Magic Tree is not long for this world. Like many things this time of year it is ebbing toward dormancy and a winter’s pause. As I sit among the remaining scarred and autographed trunks, I look up at the canopy. I run my hand along the bark and thank it for its service in providing wonder to me and the many whose initials it bears. I give the tree my hope to see it full of life again come springtime. Neil Foley is the interpretive education coordinator and ecologist at the Nantucket Conservation Foundation.

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Thursday, October 8, 2026