For those who began their vacations in June, the weather has been more appropriate for wet suits than bathing suits. Although it has been a blessing for providers of indoor activities like the Whaling Museum, Life Saving Museum and Starlight Theater, pale-faced sun-worshippers have been tested to their limits. July has to be an improvement if only because of statistical probability,and we have little choice but to look on the bright side.

There are many new happenings on the island this season, including the opening of five new restaurants: Dune, Town, Corazon del Mar, Cy’s and Crosswinds at Nantucket Memorial Airport. For those who subscribe to the notion that “nothing is impossible, it just takes a little longer,” Great Harbor Yacht Club is now complete after nearly seven years of hard work, and it features one of the island’s most impressive private dining and function spaces. The Dreamland Theater, although still in its early reconstruction phase, will offer movie nights on a recently installed lawn. Nantucket Historical Association features one of its most ambitious and impressive exhibits since the opening of the new museum with select pieces of early American furniture from the famed Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in Delaware, an exhibit timed appropriately with the NHA’s upcoming August Antiques Show during the first weekend in August.

Another favorite activity on Nantucket is weddings. Because of the beauty, romance and generally reliable weather here, weddings are a significant business on the island and add to the summer spirit. The cover of this month’s N Magazine features ‘Sconset bride-to-be Ivey Day, photographed by Nathan Coe. The striking image was shot in an area of the island known as the Serengeti because of its similar look to the African outback.

July is also the beginning of fundraising season on Nantucket, which has become as much a summer ritual as clambakes and cookouts. Major upcoming events include the Nantucket Cottage Hospital Pops Concert on Jetties Beach and many others. Clearly, the fundraising environment will be more challenging this season, but ironically these are the times when local charities need support the most.

Some of your support might come from the money we’ve all saved on sunscreen this year. But whatever your plans, now is the time for the weather gods to shine upon us and to get our summer in gear. In the meantime, this is a perfect time to discover the cultural gems this beautiful island has to offer. Here’s hoping the sun will rise again!

Bruce Percelay

By Barbara Gookin

Buying and hiring on Nantucket when possible helps local businesses create jobs, benefits not-for-profits and keeps more dollars circulating on-island. It’s a sensible way to help the Island’s businesses, says Sustainable Nantucket, a local group devoted to boosting Nantucket’s economy and preserving
the Island’s traditional culture.

To that end, Sustainable has joined with other local non-profits and businesses in the new Think Local First program to promote local goods and services that employ island residents and to shop at Nantucket stores rather than going off-island or to the Internet.

The group already launched Nantucket Farmers and Artisans Market two years ago to create a local market with local suppliers for buyers. The open-air market observes it’s third season this year on Saturday mornings from 9 AM –1 PM at the Dreamland Theater lot between South Water and Easy streets,which has recently been covered with grassy sod. Construction on a replacement community arts building there is scheduled to begin later this year.

Nantucket Farmers and Artisans Market features locally grown vegetables, berries, herbs, plants and cut flowers, fresh eggs, baked goods and locally handcrafted pottery, jewelry and more. Think Local First tee shirts and bumper stickers are available at the weekly event. Trish Bridier, a co-manager of her family owned Murray’s Toggery Shop, is chairman of the Think Local First steering committee. Bridier, who sees the program as a potential catalyst for Nantucket’s economy, said “In these uncertain economic times, it is more imperative than ever to support our local businesses thereby supporting our friends, neighbors, ourselves and our community.”

Leaders of Sustainable Nantucket and Think Local partners would quickly agree, since the group’s mission is “to preserve the community character of Nantucket while sustaining its economic and environmental vitality.” Their focus is on the island’s economy, culture and, recently, environmental concerns, a mission that’s keeping them busy this summer. Sustainable led the way in urging the Town of Nantucket to endorse and join the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI),which would help reduce Nantucket’s greenhouse gas emissions. Several interns have been recruited to help formulate a local Climate Protection Plan, which Sustainable hopes to bring before the Nantucket Board of Selectmen for approval in August. They are also working with Nantucket Historic District Commission and the Nantucket Energy Study Committee to update local building guidelines to better incorporate energy conservation techniques and renewable energy.

Meanwhile, Sustainable Nantucket has launched a membership drive and a community-wide appeal for donations to their efforts. For a list of Think Local First members, which includes Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce as a lead partner, visit them at www.thinklocalfirstnantucket.org or call 508-228-3399 for more information.

Simon Says

By William Ferrall

Noted cookbook author and frequent Nantucket visitor Susan Simon first visited Marrakech in 1970. Thirty-five years later, she returned to Morocco to find a very different city. “The haze that I had attributed to hashish,” writes Simon in her new book “Shopping Marrakech,” “had come, it seems, partially from all the dust that was created from the unpaved derbs— alleys that create the labyrinth of streets of the Medina…”

Today, Simon finds that there has been a stunning transformation in Marrakech, with tile-paved city squares and an ever growing population. Yet, she writes, “The blinding colors, spicy fragrances, and grinning, friendly population” remain as she first remembered them.

For many of us who have never visited there, Marrakech remains the intriguing, exotic locale that we’ve seen only on film. Few movies or documentaries, though, can match the rich and knowing travel guide that Simon has written, with colorful, illustrative photos by Nally Bellati, from publishers The Little Book Room.

With images of multi-hued market stalls brimming with clothing, beads, rings, necklaces, spices, books and household accessories, Simon walks readers through the maze of streets, alleyways and hidden squares that distinguish Marrakech. The city is easy to navigate on foot, notes Simon, but for those who find the prospect daunting on their own, she recommends local tour guides, offers
buying tips and spells out commercial transaction practices to ease the way.

After spending a month in three Moroccan cities during the 1970s and through two subsequent  extended stays, Simon said, “I now feel very much at home there. It’s really a more unique place than most people think.”

Known primarily as the author of five cookbooks—Simon’s credits include The Nantucket Table and “Contorni: Authentic Italian Side Dishes for All Seasons”—Simon hopes the new book will be enjoyed by “armchair travelers” as well as tourists. Her lively narratives of the Marrakech marketplace, which capture enough detail to arouse all of the five senses for readers, should ensure that success.

This fall, Simon returns in print to her expertise as a cookbook writer, with publication scheduled in September of “Pasta Sfoglia,” her collaboration for John Wiley & Son publishers with Nantucket-New York restaurateurs Ron and Colleen Suhonosky.

Founders of the rustic Sfoglia Italian restaurants on Nantucket and on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the Suhonoskys have become luminaries in the restaurant business with glowing reviews for their eateries. In the past year, the couple has added to their expanding Italian dining business with the addition of a Tutto Sfoglia market and the new Civetta, both in Manhattan. A New York Times review of Sfoglia New York called its pasta “fantastic” and diners “very lucky” to enjoy a meal there. All of the establishments win raves especially for Colleen Suhonosky’s homemade bread and desserts as well as for the couple’s hand-wrought pastas.

Simon stressed that the recipes in “Pasta Sfoglia” were all tested in her tiny Lower East Side apartment in Manhattan, so they should be easily replicated in almost anyone’s home. Simon’s fans might get some inside preparation tips in person, along with her in-person reports on Morocco, when she signs copies of “Shopping Marrakech” on July 18 from 6 PM – 8 PM, upstairs at Mitchell’s Book Corner on Main Street, Nantucket. To learn more about Simon and her recent books, see www.susansimonsays.com.

Harbor & Home
By William Ferrall

You might see your great-great-great-great- grandparents’ furniture this summer at Nantucket Historical Association, in the current new exhibit “Harbor & Home,” an impressive collection of Early American Furniture from this region assembled by Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in Delaware. On display or included in the richly illustrated and documented hardbound catalog, from University Press of New England, are rarely seen clocks, chests, chairs, desks and other furniture from both private and public collections. Special attention goes to clockmakers. This artful and accomplished furniture, made from 1710 to 1850 in Southeastern Massachusetts, includes examples from Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The exhibit continues through November 2 at the NHA’s Peter Foulger Gallery in the Nantucket Whaling Museum, Call 508-228-1894 or see www.nha.org for exhibit hours.

Have A Seat
By WilliamFerrall

We’re not sure how easily you could sit in this fantasic, musical-themed painted chair by Nantucket artist Gail Sharretts, but it’s a beauty to look at and would make an impressive one-of-a-kind addition to your art collection. For the second year in a row, Nantucket photographer Cary Hazlegrove turned to local artist friends in an effort to benefit Nantucket Lighthouse School, her daughter’s independent day school with children from preschool through sixth grade. Hazlegrove encouraged school administrators to “think outside the box” in fundraising efforts, leading to her instigating the chair project.With $10 tickets available at several island businesses, the drawing of winners happens at the Lighthouse School Hoedown on October 17, but the chairs can be seen this month at the first Nantucket Garden Festival on July 23-25 at the school. Besides Sharretts, contributing artists include David Lazarus, MJ Levy Dickson, Julie Gifford, Lou Guarnaccia, Robert McKee, Randy Hudson and Julija Mostykanova. Visit www.nantucketlighthouseschool.org to see all eight chairs online and find ticket locations on Nantucket.

Written By William Ferrall
Photography by Terry Pommett

As a freelance writer in Boston in the 1980s, I often attended fundraising and marketing events staged to boost the city’s non-profits or to promote hotels and restaurants.

The VIPs in attendance got much of my attention. As a relative newcomer to the city, I marveled at what happened behind the scenes to draw in those special guests and to make such happenings a hit. I soon learned that the success of those events depended largely on an extraordinary group of mostly women who served as social ambassadors for the city’s leading institutions. In short time, I dubbed them with admiration as “the arrangers,”women in the style and tradition of famed diplomat and socialite Perle Mesta.

Some of those women continue honing our collective social graces to this day. Others have passed on. Among the latter, few left such a lasting impression as Martha JohnsonWalters,who then served as social ambassador for Boson’s Ritz Hotel and also lived on Nantucket, where her son Charlie Walters ran the old Musicall record store.

Over the first few years that I began a transition to year-round living on Nantucket, I frequently shared bus rides withWalters, or she came along as a rider in my car to the Hyannis boats. Conservative, opinionated and intolerant of foolish behavior,Walters proved to be a no nonsense organizer of affairs at the Ritz. She cut an outwardly elegant figure in both behavior and dress—the photo accompanying this article is typical of her public image—with Old World charm and eccentricities. On occasion, she let out a full-throated laugh over her own or others’ foibles, which showed that on some level she was having fun with it all. Such large personalities have largely faded from Nantucket’s social scene. On the Island, she wrote social columns, hosted a weekly cable TV program with interviews and event reports, and organized fashion show brunches at Harbor House, White Elephant and elsewhere using local boutiques. She also devoted herself fiercely to the Nantucket Tree Fund, helping to rescue Nantucket’s stately but ailing elm trees from the prevalent Dutch elm disease. Thanks to those efforts over the years, experts estimate that Nantucket today has more historic living elms than anywhere in this country.

Those annual benefits for the tree fund were stylish affairs, with Walters enlisting accomplished Boston-area clothing designers to show their latest designs. Ladies of the Island usually attended in their most fashionable ensembles; gentlemen donned suits and ties. Other than weddings, that level of formal “dress-up” is rarely seen these days at Nantucket benefits.

This summer, longtime Tree Fund supporters Terry Pommett and landscape professional David Champoux—who worked closely with Walters on local elm tree programs—will revive this very good cause in the spirit of Walter’s efforts. Local boutique owners Cheryl Fudge, Beth English of currentVintage and Azra Willmot-Smith of Legends have planned a fashion show worthy ofWalter’s memory. Third Bay Project will provide music as patrons sip wine and enjoy hors d’oeuvres at Jetties Beach. Walters, who died in 2004, would probably reject any weepy nostalgia over her, but she’d be ardent in winning your support for Nantucket’s wonderful elms through her beloved Tree Fund.

Martha Walters Memorial Tree Fund Benefit,
Thursday, July 23, 6 - 9 PM, at Jetties Beach.
Fashion show by currentVintage, CherylFudge and Legends.
Tickets for $85 include beer and wine bar with hors d’oeuvres. Call 508-228-5471.

By William Ferrall
Photographed by Nathan Coe

To watch someone who is the best in the world at what they do is both a treat and eye-opener to say the least.When I heard that the world’s number one and number two doubles squash sensations Damien Mudge and Ben Gould were playing in a mixed professional-amateur tournament at Nantucket’s Westmoor Club, I jumped at the chance to go and watch them play. An all-star line-up of pros joined them in this first annual Squash Doubles Pro-Am, including Preston Quick, number three in the doubles world, Johnny Smith, John Russell and Chris Walker. Those of us who play squash know how fast and how explosive the sport can be. It requires anticipation, speed and dynamic power, and these top-level players were unbelievable to watch. Walker had some of the best footwork and movement I have ever seen in an athlete. One of his lunges to a front boast shot would take me three or four strides. He was like Inspector Gadget, getting to balls that I wouldn’t even think about running for. Among Westmoor Club member finalists were Dalton Frazier and Mikey Ferreira, who took home the title.

By William Ferrall
Photography by Donis Perkins

Jeweler and goldsmith Susan Lister Locke said genesis of the wedding jewelry ensemble pictured here started with a private showing of her work in a Nantucket home.

“The family told me their daughter’s wedding would be done in quintessential Nantucket colors of blue and white, and they asked me to put some ideas together,” Locke recalled.

The bride’s jewelry includes earrings made with baroque pearls, star-cut diamonds and Tanzanites, and a necklace of pearls with tanzanite drops. The bride’s mother wore a sapphire and gold bead necklace with a sapphire, diamond and opal pendant, and matching earrings. A ring was crafted of three-cushion cut diamonds set in platinum, with a new wedding band of diamonds in platinum. For the front doors of the church, Locke made two large heart shaped wreaths.

Locke has often crafted custom jewelry for couples about to be wed and others. Her work is available on Nantucket at the Artists Association and Nantucket Looms. For offisland locations and custom consultations, call or visit her below. For more images by wedding photographer Donis Perkins, visit our special wedding photography section on page 35 of this issue.

www.susanlisterlocke.com

Photography by Laurie Richard
In summer, families and young people on Nantucket consider the Island their playground. We followed
three youthful mothers and their young daughters as they explored town around Nantucket Atheneum,
in summery fashions from local boutiques.

A guide to Nantucket wedding photographers

The common thread that connects the many photographers who capture wedding moments on Nantucket is location, location, location.

Few places offer such beautiful natural settings and historic backdrops as Nantucket, and those are frequent sites for wedding images shown here. Beyond that, each photographer often shows distinctive nuances in his or her style, as you’ll discover in these examples. With around 400 weddings annually on the island, Nantucket provides a marvelous resource for practitioners of the art of photography.
CLAUDIA KRONENBERG
www.claudiakronenberg.com

ZOFIA WAIG
www.zofiaphoto.com

JORDI CABRE’
www.jordicabre.com

CARY HAZLEGROVE
www.hazlegrove.com

LISA FREY
www.nantucketeventmedia.com

RON LYNCH
www.rlynch.com

TERRY POMMETT
www.pommettphotography.com

DONIS PERKINS
www.donisperkins.com

MARK CROSBY
www.markcrosbyphoto.com

Written by Leslie Linsely
Photography by Terry Pommett

As a world-class resort, Nantucket has achieved a level of sophistication that comes from adapting to whatever is new and elegant while retaining an atmosphere of casual simplicity and its own traditions. Today there are more than 10,000 yearround residents on the island and 35,000 summer residents, all of whom take pride in their homes and being part of this unique community. Nantucket has always stood for individuality and diversity in all things, and while many of the homes are antiques, there are other, newer homes that are decorated in more contemporary styles. This home stands as a fine example of Nantucket’s historic architecture and style.

Orange Street leads one-way out of town at the top of Main Street, but provides spectacular harbor views and hidden gardens for many of its homes. During the height of Nantucket’s whaling days, many of the houses on this elevated part of the island were owned by sea captains. The backs of these grand old houses face the harbor below.

In 1771 the house at number 18 was built with six rooms around a central fireplace for a Quaker family, One of the daughters lived in the house until she was 97 years old. Renovations in the 1890’s expanded the floor plan, and now current owners Joan and Edward Lahey have added their personal touches while retaining the architectural history with loving care.

Although there have been modern renovations, the integrity of the original house is still intact. Wide-pine floorboards have been refurbished to their original luster, doors leading from one room to the next have been restored, a new kitchen replaced what was once a windowless workshop, the bathrooms have been modernized and the back porch has been enclosed with large windows and screens for summer enjoyment. The Laheys have much experience with old houses, this being their fourth renovation on the island, where they now spend half the year. The rest of their time is divided between homes in Connecticut and Florida.

The real star of the house, however, is the breathtaking harbor view, perfect backdrop for summer entertaining in the gazebo at the edge of the property. A small koi pond is a fascinating distraction amid the surrounding lush gardens of flowers planted by local landscape designer Lucinda Young. The interior decoration of the house is no less spectacular. The Laheys have furnished each room with appropriate antiques and family heirlooms, many of which have been in their families for generations. Furniture, accessories, wallpaper and floor coverings have been tastefully chosen to reflect the elegance of the house when it was first occupied by a family of prominence on the Island.

A boating enthusiast, Ed Lahy has added his touch to the interior design, mixing marine art with family photographs. Personalizing the house further with a patriotic color scheme and a star motif, Joan, who studied painting techniques at the famous Isabel O’Neil studio workshop in NewYork City, stenciled a back staircase to match the star-studded carpet on the front stairway. Collections of Islandrelated crafts such as scrimshaw and Nantucket lightship baskets are tastefully displayed throughout the house. This is a home that’s elegant and comfortable, a family home enjoyed by three generations.

By William Ferrall
Photography by Jeff Allen

Join eight dinner guests for an evening’s delight in a modern Nantucket loft. Modernism has edged its way into Nantucket, as this urban-style loft on lower Main Street shows, but the look usually comes as it does here with recognition of the Island’s locale. Arrowstreet architecture and planning of Somerville, Massachusetts, kept Nantucket’s historic exterior restrictions in mind while giving this loft’s occupants a clear sense of sky, sea and cobblestone streets just outside. Nantucket’s own BPC Architects furnished the apartment, which is part of The White Elephant Hotel & Resorts, with simply styled but elegant furnishings that lend themselves well to this fresh and airy environment. Frederick Bisaillon, executive chef at Brant Point Grill, had a similar dual goal in mind when eight guests enjoyed his mastery in the loft’s kitchen. “I was keeping it regional in feel,” said Bisaillon, “while highlighting new additions to our menu.”

In the last decade, Bisaillon has worked at luxury resorts in San Diego, the Bahamas, Bermuda and Nantucket. “Anywhere there’s a beach, it might get my resume’,” mused Bisaillon. Taking into account his current home, Bisaillon introduced the group of eight to food with Nantucket in mind along with several wines chosen especially for these colorful and very flavorful dishes.

Color wise and taste wise, this multicourse meal offered up plentiful highlights. Bisaillon grabbed attention early with appetizers including liver pate’ topped with parsley sprigs and smoked salmon topped with crème freche on toast  underscored themeal’s regional influences.

Petite filet mignon “Oscar” with garlic whipped potatoes made a classic main course, followed by Nantucket cream pie with crème anglais. For the evening’s wines, Bisaillon’s turned to colleagues from Brant Point Grill’s sister establishment Toppers. Sommeliers Craig Hannah and Jeremy Gramling joined food and beverage manager Jonathan Ruppert in making the selections that started off with a points. The soft-shell crab was a first for some guests, noted Bisaillon, and surprisingly brought questions about
how to eat it—whole at once or in careful bites?

A colorful beef carpaccio with marinated artichoke hearts and shaved Romano with caper lemon oil brought diners to the table, where an heirloom tomato with artichoke hearts and mozzarella salad continued the vivid red-green and early-summer produce theme. New England clam chowder and tuna sashimi pink Pierre Spaar Sparkling Rose then moved onto the 2004 Vinnae Jermann, Friuli Italy and the 2004 Fuliginano Chianti Classico for chowder and tuna courses. The trio chose the French Rhone 2000 Cote-Rotie E. Guigal for the filet and ended with the Spanish 1927 Alvear, Montilla for dessert. (Hotel guests at the loft may bring along their own spirits for meals prepared on premises.)

In choosing these wines, Gramling pointed out he and his colleagues took several approaches. Complementary vintages were matched to some menu items. Some were matched “to the accoutrements” included in a dish, as in matching up a sturdy red with olives in a dish. Still other wine choices served as “perpendicular” contrasts to elements of the food, as with the rose’ served against the rich and fatty paté appetizer.

However Bisaillon, Gramling and their colleagues made their choices, guests who were present raved about the evening. “It was a really fabulous” caliber of food and a “lovely staff,” said Peggy Tramposch, who joined in with her husband Bill Trampsoch. “Food was beautifully prepared, well-seasoned and beautiful to look at.”

Ray Conlon, a frequent diner at The Brant Point Grill, offered similar praise for the chef and the experience. “I’ve been a Brant Point fan for a long time. Fred is the best chef to come along there in several years.” Other dinner guests included Bill and Kay Cameron, Conlon’s wife Susan Conlon, and Susan and Denis Toner. Brant Point Grill servers Ramon Welch and Miguel Gordon assisted.

For information about
The Loft at The White Elephant:
www.whiteelephanthotel.com
508-228-2500

Written by Jeanette Garneau with Evan Williams
Photography by Laurie Richards

In the remote Nantucket Island village of Siasconset, an historic fishing and vacation enclave, visitors expect quaint and charming. Rolf and Cindy Nelson’s ‘Sconset Café delivers generous amounts of both, but lately it comes with a fresh, sophisticated look inside the front door.

A quick glance around might remind visitors of café bistros found in the most worldly of places. Customers sit on contemporary woven-reed chairs at tables with simple, modern lines. Beige walls are accentuated by stark white trim. Candlelight, pin spots and tall lamps with naturalistic shades cast a soft glow throughout. Striking, large-sized black and white photographs by Ben Larrabee punctuate the pale, gallery-like palette.

No matter how it’s packaged, the ongoing passion and love of their labors have carried the Nelsons through 15 years as proprietors of the eatery, and along with the great food is what makes the café’ memorable. “A real community restaurant is what makes us happy,” said Cindy Nelson. “It is more than making money and making great food, it is being part of people’s lives.We have served families and their children, and now their children are bringing their husbands and wives.”

‘Sconseters Shelley and Roy Weedon, who live just down the street and often ride their bikes to the café for breakfast with their children, affirmed the success of the Nelson’s philosophy. “We were married in ‘Sconset and live in ‘Sconset,” said Shelley Wheedon. “This restaurant feels like it is part of our family.” With two couples joining the Wheedons for a recent evening meal at ‘Sconset Café, that sentiment shaped their conversation. “We come in on opening and closing nights,” noted Bob Felch, whose wife Marianne chimed in with, “and many times in between.” Realtor Jeff Lee said he often visits his “private entrance” at the back door for take-out. “I slip in the back alley and pick up our food,” said Lee, “so that Susan and I can enjoy the delicious meal at home.”

Rolf’ Nelson said that his philosophy for the restaurant and its menu is simple, unmistakable food that “can be tasted on the plate.”

“When I’m cooking halibut,” Nelson explained, “I want everyone to know it is halibut. I want to enhance the food not mask it. I prefer simple salads and simple salsas.” For him, cooking is a personal, tactile experience as well. “You have have a touch, ‘Sconset Cafe’ owners Cindy and Rolf Nelson, ’” he asserted. “When I touch a piece of fish it flows up through my hands and arms.”

Cooking is also an intimate experience for Nelson and his staff. Their kitchen has only four burners, from which they create up to 100 dinners a night. They also cook breakfast and lunches during their months of operation from June through September.

Six years ago, the Nelson’s acquired the adjoining Bookstore, a longtime ‘Sconset institution selling wine and spirits. With over 200 wines to choose from in the Bookstore, dining next door at the café is naturally BYOB, with corkage fee discounts for wines bought in the Bookstore, where gifts and their ‘Sconset signature label wines are sold.

Twenty-five years after the Nelsons met at ‘Sconset Café—their friendship began when both were on the staff there and then it continued as they worked in NYC until it blossomed into marriage—their enduring commitment to each other, their family, their staff and their customers has only strengthened.

Diners feel at home in Sconset Café and feel a sense of ownership, according to the Nelsons. “Cindy has a magical draw,” averred Rolf Nelson. “People connect with her and come to share her smile.”
Sconset Cafe’
Bookstore Wines & Spirits
www.sconsetcafe.com
508-257-4008