Al Schackman was Nina Simone’s guitarist for 40 years. He is also an Oak Bluffs seasonal resident.

One of the summer’s most anticipated events is almost here. Friday, August 21 is the 40th annual Oak Bluffs fireworks extravaganza.

Over the course of a 40-year career drummer Rick Marotta has toured with everyone from Aretha Franklin to Steely Dan to John Lennon and many others. This weekend, he will perform back to back shows on Saturday and Sunday nights at Flatbread.

The theme was owls, and last Friday at Featherstone Center for the Arts, artistic renderings of the majestic winged creatures were everywhere you looked. The theme was chosen in memory of Grace McDonnell, and this summer, thanks to a gift from her parents, 10 scholarships helped Island children attend Featherstone's art camp.

In high school, Julie Taymor taught drama and mask making at the Chilmark Community Center's summer camp. She has had quite a career since then. On Thursday, she will give a talk at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center after a screening of her latest film A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Not every book talk begins with a Buddhist chant and guided meditation. But that was the scene last week at the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore, when Lama Surya Das, among the best known Buddhist authors in the country, spoke about his new book.