Dr. Gerry Donnelly, president and CEO of the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Ill., will share his insights about public gardens in relation to today’s communities in a presentation at Polly Hill Arboretum at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16.

Jonathan Zittrain, described as one of the web’s brightest theorists, is the featured speaker of the Martha’s Vineyard Summer Institute in a 7:30 p.m. program on Thursday, July 17.

Martha’s Vineyard Author Lecture Series features a series of evening lectures, readings and panel discussions throughout the summer, with nationally acclaimed authors speaking about their newly published work.

The Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group will host its first annual benefit Art Show at the Tashmoo Spring Building in Vineyard Haven on July 18 and 19.

On Saturday, for the tenth year in a row, a group of readers took turns reciting Frederick Douglass' speech The Meaning of the Fourth of July for the Negro. “It’s important for people to remember the impact of slavery because it’s not only a part of our history, but it’s a part of our present,” said Makani Themba, the organizer of the reading.