Janice Shields returns to the Polly Hill Arboretum on Saturday, Oct. 3 for her popular bench workshop. Each workshop participant will construct a garden bench using native eastern hardwoods. The pre-cut materials and connecting hardware will be provided by the instructor. This is a five hour workshop, designed for all skill levels. A tool list will be available. Ms. Shields has been designing and building rustic furniture since 1995, and teaches workshops all over the Northeast. Class runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., bring a bag lunch.

A photography exhibition called Time Stands Still, with works by Juleann VanBelle, will hang at the Chilmark branch of the Bank of Martha’s Vineyard through Oct. 9. The opening reception is Friday, Sept. 25 from 4 to 6 p.m.

A year-round Islander for over 30 years, Ms. VanBelle is known for her work as a community activist and a registered nurse; she is now employed as the Aquinnah town nurse.

Jessica Carlson of New York and Chilmark, is 15, and about to appear as the female lead in the Universal Studios film Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, about teenagers and vampires. The film, which also features Salma Hayek and Willem Dafoe, is based on Darren Shan’s popular vampire book series, The Saga of Darren Shan. This past summer, at the Peaked Hill home of her parents, David and Catha Carlson, she was exuberantly talking about being an actress.