Surfwise is only a surfing film in the same way that its central character Dorian (Doc) Paskowitz is, as he puts it, a “Jewish surfer.”

In fact Mr. Paskowitz is a Stanford-educated doctor who refused to send any of his nine children to school; an individualist who led his children each morning in a rendition of Chairman Mao’s March of the Volunteers; and a professed good husband and good father, who pursued his own dream with his family in tow. He also happens to surf.

Film Wins Award

Crawford, a documentary film by Chilmark summer resident David Modigliani, won the audience award for best documentary at the Brooklyn Film Festival last Sunday night. The film, about the changes Crawford, Texas, goes through when George W. Bush moves to town, has screened at festivals nationwide and was called “a must-see of this year’s docs” by writer-director Richard Linklater. For details online, or to watch the movie trailer, go to crawfordmovie.com.

A contemporary musical that chronicles the five-year life of a marriage, from meeting to break-up — or from break-up to meeting, depending on how you look at it — opens Thursday for a three-weekend season at Katharine Cornell Theatre on Spring street in Vineyard Haven.

The Last Five Years, by Jason Robert Brown (Parade, Songs for a New World), is an intensely personal look at the relationship between a writer and an actress told from both points of view.

Cape Cod Healthcare Community Benefits recently awarded the Cape and Islands chapter of the American Red Cross a $7,694 grant towards the development of its training initiative for Brazilians in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillators.

This latest grant will help the chapter recruit and train five Brazilian and bilingual instructors and subsequently to train 150 Brazilians who are interested in receiving the training.

Windemere Benefit

Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation will host both a silent and live auction on Friday, June 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the agricultural hall on Panhandle Road in West Tisbury to benefit the efforts of the recreation department at the nursing home.

Items available for bid include a personal training session with Lisa Amols, a dog massage provided by Companion Massage, a private tennis lesson with pro George Brown at Mattakesett, a sunset cruise around Vineyard Haven Harbor, and a stay at the Hob Knob Inn.

Whaling Exhibit

The Martha’s Vineyard Museum and the West Tisbury School’s multiage class invite the public to Thar She Blows!, a celebration of learning, on Thursday, June 19, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. The event is scheduled for the museum’s Pease House at 59 School street, Edgartown. Thar She Blows! is an exhibit of student work about whales and whaling. This year-long study was based upon an interdisciplinary curriculum unit which focuses on teaching with primary sources, funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.