If you have not seen it yet, you must check out Padma Lakshmi’s “Taste of the Nation: Holiday Edition.” It came out on Hulu last Thursday and the second episode, “Truth and the Turkey Tale,” is about the Wampanoag people; their food, traditions, and their perspective on Thanksgiving. The episode features many friends and neighbors, including Kristina Hook, Linda Coombs, Jessie Little Doe Baird, Berta Welch, and Juli Vanderhoop. An entire segment was filmed at Juli’s Orange Peel Bakery back in May, where Juli showed Padma her beehives (which did not seem to be Padma’s favorite experience on the Island). They then moved to the oven where Juli, Padma, and (proud mom moment) my son, Rodeo, all made focaccia together. And yes, Padma is just as beautiful in real life.
While food is the thru-line of the episode, it focuses heavily on the story of the Wampanoag people — the myth of the “happy Thanksgiving” between the colonizers and the tribe, the language reclamation project, and the rights of Indigenous people. It is only a half-hour episode, but it does a respectable job of touching on all these topics, so that you get a decent overview along with some key initiatives and organizations, if you want to dive in deeper. References include: the Wampanoag Language Reclamation Project, the Aquinnah Cultural Center, the National Day of Mourning (which takes place on Thanksgiving Day every year in Plymouth) and the creator of that event, Frank James. Be warned, the episode will make you sad and hungry, which I admit is an odd combination but the truth, as the stories are told through food and the food looks delicious.
The Outermost Inn is open for lunch! Thursday through Saturday, 11 am to 2 pm, and Sunday brunch, 10:30 am to 2 pm. The menu looks simple yet delicious and you know you can’t beat the company or the view.
On Tuesday, Nov. 16, from 5 to 6 pm, the library will host “Tea and Honey Talks: Bee Products with Juli Vanderhoop,” a virtual discussion. Juli will talk about the health benefits of bee products including honey, pollen, propolis, and apitherapy. This talk will include group discussion, so bring your questions and ideas. Email jmatejcek@clamsnet.org to register. On Thursday, Nov. 18, at 3 pm. the Book Group will meet to discuss “Intimacies” by Katie Kitamura. If the weather is good, the discussion will take place outside on the library deck, or virtually if there is inclement weather. Email aq_mail@clamsnet.org to register.
I hope some of you were able to catch “Rizing,” a dance, theater piece that took place over last weekend and Halloween weekend. Created by Abby Bender and Jesse Jason and set in an old house in Oak Bluffs, the audience (nine people for each show) were led through the rooms and told the story of “Zizzner’s Home for Weary Travelers,” a fictitious treatment facility for people with sleep disorders. Using dance, voice-over, and music you learned about each patient and their particular disorder. Some were down-right scary, like Zoe the young woman possessed by a deceased aunt who scratches away at Zoe’s eyes, and others were sweetly sad, like the story of the woman with narcolepsy or the story of Zion and Zachariah, veterans of World War II, who develop a deep and healing relationship with each other at the home. The show was inventive, moving, and it was only an hour long. Well done and bravo to the creators and all the dancers and actors involved.
Happy Birthday to my birthday twin, Scarlet Johnson, we both celebrate on Nov. 11, the same day as Demi Moore and Leonardo DiCaprio, who oddly never wish us a happy birthday. Happy birthday as well to Susan Kline who celebrates on Nov. 15.