Michelle Obama with daughters Malia (right) and Sasha at Nancy’s Snack Bar.
(Alex Brandon/Associated Press)
Names
Excitement and sorrow
Michelle Obama with daughters Malia (right) and Sasha at Nancy’s Snack Bar.
(Alex Brandon/Associated Press)
OAK BLUFFS - Even as Ted Kennedy’s death cast a pall over the Vineyard, a throng of tourists and islanders gathered yesterday hoping to catch a glimpse, however fleeting, of President Barack Obama and the first family.
“People are digging it, man,’’ said Roger Schilling, owner of C’est La Vie, an eclectic boutique in Oak Bluffs. “People rich and poor, black and white, are smiling - never seen anything like it, even when the Clintons were here.’’
Obama took a break from the links yesterday, spending the morning at a private beach with his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Sasha and Malia, before ducking into Nancy’s Snack Bar in Oak Bluffs for a takeout order of fried shrimp, calamari, scallops, and french fries. From there, it was on to adviser Valerie Jarrett’s house to eat.
While he’s so far kept a lower profile than President Bill Clinton did during his summer sojourns here - there’s been no impromptu backslapping in front of the Black Dog Tavern - Obama’s visit has been no less energizing for the island and its economy.
“He’s been our bailout,’’ said Schilling, whose shop was filled with customers before noon yesterday.
Particularly in Oak Bluffs, a historically African-American enclave on Martha’s Vineyard, Obama is a rock star, and the media attention paid to the presidential vacation is welcome.
“This is an international story,’’ said Ron DiOrio, an Oak Bluffs business owner and selectman. “Obama is a historic figure by the mere fact that he’s the first African-American president, and I’m thrilled he’s here.’’
DiOrio is one of the leaders of a group trying to restore Martha’s Vineyard’s first African-American church, and he’s hoping Obama’s presence will attract attention to that cause. Tomorrow, Obama’s friend Harvard Law professor Charles Ogletree is hosting a fund-raiser for the church project, and there’s a chance the president will stop in.
“You never know,’’ said DiOrio. “He’s been invited, let’s put it that way.’’
The Obamas, of course, have an invitation everywhere on the island. The president and his wife dined Tuesday at the Sweet Life Cafe in Oak Bluffs, and other restaurants are reserving their best table all week.
“Business is good, but it could be even better,’’ laughed Emily Thomas, owner of Deon’s, a Caribbean-themed restaurant in Oak Bluffs.
Governor Deval Patrick was slated to be at the groundbreaking of the church project tomorrow, and afterward at a fund-raiser for his own campaign coffers. But Patrick spokesman Steve Crawford said the governor’s schedule is contingent on funeral arrangements for Senator Kennedy. (We do know Obama and Patrick canceled their dinner date for Friday.)
Kennedy was on the minds of many islanders yesterday, including Robert Brustein, the founder of the American Repertory Theater. Brustein, who lives in West Tisbury, became friendly with Kennedy in the early 1970s when the senator, and several members of his family, would sail to Martha’s Vineyard and camp out in the yard of writer William Styron.
A few years later, Brustein asked Kennedy if he would write a letter to then-Harvard president Derek Bok endorsing the creation of the ART, and he obliged.
“It was a very generous thing for a very important man to do,’’ Brustein said yesterday. “We’ve suffered a grievous loss and we’re all mourning it.’’
Likewise, Fred Mascolo, owner of Trader Fred’s and a principal of Jane Brown Real Estate Associates, called Kennedy “the greatest US senator of all time.’’ Standing in the humidor of his shop in Edgartown, surrounded by pictures of celebrity customers Samuel L. Jackson, Peter and Bobby Farrelly, and basketball coach Bernie Bickerstaff, Mascolo shook his head.
“It’s great having Obama here,’’ he said. “But we’ve lost a great American.’’
List names new curator
One of Boston’s premier venues for contemporary art, MIT’s List Visual Arts Center, announced yesterday that it has appointed a new curator of exhibitions, João Ribas. Born in Portugal and currently curator at the Drawing Center in New York, Ribas, 30, replaces Bill Arning, who was at the List for nine years and has been appointed director of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. Jane Farver, director of the List, expressed delight yesterday at the appointment, noting that Ribas (inset) was especially excited about immersing himself in Boston’s contemporary art scene. Ribas, speaking by phone while on vacation in the Hamptons, said he used to come to Boston regularly to play with his band, The Mooney Suzuki, before he gave up rock ’n’ roll for postwar philosophy and, later, art criticism. He said the List played a fascinating role as both a public museum of contemporary art and a crucible for different ideas within MIT. “This moment is really exciting,’’ he said. “There’s a great confluence between what contemporary artists are pursuing right now and what the List has been doing for the past 40 years.’’ Ribas starts on Sept. 21.Foreign dignitaries visit
Union Oyster House owner Joe Milano, who happens to be Thailand’s Honorary Consul to Boston, has been taking around Her Royal Highness Princess Ubolratana Mahidol of Thailand, who’ll give a Life Sciences talk at her alma mater MIT next week. Milano also hosted Daisaku Kadokawa for lunch yesterday at the Oyster House yesterday. Kadokawa is the mayor of Boston’s Japanese sister city, Kyoto.Happy birthday, Donnie
When Donnie Wahlberg says 40 is the new 20, he means it. The New Kid on the Block celebrated his 40th birthday on Tuesday by partying at Mohegan Sun’s Ultra 88 Nightclub with 1,000 fans, three cakes, and a list of VIP guests that included model Jaizen Homiller, nightlifer Seth Greenberg, Boston-bred Star magazine reporter Melissa Cronin, P. Diddy’s “Making His Band’’ judge Rob Lewis, Wahlberg’s protege Jimmy Marsh, and El Tiante Cigars chief executive Dan Tiant. Highlights of the night included a performance by Wahlberg, who dropped his pants for the crowd before taking the mike. So much for being a grown-up. After the club closed, Wahlberg had an after-party in his room until about 5 a.m. Earlier in the day, Wahlberg golfed with friends - including Dropkick Murphys frontman Ken Casey. He also received a box of birthday cigars from Luis Tiant, who wrote a note to Donnie that said, “From one Boston icon to another.’’ Donnie hosts yet another birthday celebration tonight at Rumor.Benefit for sick kids
Shawmut Construction chief executive Bill Hughes, longtime sportscaster Bob Lobel, and Room to Dream Foundation founder Stefan Nathanson posed the other day in front of a Red Sox logo made entirely out of license plates. The objet d’art - made by scrap-metal sculptor Aaron Foster - was one of the items auctioned off during the Room to Dream benefit, which raised more than $100,000 for children with chronic illnesses.A coup for Abboud ,br> Boston designer Joseph Abboud, who makes his clothing line in New Bedford and is known for dressing big-name athletes and coaches, will outfit “Mad Men’’ star Jon Hamm in Ben Affleck’s movie “The Town,’’ which is filming around the area. Hamm will play an FBI agent out to get Affleck’s bank robber character.
Sebastian Smee of the Globe staff contributed. Read the Names Blog at www.boston.com/namesblog. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253. 
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