News and Events for Nantucket Island
Every summer for more than half a century, one day on Nantucket belongs entirely to imagination, creativity, community, and sand. This year, the Nantucket Island School of Design and the Arts (NISDA) will host its beloved Sandcastle and Sandsculpture Contest in July rather than August. Held at Jetties Beach, this […]
The summer of 1976—what a time to be a kid on Nantucket! The entire island was gearing up to throw a 200th birthday party for the greatest nation in the history of mankind. This was a big deal, I tell ya! Main Street, Federal Street, and much of the downtown area was completely blocked off for the festivities. Planners were planning, costumes were being sewn, and floats were being constructed. Oh yeah, the Bicentennial celebration had Nantucket a-buzzing!
If you’ve everfelt the pull of Nantucket while reading an Elin Hilderbrand novel—the salt air, the fragrance of rose-covered cottages, the excitement of the brewery and The Box—there’s a way to actually experience it. The Elin Hilderbrand Nantucket Blue Book Tour, designed by Heather Thorpe and operated by Nantucket Island Tours offers fans an opportunity to enjoy Nantucket in real life: a ride across our island with someone who knows Elin not just as an author, but as a sister.
Nantucket Island’s Juneteenth celebration has become an annual tradition on our island. The festivities transform York Street into a block party with music, food, local vendors, arts and crafts, family-friendly activities — drawing attendees of all races, ages, and backgrounds. The celebration will be held this Saturday, June 20, with […]
Did you know that there once was a tree that spiked an economic bubble in the US? And there are Nantucket ties with a legacy that we can still see (and visit) on the island today?
By all outward measures, Richard Russo has had the kind of literary career many writers only dream about — a Pulitzer Prize, an Oprah’s Book Club selection, beloved novels adapted for film and television, and a body of work spanning four decades that has made him one of the defining voices of working- class American fiction. But spend time with the author and you understand that none of it came easily, and none of it was guaranteed.
The author of eight New York Times bestsellers, winner of the National Book Award and the George Washington Book Prize, and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, islander Nathaniel Philbrick is one of America’s most celebrated narrative historians. And on July 10, he will be the recipient of the Nantucket Atheneum’s 2026 Luminary Award.
The Nantucket Historical Association is beginning the next phase of restoration work on Nantucket’s iconic Old Mill, built in 1746. The NHA purchased the mill in 1897. In 1992, it was designated as a historic mechanical engineering landmark and is believed to be the oldest working windmill in the United […]
By Suzanne Daub Tucked away on our small island 30 miles off the coast of Massachusetts, one of the most consequential craft preservation programs in the country is carrying on traditions that stretch back centuries. The Heritage Craft program, operated by the Nantucket Historical Association, is making Nantucket a focal […]
This April, the Nantucket Historical Association opened an exciting new Featured Exhibition in their Nantucket Whaling Museum that is designed to take visitors on a trip around the globe. The traveling exhibition The Wider World & Scrimshaw is expansive and culturally far-reaching. Surveying carving traditions that emerged along whaling routes […]
