More from Globe Correspondant Paul Kandarian-

Orla and Michael LaScola, owners of American Seasons, are partnering again with West Coast wineries such as Donelan Family Wines and Flowers Winery to host seminars and dinners highlighting domestic wines paired with LaScola’s take on American dishes. For information on the events at the restaurant, visit www.americanseasons.com 

If you have flexible travel plans, the antique inn Century House celebrates its 180^thanniversary this year by offering a weeknight stay in a queen room for $180 plus tax and service during select dates in May and June, based on last-minute availability.  (See a picture from 1984 below) There is no online booking for this deal: Call 508-228-0530 on the preceding Saturday or Sunday to secure a stay the following Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday night. You can also combine the special with multiple week-night stays at standard rates. And you can help celebrate innkeepers JeanEllen Heron and Gerry Connick’s 30^th anniversary running the inn. Connick’s famous and massive berry breakfast alone is worth the stay. 

The next month, the spring version of Nantucket Restaurant Week runs June 2-9 (another runs in the fall), with a variety of restaurants participating, including American Seasons, where they offer three-course dinners from $25-$45. For a full listing, visitwww.nantucketrestaurantweek.com Writers have long been drawn to the island, including historic scribes like James Fenimore Cooper and Edgar Allen Poe, and modern authors such as Nathaniel Philbrick. The 2nd Annual Nantucket Book Festival runs June 21-23, with panel discussions, interactive readings for adults and kids, and “Authors in Bars” events giving festival goers a chance to personally toast their favorite writers. A roster of more than 20 notable American writers are expected, among them Philbrick, Paul Hendrickson and Lois Lowry. The Brant Point Grill at the White Elephant, the event’s host hotel, will host the weekend’s closing brunch June 23 with Alice Hoffman, author of more than 20 novels including “Here on Earth,” an Oprah’s Book Club choice. Other events include breakfast receptions with authors Ann Leary and Amy Brill, and a pig roast at Cisco Brewery. Check it all out at www.nantucketbookfestival.org

And lest we not forget the island’s nautical roots, the Egan Maritime Institute will hold “Red, Right, Returning: Present Day United States Coast Guard Lifesaving Procedures and Boat Safety” at the Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum, May 23-Oct. 14. The outdoor exhibit features present day Coast Guard lifesaving procedures, guide to boat safety and a recreational four-person life raft for anyone to try out on dry land. Back by popular demand is last year’s exhibit, “Guiding Lights: Nantucket’s Lighthouses, Keepers and Their Families,” that includes hands-on activities.  Visit www.eganmaritime.org for more information. 

With summer on its way, shops opening up and warm weather on the horizon Nantucket has plenty of activities to offer during the month of May.

 Nantucket Wine Festival

The Seventeenth Annual Nantucket wine festival is an event you don’t want to miss! Winemakers, chefs and community members alike will gather at the Opening reception held at the White Elephant Wed. May 15 to start the festivities. Wine and food luminaries will grace the island throughout the weekend as they give seminars and participate in events such as the Harbor Gala, the Grand Tastings and more! A complete list of events can be found at the festival’s website, www.nantucketwinefestival.com/. 

Figawi Race Weekend

The 42 annual Figawi Race Weekend is on its way!  The race starts Saturday May 25 at the Hyannis Port Jetty. Nantucketers will be able to watch the boats parade into the Nantucket Boat Basin later that day from the Brand Point Light beach. In the evening a Competitor Party will be held at the Event tent on New Whale Street. But the festivities don't end there! A clambake and more races, including the Figawi International, are scheduled throughout the weekend. More information about the Figawi Race can be found at www.figawi.com.   

Nantucket, removed  from “mainstream” New England, is truly a unique  experience at any time of year.  Apart from its natural gifts, the island’s arts, cultural, culinary and historical nuances will greatly appeal to gay and lesbian travelers (and, by phrase, include bisexual, transgender and “questioning” travelers).

Let’s admit it.  Nantucket is not initially on  one’s “gaydar”, but especially since  marriage equality  took effect here in Massachusetts, many gay and lesbian couples are happily visiting (and even getting married on) Nantucket.   And they are seeing more and more LGBT brothers and sisters all over the island.

Nantucketers  have always marched to their own drummers.  Undue hardships and social dissonance  have always been dealt with directly and with characteristic Nantucket pragmatism.  This social stance prevails today, and LGBTQ travelers are welcome at hotels, restaurants, shops, events and festivals across the island.

So  genteel and steeped in “the good life”,  the island  draws many gay and lesbian travelers due to their affluence, disposable incomes and love of highbrow cuisine, art and culture.  Many gay and lesbian visitors find Nantucket’s serenity, architecture, quintessential New England lodging, outstanding shopping, world-class dining, cultural events and plenitude of recreation reason enough to make the trip.  And there are certainly gay-owned and operated establishments across the island.

In fact, the Nantucket Chamber is reaching out to the gay and lesbian community, inviting  them  to visit, stay, dine, shop and even get married on this idyllic  island.  Here’s a step-by-step guide

http://www.lgbtmassvacation.com/marriage  to getting married on Nantucket, whose Town Clerk has welcomed many same-sex couples’nuptials.  There is a growing resource directory  of purveyors who offer services to couples of any sexual orientation, but the directory is decidedly for gay and lesbian couples.  Check out www.thefabulousweddingdirectory.com.

Whether coming for a day, a week or a month—whether gay, straight, or any other orientation—every visit to this enchanting island will be far too short.

Now in its 39^th year, Daffodil Festival Weekend on Nantucket is a jubilant celebration of spring’s arrival, punctuated by the blooming of over three million daffodils of  various hues, shapes and sizes which grace roadsides, gardens and shop windows.

The central event of this delightful weekend is the Antique Car Parade, showcasing over 100 vintage cars bedecked with sunny yellow daffodils and other creative embellishments.  Vehicles are staged on Main Street for the public to admire, and all are encouraged to vote for their favorite in the categories of Most Authentic, Best in Show, and the coveted People’s Choice award.  At noon, the cars wind through town and onward to the charming village of  Siasconset, where participants join residents and visitors for the Annual Daffodil Tailgate Picnic.  Held on the lush lawns leading to the village, fare ranges from elaborate gourmet cuisine served on  fine china to simple box lunches and burgers.

The day’s festivities are rounded out by a “Daffy Hat Pageant”, Children’s Parade, the Nantucket Garden Club’s Annual Daffodil Show, a Daffodil Festival Marketplace, Window Decorating Contest, and a whimsical “Daffy” Dog Parade!

Start the season off with a smile!

If you see this post it means that the Blog was successfully installed