Barnaby’s Toy and Art Shack: Are you looking for someplace fun to take your young kids? Barnaby Bear’s world expanded when children’s book author and illustrator Wendy Rouillard opened Barnaby’s Toy and Art Shack. Barnaby’s is a whole experience—a curated toy store offering art classes such as beading, fairy-house building, and wood-slice art as well as a drop-in art studio where children can create any time of day. If you have little people, Barnaby’s is a must. Also available for birthday parties and private events （once, when I walked in, a dude was teaching the kids magic!）。 They also sell great neon Nantucket lights. （I have one!） Website: barnabysnantucket.com; Instagram: @barnabybearbooks.
Force Five and Indian Summer: If your children are a bit older, say ten to seventeen, chances are they want to make a stop at the surf shop and clothier Force Five. Force Five has the added attraction of a hidden candy room in the back of the store. Indian Summer on the Strip is smaller but has everything to fulfill your dreams of becoming the next Alana Blanchard. Instagrams: @force5nantucket and @indiansummersurf.
Stephanie’s: Stephanie Correia is a doyenne of Nantucket retail. Her eponymous shop on Main Street has women’s clothing, footwear, bags and purses, and lots of nifty gifts. You can’t miss it!
Remy: Come for the cashmere shark sweater, stay for Remy’s bright, whimsical, and fun originals. Located on Old South Wharf, which is a charming place to stroll.
Are you in the market for art or photography?
Town is filled with galleries. The two I am fondest of are Coe and Co on Main Street—Nathan Coe’s art photography is chic and sexy—and Samuel Owen Gallery （this is where I bought my “slushee wave” by photographer Jonathan Nimerfroh （Instagram: @jdnphotography）。 Websites: Coeandcogallery.com and Samuelowen.com; Instagrams: @coeandcogallery and @samuelowen.
If you want to take home a piece of Nantucket, you should check out the surf landscapes by Lauren Marttila （website: Laurenmarttilaphotography.com; Instagram: @laurenmarttilaphotography）。 I have these throughout my house. Another island artist whose work I both collect and write about is the landscape painter Illya Kagan. Website: Illyakagan.com; Instagram: @illyakagan.
Are you a history buff?
Perhaps the most robust nonprofit on Nantucket is the Nantucket Historical Association. The NHA’s most popular site is the Whaling Museum on Broad Street, but the NHA also owns and operates the Hadwen House at the top of Main Street （across from the famous Three Bricks）; the Old Mill; the Oldest House; and perhaps my favorite of the NHA properties: Greater Light. Built as a livestock barn in 1790, Greater Light was purchased and reimagined as an artists’ oasis by two unmarried Quaker sisters, Gertrude and Hannah Monaghan. Greater Light and its exquisite gardens have been lovingly restored to their former glory by the NHA. To get updates on tour dates and times, visit NHA.org; Instagram: @ackhistory.
African Meeting House, Five Corners: On the corner of York and Pleasant, this post-and-beam cottage was built and occupied by Black Nantucketers in the 1800s. It is now a museum, offering cultural programs and interpretative exhibits. There is a Black Heritage Trail on Nantucket that leads one to sites such as the cemetery on Vestal Street; the Nantucket Atheneum, where Frederick Douglass gave his first public speech to a mixed-race audience in 1841; and abolitionist Anna Gardner’s house. （I mention Anna Gardner and her pupil, Eunice Ross, in my novel Golden Girl!）
The Nantucket Preservation Trust operates walking tours of downtown Nantucket during the summer months. Check at www.nantucketpreservation.org.
One great way to see all of Nantucket at once is to visit the First Congregational Church and climb up to the tower. （Anyone who has read my novel Beautiful Day knows that this is where Jenna and Margot have their heart-to-heart.） The tower has panoramic views across the island; it’s Nantucket’s answer to the Empire State Building.
Are you a movie buff?
Alas, there is only one official movie theater on Nantucket, but it’s a beaut. The Dreamland Theater underwent a gut renovation in 2012 and is now, in my humble opinion, one of the most stunning （and energy-efficient） movie theaters in America. Open 364 days a year! I served as chairperson for the Dream Believer benefit in 2020, which was the year the Dreamland Drive-In movie theater was started, due to COVID. The drive-in operates in the summer months only. Website: Nantucketdreamland.org; Instagram: @nantucketdreamland.
What Is Sconset, Anyway?
Sconset is short for Siasconset （no one calls it Siasconset）， which is the village on the eastern end of the island. Sconset has its own vibe （and the residents will no doubt bristle at my use of the word vibe）。 Sconset is understated; it’s old-school and it despises pretension. Life in Sconset is slower; bumper stickers read TWENTY IS PLENTY IN SCONSET. （This refers to the speed limit.） In Sconset you’re likely to see children on tricycles pedaling down the street and people in straw hats pruning roses; you’ll see picket fences and 1988 Jeep Wagoneers with a rainbow stripe of beach stickers across the back bumpers. It’s easy to be a tourist in Sconset but nearly impossible to become a bona fide Sconseter unless you were lucky enough to buy property there during the Ford administration.