Grand Illumination Night

August 14

It’s older than the fair. It’s more colorful than the fireworks, though not older, as there were fireworks at the first Grand Illumination Night in 1869. Get there early for the opening prayer at the Tabernacle or pray for parking if you’re late.

Oak Bluffs Fireworks

August 16

Never mind that the rest of America has their big fireworks display on the Fourth of July; Oak Bluffs has never been like the rest of America. And that’s just the way we like it. 

Agricultural Fair

August 15 – August 18 

We know: the official name is the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society Livestock Show & Fair. But all you really need is two short syllables – that’s Ag Fair, if you’re counting – to describe the high point and denouement of summer. 

What We're Listening To

To those who thought the end of Beach Road Weekend meant the end of opportunities to hear musicians of wide renown on the Island, Richie Spice would no doubt say: “Na na na na na na na, not so fast.” The Jamaican reggae star, who starts the vast majority of his songs with a signature “hey na na na na na na na,” is headlining MV SoundFest on August 25. The event, which is the creation of the Island’s own recording artist Phil daRosa, is taking place at The Cove (yup, the mini-golf place) in Vineyard Haven and promises to have “many more” local acts and DJs. Visit marthasvineyardsound.com to purchase tickets. 

Still not convinced the death of live music has been widely exaggerated? How about Jewel performing with Willy Mason at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs on August 10? Yup, that Jewel. Yup, that Willy. Yup, that tabernacle. Visit mvcma.org to purchase tickets.

Where To Go

You know what August means. You’re going to blink once and it will be over, and you will be saying again, “Why didn’t we go stand-up paddleboarding?” 

That’s right. What could be better than gliding along just offshore, peering down with a tern’s eye view of the waving prairies of seagrass and finny critters. For a guided adventure, start with Martha’s Vineyard Stand Up Paddle (marthasvineyardstanduppaddle.com). They have decades of experience and the right boards for everyone from junior to grandpa.

Want a more DIY approach? Rent the latest boards from Wind’s Up in Vineyard Haven (windsupmv.com) or Kismet Outfitters in Edgartown (kismetoutfitters.com). Do it! Everyone has a duty to stand for something these days. 

What To Read

Table for Two by Amor Towles (Viking, 2024) 

Amor Towles, who grew up summering at West Chop and still has a home there, read from his new book of short stories at the Performing Arts Center in July as part of the MV Author Series. Table for Two, which The New York Times Book Review described as “a knockout collection of six stories and a longish novella,” transports the reader from New York to Hollywood with the kind of quiet polish and eye for detail that his fans have come to love. Fans of his first book, Rules of Civility (Viking Penguin, 2011), in particular, will be happy to reunite with the self-possessed beauty Evelyn Ross in the aforementioned long novella. 

Black Homeownership on Martha’s Vineyard by Thomas Dresser and Richard Lewis Taylor (Arcadia Publishing, 2024)

With fifteen books on various aspects of Vineyard history so far, Thomas Dresser has honed the art of using a “thin slice” to explore the larger story of the Island. This time he’s teamed up with Richard Lewis Taylor, a former Massachusetts secretary of transportation and Oak Bluffs seasonal resident, to explore the often overlooked history of property ownership by persons of color. Though Vineyarders are justifiably proud of, and the authors justly celebrate, the Island’s tradition of diversity, the book makes it clear that progress is never assured; vigilance remains a must. 

Numerology

30 - Number of years The Green Room has been open in Vineyard Haven.

150 - Number of people owner Elaine Barse estimates have worked at the store over the decades.

45 - Number of times the Green Room has won various categories in the Best of the Vineyard contest.

“So what’s the bottom line here? More expensive?…cheaper? …same price? Asking for a friend.”

– Jerry, a commenter from Chappaquiddick, on the Vineyard Gazette website following the announcement by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission that it would, for the first time, allow legal marijuana products to be transported across state waters to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

Hello, Goodbye, Hello, Goodbye

When our longtime art director announced last year that he intended to retire, we began to ask ourselves: who could possibly take the place of the irreplaceable Alley Moore? The answer soon became obvious: Emma Young. 

Born and raised on the Island, Emma is a true homegrown talent. A former West Tisbury poet laureate, she also runs a small design studio focused on letterpress printing and handmade papers. She has quickly made herself an indispensable part of the team, as evidenced by the beautiful designs that fill the pages of this, her inaugural issue. 

As we welcome Emma, we also doff our caps to our former leader, Paul Schneider. Paul served as the editor of this magazine for the better part of nine years, and as a contributing editor for the past two. His talent and influence is impossible to overstate. No one has done more to elevate the profile and potential of this magazine. No one could write a wittier Beatles-based headline. No one could whip a story into shape better, or faster. No one could come up with so many smart, strange, wonderful ideas. 

No one could take his place, so we won’t try. Nor can we bring ourselves to say goodbye. Instead, we’ll just say: Thanks, Paul. We’ll see you around.

What You Missed

Swim at Your Own Risk

July arrived and not a single person had applied for the job of lifeguard at West Tisbury’s Lambert’s Cove Beach, leaving the chair empty. Edgartown, meanwhile, had been hoping to hire twenty-two guards for its beaches but found only nineteen. “It’s the housing,” said many. “It’s the lazy kids,” said others. “It’s the low pay.” It’s the Vineyard in summer, everyone agreed.

More Good Governance

Not to be outdone by Tisbury’s recent admission that they had misplaced $1.8 million for years, Edgartown ordered The Trustees to reapply for a permit for its operations on Chappaquiddick after finding the original permit from thirty years ago had mysteriously been lost by the town. Emotions ran high. “Jesus, take the wax out of your ears,” zoning board chair Martin “Skip” Tomassian told a citizen who opined that the action might close beaches to oversand vehicles in the height of summer. 

Before the Back Door

It once seemed impossible to imagine up-Island without Humphreys Bakery at the bottom of North Road in West Tisbury, a Norman Rockwell kind of place with the smell of doughnuts in the air and proprietor Argie Humphreys’s art on the wall. There was an un-cashed check on the wall, too, from Jackie O. for a painting and possibly one of those doughnuts. Argie eventually died, the old homestead was eventually sold, and the bakery eventually torn down. The business carried on, however, in Oak Bluffs for a time, and Edgartown, and Vineyard Haven. This spring the last outpost finally closed, though happily the spot has been taken over by well-known caterer and restaurateur Theresa Manning, of Quitsa Catering and Cliffhangers in Aquinnah. “I’m very happy to be engaged with someone local selling something local,” said Manning, whose husband’s Wampanoag family has been local for roughly 9,000 years and counting.