In 1776, John Adams wrote a letter to his wife, Abigail, informing her that the Continental Congress had declared independence from Great Britain: “[This day] ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade.” You can catch both in Edgartown this Fourth of July. The parade steps off at 5 p.m. and travels through downtown, while the fireworks start at dusk. Arrive early to find a good viewpoint and plan to leave your car behind. Then, look up to the sky and marvel at how far we’ve come and how far we have to go.
What to Taste
Who is Martha and where are her vineyards? We know that Captain Bartholomew Gosnold spotted a preponderance of wild grapes on the Island and named the land after a relative. But the questions about vineyards keep coming. On July 20, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Thomas Cooke House & Legacy Gardens in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard Museum research librarian Bow Van Riper will speak about why, despite its name, Martha’s Vineyard has no vineyards. Attendees will sample pairings of cheese and wine – the latter, of course, brought in from off-Island.
What to See
When a group of shipwrecked sailors washes up on a magical, isolated island in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, they’re nervous and concerned for their safety. But islander Caliban, son of a sea witch, tells them they don’t have to worry. “Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises, Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not,” he says. For more relatable bits of Island wisdom, check out the production of The Tempest, directed by MJ Bruder Munafo, artistic and executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse, at the Tisbury Amphitheater from July 16 to August 9.
What to Do
In 2016, Luke Gurney, a beloved Island fisherman, died in a tragic fishing accident. The Vineyard community did what it does best: it rallied around his family. This support has been seen clearly at the annual Fluke for Luke fishing tournament, which is a fundraiser for the college education of Gurney’s two sons, as well as a scholarship fund his wife, Robyn, established at the regional high school. This year’s tournament is on July 12 and 13.
What’s Up and What’s Down
Forget about the New York Stock Exchange. We’ll tell you what’s up and what’s down on the Island, what’s rising and what’s falling. Remember: buy low, sell high.
What's Up:
North Atlantic right whales have been listed as endangered since 1970. But this spring, researchers spotted one of the largest aggregations of right whales south of the Vineyard. Initially, New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life spotted sixty right whales fifty-five miles south of the Island. Then, fifteen additional whales were seen a few days later. One of these whales was Calvin, a female who was orphaned when her mother was struck by a ship in 1992. If we want more whales, “we must reduce the sources of human-caused mortality,” researcher Katherine McKenna said in a statement from the aquarium.
What's Down:
The United States Coast Guard plans to remove twenty navigational buoys around the Vineyard, Woods Hole, and Gosnold, along with hundreds of others elsewhere in the northeast. Now that almost all boats have GPS, Coast Guard officials said some of these buoys can be removed, but some Island sailors think they’re still necessary for when technology fails. May we all find our way home, no matter what tools we use to get there.
Numerology
42 - The length, in feet, of the S/V Lúthien, a sailboat that Island visitors Josh Kegan and Enrica Jossi sailed in for a year to complete what’s known as the Atlantic circuit. They returned to Menemsha Harbor this spring.
37 - The wind speed, in knots, of a storm they sailed through near Portugal.
2 to 3 - The length, in weeks, of the trips that the couple had spent at sea prior to their twelve-month journey.
“Once involved with it, one is never quite the same again.”
– Wrote Captain Bob Douglas, who died this spring, about sailing ships in the 1986–1987 winter issue of Sea History magazine. But the same could be said about this formidable sailor and mentor. Those who got to know him and sail with him were never quite the same.
What to Read
The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly (Ballantine Books, May 2025)
Martha Hall Kelly, the author of several historical fiction novels including The New York Times–bestselling Lilac Girls (Ballantine Books, 2017), is back with a novel that draws from her family’s history on Martha’s Vineyard. She also drew from her own time on the Vineyard while writing the book – she’s visited every summer for sixty-seven years.
The novel’s story spans decades. First, it’s 2016, and Mari Starwood arrives on Martha’s Vineyard searching for information about her family. Then the reader travels back to 1942 where a pair of sisters struggle to hold their failing family farm together during World War II as the United States Army arrives on the Island. Seeking normalcy, one of the sisters – a character based on the author’s mother, who lived on the Island – starts a book club. But even the club faces threats as the war continues.
Reviews have called this book a beach read, a classification that the author embraces. “There’s no better place to read a book,” Kelly said.
