Take a deep breath: there’s the Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival from August 1 to 3 at the Chilmark Community Center. There’s Grand Illumination Night at the Camp Ground in Oak Bluffs on August 20. The fireworks can be seen from Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs on August 22. There’s the Ag Fair and farmers’ market in West Tisbury, festivals, plays, and movies. Pack your schedule, go to every event, and experience the thrills of peak summer on Martha’s Vineyard. You can eat, drink, laugh, cry, play, run, spin, and rise above the Island on the Ferris wheel. Or, we won’t judge, stay at home, read a book by a window, and listen to the breeze rustling through the treetops. That’s peak summer too.

What to Do 

In 2022, seventeen-year-old Charlie Ortmans conquered the hilly terrain of the five-kilometer Chilmark Road Race with a blazing time of fourteen minutes, fifty-six seconds. In 2023, he came in first again. Then, in 2024, he clinched the three-peat. This year, runners will gather at the starting line at 10:30 a.m. on August 9, eager to dethrone the reigning running king and take home the prize lobster for themselves. (Yes, the prize really is a lobster.) 

What to Eat

Sure, there’s the rides and the games and the prize-winning sunflowers, but folks also flock to the annual Agricultural Fair for the food. Here’s the game plan. Arrive right at the opening bell and start with a smoothie from Solar Cafe. Take a stroll and then, for lunch, it’s conch fritters and jerk chicken from Chef Deon. If you start to flag around 3 p.m., pick up an espresso float from Floaters. Pet a sheep, toss a skillet, and come back for a hot dog from Goldie’s Rotisserie. Then do it all again the next day. This year, the fair runs from August 21 to 24.

What We’re Watching

Defy gravity. Do the right thing. Go in search of summer love. At The Vineyard’s Drive-In, experience the magic of a movie under the stars. In August, you can catch Wicked, Jaws, Good Will Hunting, Grease, and other films at the parking lot by the YMCA in Oak Bluffs, thanks to an annual summer program co-presented by the Y and Circuit Arts. The series features films on Fridays and Saturdays until September 6. Secure your ticket, bring a blanket, and get swept away.

What’s Up and What’s Down 

Forget 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: 

Earlier this summer, the Steamship Authority ratified contracts for about 280 vessel employees and granted pay raises across the board. Some workers will have their wages increase by 10 percent in the first year, and 12 percent in the second and third years. Others will see more modest raises. Despite complaints from captains, a grueling schedule for Steamship officers isn’t changing. The schedule is comprised of twelve-hour shifts, followed by six hours of rest (usually aboard a boat), followed by six more hours of work in the morning.

What’s Down: 

The Gay Head Lighthouse in Aquinnah used to shine its old lamp around the clock. In the middle of a bright summer day, you could just catch the flashes under the sun’s glare. This June, the old light was replaced by a high-tech ultraviolet sensitive one and it will be shining for fewer hours – only when it’s dark out. The new light will also be easier to maintain. Read more about the updates on page 48 in this issue. Then say a prayer to the sea gods and the lighthouse keeper for ensuring the safety of our sailors.   

Numerology

30,000 – Number of people who attend the annual Agricultural Fair, which has long been held the third week of August.

50 – Number of years that Cushing Amusements provided rides to the fair. 

13–16 – Dates in August 2026 when the fair will take place – one week earlier than usual. The change was made at the request of Fiesta Shows, the new rides provider, due to a scheduling conflict. 

Well Said

“The reason I built this is to help with the beautification of Beach Road, to offset that monstrosity that they built for the wind farms.”   

– Car dealer magnate Ernie Boch Jr., whose Boch Park, on the Vineyard Haven waterfront, opened to the public this summer. 

What to Read

Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine by Jessica B. Harris (Clarkson Potter, June 2025)

We know about New England–style clam chowder and it’s tomato-y cousin from Manhattan. But Jessica B. Harris, author of several cookbooks and the memoir My Soul Looks Back (Scribner, 2017), writes about the Indigenous and European roots of clear broth clam chowder in her new book on the food that built this country and the people that produced the food we call American. She writes about the stateside popularization of the Belgian waffle at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City and the evolution of the African American specialty, chicken and waffles. Find recipes for enchiladas suizas, peach bread pudding cupcakes with bourbon glaze, and red beans and rice. Beside a recipe for cornbread stuffing, Harris describes a Thanksgiving dinner at a friend’s house where that dish was served for the guests from the South and an oyster stuffing was served for the Creole guests. Because, what does it mean to eat in America besides enjoying different recipes from different cultures, all served at one table?