Light rain hardly dampened the spirits of those attending the Grand Illumination in the Oak Bluffs Camp Ground on Wednesday night. The gingerbread cottagers were perfectly protected on covered porches that glowed and twinkled with light from strings of paper lanterns. The air was misty and magical.

Musicians assembled for a night of music on the stage of the Tabernacle didn’t miss a note; beneath the canopy of the historic pavilion you could hardly tell it was raining outside.

One strolling visitor fashioned a rain poncho from a piece of plastic. Those who had no umbrellas improvised, dodging the quick passing showers by ducking beneath the eaves of cottages. And there are plenty of eaves on the Camp Ground.

Rain or no rain, the Camp Ground was the place to be on Illumination Night.

The event centered, as it has for 141 years, around the lighting of the first lantern. Before a crowd of several thousand, Camp Meeting Association president Robert Harrall welcomed this year’s two honorary lamplighters, John and Roberta Lowe.

Every year, Mr. Harrall said, the Camp Meeting Association pays tribute to an individual or individuals who contribute to the association in important ways.

Of the Lowes, he said: “They are a unique couple.” He said the couple has been married for 61 years, prompting a large and long applause from the audience.

Mr. Harrall said Mrs. Lowe had spent 86 summers in the Camp Ground and is a fifth generation camper. He said Mr. Lowe had spent 61 summers in the Camp Ground and had served as manager of the Camp Meeting Association’s cottage museum.

Mrs. Lowe sat in a chair in the front row. Son Craig, a vice president with the association, accompanied his father for the symbolic ceremonial lighting. Father and son stood before a single lantern and in a quiet moment lit it together. The audience stood and applauded.

Lights dimmed and Mr. Cleasby marched the sole lantern to the outside, where all who were standing in the rain could see it. Then a ring of electric lanterns surrounding the Tabernacle beneath its eave were turned on.

Mr. Lowe said later he and his wife were deeply touched by the evening event and by the attention of friends and colleagues. “It was a totally thrilling experience,” he said. Looking back over the years, he said he had been cherishing a flood of memories since learning that he and his wife were selected to light the first lantern. His wife introduced him to the Vineyard and the Camp Ground, Mr. Lowe said.

They had met in Boston, he recalled. He was back from the Navy after serving in World War II and was a student at Boston University; she had just completed nursing school.

Mr. Lowe recalled the family at 5 Siloam avenue, built in 1871. He recalled when the Oak Bluffs harbor shoreline was a beach, before the bulkhead was built.

It was an evening of music. Robert Cleasby, program director for the Camp Meeting Association, wore his traditional red pants and a bow tie.

Accompanied by pianists Amaryllis Glass and Stephan Joung, Mr. Cleasby lead the audience through the familiar sing-along, including Little Tom Tinker, The Swiss Navy and a dozen other tunes. The audience followed instructions about when to sit, stand and sing.

Becky Luce, the conductor of the Vineyard Haven Band, led the 1812 Overture, drums and crashing cymbals helping to dramatize the melodic story. There was a medley of patriotic songs. This is the band’s 143rd year and the camp meeting’s 175th year. It was the Grand Illumination’s 141st year.

Long after the first lantern was lit, the Vineyard Haven Band kept playing. Strollers took a break on benches in the Tabernacle to listen to the music; a slight echo reflected back through the oak grove and cottages.

Mr. Lowe said he and his wife stayed up until midnight. The evening ended well, despite the earlier showers. And the greetings kept up all night, he said.