It’s August and some of the heaviest hitters have come aboard. There’s the Agricultural Fair, the Oak Bluffs Fireworks, some guy from Washington, D.C. is rumored to be heading our way, and a host of other big name panels, readings and discussions are all in full bloom.

But let’s not forget about another contender, dressed daintily but beautifully in brightly colored lanterns and featuring the hard work of so many porch-sitters all rising as one, if you will, for this, the grandest night of summer in the Oak Bluffs Camp Ground.

It is of course, Illumination Night, which truly needs no blustering verbiage to promote it but will receive it anyway. There is no event quite like it anywhere. It is both a blast from the past and a burst from the present. Walk the grounds, share stories with the homeowners, buy those red or green glow sticks for the kids, and celebrate summer the Martha’s Vineyard way.

The evening begins at 7:30 p.m. with the traditional Wednesday night Community Sing. At dusk the Camp Ground goes fully dark and then the first lantern gets lit, by whom is a more closely guarded secret than where the president will play golf next.

Put it on the calendar. You’ll be glad you did.