As the cool winds roll in, the beaches become less crowded and the sun begins to set even before dinner, the Living Local Harvest Festival arrives just in time to celebrate this coming of autumn and winter. Gone are the summer fairs with their fried food, greasy hot dogs and rides that make you dizzy. Enter instead a festival that seems more to stroll as well as to nourish.

The two-day event, beginning on Friday night at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury and continuing on Saturday at the Agricultural Hall, will feature local food including roasted pig, freshly pressed cider, pumpkins (some launched into the air by catapult), events for kids, music by local musicians, storytelling, plus demonstrations on how to live more in sync with our environment.

The festival is a collaboration of four organizations — The Vineyard Energy Project, Island Grown Initiative (IGI), the Vineyard Conservation Society and the Agricultural Society — all of which have intertwined their specific interests for the event, said Tad Crawford, a board member for the Vineyard Conservation Society.

“The basic philosophy has been to motivate individuals in their own lives and in their lives as members of the community to focus more and more on how to reduce their carbon footprint, how to become more self-sufficient, and how to think globally while acting locally,” he said.

On Friday night, from 6 to 8 p.m., author and storyteller Susan Klein will host a panel of Vineyard elders who will give informational narratives on hunting, fishing, and farming from the good old days, and how these customs can be carried on today.

“On the Vineyard, like in many rural places, you came along within a family tradition and you were expected to do whatever the family had always done,” Ms. Klein said. “Many of us have been clamming, hunting or growing our own food since we were young, and it’s time to let people know that those traditions are longstanding.”

On Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Agricultural Hall, there will be a series of demonstrations running until 3 p.m. First up is Everett Zurlinden, the IGI’s unofficial Bee School teacher, who will give a talk about honeybees on the Vineyard and share insights on the buzz about beekeeping in one’s backyard.

At 11 a.m. Bill Manson and chef Kevin Crowell will give a demonstration titled A Local Wild Food Culinary Adventure, showcasing the diversity of delectable dishes that can come from products solely grown, raised or foraged on the Island. The two hope that through their demonstration they will help others understand the importance of sustaining the environment and its invaluable resources. On the menu will be a fish dish using foraged greens, local sausage and freshly picked peppers, as well as a seared Katama venison backstrap, served with a beet and zucchini risotto. There will be samples for all.

More fish follows at noon with a do-it-yourself demonstration on filleting a local fish performed by Warren Doty, the leader and a founding member of the Martha’s Vineyard/Dukes County Fishermen’s Association. The association aims to master methods of sustainable fishing, create and maintain employment within the industry and educate the community about the issues of fishing.

At 1 p.m. Vineyard native plant specialist Kris Henriksen takes the ring as she educates and encourages others to create a less expensive and more environmentally friendly Vineyard lawn that saves water, protects the aquifer, and gives plants a healthier life.

“The idea behind the use of native plants and Vineyard lawns is to use grasses and plants that thrive in these conditions so that you are not excessively watering or using pesticides and fertilizers,” Mr. Crawford said.

And because every good lawn needs a reliable compost pile, at 2 p.m. two of the three winners from the Agricultural Fair’s composting competition will give away some of their prize-winning secrets as well as samples of their compost — complete with little worms.

“What is important about this is that we as an Island transport an incredible amount of trash off the Island — a lot of which can be composted,” Mr. Crawford said.

But the day isn’t just about watching demonstrations. People of all ages can enjoy activities ranging from pony rides to felt making to corn grinding to local food sampling while enjoying music from the Hogstompers and Shawn Barber. Food vendors, including Martha’s Vineyard Coffee Roasters, Morning Glory Farm, Little Rock Farm and the Farm Institute, will make sure no stomach goes unsated.

The festival comes to a close on Saturday with a community potluck dinner beginning at 6 p.m. The meal is free; the only catch is you must bring a dish for six made from local produce. Beetlebung Farm owner Chris Fischer will provide the main course, a roasted pig, while the Beetlebung Steel Band makes music until 10 p.m. The festival is a zero-waste event, so there will be no trash cans available at the dinner. Bring your own cups, plates and silverware.

“It doesn’t matter how old you are, in any endeavor, you can always learn and teach, it’s a two-way street,” Ms. Klein said when thinking about the aim of the festival, not to mention life.

The festival serves as a slice of what sustainable life on the Vineyard could be. With escalating oil prices and the environmental costs of energy use and the ever-growing issue of waste and what to do with it, the Island community has to rethink transporting food and goods from hundreds or thousands of miles away, Mr. Crawford said.

“Truth is, the Island was highly sustainable many years ago, and it has lost some of that. So we want to regain living local like we did years ago, and retain part of what has made this place so special.”