Edgartown businesses are hoping that a new event, the Pink & Green weekend, will usher in the summer season a few weeks early.

The weekend, which got its name from the pink cherry tree blossoms already blooming in Edgartown, is a celebration of spring and Mother’s Day, said Edgartown board of trade president Maggie White.

Several businesses are participating in the festivities, which run from May 11 to May 13, with promotions and discounts on pink and green items. The Edgartown Council on Aging will serve a pink and green meal — salmon primavera with snow peas — at the Anchors, and kids are invited to create their own herb gardens at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. There will be crafts at the library, and special Mother’s Day breakfasts or brunches at the Edgartown Inn, Among the Flowers and the Harbor View Hotel.

There will be events for both children and adults, Ms. White said, and the board hopes it will become a yearly celebration, like the popular Christmas in Edgartown weekend.

The Pink & Green Ball, a fundraiser for the board of trade, will take place Saturday night at the Field Club. The evening will include hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar, music provided by the Sultans of Swing, and a competition for best-dressed pink and green couple. There will also be a best pink and green window contest in town.

“We’re trying to get the season kicked off a couple of weeks early,” said Christina Cook, owner of the Christina Gallery and one of the event’s organizers. The summer season traditionally starts with Memorial Day.

Ms. White hopes the weekend will join other board of trade events as a town tradition. In the past, the board has paid for the Fourth of July fireworks show, though the bill is being paid for by the town this year. People can also look forward to the sand sculpture contest on August 1 at South Beach, and the annual Christmas in Edgartown weekend kicks off the holiday season.

Another event, the Martha’s Vineyard Food and Wine festival, is taking a year hiatus to retool, find new volunteers, and focus more on local, sustainable food, Ms. White said. The festival — held in October for the last five years — has been a success, Mrs. White said, but volunteers are experiencing event fatigue, so it will take a year off and return in 2013. She encouraged those interested in helping out with the event to contact the board of trade.

The introduction of the Pink & Green weekend comes at an important time for the board, Ms. White said, which is up to more than 100 members after a recent membership drive. The group faces challenges being in a town with mostly seasonal businesses, Ms. White said, which makes it important for all businesses to stick together.

Events “keep us moving in a positive way forward,” Ms. White said, and they also attract people to Edgartown, improve the quality of life in the town, and build a sense of community, she added.

 

A list of Pink & Green weekend activities is available at the Edgartown board of trade Web site, edgartownboardoftrade.com. Tickets to the Pink & Green Ball are also available on the Web site, or at the Christina Gallery.