Friday is the start of the long holiday weekend. Labor Day is on Monday and so is the end of the high summer season. All municipal buildings and the post office will be closed. It was excellent, weather-wise, all summer, but all good things must come to an end and school starts on Tuesday. Many other school systems in the commonwealth opened last week. School buses are now on the road so be prepared to stop when you see red flashing lights as the driver is about to put out the stop sign to pick up or discharge students. The VTA buses begin their fall schedule on Tuesday and the SSA schedule changes on Wednesday. There were several end of the season parties last weekend and more than likely a few more are planned over the holiday weekend. We had three 80-plus degree days earlier this week.

A sure sign of fall is the start of the annual striped bass and bluefish derby next Sunday. Joyce Bowker, director of the council on aging, reports that the fresh fish schedule at the Howes House will be on all Thursdays during the derby. Please call 508-693-2896 after 10 a.m. on Thursdays and the staff will know the amount of fish that will be distributed to the senior citizens in the up-Island towns.

Peter Luskin and Miranda Fallon have arrived to spend time with their parents. Miranda spent a week in Beirut visiting Peter, who works there as director of humanitarian access for Mercy Corps. He is responsible for managing the flow of aid to refugees from the Syrian civil war in Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. Miranda will be starting her senior year at NYU. Peter’s brother Cass arrived on Monday for a respite before starting work as a public defender in Lafayette, La. Bob and Charlotte report they have a happy full house and the antique china will be used often.

Phyllis Meras and Sal Laterra entertained about 100 guests in her annual backyard pre-Labor Day cocktail party last Saturday. Sal had everything looking shipshape for the party, Phyllis was the genial hostess and everyone had a good time.

Bob Ganz of North Road reports that last weekend he had fried okra using okra directly from his garden and it was delicious. He was hoping to get in touch with Malcolm and Judy Hall, of Oklahoma City, as he is sure they have a variety of dishes with okra. Bob has already ordered okra plants for next year to get ahead of Malcolm.

Dan Leventritt, of South Road, returned to the Blue Barque earlier this week after an eight-week motorcycle trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway. He had an eventful ride, attended a wedding in North Carolina, and had rattlesnake incidents and a deer strike while in a friend’s car near Middleburg, Va. He is looking forward to working in the garden.

Amy Hoff, over at the library, reports that Lucy Mitchell’s work will be on display in the library throughout the month of September. The library will host a reception in her honor on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m.. Refreshments will be served. Both the exhibit and the reception are free. Saturday at 4 p.m. artist Emma Young and chef Chris Fischer will celebrate their new cookbook The Beetlebung Farm Cookbook: A Year of Cooking on Martha’s Vineyard.

Happy birthday to: Bonnie Eldridge, Mary Sobel and Richard Burt Friday, John Hough and Dyan Redick Saturday, Ward Just, Gloria Sylva, Tucker Smith, Katherine Cordray and Perry Dripps on Sunday, Laura Marshall, Melissa Hackney and Michael Jackson on Monday, Barbara Hull, Nancy Cramer and Chris Turner on Tuesday, Harry Athearn, Doug Bardwell and Dan Larkosh on Wednesday, Geoff White and Spencer Hughes on Thursday.

Anniversary greetings to Dan and Candace Widmer and Pierce and Bernice Kirby on Wednesday, Danny and Cheryl Metell on Thursday. Belated birthday wishes to Mary Lu Hough and Bob Pacheco. Belated wedding anniversary greetings to Matthew and Stacy Hayden, Don Evon and Denise Doreen Mount, who celebrated their 23rd anniversary last month, Claire Harrington and Ed Mossy, Molly and Ryan Hooper and Matt Taylor and Dr. Carrie Fyler.

Well that is all of the social news for this week’s column. If you have any news please call or e-mail me. Have a great week.

Send West Tisbury news to alleys@vineyard.net.