Memorial Day on the Vineyard is always a crowded scene, but this year’s crowd brought with it something extra — an overwhelmingly good mood. Merchants across down-Island towns stressed the friendliness of first-time vacationers, summer residents and year-round residents.

The first summer weekend began with hordes of passengers crossing the Sound.

Steamship Authority general manager Wayne Lamson said this week that while precise numbers from the weekend traffic were still being put together, he estimated ticket sales were up two to three per cent over last year. “We heard that it was busy and it’s in line with what we thought it might be, given the good weather from a year ago,” Mr. Lamson said. “Part of it was a fairly good forecast.” He said advance reservations on the Vineyard run are running six per cent ahead of last year. “That’s a pretty good indication,” he said.

Some of those hoping to reach the Island by air had to adjust their plans. Cape Air marketing and communications director Michelle Haynes provided a general rule for Island transportation: “When the fog comes down, we pull out the bus and ferry schedules,” she said. And that was certainly the case this weekend, although generally she said business has been good with an overall five per cent increase in ridership during the month of May.

Ms. Haynes noted people were willing to adapt. “Once you let people know you’ll get them there, they’re happy,” she said. “People were in great moods with ‘here comes summer!’ attitudes.

Martha’s Vineyard Airport manager Sean Flynn also commented on the fog, especially on Friday. There were delays, but no cancellations, he said.

“It was a matter of adjusting plans, not cancelling them,” Mr. Flynn said. Jet fuel sales were up from last year, but overall, he said the airport managed the air traffic that it expected. Much of the traffic was general aviation, meaning private planes — a trend that has been on the upswing in recent years.

A weekend average temperature of 69 degrees kept the beach-going population reasonably low. In town, however, people swarmed. The information booth in Oak Bluffs welcomed almost 1,000 first-time visitors, a number comparable to last year.

Many business owners in Oak Bluffs also got what they expected in terms of customers and sales. J.B. Blau, owner of Sharky’s Cantina and the MV Chowder Company, said he had expected a good weekend and was not disappointed.

“There were plenty of new faces around, but familiar faces, too, which is always nice to see,” Mr. Blau said. “You can tell that the economy is getting better. People are a little bit happier, and expecting good things.”

There were also business owners who had not been expecting the surge, but welcomed it with open arms. Nathan Thompson, the owner of Mad Martha’s Ice Cream in Oak Bluffs, said the weekend proved to be one of the best he has seen in 10 years. He attributed the success to an improved economy and weather that brought people into town.

Martha’s Bike Rentals owner Bob Breth also fared better than years past. All weekend, his team rented out bikes to vacationers coming from near and from quite far.

“I see visitors when they come back from their day out,” he said. Every Memorial Day weekend seems to leave a different general impression on visitors, he said, and this year that impression was positive. “People were treated well.”

Good moods lent themselves well to a hearty but well-behaved party scene on the Island. Brion McGroarty of Edgartown’s Town Provision Co. liquor store said it was a big weekend for bubbly. “On Martha’s Vineyard, through bad economy and good economy, what matters is the weather,” Mr. McGroarty said. “If they’re happy, they spend money. If the mood isn’t good, they don’t spend money.”

Bars in Oak Bluffs were swamped late into the evenings. First-time employees at Seasons Eatery & Pub, Taylor O’Brien and Shiloh Bramantecohen, both 22, didn’t know what to expect from their first Memorial Day Island crowd.

“We both come from fairly small bars,” Ms. O’Brien said. “When the night-time crowd rolled in, it was overwhelming but fun.”

Ms. Bramantecohen said when night came, “It was suddenly ‘Let’s drink!’” in the restaurant.

Alex McCluskey, owner of Big Al’s Locker Room T-shirt shop for 24 years, also noticed that shoppers seemed to be in high spirits. “People were coming through and spending time looking, not just walking through quickly and leaving,” Mr. McCluskey said. “I predict a fantastic summer just like last year.”

Mr. Blau agreed. “Positivity is all around,” he said. “It’s going to be a great summer.”