The real kick-off to the Oak Bluffs summer season, which precedes the monster shark fest and all the other festivities that make Oak Bluffs the hub of the party wheel, is coming up this weekend. The annual Oak Bluffs Harbor Festival is on Saturday, June 22. Arts, crafts, antiques and live music, plus native seafood and other delectable offerings will be available all day long.

“That first summer was off the charts,” said Renee Balter, remembering when the Harbor Festival began 22 years ago. “We even had the Coast Guard do a search and rescue demonstration at the mouth of the harbor. It’s too expensive for them to do that now but it was pretty cool. We have lots of Island vendors, raffles, strawberry shortcake. We’ve got live music with the Beetlebung Steel Band and Phil daRosa set up at Nancy’s. It’s just a lot of fun,” she said.

Oak Bluffs Harbor Fest begins around noon and wraps up around dinner time. The rain date is Sunday, June 23.

Call 508-693-3392 for more information.