It was Mario Bourque on pole one, Vincent Maciel on pole two and Travis Courser on pole three for the first heat of the springboard contest during the lumberjack competition. Four chops is all it takes to carve out a chink to place the springboard, but most of the lumberjacks need more than four swings. They stood, legs wide, a careful dance of balance and strength.
To cries of “Come on, Vince,” Mr. Maciel finished first, followed by Mr. Bourque and Mr. Courser.
With two midways, a barn, show ring, fiber tent and exhibit hall, the four-day Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair was a colorful collage of sights, sounds and smells.
“We should make a list of what we want to do,” a boy said to his group of friends.
“Zipper. Chicken. Cotton candy. Ice cream,” a girl immediately listed.
A crowd gathered around the pig racing, where two girls shared a plate of fried dough while cheering on Dale Swineheart Jr. and Snoop Hoggy Hog.
At Touchdown Tempura, orders were called back to the fry cooks. “Veggie eggrolls . . . . veggie tempura.”
A family wandered the Island midway, eyeing which stand to stop by for lunch. “Fried anything looks good,” said a teenaged boy.
Two couples sat at a table with a spread of tacos, tempura, chowder and lemonades. They discussed the lumberjack competition. “It makes you feel like you’re at a real old fair,” said one. Then the conversation turned to the upcoming senate election.
A woman pushed a stroller through the crowd with one hand, holding two Italian sausages with peppers and onions in the other. Another couple ate Mangku rice bowls while watching the herding demonstration as Megan the boarder collie corralled three ducks.
Inside the hall, people wandered among art work and peered at prize winning fruit and vegetables.
“Almost everything here should be in first place because everyone is so good at everything,” a girl remarked, gazing at pen and pencil drawings in the 11-14-year-old category.
Jars of jams and jellies glowed softly under the hall lights.
“Carol, you’ve got a ribbon,” a man said suddenly.
“On what?” Carol asked.
“Your carrots,” he said.
Indeed, Carol Forgione was awarded an honorable mention for her five carrots less than two inches long.
“Look at these, gorgeous,” a woman said pointing to Terry Kriedman’s two blue ribbon eggplants grown in West Tisbury.
If the day belongs to the show ring and the exhibition hall, the night belongs to the midway.
“I’m going on the horses, see you later buster,” yelled a young boy dressed all in red, in line at the carousel. He was quickly joined by six other children.
Families gathered around picnic tables, splitting cotton candy and nachos, waving to kids on rides.
Potato sacks made for a quick trip down the superslide, although there was a long wait to get on.
“It’s a pretty big line,” a boy said to his friend before they joined the queue.
The line for the Sizzler backed up past a dart game to the basketball game.
At the frog launch game, a young boy wearing a Chilmark School shirt launched frogs at lily pads. The first flopped into the water. His dad helped to arrange the second. It still fell short.
At the ring toss, light red rings danced around the necks of glass bottles before falling to the side, refusing to settle.
Game booth attendants in highlighter yellow shirts enticed fairgoers to shooting games, darts and water gun races with whistles.
The clown from Drown the Clown used a different method, taunting passers-by and anyone who paused to pick up a ball and try to soak him by hitting a red target.
A young girl exited the green spaceship ride that spun so quickly the floor dropped out (and nobody falls).
“I always forget how intense that is,” she said.
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