Edgartown shop owners have adorned their windows with care, in hopes that more business soon would be there.
This weekend Christmas in Edgartown arrives once again, celebrating a time when locals and visitors delight from morning until each merry night.
Events for the 43rd Christmas in Edgartown began Thursday and run through Sunday, with the annual lighthouse lighting taking place Friday night, and the parade down Main street beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Erin Ready, the Edgartown Board of Trade’s head Christmas elf, has been carefully planning the weekend since August with a team of 20 volunteers. She said dozens of Island businesses and organizations will host festivities and fundraisers, some of which Santa will attend.
“There’s a lot of tradition that goes into the weekend that people have been doing for years and years . . .” Ms. Ready said. “It has a huge economic impact for our community,” she added, “and it ends the year in a really solid way for our brick and mortars.”
Meaghan Robinson, the wine and events director at Alchemy restaurant, said December is their fourth busiest month of the year, a direct result of the uptick in business due to Christmas in Edgartown. Ms. Robinson has been working at Alchemy for 10 years and said she has seen the weekend grow in popularity over time.
“Christmas in Edgartown feels like a weekend in August now, which is incredible for us . . .” Ms. Robinson said. “All of our regulars come back, even if they’re summer people.”
Kyle MacGregor, the bar manager at Rockfish for the past two years, said the restaurant also sees an increase in business during the weekend.
“That Saturday is definitely a rock star kind of day . . .” Mr. MacGregor said. “It’s kind of like the Fourth of July, but in the winter.”
He said he gets a mix of locals and visitors, and has created a holiday menu with cocktails such as the gingerbread mule, a mix of dark rum with ginger beer, garnished with three gumdrops.
New this year for the festivities will be a free shuttle bus taking people to and from events across town on Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. Ms. Ready said that MV Sightseeing donated their services to provide a loop from the Edgartown School, to the Church street visitors center and the Park & Ride by the Triangle.
Those marching in the parade gather by their floats on Saturday morning at the Edgartown School. Inside the school will be 40 local artisans presenting their wares for the annual craft fair. Organizer Fran Agnoli started the fair 31 years ago and said it has become an important fundraiser for the Edgartown School’s eighth grade trip to Philadelphia and New York City.
“I had three children go through the school, and that was always the takeaway, that it was such a wonderful experience,” Ms. Agnoli said.
The Edgartown lighthouse will once again be decked with lights and a pine Christmas wreath. The community is invited to gather at Memorial Wharf on Friday evening, beginning at 5:30 p.m. for the lighting ceremony.
The teddy bear suite also returns. Wendy Harman, owner of Point B Realty, helped start the annual fundraiser 14 years ago. Ms. Harman said all proceeds go to the MV Boys & Girls Club, raising over $450,000 to date for the organization.
Ms. Harmon said last year the event raised $50,000 for the Boys & Girls Club’s food program to help combat food insecurity among Island youth.
Over the years, the teddy bears have moved around, taking over rooms at the Harbor View and Faraway hotels. This year, the teddy bears return to Point B’s headquarters at 29 Winter street.
“A lot of kids we’ve seen grow up at the teddy bear suite,” Ms. Harman said. “They start coming out when they are just little kids, and you can only imagine, over the course of a 14-year period, how many of those kids we have seen grow up to be teenagers.”
At the Federated Church, smaller teddy bears will be in attendance as one of 50 nativity scenes. The display will raise funds for Habitat for Humanity on the Island.
Lyndsay Famariss, at the Edgartown Council on Aging, said that for the Island’s seniors, the festivities around Christmas in Edgartown help them feel less isolated.
“I think the holidays can bring out really sad emotions, because it can remind people of who they don’t have in their lives anymore,” Ms. Famariss said. “That’s always really hard, and that’s where we try to step in and ramp up the offerings that we have so we can make them feel cared about and remembered.”
On Tuesday, the center hosted the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School Minnesingers for one of their many stops around the Island singing holiday carols. Ms. Famariss said the room was packed. The Minnesingers will also perform at the Old Whaling Church on Friday at 8 p.m. and again on Saturday at 4 p.m.
“[Seniors] say how much it means to them and that [Christmas in Edgartown] is a way to feel like a part of the community, to feel the magic of the holidays and bring back memories from other times,” Ms. Famariss said. “I think Vineyarders do a really good job of looking out for each other, especially at the holidays.”
For a full list of Christmas in Edgartown events, visit christmasinedgartown.com.
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