The Columbus Day weekend may lack the pomp and circumstance of July Fourth, Christmas and other more showy celebrations, but the importance of this holiday lies in its timing. This is a holiday that simply defines one of those glorious moments in the Island year, a time of noble autumn days and cool nights. This is the last, long holiday weekend before the season turns toward Thanksgiving and the chill side of a waning year.

The holiday weekend also becomes a time to journey into the countryside to discover the true quality of the Vineyard — canopied trails in autumn woodlands, a windswept beach, the golden colors of old meadows and salt marshes, the stonewalls that form the boundaries of the rural reaches up-Island.