Tisbury’s 343rd birthday party was a hit for all those invited, and that included the whole Island.

Tisbury is throwing itself a birthday party and everyone is invited. The annual street fair, featuring face painting, a dunking booth, vendor displays and plenty of food, will take place tonight from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Established in 1971 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the town of Tisbury, the fair is now in its 42nd year and regularly draws a crowd of thousands.

By 4:30 p.m. Sunday, the cars that usually line Main street
and Union street in Vineyard Haven were gone. One hundred and
twenty-five booths lined the two streets instead, and by 6:30 p.m.,
with the official start of the Tisbury Street Fair, waves of people
filled downtown.

Entering the street fair from any direction revealed a scene
of excitement and smiles.

Tisbury Street Fair Draws Thousands

Festivities Celebrate All Things Vineyard in July Highlight

By JOSHUA SABATINI

A stroller entering the 31st annual Tisbury Street Fair was
overwhelmed from every direction by the sounds of music, the wafting
scents of foods - from raw oysters to crispy fried chicken -
and the sights of wares pushed by shop owners, educational displays,
glow sticks, balloons and painted faces.

Like most Island cocktail parties, the Tisbury Street Fair was slow
to start. An hour into the annual town celebration though, and it was
standing room only.

Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish rocked through the evening. Youngsters
danced in the middle of the street in front of the band. Many of the
Island's nonprofit organizations sold T-shirts, raffle tickets
and plenty of food on the sidewalks.

Put off a day due to the torrential rain, the town of Vineyard Haven staged its birthday celebration with the usual overabundance of food, drink and merry making that make the Tisbury Street Fair a summer tradition of the first magnitude. And the delay worked out just as well: Saturday evening the skies were blue and the sun warm, a welcome setting for the fair, now in its 34th year.

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Street Fair Draws Thousands to Tisbury

By BEN LURIE

It was a claustrophobe's nightmare and a hungry man's
dream at the 37th annual Tisbury Street Fair on Sunday night.

A full year after the Fourth of July fire closed down Main street, Vineyard Haven, the sun, the crowds and the grand reopening of Bunch of Grapes Bookstore this weekend seemed to return a familiar summer life of leisure to the Island.

They mingled on car-free Main street. They munched on fried dough and cotton candy. They rummaged through clothing racks looking for bargains. They did all the lively things the sardine-like crowd traditionally does at the annual Tisbury Street Fair, even if they did it a day late. A forecast of rain led selectmen to postpone the event to one day after the town’s birthday, July 8.