The rain will stop. The clouds will clear. And the historic circle of gingerbread cottages in Oak Bluffs will become a fairyland of lights. The Night of the Grand Illumination is here.

The 132nd Illumination Night will be held tomorrow night.

When's the last time your doctor checked with your chiropractor about that back injury? Or how about that free screening for colon cancer?

A scan across the faces of Saturday's 24th Annual Chilmark Road Race participants revealed every kind of runner. There were kids - confident that gym class laps had prepared them for the 3.1 miles of hilly stretch before them. There were moms - more concerned with making sure their flock used the bathroom before the race began. There were 70-year-olds whose love of running reached back much further than the 24-year history of this uniquely up-Island road race. And then there were those who came to win - stretching silently at the front of the line, their sprinters' thighs bulging beneath running shorts.

An excited, yet not quite frantic, bustle around West Tisbury's Agricultural Hall suggests that it's that time again. Just in case the hectic scene isn't enough of a sign, a yellow, blue, green and pink merry-go-round sits empty in the grass semicircle in front of the Agricultural Hall, waiting to take kids for a spin.

The 140th Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society's Livestock and Fair will kick off Thursday morning at 10 a.m.

About the only thing missing at Tuesday's meeting of the Oak Bluffs selectmen with seasonal residents was the tar and feathers. Town leaders took a verbal drubbing from residents fed up with delays, costs and the visual impact of the town sewer project.

Convinced there's no way to make rental mopeds safe on the Vineyard, Oak Bluffs selectmen this week threw their support behind proposed state legislation that would require anyone renting a moped to have a motorcycle license.

Relief is expected tonight from the Island's first significant heat wave of the year. Forecasters are predicting the heat wave, which has sent thousands to the beach and created long lines for ice at Vineyard stores, will likely end tonight with the arrival of a cold front from Canada.

Temperatures in the last two days have hit the 90s in the shade, which is rare for the Vineyard.

Just 10 days from summer's climactic event, the Oak Bluffs fireworks, top town officials are saying that Ocean Park will definitely host the blockbuster event even though they are still not happy with the condition of the park.

Boston Pops Swings to Standing Ovations

By MANDY LOCKE

Just five minutes shy of six o'clock on Saturday evening, the hum of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra's warm-up barely overpowered the laughter and chatting on the lawn surrounding the Tabernacle. Then the Pops struck the first note of the opening piece without a word of introduction, and the crowd fell silent under conductor Keith Lockhart's spell.

Martha's Vineyard offered Mr.

A heavy and chilly bank of fog rolled in over last night's Possible Dreams auction in Edgartown, but it did nothing to cool down the bidders who went wild for items featuring Carly Simon, David McCullough and Walter Cronkite.

By the time the marathon event wrapped up some three hours later, Martha's Vineyard Community Services had raised $403,600 from 48 dreams, topping last year's $325,000 mark by a margin of nearly 25 per cent.