There were so many exhibits to take in last weekend at the Agricultural Fair. Some were big (water buffalo anyone?), and some were quite small. No, we’re not talking about pygmy goats here, although they were quite cute. The wee exhibit being highlighted here is the Bonsai.

Earlier this summer, Dreamland in Oak Bluffs opened up as a large venue music space. The new club has been very active, hosting numerous local bands throughout the summer, a CD release party for Ben Taylor and a DJ night featuring Questlove of The Roots.

And now on Friday, August 31, Dreamland hosts Martin Sexton.

Each week the folks at Cinema Circus show a series of short films on Wednesday evenings at the Chilmark Community Center. The films begin at 6 p.m. but at 5 p.m. the circus — complete with jugglers, face painters, stilt walkers, food and music — gets under way.

An advanced screening of the films was arranged. In a world with few certainties, the kid critic is the critic to trust. This week’s reviewers are Eli and Will Graff.

On Wednesday, August 29 and Thursday, August 30, the folks at the Pit Stop in Oak Bluffs are hosting The Ape Woman Rock Opera. For those not up on their 19th century oddities, the Ape Woman was Julia Pastrana, an indigenous Mexican woman born in 1834, who suffered from hypertrichosis terminalis; her face and body were covered with black hair.

The deadline for entry into this year’s 35th annual George Moffett Memorial Race is approaching. Friday, Aug. 31, is the last day for entry forms to be mailed to the Holmes Hole Sailing Association.

While the race is still more than a week away, organizers of the event need to do their handicap work in preparation for the race on Saturday, Sept. 8. Last year there were 40 boats participating in the race.

When eating out, diners typically only have to choose the food that goes on their plate, not the plate itself.

Not so at the Potters’ Bowl, the annual Featherstone fundraising event held last Sunday evening. Now in its third summer, the Bowl is based on a simple concept: buy a unique, locally crafted bowl (or two), and get free soup. All proceeds in turn go to support Featherstone’s clay studio.

“People were lined up at a quarter to four,” committee chair Debbie Hale said. “We’re bringing out every bowl.”

Angela Davis is no stranger to injustice. She grew up in Birmingham, Ala. in the era of segregation, was acquitted after being wrongfully imprisoned for 16 months on murder charges, and has, throughout her life, spoken out against all forms of oppression. When she travelled in June of 2011 to Palestine with a delegation of indigenous women and women of color, she felt she was travelling in regrettably familiar territory. What she observed was even more dire than what she had anticipated, she said.

From the Vineyard Gazette editions of August, 1958:

The Menemsha of today presents a contrast with the Menemsha that Ralph B. Potter of Cranston, R.I. knew sixty summers ago. But this contrast has not been reached abruptly, as Mr. Potter can assure you, for he has vacationed at Menemsha for every one of those sixty summers, and has watched the changes come in slowly and irresistibly.

Now that everyone has become completely dependent on GPS, it’s possible to locate ourselves to an astounding degree of accuracy anywhere on the planet — while simultaneously becoming completely and utterly lost. I am talking hopelessly, pathetically lost. This was never possible even a short while ago when most folks still knew how to read a map, trust their instincts and listen to spoken directions. But in the last few years, as gadgetry has gotten smarter people, seem to have gotten dumber. There’s just no getting around it.

Picture this: dense, twiggy colonies of dark, gnarled branches buried in sand along the barrier dunes of Lambert’s Cove Beach. What is this tough plant that thrives in such a challenging environment? The answer is obvious each May when these same branches erupt with beautiful white flowers. It’s our native beach plum (Prunus maritima). This exceptional spring display lasts a few weeks then something even better follows. Over the following months plump, tasty fruits ripen, often creating a bountiful crop for harvest by the end of the summer.