Ticks beware. Bite Back for a Cure, the national campaign to fight against the impact of tick-borne disease, is coming to the Vineyard for a fundraising event on August 18.

The day begins with a five-mile bike ride starting from the Lyme Center of Martha’s Vineyard to the Chilmark town hall. Check-in for the ride is at 9:30 a.m. and the bicycling begins at 11 a.m.

Katina I. Makris will speak at the Chilmark Community Church beginning at 1 p.m. Ms. Makris is the author of Out of the Woods.

How do you define love? Why is the same word used to define such a broad range of feelings? And, if your wealthy husband is paralyzed in a car accident, which gradation of love will keep you from killing him for the insurance money?

These are just a few of the questions posed by an upcoming short film by Islanders Ronan Noone and Steve Dunayer called The Accident. Although filming will not begin until the fall, the movie will be shot entirely on-Island and the pair has already begun fundraising and checking items off their lengthy to-do list.

On Tuesday, August 13, beginning at 5 p.m., Drs. Alan Flake and Kim Smith-Whitley of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia will discuss their research on sickle cell disease at an evening of cocktails and conversation at the Daniel Fisher House, 99 Main Street in Edgartown.

Throughout the school year, the Island Grown Schools Harvest of the Month program highlights a locally available crop at all seven of our K-12 schools and at six preschools, in school taste tests, on cafeteria lunch menus, and in partnership with Island grocery stores and restaurants.

During the summer, while IGS staff, parents, students and teachers volunteer to maintain our 13 school gardens, students from the regional high school are keeping the Harvest of the Month program alive.

Summer is the time for taking advantage of the abundance of available fresh vegetables and fruits. Lightly steamed, prepared raw, sautéed or grilled, vegetables go with anything, anytime. Gobbled up as snacks, blended into smoothies or sliced on top of yogurt, fruit quenches thirst, adds sweetness and tastes delicious.

The Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society is letting its hair down a little bit this week. Performances include popular music by 20th century composers Maurice Ravel, Paul Schoenfield, Astor Piazzolla and George and Ira Gershwin. Guest artists are violinist Stephanie Chase and cellist Scott Kluksdahl, soprano Karen Benjamin and her husband, composer and classical radio personality, Alan Chapman.

They came bearing shovels and spades, clad in their swimsuits to participate in the Sand Sculpture Contest at South Beach on Wednesday. The annual event is sponsored by the Edgartown Board of Trade, and bestows upon participants prizes for the best sand sculptures in both junior and adult categories.

Upstairs in Polly Hill’s former home last week, Tim Boland pulled a manilla folder out of a cabinet labeled Flora of Dukes County, placed it on a table by the window and opened it up. Inside lay pages with delicately pressed plants and flowers. Notes marked the corners of each page, written on bright post-it notes.

The farm stand at Whippoorwill Farm is now open for business on Old County Road in West Tisbury.

It’s been nearly 15 years since farm owner Andrew Woodruff could say that. Between a booming CSA membership, a move to Thimble Farm in Oak Bluffs, and a move back again to Old County Road, the farm stand has been empty.

“It’s nice to see this farm get active again,” Mr. Woodruff said this week, his John Deere hat shading his face from the August sun.

Friday, August 2: Bright sunny morning. Light southwest wind picks up in mid-afternoon. Increasing clouds over Nantucket Sound. By late afternoon, there are white caps and high surf.