Brian Gager, Stewart D. Gager and Virginia V. Gager purchased 43 12th street South in Edgartown for $187,500 on July 31.

On a bright and sunny Wednesday last week, Don Margolis, 53, slipped into the waters off Aquinnah and swam to Cuttyhunk. Accompanied by his wife and two friends, who traveled alongside him in a small Boston Whaler, Mr. Margolis made the crossing in a little over three hours.

The last dry town on the Vineyard could be turning wet. The Chilmark selectmen have set a public hearing for August 27 to explore the idea of allowing alcohol sales at restaurants in the up-Island town.

Shearing Day is from noon to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 14 at Island Alpaca. The event features the newest alpaca babies, also referred to as cria, getting their first shave. August, after all, can be hot, especially for those with fur.

Admission is $5 per person.

For more information, visit islandalpaca.com or call 508-693-5554.

Steam rose from many, many mugs of coffee on Saturday morning as the Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival began at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown. More than 30 authors attended the two-day festival, participating in readings and panel discussions at the Harbor View on Saturday and on the grounds of the Chilmark Community Center on Sunday.

The book festival has been held on the Vineyard every other summer since 2005, conceived and organized by Suellen Lazarus, a seasonal resident of Chilmark.

A portion of South Road in Chilmark is slated to be closed to traffic during President Obama's visit to the Island, the Chilmark selectmen learned on Tuesday.

Each year, artist Gertrude (Gee Gee) Barden and her family plan their annual trip to Martha’s Vineyard around one event: the All-Island Art Show.

In the Gazette newsroom, we all knew the stories. And over the course of about a year, Bill Eville, managing editor of the Gazette, shared in intimate essays with the rest of the Island community the challenges of raising two small children, Hardy and Pickle, and supporting his wife, Cathlin, through diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments for breast cancer.

The Oyster Pond estate of Richard and Nancy Friedman is the setting for Water Tasting By The Sea on Thursday, August 8 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The sprawling waterfront location was the summer White House for former President Bill Clinton. Richard and Nancy Friedman are well-known Island philanthropists.

With concerns ranging from storm water management to the fate of town-owned bathrooms, public review of a proposal for a major renovation and expansion of the Tisbury Stop & Shop store continued Thursday before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.