Hop in With the Kids

Frogs and Their Habitats, a crafts and nature activity for kids at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8, is the first in the Edgartown Public Library’s series of summer reading programs. Children will learn about frogs, including the Vineyard’s own famous pinkletinks, in this program, and in the crafts activity they’ll learn to fold paper frogs that actually jump. The afternoon will also feature an “infotainment” program, How to Dress Like a Frog.

Computers and Art

Computers have been used to analyze works of art and have helped clear up controversies in the study of art.

David G. Stork, a computer and image scientist at Stanford University and with Ricoh Innovations, presents When Computers Look At Art, a free talk on Thursday, July 10, from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Chilmark Public Library.

Mr. Stork gears his talk to non-scientists who are interested in learning more about computer image analysis and our understanding of art.

A disastrous Independence Day fire completely destroyed the Café Moxie restaurant and left the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore badly damaged, shutting down Main street Vineyard Haven for the entire day and leaving the town, its business community and much of the Island in a state of shock at the outset of peak summer season.

But the owner of the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore promised yesterday that it would reopen.

On the night before the Fourth of July, little cards were placed in the center of each table. There were 16 in all and they announced the night’s special: a fig-encrusted rack of lamb. It was the start of the busiest holiday weekend on the Vineyard and the tiny dining room of Café Moxie was filled — every table, every chair.

She stood outside and watched, numb with disbelief.

And Ann Nelson — whose name is still synonymous with the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore even though she turned ownership of the store over to her son Jon three years ago (she stills owns the building) — wanted to go inside.

The National Basketball Association champion stood tall on an old red fire truck and gripped his golden trophy in the air. Screams and cheers erupted from the crowds lining the road as the fire truck slowly rolled along the parade route in downtown Edgartown.

In town on vacation, Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen slapped and shook hands reaching up from the crowd Friday, his presence a memorable twist on a Fourth of July tradition already marked by excitement.

Café Moxie was, ironically, in the first building to be rebuilt after the devastating Vineyard Haven fire of 1883.

Ben Dexter, an extraordinary woodcarver and ice cream entrepreneur, was hard at rebuilding by November, just a few months after the August fire swept through Main street. He was back in business for the 1884 season.

Chris Baer knows that fact and many other historic fine points about Main street because he’s spent years painstakingly recreating its history through research and photographs.

Bookstore owner Jon C. Nelson Jr. said he will rebuild.

“Absolutely. I am committed to rebuilding the Bunch of Grapes,” said Mr. Nelson on Sunday afternoon.

That commitment was one of the few certainties Mr. Nelson had two days after the Fourth of July fire that heavily damaged the landmark Vineyard Haven bookstore.

It was warm and cloudy this year on the Fourth of July.

And as celebrations got under way, two of Vineyard Haven’s anchor businesses burned. Emergency services shut down power along Main street, cordoning off the heart of downtown. And in the aftermath, business owners commiserated, lent their support to the devastated owners of Café Moxie and Bunch of Grapes Bookstore, and shared fears about a retail season now in jeopardy.

Island police yesterday reported a busy but relatively smooth Fourth of July holiday weekend.

The biggest story, of course, was the devastating fire on Main street in Vineyard Haven that destroyed the Cafe Moxie restaurant and caused extensive damage to the landmark Bunch of Grapes bookstore, which cast a pall for many over the usually celebratory Independence Day weekend.