Even on a gray Monday after noon in mid-June, with a cool wind blowing off the sea, Oak Bluffs still feels like the place you want to be. Circuit avenue is crowded with everyone from teenagers to seniors all looking for that special memento; wherever you lie on the spectrum, you can find a place for yourself, and something you want.

Tomorrow is party time in Oak Bluffs. From noon well into night, the town will celebrate the arrival of summer. There will be fireworks at night, a show that organizers say will rival the way Oak Bluffs celebrates the end of summer in August.

The day marks the merger of two big events in the season: the first day of summer, and the 17th annual Harbor Festival.

Harbor Festival Sets Stage for Summer

By ALEXIS TONTI

There is no single event that signals the start of summer on the
Island. Something different moves each person to say the season is
finally here: the ripening of strawberries and sweet peas, the first
farmers' market or maybe the first true beach day. That something
could also be the Oak Bluffs Harbor Festival. Falling the day after the
official start of summer, the festival's timing qualifies it as
another sign of the season.