This coming Saturday, the Chappy Community Center will present a concert by the Harlem Quartet. This is the final concert of this season. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door. Music starts at 7:30 p.m.
Last Tuesday, while crawling slowly out of town in traffic, I had a chance to get a good look at the Village Market in full swing. It is located in the back yard of the Whaling Church. The market is open on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and is worth the walk up from the ferry.
I have a soft spot in my heart for fire department fund-raising activities. The West Tisbury Fire Department now operates the Agricultural Fair parking lot across the road on the Whiting Farm hay field. The fire crew has been preparing for the onslaught of fairgoers for the past couple of weeks. They set up a dozen light poles and strung over a mile of caution tape to delineate the parking spaces.
I had the easy job of lounging on a riding mower. It’s a very satisfying activity, turning the shaggy surface of a recently hayed field into a tidy green lawn. Trimming back the overhanging hedgerow vegetation was not as much fun. Farmers warn that you lose an acre of hay field for every foot that the brush invades. I hacked away four dump truck loads of cherry and oak that was crowding the handicap spaces. It was impressive to see it heaped on the ground, but once it was gone you couldn’t tell anyone had even been there unless you saw it beforehand.
While I was toiling away in the parking lot I could hear lots of activity on the other side of Panhandle Road where the fair was being set up. The carnival rides began to poke up above the trees. I could see a constant stream of people coming and going. All that was missing was the music. I know several people who are instrumental in making the fair happen. Many months of planning ahead and many hours of volunteer work go into pulling off a complex festival.
The best part of the fair is running into folks that you only see once a year at the fair. If you sit on one of the benches in the exhibit hall, you increase your chances of getting to visit with long lost friends and neighbors. This year the fair is happening a week earlier than in the past, so it won’t be conflicting with the Oak Bluffs fireworks next Friday. That’s a big benefit for the folks who like to attend both of the events. We should have thought of this years ago. See you at the fair!
This article appears in August 14, 2026.