Fun in the air at Tisbury Street Fair
By Janet Hefler and Alex Bell
Published: July 10, 2008
Tisbury's Street Fair Tuesday night offered something for everyone, from rock-wall climbing, pony rides, and fake tattoos, to food choices for every appetite, accompanied by toe-tapping music. The festive, easygoing crowd, which included an impressive assortment of dogs, moved at a slow pace, perhaps weighed down by food from an array of booths.
"You can literally eat yourself crazy out here," exclaimed Beverly McCutcheon from New Jersey, as she took in the sights. Spotted with white plastic forks in hand as they made their way from main course to dessert, Mike and Jan Ovios of West Tisbury said they have been coming to the street fair for most of their 34 years on the Island.
Rebounding from the fire that claimed their restaurant on July 4, Café Moxie owner and chef Austin Racine and his partner Katrina Yekel, Ty Rossi, and Laurie Jennings served up falafel, corn on the cob, gazpacho, and Gatorade to a steady line of well-wishers.
The longest line led to fried dough, however. Melissa Moore of Oak Bluffs said it was worth the wait for her and her children, Robert, Ingrid, Isabel, and Madelene. "We always head for the fried dough - we didn't eat dinner so we'd have room for it," she laughed. Friend Amy Wallace and daughter Olivia Vanderlaske kept them company.
Looking like the picture of calm as children kept themselves amused with bomb bags and poppers, Bob Bugle and his friend Ray Hopkins patiently waited in the middle of the street for their wives to rejoin them. Bob and his wife, Betsy, who are from Ferrington Village, N.C., and Ray and his wife, Marge, of Marietta, Ga., spend summers at the Oak Bluffs campground. Coming to the Tisbury Street Fair is "part of the Island tradition" for them, Mr. Bugle said.
From the smiles on many faces, it appeared Tisbury pulled off another street fair success.
Photos by Ralph Stewart
