Community invited to celebrate Gay Head Lighthouse relighting Tuesday

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The public is invited to a celebration of the relighting of the Gay Head Lighthouse on Tuesday, August 11, an event which will be the capstone of a successful effort to move the iconic beacon back from its precarious position on the edge of the eroding cliffs to a more stable location.

Over the course of the past two years, the Save the Gay Head Lighthouse Committee raised more than $3 million to move the lighthouse 129 feet back from the position it had occupied since 1844.

The move of the 400-ton lighthouse took place over a three-day period in late May. Project managers said they hope the new location will be stable for another 150 years.

The light has remained dormant since April 16. The nearly four-month period of darkness is the longest in the history of the 160-year-old lighthouse.

The festivities begin at 5:30 pm in the Aquinnah Circle. Local vendors will offer refreshments, and live entertainment will be provided by Island musicians, including the Black Brook Singers, Good Night Louise, and Isaac Taylor, who will perform an original homage to the lighthouse called “Red Queen.”

The relighting will occur promptly at 6 pm, and the celebration will continue until 8 pm. Free parking will be available in the beach parking lot and the western end of the Circle.