Fair week! Around our homestead we are scurrying around getting things ready. Tillie is baking beautiful cookies to narrow down what to enter (and we are lucky to get to taste her trial runs). I am trying to get up my courage to enter a painting. Noli is preparing to work in a recycling booth. Pottery efforts are being appraised. We are all figuring out what produce to enter. Mostly, we are just enjoying the anticipation. Here’s hoping that all Fair-goers have a great time, that we don’t eat too much, that at least one prize is won by each family, and that the animals at the Fair are happy.
After the Fair, you can recuperate by attending a few important events on Wednesday, August 2. The first takes place from noon to 4:00. It is a unique benefit sale for Reproductive Equity Now. They promise that there will be fabulous shoes and linens, home decorating items, jewelry, and such available for purchase. The cost of all items will be from $20 up, and payment will be with cash or checks only. That said, the cause is just, and there are wonderful treasures to be found. It will be held at 140 North William Street in Vineyard Haven.
Later that day, at 4:30, the League of Women Voters is hosting a meet-the-candidates forum at the Edgartown library. Arielle Faria of West Tisbury and Thomas Moakley of Falmouth are the two Democrats running to succeed Dylan Fernandez in our House of Representatives seat. Both will be there to answer questions. Go and get ready to make an educated vote.
Meanwhile, election excitement has various groups writing postcards to help get out the vote in the presidential election. One such group is Keep Democracy Alive, who hand-write cards to voters in states and counties who are registered but inconsistent voters, or to voters whose polling place has changed, to voters in rural areas with little technological capabilities, or to those who have been purged from the rolls. The postcards give these potential voters information about how to find out where to vote. If you want to help, Keep Democracy Alive gathers every Monday from 4:30 to 6:30 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Vineyard Haven, and would love your help. Their goal is 17,500 postcards before the November elections.
My dear friend Vera Della Russo and her husband are celebrating their 50th anniversary on August 18. That is a long time of loving and working and raising a family. That is a lot of life. Congratulations to them both. Charley and I celebrated our 50th a few years back and marveled at the fact that as hard as they could sometimes be, most of those years were pretty darned great. Long-time relationships are truly gold.
The Aquinnah library book group meeting is set for August 31 at 1 pm. The book is “Yellowface” by R.F. Kuang. If you haven’t started reading it yet, now’s the time.
On the birthday front, August 16 happy birthday wishes go to Sowanahsh William Vanderhoop, on August 19 to Made Crowell, and on August 20 to Barbara Bassett.
If you have any Aquinnah Town Column suggestions, email Kathie Olson, aquinnahcolumn@gmail.com.
