The 163rd Agricultural Fair opens today. For the next four days, West Tisbury will be the destination of choice for everyone on the Island.
There is always so much anticipation for the fair. It’s the big event of the summer. Planned throughout the year by the Ag Society, it also fills every home with plans and projects for its entries, then rushing to get them in on time.
The fair booklet is filled with possibilities, some with specifics of size and number, some loosely categorized. I won’t write about all the categories, as exploration and discovery are among the pleasures of fair attendance. A careful perusal of the exhibits is a way to learn.
Be assured, there will be rides, baby goats and piglets, chickens and eggs, amazing food, spun and hand-dyed wool, skillet throwers, oyster shuckers, chainsaw sculptures, antique tools and machinery, games with prizes, music galore, and much more. You will see everyone you ever knew. “All roads lead to the fair,” so they say, and every year it seems to be true.
If you are a knowledgeable knot-tyer with some time to spare, please speak with Bill Haynes. He is still looking for help for knot-tying demonstrations.
The library has lots going on as always, with the following special programs this week:
Saturday at 11:30 am, dance and exercise with your baby at a Baby Carrier Dance Class; at 3 [m, come to a concert of “Great Ballads and Classic Jazz Standards” by the Jon Bates Band with Debbie Major and Steve Riddick. The LGBT Book Club will meet on Monday at 5:30 pm to discuss “Why Fish Don’t Exist,” by Lulu Miller. Sign up at wt_mail@clamsnet.org. Wednesday afternoon from 3 to 4 o’clock, kids and families are invited to hold and learn about different marine invertebrates, many from Island waters. Marine biologists will be on hand with a touch tank and lots of information.
The town has posted signs at Sepiessa warning people not to swim or let their pets go into the water. Cyanobacteria are in the Tisbury Great Pond coves. It is toxic. Please be careful.
Although we need rain desperately, I do hope it will come before the fair to wet down the fairgrounds, and after exhibitors and vendors have packed up and left. May we have clear skies, dry air, and a light breeze for the next four days.