As you surely must know, the Agricultural Fair is over. This year it lived up to its promise, with beautiful animals on display, a whole slew of new rides, a variety of delicious foods filling the air with mouthwatering smells, vendors offering up beautiful goods, and the Ag Hall loaded with the results of the hard labors of our creative neighbors, young and old. I don’t know exactly how many volunteers it took to pull this one off, but they were everywhere to be seen, selling and taking tickets, driving carts about to help people with mobility challenges, collecting and sorting trash, and handing out information, and this doesn’t count the many who collected and graded entries and then put them out for display, or those who set up booths and made signs. My hat goes off to them all.
I worked a booth for the Green Team one morning. Who knew that collecting trash could be such a heartwarming and fun experience? It was great to help people figure out what was compostable, as opposed to what was recyclable or just plain old trash, but it was best to watch the smiles of people so proud to help in this way. After I thanked one little guy for bringing us his empty soda cup and “helping to protect our planet,” he looked at me seriously for a moment, walked away, and reappeared a few minutes later with his hands full of other empty food containers he had rounded up for saving. He took this protecting thing seriously. Made me hopeful for the future.
Friends of the Up-Island Council on Aging are hosting their monthly lunch for seniors at the Aquinnah Town Hall on Wednesday, August 26. This is a free, informal event that brings seniors from Aquinnah together with seniors from other parts of the Vineyard to enjoy a delicious meal together. A public health nurse is usually there to provide blood pressure screening, free vegetables are often there for you to take home, and people are always kind and friendly. It’s not required, but it surely helps them to plan if you let them know in advance that you are going to attend. You can RSVP by calling the council at 508-693-2896.
The State Primary election takes place on Tuesday, Sept. 1. You can vote by mail if you apply for a mail-in ballot before 5 pm on Monday, August 25. Paper vote-by-mail applications are available at Aquinnah Town Hall, in the foyer and can be placed in the drop box after hours. The mail-in ballot itself needs to be returned to the Town Clerk by 5 PM on Sept. 1. Registered voters who want to vote in person can do so early by going to Town Hall on the following days and times: Saturday, August 22, 9-11 am and 3-5 pm, and then from 10-12 pm on the following days: Monday August 24, Tuesday, August 25, Thursday August 27, and Friday August 28. And of course, in-person voting will take place at Town Hall on Election Day itself (Sept. 1). For more information, contact Kayla Darcy, Aquinnah town clerk. I promise you that our systems are safe, honest, and respectful, and they are to make it possible for you to vote your opinions. Don’t let anyone try to tell you otherwise.
This week, we have a great bunch of birthday wishes to go out. On August 20, they go to Barbara Bassett. On August 22, they go to Ron Slate. And on August 23, they go to my daughter, Noli Taylor.
